40 Essential Communications Pieces For Your Sales Arsenal

I often get asked what sorts of sales pieces does a business need
to maximise their sales conversions and repeat sales. Well -
every business IS different, but here is a good starting point.

Generating leads

1. A Yellow Pages ad that sells (if you're in a classification
where there are a large number of large ads featured).

2. A variety of appointment generating letters with unique
gimmicks - designed to be followed up with a phone call to gain
an appointment. Continually test new approaches to see which one
delivers the best result for your efforts.

3. Appointment rain check letter - for people who don't agree to
the appointment (refer above letter). This is designed to say
thanks for their time and to give them some additional
information about the company with the view of gaining an
appointment down the track.

4. A series of "sell off the page" campaigns to past prospects
and qualified lists. Some businesses are reluctant to try this
approach because they feel that a sale needs face to face
contact. In some situations it does, but in others, it really
doesn't.

By thinking outside the square you may find that you can, in
fact, sell your product or service off the page. Having said
that, there will always be some industries where it doesn't
work. If you're wondering if this approach might work for
your business, just send me an email at
kris@wordsthatsell.com.au

5. A series of press ads, cold sales letters and letters to
clients, that promote "timely" events eg. end of financial
year, Easter, Christmas etc.

6. Endorsed mailer - where one of your client writes a letter to
your prospects endorsing your services. This can work
fantastically well because they're hearing how good your
business is from someone who counts ... another customer.

7. A "host beneficiary" campaign - where a strategically aligned
business writes to their clients recommending your business and
offering them a special "deal" on your behalf. This is a
fantastic win-win. Naturally, it's important to reciprocate the
offer by then writing to your clients recommending the other
business's products or services.

8. Two or three good lead generation ads in a targeted
publication promoting a FREE report, a consultation or FREE
seminar. Almost every industry can use this approach with great
results. What can you offer?

9. A series of small classified ads promoting your website and or
your business Depending on the industry, you'd be surprised at how
well this can actually work. Even if you're in a b2b field, there
are numerous newspaper classifications where you could place your
ad.

10. Post box fliers - depending on your product or service, you
could find that this is a highly cost effective ways to generate
extra leads.

11. Website postcards - if you have some really valuable
information on your website, use a postcard to drive traffic
to the site.

12. A Website that sells - it doesn't matter what type of
business you're in, a website is a must.

13. One press release every month - FREE publicity is like gold.
Tap into it for all its worth. Maximising your sales conversions

14. Appointment confirmation letter that reminds them of the
appointment date and gives them preliminary information that
excites them about meeting with you.

15. Benefit-oriented corporate brochure.

16. Product and services fact sheets that go inside a
presentation folder.

17. A series of how-to reports and/or white papers which pitch
you as an expert in your field.

18. A "Questions and Answers" document which handles any buyer
objections up front and gives them all the information they
need to make an informed decision.

19. A "case studies and client success stories" document giving
specific details of wins experienced by clients.

20. A comprehensive, benefit-oriented proposal template.

21. A powerful enquiry letter and information package with a
limited offer and a clear, powerful call-to-action.

22. E-Profile - an electronic brochure that you can email to
prospective clients instantly.

23. Cross-selling checklist which lists all options a customer
might consider. This helps maximise the average value of each
sale.

24. A series of powerful, staged email auto-responder messages
that follow up email requests for information and keep
encouraging your prospect to buy.

25. Drip-feed prospect nurturing campaign where you follow up
unconverted leads with a series of letters designed to subtly
sell them on your services in a staged manner.

26. "Sorry we couldn't help you" letter that gets sent out after
receiving a rejection. This helps endear your company to the
prospect even though you didn't make the sale AND it may even
steer them back to you down the track.

27. A variety of how-to articles that you submit to various
e-newsletter publishers and article announce groups with the
view of having them include your article in their ezines.

28. A variety of introductory e-books which act as information
packs and also as viral marketing tools (spreading the word about
your business).

After the sale

29. A "thank you for investing" letter.

30. A "welcome to xyz company" package with thank you letter,
"how to get the best use out of our widgets" report and some
other helpful tools that nurture the relationship and offer
post-purchase reassurance. This is a very powerful tool in
increasing referrals and minimising refunds.

31. A 2 week review letter with feedback form and response
maximising device.

32. A 6 month review letter asking their feedback and mentioning
that you will call to review their situation.

33. A well-thought out nurturing program with a total of 2
nurturing pieces per year (in addition to at least 4
newsletters per year) and 2 to 3 letters asking for a repeat
sale (depending on your industry.

34. A referral campaign designed to generate high numbers of
direct referrals in return for an incentive.

35. A "thanks for your referral" letter.

36. Introductory letter to people who have been referred.

37. Invitation to a "closed door event" - if you're in the
retail industry.

38. Newsletter - an absolute must. If most of your clients have
emails, an email newsletter will suffice.

39. "Special offer" sales letters - One of the reasons some
businesses don't generate much repeat business is that they
simply don't ask customers to buy from then again.

As I mentioned earlier, these are the basics. Naturally, there
are more you can add to this list, however this is a good starting
point.