Bisulfide

The average consumer is inundated with sales pitches. So if you’re selling a product
or service to today’s ad weary consumer, if you want your sales letters to get
results, you’ll need a step-by-step plan that breaks down the barriers to buying. A
plan that bypasses the head and goes right for the heart.

If the heart’s in it, the brain will follow

Buying anything is largely emotional. Whether it’s paper clips or plain paper copiers,
emotions lead the purchase. Facts, specs and the like are simply used to justify the
decision, once made. Which means that everything about your sales letter, every
sentence, every phrase must appeal to your customer’s emotions.

What emotions?

The simple truth is, there are only two emotions that really motivate people: The
promise of gain or the fear of loss–with the fear of loss being the stronger.
Example: Given the choice of headlines: “Save money in legal fees.” Or “How to keep
from being sued.” The latter will probably get a better response.

Supporting the promise of gain and the fear of loss are seven key emotional hooks
or basic human needs. No matter what your product or service, to be effective, your
sales letter must directly address as many of these basic needs as possible:

• Safety/Security

• Wealth

• Good looks

• Popularity

• Self-satisfaction

• Free time

• Fun/Excitement

Okay, so how do you get them to act?

How do you go from head to heart? What’s
the copy paradigm? Imagine you’re in a baseball stadium facing an audience in rows
of bleachers. It’s the game of the century, ninth inning, bases loaded. And you’ve
got a bag of peanuts you absolutely must sell or the boss will fire you on the spot.
What would you do to get their attention? Yell “Peanuts?”

Start with a verbal “2×4″

You’ve got to hit them over the head with an emotional motivator. And that means
you start with the envelope. Remember– gain or loss–it has to be right there on
the outside, in bold.(When was the last time you rushed to open a plain white
envelope?)

Two examples:

Gain– “We Put a Money-Making Miracle in this Envelope.”

Loss– “Throw This Away and Work Hard for the Rest of Your Life.”

So, they’ve opened the letter and what do they see? A boring paragraph about your
leadership in the industry? Stuffy sentences about commitment, innovation and
dedication?

Whoosh. In the round file it goes.

Back to gain or loss. Again, it’s got to be there in a headline they can’t miss. And it
must reinforce the headline that compelled them to rip open that envelope. Both
headlines must dovetail in their message and emotional impact. Example: “Finish
reading this letter and you’re halfway to becoming rich.”

Next comes the all-important body copy. What to say to leave them begging for
your product. For this we go right into the consumer’s emotions, mining for clues to
the perfect selling pitch.

What’s the problem?

A while back, McDonalds was beating the pants off its competitors. So Burger King
hired a big powerhouse ad agency to gain them market share. They tried
everything–analyzing secret sauces, elaborate contests, toy tie-ins. Nothing
worked. Finally, they sent out questionnaires, did focus groups, and literally
stopped people on the street. And you know what they discovered? Not what
consumers liked, but what they didn’t like about hamburgers. For on thing, the
leading hamburger came practically “factory made” with everything on it. Some folks
liked pickles, others hated onions or mayo. That was “the problem.” The solution
was simple: hamburgers made to order, followed by the now all-too- familiar
slogan “Have it Your Way.” The point is, you’ve got to find and exploit your
consumer’s problem. And make your product the hero.

Life without your product–miserable

So, you’ve succeeded in getting your reader’s attention. You’ve discovered their
“problem.” Now it’s time to remind them how many ways that problem affects their
lives. If you’re selling a cordless electric lawnmower, you’ll want to remind them of
all the headaches of their old gas powered mower. Like running out of gas, finding
the gas can, taking it to the gas station, driving back with a can full of smelly gas in
the car, maybe spilling gas on the carpet. Once at home, there’s the annoyance of
yanking the starter until your arm feels like a wet noodle. And the fire danger of
having a can of gas in the garage with kids playing near it. The point is, you want to
paint a very troublesome picture of life without your product.

Life with your productabsolute bliss

Now that you’ve raised your reader’s interest by making them feel the pain of life
without your product, it’s time to provide your solution. Here’s where you’ll briefly
introduce yourself and your product or service. No more running out of gas, no
more smelling gas cans in your new car, no more yanking that starter cord till your
arm falls off. Just flick the switch and you’re ready to mow. Plug it into your electric
outlet and it charges overnight. Your worries are over. You go on and on,
hammering home the fact that your product or service is the perfect solution. At
this point, your reader will probably ask, “Sounds interesting, but who the heck are
you to think you can solve my problem? I never heard of you.”

Credentials time

Here’s where you build trust by detailing key facts that build confidence in you and
your company. You could start by listing some testimonials from satisfied
customers. If these come from people in the industry who your prospect is familiar
with, so much the better. And if you can get photos, phone numbers and so forth, it
will add even more to your credibility. This is also the time to mention how long
you’ve been in business and any articles that about your company and/or its
products that have appeared in the local or national media (these can be particularly
valuable, since they come from an impartial source).

Now that you’ve assuaged their fears about doing business with a complete
unknown, they’ll want to be totally sold about your product or service. Here’s where
you go into detail. And this is the perfect time to do so, because you’ve established
trust. They won’t be thinking about who you are, but what you can do for them–
how you’re going to solve their problem.

Detail benefits, not features

A key caveat here. Don’t get your reader quagmired in “Featurespeak.” It’s easy to
do and it’s what most unskilled writers fall victim to. Featurespeak is for your sales
team, not your potential customer. Avoid things like “Our new cordless electric
mower features the X9T Autoflex handle, or the PT600 Zenon Battery. Better to say,
“Our new electric mower’s handle easily adjusts to your height for maximum
comfort.” Or “The easily rechargeable battery lasts up to 5 years without
replacement.” If your product or service has more than three major benefits, list
them in bullet point form to make them easier to read.

Make them an offer they can’t refuse

This is the crucial part of your sales letter. Your offer should be compelling,
irrefutable and urgent. You want your reader to say, “This is a great offer, I’ve got
nothing to lose but my problem.” Try to combine the big 3 in your offer–irresistible
price, terms, and a free gift. For example, if you’re selling a cordless electric mower,
your offer might be a discounted retail price, low interest rate, and a blade-
sharpening tool. Try to raise the perceived value of your offer by adding on products
or services–for electric mowers, it might be an extended warranty or safety
goggles. Augment this with compelling benefits these additional products or
services will provide.

Assuage with a guarantee

There’s a little voice in the back of every customer’s head that whispers, “Buy this
and you’ll be sorry.” So make your offer bulletproof. Take the risk out of the
purchase. Give the absolute strongest guarantee you can. It tells your reader you’re
confident in your product or service. Enough so to back it up with a strong
guarantee. Don’t be afraid to make this final commitment.

Motivate the procrastinators

So they’re reading your letter and are pretty convinced that your company and your
product or service can solve their problem. They want to buy. The mind is willing
but the flesh is weak. Time to bring in our key motivatorfear of loss. One way to
tap into this fear is by convincing your reader that because this is such a good deal,
only a scant few mowers remain. Or that the extended warranty is being offered
only for the next few days, or for the next 50 customers. Our old motivator–
gain–can be used here as well. Example: “Buy now and get a $20 gift card–FREE!”

Call to action–KISS

You and your staff know what readers need to do to buy your product or service,
but your readers are inundated with offers every day. And each offer has a different
procedure for buying. Give them a break and walk them through the order/purchase
process. And KISS (keep it simple stupid). Use simple action words like “Pick Up the
Phone and Call Now!” If your phone number spells out a catchy slogan or company
name, always add numerical phone numbers. If they need to fill out a form and mail
it, say so. And if possible, use large type on your formespecially if you’re selling
to seniors. Be clear on what they’re ordering and for what price.

ABC!

Follow Alec Baldwin’s admonition in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross”ABC…Always
Be Closing.” Sprinkle your call to action throughout your letter. Ask for the order.
Then when you give the call to action at the end of the letter, it won’t come as a
surprise, but just another reminder. Better still, if they’re ready to order halfway
through your letter, they’ll know what to do.

Postscripts are magic

Nobody reads postscripts, right? Wrong. The P.S. is the third most read element of a
sales letterafter the headline and any picture captions. The top wordsmiths use
several (P.P.S) in their letters. It’s one of the best places to remind readers of your
irresistible offer. But you have to be brief and compelling, establishing urgency and
value, and drawing on your key motivators of gain and loss.

Drive it home on the order form

The order form is where some of the greatest sales are won or lost. It’s where that
little voice in the back of your customer’s head comes alive once again and says,
“You’ll be sorry” or “You sure you want to buy this now?” It’s what I call Preemptive
Buyer’s Remorse.” Time to bring in our top gun persuaders–gain and loss–one
last time. Use the same persuasive arguments as before–only be brief, more
compelling and urgent.

Do you want the steak knives or the El Dorado?

Okay, you’ve got the prized Glengarry leads. And the formula for writing a winning
sales letter. Start by knowing your prospect’s problem, then drive home key benefits
using the emotional motivators I’ve described. And don’t forget Alec Baldwin’s other
maxim, AIDA–Attention. Interest. Decision. Action. Get their attention, build their
interest, convince them it’s the right decision, and finally, urge them to act. Good
luck. You’ve got 26 letters in the English alphabet. How you use them can make all
the difference …between getting the steak knives or the Cadillac El Dorado.

About the Author

Alex Kecskes is a former ad agency Copy Chief who has created effective copy and
concepts for a wide range of ad agencies, Fortune 500 companies and startups. As
owner of ak creativeworks, Alex provides strategic copy for brochures, mailers,
multimedia, articles, newsletters, PR and web content. He has published articles in a
variety of publications about health, business and technology–this includes copy
for over 130 different products and services. He has won such national awards as
the Andy, Belding and One Show. For more information and samples, please visit
http://www.akcreativeworks.com