LETTER WRITING:Sales Letters, Know your Buyer, Prepare a List of Buyers

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Lesson 26

LETTER WRITING

Sales Letters

To some extent, every letter is a sales letter. You are selling your organization's image and goodwill. These

letters are an easy and effective way of securing business. No other type of letter influences so many people

or brings as big a return in terms of money as this letter.

More so than other letters, the sales letter is highly specialized, and its writing require exceptional

ability and experience.

There are two kinds of sales letters:

(i)

Solicited letter (the organization is invited to respond to sales messages.)

(ii)

Unsolicited letter (the organization sends out uninvited messages to sell a product or service)

Writing whatever type of sales letter, follow these principles.

Know your Buyer

· First identify the characteristics that describe the most likely buyer for your products or services.

From research or experience, build a "composite" buyer. The sex, age, occupation, geographic

location, financial situation, and other characteristics of the "average" buyer. Determine what

appeals will be used in letter. Defining your targeted buyer's characteristics helps you discover the

needs and desires of these prospective buyers.

· For example, you wouldn't try to sell a "Sixty-Five Plus" insurance plan to college students.

The writer of sales letters has a choice of many different appeals. Those used depend upon the aim of the

letter, the nature of the product, and the market the people who will receive the letter. buyer usually spend

their money for these reasons:

For comfort (air conditioners)

To make money (stock)

The escape physical pain (corn and callous remedy)

To save money (storm windows)

To save time (microwave oven)

To protect family (smoke detector)

To imitate others (sunglasses)

To be in style (new coat)

To be different (exclusive hat)

To avoid trouble (casualty insurance)

For health (toothpaste)

To take advantage of opportunities (investment property)

For enjoyment (television set)

To enhance reputation (charitable contribution)

For cleanliness (soap)

To satisfy appetite (candy)

To avoid effort (power lawn mower)

For beautiful possessions (new cell phone)

To be popular (dancing lessons)

To safeguard possessions (fire insurance)

To be attractive (jewelry, garments)

To be adventurous (travel)

2. Prepare a List of Buyers

Next, you need a good mailing list. The obvious place to start is your organization's own list of

buyers. You can also buy lists from organizations that specialize in compiling and selling them. For sales

effectiveness, a good mailing list must contain the correct names and addresses of people or organizations

that have in common characteristics that make them likely buyers for your products or services.

Analyze the Product

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What specific feature of the product or service makes it attractive or useful or appealing? What

features should be emphasized? What features should be played down? (These analyses are usually made

along with Step 1.) Letters that present a product in terms of what prospective buyers think of it and how

they can use it do more than make sales--they win satisfied customers.

4. Decide on the Central Selling Point

The central selling point (CSP) should be the item of information most likely to persuade the buyer to

buy a product or service. After analyzing the buyer and the product. Build your letter around this central

selling point. The CSP might be appearance, durability, comfort, convenience, price, or any other positive

feature that is likely to have the greatest influence on your reader's purchasing decision.

Writing Solicited Sales Letters

Solicited sales are the letters that you write in response to an inquiry. With these letters, the

organization has one central goal: to get responses quickly to someone's request for information, use the

direct plan for the solicited letter.

Organizational Plan Responding to Solicited Letters

Opening paragraph use the good-news approach.

a. Answer the inquirer's questions favorably.

b. Indicate that the requested material will be sent.

Body

a. Answer additional questions.

b. Provide educational, resale, or sales promotion information.

c. Be truthful about negative information.

d. Arrange your answers so your positive responses are at the beginning and the end; embed (put in the

middle) your weaker or negative comments.

Action ending

a. Make the action easy.

b. Suggest benefits to reader.

c. Focus on the positive aspects.

Just Look at the following positive opening

With pleasure we received your letter and it is with further pleasure that we are able to open a credit

account with our store. All the necessary forms to initiate that account are included with this letter.

Writing Unsolicited Sales Letters

Unsolicited sales letter are those letters which you write to people who can be persuaded through

these letters to buy your product or service. These letters demand superior writing skills. Often you

will work with a marketing department or even an ad agency; they will make recommendations about the

mailing lists, the timing, the core theme, and the visual presentation of brochures and accompanying

material.

Once you know what you need to say and whom do you want to say it to, decide how you're

going to say it. Will you send just a letter, or will you include brochures, samples, response cads, and the

like? Will the letter be printed with and additional colour or special symbols or logos? How many pages will

it run?

You'll also need to decide whether to conduct a multistage campaign, with several mailings and some sort of

telephone or in-person follow-up, or to rely on a single mailing.

All these decisions depend on the audience you're trying to reach-their characteristics, their likely

acceptance of or resistance to your message-and what you're trying to get them to do. In general, expensive

items and hard-to-accept propositions call for a more elaborate campaign than low-cost products and

simple actions.

A. Attention

1. Design a positive opening that awakens a favorable association with the product, need, or cause.

2. Write the opening so that it's appropriate, fresh, honest, interesting, specific, and relevant.

3. Promise a benefit to the reader

4. Keep the first paragraph short, preferably two to five lines, and sometimes only one.

5. For sales, letters, get attention with a provocative question, a significant/startling fact, a solution to a

problem, a special offer/gift, a testimonial, a current event, an illustration, a comparison, an event in the

reader's life, a problem the reader may face, or a quotation.

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Getting Attention

Sales letters start with an attention-getting device. Professionals use some common techniques to

attract audience attention. Look at the following beginnings:

A piece of genuine news. "In the past 60 days, the commercial electricity billings have shrunk by 12

percent."

2. The most attractive feature plus the associated benefit. "New control device ends problems with every type

of pilferage!"

3. An intriguing number. "Here are three great secrets of the world's most loved entertainers."

4. A sample of the product. "Here's your free sample of the new medicated tooth brush."

5. A specific trait shared by the audience. Busy executives need another `timesaving' device"

6. A provocative question. "Are you tired of watching inflation eat away at your hard-earned profits?"

7. A challenge. "Don't waste another day wondering how you're going to become the success you've

always wanted to be!"

8. A solution to a problem. "Tired of chilly air rushing through the cracks around your windows? Stay

warm and save energy with Storm Seal Weather stripping."

10. Stressing benefit of previous students.

In the last university examination of the university one of our students topped securing record

marks. In addition, seven out of top ten positions were bagged by our students you too can be a top

notcher!

11.For the ninth cricket world cup our juices were announced the official drinks of the world cup. Besides,

the world cup management committee declared our juices the best soft drinks.

12. Convincing readers through free trial

You can keep the monthly Asia for two weeks. Read the articles and even if you feel that it is not

worth your amount just give us a call, our representative will bring back your amount next day.

Sales Letter Interest

b. Interest

1. State information clearly, vividly, and persuasively, relating it to the reader's concerns.

2. Develop the central selling point.

3. Feature the product in two ways: physical description and reader benefits.

4. Place benefits first, or interweave them with a physical description.

5. Describe objective details of the need or product (size, shape, color, scent, sound texture, etc.)

6. Use psychological appeals to present the sensation, satisfaction, or pleasure readers will gain.

7. Blend cold facts with warm feelings.

Arousing Your Desire

C. Desire

1. Enlist one or more appeals to support the central idea (selling point).

2. If the product is valued mainly because of its appearance, describe its physical details.

3. If the product is machinery or technical equipment, describe its sturdy construction, fine crafting, and

other technical details in terms that help readers visualize themselves using it.

4. Include technical sketches and meaningful pictures, charts, and graphs, if necessary.

5. For sales letters, provide test results from recognized experts, laboratories, or authoritative agencies.

Objectives

Suggested descriptions

To sell porcelain bathroom fixtures

"The porcelain finish is glass-smooth."

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To sell small cars

"To driver who is fed up with bigger, thirstier

cars switches to ____."

To sell air travel

"For travel elegance, fly with _____."

To sell soft drinks in cans

"And cans chill so fast, keeping the flavor fresh

and full of zip."

To sell a soft drink

"You'll really welcome the cold, crisp taste that so

deeply satisfies ..... the cheerful lift that's bright

and lively."

Objectives

Suggested descriptions

To sell an air deodorant

"Make air smell flower-fresh."

To sell shampoo

"Hair so satin-bright airy-light!"

Stimulate the Reader to Action

To motivate the reader to act within a certain time, you can use one or more of the following methods:

· You don't have to send any money right now. Take moment to fill in the postpaid order

card and drop it into mail. Your Asia Today will be shipped the day after we receive your

order.

· Offering a special discount

D. Action

1. Clearly state the action you desire.

2. Provide specific details on how to order the product, donate money, or reach your organizations.

3. Ease action with reply cards, preaddressed envelopes, phone numbers, follow-up phone calls.

4. Offer a special inducement to act now: time limit or situation urgency, special price for a limited time,

premium for acting before a certain date, gift for acting, free trial, no obligation to buy with more

information or demonstration, easy payments with no money down, credit-card payments.

An Offer of a Free Gift

Our gift is already enclosed: a suncatcher to attach to your window. Send your order in and we'll send you

another one Free.

Please place your order by filling in the enclosed postpaid card and save 25% off the market price

before September 30.

Here are some other ways to motivate the reader to action:

· Free trial of the product.

· No obligation to buy.

· Higher earnings.

· Special price for a limited time.

· Join with others who already are satisfied.

· No salesperson will call.

· Name will not be sold to other firms.

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In short, writing successful sales letters is difficult. Some letters may take weeks to be perfect. But financial

returns can be great. Good selling presents the proposition in such a way that the readers become

convinced. Achieving your goal requires careful editing and rewriting.

This effective sales letter offers the reader a special discount just for bringing the letter to the store.

Attention

Make The Photo Shop

Your First Stop....

...Whenever you need camera or photographic equipment:

Desire

Whether you want a highly sophisticated sound movie system or a simple pocket

camera, whether you're an amateur photographer or a professional.

Desire

The Photo Shop

Is for you!

ABC --all these famous brands and more are available at Photo shop.

Every type of camera, lens, film, and darkroom equipment is in stock at

The Photo Stop, because we have the largest inventory in the city.

Action

The enclosed brochure describes some of the many items now on sale at

The Photo shop. For an extra discount, just bring this letter with you

and you will get 10% off any purchase over Rs. 5000! (offer ends July

30.)

Yours sincerely,

Selling an Educational Course

Situation

Career Institute offers home-study courses in various trade occupations. The sales promotion

director has obtained a list of subscribers to a practical mechanics magazine, who are often good candidates

for home--study training. He writes a sales letter, the purpose of which is to persuade readers to sent for a

free catalog, which describes a course in small-engine repair.

Model Letters

Modified Block Form

CAREER INSTITUTE

766 HIGHLAND AVENUE

ISLAMABAD

WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

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Attention

If you're looking for the change to be your own boss... or earn extra

income in your spare time... or a way to achieve independence when

you retire... SMALL-ENGINE REPAIR could be the answer.

Interest

Career institute can quickly train you--in your spare time at home--to

service repair mowers, tillers, chain saws, outboards, garden tractors,

mopeds, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and dozens of other types of

small-engine equipment. It's a great way to get your own business, full-

or part-time, with a minimum investment. And it's a field with growing

opportunities for qualified people.

Career Institute's Small-Engine Course contains forty-five lessons, each

easy to read and understand. You also perform experiments that show

you how every part of an engine works. And we supply you with

professional tools--a complete set of wrenches, electrical system tools

and other. Everything you need!

Desire

Our big catalog tells you all you need to know. It describes the contents

of each lesson (and there are sample pages of the actual study

materials), and contains illustrations and descriptions of the equipment

you will use. The instructor you will be assigned to has been a

professional small-engine mechanic. He will be your "partner" in your

studies.

Action

Just fill in and mail the enclosed post card for you free catalog today. It needs no

postage.

Sincerely,

Director of Studies

P.S: No sales representative will call you!

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Full - Block Form

Attention

THE FIRST PUNJAB LIBRARY

Muslim Town Lahore.

Dear Friend,

The most comprehensive selection of Quaid-e-Azam's speeches,

public writings, and private letters ever published!

YOURS FOR JUST RS.500

Interest

Quaid-e-Azam was not only the founder of Pakistan but also a great

orator.

Modified Block Form

Desire

Here are all of Quaid's speeches, From the early days in his

politics, including all his addresses to the students of different

institutions. It includes Quaid's personal and political

correspondence.

Above all, here is Quaid's absolutely distinctive language, resonant

with dignity, wit, and the uniquely patriot flavour.

Action

Write today for your copy of the book. You'll be awfully glad.

Sincerely yours,

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