All About A Sales Letter

 

A sales letter is a document intended to generate sales. It influences the reader to place an order, to request for information about a product or service. The basic aim is motivate the reader to take a specific action.

 

This is a description of a real sales letter.

 

Results of my R&D

“I'm taking to you to inform you about the really terrific washing machine that I've developed. First of all, I know it's wonderfully terrific because I spent years studying washing machines of all kinds. I then expanded my field of research and Development (R&D) to include all kinds of commercial washing machines, and I came to know about all the possible secrets of what makes dirt come out from the most inconceivable places. Now, TEN YEARS LATER, I'm ready to let you savor the fruits of all my hard work. I've developed the EZ WASHER. I must tell you it will make all other washing machines you have ever seen pale in contrast.”

 

Do you find anything wrong with this sales letter? Almost everything is wrong.

 

The headline is all about the writer and does not speak to the customer. Also, it uses some technical terms — "R&D" for research and development. This is an industrial term, which may actually irritate some prospective customers. We have no idea whatsoever what the 10 years of work refers to. Neither are we told about any exceptional features. The writer just generally raves about what great work he has done. The sales letter talks about all what he has done in the last 10 years and not what I will get or at least what I can expect.

 

Before starting to write a sales letter, you must also try to put yourself in the prospective customer’s shoes. Realize how you treat unwanted letters that you receive. Most of these letters, if not all, go in the bin. In fact, you don’t even bother to open some of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(b) Comparison Between Unsolicited Proposals, Brochures And Sales Letters

 

Whether you are preparing a brochure, or writing an unsolicited proposal, you can always make it better by realizing the similarities and differences between them.

 

A brochure is a record  of your products and services. They are often produced in a large scale and given incognito. Brochures come in different kinds of shapes and sizes and are more often than not printed in bright colors with lots of graphics in it.

 

An unsolicited proposal is an article about your products and services. They are usually produced independently and given to someone precise (although it may be to someone you are not too familiar with). They are often in the form of a letter, unless they are large documents, which are bound.

 

A sales letter is a short proposal and always aims towards making you take some action. Depending on the situation, sales letters may or may not be given to precise individuals and are sometimes sent to people you don't know.

 

So what's the dissimilarity? It turns out that in reality there is not a lot of difference between them. All of them have to offer information and usually seek to influence. Sometimes, the main intention of a brochure is to provide information. A key differentiator is whether the brochure should aim towards making you take some action. Marketing materials are almost always fashioned to stimulate the reader to do something. It could be to visit their store, make a purchase, visit a website, or maybe just to place a telephone call. If your brochure simply supplies information, you should reconsider it to make sure it is convincing, and consider re-designing it to induce people to take an action.

 

If do you have a call to action, or something that you are trying to inspire the  prospective customer to do, then it may help to imagine your brochure to be an unsolicited proposal. The brochure should be intended to efficiently convince the reader to execute the call to action.

 

If you are writing a sales letter, you may not comprehend that it's not much different than a brochure asking the reader to take action. Try to focus on the aesthetics of the brochure.

 

Both brochures and unsolicited proposals are liable to suffer from not having too much information about the reader. The more you are familiar with the reader, the more persuasive you can be. However, brochures and unsolicited proposals are frequently given to people who you are not too familiar with, usually in the anticipation of getting to know them better.

 

The next time you are creating a brochure, unsolicited proposal, or a sales letter, take the time to think over it as if it was one of the others. Utilize the comparison to enhance the document, but be obvious about your goals and audience.

 

(c) Segmentation, Targeting And Positioning

 

Preparing your sales letter means you need to really have a comprehensive  knowledge of the product or service being offered, the market dynamics, and the reader’s stated and unstated needs. There is no replacement for product or service knowledge.

 

What does the product or service do for the one who requires it? How can the reader benefit from buying it? What is the unique selling point of the product or service? To respond to these queries, you should begin by distinguishing the benefits from the features. The sales letter should be able to persuade your reader to buy your stuff based on the grounds of what benefit the product/ service derives and not based on its features.

 

The benefit is what the product or service offers and what the consumer profits from the feature. A benefit is the specific result of the feature. A feature is what the product or service already has built in. Benefits are what inspire people to buy. A refrigerator, for example, has defrosting facilities (feature). If that technology helps in getting rid of unwanted icicles and helps in keeping our greens fresh and healthy, then we have the benefit of that feature.

 

Decide on how you plan to advertise the product or service. Through the Internet, direct mail, email, direct sales, print advertising, etc.? Is there some other advertising or literature to support the sales letter? Who is your competition? What marketing activities have they undertaken? What is your advertising budget? Are you aiming too high?

 

Who is your potential buyer? What stimulates a person to buy this item? The experts point out that the emotion most often used to influence people to buy is fear, and a million other variations of it. You have to be in the consumer’s position to realize whether your offer appeals to the readers’ emotional needs.

 

 

 

(d) Following The Aida Model

 

Advertising copywriters follows the AIDA model. The AIDA model stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

 

Get Your Reader’s Attention

If you want your sales letter to have an impact on your readers, it must first get their attention. You can do this with a hard-hitting headline or lead paragraph that hits the nail directly on the head or you can even begin your letter with a captivating question. For instance, "Do you want to cut your electricity cost by 45%?"

 

An appropriate headline for a sales letter promoting a weight loss program might be: "Now, you can lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks without having to starve; and it’s easy and affordable!" This headline not only solves a problem, but also offers a quick and easy solution that keeps in mind the price-sensitive consumer.

 

Your reader will be interested only in knowing "What's in it for me?" "Why should I invest my time in reading on?” If you let him know instantly, at the beginning of your letter, he'll keep reading the rest of the letter. And that's half the battle won. In any case, he will rarely reach the third paragraph. So the impact has to be instant. The crux of the matter should be explained at the very beginning.

 

Gain Their Interest

You must clasp the reader's interest by showing him why he needs your product or service. You have to create a want for your product or service. Let him know how his life will become easier with your product. Show him what he is missing by not even trying the product.

 

Here, you require to prove your trustworthiness. You can rest your case by using testimonials or case histories. You can provide the communication details of users who have benefited from your product. Always remember that you know everything there is to know about your product, so “stale news” to you can be “fresh news” to the other person.

 

Create Desire

Now you've got the reader's attention and hooked his interest. Next, you’ve got to create desire. Tell the reader how exactly he'll benefit from your product. Link the benefits to the reader’s daily life. Get him to realize how your product can benefit him, how convenient it is for him to get it, and how comfortable life will be for him afterwards.

 

Generalities are less convincing. Specific details are far more believable. For example, when you want to sell books on lowering employee theft . . . "By the end of this quarter, you could see your percentage of employee theft drop by more than 37%. Imagine the spectacular effect it will have on your bottom line!" If it is selling a weight loss program… “Within 3 weeks you will have lost 15 pounds. Imagine the compliments pouring in from your spouse. Think how gorgeous you will look in that new swimsuit!”

 

Solicit Action

What do you want the reader to do next? Send in a reply card? Order the product or service? Call in asking for more information? Schedule an appointment? Notify him accordingly. It is amazing how many sales letters do not inform the reader about the subsequent step. They consider that the reader is a mind reader. But usually this is not the case.

 

You've worked hard so far. You've gotten his attention, hooked his interest, created desire.  Isn’t it appropriate to ask for action? Don't presume that your reader knows what to do next. As a support to getting the preferred action, you must always incorporate a reply card with your letter.

 

The P.S. is one component of a letter that at all times gets read. Use your P.S. to emphasize your most compelling benefit or restate your guarantee. Don't waste it on merriment. Used wisely, it could be the final prod that tilts the buying decision in your favor. So be specific and give the final spurt.