Yes, white papers are an effective way to generate leads with
business buyers. But the tricky part is getting your white paper
into the hands of those buyers in the first place.
The best place to start is the topic and title of your white
paper. You need a relevant topic and you need a compelling
title. A poor topic with a great title will perform just as
poorly as a great topic with a poor title.
How to choose your white paper topic
My thanks go to Paul DiModica, President of Digital Hatch, an IT
sales and marketing consultancy, for his insights in this area.
When Paul sits down to create a white paper aimed at management
prospects, he picks a topic that answers the most common sales
objections that sales people hear.
Here's what he does. He gets together with the sales people who
move the product or service he is promoting. He asks them to
list the top 20 sales objections that they hear from management
prospects. Then he writes white papers to answer these
objections, one white paper for each objection, being sure to
keep the discussion in each one objective and free from
self-promotion.
The secret to a successful white paper, says DiModica, is to
address the one reason that management is reluctant to buy,
while avoiding any mention of features and benefits offered by
what you are selling.
How to name your white paper
DiModica has a unique way of titling his white papers, too. In
every white paper title he tries to put the following:
1. the sales objection raised by management
2. the job title of the management prospect who raises that
objection
3. the industry of that management prospect
Here is an example of how this works:
Industry: Restaurants
Product: Automated time and attendance system
Buyer title: Payroll manager
Sales objection: Can't afford it
White paper title: How Restaurant Payroll Managers are
Recovering their Investment in Automated Time and Attendance
Systems Within Months.
DiModica says this method works because prospects see their job
title, industry and sales objection in the title of the white
paper, and are thus more inclined to read it than they are to
read a product brochure. Managers pass white papers along to
their peers. But they file unsolicited product brochures in "the
file that is emptied daily," says DiModica.
If you'd like to learn more about Paul DiModica's innovative
approach, read his excellent book, How to Sell to
Management.
And if you need help crafting that white paper, or the sales
letter that offers it to your business prospects, give me a
call. My number is 1 877 SHARPE COPY (742-7732).
© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and
in print provided the links remain live and the content remains
unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).
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