January 19, 2010, 12:30 PM — Last time we mentioned printing with reduced margins for internal use, with a warning not to cut corners on materials for clients. Save a penny, lose a project? Not a good idea. Today let's talk about leveraging the tactile lure of high quality paper to reel in business.
Business today runs on e-mail and other electronic means. A huge percentage of businesspeople, however, still yearn for traditional communications, especially those people over 40. Since most executives tend to be over 40, and most big deals are signed by executives, stroking their nostalgia will set you apart in today's pixel-not-paper business world.
Check with your paper supplier to get a ream or two of high quality paper, or go all out and get real stationery with a pre-printed logo. Heck, get your logo embossed on this nice paper. Use stationery for thank you letters and cover sheets on proposals. Use quality paper for the proposal body. When you hand a proposal like this to a future client, you can see in their face the impact of real paper and the tactile response it elicits. Every prospect over 40 will ooh and ahh over the paper, I promise.
To really seal the deal, sign with a fountain pen, not the 17 cent Bic laying on your desk. Don't have a fountain pen? Shame on you. Tell Norm at HisNibs I sent you – he has the best pen selection and deals on the Internet, bar none.
Do these presentation tips sound old fashioned? Yes, on purpose. But it's not a technophobic old fashioned, but a welcome personal touch on paper in an impersonal e-mail world. Your proposal, on high rag content paper, will stand out above every other proposal, and move closer to acceptance every time the client touches the paper.
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