March 18, 2011

The other day I was working on this issue with a client. She is relatively new to sales and had some preconceived ideas about what a sales letter should include. It got me thinking about the intent and content of an effective sales letter.

When it comes to intent, consider Stephen Covey’s second habit of highly effective people —“Begin with the end in mind.” What is it you hope to accomplish with your letter? Here’s a hint—it isn't the sale—it's to obtain a meeting, a conversation. An effective sales letter is designed to help you get an appointment, an opportunity to engage the prospect in a conversation about their business and their needs.

So, what do you say in this letter? Let's talk about the three rules of content.

1. Less is more.

People don’t read—they don’t have time or interest. Your job is to grab their attention with short, bulleted statements that speak to them. It’s not about what you think is important. It’s about what they need. The trick is to get their attention quickly.

The goal is to get the meeting so you can determine whether there is a fit. You won’t know whether you can help them until you’ve had a chance to sit down and talk with them. Letting them know this in the sales letter shows that you know what you are doing. It also takes the pressure off so they will be more likely to take your call.

When you structure your letter in the following way, you can achieve your goals:

• Opening statement or question to explain why you are writing. This can be something like ‘Mr. Smith suggested I contact you when we were talking about my company.’ Or, ‘If it was possible to improve performance and morale, would that be worth a conversation?’

• Using phrases like: ‘we may have a solution’ or ‘I might have the product you need.’ The words ‘may’ and ‘might’ let the prospect know that you are looking for an opportunity to discover, not sell.

2. It’s not a brochure.

This is not your opportunity to tell them everything about your company, products or services. Frankly, they don’t care right now. So many people think the sales letter’s purpose is to tell the prospect about their company. They think that the prospect will read this information and want to do business with them. It doesn’t work that way. Sales is about the prospect and his needs.

The content should speak to those needs. You want the prospect to say "Hey, I have that problem! I should talk with this person."

3. The call to action is yours.

The mistake that most people make is putting the following at the end of the letter—"If this sounds good, give me a call." The call to action is yours. You don't want to leave it in the hands of the prospect.

Prospects want to know that you want to do business with them—specifically. When you tell them to call you, you are basically telling them that you are fishing wide and far and will take whatever comes your way. Instead, say "I’ll give you a call next week to schedule a time when we can talk about the possibilities." Now you are telling them that you are interested in them. You understand that the work is yours to do, not theirs.

You are also letting them know that you aren’t going to try to sell them over the phone. This is critical. No one likes to be sold. Most people, however, are open to having a discovery conversation to see if there’s a reason to continue building the relationship. When you say you will call to schedule an appointment, you are, in effect, letting them know that you understand this.

So you can see that the intent and content of an effective sales letter is to convey the message that you’d like the opportunity to have a conversation with the prospect. You are framing your letter around the idea of discovery. Most people are open to talking about solutions and possibilities. They are much more open to talking than they are to being sold.

Diane Helbig is a Professional Coach and the President of Seize This Day Coaching. Diane is a Contributing Editor on COSE Mindspring, a resource website for small business owners, as well as a member of the Sales Experts Panel at Top Sales Experts.

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