Do you use sales letters in your marketing and advertising to your prospects and clients? Using simple sales letters is the most reliable and powerful method of selling anything. The most successful businesses use sales letters to make loads of money.
In this age of the internet, so many people use email and the internet to sell, which are both great vehicles. However, I really think the direct mailed sales letter is a lost medium. We're all too caught up in the inexpensiveness of sending emails and getting people to go to our websites.
I would recommend using a variety of media in selling your products and services- email, web and direct mail. I would strongly urge you to use a printed sales letter, especially if you're aiming at smaller businesses. This is really the workhouse of all your media.
A simple letter if done well, written like you're speaking to them, and is personalized, and has an offer and reason to respond, will develop rapport and will get your prospects to contact you.
Here are some key things every sales letter has to contain:
1) Killer Headline- Every sales letter has to have headline filled with a benefit that will get the attention of the reader to want to read more.
2) A photo of you- Most especially if you're in the service business, a picture is worth a thousand words.
3) Here's how the copy should flow- Start off by addressing a problem they are having, then agitate that problem, than finally offer them a solution which will be your product or service.
4) Don't forget to have an irresistible offer in your letter (one that will make them respond and take advantage of your offer) and only 1 offer- don't confuse your prospects by offering them a free report a discount coupon and an invite to your seminar- talk about overload and convoluted message!
5) Always give them more than one way to respond- web, email, fax, or call a 24 hour hotline
6) Always have a deadline to respond by- within 12 days, no later
7) Always have at least one testimonial in your letter, 2 - 3 are preferable
8) Always have at least one PS that summarizes your offer. (I usually have 3 - 4 PS's.)
Sales letters are really a simple and easy tool to get new prospects. One thing to keep in mind, don't just send one letter. You're leaving money on the table- always send them out in a series of 2 - 3 letters.
You'll increase your response rate by sending at least 2 or 3 direct mail pieces. So start writing!
Have you ever been at a crossroads in business or in life where there were two different paths to choose from? Did you put yourself through major pain and suffering because you didn't know which one to take?
Why not ask yourself: How did I make my decision as to which path to follow? What was it based on? What if I made a mistake and took the wrong path? What am I going to do next time?
I've been faced with choice dilemmas countless times in my life. After each decision, I've found that un-doubtedly I'd made the right choice at that time. I've not regretted a single choice. Honestly, I believe there are no right or wrong choices. I make decisions based on 3 resources: creating a list of pros and cons, listening to my gut, and getting feedback on my decision from a team of close and trusted friends and colleagues.
We will continue to find ourselves on the threshold of change, our fate determined by a choice we're about to make. The question is not how do we eliminate the need for making difficult choices, it's how do we avoid the paralysis that prevents us from taking any action. So many businesses lose ground by facing the empowerment of choice with indecision and inaction.
They either don't act on it at all, or act so slowly that change is ineffective.
What I want for you and your business is to see you take control of your choice opportunities: plan ahead, carve out your marketing path, make your decisions swiftly, and take action. One way to start is to calculate the lifetime value of your clients. Find out how much acquiring a new client is worth to you and then make informed decisions on your marketing budget for the year.
Also, thoroughly analyze your client base-What do they eat? Where do they shop? What do they read? Where to do they live? What kind of car do they drive? How many credit cards to they have? Do they have children, a computer, etc.? The more you know about your client, the better you can reach them with an advertising strategy that has enough variety to meet their needs.
Whatever your current marketing plans are, it will be time well-spent to figure out what your clients are worth and who they are. Then you'll be able to better incorporate your marketing campaigns to get their attention and show how well you are positioned to meet their marketing needs.
Have you ever been at a crossroads in business or in life where there were two different paths to choose from? Did you put yourself through major pain and suffering because you didn't know which one to take?
Why not ask yourself: How did I make my decision as to which path to follow? What was it based on? What if I made a mistake and took the wrong path? What am I going to do next time?
I've been faced with choice dilemmas countless times in my life. After each decision, I've found that un-doubtedly I'd made the right choice at that time. I've not regretted a single choice. Honestly, I believe there are no right or wrong choices. I make decisions based on 3 resources: creating a list of pros and cons, listening to my gut, and getting feedback on my decision from a team of close and trusted friends and colleagues.
We will continue to find ourselves on the threshold of change, our fate determined by a choice we're about to make. The question is not how do we eliminate the need for making difficult choices, it's how do we avoid the paralysis that prevents us from taking any action. So many businesses lose ground by facing the empowerment of choice with indecision and inaction.
They either don't act on it at all, or act so slowly that change is ineffective.
What I want for you and your business is to see you take control of your choice opportunities: plan ahead, carve out your marketing path, make your decisions swiftly, and take action. One way to start is to calculate the lifetime value of your clients. Find out how much acquiring a new client is worth to you and then make informed decisions on your marketing budget for the year.
Also, thoroughly analyze your client base-What do they eat? Where do they shop? What do they read? Where to do they live? What kind of car do they drive? How many credit cards to they have? Do they have children, a computer, etc.? The more you know about your client, the better you can reach them with an advertising strategy that has enough variety to meet their needs.
Whatever your current marketing plans are, it will be time well-spent to figure out what your clients are worth and who they are. Then you'll be able to better incorporate your marketing campaigns to get their attention and show how well you are positioned to meet their marketing needs.
If I were to ask you what business you were in, what would you say? Would you tell me you're in the interior design business, or that you're a life coach, or that you're in the technology or training business? Here's the real scary answer and it requires a MAJOR SHIFT in YOUR thinking. You're not in the business you think you're in. If you want selling to your clients and customers to be easy, if you want to make a lot of money and, if you want to propel yourself ahead of all your competitors then listen up closely here. You are in the relationship business. You are in the business of communicating information in an entertaining, fun way to connect with your clients and prospects and establish an ongoing relationship with them. You want to keep adding value to your current customers and prospects, as well as connect with them on a human level. If you work for a company or corporation that wants to sell to small businesses, one of the worst things you can do is treat them impersonally like a number, or just another widget in your cog of the wheel of your company.
Here's an example of how you can add value- you need to communicate with your customers at the very least- once a month. A great way to do this is with a monthly printed newsletter. This newsletter needs to be a friendly communication that informs, educates, entertains and demonstrates your expertise. If a newsletter is too daunting, you could also use a large sized postcard or send out a monthly email newsletter that pulls people to your website. The ideas of how to do this are endless.
The key is you need to establish a relationship with your clients and prospects and communicate with them on a regular basis. You always want your business or service to be in the top of their mind. The best way to do this is to establish yourself as more than a business or service. They need to get to know you, and feel they can relate to you. This lesson is huge and the businesses and entrepreneurs that "get this" are taking it all the way to the bank. Take some time out of your busy day to come up with some ideas today to start using this principal. If you do, you too can reap the rewards.
I'm taking a bit of liberty here by taking off the famous line of "let her rip." So "let her stick," is an incredible way that you can get your new clients to stay with you and your products or services.
What is a "stick letter?" It's just one strategic way of reducing your refunds. It's definitely something that you send to someone AFTER he or she buys your product or service. Do you ever send a thank you letter? Well a “stick letter” is just another thank you letter on steroids because it truly "sticks."
The whole key after a client buys your product or service is you want them to NOT return it, or want a refund. This letter is more than a thank you, it not only thanks them for buying the product but it reiterates all the awesome benefits to get them all excited about having your hot product in their hands.
Also if it might take some time for your product to show results to them, this letter will help encourage and motivate them. You spell out for them not go give up and give them specific steps on where and how to start using your product. Let's look at a good example of how to word this from Dave Dee, Info Marketing guru- "Now, don't you give up. People are going to be telling you that you can't do it. Your friends are going to say, 'this isn't going to work.' Don't believe them, believe in yourself!" Dave wants to get them all fired up and remember why they bought this product in the first place.
The deal is you want buyers remorse to disappear as quickly as it came into their mind. Let's face it after people make large purchases they often question, 'did I make the right decision to buy this expensive program, product or service?'
By sending them your "stick letter" you're erasing that remorse from their consciousness and reassuring them that they made an awesome decision for buying your product or service.
Take out your pen and let her rip on that "stick letter."
Knowing how you stand out from your competition and what makes your products or services unique from your competition is key. This gets to the real question of what's your USP or Unique Selling Proposition? Is it compelling enough to your audience to buy from you?
A USP is the reason why your customers or clients should be using your products or services versus doing nothing at all. This may sound harsh, but it's true, the reality is your potential customers or clients don't have to do business with you, they can simply do nothing at all or go elsewhere.
Your USP has to be so compelling to your audience that they decide to purchase from you. Let me give you an example, if my USP is "We're bigger and better than the competition." This is good, yet we need to dig down deeper. The best way we'd go about this is by using the words "so that." You're bigger and better so that- you can handle more clients in less time, so that- you do projects quickly and more efficiently so that-... and you can basically keep going. By using the term "so that," you can really sharpen your USP to get at the heart of what you do for your clients. Look at GE's USP- "Imagination at Work," or Dominoes original USP- "Delivered to you in 30 minutes or it's free," or Verizon Wireless- "From America's Most Reliable Network." These USP really get at the heart of what they do well.
In order to get at the heart of your USP you need to really study and understand the pain your customers feel and address that pain with specific language. A good example of that is an oldie- "M&M's they melt in your mouth, not in your hands." This gets to the real benefit that people who eat chocolate don't want to get it all over their hands- M&M's- problem solved. (Hence this was perfect back in WW II when it was invented, so soldiers wouldn't get chocolate all over their hands in the battlefield.)
How do you go about finding that USP for your products or services? One way is to go right to your clients or customers and ASK THEM why they use you, and focus on your uniqueness. What pain or problems do your customers have that you're trying to solve? What makes you so unique that they would rather buy from you than someone else? Take a pen and paper and start your list, or call/email your current clients today and write or rewrite your USP!
The key to your future riches in closing your prospects, is knowing their hot buttons. If you're a big business looking to work with smaller businesses and help them with specific aspects, you better know their lingo and be able to speak their language. You see the more you know not only about who your prospects are, but what's their emotional hot button, and what keeps them awake at night.
Here's a terrific exercise for you and the first big step to getting at their hot buttons. Take out a sheet of paper and start writing.
Think about who your top 10 clients are right now. Then I want you to answer these 5 questions about them:
1) What kinds of advertising do they respond to? Is it direct mail, phone calls, personal visits, irresistible offers, or maybe a combination of these.
2) What do they read and where do they get this stuff? You need to check out newsletters, consumer magazines, industry newspapers, trade publications, and community newspapers
3) What trade shows do they go to? Do they go to local community events, national conventions, state fairs, local consumer shows, etc.
4) How did your past clients hear about you? Was it word of mouth, a flyer, direct mail piece, telemarketing, internet, email or an ad stuffer
5) What clubs, groups or associations do they belong to? Write down any associations, clubs, business groups or networking groups they attend.
After you've answered these questions, I'd suggest you sign up and maybe attend some of these clubs, associations or trade shows. I'd even say you might want to subscribe to the publications and maybe even contribute to them with writing an article or placing and ad. When you immerse yourself in their world, a light bulb will go off, and you'll know how to appeal to them in a much more meaningful way. The more you know about your prospect and us it in your advertising, the more you will attract the right prospects and be able to close them.
EvanCarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies. Evan also runs a series of successful Mastermind Groups in Toronto for entrepreneurs.
Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
