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Tips on writing a successful sales letter

Sales letters are the life-blood of any company – without them no-one would know what it is you are selling, what it costs or how it could benefit them. So, being able to write brilliant sales letters is a real bonus. And, learning how to write them is not that hard, just follow the guidelines given below and you’ll soon be producing super sales letters.

Tip 1. Make your reader feel special – this means making your letter personal. If you have it, always use the name of the recipient. It shows them that you have taken the time to write to them personally and it’s not just a generic letter – even if it is! Then move quickly on to how your product can help them. As sales letters are most often sent in response to an enquiry, the recipient is a warm prospect – meaning you know that they are at least a little bit interested already. What you need to do now is show how your product or service will meet their specific needs.

Tip 2. ‘We’ versus ‘You’ – make sure you put the focus of your letter on what you can do for the customer. So you should be using phrases such as ‘you’ll get’ and ‘you’ll have’ rather than ‘we can give’ or ‘we offer’. This will help you demonstrate how your product or service can make their lives better or easier.

Tip 3. Make the benefits clear – this is one of the most important aspects of a sales letter as it shows the reader what they will gain from purchasing your product or service. The question your reader will have in mind is ‘What’s in this for me?’ It’s your job to answer that question and do it quickly – in the first paragraph is good. In the second paragraph you can give a little background to the company and in the final paragraph revert back to highlighting the main benefits.

Tip 4. Keep it neat, concise and correct – if you present your reader with a three page, hand-written, photocopied letter, they are not going to be impressed. In fact, the letter will most probably end up in the bin. So, make sure your letter is typed, has a neat layout and is, ideally, no more than one A4 page long. Keep away from coloured or fancy fonts, capitals and don’t overuse bold, italics or exclamation marks. And, finally, you must make sure that you proofread the letter before you send it. Imagine sending a letter with the name of your company spelt incorrectly – that would not make a very good impression!

Tip 5. Call to action – you now need to tell the reader what they should do next – don’t ever assume that they’ll know. Make it really clear how to contact you and what happens next, for example ‘Call us on 0161 819 9922 for quick and easy enrolment’ or ‘Visit our website www.businesstrainingcllege.co.uk to enrol online.’ If there’s any kind of offer for contacting within a certain time, you should mention it here. For example you could tempt the reader to buy now by offering a free gift, so the line would be something like ‘Buy online now and receive a free book!’

Tip 6. PS – there’s good evidence to suggest that most people’s eyes scan the top and bottom of a letter first, so make sure you write a great postscript. Clever marketers will include the main benefit or special offer details again. So you could say ‘PS Don’t forget, buy online now and receive a free book!’

Use these tips and you’ll be churning out sizzling sales time and again. However, if you still feel you need more help, why not enrol on our Professional Sales Techniques course.