How To Write A Sales
Letter
BTF can help you
learn how to write a sales letter or email that makes your prospect want to buy.
BTF can show you precisely how get new clients coming to you by writing sales
letters and emails that get opened, get read and get acted on.
First I want to
discuss briefly what you need to do before you sit down and begin writing. I'll
admit this is the least sexy or fun part of the process but it is the
foundation upon which everything else is built. The more energy you invest and a
little bit of time at this stage will raise the quality of the marketing
message you'll create.
Why is this step so
important?
Have you ever
received an email or a letter that you felt was written with you specifically
in mind? Perhaps you knew that it went out to hundreds or even thousand of
other readers, but the style and the tone of the letter was such that it made
you feel like the writer was writing just for you.
Alternatively, you've
probably received lots of emails and letters that were written in a highly
impersonal style. I refer to them as "corporate-speak". They don't
make you feel that you, as an individual, are important to them. That's a huge
mistake.
One of my mentors gave
me an important lesson, "Ken it's always crucial to keep in mind that
companies don't buy things from companies, PEOPLE buy things from PEOPLE."
Thus the more we are able to focus on developing that one-to-one relationship
the more effective we will be in ultimately selling our services. In order to create Marketing letters and Sales
emails that have that level of intimacy we need to have a good understanding
about what motivates them. In order to do that we need to be able to answer the
following three questions.
1) Who are you writing to? Try to describe the
reader as an individual even though you are likely to be sending this out to
dozens, hundreds or perhaps even thousands of readers.
2) What is the specific problem they are facing for which
you offer a solution?
It's important to keep in mind that everyone thinks their problems are unique.
Thus the more you are able to micro-target specific issues that the reader
faces, the greater the likelihood is that your letter will get read.
3) What are the CONSEQUENCES if the problem isn't
addressed?
It's not enough just to communicate the problem. We have to make the reader
CARE about finding a solution. In other words we have to elevate the problem in
their mind. We do this by communicating the consequences that are likely to
occur if it isn't addressed. (Note of
caution: While consequences are extremely important, you must take care not to
sound like "chicken little". We want to communicate that this is an
issue that warrants action while at the same time not making it appear as if
the proverbial sky is falling.)
Your assignment is to
list out your answers to these three questions. Don't worry about actually
writing the letter. That will come next. At this point all I want you to do is
to get the preparation completed.
NEXT...We will write
a compelling opening sentence based on using the information that we've
developed so far.
Again the 3 crucial
questions you need to answer before you sit down to write your sales letter or
marketing email are:
1) WHO are you targeting? Remember
that we want the reader to see a reflection of themselves in the marketing
letter. Thus it is important to have a tightly defined niche market.
2) WHAT PROBLEM are they facing?
The more specific the better.
3) WHAT are the CONSEQUENCES that
will likely occur if the problem is not addressed? Again, it's important that
we not go overboard with these and make us sound like Chicken Little with the
sky is falling.
So, if you have all
three of these answered, it's time to start developing your sales letter and
marketing email. And it all starts with
the all-important first sentence. "Remember
that the goal of the first sentence is simply to get the reader to read the
second sentence." That's all we are trying to accomplish. So let me share
with you a template opening sentence that has worked extremely well for BTF and
for clients.
>Ideally the
opening sentence performs two tasks. It builds credibility
>AND it hooks the
reader's attention. That's what this opening sentences accomplishes
I know from speaking with (people similar to
the reader) that virtually all of them are concerned about (a particular
problem)"
So the letter might
read as follows...
"I know from
speaking with other small business owners that virtually all of them are concerned
about getting more new clients."
"I know form speaking
with
"I know talking
with other banks that reducing technology cost is a topic of frequent
discussion."
Of all the opening
lines I've used in the 17 years of BTF, this has been the most powerful, and
generated the greatest amount of response. Remember, you don't need to be a
slave to the exact format or language in this template. The important thing to remember
is that you follow the general guidelines.
The other interesting
point about this opening sentence is that it is extremely powerful for getting
your letter or email past the secretary or screener and passed along to the
decision maker. The reason for this is that it very clearly articulates that
you are someone who 1) focuses on their industry and, 2) apparently has the ear
of other key decision makers in the field.
Remember that in B2B sales writing you almost always have to get through
the screener. Thus the opening sentence has to do double duty. That's the
reason why if you don't use this model (or one of the other tested openings
that have been proven to work well) the chances of success decrease
dramatically.
OK, so have some fun
creating your opening sentence. I find that it's often best to write a number of
them and choose the one that you think will resonate the most powerfully with
your readers.
A QUICK NOTE...The
most powerful emotional levers for getting prospects to read and respond to
your sales letter are "Pain & Gain". These examples show you how
to use “Pain & Gain” to get prospects CALLING YOU once they read your sales
letter or email :
Now that we've
finished the opening sentence, it's time to turn our attention to the next
sentence and the second paragraph. Note...I
recommend that you use the opening sentence we prepared as a one-sentence
paragraph. So now we want to build on that and create a compelling second
paragraph. According the Direct
Marketing News, if we can get people to read the second paragraph then we have
an excellent chance of getting them down the slippery slope and reading the
entire letter or email. In this second
paragraph you want to expand on the problem that you communicated in the first
sentence. This is where the exercise of developing CONSEQUENCES will really come
in handy.
The model I like to
use for this next section is as follows:
"Unfortunately the consequences of not addressing (a
problem) can include (list 3 or 4)."
You'll want to bullet
point out the consequences. This makes them stand out and breaks up the letter
or email which is more appealing to the eye. The visual layout of your letter
is very important in making sure that it actually gets read, and bullet points
can help a lot in that regard.
Another section to
include is one that expands on the issue or problem that was raised. The way I
introduce that is as follows:
"Although (the problem) is well understood, the
underlying issues are often not readily apparent. For example in many cases we
find that the key contributors to this [problem includes: (List 3 or 4)."
This last paragraph
builds a lot of credibility for you and I'd encourage you to include it
especially if you're in the b2b market. When it's done correctly it
demonstrates that you have an in-depth understanding of the issues that surround
a particular issue.
Next we will learn
how to "bait the hook" and
get people to move from your letter and email and go to your website (or even
call you) to learn more about your services.
We are now at the
part of the letter writing process in which we make a great offer that will
motivate our readers to take the next step in the relationship building
process. The quality of the offer we make will determine how successful we are,
so this is a very important step. The
traditional offer with a sales letter or email is to encourage the reader to
call for more information. Unfortunately that "offer" usually doesn't
generate the amount of response that we want.
The reason is that it is simply too big a request, too early in the
relationship building process. The reality is that most of your readers are
afraid at this point to actually contact you themselves. They think that if
they do they'll be subjecting themselves to a hard-core sales pitch.
Thus what we want to
do at this stage is to make a soft offer...one that is a lot easier for them to
say "YES" to. The best soft offer is some sort of free information.
This might be a free report, a mini-course or perhaps a video. Any of these are
fine. What we don't want to do at this stage is to scare prospects away. We're
still at the point in which they are likely to be highly skeptical, so we want
to focus hard on building trust and creditability. Let's spend a bit of time on how we want to
phrase the offer of the free report or video. Here's one way to communicate it.
"That's why I thought our latest publication (Catchy
Title That Usually Includes 'How To...') would be of interest to you. The
report will take you less than 15 minutes to read and in that time you will
learn (List 3 or 4 benefits that people will get from reading the
report.)"
Again we want to
break up the letter or email by using bullet points since this reduces
"eye fatigue". I cannot emphasis enough how important the title of
your free report is to whether or not your prospects will request it. I want to talk briefly about the power of the
Post Script.
A lot of research
shows that the P.S. is the second most often-read part of the sales letter and
email (after the opening sentence). So what we put there is very important. If you want to increase conversions...if you
want people to actually DO what you want them to do when they are done
reading...then you want to reiterate your offer in your P.S. Thus the offer of
your free report appears twice...once in the body of the letter and once in the
P.S. If you do that, you'll find that your response rates will increase by up
to 33%
The letter is almost
completed. Now we have to build more credibility for ourselves in the last
section of the letter, and then it is ready to be sent out. The last section that you put into your sales
letter or marketing email is your credibility statement. Credibility comes from a number of sources.
In fact, one of the most powerful factors for building credibility are the
messages you send on a regular basis. Trust and credibility are created over
time, which is why it's so crucial that you send ongoing stay in touch
messages. Naturally in order to be able
to do that you've got to get the prospect to give you his or her contact
information. That's why I strongly suggest that your "offer" be a
free report or mini-course that people have to sign up for. If you're like many
of our clients, you'll find that if you add this step to the process the number
of prospects that actually convert into paying clients will increase
significantly.
OK, now onto
credibility. There are two components that go into the section in your sales
letter or email that build credibility. Your personal background and the
company's background. Even if you are your company, you'll want to separate
these out. Personal credibility. This includes such things as your education,
special training and how long you have worked in the field. If you've written
any articles or ebooks on the topic of your expertise, you want to mention them
here. When you describe your company's expertise you'll want to include the
number of years the company's been in business, results that clients get from
working with you, number/location of branch offices and any other relevant
information that you think is important to your prospect.
Another way to think
about this is to ask yourself, "Why don't clients hire me?" The more
you can address those issues in your credibility statement (and elsewhere in
your sales copy) the more you will proactively defuse rejection. These are also
the topics you want to address in your testimonials. When you combine personal and business
credibility into one section it has a synergistic effect of dramatically making
prospects more comfortable with you. But there's one other item that you want
to incorporate into virtually ALL of your marketing materials.
What is often
referred to as "social proof".
What that simply means is what others say about you and your capabilities.
The use of references is perhaps the single most important thing you can do to
build trust. You want to have them not only in your sales letters and emails,
but on your website and in any of your other marketing materials. If you
haven't yet started to collect testimonials you need to do so. (Plus, it's a
great excuse to get back in touch with former clients.)
Once your credibility
section is competed, then you want to make one last reiteration of your offer,
and now this first letter is complete and ready to go.
Obviously what has
been described thus far is just one letter template that you can use to get
more new clients. That is the reason you want to keep a "master file"
of letters you find to be effective that you can draw from. When you read a
sales letter that attracts your interest save and analyze what parts worked and
why. You do not have to reinvent the wheel.
Asking AN INTRIGUING QUESTION is one of the
most effective ways of making sure letters and emails get read.
What we are going to
address next is Subject Lines for your emails. In the next section we are going
to discuss headlines for your sales letters which is the hard copy version of
the same thing. However there are some important differences so I want to
discuss it separately. This is very
important since what we put here plays a HUGE role in getting our messages
read. Subject lines...Remember that your
email is arriving "cold". People typically look at who is sending
them the message which determines whether they open it or not. Since they
aren't going to know who we are, the subject line must be something that will
get people's attention. Here are some tips that have been enormously helpful to
me and my clients.
Ask an intriguing
question. The old standby format of "Who
else wants to...(solve a particular problem)?" still works
surprisingly well in email subject lines.
Another good question
opening in "Did you miss...?"
This obviously plays to the readers desire to be current, and the fear that
most everyone has that they may have missed something important.
This next one is
extremely effective and has HUGE open rates. It works like gang-busters as long
as you are not sending it to a niche where it has been overused (such as
internet marketers). It is simply putting, "Bad
News" in the subject line. Obviously the "bad news" is
really only the hook for the body of the email and the bulk of the message
focuses on what people are doing to address the problem. In fact there is considerable evidence that
"negative" subject lines in fact pull better than positive ones. A
recent split test by one marketer with the subject line "what went
wrong" pulled an impressive 35% open rate compared to a 17% open rate for
the more positive "More good free stuff".
Using the words "Tired of...(some problem)?"
pulls quite well for many BTF clients. It has a good emotional connection and
leverages psychological power as well. I didn't think this next one would work as
a cold subject line, but it has been tested and the results have been very positive.
The one word subject "Update" works quite well, largely because of
the curiosity it generates. I thought that using "Update" when I had
no prior connection with the reader wouldn't work, but I was wrong.
These are subject
lines that have been found to be highly effective. Next we will talk about
specific headlines for your sales letters that can double your readership
rates.
Now we will develop
headlines for your sales letters. The right type of headline on a sales letter
can dramatically increase the readership. Headlines work best when you actually
have two of them; a prehead and then the main headline. The Prehead is a short introductory statement
that appears at the very top of your sales letter. The idea of the prehead is to capture the
reader's attention, introduce the theme of your message and set the stage for
the copy that follows. Length is a
little bit up for discussion. One word preheads do quite well, and in other
cases there are preheads that have multiple sentences. However I think as a
general rule, the fewer words the better. Here are some ideas.
(You can target a
specific group)
"Attention all chiropractors..."
(Mention a specific
issue with newest solutions) "New
Cutting-Edge Technology Makes Network Security Breaches A Worry Of the
Past"
(Mention a credible
source)
"As seen on CNN..."
(Mention a surprising
fact)
"Everything you've been told about dieting is a
lie"
The prehead leads
into the main headline. The main headline should be centered and in slightly
larger and bolder print. You may also wish to highlight the words in a
different color to make them really pop out.
When preparing your headline you want to showcase the biggest benefit
that you offer your reader. Ideally what you want to do is encapsulate your
entire sales letter into one eye-catching sentence that motivates the reader to
read on into the body of the letter.
There are of
different models and templates but this one has generated good results for BTF
clients.
"Stop
Doing This...Start Doing This". It's a model that emphasizes a common
problem that the reader knows they have, and wants to avoid or solve. Here are
some examples:
"Stop Waiting For The Phone To Ring With New
Customers, Learn To Write a Simple Sales Letter And Get Flooded With New
Business."
"Stop Putting Up With Nasty Co-Workers. Learn How To
Diplomatically (Yet Effectively) Get Them To Bother Someone Else."
Some other items to
keep in mind are that the more your headline contains specifics the more
effective it will be. Thus you want it to focus on a specific issue that your
sales letter will address in more detail. (Which is why the exercise I had you
complete first on "Problems your prospect is facing" is so
important.)
There are two types
of client lists that you need to be familiar with. The first are what are referred to as
"compiled". As the name would indicate these lists are compiled from
directories and other information that is readily available. The good news is that compiled lists are
pretty inexpensive and widely available. Probably the best resources for these
types of lists is InfoUSA.com.
You can create your
list by selecting different parameters. These include titles of the individual,
zip code, headquarters or branch locations, home addresses, size of company,
industry, credit rating, among many others.
What I like about InfoUSA.com is that they have an online tool that
enables you to compile your list quickly and easily. They are the largest
supplier of mailing lists and the quality is quite good.
The disadvantage is
that their lists get mailed to a
The second type of
list is what is referred to as a "response" list. These are lists of
people who have responded to certain offers in the past. The premise behind the
power of these lists is that people who have responded to an offer similar to
yours, are likely to be receptive to your offer as well. Let me give you an
example.
BTF is a believer
that far too many small business owners and consultants focus on WHAT they do,
rather than HOW they are going to keep their pipeline of new business full.
If you recognize that
people who had purchased a specific or
household item would probably make good prospects then the list of buyers is an
example of a "response" list. You can find brokers who offer highly
specialized lists by going on Google and searching for "Your-Topic Response Mailing Lists".
Mailing lists are
sold with a minimum size of 1000 names. That doesn't mean you need to get 100
names, it just means that you'll pay the same for 250 names as you will 1000.
Lists from InfoUSA tend to be quite inexpensive while response lists (which
tend to pull higher levels of prospects) tend to cost more. The best advice is to
shop around and don't purchase from the first vendor you find. Lists tend to be
available from multiple sources.
Email lists are
slightly different. You still pay on a per name basis, but you never actually
receive the email addresses. Rather, you send your email sales letter to the
broker who sends it out for you. Anyone who responds to your email and opts-in
to get your free report or mini-course then becomes your subscriber, who you
can mail to as often as you wish.
That's the reason why
I keep emphasizing the importance of having great offers of information in your
sales letters.
Next we will share
information with you about how to use emotional triggers in your copy to get
people to do what you want them to do.
We often think that
when we write a sales cover letter that it should be about us and the services
we offer. However, if you've been writing sales letters or emails for any
length of time, you know that the real focus needs to be on your reader. What
they desire. What they are afraid of. Tapping into these emotional triggers is
what separates sales letters that get read and acted on from those that get
dismissed.
The next question is
"What emotions should I focus on?" Although it can be argued that
there are a lot of potential emotions you could emphasize on, the most
important ones are those that focus on either pain or gain. Throughout
copywriting history these twin levers are the two most powerful.
Focusing on the
emotion of gain refers to your reader's aspirations, goals and ambitions. It is
the positive outcome they desire. What makes this even more powerful is that it
is closely linked with hope. Providing readers with hope is crucial if we
expect them to take action.
If our readers do not
feel that they can achieve the goal, if they feel that attainment is outside of
their capabilities, then inertia will take over. That's deadly since our goal
at the conclusion of the letter or email is to motivate our readers to do
something. Unless they feel hope and aspire to the "gain" that is communicated
in the copy, they won't act. Thus you want to ensure that your copy is filled
with emotion laden statements that emphasize the gain that one can achieve by
taking action.
However, as powerful
as the emotion of gain is, it is pain that causes most people to actually act.
In my opinion if you are going to focus on one emotion in your sales letter, it
should be those associated with pain.
So how do we
communicate pain? It's most effectively done through a two-step process. First,
you want to communicate what the problem is that your readers are facing. I'm
assuming that you're writing to a highly niched market or offering a very
specific service to a larger group of prospects. People pay attention to
problems that either they suffer from or that those who are similar to them
face. Thus the more you niche your audience the better.
However, just stating
the problem by itself is usually not enough. You need to build on it. Make your
readers really care about it to the point where they are willing to take
action. In order to do that you need to communicate consequences. These are
simply the answer to, "What happens if the problem isn't addressed?"
As you can imagine this is where we really make the reader care about the
problem.
So if you focus on
these items, you can create sales letters that not only get read but also
motivate people to take ACTION. And ultimately that's what it's all about. A couple of helpful items that I wanted to
mention...HANDLING OBJECTIONS...You know that not everyone is going to buy from
you but you can dramatically increase the percentage that do by proactively
addressing objections. It's not hard to do.
Think about the 2 or
3 most common reasons why people don't buy from you and address them very
forthrightly in the second letter of a three letter sequence that you send out.
An important point about using letters or email is that just a one time shot
isn't going to yield the desired results. I've found over years of testing that
a sequence of 3 is the optimal number.
The BTF auto responder program on our website sends 12 Email Memos.
(This is particularly
true if you are marketing in the B2B space.)
The first letter is
modeled after the one that I gave you the template for in the earlier lessons.
In letter number 2 address some of the objections that people have about
working with you. In letter number 3, you use a little bit of "guilt"
to get those who haven't responded yet to do so.
There are a number of
different ways you can structure the 3-letter sequence. I want to conclude this
paper with a few words about your follow-up messages. After 17 years of advising people just like
you on how to get more new business, the one conclusion I've reached is that
converting prospects into paying clients all depends upon WHAT and HOW often
you stay in touch.
Let me leave you with
a reiteration of one final point. The
only real difference between a person who is highly effective sales
communicator and one who isn’t is the amount of practice they put in. Unfortunately far too many people try to
"wing-it". They think that they are better at selling than in fact
they are. And the results speak for
themselves. Every top producer I've
ever met, invests time in honing their sales skills. This means receiving coaching and feedback.
If you know of someone who IS BETTER THAN YOU AT SELLING (who also is willing
to coach you) that's where I'd turn to first.
I hope you have found
this mini-course to be helpful. Naturally I would love to hear about your
successes and how you apply what we have been learning. If you would like to
remain on BTF’s mailing list you can do so by visiting http://www.btfmanagement.com
and receiving my free BTF Crash Course Report by filling out the Contact Form.
|
The Law of Curiosity: Your
Prospects need new information. |
|
There
is one thing that all of us need desperately and that is new
information. Our brains are actually programmed to seek out new
information. Psychologists call this The Orienting Response. Most of us
refer to this as curiosity. If we think information is new we are
automatically drawn to it like a magnet. It is an essential element of
our behavior that allows us to survive. Prospects are Drawn To New Information Like a Magnet: No
matter how bored or overwhelmed with marketing messages we are, we will
always check out something new. We can't help ourselves because that is
what our brain tells us to do.
So if you want to get the prospect’s attention tell him
something or show him something he haven't heard or seen before. What If Your Information is Not New? True,
you have a bit of a problem there but there is a way around it. You can trick
the brain into paying attention to your information by making him think it is
something new or at least a new twist on something he already knows
about. Simply by inserting a
phrase like "non traditional" or "new approach" or
"way beyond" you make it more likely that your message will be read
because the brain believes that there may be some new information there. And
if you do have new information you have to make sure you state loud and clear
in your marketing message that you have something new to tell. Remember the client is getting those 30,000
commercial messages a day flying at him from every direction and his brain is
screening out everything immediately that is not either of immediate interest
or promises some new information. Your Prospect Has a Giant Filing
Cabinet of Information in Their Brain: Let's
think about how the brain processes this stream of commercial messages.
A quick glance or listen and compare them to a giant filing cabinet in my
brain. If they are the same or similar to anything I have already
filed, I ignore them. Seen that, done that, heard that. On to the
next message. But if the brain
is not sure what the information is, it can't slot them into the proper
filing drawer so he has to investigate further to find out where they belong. As good as the brain is at screening
out information; it simply can't walk away from new information.
Remember that the next time you are designing your marketing message.
If it is new make sure you advertise that fact and even if it isn't new try
to promise at least a new twist on the old to make me curious enough to want
to find out. __________________________________________________________ |