Regardless of what you're trying to sell, you really can't
sell it without "talking" with your prospective buyer. An in
attempting to sell anything by mail, the sales letter you send out is when and
how you talk to your prospect.
All winning sales letters "talk" to the prospect by
creating an image in the mind of the reader. They set "the scene" by
appealing to a desire or need; and then they flow smoothly into the
"visionary" part of the sales pitch by describing in detail how
"wonderful" life will be and, how "good" the prospect is
going to feel after he's purchased your product. This is the "body or
guts" of a sales letter.
Overall, a winning sales letter follows a time-tested and
proven formula: 1) Get his attention 2) Get him interested in what you can do
for him 3) Make him desire the benefits of your product so badly his mouth
begins to water 4) Demand action from him - tell him to send for whatever it is
you're selling without delay - any procrastination on his part might cause him
to lose out. This is called the "AIDA" formula and it works.
Sales letters that pull in the most sales are almost always
two pages with 1 1/2 spaces between lines. For really big ticket items, they'll
run at least four pages - on an 11 by 17 sheet of paper folded in half. If your
sales letter is only two pages in length, there's nothing wrong with running it
on the front and back of one sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 paper. However, your sales
letter should always be on letterhead paper - your letterhead printed, and
including your logo and business motto if you have one.
Regardless of the length of your sales letter, it should do
one thing, and that's sell, and sell hard! If you intend to close the sale,
you've got to do it with your sales letter. You should never by
"wishy-washy" with your sales letter and expect to close the sale with
a color brochure or circular. You do the actual selling and the closing of that
sale with your sales letter - any brochure or circular you send along with it
will just reinforce what you say in the sales letter.
There's been a great deal of discussion in the past few years
regarding just how long a sales letter should be. A lot of people are asking:
Will people really take the time to read a long sales letter. The answer is a
simple and time-tested yes indeed! Surveys and tests over the years emphatically
prove that "longer sales letters" pull even better than the shorter
ones, so don't worry about the length of your sales letter - just make sure that
it sells your product for you!
The "inside secret" is to make your sales letter so
interesting, and "visionary" with the benefits you're offering to the
reader, that he can't resist reading it all the way through. You break up the
"work" of reading by using short, punchy sentences, underlining
important points you're trying to make, with the use of subheadlines,
indentations and even the use of a second color.
Relative to the brochures and circulars you may want to
include with your sales letter to reinforce the sale - providing the materials
you're enclosing are of the best quality, they will generally reinforce the sale
for you. But, if they are of poor quality, look cheap and don't compliment your
sales letter, then you shouldn't be using them. Another thing, it will
definitely classify you as an independent homeworker if your hand-stamp your
name/address on these brochures or advertising circulars.
Whenever possible, and so long as you have really good
brochures to send out, have your printer run them through his press and print
your name/address - even your telephone number and company logo - on them before
you send them out. The thing is, you want your prospect to think of you as his
supplier - the company - and not as just another mail order operator. Sure, you
can get by with less expense but you'll end up with fewer orders and in the end,
less profits.
Another thing that's been bandied about and discussed from
every direction for years is whether to use a post office box number or your
street address. Generally, it's best to include both your post office box
number, AND, your street address on your sales letter. This kind of open display
of your honesty will give you credibility and dispel the thought of you being
just another "fly-by-night" mail order company in the mind of your
prospect.
Above all else, you've got to include some sort of ordering
coupon. This coupon has to be as simple and as easy for the prospect to fill out
and return to you as you can possible make it. A great many sales are lost
because this order coupon is just too complicated for the would-be buyer to
follow. Don't get fancy! Keep it simple, and you'll find your prospects
responding with glee.
Should your or shouldn't you include a self-addressed reply
envelope? There are a lot of variable as well as pro's and con's to this
question, but overall, when you send out a "winning" sales letter to a
good mailing list, a return reply envelope will increase your response
tremendously.
Tests of late seem to indicate that it isn't that big a deal
or difference in responses relative to whether you do or don't pre-stamp the
return reply envelope. Again, the decision here will rest primarily on the
product you're selling and the mailing list you're using. Our recommendation
that you experiment - try it both ways - with subsequent mailings and decide for
yourself from there.
