Does your exhibitor prospectus need an update? Media sales trainer Helen Berman suggests you ask yourself these questions to see if your brochure is hitting the mark.

DOES IT SELL? A fact-based kit filled with a laundry lists of rates, booth sizes and other exhibiting companies performs only half the job. Prospectuses must be benefit-based, with every fact, figure and description couched in terms of sales. Pretend you’re a prospect checking out your brochure for the first time. Ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” If the answer isn’t obvious on every page, your kit isn’t selling.

DOES IT TELL A STORY? Ask any teacher: Nobody truly learns by memorizing a list. For real learning to take place, people need to hear facts in the context of who did what, when, where and why. Naturally, the same applies to exhibitors examining your prospectus. Tempting as it is to “let the facts speak for themselves,” the truth is that nobody will read your material — much less want to buy from it — unless they find your “story” compelling.

DOES IT ANSWER OBJECTIONS? If exhibitors have never exhibited with you, most will have serious reservations about why they should be shifting their limited marketing funds into your show. To head off doubts, make sure your prospectus addresses such specific concerns as return on investment, attendance marketing plans and anything that might keep a prospect up at night. The more objections you head off in advance, the fewer you’ll have to contend with during the sales meeting.

DOES IT HAVE COMPELLING VISUALS? Don’t just worry about a pleasing design or beautiful photographs, although those are naturally important. But look at your charts and graphs. Do they make it easy for exhibitors to grasp the benefits — not just the facts — of your show?

IS IT COMPLETE? Leaving certain items out of your prospectus — attendee demographics and your marketing plan — can be like leaving the garlic out of your spaghetti sauce. Naturally, you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with too much, but — whether we’re talking exhibitor sales kits or spaghetti sauce — it’s important to create as rich and meaty a package as possible. It’s also important to make sure each ingredient blends well with others in design, in tone and, most importantly, in sales message.

Helen Berman, President of the Helen Berman Corp., is a booth sales trainer and author with 30 years of experience in training media and booth sales personnel. She can be reached at www.helenberman.com.