Four Tips To Make People Read Your Business Sales Letter From Start To Finish
If you’re taking the time, effort, and money to send business sales letters to existing and prospective customers, the least you’d expect them to do is to read what you’ve worked so hard for, isn’t it? But unfortunately for most businesses investing in unsolicited sales letters to increase sales, people who receive your mail aren’t willing to do this. Thus, you have to give them a good reason to make them want to read your business sales letter from start to finish.
How to Make People Read Your Business Sales Letter from Start to Finish
Tip #1 Start with the Date.
Business owners who are new to creating and sending sales letters actually forget this vital fact. The date must be when you expect your readers to receive your sales letter: you can usually pinpoint the exact date if you’re using express or special delivery.
For regular snail mail, you’d have to consult with your local post office when’s the likely earliest – not the latest because if they receive the letter earlier than the date written on the sales letter then this could lead to confusion or worse, create an issue of distrust – date they’d receive it.
It’s important that you date your sales letter as recent as possible because people are often only concerned about the present. Anything in the past would deem unimportant and anything in the distant future would be relegated to the next-time pile of mail to be forgotten later on. If you want an effective start for your business sales letter, you need to know that what you’re writing about concerns the present.
Tip #2 Personalize It.
This has been said over and over and over, but a lot of businesses still make the mistake of allowing their laziness to mass-produce their business sales letters with “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir / Madam”.
Impersonal sales letters almost always get thrown in the garbage. Customers think along the lines of “If I’m not important enough to merit a letter addressed to me personally, then the letter doesn’t merit my personal attention as well”. You may not have meant to offend anyone, but it’s a fact that others do find such an impersonal approach bordering on the offensive.
Take the time to know the first or last name of your recipients. If you are writing to existing customers, personalize your sales letter all the more by writing one or two sentences about specific details of your business-customer relationship with the recipient.
You can, for instance, draw attention to the number of years the customer have been with you with lines like “We at Blank Company are delighted that you’ve still continued to trust in our management ever since you opened your account in 2002″. These details won’t take too long or hard to find, but they’ll mean a lot to your customers. It shows them that you care enough to know about each and every client.
As for prospective customers, it would be nice if you can mention a thing or two about why you think it would benefit the two of you to have a business relationship. Again: research, research, research!
Tip #3 Hook then Reel
The first paragraph represents the hook in your business sales letter. In your first paragraph, the essence of your letter must be explained clearly and concisely. An irresistible one-liner is great, one that makes the reader want to know some more about what you’re offering.
As the paragraphs continue on, make sure that you’re gradually reeling them closer and closer. Make the kill by finishing off with a strong call for action: make it appear that it’s imperative for them to avail of your product or service as soon as possible!
Tip #4 Signed by the Top Boss
At the end of it, make sure that it’s your company’s highest executive – say Bill Gates for Microsoft – who signs the letter. Yes, customers are smart enough to know that a printed signature could mean your head honcho wasn’t able to read every single sales letter he’s sending out, but it would still mean a lot to them knowing that someone as mighty powerful as your boss cared about retaining or inviting them to jump on board your company.
And last but not the least, make sure you get their addresses right or your hard work’s all for naught!
Mario Churchill
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