Brochures, flyers, cards, what works?

Way back in the day I designed a tri-fold brochure and business card and had a slug of them printed up locally. 5ish years later and I think the boxes are pretty much still full. That's my fault, but it got me to thinking, do they really work?

I get flyers in the mail all the time. I get them at trade shows like IMTS. Some I seek out because I am interested in the products of services. But, I don't keep track of them. I probably couldn't find the ones I want if I went looking for them, and the ones I didn't really want go right in the trash.

So, what works? What can you leave at the front desk or send through the mail that will not be immediately trashed or filed away, never to be seen again?

Emails don't work. If you know who to email, and can get past the SPAM filters (it is SPAM after all...), I think most just get ignored.

Magnets? Stickers? A small card?

I'm just thinking something simple that says who I am, what I can do, and how you can contact me. I keep business cards in a binder and I do reference them from time to time. Maybe they are still the best bet?

Thoughts? Maybe I'm some kind of dinosaur and all of this is done on Facebook/Snapgram/etc now. This website and Youtube are the extent of my social media presence.

a calander with a nice view

I like fridge magnets with tap drill charts, and fractional/metric/letter/number drill to decimal conversion charts.

It's simple but it keeps people in the shop looking at your name a few times a day.

For the office guys grid paper with your letterhead on it. The good stuff, 24lb stock or better. None of that tissue paper BS.

The salesmen that stop at my shop are more likely to get my business. I don't know why I feel the need to toss them a bone but I do. I've often thought about a personal letter to the PA with my business card in it. Maybe it would feel more one on one.

Nothing does any good in the box it comes in, its all in how you distribute it that effects the return.

My more successful dealers all send flyers with some kinda product list out with every order. Its cheap, the distribution is as good as free and your targeting your customer group, those lists are proven to be handed around like minded people and they often get orders off them. More than often enough to pay and its incredible some times how much they get passed around if you get it to the right person in a club of like minded people.

Tool box style stickers are another option, though i know few people that actually get much in sales from them, just not that many people end up seeing them i guess.

Really pays to ask more than a few new customers how they hear of you, then look at what you can do to increase that type of marketing. There is no one fits all type approach. You have to follow your own market places contact methods and above all do more than just print the things.

Alot may have to do with what your selling...

If it is machining services...a brochure or website with some pictures of what you do may spark some interest. But have to say one on one talks with potential customers can be best...find out what they need and taylor yourself to them.

I think to the magnets, pads, desk blotters,calendars, charts and pens handed out...while I like to receive...how many calender's does a person need? I have three hanging the rest went into recycling. Charts, I have'em up...don't need more, pads, great to write on...but have to say, rarely if ever do I look at that heading, pens...good ones I keep, lousy hit the trash...do I know who they came from...no not really.

Pens...I used to hand those out when I went around drumming up work. Last bunch I really liked, so did my customers. To show how well they worked...I went into office of a client and the secretary was like...Oh great, your here! We were trying to call you but forgot the name of your company, couldn't find the number. I told her...Its on your pen. She looked down and gave a loud Oh Sh$t and started laughing. Her boss comes out to see whats up, see's me says good your here, she grabs him N says the pens they have been fighting over...They are his, we had his name and number in our hands all along.
So my point, even something customers really like with your info...it easily gets lost in plain site.

Your chances of a customer getting your flyer, and giving you business is like 1 in 1,000. But printing this stuff is so cheap now, that the hope is that the business that one customer gives you pays for all the flyers. But that's a lot of work for a small shop to pack up 1,000 flyers and address them!

I moved into a larger building about a year ago, increased my capacity by quite a bit and was looking to increase sales. I tried the flyer route, made a custom catalog with nice pictures, and the applications of the product, etc. Then I researched 100 companies that would and were currently using this type of product. I made a nice note on heavy card stock, signed it at the bottom, and included a coupon. Mailed them out and literally got nothing. The coupon code was specific so I would have known if someone used it. This was about 6 months ago. Funny thing is I know of at least 3-4 of these companies that have contacted me since, but started their email as something like "I found you on Google" or something like that. Not one mentioned the flyer.

I still have the catalogs and flyers and I include them with product that's sold in hope for return business. I also hand them out to anyone who comes in the shop. But I won't ever mail them out again. Just a waste of money and time in my experience.

Show up with a box of doughnuts and they'll never forget you.

1 - Recognition/Presence - something persistent that's frequently around so that your name is imprinted or always in the subconscious.
Calendar. Currently I have a 3 calendars up. One's IMTS because it has neat pictures. The other is Harcourt because I like the layout for long term planning. The other is Superior Die Set because of layout. They're always there. I promote Superior whenever we want to source large plate burnouts to come in already-ground. There's probably others we could use. Superior has worked and they're always on my mind when we're planning projects, though. I'd have to pause for a couple seconds before coming up with anyone else to give an RFQ.

Notepads. Maybe it's my engineering background but I almost exclusively prefer grid-paper / calc-pad paper pads. I have some from Hartwig, QTE, and our Solidworks reseller (one seat) though we are primarily an NX shop. I also have a couple 3d printed gizmos from them which are actually useful (big paper clips)

Most of all, Keyence. I hated the first sales guy that came out. But he gave me a folio that I use when going to customer/vendor sites/meetings which has pockets for business cards (mine) and a calc pad. As soon as I can find a sticker with our own logo on it, it's getting slapped over the Keyence logo, but I'll still always know where it came from.

2 - Content/Justification - Website for detailed info and interest - something they can peak at on their own time.
Recognition isn't effective unless there's something worth talking about. I just talked about Keyence but never mentioned their products because the sales dude was an overbearing tool. That's the content they left me with. I got a couple one-page things about the machines I was demo'ing but they're about useless as far as technical info specificity goes.

Websites. Have a list of your capabilities. Better yet, list every machine in your shop. People like me will look at that and make judgments about your shop, and have an idea of what kind of work is worth sending. I'd never assume that's /all/ you have, because we all know websites sometimes go out-of-date for a couple years before someone thinks to update them. It's always worth a call to ask "Hey, you guys have a machine that'll fit a part... yay-big" but yea. Show what you do, what you do it with, and whatever blurbs you need. It doesn't have to be fancy. Using a very minimal Wordpress site would honestly take small time guys real far. What's the hosting and domain fees going to run? $150/yr tops?

Then again, one machinery dealer in the area hands out can coozies with their logo. I see them in guys' toolboxes and have one on my desk right now.

What's on -your- desk that you use all the time? Me? I certainly don't have any brochures, pamphlets, or fliers. I have business cards of people worth remembering, calendars, and calc/note pads, though.

Guys in the shop are always asking for some of the Ford Tool Steel note pads. They're small enough to fit in the Machinerys Handbook drawer of a toolbox, but they're big enough to jot down tool offsets and things like that.

Oh, btw, ancillary point regarding listing machinery and capabilities on a website.

That's how I job-shopped when I moved across the country to a specific area. I looked up shops in the area and what type of work they did, and what machinery they had to work with. Then I sent resumes with cover letters tailored to them. I wanted to work for a shop that did certain types of work with opportunities to learn certain things. Shopping for a job isn't much different than shopping for a supplier.

I'm a small shop owner. I run a pretty narrow scope of capabilities, and generally sell to the end consumer in one industry, but do rely on outside shops for quite a few processes (I'm your customer, not your competitor, in a nutshell).

I'm also a younger guy. To me, if you don't have a findable website, you don't exist. I know of most of the shops in my (6 square mile) town, but don't necessarily know the shops in a town 10 or 20 minutes away.

If I need any sort of product or service, the first thing I do is whip out my smartphone and google it. If you aren't there, how am I going to find you?

I'm not sure about Facebook and Instagram for a job shop. Those are probably more reserved for the end purchaser of a product - it's really more to trigger impulse buys, show people what can be done, etc. I know what can be done with a waterjet or laser cutter - it's the finding one when I need one that's the issue.

Build a website. List your equipment and capabilities. Some pictures of items you've done help, but the main thing is putting your phone number where I can find it. The generation that is coming into the workforce now has grown up using a computer or phone for absolutely everything. You need to be there.

Buy a domain name through Godaddy. Usually under $15 per year. Set your own site up through Weebly or Wix. Hosting is free for the most part, unless you want add ons. Research a little SEO. If you don't have a million competitors with websites, it won't take too much to end up on the first page.

Different business but T.I.E. got a sale out of me for a 12" ruler they shipped with an order. It had been years since I needed a circuit board repair and no way did it want to dig through years and years of receipts that were sealed in large envelopes. I had kept that ruler in the office desk and used it from time to time. I would suggest along with a business card and line card or pamphlet give them something useful they will keep. Coffee cups are handy other than the one I drink out of I have 5 of them scattered about the house, shop and stock shed to hold pens.

A monthly (or more frequently)post card with something simple and quick to understand, consistency is the key. Keep the mailing going when you are even busy. Always let them know that you're the lowest price shop around (even if you're not). People (and buyers too )want lower pricing so they might just give you a chance. Don't worry about facilities lists etc.. Make them call you to find out. Most buyers don't know a mill from a lathe let alone travels, speeds etc. What you want to do is get your phone to ring and/or the RFQ's coming.

BTW, use a mailing service. It's cheap and you don't have to bother with it.

Back when I was making gun parts/tools on the side and selling online, I set a site up through Weebly. It didn't cost much at all to get my domain and set up a reasonably professional (nothing impressive) and functional site that was tied directly to a paypal account. I'd get a email/text when an order was placed and fill it that night when I got home. Anyways, that's beside the point. I think it was under $100 when everything was said and done, and I kept that going for a few years before I got too busy to keep it going. Now I just sell the remaining little bit of inventory when I get an email from previous customers wanting more.

That website was the meat to our relationship, though. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't have been able to get the product moving. More importantly, it gave an easy to spread (the address) word-of-mouth function, which is where most of my growth came from.

These days, I only hear how "bad" it is to rely on paper anything (remember the yellow pages?) to get your name out there. I would offer you this: make it as easy as possible to sell through your website! If you are proud of your products and prices, post a few out there with what you charged the customer (get their permission first). Set up a RFQ submittal that ensures you get the info you need to quote the part. The trick here is to not make it TOO easy (but not too difficult either); if someone takes the time to fill out a form and submit it, then that's at least "nibble nibble ..." and then hopefully soon "Fish on!". The tactic there is a bit of the Sandler Sales process which is to get to "no" as quickly as possible so that you can spend your time on the next potential client.

I also think that, these days, websites are a lot about content. Post a links section that might be useful. Post a section on simple recommendations on how to get our parts as economically as possible (or maybe things NOT to do). Think of it this way: you are not so much trying to get them on the first visit (great if you can), but you want them to remember you, maybe come back for something else and eventually hit you up for a quote.

I do think for certain industries it makes sense to show a presence and do the donuts or pen thing and maybe a brochure but the latter is so easily tossed.

Good luck,
The Dude

Something I recently got from Haimer, a pen with an led light at the tip. FANTASTIC! I show anyone and everyone (that will listen) how cool my pen is. AND they ask "where did you get it?" I tell them Haimer, you know, the shrink fit guys. That sales rep probably has leads from me ...indirectly anyhow. We did buy the machine and the bench, with extra adapters and stuff. Not saying you should give out a high quality pen to every single person you see, but the "solid leads" is probably worth a little extra with your name on it.

4imprint Sample - Lumina Stylus Pen with Flashlight

Make your business card in the form of a coupon good for a burger and fries at a local McDonalds.

Jeez Bruce, the object is to develop business for himself, not business for the undertaker

I've done quite a lot of cold-calling over the past year, and I don't think anything that I've left for someone has been worth a damn. If you get face time with a person, I think it's worth leaving something with the person.

Chances are, it's probably going to end up in the trash, but face time is the #1 goal. And then you have to figure out how to get face time #2. I think that one's even more difficult. (If they know who you are, they know who to ignore!)

(Or maybe I'm just no good at sales...?)


I've thought about having my business card laser engraved on stainless shim stock? Or maybe doing a run of plastic calipers - turns out, it's pretty cheap. https://www.inkhead.com/precision-p...yE7Suqc5nWu5e8rXNwAiIgIr7VUuraQzWoaArMw8P8HAQ In the past, I made a few "billet" aluminum business card holders for a demo - those would be fairly inexpensive to hand out to someone you got facetime with.

Just some ideas.

Fish On said:

Buy a domain name through Godaddy.

Click to expand...

I have a domain from GoDaddy and can't recommend them. They keep raising the price way too much. I'm considering not renewing it next time and waiting for it to "run out". It should be useless enough for everyone else. Then I can get it from somewhere else. Or maybe just change the website address since 99% of my work is word of mouth anyway.