A new client asked me to write a sales letter. Naturally, I think I’m pretty good at writing sales letters. Heck, my Remington and I have been at it a long time.But the client rejected three drafts that reflected my best practices when it comes to developing a sales letter that needs to be contained to a single page. (I always prefer more pages, but that’s a story for another day.)
I finally had to stop and dig deeper into his objections to what I was writing.
Ultimately, he said, “Gil, I just don’t think my personality comes through… and this really isn’t explaining all that we do.”
My response was immediate. “Bob,” I said, “It’s not what you want to say that matters, but what they want to hear. They’re not interested in your personality, how many years you’ve been in business, that you cover six states, and so on.
“They’re only interested in what you can do for them TODAY… to help them make more money… to minimize their expenses… to maximize their sales… to eliminate their pain.
“Your personality ultimately will emerge… and will be a bonus to them. But for starters, you need to tell them what they want to hear.”
I went on to explain that a sales letter is a simple communication (or art form) with an equally simple objective. That objective is to create an interaction… an interaction from the person who receives the letter to you.
That interaction could be come in the form of a phone or email or fax… or by them going to your website and providing you with their first name and email address so that you can send them additional information.
How they interact isn’t nearly as important as that they do… and, of course, what you do next.
© 2008 Gil Effron
