Posts Tagged ‘Rejection’

Twitter Updates for 2009-07-29

July 29th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

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How to write a winning sales letter?

July 11th, 2009 by admin | 2 Comments | Filed in Marketing

Writing a sales letter is tough and writing a winning sales letter is even tougher. Many sales managers break their heads thinking why they cant get it right. Well, to answer this question they should put them in peoples shoes and ask what benefit would I get by reading this sales letter? Remember that word benefit which is the crux of this discussion. Many sales people take bits and pieces of information from here and there and create mess out of a sales letter. They literally throw everything on people and then get what they deserve, instant rejection.

One should always remember that a sales letter works only when you have a product to sell and an offer to make. A sales letter should not be an introduction of your product or company. Remember every word is important in the sales letter and do not waste a single one which would distract your potential customers attention. They are not interested in the features of you product but an offer or a benefit to them. Think from the customers point of view and ask yourselves why should I read the letter? Is there any benefit or offer to me which cannot be refused? Can you convince me that it is really a good offer?

After keeping in mind these things, sales managers should apply thought in presenting their letter. The header or the headline is very crucial to any sales letter. It should target directly to the customers of your product. One also needs to be little tactful in use of words. But if you are not good at the trade do not attempt to do it and rather be simple in writing it. The headline should not be more a line, so try to be as specific as possible but with maximum affect. Nobody has time to read each and every letter in this fast paced era of instant satisfaction. If you are not able to convey your message to the audience in stipulated time, then you have lost those customers. The headline should start with a benefit being offered to the customer. This ensures that the customer goes to the body of the letter at least.

Now, having made a good effort with the heading, its the time to work on the body of the letter. How to maintain the level of enthusiasm that you created in the customers mind with the heading? Once again it is important to remember to not to focus on features of the product you are trying to sell but on the benefits and offers you are making to them. Things like how much money it is going to save them and how it would affect their lives should be mentioned in the body of the letter. Make them realize a need for it and compare it competitors product. Remember, a person reading your sales letter will constantly get questions in mind as to how this will benefit me, after each and every sentence. So be ready to clear those doubts and answer the questions. Being little informal in the approach wouldnt do a harm and try to grab the attention by relating things to real life things. You can add a little bit of humor but unless you are sure that it wont be in the bad taste of the reader. Bring in few previous clients to give testimony of your products. But keep the testimonials believable and something that people can relate to.

Once youve made clear about the product, do not forget to prompt your audience to take action. If it is an email, prompt your reader to click on a link to act now or provide a contact number if it is a direct mail. Also remind them again that if you dont act now you will forfeit the offer as the offer is for limited time only.

Once you are done with the letter, one of the important parts of the sales letter is P.S. Many people simply read the beginning and end of the letter. So, try to convey something that will prompt them to go back to the letter and read it. It will be a perfect end to the sales letter.

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Word Count 712

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Disadvantages of using email to sell

July 1st, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Marketing

Some sales people think using email to sell everything is the best idea. But the truth it is not. It is not a good idea to replace calls with emails when contacting with a potential client. Some people use email to sell products, to avoid the humiliation of rejection. Also the major disadvantage of taking this approach is that there can be a possibility of not getting an email while awaiting a transaction related to a sales process.

More than seventy five percent of the businesses today have replaced calls with emails, and in the process has lost the personal touch. The reason why businesses do this is that feel awkward to face rejection when speaking directly to the customer. It hurts less to hear a no though an email. Some people get tired of hearing the voicemails repeatedly. They think its a better idea to switch to emails.

When trying to sell products or services to a new client, it is not possible to gain customers trust through an email, which makes the foundation of a long-term relationship, weak. Some well to do firms, think that they are recognized in the market but they forget that there are strict spam filters installed, these firms take the risk of sending introductory emails to potential customer. There are very little chances that the customer will receive the email and will read it. But when calling a potential customer, there is a higher probability of the customer receiving the call and all the resources invested will be put good use.

If the company still thinks that sending emails to clients is the best approach, some points should be taken care of. The introductory email contains introduction about the company, brief information about the products and services they offer and information about method of purchase and contact. All the information included in the email should give the impression to the reader that the company is interested in benefiting the customer and not themselves.

The introductory email should sound like its trying to solve the problems and try to build a strong relationship with the prospective customer. For this the targeted people should be thoroughly studied in order to understand their shortcomings and what wonders they would expect from a particular product. In the first time itself; do not mention that the company and the client is a good match for each other. Sales pitches should be repelled completely.

Dont put the companys name in the heading of the email. When the companys name is included in the heading, the customer gets the impression that profit of the company is its top priority and not interest of the customer. Its a good marketing strategy to include the name of the product being sold, features of the product and how it can solve the problem of the reader. The subject should tell it all, and should also catch the attention in the first glance itself.

Its best to start emailing the customer after the foundation of a strong long-term relationship is laid first. At first the customers should be personally approached. Later when the customers trust is gained, further dealings can be done through emails. Emails should only act as a back up method of communicating. Take care that word like we should be avoided and replaced with the word you. The customer feels that he is being directly referred too.

There should be no negativity in the matter. This sets the mind of the customer in a negative mood and he will actually get the opposite message. For example, instead of writing We dont sell low quality products, write We sell high quality products. Dont condition the customer. This creates a pressure on the customer and they will start to avoid any calls and emails from the company.

Emails can be used during difficult times. Suppose some soreness erupted between the parties or at least from the side of the customer, emails written with polite and gentle words can melt the toughness and can open up good terms again. The best thing is to stop using email as the only way of communicating, completely. Companies that directly reach out to clients reflect higher level of confidence and create a good impression on new customers.

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Word Count 716

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