And it may give you an advantage over competitors who don’t use brochures.

Printing technology has made big advancements in last decade, including high speed, high-resolution color photocopiers and laser printers.

This has reduced need for using printing presses and allows you to print small quantities with less expense. If you’re printing only a few hundred brochures, this is way to go.

If you’re printing in thousands, you may find it more economical to use a printing press. Your per unit cost can drop significantly.

But print production, especially involving color, is a complex subject and ignorance can be costly.

“The most important thing a business person should do is ask a lot of questions,” says Phil Lewis of Vancouver’s Generation Printing.

“Many small businesses try to design their own brochures without consulting with a printer or graphic designer. They don’t understand that what you see on your computer screen isn’t necessarily what’s going to be printed. Inevitably, we end up having to fix many of customer’s mistakes and charging for it. If they had consulted us before they started designing, we could’ve saved them time and money.”

With thirty years experience as a prepress production specialist and sales rep, Lewis has these suggestions when creating a brochure:

>Hire a graphic designer. It’ll cost you more up front, but it’ll give your brochure a more professional look and that gives your customers’ confidence. Shop around. Contact at least three designers and ask to see samples of their work. Get quotes and compare. >Know your market. Would a glossy, color brochure make that much difference to your target market? If you’re selling financial services to wealthy investors, then appearance counts. But for most small businesses, it’s not worth extra cost.

>If you can’t afford to hire a designer and are creating brochure yourself, ask questions before you prepare a computer file for printing. Does printer want source file or a portable document file (pdf)? Do you need to include fonts and linked graphics? If you’re going to create a pdf, be clear what options printer wants you to select before creating it.

Yes, I did pick up asking general sales techniques like neverasking close-ended ("yes" or "no" answers) questions. Also, it still works to ask multiple choice assumptive questions like "Would Tuesday at 6 p.m. or Thursday at 3 p.m. work better for you?". The basics were not enough.

When I first began asking sellers what their loan balance was, I may have actually received a number for an answer 50% of time. I had two major obstacles facing me.

First, my belief system was cock-eyed in that having come from a financial/accountant type background, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that no one would ever just give me their house and that only a complete fool would tell me balance remaining on their loan.

Second, I didn't have a clue as to right way to ask and I can tell you from experience that it matters greatly.

The first obstacle, belief system, was easily overcome after I met my first truly motivated seller. Okay, beliefs systems are trashed and I must be complete fool because that was way too easy.

The second obstacle, phraseology/negotiating, is no longer an obstacle, per se, but it is still a skill that I continually try to improve upon. The two key components, assuming you have already properly established good rapport, are timing and phrases you use.

Here are some quick examples of how NOT to ask a seller what loan balance is:

 What do you owe?  Are you willing to sell it for what you owe?  How much equity would you say you have?  etc., etc.

Now, don't get me wrong. If you use these phrases and similar ones enough times and with enough confidence, you will be able to get a numerical answer on occasion (as opposed to some of not so friendly responses I received early on).

Contrast above phrases to these:

 How much is left on loan?  So, property's not owned free and clear?  etc., etc.

The first set of questions personalizes issue and attaches debt, and thus problem, with seller. The second set of questions creates detachment and since it's no longer "their debt" or "their problem" or "what they owe", it's just simply a number and not a problem to share.