A sell sheet is a one-page document that summarises a product’s value proposition and targets the needs of a specific audience. For B2B companies, a sell-sheet can be used as a direct marketing tool to distribute information about your company, its products and services. It is also commonly used by manufacturers at trade shows to introduce their latest products to current clients in attendance.
A good sell sheet should include all relevant facts about an offering. This should be done without overwhelming or boring the reader with text or irrelevant information. At the same time,, it should be presenting it to appeal to the target audience’s interests, values, motivations, concerns, attitudes, preferences, desires, etc.
A sell-sheet provides all the vital information about your product or service. The sell sheet contains the company's brand, logo, tagline, and contact information. It is extensively used to attract potential customers at various conferences and networking events.
It's often printed on one or both sides of an 11 inch by 17-inch piece of paper stock in full colour. The front side typically includes a product photograph with a headline describing the item, a tagline describing the company, and a phone number or website address. This leaves the backside open for a description of benefits and features.
When designing a sell sheet for print, most companies use templates that include pre-formatted layouts with all of the text content in place. This allows businesses to add their logo and images to create a full-colour sell sheet. In addition, selling your products online requires creating different versions of your sell sheets for specific devices such as tablets, smartphones, and webpages.
It is essential to design sell sheets to look good across multiple platforms so potential customers can access them from anywhere on any device. The first thing a designer should do is create a clean, engaging, and memorable template. Next, the designer should ensure it includes all necessary information (for print). Also, make sure it contains icons to support key text such as social media.
Sell sheet design is essential because it engages potential customers and leads them to purchase your products or services. A practical sell-sheet should contain an eye-catching headline about the product and its benefits and features and engage prospective buyers enough for them to want more information. Your company logo and tagline should be prominently displayed, including contact details like a phone number or website address, so you can easily track conversions from leads into actual sales.
Sell sheets are often limited to 300-500 words but should never bore the reader. To create a visually compelling and engagingly worded sell sheet, follow these design tips:
1. Your Logo and Product Name
Place your logo and product name at the top of your document (at minimum). Taglines are generally centred under the logo but could also be placed below the logo with contact details.
Next, put your product's name in large font across the top centre of the page (also called Headline). The headline should be tied to a benefit or feature on the front side of your sell sheet (to stimulate interest) and include its category under it (if applicable). For example: “Eat Smart - A Sleek Way To Lose Weight.”
Doing so will help build brand awareness with B2B audiences who may not already know about you or your company. It can also be used as a quick reference tool for those familiar with your company’s services and products and who want to learn more about them in-depth.
2. Full-Color Visuals
Now that you have gotten people interested with key text, include appealing imagery on the front side representing your brand and products and their benefits. Photographs are typically used to capture larger audiences' attention, but logos, flat/product design graphics, images, charts, infographics, icons, etc., can also be used. Use them in full colour to catch hold the attention of your target audience or customers.
3. An Attention-Grabbing Headline That Sticks
Your headline is the essential part of your sell sheet – it needs to grab a reader’s attention and keep it. It should be concise, informative and persuasive – a good rule of thumb is that the first sentence or two should explain why something matters. Think of it as your sales pitch in two seconds (or less) that gets people interested enough to read more about what you are offering.
You can also use different fonts, colours and icons to break up sections of information into digestible chunks that are easier on the eyes and increasing visual appeal. Make sure your goal is to make it catchy and enticing (not overused like big data).
4. An Intro Paragraph
The intro paragraph is excellent for summarising what is in store for readers further down the page without going into too much detail from the start. Please include a short section under the headline that introduces your product/service offering and describes what problem(s) it solves for customers. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
Try to make your writing conversational or use plain language that any audience could appreciate. Remember, you only have a few seconds to capture people's attention with your headline, so make sure your first sentence takes advantage of that precious time!
5. Product Specifications & Benefits Supported By Hard Data
Include them in your sell sheet if you have the numbers, data, or evidence to back up your product testimonials! B2B audiences are more likely to trust information accompanied by supporting facts and figures rather than general statements of sentiment like ‘We provide the best service in our industry (which is true – but how do you know this without hard facts?).
Now that everyone is engaged enough to keep reading tell them exactly why they should purchase your product or service. Include information like what type of industry uses your product (if applicable), how much money they will save if they choose you over competitors—the number of people who have already used your product, etc. You can even include supporting charts, graphs, and other data visualisation tactics to help illustrate your points.
6. Appealing Data Visualization
Data visualisation – such as charts – can effectively summarise large amounts of information into concise visuals. Try using pie graphs for sales statistics, line graphs for time-based profit projections, bar graphs for product comparisons etc.
7. A Clear Cut Call-to-Action!
Your sell sheet should end with a simple, clear cut call to action that lets readers know what they need to do next. Is there somewhere on your website for them to go? Do you have an email sign-up form they can fill-in? Are there any materials they need to purchase before taking the next step? When it comes down to it, practical sell sheets are the ones that make the reader feel empowered and excited about their potential future purchase without leaving them feeling overwhelmed or confused!
The last thing you should include on the product specification page is a clear cut call-to-action to motivate prospects into taking action. The purpose of your sell sheet is to get people interested in your offering, so they'll take some effort, whether it's calling you for further details about your product/service or visiting your website to learn more. Make sure the call-to-action matches what you've promised throughout the rest of your sell sheet copy.
8. Images:
Images can be beneficial when it comes to selling a product. Not only do they break up the text on the page, but they also help to illustrate your points in a more visually appealing way. Try to use high-quality images that capture the essence of what you're trying to sell. If you don't have any good pictures, you can also find free stock photos online to use. Just make sure to give credit where credit is due!
1. Sell Sheet Overview
One of the most common types of sell sheets, the ‘summary’ sheet, provides readers with a simple overview of your product or service offering. It tells them what you do and how you benefit their business and industry. The downside to this type of sell sheet is it doesn't disclose potential clients enough information about your offering – just the tip of the iceberg – so they need more convincing before actually purchasing your product/service.
2. Product Specifications
A product specification sell sheet gives prospects all the necessary details about what you can offer (i.e., specifications). But, some people might find these sheets too dense and technical for their liking as there is generally lots of unnecessary data included on each page or slide, which tends to distract from the overall message you're trying to send. Not bogged down, potential clients need to be wowed by your sell sheet.
3. Product Brochure
A product brochure is similar to a product specification, but it’s more visually appealing and easier to digest. It covers the key benefits of what you have on offer, with supporting facts and figures if possible. On the downside, some people find this selling too promotional, so you have to stand out from your competition to get people interested in what you have on sale (i.e., how can you make yourself or your product unique?).
4. Combination Sell Sheet
Combination sell sheets often include both text AND images, making them more aesthetically appealing than pure text sell sheets. However, they aren't as visually stimulating as product brochures, so readers can easily digest the information. As with all sell sheets, you need to stand out from your competition to get people interested in what you have on sale (i.e., how can you make yourself or your product unique?).
5. Sell Sheet Checklist
A checklist sheet provides prospects with all the essential specifics they might be looking for when searching for a product/service online or off (i.e., features & benefits) for those who like lists and bullet points. You can also use this type of sheet if there are specific questions potential customers frequently about your offering - answer them all in an easy to read format.
6. One-Page Sell Sheet
As the name implies, this type of sell sheet is designed to be one page long – front and back. It covers all the basics about your product or service so potential customers can get a good understanding of what you do and how you can benefit their business without having to read a lengthy document. However, this type of sheet might not be enough for some people who want more detail about what you're selling, so they'll need more convincing before actually purchasing your product/service.
7. Landing Page
A landing page is very different from a sell sheet as it's not a standalone document but rather a web page that potential customers are directed to after clicking on an online advertisement or email link. It's a place where you can provide more information about your product/service and capture their contact details so you can follow up with them in the future.
8. E-mail Campaign
An e-mail campaign is very similar to a landing page, except it's sent out as a series of e-mails rather than just one. Like a landing page, it's a place where you can provide more information about your product/service and capture their contact details so you can follow up with them in the future. Plus, e-mail campaigns are a great way to keep in touch with potential customers who might be interested in what you have on sale but haven't made the jump just yet.
9. AIDA
Depending on your product or service, you might be able to include AIDA in your sell sheet (i.e., Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action). It's an acronym that is linked with direct marketing but can be applied to any sell sheet because it makes sure the document provides lots of crucial information about what you're offering - primarily how it benefits clients - while also staying focused on why they should buy (i.e., what are the critical advantage s?).
10. Value Proposition Statement
This type of statement is excellent for those who want to get straight to the point without waffling too much about their product/service. It tells readers exactly how it can benefit them and why they should consider purchasing it, making it an excellent tool for those short on time or who need to convince someone to buy what they're selling quickly.
The above list provides a broad overview of the different sell sheets available to businesses. Whichever style you choose, make sure it stands out from your competition and provides readers with all the critical information they need to make a purchase.
When judging the quality of a sell sheet, you need to consider a few factors:
If the answer to any of these questions is no, your sell-sheet needs some work. Remember, your goal is to make potential customers interested enough in what you have on sale that they'll want to learn more, so make sure your sell sheet does that.
Sell sheets are one of the best ways to boost your sales because they're specifically designed to convince potential customers that your product or service is precisely what they need. They can be sent out as part of an e-mail campaign, used to advertise online or even offered up by sales staff when talking with current or prospective clients. When you include a sell sheet in any marketing initiative, you'll find it's much easier to explain exactly why someone should buy what you have on sale and generate more sales as a result.
The length of your sell sheet can vary depending on what you're selling and how much information you want to communicate about it. However, generally speaking, most sell sheets are around one page long. If you're struggling to fit everything on one page, consider breaking up the information into different sections instead of trying to include it all in one go.
When designing your sell sheet, make sure you think about engaging potential customers with what's on offer. There are plenty of ways to do this - for example, including an infographic or using eye-catching images - but the best practice is to ensure the key benefits of your product or service are concisely expressed through bullet points or a list so that readers can easily digest the information at a glance. Plus, don't be afraid to use colour throughout your sell sheet to help printers convey essential information quickly and easily.
So, there you have it - everything you need to know about sell sheets and how they can help boost your sales. Follow these tips when creating your own, and you'll be well on your way to convincing potential customers that your product or service is precisely what they need.
