SALES LETTER

WHAT IS A SALES LETTER?

A sales letter is a piece of direct mail which is designed to persuade the reader to purchase
a particular product or service in the absence of a salesman. It has been defined as "a form of
direct mail in which an advertiser sends a letter to a potential customer". It is distinct from other
direct mail techniques, such as the distribution of leaflets and catalogues, as the sales letter
typically sells a single product or product line, and further tends to be mainly textual as opposed
to graphics-based. It is typically used for products or services which, due to their price, are a
considered purchase at medium or high value (typically tens to thousands of dollars). A sales
letter is often, but not exclusively, the last stage of the sales process before the customer places
an order, and is designed to ensure that the prospect is committed to becoming a customer.
 HOW TO WRITE A SALES LETTER?
Example 1

Millways Toys Ltd

10 Horndean Way, Bristol BS2 6CS

Mr J Williams
Home Stores
16 Tootbridge Avenue
Westwood
Surrey SU2 1CH 15 April 2016

Dear Mr Williams.
We have pleasure in sending you a copy of our catalogue, which includes details and prices of
our complete range of toys.
We would particularly like to draw your attention to our new Plastica range of model cars, which
you will find on page 63 of the catalogue.
We can offer you a special discount of 5 per cent on all toys ordered before 1 August.
We look forward to receiving your first order.

Yours sincerely
(sign)
Dominic Toretto
Sales Manager
Example2

Millways Toys Ltd

10 Horndean Way, Bristol BS2 6CS

15 April 2016

Dear Sir or Madam,

I enclose a copy of our latest catalogue and price-list.

May I draw your attention in particular to our new range of Plastica Cars which is illustrated on
page 63.
We are offering a special discount of 5 per cent on all orders received before 1 August. Please
use the special order form at the back of the catalogue and deduct 5 per cent from the price on
our list.
We hope that you will be pleased with the catalogue and look forward to receiving your order.

Yours faithfully

Dominic Toretto
Sales Manager

Enc: 1

1. Language Focus
a. Focusing attention
We would (particularly) like to draw your attention to our ..... (new range of car)
May I draw your attention to our ..... (new range of car)
*Note: May is a little more formal, but both may and would like are very polite.
b. Offering
 We are offering ..... (a special discount) .....
We can offer ..... (a special discount) .....
We are able to offer ..... (a special discount) .....
c. Expressing hope
We hope (that) you will be (pleased with the catalogue)

Examples 3
Example 4:

Example 5:
Example 6:
2. POINTS TO REMEMBER; ADVERTISING

We can advertise our company or product to the public to get prospective customers
by sending some brochures. But, we also can try to promote it in TV, radio, magazine, etc.
All of them should always contain Four Essentials points to make it work well. The Four
Essential things is called AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.
 Attention – First and foremost step is to attract attention towards your product or
service. An appropriate Headline does that to full effect. It is the initial and the first
things that can guarantee a sale, like they say ‘First impression is the last
impression’.
Example : “You will lose 40% of your users on your websites.”
This could be the sentences that caches the CEO’s attention “40% is a lot, why?”
Then he is ready to read more.
 Interest – The second important incumbent of a sales letter is to generate interest.
Once the reader has got the attention, it is time to generate and hold their interest.
Providing relative information with a sustained flow generates enough interest.
Example : “Every year increase the use of tablets and smartphones by 30% compared
to previous year. When users browsing on their new devices come to your website
they will experience an obsolete web site. Your company’s layout is very difficult to
read on small screens.”
Now theirs is awareness and interest in the problem.
 Desire – Desire, the third essential feature is initiated by providing real life and
practical examples. Showing the benefits through a simple language does create a
desire.
Example : “ The problem reading your otherwise very good website is big for the
visitors and therefore you will lose customers. But the problem can be solved. We
have the technical knowledge and design capabilities to correct the problem
whatever web site system you are using. Contact us and we make an analysis of the
task ahead and give you a quotation for solving the problem.”
 Action – The first three features are meant to lead to a final call for action.
Sometimes, that is not enough and you need persuasion to generate a successful sale.
 In this case, it also becomes your (sender’s) call of action as you have to persuade a
prospective customer into an actual buyer.
Example : “PS : Contact us for free analysis of the sizes of the problem within 10
days. The cost of the analysis is normally $850”
It’s always great to save money and maybe this company will contact you today
because the manager wants to $ 850.

Sales letters aim to stimulate the interest of prospective clients in the product or
service being promoted. A sales letter can be accompanied by a brochure that provides more
information. Most sales letters are unsolicited, so the receiver might not be interested in
reading them. To motivate the reader, the content and language of the letter have to be well
thought out.

There are some techniques for planning the content of sales letters, such as :
1. Mention the advantage or benefit early in the letter
It is important to know what the selling points of the product/service are. These are
often made clear at the beginning of the letter to keep the receiver reading. Example
vocabulary includes convenient, user-friendly, high-quality, value for money,
economical, affordable and stylish.

2. Provide news of interest to the reader

Another way to keep the reader reading is to provide news of interest to the reader.
In general, the selling points of a product/service should be in line with human needs and
wants. For example, say that your product or service will save customers’ time or money
– two types of human needs or wants. For instance: 'Enjoy playing mobile games on the
bus? Play and learn at the same time with our English language learning games! '

3. Arouse interest/curiosity
An effective way to start a sales letter is to arouse the readers’ interest/curiosity.
The purpose of this is to keep them reading your letter. An example is 'Are you paying
too much for your...?'
4. Be relevant
The content of the letter has to be relevant to the right person at the right time and
appeal to the person’s self-interest. It does not, however, always have to be clever. Clever
attempts to make your writing funny or entertaining are often of no interest to the reader.

5. Elaborate what the product can do

Most customers care about what the product can do for them more than the
technicalities of the product. For example, most mobile phone users are more interested
in the functions of the phone than in its hardware specifications.

There are also some language focus that must be considered, such as :
a. Customer-centredness
It is important to write from the point of view of the customer. You can be more
successful if you understand things from your customer’s point of view. Promotional
materials aim to appeal directly to the reader. They often use ‘you/your’ and ‘we’ words
rather than more distant words (e.g. ‘the user’, ‘the ticket’).
b. Positive expressions
Positive expressions are often more persuasive than negative ones in sales letters.
Here are some examples:
 Instead of saying “Don’t waste your hard-earned money”, you could say “Save
your hard-earned money”.
 Instead of saying “We are offering a 15% discount. Don’t be late because this
promotion period will end next month”, say “This month you can enjoy a 15%
discount”.
c. Personal and informal tone
Write in more or less the way you talk. This does not mean that the writing should
be disorganised like casual chats. A sales letter is more or less like talking to the reader in
a friendly, informal but well-organised manner.
d. Being easy to understand
 Write simple sentences to make reading easy.
  Say what you have to say and no more: make each word count.
 Choose simple words and expressions and avoid jargon when writing to the general
public. You could consider using a few technical terms if you are writing only to
experts; but avoid using too many.
e. Rhetorical questions
Rhetorical questions are questions that do not expect or require an answer. They
are often used in sales letters, especially in the first paragraph, to motivate the reader to
read on. Here are two examples of such questions:
 Do you dream of owning your own home but are worried about the monthly
mortgage payments?
 Are you tired of having to pay bills by post?

As an alternative, writing an answer, an assertion or even a further question

immediately after a rhetorical question can sometimes be even more motivating or
persuasive. Here is an example of an assertion added to a question:
 Have you ever despaired of finding serviced apartments which provide
personalised but affordable services? If so, we have the answer to your quest for
the perfect hotel-style apartment.

Here is an example of a further question added to an initial question:

 Are you paying too much for your office furniture? Why overpay for essential
fixtures and fittings in the workplace when you wouldn’t knowingly overpay at
home?

f. Interesting adjectives
Another way to motivate the reader to read on is to use interesting adjectives.
Here are some examples:
 A fantastic, ultra-modern meeting room with state-of-the-art equipment.
 A brand new concept in professional financial advice for those who demand
personalised services and facilities of the highest standard.
 A thirst-quenching, low-calorie, sparkling, new energy-giving drink
g. Making follow-up action sound easy
Make the prospective client feel that everything is very easy by using words like
“just” and “simply”. Here are some examples of emphasising that further action is easy
and straightforward.
 Just call 98765432 and ask for Dorothy.
 All you have to do is email me the form.
 Simply visit our show room in Times Square.
h. The Imperative
This is a particularly lively language style often used in sales letters, especially for
the ending of the letter. It encourages the reader to act in the requested way. In these two
sentences there are five examples of the imperative.
 Book a weekend package today and show your wife how much you care!
 Make sure you’re on the right track to fitness – drop in and have a FREE ‘Fitness
Consultation’ today.