HOW TO CREATE A HIGH-IMPACT SALES LETTER -- FAST
Copyright 2001 By Bob Leduc

A persuasive convincing sales letter is a valuable marketing 
tool. It's also versatile. I regularly use the same text 
successfully in all the following formats:

* Printed letter for postal mail
* Email message (personal and on an autoresponder)
* Posted as a Web page
* Printed circular for postal mail

Over the years I developed a model to follow when I need a 
new sales letter. It consistently produces a profitable 
letter on the first attempt. This model loosely follows the 
well-known AIDA formula (Attention, Interest, Desire, 
Action). But I organized the parts of my model letter in a 
specific sequence proven to work best. You can copy this 
same model to create your own successful sales letters.

SECTION 1: GET ATTENTION FAST WITH A LIST OF BENEFITS

A sales letter must capture the reader's attention 
immediately or it won't get read. Most people accomplish 
this by stating their biggest benefit at the top of their 
letter. I've found something that works even better. Start 
your letter with a list of 5 or 6 benefits. Place the 
biggest benefit first followed by other benefits in 
declining order of importance. Here's the format I usually 
follow:

How would you like to...
* Biggest benefit
* 2nd biggest benefit
* 3rd biggest benefit
* and so on . . .

Prospects won't be able to resist reading more when you 
shower them with all those benefits.

SECTION 2: BUILD INTEREST BY EXPLAINING HOW YOU CAN PROVIDE 
THE BENEFITS

Here's where you describe the features of your product or 
service. It's the least important part of your sales letter. 
Try to limit this section of your letter to only 1 or 2 
short paragraphs. It may be important to mention the triple 
layer of new space age insulation built into your picnic 
cooler (a feature). But that's not why customers buy it. 
They buy it because they want to enjoy ice cold beverages 
all day long when they're outside on a hot summer day (the 
benefit).

SECTION 3: DEVELOP A DESIRE TO BUY WITH LOGICAL PERSUASION

Most people buy things on impulse then look for logical 
reasons to justify their emotional decision. This section of 
your letter is where you inject 4 powerful tools to convert 
the reader's emotional interest in your product or service 
into logical reasons to buy. They are:

1. A compelling reason to buy from you instead of your 
competition. This is called your "USP" or "Unique Selling 
Proposition". It's a unique advantage customers get only 
if they buy from you.

2. Testimonials from satisfied users. (You do have some, 
don't you?)

3. Your guarantee. A strong guarantee can easily double the 
number of orders produced by your sales letter.

4. A powerful offer -- the best offer you can afford.

SECTION 4: STIMULATE THE READER TO BUY NOW

I often see sales letters and Web pages end abruptly with a 
weak statement like, "Order Now", followed by a printed 
order form or a link to an online shopping cart. You'll get 
more sales by gently maneuvering your customer toward the 
ordering process with the following 3 steps.

1. Command your prospect (in a nice way) to order or buy. 
For example:

Don't delay. Take advantage of this Special Price Offer.
Call NOW to place your order or complete the coupon below
and send your order by email, Fax or postal mail TODAY!

2. Explain how to order. This can be part of your command 
statement like in the example above. Make it easy for 
customers by providing as many different ways to order as 
you can (Online, postal mail, FAX, telephone, etc.).

3. Provide an order form but make using it optional. This 
applies online and offline.

Follow this model when you create your next sales letter. 
You'll produce a highly effective sales letter -- FAST.

Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales
personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales
Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business
owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help
small businesses grow and prosper. For more information...
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards".
Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)
Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133