First, remember that your brochure serves as an introduction to your prospect. Typically most brochures are NOT a final sales tool.

Instead, it's important to realize that most prospects feel hesitant to make an outright purchase based on written material alone. So asking them to read your brochure is the first small step you ask them to take. That's why your brochure must give enough information to convince your prospects they're ready to take the next step.

The next step usually means asking them to call or e-mail you or stop by your business to learn more. In other words, your brochure should help to create a sense of trust between you and your buyer so they contact you and give you the opportunity to finalize the sales process.

How do you know if your brochure is succeeding? Ask yourself, or better yet, ask several honest acquaintances, customers, prospects or a marketing expert to test your brochure with the following questions:

1. Does your brochure lend a sense of credibility thanks to its professional design, copy and production? If your brochure looks like you printed it off of a bad printer or if you lack design, layout or copywriting skills, and your brochure doesn't look professional, people will lack confidence in your products and services...and they're unlikely to take that next critical step of contacting you. 2. Does your brochure answer all of your prospect's questions? If not, what's lacking? If your brochure testers still have questions about your products or services, that's not the end of the world as long as they feel ready to call and get the answers. If they feel too much information is lacking and they wouldn't call, you need to include more information in your brochure. 3. Are the benefits of your products/services clearly stated and supported with testimonials? Every bit of your copy should make your prospect feel like you're talking directly to them. First, explain your product in terms of the problems they are facing. Next, give them the answer or benefits your product or service provides to handle their problem. There is no product or service I can think of that does not solve a problem for a prospect, so make every bit of your copy focus on the problems and benefits you offer from your prospect's point of view. 4. Does your cover headline clearly sell your product/service and catch the reader's attention? The simplest and most effective way to grab your prospect's attention is to ask a question that identifies a problem or to mention an exciting benefit of what you offer. The goal of your headline is to get the prospect to continue reading your brochure, so use lots of headlines throughout your brochure to make sure every prospect sees something in your brochure that gets them to start reading. 5. Do you tell prospects enough about your company to begin building a relationship? Since you're building trust between your company and your prospect, you need to tell them something about yourself that convinces them you're the expert, are a trustworthy company, and that you've truly got the answers to their problem. 6. Is it easy to find contact information in your brochure? On each page of your brochure, make sure to provide your phone number, e-mail, web site, and location info in a prominent, easy-to-find place. If your brochure testers have to search for this information, move it to a place where they see it immediately. Imagine a prospect who is ready to call, but can't quickly figure out how to call you, so they put down the brochure in frustration, and never return to make that call. That's a lost sale, and it happens when companies don't make their contact information obvious. 7. Does your brochure contain a strong call to action? Prospects like to know you want their business, so tell them what they need to do next. That means clearly asking them to call, e-mail you, stop by, or request more information by visiting your website, etc. 8. Have you given the reader a reason to keep the brochure even if they're not interested in your service right now? If you think prospects may not immediately need what you're selling, make sure you give them a reason to keep your brochure. For instance, check printing companies stay in front of their audiences by putting a recipe on the back of the order form. That's because they know their customers are usually women, and they are likely to keep the recipe...and thus the order form!

Put these eight tested and proven ideas to work in your brochure, and you can be sure you'll get more prospects calling about your products and services. And that means you have the chance to turn those prospects into paying customers, the real goal of a carefully-designed brochure.

Nancy J. Wagner of Cut to the Chase Marketing is a speaker, writer, and marketing expert who helps small businesses across the country create marketing materials (such as brochures and postcards) and websites that increase their sales. Download her free 9-step marketing plan at http://www.CutToTheChaseMarketing.com.