An old Chinese proverb states, “To hear is to forget; to see is to remember.”  Professional remodelers who take this proverb to heart have learned that it’s true.  Visual sales tools can be invaluable in convincing prospects that their remodeling company is the best for the job.  People learn in three ways:  visually, verbally, and kinesthetically (through touch).

The best salespeople have learned to combine all three teaching methods into their presentations.  The prospect remembers more about your company when these techniques are used, and they find the information more believable.   No matter how long you’ve been in business, you won’t make the same professional experienced impression if you don’t use sales tools to reinforce the message you’re trying to communicate.

Sales tools give the verbal message testimonial strength.  Someone once said, “If you say something about your company, it’s a claim.  But if someone else says it, it’s a fact.”  A prospective client is more likely to believe hard, physical evidence than just a verbal statement.  In fact, many people are extremely skeptical of anything a salesperson says, but more easily believe information presented in other ways.

Your company presentation book is the best way to make the intangible features of your company — excellent service, quality workmanship, etc. — into tangible sales points. No remodeling salesperson should be without one.  One remodeler told me that his sales success increased 75% by the addition of a comprehensive presentation book.  It’s a physical representation of your company as it contains the evidence of the company’s qualifications and demonstrates the qualities that set your company apart.  Include items such as:  license, insurance forms, association affiliations, newspaper articles in which you’re featured, suppliers and subcontractors, awards that have been won, before and after photos (some remodelers include the price range which helps to educate the prospects on realistic pricing), and testimonial letters from clients.  Not every prospect will want to see everything that’s in your book.  In fact, most will be interested in only one or two areas.  But even if you use only a small section of the book for any one meeting, you’ll know that you can answer many questions that might come up with the information it contains.

It can also make a presentation easier.  After you give the same presentation over and over, it’s not hard to get bored and begin skipping around, forgetting to mention important facts — in other words, forgetting your system.  But this practice can be the undoing of an otherwise successful sales call.  You can never be too sure on which detail the prospect might base a decision.  The book forces you to go through the presentation consistently and to include all of the pertinent data that support your claims of excellence and know-how.

Because the book is ‘the company in brief,’ the quality of the presentation book is unconsciously transferred to your company itself.  Invest in creating a dynamite appearance.  If you want to present an excellent, high-quality image, the presentation book should be created to support it.