Posts Tagged ‘sales letter’

( as featured in Direct Marketing Magazine)

So your sales force need to bump up this month’s figures. And to do that they need more appointments which means they need a killer B2B lead generation letter.

What do you do?

In direct marketing we live and breathe “salesmanship in print”, however the approach used for a great lead generation letter is different.

It’s more about “relationship building in print”.

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Decades ago, one of the pioneers of the advertising industry, Claude Hopkins wrote the book “Scientific Advertising” in which he wrote of how advertising isn’t about being creative; it’s about following a precise formula to achieve a desired result. Mr. Hopkins words still ring true today.

Great copywriting is about remembering that advertising is nothing more than salesmanship in print.

Understand Your Buyer

Let’s say you consider yourself a pretty decent caliber of salesperson. You can uncover your client’s needs at the drop of a hat. You’re gifted when it comes to making them feel good about themselves and you can handle objections and gain commitment with the greatest of ease.

Selling on paper follows the same process only you need to be part psychic too.

At a client’s home you can interact with them in person. You ask them questions about what their situation is, what their needs are and then tailor your presentation depending on the outcome.

With direct mail you don’t have that luxury. Instead you need to use all your psychic powers to get inside the head of your audience, understand who they are, what they are thinking and then be able to use words that relate to their situation.

The Beginning

The opening paragraph is the most important piece of copy in your entire letter. It’s the piece of copy that will either capture your reader’s interest enough so they want to keep reading or, it will make them throw it away.

Here are some ways to capture their interest:

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