Traditional marketing tools like business cards and brochures are not enough to get you noticed in today’s noisy world. If you want to stand out in the crowd I recommend creating what I call a Benefits Flyer™.
What’s a Benefits Flyer™ you ask?
It is a flyer that lists the benefits & solutions your products & services provide.
Instead of telling people your “title” and handing them your business card or brochure (which by the way most people don’t care about – unlike Corporate America where titles are everything), share the benefits and solutions you provide.
So many people do not know what a Virtual Assistant is or they think that all Virtual Assistants are administrative assistants. As you know, Virtual Assistant is a very broad term. It can be someone who answers phones to someone who does programming.
I have used a Benefits Flyer™ for years when going to networking events. It grabs your audience’s attention by focusing on what you can do for them instead of who you are. You can also use it as a conversation starter or as part of your Elevator Speech.
Even if you do not speak directly with everyone who grabs your Benefits Flyer™ it still stands out! Most people take all of the business cards they accumulated back to their office and put them in a nice little stack to either follow up with later or add to their CRM. Well think about this, your Benefits Flyer™ is not the size of a normal business card so it won’t fit into a nice neat stack. Which means they will probably pull it out and look at it!
Get started on creating and using your Benefits Flyer™.
Create your Benefits Flyer™:
- Start by doing a brain dump of all the benefits & solutions your products & services provide your Target Market. For example:
- Save Time
- Save Money
- Earn More
- Peace of Mind
- More Freedom
- Business Growth
- Create 3 – 5 bullet statements using the benefits or solutions from your brain dump. Remember, look at it from your client’s perspective – “what can you do for me?“
- Create a flyer in Word, PowerPoint, Publisher or any other tool you have.
- I usually create my flyers using 4x6 or 5x7 for the paper size.
- Pick what you like – remember you want it to be bigger than a business card.
- Add your Logo and contact information.
- Use either a phone number or email address.
- Print them. I would not do more than 20 at a time. This way you can test them to be sure they are working.
- Print them yourself or have them professionally printed.
- Put them everywhere!
- Your car
- Your briefcase
- Your purse
- Update as needed!
Using your Benefits Flyer™
- Take them everywhere with you!
- If you are out running errands, feel free to stop by local businesses and introduce yourself and leave your Benefits Flyer™. I would stop by the local businesses in the strip mall where I did my grocery shopping and leave my flyer. I even landed a couple of clients!
- Use them instead of business cards at any live events.
- Use them as a conversation starter. Instead of saying, “Hi I’m Susan Mershon and I’m a Virtual Assistant” (which normally loses people), use one of the bullets from your Benefits Flyer™. For example, “Hi I’m Susan Mershon and I save health coaches time & money by managing their social media needs.” Trust me, now you will have their attention.
- Get out there and share your expertise!
Here are a few example Benefits Flyers™ that my wonderful clients agreed to share. Click the link below to download.
I’ve also created a checklist that you can download here to help you get started.
Are you using a Benefits Flyer™ or something similar? How is it working?
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts, please take a moment to leave me a comment.
Thanks for reading,
Hi, I love the idea of a benefits flyer.
I can’t seem to see the samples, the links take me to the home page?
Hi Hazel, sorry about that. I’ve updated the links so they work now. Let me know what you think.
Great, practical and ‘why did I NOT think of that’ advice. I need to get enough money together so that I can sign up for one of your on-line courses. You will be hearing from me soon…. take care…
Awesome Donna, thank you for the response. Can’t wait to see you in one of my programs.
Hi Susan:
I tried to click on the 2 samples of Flyers and it keeps taking me back to your main page. Are they no longer posted?
Thanks, Yvonne~
Hi Yvonne, sorry about that – I’ve updated the links and they’re working now. Let me know what you think.
I love this idea! I am going to my first networking event later this month and can’t wait to try it. Thank you Susan!
Thank you Christy – let me know how it goes!
What a great idea! I’ve used what I call my “One Sheet” that includes my services and expertise on an 8 1/2 x 11 printed flyer. However, I really like this benefits flyer idea. Thanks for sharing Susan!
Thank you Kim for posting. I love my Benefits Flyer and use it for all my local networking events.
As an emerging Virtual Assistance provider, I find this information highly useful. This will now become part of my marketing implantation plan. Thanks a lot!
Thank you Camille. I’m glad you found it useful and congrats on your emerging business.
Excellent tips Susan. I’ve definitely kept the larger ‘business cards’ aside. It works. I agree, tell them HOW you will help them. Let them know the How and Why (you).
Thank you Jen 😉
I love the benefits flyer. Great tip. It’s a great way to convey much more information than a business card ever could! Thanks!
Thank you Marla – I found it much easier to connect with potential clients than a regular old business cards 😉