Text a Paperless Leave Behind to Customers During Sales Calls to Increase Customer Engagement

Traditionally, when a sales rep is having a conversation with a customer, such as a pharmaceutical rep with a doctor, the rep has a bunch of printed marketing materials that she can leave with the customer after that conversation. Reps use this collateral, also known as a “leave behind,” so that the customer can continue to consume information after the sales meeting.  But are those printed flyers or leaflets still effective in a digital era? Or when sales conversations take place over the phone or video chat rather than in person? The rise of mobile technology has ushered in new types of paperless leave behinds that deepen customer engagement through different types of media, all accessible from a smartphone. Not sure how to evolve your leave behinds beyond brochures and company-branded pens? Here’s an overview of how texting a paperless leave behind can help you in your next sales conversation.

Why You Should Go Paperless

Although the information in a paperless leave behind may be useful to the customer, there are a number of drawbacks to using print materials rather than digital. For example, the paper isn’t trackable, so sales reps or marketers won’t easily know what information was most helpful for the customer. In addition, the paper is expensive and time-consuming to print. Moreover, the paper is not only bulky to carry and sort through for the rep but also bulky to store for the customer – and almost always gets thrown away.

By texting digital or “paperless” materials to customers at the moment, all of the above issues go away. Continuing with the pharmaceutical example, it can be helpful when sales reps text doctors information after leaving the meeting rather than dropping off a series of brochures. A paperless leave behind has the benefits of being trackable, cost-effective, and easy to access. With paperless leave behinds, sales reps will have nothing to carry since the sales collateral lives in the cloud and can be put right on the customer’s mobile device. The sales rep can text message the customer a link to a hosted file with paperless sales collateral. No more bulky paper to keep around the office! If you go paperless, you can also text these materials after a phone call or video conference. This means that in-person meetings are not the only situation for a leave behind.

Examples of Paperless Sales Collateral

Going digital means you can use different types of media, rather than just print, when you leave something behind for a customer. Your paperless sales collateral may include:

• Links to demo videos
• Case studies or whitepapers
• Links to the relevant company or industry news
• Interactive media, such as customer surveys
• Links to your company’s social media platforms
• Links to your company website
• Sales proposals and projected costs
• “About Us” web brochures and FAQs

Compared to print materials, a paperless leave behind offers more opportunities for dialogue and engagement with prospective clients after a sales call. Another benefit is that paperless leave behinds can be “living” documents, with interactive features, hyperlinks, and more than your company can update as needed.

Best Practices For Your Paperless Leave Behind

Paperless sales collateral is often used for two main reasons. The first is to provide greater depth to everything you covered in your meeting or sales call. The second is to offer a high-level summary with bullet points, especially for time-crunched executives. Regardless of the purpose, your digital leave behind will serve, these tips should always be top of mind:

• Pay attention to the design details. For example, use infographics to communicate a lot of information in a small space. You should also incorporate images, and ensure that the design aesthetic is in line with your overall brand.
• Use stats, reviews, and testimonials as persuasive tools. Research shows time and time again that customer reviews and testimonials increase sales in both the B2C and B2B space. One such study concluded that reviews influence buying decisions for 97% of shoppers.
• When possible, personalize content with the prospect’s name, company, and needs. This is far easier to do when you leave something behind digitally, rather than through print materials that are ordered in bulk and have fewer customization options.

Most importantly, analyze the metrics (opens, clicks, video plays, etc.) to see what is resonating most with customers. Refine your leave behind strategy accordingly.

Leave Something Behind Using OnSpot Social

Digital platforms make it easier than ever to curate and send a paperless leave behind via text message. For example, OnSpot Social is an all-in-one sales tool for texting. With the click of a button, you can enter the customer’s phone number, select the sales collateral you want from the cloud, and instantly send a paperless leave behind. While print leave behinds can be somewhat effective with a sales meeting, a paperless leave behind can be used effectively at an in-person meeting or a sales call, or to monetize a trade show event. Since OnSpot Social integrates with other communication platforms such as MailChimp, you can use multiple marketing channels to further engage with your leads.

Ready to go paperless and revolutionize your sales strategy? Give us a call today.