SALES LETTERS
SALES LETTERS
INTODUCTION
The
aim of al business is to sell goods and service and earn profits. In this
sense, all business letters are sales latters. They are very good instruments
for increasing sales. The purpose of sales letters is to persuade readers to
buy, to get the patronage and goodwill. They are sent to particular people to
stimulate and inspire them to buy those particular goods and items.
A sales letter is a
piece of direct
mail which
is designed to persuade the reader to purchase a particular product or service
in the absence of a salesman.
It has been defined as "A form of direct mail in which an advertiser sends
a letter to a potential customer." It
is distinct from other direct mail techniques, such as the distribution of
leaflets and catalogues, as the sales letter typically sells a single product
or product line, and further tends to be mainly textual as opposed to
graphics-based. It is typically used for products or services which, due to
their price, are a considered purchase at medium or high value (typically tens
to thousands of dollars). A sales letter is often, but not exclusively, the
last stage of the sales process before the customer places an order, and is
designed to ensure that the prospect is
committed to becoming a customer.
Effective Sales
Latters
There
are certain proven rules and techniques that improve the chances of:
a)
your letter getting past (or being being forwarded by) the secretary or p.a. to
your intended contact, and
b)
your intended contact being interested in seeing you.
Think
how you treat unsolicited letters that you receive. Most of these letters go in
the bin, and many letters won't even be opened. A few seconds is all anyone
takes to decide whether to read a letter or discard it. A secretary or p.a.
will open your letter, and they too will decide in just a few seconds whether
to read on, then whether to pass it to your intended contact, another person,
or to file it or bin it.
Increasingly
these days it's good to aim first for a telephone appointment -
a qualifying discussion when you can ask helpful questions and seek to
understand the client's situation - before expecting to agree a face-to-face
meeting. You can do a lot on the phone. Having a telephone appointment in your
mind as an initial aim often makes it easier to get the ball rolling. It also
shows that you have a professional appreciation of the value of people's time.
Remember
that your letter will be competing with perhaps ten, twenty, or even fifty
sales letters received every day, sent by sales-people people hoping to gain
your target's attention. To get through, your sales letter needs to be good,
different, professional and relevant.
Use
the five-second rule when designing direct sales letters opening statements and
headlines. You must grab attention in five seconds; that's about ten words
comfortably; fifteen to twenty words at most. This implies a headline, which is
why headlines are often used. If you prefer not to use a headline, fine, but
still you need to grab attention in your opening paragraph in five seconds.
The
time available for grabbing attention and conveying meaning is shrinking all
the time. People used to talk in terms of 4-8 seconds to grab attention. Now
it's best to work on less than five seconds. This is because progressively we
can all absorb information and ideas far more quickly than we used to. Our
environments condition and 'train' our brains to do this. Think about TV
adverts, video games, chatrooms, email and text messages, fast-moving media and
entertainment generally - it's all getting quicker - we get bored sooner, and
we need data quicker. Your contacts are just the same. Quick-thinking senior
decision-makers especially: they need your letters to help them absorb and
understand data as quickly as possible. If it takes too long they won't bother.
Efficient and effective letters not only get read and get your points across,
they also say something about you - that you are efficient and effective too.
So
you need to be very efficient and thoughtful in your use of language and words.
Every word must be working for you; if it's not, remove it or find another.
Think
about the language that your intended contact uses - for example, what
newspaper are they are likely to read - this is your vocabulary guide.
Think
about the business vocabulary too; senior decision-makers and company directors
are concerned mainly with making money and saving money. Read the financial
pages of the broadsheets - look at the words that people use - and start using
these words too.
A
significant stage in succeeding with introductory sales letters is the one that
is protected by the decision-maker's secretary or p.a. The secretary or p.a.'s
responsibility is to protect the boss's time. For a letter to stand a chance of
being passed on to your target by the secretary it needs to be:
·
commercially/financially/operationally
very serious and significant
·
interesting and
potentially beneficial
·
of a nature that only
your targeted person can deal with it
·
relevant
·
credible
·
extremely professional
·
grammatically perfect
The
letter structure should also follow the AIDA format (it's as old as the hills
but it's still crucial):
·
Attention: The writer
should attract the reader’s attention (I want to read on)
·
Interest (this is
relevant to me and my company)
·
Desire: should be able
to arouse the reader’s desire (this is potentially beneficial and I want to
pursue this opportunity)
·
Action (when I'm called
I'll talk/make an appointment/delegate action)
Obviously
make sure you use the person's correct title (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, etc) and
properly spelled surname in the address (initials are considered by some to be
more professional and polite than using first names). Include letters after
their name if known, eg., OBE, or professional qualifications abbreviations; also
ensure correct job title, company name, address, postcode and date. If you are
laying out a letter or a mail-merge for window envelope remember that this
requires precise address positioning.
Keep
the sentences short.
Introductory
letters must be able to be read and understood in under 30 seconds - less than
20 seconds even better - so your letter will never require more than one side
of paper. The less words the better. Generally three short paragraphs of
'body-copy' suffice. It's doubtful you'd achieve what you need to in just two;
four or five are okay if they're very brief; any more is much too much. Use
bullet points if you have a number of short points to make.
Whilst
you can vary and experiment, a good basic structure (obviously following
correct name, address and date details) is:
·
salutation (Dear
Mr/Mrs/Ms surname, or Dear Sir/Madam for extra caution)
·
headline or 'banner
statement' (optional)
·
credibility and
relevance statement (mandatory) - you
must establish your credentials and explain your relevant capability or
proposition - clever wording here enables you to wrap the two - credibility and
a relevant proposition - into a single statement or paragraph
·
how and why statement (optional)
- what re the special characteristics of your capability or proposition
·
suggestion of similar
opportunity/application for target organisation (optional
but useful normally)
·
action/follow up
statement (mandatory) - what happens next - explain
·
sign-off
·
P.S. statement (optional
- can work well in certain situations - generally avoid using it for senior
approaches because it will be seen as gimmicky)
Writing a
Good Sales Letters
1. Use
Letterhead
Customize
your letters and send them on your letterhead such as your email address and
fax number
2. Include
Valuable Incentive
A
waived application fee isn’t going to get anyone’s attention. Be sure your have
come up with a worthwhile incentive for new residents and detail it here.
3. Avoid
Stale Words
Stale
words aren’t heard by your reader- get to the point and don’t be too wordy. Avoid
slogans they won’t believe or have heard before.
4. Spell
Check
Accuracy
and professionalism are crucial.
5. Be
Brief
Don’t
waste their time- get your point across succinctly.
6. Focus
On a Few Key Bullets
List
a few amenities or services that will specifically appeal to a buiness
clientele. Remember that they can see your brochure or visit your online for
specific apartment details, focus on what is going to make their life easier
for coming home to your community.
Sample Sales Letters
FRH MAGAZINE
Music Magazine
fax: 08743220900
Semarang City
December
05, 2005
Dear
Reader:
Did
you know that FRH Magazine was also involved in music? This might surprise you,
but your favorite magazine actually has CARE
FOR YOU, a music especially made for you.
We
call the album CARE FOR
YOU because
whenever you need music to calm you, to lift your spirits, or just to enjoy,
here’s where it will be. Here’s music that offers hours and hours of pure listening
pleasures… music to unwind with at the end of a busy day Here’s music for those
quieter times when you’re with someone special, in a reflective mood, sipping
cocktails at twilight, having intimate dinner or entertaining a small group of
friends Here are 25 exquisitely melodic songs from the sentimental to the
soothing including: Because
of You, It Might be You, Save the Last Dance for me, Hello it’s Me, Stand by
Me, I’ve Been Loving You
Too Long, When I Need You…. all superb performances and arrangements that
are smoother than you’ve ever heard before.
FRH
Magazine recordings are products of precise craftsmanship and the finest
materials available. The latest advance in high fidelity sound production has
been used in their manufacture. And FRH Magazine offers you this guarantee if,
in spite of strict quality – control inspections, a defective record or
cassette slips through, you only have to return it within a month of receipt
and you get an immediate replacement.
Think
about it: CARE FOR YOU offers you popular music in a romantic vein on 5 stereo
records or cassettes – 25 bestselling songs, freshly performed by top
orchestras and vocal groups! The price is even a bigger, pleasanter surprise:
Only $150!
This
offer, however, cannot last long enough for all FRH Magazine subscribers to
avail themselves of because the expiry date is June 15, 2006. Our advice,
therefore, is easier followed than forgotten. ACT NOW by filling out the
enclosed order card.
Sincerely yours,
Sara May Santos
Sales Manager
Sales Manager
Referance
http://www.businessballs.com/introletters.htm
Comments
Post a Comment