The short version

• A sell sheet is a one-page document covering the most important details about your product, service or company.

• Start with the reader and the next step you want them to take, then write the headline around their problem.

• Keep one message per page, with three to five benefits and proof placed next to the claims it supports.

• Build it from a template so the logo, fonts and colours stay consistent when different people edit it.

• Name one owner, because a sell sheet without an owner turns into three versions that disagree with each other.

Ask three people on a sales team for the company one-pager and you'll get three different files. One has last year's logo, one lists a service you stopped offering, and one has a phone number nobody answers.

This happens a lot at growing B2B companies, where marketing gets done off the side of someone's desk. The steps below fix that.

What is a sell sheet?

A sell sheet, sometimes called a sales sheet, is a one-page document that covers the most important details about what you sell. Sales teams hand it out at events, attach it to emails and leave it behind after meetings. Marketing teams use a few similar terms, and they are easy to mix up:

• Sell sheet: one page that sells the outcome to a buyer.

• Cut sheet: technical details such as specs, dimensions and performance.

• Line card: a summary of everything your company offers.

• Brochure: several pages with room for a longer story.

How do you make a B2B sell sheet?

Step 1: Pick the reader and the next step

To start a sell sheet, write down who it is for and what you want them to do after reading it. A facilities manager and a CFO care about different things, and a buyer at a trade show needs something different from a buyer reading a follow-up email. If you need a version for each role, make one for each role.

Step 2: Open with the buyer's problem

A good headline names the problem you solve or the result you deliver, in words your buyer would use. Your product name can sit underneath it. Put the features lower down as proof of how you get the result.

Skip words like "cutting-edge" and "industry-leading." Every competitor uses them, so they tell the reader nothing about you.

Step 3: Keep it to one message

A page that works has a headline, two or three sentences of intro, three to five benefits, some proof and one call to action. If you catch yourself squeezing in a second offer, make a second sheet. Leave space around each block so the reader can find the next one.

Step 4: Put the proof next to the claim

If you say you cut delays, place the number, a short quote from a named customer, or a client logo you have permission to use right beside it. Proof at the bottom of the page does less than proof sitting next to the claim it backs up.

Step 5: Build it from a template

Set the logo, fonts, and colors once, then let the team edit the words and leave the design alone so it doesn't end up looking like three different companies. Keep the logo visible but smaller than the headline. Use real photos of your people and your work, because a handshake stock photo tells the reader nothing.

Step 6: Give one specific next step

A call to action like "Learn more" doesn't tell anyone what happens next. "Book a 30-minute call" or "Request a quote" does. Put it near the bottom in a colour the rest of the page doesn't use, with a phone number, an email and a link or QR code underneath.

Step 7: Export a print version and a screen version

For print, use images at 300 DPI, CMYK colour and at least an eighth of an inch of bleed. Order a printed proof before a big run, since colours shift between screen and paper.

For screen, use RGB colour and keep the file small enough to email, around 3 MB. Link the logo, website and call to action, use selectable text so screen readers can read it, and check the file on a phone. Name the files "Print" and "Web" so the wrong one never goes to the printer.

Step 8: Name an owner

Pick one person who is responsible for updates, keep one current version in one shared place, and delete the old ones. Most teams skip this step, and it's the reason the three versions exist.

Frequently asked questions

What is a B2B sell sheet?

A B2B sell sheet is a one-page document that covers the most important details about a product, service or company. Sales teams use it to help a buyer decide whether to take the next step.

What should a sell sheet include?

Include a headline built around the buyer's problem, a short intro, three to five benefits, proof, and one call to action with contact options. Keep the logo visible but secondary to the headline.

What is the difference between a sell sheet and a cut sheet?

A sell sheet sells the outcome to a buyer on one page. A cut sheet lists technical details such as specs, dimensions and performance.

How long should a sell sheet be?

One page. If the content needs more room, it belongs in a brochure, or it should be split into a second sell sheet with its own message.

What file settings should I use for print and screen?

For print, use 300 DPI images, CMYK colour and at least an eighth of an inch of bleed. For screen, use RGB colour, keep the file around 3 MB, add live links and test it on a phone.

Next step

If you'd like help building the template and keeping your sell sheet current, book a call with me.