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Ralph Allora is the principal owner of Allora Communications, a consultancy specializing in marketing communication strategy, promotions, and creative services for a wide range of clients in the media and service industries.

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WINNING SALES LETTERS—FROM PROSPECT TO CLOSE

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

You wouldn't start a business without first hammering out a plan. You wouldn't call a meeting without first establishing an agenda. So why would you sit down at your desk with your fingers hovering over the keyboard if you haven't put a little thought into the structure of your written sales message?

You're probably anxious to get right to the juicier stuff—the hot-button techniques that help to sway opinion and influence action. Before you can truly sculpt your work of art, though, you need to be able to manipulate the raw materials correctly. This chapter will show you how to chip away at the rough form of your message—the starting point for crafting an effective, professional-looking introductory letter.

ORGANIZATION

Preparing to write a sales letter or an e-mail isn't too dissimilar from thinking about how you'll present your oral pitch in a sales call or customer meeting. Just as various types of sales calls have different objectives, so too does the written note, whether it's an introductory letter, a follow-up on a call, or an e-mail addressing a specific objection. What these messages have in common is that they must address four key questions, all of which you should consider before you start typing:

1. What is the problem or challenge faced by my client or prospect?

This can be answered through the same homework you'd undertake for any client call. As stated in the introduction, it's a given that you'll need to do the research on the customer's needs, analyze the competitive set, and read the trade reports.

Examples of some issues that your prospect might be facing include

• Rising costs

• Inferior service from suppliers

• Shrinking market share

• Information overload

• Lack of time

2. What is it about my product, service, or business proposal that helps to solve the problem?

If you're representing a larger organization, this answer usually is found in training materials, the corporate Web site, press releases, and other resources or through discussions with management or coworkers. (You might have to dig a bit—sometimes, unfortunately, the core message is buried.) If you're completely on your own, use your judgment, and bounce ideas off trusted industry colleagues.

Examples of how you can help to solve the problem include

• Provide great value.

• Provide superior service.

• Provide high quality.

• Provide productivity-enhancing technology.

• Provide versatility of use.

3. What do I want the client or prospect to do as a result of reading this message?

This is the call to action. Based on where you are in the selling process, think carefully about the specific action you want the client to take after he or she finishes reading the note.

Examples of a call to action include

• Visit our Web site.

• Read our brochure.

• Make an appointment with us.

• Buy our product/service online.

• Consider our latest offer.

• Try our free demo.

4. What in this message will specifically benefit the client or prospect?

It's one thing to make a claim, but it's quite another to back it up. Focus on something precise or measurable in the letter that will improve the client's quality of life or business prospects.

Examples of specific benefits include

• Incentive that adds value

• Research-tested growth in productivity

• No-risk terms of service

• Proven durability that reduces long-term costs

• Options tailored exclusively to the client's needs

Until you're prepared to identify each of these points, it's nearly impossible to begin writing effectively. So take the time now to sketch out the answers.

Note: Among the preceding questions, you'll find the first three covered in greater detail in this chapter; the final one is covered in Chapter 2.

FORMATTING

You're just about ready to open up a new document and get to work. Let's get the mechanics of printed letters out of the way first. This part isn't about writing per se, but it's no less vital to the image you're conveying.

The rules here are discussed within the framework of a printed letter. For special formatting rules regarding e-mails and text messages, see Chapter 4.

In the body of the letter, use 12-point type. Anything smaller is difficult to read, so don't cheat by dropping to 10-point type if you're trying to cram everything onto a single page. On the other end of the scale, anything that is larger than 12-point type looks awkward.

Paragraphs should be flush left, single-spaced. Some traditionalists like to indent new paragraphs without leaving space after each one, which is the method used in this book. While this works just fine for a denser, long-form work such as a book, it makes a letter tougher to read. For maximum reader-friendliness, keep some air between paragraphs by separating each one with a blank line.

If your letter is particularly short and you want to give the letter more gravity by filling out the page, set the line spacing to 1.5 lines.

In terms of typeface, you might peruse your word processing program's dozens of available fonts and be tempted to get creative with the actual look of the letter. Don't do it. Fancy, artistic typefaces may look great on wedding invitations, but they have no place in a sales letter. You want the letter to be professional and readable. I'm partial to Times New Roman for a classic, refined look or Arial for a clean, modern feel.

OPENING/SALUTATION

For a printed letter, this is the easiest part of all.

• Start with today's date on its own line.

• Add a blank line, and then stack the recipient's name, title, and address.

• Add a blank line, and start your salutation.

• Add another blank line, and start the letter.

• Make the type flush left—no need to indent anything.

With e-mails, you can skip everything before the salutation ("Dear Norma").

Addressing the Reader

When was the last time you shook a client's hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Jones"? The days have long passed since business communication required that kind of stilted formality. In the salutation of your letter, you're almost always at liberty to greet your client by his or her first name regardless of whether you've actually met the person.

One key exception here is if your audience is extremely high-end or powerful, for example, CEOs, celebrities, or ultra-affluent consumers. They are accustomed to other people deferring to them on a regular basis, so your implied familiarity may rub them the wrong way. Maintain the proper distance, and stick to the old-fashioned "Dear Mr. Gates" or "Dear Ms. Winfrey."

Beyond that, you can use your judgment. If you've done enough background on your prospect to know that he or she is the stuffy type or if you perceive that the prospect far outstrips you in experience or stature, then you might want to err on the side of formality, at least in the first letter.

Mass Mailings

The preceding rule on addressing the reader applies even if you're sending out a mass mailing to hundreds of prospects. The worst thing you can do here is to fire off a blanket message with the catch-all salutation, "Dear Friend." It makes it painfully obvious to your prospect that he or she isn't your friend but is merely among the hordes of people getting the same pitch.

Instead, use a mailing database or e-mail distribution program (various software programs are available online) that allows you to personalize fields within the salutation and body of the message. Set up customization of the recipient's name in the salutation (again, first name only in most cases), and find a couple of spots within the text in which to drop the client's company name (if applicable).

If you're targeting businesses and your database includes job titles, try this trick: Drop in a sentence that says, "As , you understand how critical it is to...." With the ability to drop in the recipient's actual title, this creates the perception that you're talking directly to that individual and not to a group.

A caveat: Be sure to run tests on these programs because they're certainly not infallible. Check as many letters as possible for quality control. If your client is Susan Jones at Dynamic Corp. and she receives a letter that begins "Dear Dynamic," you would have been better off addressing her as "Dear Friend."

If you don't have access to or funding for a customizable database, you'll have to tough it out and send the letter with no personalization. At the very least, try to address the recipients by their general profession or shared interests based on whatever level of information you have about them.

This establishes from the beginning that you know something essential about the person to whom you are writing and that the letter addresses his or her specific needs.

FIRST PARAGRAPH

So far, so good. Now comes the real work of the letter itself, which you can tackle by breaking down the message into its basic foundational parts. The first paragraph should present the problem or challenge that is faced by your client and then offer the general solution in the form of your product or service. Subsequent paragraphs should support the main point in more detail by describing specific client benefits, and the closing paragraph should let the reader know exactly what you want him or her to do.

Let's start by diagramming the opening paragraph—it's by far the most vital part of your letter, so you'll be spending the most time on it.

The Challenge ... and the Solution

As a sales professional or entrepreneur, you are, by nature, a problem solver. Your organization has identified a need or gap in the marketplace and has filled it with a certain product or service. In other words, regardless of your actual offering, what you're really selling are solutions. So the logical way to start your letter is by stating the fundamental problem or need faced by your prospect.

Now, no one likes to be reminded about the personal or business challenges he or she faces—the gloom-and-doom approach doesn't get you very far with most people. So your task is to do it in a way that's compelling and attention-getting but at the same time empathetic and nonthreatening.

The next step? Solving the challenge, of course. Even before you dive into your product or service, you'll want to briefly describe how the prospect can optimize his or her situation. Here are a couple of ways to do this.

Business-to-Business Letter For a business-to-business letter, you might want to start by presenting the bigger picture of what's going on in the client's industry, followed by the general solution.

In the following example, the solution is actually built into the setup sentence.

When you're reminding the prospect of a less-than-stellar situation in the marketplace, you'll want to frame it in as neutral a light as possible. Use phrases like the industry is changing instead of the industry is in trouble. Use words like challenges or tests instead of problems or difficulties.

If your prospect is fortunate enough to have things going swimmingly with his or her business or industry, acknowledge it, and then get the prospect thinking about what comes next.

Consumer Letter When writing to a consumer prospect, the approach is a bit different. You might want to remind him or her about all the thinking that needs to go into making a key purchase decision. Then present the general solution.

In the first example above, the solution is presented in the form of a rhetorical question. (See "Ask a Rhetorical Question" in Chapter 3 for more detail.) The latter example uses a modified version of the rhetorical question in which the challenge and the solution are inseparable. By getting prospects to ask themselves the question, you've helped them to arrive at the answer.

A slightly different approach is to build your letter around a seasonal theme or another hook that's timely and relevant to your prospect.

Again, before you can state the case for your product or service, you need to remind the reader of why he or she needs it.

The Core Idea

Now that you've set up the challenge and have offered a teaser solution, it's time for your product or service to swoop in on its white horse and rescue the prospect.

This is your core idea—the one thing you want the reader to remember from the letter. Yes, it's another way of describing that old business saw, the unique selling point (USP)—the specific claim that only your company can make and that sets you apart in the marketplace. To look at it another way, it's the written equivalent of the 30-second elevator pitch or the thesis statement from your college or grad-school writing days.

Since this is the crux of your message, don't skimp on the brainpower for this one or attempt to wing it. Put in as much time as necessary to build a compelling statement. Try out several options, and get opinions from colleagues or trusted business partners on which one makes the best case.

If you're brand new to the client, keep the core idea fairly general—if you get too granular, you'll have difficulty trying to support your idea in subsequent paragraphs. And make sure that you express your core idea either in the opening paragraph or in the opening sentence of the second paragraph. Do not begin the letter with a long, rambling treatise on the state of the industry, only to bury your lead halfway through the letter—the recipient may never get that far.

Here are a few examples of a core idea:

XYZ Insurance Co. offers the most affordable, flexible life insurance policy choices in the industry.

Acme, Inc., helps eco-conscious travelers have peace of mind on their vacations, knowing that every aspect of their trip is being carbon-offset.

XYZ Diagnostic Co. sets the standard within the medical industry for advanced, exceptionally precise monitoring equipment and cost-effective operation.

I offer a wide range of tax services targeted directly to small-business owners like you, at rates that fit a small-business budget.

Here's how the first core idea above might fit within an opening paragraph:

Some of the most important questions are ones few of us want to address: Will my family be able to support itself when I'm gone? Can I afford to protect them when my budget is limited right now? XYZ Insurance Co. can help you deal with these issues in a stress-free way. We offer some of the most affordable, flexible life insurance policy choices in the industry.

Notice the flow: First comes the problem (my family might not be able to support itself in my absence; I'm not sure I can afford life insurance), then the solution (a stress-free way to deal with those issues), and then your core idea (XYZ's life insurance policies are flexible and affordable).

Also notice that when it is dropped into the paragraph, the core idea is altered slightly from the original stand-alone version (in this case so that the company's name falls in the preceding sentence).

No matter; the basic idea hasn't changed. You're allowed to tweak it a bit to fit into the context of the paragraph.

Here's one more example of a core idea:

Acme Corp. manufactures the highest-quality industrial tools, designed to help keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently.

And here's how it might fit within an opening paragraph:

With operational costs rising in the widget industry, now is the ideal time to reassess the effectiveness of your existing manufacturing tools. One supplier has your long-term needs in mind: Acme Corp. We manufacture the highest-quality industrial tools, designed to help keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently.

Again, notice the flow: First comes the problem (operational costs are rising), then the solution (time to reassess your tools), and then your core idea (Acme Corp.'s tools keep operations running smoothly and efficiently). The original core idea again has been altered slightly, placing the company's name in the preceding sentence.

The Core Idea in Follow-up Letters

If your letter is a follow-up note rather than an introductory letter, you can more or less skip the whole problem/solution setup. Instead, go right to the core idea. Rather than repeating every point from the original letter, though, start to get more precise. Lead with a more focused core idea that's relevant to this new stage of the sales process, and stick to it throughout the letter.

Later in this book, in Chapter 5, you'll find much more on how to handle specific situations throughout the entire sales process.

SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS

Everything you write after the first paragraph should reinforce the core idea. Period. It's vital that you express your idea in more detail because no one will buy your sales claim without adequate proof. As you craft your letter, think about two or three specific or measurable points that will support your central argument.

By specific, I mean something that ideally can be quantified. If you're claiming to help make a client's customer-service operation more efficient, make sure that you've got data in your back pocket to demonstrate how the typical call time can be reduced, for example. Or be able to produce a case study about how you improved efficiency for another client.

By measurable, I mean something that ideally can be verified by an objective source outside your organization. If possible, find and use whatever independent research, industry awards, or press coverage that can support your claim.

Even if it's general data about your industry or product category—and not necessarily about you or your company—you can let some of that authority rub off on your brand. For example, if you're selling hybrid vehicles but your particular vehicle isn't the most efficient model in its class, you can elevate it by quoting a study on hybrids in general: "The latest research reveals that, on average, hybrid vehicles deliver 20 percent higher fuel economy than nonhybrids." Yours might be only, say, 15 percent higher, but you haven't made any claims about its actual performance, have you?

(Continues...)

Excerpted from WINNING SALES LETTERS—FROM PROSPECT TO CLOSEby Ralph Allora Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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