SalesMotivation.net

by Mary Ellen Merrigan

Hurrying off to the next prospect? Don’t leave money on the table by failing to close the loop with a letter to your last call.

“Similar products, equally competent salespeople and two strong companies could make for a difficult decision. Joe had received a letter from Wicked Widgets after each meeting. He’d received nothing from Wonder Widgets. He reached for the phone.”

Good business means writing. While a quick email response or Instant Messaging (IM) can suffice for continuance of the business conversation, a letter carries more weight in the sales cycle.

Short letter format: How do you write a business letter? The Short Letter Format offers an outline for nearly any situation. Three paragraphs and not many more sentences make this letter quick and easy to write.

Paragraph one – thanks for the meeting. Make a summary statement about your business. “Thanks for the opportunity to meet with you and Paul yesterday. Your marketing plans sound well thought out; we can certainly assist you with particulars like case studies and direct mail copy.”

Paragraph two – restate the opportunity. Make a comment about the prospect’s store, market, or opportunity; follow that with a statement about how your product can help meet the opportunity. “You offer a great array of services. We discussed capturing some of your most compelling success stories to generate sales collateral, web copy and brochure materials; our company specializes in visibility through persuasive copywriting.”

Paragraph Three – call to action. Close explicitly. Rather than “let’s get together soon,” say “Let’s meet early next week to discuss the potential effort. I’ll call Monday morning for an appointment. ”Thanks for referring me to Stephanie in your marketing department. I’ll follow up with her to get the information for our sample copy; we will present that to you at our meeting scheduled for 10:00 am Friday of next week.”

Why write? The business letter cements and communicates thoughts, clarifies and reinforces a discussion, recaps a meeting and keeps you in touch with your customer. A good letter grabs attention and focuses the mind of the customer on you. It sets up an opportunity for your return. The person who writes strong business letters stands out from the crowd. Because letters require time and effort, they receive additional credibility. In the case of Wonder Widget, for example, a letter gave the salesperson an edge. Your unexpected follow up by letter could garner credibility for your firm. Some time ago I won a contract simply because I included three references for a prospect’s consideration in the follow up letter.

Summary The short letter format offers an easy way to practice writing: First of all, thank the prospect and make a quick statement about your business. Then, restate the opportunity and provide a call to action. Your commitment to write will put you in the top tier of salespeople. Try it and discover the results for yourself.

About the Author

© Mary Ellen Merrigan, 2007, Merrigan Group, LLC. Mary Ellen Merrigan consults with small businesses on marketing and public relations; she maintains a marketing strategy blog, http://www.profitmeister.com/blog/ and a free monthly newsletter, ProfitMeister at http://www.profitmeister.com For more information email Maryellen at profitmeister dot com or see http://www.myconnectingpoint.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Ellen_Merrigan