Every time you write a sales letter, a radio commercial, a Web page, a real estate prospecting letter, a relationship building letter, or a marketing flyer, keep the following sales and marketing principles in mind, and you'll greatly improve your chances of a successful outcome (getting a prospective client to commit, triggering a marketing response, generating an advertising inquiry, or producing a referral, a sales lead, or an order). First, figure out what makes your services, your agency, or your company better, unique, or more distinctive than that of other businesses in your field or sales territory. If you can't think of at least a couple ways in which you outperform or outshine the competition, then you're saddled with a severe marketing disadvantage, and you need to rethink your marketing and sales strategy. In order to win people's business and confidence, you have to give them compelling reasons to spend their hard-earned money with you -- and the more reasons you give them to buy from you or choose you over the competition, the better!
Results-oriented advertising and marketing letters involve a lot more than just telling prospective customers that you're open for business and that you're selling a product or service that they might want. (So does everyone else and their brother!) In developing an advertising campaign or simply writing a persuasive sales letter or brochure, you have to continually ask yourself the question, "How can I make me or my business stand out among the competition, gain people's confidence, raise awareness, get publicity, and project a consistent image of quality, experience, and the ability to deliver results, solve problems, and deliver exceptional customer service?" The next most important question to ask yourself is how can you get them to take action: namely, how do you motivate them to call, inquire, write out a check, sign a contract, visit your Web site or place of business, and recommend you to others? Therein lies the marketing challenge! The article on this page, along with the instant sales letter templates we feature -- and the marketing strategies you'll find at "Marketing Survival Kit" -- will provide you with virtually all the tools you'll need to live up to and master that marketing challenge!
Real estate marketing letter:
FREE sample of a professionally written introduction letter for real estate agents, real estate brokers, and realtors.
Persuasion 101
Once you know what your strong selling points are, incorporate them into a first draft of an advertisement, a sales marketing letter, or brochure. Emphasize the benefits your prospects will receive when they take advantage of your service offer. Remember that the main question on their minds will always be: "What's in it for me?" One of the secrets of effective advertising, sales, and marketing is to focus primarily on how your service will improve your customer's lives and provide them with specific benefits they can see, hear, touch, smell, taste, count, and feel, emotionally. If you can help people solve a problem, find the house of their dreams, save money, feel more secure, or get ahead in life, then you're in a strong position to convert them into loyal customers.
The Psychology of
Sales, Marketing, and AdvertisingNever lose sight of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of compelling human needs. Apply these principles to your advertisements, business sales letters,
real estate marketing letters, sales presentations, and marketing literature, and you'll immediately boost your powers of persuasion and your potential success rate. The five strongest motivators, according to the noted psychologist, are the need for:
- Survival
- Security
- A sense of belonging
- Prestige
- Self-fulfillment
The primary attention-grabbing words that can help get your marketing message across effectively and inspire action include (but are not limited to): new, improved, love, money, discover, results, you, free, and guaranteed. The following table contains a list of other marketing words that have been proven to generate inquiries, appointments, sales, and other types of marketing and advertising responses. It's by no means exhaustive, but it will get you started and give you a good idea of what types of words tend to grab people's attention, arouse interest, and, in many cases, prompt them to inquire or make a purchasing decision.
| health | family | success | power |
| easy | convenient | exclusive | indulge |
| genuine | advantages | comforable | dependable |
| durable | absolutely | affordable | economical |
| versatile | efficient | effective | available |
| immediate | instant | WANTED | WARNING |
| no-nonsense | sure-fire | unique | special |
| more | biggest | oldest | original |
| the latest | confidence | solution | recognized |
| IMPORTANT | right now | like magic | receive |
| transform | money | benefits | valuable |
| precision | luxurious | ideal | quality |
| respected | perfect | compact | explosive |
| delighted | convinced | improved | authentic |
*Note: The article on the page was originated and written in its entirety
by Optimal Marketing Communications.
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