Sales Letters And The Cost Of Integrity

Sales Letters And The Cost Of Integrity
Written by Ginger Geracitano

Agonizing, isn't it? The entire process of deciding on which
words to use when presenting your product or service to
potential clients is probably the most critical process that
any business owner faces.

Although the majority of my experience is based on offline
efforts, I'm finding that sales strategies on the internet
aren't much different. Why?

Simply put, to effectively sell anything, you must appeal to
your prospect's emotions.

Human nature doesn't distinguish between cyber space
and the 3D world!

How Successful Can An Honest Salesperson Be?

I hate hype, and headlines that blow reality right out the
window. Popular theories dictate that we model our own
efforts after what has already proven to be successful.

Successful should, in this case, translate into actual sales
made, resulting in satisfied customers. Just because you see
a sales letter plastered all over the internet, does not make
it successful! Some people would have you believe that
marketing is a numbers game, you know... 'those with the
most ad exposures win'.

If your sales letter isn't effective, it doesn't matter how
many times it's exposed... it just fails that many more times!

Exaggerated claims and outrageous headlines may appeal to
your prospect's emotions, but do they lead to satisfied
customers?

You tell me. Do you think the person that bought the
product claiming to earn them $10,000 by next Tuesday was
satisfied? Probably not.

So, how do we effectively write an honest sales letter?
Some people will tell you that there's no place for honesty in
advertising. I don't believe that's true today.

I believe that today's consumers are better educated, and
more cautious about any purchase they make. I've found
that not only is an honest approach effective, but I have no
problem sleeping at night.

Simple Guidelines Of Writing An Effective Sales Letter, While
Keeping Your Integrity In Tact:

(*) Establish "NEED": Right off the bat, you need to make
sure that your reader realizes that they have a need that
you can fill. This is done most effectively by introducing the
'need' in your headline. Don't assume your prospects are
aware that they have this need!

(*) Establish "TRUST": Before rushing right into how you can
solve your prospect's need, tell them why they should trust
you enough to continue reading your offer. How you do this
depends on the method of delivery of your Sales Letter. A
letter to your established customer base, or list subscribers
may not concentrate as heavily on this point. On the other
hand, the home page of your sales site, which is most likely
to be visited by strangers would need to be stronger in this
area.

One way I establish trust, is by admitting a downfall or
imperfection in the product. Backed up by an offsetting
benefit that outweighs the defect will prove to your reader
that you are indeed keeping their best interest in mind by
NOT insulting their intelligence by assuming they won't
notice the defect. Strengthen your endorsement by being
honest.

(*) Establish "YOUR BRAND": This is a topic that entire
businesses have been built on, so to remain very basic for
the purpose of this article, let me just put it to you this
way; don't use the words of another! Your own personal
testimonial, outlining your own experience with the product
or service will serve you much better in the long run, than
for example, the letter recommended for use by the affiliate
program you're writing about. How many affiliates before
you have used that same letter? Do you trust someone
that doesn't think enough of a product to devote their time
to experiencing it?

(*) Establish "EXCITEMENT": Don't misunderstand me here, I
don't mean the dreaded, and *abundantly abused* hype that
we see every single day here on the internet! By 'excitement',
I mean BE excited about your product... convey *why*
you're so excited about it to your readers by thinking like a
customer. What is it that made you believe in your product
enough to buy it yourself, or to develop it, if it's a product of
your own creation? What is it about your product that is going
to make your prospect say to themselves, "I've GOT to have
this"?

The one rule I never see anyone mention on this topic is that
you MUST state the obvious when writing a sales letter!
Never assume that your reader will immediately see the value
in your offer. S-P-E-L-L it out for them!

(*) Establish "EASY FOLLOW UP": I don't believe that "less is
more" when it comes to sales letters, but I do believe that
you don't have to state your entire case in your first page.
Your own 'style' will dictate how long your sales letter is. To
keep your reader interested, consider the following tactics to
keep your sales letter a reasonable length:

- Offer additional information through the use of an
autoresponder. Follow up is the key to sales success.
Don't allow your readers to conveniently forget that
they have a need that you can provide a solution for!

- Use text links to more information. If you feel that there
is an aspect of your product that needs to be explained
in detail, but don't want it to break the focus of your
sales letter, lead to the information through a link that
reads something like this... "For more info, click here."
(It's SO important to provide the information necessary
to overcome any possible objections by your reader.
Surveys taken by your target market beforehand can
help to identify possible objections. Once you've identified
them, you can deal with more effectively.)

- Always offer to allow your prospects to get to know
more about you, and your business by inviting them to
subscribe to your newsletter. You do have a newsletter,
don't you?

(*) Ask For The Sale! Years and years of sales training
offline have this last point echoing in my ears to this day.
Most failed sales attempts are due to a lack of 'asking for
the sale', or as it's referred to online, 'providing a call to
action'. Try this... which of the following 'calls to action'
do you react open mindedly to?

Example 1: Click Here To Purchase Today!

Example 2: You can begin realizing success immediately
by simply clicking => here

If you begin the sales letter process by first being honest
with yourself about your offer, you'll be better prepared to
make an honest presentation to your reader. Keep in mind
that your goal is to produce satisfied customers, not just
sales numbers, and I believe your 'success' will increase
on many different levels...

The only things you lose by writing your sales letter with
integrity are dissatisfied customers. I know that my
prospects are informed, and have realistic expectations when
they make a purchase from me. If you can't say the same,
maybe it's time to change your 'style'?