There are many different ways to market your business. One of the most effective is to use White Papers.

What is a white paper? A white paper is a story which educates your customer and shows how your product can solve their problems.

To be effective a white paper must provide information as well as a sales argument. Emphasis should be on the teaching aspect over the sales process.

To do this you should concentrate on writing your white paper in plain English, not in industry jargon. Dont confuse your customers!

Heres a simple structure to follow.

Introduction: A brief introduction tells your reader what the white paper will do for them. What it is about, but not the whole story. Dont give everything away right away; give them a reason to read the entire white paper.

Define The Problem: This is where you show your reader that you understand the problem they are attempting to solve. State the problem in simple easy to understand language.

Product Description: A thorough understanding of how the product works is necessary to write this section. Describe how the product works and what it does, but not how it solves the customers problem. Your goal in this section is education, not sales.

Problem Resolution: In this section you get to explain to your customer how your product solves their problem. Factual evidence such as case studies or survey results can be used to support your claims.

Like the master fiction writer, you should show rather than tell. Show them how others have used your product to solve similar problems.

Help your customer draw the conclusion that your product is the best solution for their problem.

Conclusion: When a sales professional comes to the closing part of his presentation he will make a statement or request, then stop. He will wait until you respond. This is a powerful method of closing, because the sales professional knows whoever speaks first buys.

Restate your argument that your product is the best solution to your customers problem; keep it short and to the point.

White papers are a great way to educate your customers about how your product can help solve their problems. They give you a way to break through the usual marketing hype by educating instead of just selling.

Rick Parrott

Rick Parrott is a Microsoft Certified Professional, and a COMPTIA A+ and Network + Certified Professional with over ten years of Information Technology experience.

Working for several large American insurance corporations and the US Government has given him the opportunity to learn from the best.

Besides working in the Information Technology field, he has taught for vocational schools and the City of San Antonio Adult Literacy program as a network/computer instructor.

Prior to entering the computer field Rick Parrott managed businesses that grossed almost a million dollars a year.

Rick Parrott graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1994, the same year he left the US Air Force for the civilian sector.

During his Air Force service he worked on C-130 aircraft as a Hydraulic Mechanic and for seven years as an Air Traffic Controller.

Rick Parrott is currently married and lives in San Antonio Texas.