Resources

Write that sale, USP Magazine

Write that sale, USP Magazine 03/08/2009

Rob Ashton explains how developing your writing skills can add to your bottom line.

Take any blockbuster movie, and the chances are good that the main character goes through what’s known as the hero’s journey. The guy gets the girl, for instance, or the losing team pulls out all the stops to win the championship.  Along the way, the main characters successfully overcome a series of obstacles that culminate in them triumphing against all odds.

As a sales person, it can feel like you’re going through similar trials and tribulations. Prospects may make you jump through hoops and then pull out at the last minute. Or you may have a dry spell and then win three big sales in a row.

Effective sales writing can help you weather these storms. It can act as your ‘silent sales force’, so that while you’re prospecting for other customers, your letters and proposals are helping to seal your deals. Unlike the movies, you don’t have the luxury of a Hollywood hotshot writing the happy ending for you. But you can learn a toolkit of techniques that can help those pennies and pounds to come in.

Your writing needs to answer the emotional needs that lie behind a purchase. So while you may be talking in the language of photocopiers and printers, your writing needs to address the needs and concerns of your prospects. It also has to be carefully structured, so that it’s customer-centred. And it has to show that you are passionate about the people you’re selling to, not just about the products. It all comes down to making your writing accurate, clear, lively and to the point. This way, you gain your prospects’ confidence, making them more likely to trust you to supply their office equipment.  

Winning proposals

Less is more when it comes to proposals. So, don’t fall into the trap of trying to sell your prospects the whole shop at once. Instead imagine that your proposal is like the bull’s-eye on a dartboard. Home in on the core needs of your readers and tailor the proposal so that it addresses these. Begin with the prospect’s situation and the problems they need to solve.  

Six simple questions

Make your proposals reader-focused by answering the following questions before you put pen to paper:

• What is the proposal about?
• Who will read it?
• How much do they already know about the subject?
• What do they absolutely need to know?
• How important is the subject to them?
• How interested are they in the subject (which is not necessarily the same thing)?

Get to the point

What do you really want to say? Your proposal should have one main message. If you’re not sure what this is, you need to do a bit of detective work. First, write down all the information you think needs to be in the proposal. Then decide which ideas are essential, which are important but not essential and which are unimportant.

Be personal

Use words such as ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ to help you connect with your readers. Similarly choose the active voice to make your sentences livelier. For instance, you can write ‘I [or we] guarantee that you’ll notice a difference in three days,’ rather than ‘a difference has been guaranteed within three days.’

Keep it short and simple

Remember that your document is one of many that your prospect will have to read. Keep your sentences short and try to cut out meaningless words, wherever possible.

Use a second pair of eyes

Always get someone else to carefully read through your work. For instance you may re-use a proposal and leave in another company’s name by mistake. A colleague is far more likely to spot such an error than you are. Make sure you also spell product names correctly in order to appear as a credible product supplier.

You’ve got mail

Clearly structured letters with a specific goal in mind can help to persuade your prospects to say ‘yes’. The aim is to make them know why you are writing to them and what you want them to do. For instance, you may want a prospect to get in touch to find out more about how an advanced shredding machine protects financial information. Step into your prospect’s shoes by using the SCRAP formula below. The acronym stands for: situation, complication, resolution, action, politeness.

Situation

Begin by explaining the situation (or ‘where they are’). For instance, explain to your reader that they are using a shredding machine that could leave them open to fraud. By doing this your reader will realise you understand and empathise with them.

Complication

Introduce the idea that there’s a problem (‘why they can’t stay there’) they need to solve or a request they need to fulfil. This could be explaining the statistics of how many businesses fall prey to identity theft.

Resolution

State your resolution to the problem or request. This may be suggesting a series of tips for ensuring that financial data is kept secure.

Action

Suggest what action the reader can or should take. In some cases, this will be what further action you are going to take. Make sure that this follows on logically from the resolution. This action could be that in addition to the tips, it would help your reader to meet you in order to investigate more efficient shredding solutions.  

Politeness

Finally, end with a polite sign-off. Your aim is to nurture a positive relationship.

This formula works well for most letters and emails, so use it for all your follow-up correspondence. Make sure that you always include a call to action. The ideal situation is that you arrange an appointment with your prospect to talk through your products. Having a face-to-face meeting gives you the chance to directly handle objections so that you can navigate your journey to a successful close.

Every so often a movie throws you a curve ball at the end. Disaster befalls the main character or the story meanders to a limp conclusion. Don’t let your writing cause your sales to fizzle out in this way. Use the tools above to win over your readers.  And even if your prospects don’t bite first time, they may give you the chance to present the sequel to your sales pitch.

© 2009 Emphasis Training Limited, first British serial rights offered