No-one has yet written the perfect sales letter that gets results every time. But this six-point plan may help you to write more effective letters.
- What is the objective of the letter? Think very clearly about what you want the letter to do:
- Get a direct order?
- Generate inquiries?
- Get a sales interview?
- Get filed for future reference?
- Inform and educate?
- Get the reader to expect a telephone call from you?
If you don’t start off with a clear objective, how can you expect the reader to respond in the way you want? Get attention quickly You have about 5 seconds to get the reader’s attention – to persuade him/her to read the rest of the letter rather than chuck it. So use a headline to great effect. Try one of these attention-getters:
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- Ask a how or why question
- Offer a benefit.
- Offer a challenge.
- Make it BIG (but don’t go over the top!)
- Make it relevant – don’t disappoint people by promising something in the headline that isn’t justified in the rest of the letter.
- Name a price – if that’s a major benefit of what you are selling.
- Make it easy to read:
- Keep the first sentence short.
- Keep the paragraphs short.
- Use wide margins.
- Break up the text – use indents and sub-headings.
- Write with one person in mind – make it personal without being too chatty.
- Get someone else to check your letter for easy-to-read appeal.
- What benefits will the reader gain?
- Concentrate on benefits rather than features all the time. Make the letter as personal to the reader as possible. Talk in terms of their industry and their interests – again, part of the targeted marketing approach.
- Try to build a partnership between you and the reader:
- Talk in terms of the reader, not you.
- Avoid too much use of “I” and “me”
- Start with “I”, move to “you”, and end with “us”.
- Get the reader to act in the way that you want them to – don’t leave them trying to guess the purpose of the letter. If you want them to read a brochure, tell them. If you are going to phone them, tell them.