Should You Use Sales Letters Before You Cold Call
Do you want business?
What I have to offer is amazing!
I can help you get ahead in your field, and with my expertise I guarantee success.
But, let me know more about what you need for me to do my best.
-Mattia Desideri, Founder of New York City Marketing Firm Leonardo & Co.
The above is an example of a well written, compelling sales letter. If you had read this letter to yourself, you would have answered with a resounding YES!
But it's actually NOT the best example because Mattia actually said "I can help you get ahead in your field" and then offered his services free of charge. This was NOT a sales letter, but a pitch for his "services" or strategy. And that's why it wasn't very effective. Instead, he should have said:
I can help you get ahead by using my easy system that includes unlimited e-mail marketing lists and two-step opt-in contact forms. PLUS, it's all included for only $19 per week!
You'll have a guaranteed response rate of 100% and will consistently be in touch with your audience. To learn more, click here and then our sales agent will call you back today.
(The black box sales letter above uses a different approach but it still works.)
Sales Letters That Are Actually Effective
How to write an effective sales letter? Follow these 4 steps:
1) Start with a compelling benefit statement. Write that opening statement first so you won't forget it. Then write the rest of the letter around your benefit statement. Don't start with "I have this idea..." or "I like this product...". Just write "I can help you get ahead" and then your benefit statement. You could also write, "I think I know how to do X better than anyone else... and here's how..." or "I have this system that will help you..." Keep in mind that people will be skimming the first sentence of your letter to see if they should read the rest. For example, if they see you've written "I can help you get ahead" they may decide not to read any more. It's up to YOU, though, to make them want to read more by giving them a compelling benefit statement that will make them want to learn MORE about what you can do for them.
2) More on benefit statements. Your benefit statement should be something that most people will say to themselves, "Oh yeah, I do want this!" or "Oh yeah, I like that!" or "Oh yeah, I need this!" For example:
I can make you money!
I'll teach you how to get rich !
3) Make it personal . Make the letter personal by referring to the reader by name and mentioning their area of expertise. Write about how you know them. For example, you could say:
I know you're probably skeptical about investing money in this.
But I should have talked to you about this three years ago. This would have helped me out.
4) Tell a story . Stories are one of the most effective way to persuade someone and get them wanting more information from you. The longer the better because some people will read letters all day long! For example:
"My name is Mattia Desideri. I'm 42 years old, a husband and father of two kids. I've been creating business with my companies for 20 years now, but when it comes to Internet marketing, I feel like I only scratched the surface.
I recently discovered this one guy who has a company with over 2.5 MILLION people doing business with him. Now, I know that you're wondering if this Internet marketer is a fake or if he's taking advantage of his customers...
But look at it this way: The guy has been speaking at these "get rich" conventions for years and he made all that money by giving out his advice for free. Why would he do that? Because he can make money in other ways. And the people that followed his advice are getting more uses out of his product than they could ever imagine.
He's literally training people to make money on the Internet...
And my purpose in sharing this story with you is to show you how simple and easy it is to do this...
The more people that do this, the more money they'll make in the future. And when you put off that extra money for a month or two, your retirement can take a hit. And when I look at my family's future, well, it's important for me to help them save that extra $1,000 per month now.
So I'm willing to spend $19 per week for 6 months so we can go ahead and get started NOW. But I have to tell you, the longer we wait, the more money we'll miss out on..."
5) End with a summary and a call to action. You should end your letter with a summary of what you're offering and a call to action. For example:
You don't need any special skills or knowledge...
All you need is this manual and for $19 per week for 6 months. I know it seems a little costly but it's worth it when we consider how much money we'll be able to save in the future.
Do you have a pen and paper? I want to make sure you have all the information before we speak on the phone.
(If they say yes, then you can go ahead and take down their contact information and call them to pitch your product.)
From my experience with sales letters, I've come to realize that some people will be instantly interested in what you're offering and some won't even open it. No matter how good your sales letter is, there will always be some people who won't see the value in what you can offer. You cannot convince everyone! But you CAN reach the ones who like what you're doing so much that they'll tell their friends about it.
Conclusion
Sales letters can be effective if you know how to write them. It's easy to write them wrong, but once you learn the basic principles they can be very effective. But they're not the best way for every business to get leads because most people ONLY do business with people they know and trust and if your sales letters are too direct they can seem manipulative.
So this week focus on one of the best ways to learn how to write an effective sales letter: from others who have already written one.