The Birth Of A Brochure
By Gary Zandstra

The story goes like this:

A young company (two years in operation) is going after a large church project. The project consultant, however, wouldn't put said young company on the bid list. Stated reason? Company is simply too "young," lacking experience.

The young company could have waited around to hit that magic "five years in business" point. But the sales and marketing manager got to thinking... His company wasn't devoid of the most important experience; that is, a veteran staff that had worked with virtually every type of A/V project and problem under the sun. Total cummulative sound contracting and relevant business experience of this staff: More than 100 years!

Thus the following brochure was born.

Subtle, no? Well, no!! I believe you can definitely see what the sales and marketing manager was getting at here... Note that this was printed in black & white, on good quality paper, at the local Kinko's. Total work time was eight hours, printing cost for 500 quantity was less than $200.

Did it work? Yes - as a matter of fact, even better than the company could have imagined, and it became a staple of every proposal.

Locally, the brochure helped the company nullify the efforts of competitors, one in particular who constantly touted their 35 years in business. The paradigm of the question was shifted; in other words, just because a business has been around for a while doesn't mean they're always supplying the most experienced professionals.

The concerns of most architects and consultants were also negated. In fact, within the following year, one of the consultants who had earlier expressed age and experience concerns began to include the young company on their bid lists for projects, some of which the young company were subsequently awarded.

In case you haven't figured it out, my firm, Integrated Media Group, put this brochure together almost three years ago. We've just passed the magic five-year mark, but in that interim period, the brochure proved essential in helping us land certain projects where we wouldn't have even been considered without it. This was true both locally and on national projects.

It comes down to perseverance, to keep trying until something works. Yes, it was frustrating that we weren't on a lot of "short lists" due to the experience factor.

Putting myself in the shoes of our constituents, however, I could understand their point of view. And by looking at the problem from their point of view, we were able to logically devise a solution that worked. It's just business, where everyone is looking to do his/her best with the information at hand.

Thus the moral of this story: It's crucial to have the most information possible, and to share that information in the most effective and creative manner possible.

Gary Zandstra is head of A/V Systems development for Parkway Group of Holland, MI and can be reached at garyz@prosoundweb.com.