Successful Sales Letters

Adapted from content excerpted from the American Express OPEN Small Business Network
While the telephone is still the primary tool for reaching your prospectie customers!
there are many times when you will hae to write a sales letter" A strong sales letter
can reinforce your sales message! significantly enhance the image of your company in
the mind of your prospect! and get your foot in the door" An ineffectie letter will
cause your prospect to lose interest in your product or serice! and can easily cost you
an account"
Sales letters tend to fall into one of three categories ## letters of introduction$ follow#
up letters$ and coer letters for presentation packages" As the name suggests! letters of
introduction are used to introduce yourself to a prospect and let them know you are
going to call them on a specific day and time" %ollow#up letters sere to reinforce a
point made during preious contact$ it could &e a phone conersation or a face#to#face
meeting" 'oer letters are sent as part of a larger package! and alert the reader a&out
what to look for in that package"
(ead the following tips to help you create successful sales letters)
*alk A&out +our 'ustomer! Not +ourself
Ac,uaint or (eac,uaint the (eader With Who +ou Are
-se Bullets
End With An Action
.eep +our /etter Brief
Show *hat +ou 01et0 *heir 'ompany
-se Statistics
1ie Away 2deas
3ae Someone (ead 2t Oer
Talk About Your Customer, Not Yourself
*he most off#putting word in a sales letter is 020 and the most effectie word is 0you0"
Neer &egin a letter with 020 &ecause chances are the reader won4t get to the second
word" 2t all comes down to selling &enefits ## your prospects are not interested in the
features of your products serices! &ut in what how your products or serices can
&enefit them" 'hange 02 can train your serice reps in the latest satisfaction
techni,ues0 to 0+our customer complaint ratio will drop &y training your reps in the
latest customer satisfaction techni,ues0"
Acquaint or Reacquaint the Reader With Who You Are
2n many cases! it is necessary to &egin your letter with a &rief introduction to who you
are and what you do" *his is &asic for a letter of introduction! &ut if you4e already
spoken with this person! saying who you are will re#esta&lish a sense of contact" %or
example) 02t was great speaking with you last *hursday" Acme Partners is an
adertising agency that can help you &oost your We& site traffic with a focused &anner
ad campaign0"
Use Bullets
*he &ody of your letter should contain three or so key points! set apart &y &ullets"
(eaders like &ullets &ecause it makes the letter easy to read" As the writer5seller! you
&enefit &y immediately pointing your reader in the direction of the important points
you want to make"
nd With An Action
What result do you want from your letter6 Are you looking to get a face#to#face
appointment6 Are you answering ,uestions raised at a preious meeting6 7o you want
to make your prospect &etter informed6 7o you need to get a signed contract6 +ou
need to close your letter &y re,uesting a specific! ,uantifia&le action" %or example) 02
will call you on *uesday! Noem&er 89 at 8: a"m" to schedule meeting0 or 0Please
return the enclosed contract %riday! 7ecem&er 8;! or call me if you hae any other
,uestions0"
!ee" Your Letter Brief
2t4s rare that someone is going to read anything past the first page! so keep your letter
to one page" <any readers look immediately to the &ottom of the page to see if the
signature is there! so they know who the letter has come from" Staying at one page
will also force you to &e succinct! since a ram&ling letter is an ineffectie letter"
Sho# That You $%et$ Their Com"an&
+ou will immediately gain their confidence if you show that you understand what
your customer4s company is all a&out" *his is especially important when you4re trying
to reach a large corporate customer" Briefly talk a&out their &rand! their image! and
their needs" %or example) 0Acme has a reputation for proiding superior serice and
keeping its customer4s needs first0 or 0*here is enormous cachet to owning an A=ax
Widget0"
Use Statistics
Back up your claims with statistics" *his shows that you understand the issues of their
&usiness! while demonstrating that your product or serice can sole a pro&lem" 2t
also gies your prospect a reason to support your product or serice within the
company" %or example! a software training company pitching a corporate client might
cite) 0According to Acme (esearch Associates! the aerage computer user wastes oer
8:: hours a year trying to figure out how certain tasks are done0"
%i'e A#a& (deas
+our sales letter is! in essence! a ery &rief sales proposal! so you need to show that
you are thinking a&out your prospect4s needs" +ou might &e hesitant to put your &est
ideas in your letter! fearing that your prospect will use them &ut not hire your
company" *hat4s a mistake" By putting your ideas in your letter! you will make your
prospects feel like they4re getting something already! and that they4ll &enefit from your
products or serices" <ore importantly! you4ll &e demonstrating that you4re creatie!
on the &all! and hae your client4s &est interests in mind"
)a'e Someone Read (t *'er
1et another pair of eyes to look at any letter &efore you send it out" *his will help you
determine if your letter is clear and if you4re getting your point across" Also! ask the
person to look it oer for typos$ you don4t want to lose out on an account due to a
misspelled word or other careless mistake"
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