Chapter 7

Creating High Impact Business Correspondence

In This Chapter

Crafting winning cover letters

Networking and building relationships with letters

Complaining well and getting personal

Focusing on facts in letters of record

Pitching your product or service

You may be under the impression that you don’t write business letters and never need to in today’s fast-paced world. Think again. When you write to ask for a meeting or reference, you’re writing a letter. So is a pitch for a product or service, a thank you for a courtesy or opportunity, or a cover letter for an application or report.

Yes, you probably send such messages by email. But don’t be fooled by the fact that you’re using an electronic delivery system and don’t need a stamp. Acknowledge that your missive is a letter, and you do a much better job of achieving your goal.

Think of your message as a ‘letter’ whenever you’re writing a short to medium-length document that is relatively formal and introduces you in some way. You usually want to make a good personal impression, as if you’re courting the reader. In many instances, a letter often serves as an official record. It’s helpful to remember too that while the privacy of electronic communication is a murky area, ‘the secrecy of correspondence’ concept practiced in many countries protects letters in transit from being opened. So letters are typically more private than digital communication.

You won’t find formulas and templates for various types of letters in this chapter. Instead, I build on and refine the planning strategies of Chapter 2. Many of the ideas I present about writing emails in Chapter 6 also apply to letters. The goal is to help you write the best letters possible for an array of situations you’re likely to encounter in your professional life.

Succeeding with Cover Letters

Take time to write a good original targeted cover letter for every application and proposal you submit, whether the goal is to get funding, a job, a grant, a work benefit, a professional honour – whatever. A well-crafted cover letter is essential even if you’re responding to specifications that say cover letters aren’t necessary. Exception: if the posting says ‘absolutely no cover letters,’ don’t disobey. But review your résumé or the application form and look for ways to work in helpful information you might otherwise include in the cover letter.

Writing effective cover letters is tough but worth the trouble because:

Letters offer golden opportunities to personalize an interaction. In most letters you’re asking for something that’s important to you and, if the initial process is conducted through writing, you must humanize your request.

Letters enable you to shine. A letter supplements what may be dry information if an application or proposal form give you little room to present yourself as an individual.

Letters set up your reader to give your submission the perspective you choose. You can provide a context for your accomplishments, point at what’s most relevant, add depth to a noteworthy qualification, or create your desired tone.

The following sections show you how to organize and execute a cover letter that strengthens your application or proposal.

Planning a cover letter

The basic decision-making system that I introduce in Chapter 2 and apply to emails in Chapter 6, works for cover letters too.

Start by focusing your goal. Often you need to go through a narrowing process. While your ultimate purpose may be to get a job or secure a contract, you rarely achieve this result from paperwork alone. At the first stage of competing for an opportunity, aim more realistically to survive the contest and be picked for further review.

Framing the goal this way helps you make good content choices. Consider the following question in brainstorming what to include in your letter.

What personal facets are you unable to include in the application that would strengthen your bid if brought to the reviewer’s attention?

Do you have any connection with your reader or the organization worth referring to– a common acquaintance or alma mater, for example?

What are the key qualifications and qualities the organization is looking for– and what are your best matching points?

Should your cover letter reflect the qualities the organization is seeking? For example, should you aim to demonstrate creativity or attention to detail in your letter?

Why do you want this opportunity? Can you say something genuine and positive about your motivation or what you plan to do if you’re chosen?

Can you say something genuine and positive about the person or organization you’re applying to? And why you think this is a good match?

Never treat the cover letter as an afterthought. Most of your competitors invest all their energy into their proposals and tack on careless, perfunctory notes rather than letters. In more than a few cases, a bad cover note eliminates someone from the running altogether because tired reviewers welcome the chance to ‘just say no’ to an applicant. Don’t let this be your situation. The planning process gives you insights on how to stand out.

Ideally, you can use your planning to shape the content of two pieces of writing that supplement and reinforce each other – the cover letter and the résumé, application or proposal itself. Consider your letter’s purpose and possibilities separately from the documents it accompanies. When practical, write the application or proposal first, and for the cover letter then draw on the thinking you worked out. You might deliberately bank an idea or two for the cover letter – see the section called ‘Saving something special for cover letters’ for more on this technique.

Opening with pizazz

Like email, the subject of Chapter 6, letters should get to the point as quickly as possible and focus on what most matters to readers so they are enticed to keep reading. But very often, letters need context. If you’re responding to a job ad, or funding opportunity, you’re usually impelled to begin along the lines, ‘I’m writing in response to your ad for an SEO specialist in the Daily Techie’s July 1 issue, page 13.’

There is a way around this boring lead. At the top of the letter, preferably on the right, type ‘In application for the SEO specialist job, Daily Techie July 1.’ Or, ‘Responding to Citizens for Clean Air grant announcement.’ Then you can create an engaging lead that zooms right in on your own strength, or the reader’s hot button, according to the situation.

If you’re delivering your letter via email, another option is using the subject line to identify your reason for writing.

Often it’s worthwhile to take some trouble with your letter’s opening sentence and paragraph. Most emails address practical matters, so identifying the subject and getting to the point are paramount. Letters usually face a more formidable challenge – you’re trying to convince your reader of something. I present more ideas on crafting persuasive copy in Chapters 8 and 9.

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Targeting a cover letter’s multiple audience

For more clues on what to say and how to say it, after refining your goal, think about all the people who will review your letter and other materials. (See Chapter 2 for audience characteristics relevant to specific situations.) Getting past an initial gatekeeper matters, but letter is likely to travel with your application or proposal.

Explore what you know or are able to intuit about your readers. Account for specific audience characteristics based on the situation. If you’re writing to an accountant about funding for an art installation, for example, he’s likely to focus on the numbers; an arts administrator is going to be more interested in the project’s artistic merit.

While you rarely know who exactly is going to review your materials, you can safely assume that these people:

Feel pressured to make a good decision that will satisfy others and be validated over time

Want the selection process to run as quickly and efficiently as possible

Have carefully hammered out a set of criteria for making their decision or choice

Want to see proof that a candidate meets the criteria

Need evidence that the candidate understands the organization and aligns with its mission

Desire a candidate who really wants the opportunity

Prefer a sense (in more cases than you may expect) that the selected candidate will be nice to work with

Strategize your cover letter by asking the essential questions for planning any message: ‘What’s in it for them if they give me what I ask for?’ and, ‘Why should they give it to me?’ Know the answers yourself and use this information to shape your writing.

Saving something special for cover letters

Content brainstorming (see ‘Planning a cover letter’) pays off handsomely. Suppose your company periodically funds several employee projects aimed at saving money, and you’re submitting an application for one you’ve identified as worthwhile – reducing warehouse shrinkage. After thinking through goal and audience for clues to the best cover letter content, you realise that you:

Have 10 years’ experience as a member of staff, so you really know the company

Can cite an excellent track record with assigned projects

Have written feedback in hand on your cost-effectiveness and attention to detail

Believe your project can potentially save money for the department by reducing warehouse theft 15 per cent

Can estimate reasonable cost projections

Have been shaping the idea for 8 months with input from relevant managers

Are very enthusiastic about undertaking the project

You cover the first five points in the proposal, which follows your company’s prescribed format for pitching new projects. But you didn’t address the last two points – how long you’ve been developing the idea and how you feel about it – which are more personal and don’t fit well into the company proposal format. You now have the option of using these ideas to setup the reader to see your application in a positive light.

Even if an application form accommodates all the points you want to make, you can choose to save one or more as ammunition for the cover letter. Often the ideas worth using this way are the ones you feel personally passionate about, and those that put the proposal in a positive perspective – or underline what makes you the most qualified person for the job at hand. It can be okay to repeat the most important ideas in both an application and cover letter, but take the time to phrase them differently.

As I explore in Chapter 2, the tone of every message works either for or against you. Just as a formal proposal or application in a question-answer type format doesn’t allow much scope for passion, it doesn’t offer many opportunities to bring (appropriate) emotion into the proceedings. But the cover letter does.

In most cases aim for a formal but fluid tone and style that is grammatically correct but still warm – and conveys enthusiasm. Nothing is more attractive to decision-makers than enthusiasm or even passion for the job, assignment, or contract at their disposal. All things being equal, or nearly so, the gung-ho bird is the one that gets the worm.

You now have the guidelines to craft your cover letter. Here’s one version.

Dear Mel:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to submit a proposal for this year’s Personal Project Award.

I’ve outlined my idea for a shrinkage reduction program which, based on research I’ve undertaken in my own time over the past eight months, can potentially save us 15 per cent in warehousing costs.

The experiment requires a minimal outlay for new technology and can be handled by my office as part of our normal workload.

During my 10 years with the company, I’ve been credited with a number of successful projects, including the Morris Initiative, which you may recall. I’m excited by the chance to carry out my new idea and further contribute to Grand Co.’s success.

If any information is not included in the proposal that will be helpful, I’m very happy to provide it.

Sincerely,

Pat

Patricia James

Write your cover letter choosing content and style comfortable for you.You can choose more than one way to write a successful message. But check that your approach supports your goals. In the preceding case, your message needs to setup the audience to find the proposal worthwhile and does this through strong matching points with company interests, key qualifications, and that extra ingredient – enthusiasm.

Of course, you can choose to write a cover letter such as: ‘Dear Mel, Herewith my application for the Project Award. Let me know any questions. Pat.’ But you’re wasting a big opportunity.

The same basic thinking structure works when you’re crafting cover letters for business proposals, job applications, grant applications, and much more. For more detailed strategies targeted to specific purposes, see Cover Letters For Dummies by Joyce Lain Kennedy.

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Networking with Letters

Typically you write networking messages to follow up a meeting, ask for a connection, express appreciation, or something similar. Most of your networking messages are probably sent as emails, but they deserve as much careful crafting as traditional letters.

In every case, your message is you to the reader, whether he’s met you or not. You’re evaluated based on what you say and how you say it. If you send careless sloppy messages, don’t expect people to do you many favors.

More and more, the professional world is blending with the personal. Many a friend is in a position to bestow a critical favor, and even professional relationships can be personalized. Everyone prefers doing business with people who they trust and like to work with. Letters are invaluable in establishing this comfort zone.

Making requests: Informational interviews, references and intros

Be aware that with requests, you ask people of influence to a) give you their valuable time and b) stake their own reputations on you.

If you ask in the right way, most people are extraordinarily willing to help. People may choose to spend half-an-hour telling you about their work in an informational interview, either in person or by telephone, if you:

Target the appropriate person

Define and limit your expectation

Show respect and appreciation for the prospective conversation

Demonstrate that you will be a credit to the person, and his industry, when you interact with others in his circle

Come across as someone worth knowing in future

Clearly, requests demand your best writing and thinking skills.

Ask the classic ‘What’s in it for them’ question to frame content for any request. If you’re asking for an informational interview from a relatively young person, he may be pleased to know you consider him knowledgeable and influential. More established people are often motivated to ‘give back’ – to their alma mater, their profession, or simply in recognition of their good fortune. They may recall someone who reached out on their behalf at an earlier time in their career. And, many successful people with children of their own take satisfaction in helping young people.

In addition to altruistic motives, smart businesspeople like making connections and bringing worthwhile people together. They value being known for their networking skills. When you craft your messages, you rarely address such ‘what’s-in-it-for-them’ factors directly. But being aware of probable motivation guides you to the right tone and content.

If you share a connection use that entrée early in your message – the lead if possible. For example, ‘Our mutual friend Pat Jones suggested I contact you because I’m aiming for a career in your field, biomedical engineering, and would deeply appreciate your advice.’

If you don’t have a ready-made connection research the people who you’re writing to and see if you can find one. For example, do you have a college, career path, or professional association in common? Did you hear the person speak at a conference or read his article? Do you have a reason for admiring him?

Do your homework and make sure that it shows in your request. You need to have a good reason to write to a particular person and organization. An individualized message has an entirely different impact from a hit-and-miss email that could be addressed to anyone.

To see what I mean, think about your reactions to the following two messages.

Message 1:

Dear Rob Walker:

I’m a new grad with a degree in Business Admin and think I might like to work for an international non-profit-.. I see that you do that now. I’m in your area next Thursday available from 2 to 4, OK for me to come in then? Thanx much. – Mark

Message 2:

Dear Mr Walker:

I write at the suggestion of Allison James, who interned with your office this past summer and spoke highly of the experience. I hope very much you might find the time to talk with me about my career path – 10 minutes would mean a lot to me.

I’ve just graduated from Marshall State with a degree in non-profit management. During the past five years I’ve held internships with four international development agencies and feel confident that this is the work I want to spend my life doing. I’ve spent several months in Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Peru.

In hopes of preparing for work like yours, directing overseas field volunteers, I see several possible career routes and would appreciate your perspective.

Would you consider scheduling time for a brief telephone interview? I can be available at your convenience almost anytime next week.

Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely, Melanie Black

If you think the politeness of message 2 is exaggerated, perhaps so. But if you were Rob Walker, would you talk to Mark or Melanie? Which one sounds like a good investment of your time – not only because of how much they may value the opportunity, but because of their relative long-term prospects? Melanie comes across as someone worth helping.

To succeed with network messaging, think through your content options, draft a message tailored to the particular reader, then carefully edit and proof as I explain in Chapters 4 and 5. You may be amazed at what opportunities and people move within reach.

If you’re performing a virtual introduction between two people, spell out what’s in it for both parties – why you’re suggesting the connection.

Don’t use the power of virtual networking to replace or avoid in-person networking or human contact in general. You can sit at your computer all day and exchange written messages, but that’s no substitute for a conversation or live interaction. No one hires a piece of paper or an email.

If you want the best assignments, job leads and relationships, show up. The benefits of networking face-to-face within an industry and through professional associations are huge. Use your writing skills to achieve in-person opportunities. (For tips on introducing yourself with a brief ‘elevator pitch,’ see Chapter 10.)

Saying thank you

Suppose you achieve the informational interview you want and speak to the person. Should you write a thank you note? Don’t even ask: the answer is not ‘yes’, but ‘always’. That applies even if you didn’t find the person all that helpful, and it applies every time someone gives you information, advice, an interview, a contact, or an introduction. If you don’t write, the discourtesy may be held against you.

A good thank you is notoriously challenging. I often ask graduate students of public relations to thank, in writing, a special guest who participated in a seminar. Most are surprised at how much thought a brief note takes.

To the writing rescue once more – the idea of defining goal and audience!

To thank someone for an informational interview, a job lead, a reference, or other favor, your goal is to express appreciation and also to keep the door open for future interaction or help. In considering the audience, decide:

What did the person do that you appreciate?

What feedback would this person value?

Consider Roger whose client, Jen, has referred him to one of her own clients in need of services in his province. Roger sends this note:

Jen, followed up the referral to your client Bob Black, went well! Thanks. Roger

You’re probably not impressed because major elements are missing. First, detail. The information is vague and gives no concrete idea of the interaction or outcome between Roger and Bob. Second, the tone is careless. Added to minimal feedback from Roger, Jen (who staked her reputation on Roger) is likely to feel uneasy about making the connection and reluctant to reach out on his behalf again. Here’s a version that works better:

Dear Jen,

Thanks so much for connecting me with Bob Black. I met with him at his office this morning, and we had a good conversation about his technology update program, and how my group is equipped to help.

Bob asked me to prepare an informal proposal for review by his team. Of course I’m delighted to have the opportunity.

Jen, I really appreciate your opening this door for me and will keep you updated on developments.

Sincerely, Roger

Besides being carefully constructed and written – itself a necessary tribute to Jen’s generous spirit – the note reassures her that Roger made a good impression on her client rather than flubbing it. In this instance, what’s-in-it-for-Jen is creating a connection that benefits both parties and makes her look and feel good.

Depending on the situation, consider too whether a more definitive thank you is called for: offering your favor-giver a cup of coffee or lunch, for example. Surprisingly few people actively reciprocate a good turn. Returning the favor at some point is the most effective response, of course. Each thank-you situation deserves individual thought.

If your thank you note is written in the wake of a job interview or pitch for a project, it probably becomes part of your application package. Treat the thank you note as a test of your communication skills and a chance to customize what the decision-makers know about you. If you spoke to someone on site or experienced the environment, you have new insights on what qualifications the organization most values. Or perhaps you realize you didn’t mention something important in writing or in person. Such additions are first-rate material for thank you notes.

The note is also a good way to reinforce your belief in how good a match you see between the company and what you can do for it.

Don’t overlook saying a cordial thank you in situations such as receiving a grant. Organizations and people seldom take the trouble. Here, express a sincere appreciation for the confidence vested in you or your organization, and perhaps say something about how productive the project will be.

Odd as it may sound, take the time to thank someone for the opportunity even when you’re not a winner of a job, contract or grant. The same people are likely to make the decision next time, and your positive attitude may pay off. Thanking someone for the opportunity underscores your professionalism and makes you a bit more memorable.

Many people positioned to bestow jobs, projects and other awards find the world discourteous. Act as the exception and see what happens.

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Writing to Complain

In both your personal and professional lives, you may occasionally find cause to write complaints. When that happens, you get much better results if you do it well. A written complaint offers a great demonstration of how to use the planning process (see Chapter 2).

In any situation, first, thoroughly review the pros and cons of putting a complaint in writing at all. You may not have achieved what you wanted or may feel disappointed, but written complaints last a long time – forever, more or less. People take written complaints and criticism very seriously. So never draft and send such a message in the heat of the moment. Step-by-step planning helps you remove yourself from the emotional context and attendant risks.

Bringing up the problem in a telephone or in-person conversation may be a smart way of dealing with the complaint, depending on the situation and whether you can keep your cool. For example, you might say,‘Hi Jack, how’s it going? We noticed there’s a long delay ‘till our calls for service get handled. What’s up?’ This is a good, neutral way to start the interaction.

If making a call or having a conversation doesn’t seem to help, plan a letter. Suppose a supplier has disappointed you with the quality of goods or services delivered.. Perhaps computer maintenance work has been poorly performed. Articulating your goal is critical.

Your goal in a complaint letter is never – no matter how you feel– to let off steam. Writing from anger is a self-indulgent approach that frequently boomerangs. You may not know an important part of the story, so proceed very cautiously before burning bridges. In any case, the world is small, and a person you attack may have friends you may encounter in the future.

Your goal may better be stated as one or more of the following:

Resolve a dispute

Solve a problem

Gain a concession

Get a refund

Get an apology or acknowledgment

Controlling your tone also helps you achieve your purpose. Putting your reader on the defensive is never to your advantage. Stick to the facts, not how you feel. Adopt a tone that conveys an assumption that the problem can be fixed. As the saying says, no point biting off your nose to spite your face. Is the disappointing supplier the only one who has what you need? Will finding a new source threaten your production deadlines or up the costs? Review the ramifications to help you feel more objective. Resolve to give the other party a chance to perform.

For example, you can complain about a computer maintenance issue:

Dear Bob,

I looked into several complaints from three of my departments last week, and the records show that service on our network has been slow.

During the first quarter of this year, we made 16 calls to your office and in 12 cases, response took two to three days. As you know, the network’s critical to all our operations and such delays are expensive for us.

Of course, this is not the service level we signed on for or experienced in the prior year.

Please look into this and get back to me at your earliest convenience. I’d like to know why the problem is happening and what steps you can take to deliver the service we need.

Thank you for your immediate attention. I hope these issues can be quickly resolved.

Best, Elaine

The tone and language are low-key and neutral, and Bob will notice that Elaine sees the problem as fixable. But he’ll have no trouble recognizing that the contract is at risk. Note how using specific facts supports the goal and provides the best shot at remedying the situation.

Crafting Letters of Record

Sometimes you must write a letter as a record: to review your own or someone else’s performance, to detail a formal agreement or contract termination, to document an event or problem, or to make a statement of some kind. Many such letters have legal implications and can (and should) involve lawyers. This is beyond my province.

But I can share one strategy I know to be useful in a variety of situations: a chronological accounting of the dispute. Like complaint letters (see the earlier section ‘Writing to Complain’), letters of record are all about the facts.

To start, marshal your facts completely and arrange them in a timeline. Then create a letter that simply marches down each item on your list in a dispassionate, matter-of-fact way: no frills, no flowery adjectives, no emotion whatsoever. Start each item with the date.

Suppose you’re an independent graphic designer and a client hasn’t paid your last bill, due six months earlier. He now hints that the work wasn’t done to his satisfaction. You don’t want to go to court, but you do want the money you’re entitled to.

Your letter can go this way:

Dear Mel:

On July 6 of this year, you contacted my firm, Dropdead Graphics, to inquire about website services for your firm, Travesty Ltd.

On July 8 we met at your office for two hours to discuss Travesty’s needs and goals.

On July 21 I sent you an agreement specifying that Dropdead would provide a particular set of services at a proposed fee (see attached contract). Payment terms called for 1/3 in advance, 1/3 on delivery of preliminary design, 1/3 on finished approved version.

On July 22 we signed the contract. You remitted the 1/3 payment due.

On August 10 I presented the preliminary design. You said ‘with some revision it would be exactly what you wanted’ and that you’d mail the second payment at week’s end.

On August 19 I presented the revised version based on your input. You said, ‘It looks fantastic, let me take a more careful look with my staff, and I’ll check about the payment you didn’t receive.’

And so on. Further entries would include the dates the invoices were sent, when the new web design went live, and every additional detail that’s relevant. The close would say:

Mel, clearly I have met every obligation of our contract in a timely manner and with your enthusiastic approval. The site is online exactly as I designed it but six months later, you have not paid two-thirds of the fee to which you agreed in writing. Kindly remit the balance owed immediately.

Very truly yours, Natasha

This may be the only place in this book that I recommend a stilted, formal language with archaic wording. To the recipient, this type of letter sounds as if a lawyer is advising you. Or at the least, the reader can recognize that you have a good case and are ready to seek legal redress.

Will you get paid? Not necessarily, but it’s a good shot. The recipient may at least offer to negotiate a settlement. Or after you make your case you may in fact see the value in taking the legal route if Mel doesn’t come through. Your letter becomes part of that process.

The approach works just as well if you’re on the other side of the fence. For example, if you don’t want to pay an unfair bill, your chances are even better, because if you clearly state that you have no intention of paying, the other party’s recourse is limited.

Underscore your letter’s legal undertones by mailing it – or better yet, certify delivery and have the recipient sign for it.

Introducing Yourself in Letter Form

When you assume a new role in your company, take over a professional practice or join one, or open a new business, take time to introduce yourself by letter. A letter of introduction is like making a first impression in person, but it can last even longer. Obviously, this kind of letter needs to be very well done.

Start by thinking about your audience. This usually includes people directly affected by your news as well as groups with whom you want to establish good relationships.

Say you’re moving up the ladder to head an accounting office. Your first audience is the current roster of clients: You certainly hope to retain them and even better, would like to sell them additional services.

The ‘What’s-in-it-for-them?’ question is best interpreted in this case as, ‘What do they want to know?’ That’s a different question than ‘What do I want them to know?’ You may think about focusing on cross-selling additional services, for example, but that’s not what’s on your reader’s mind. (I cover sales-focused communication in the following ‘Creating Sales Letters’.)

Putting yourself in their shoes to brainstorm, you come up with factors such as:

Will I receive the same level of service?

Might it improve in any way?

Will I be inconvenienced in any way?

Are you qualified professionally?

Where did you come from?

Are you a nice person to deal with?

People want to know how a change affects them. An introductory letter is not, in fact, an invitation for you to talk about your accomplishments and qualifications at length. Most people overestimate others’ interest in credentials when trying to sell them something. People usually take credentials for granted, if you provide a minimal grounding.

So supply the bare bones version of your history and incorporate some high points as relevant – a personal or professional honour, for example. Your content list as the new head of an accounting office may include:

Show respect for outgoing chief (whom clients presumably liked)

Assure clients of service continuity – absolutely no inconvenience

Introduce yourself:

• Previous role, plus most impressive affiliation and a few clients

• Specializations

• Work as board member of a government accounting department

Plans for improving client service, such as new technology to keep better records, expanded services requested by clients, personalizing service further

Maybe: your work as active member of their community

Maybe: a line about why you love your work or want to know your clients personally

For important clients: offer to meet with them one-on-one soon

Use the same process for thinking through a letter introducing yourself to any group: the staff members of an office you’re newly in charge of; suppliers you’re dealing with in a new role; or present and past customers of your company. If you recently joined a consulting firm, an intro letter is a good way to tell clients and prospects about the company’s expanding capabilities. If you work for a non-profit organization you may use letters to reach out to other agencies that work with yours or grant-giving organizations.

In every case, ask yourself what you would want to know if you were standing in their shoes. Few people want radical change in the amenities and customs of their lives. You want assurance that things will remain just the same – or maybe become a little better.

Make sure introductory letters are in line with your organization’s culture and that the contents won’t surprise your higher-ups.

Creating Sales Letters

Writing ‘cold call’ letters is a staple assignment for professional copywriters and for good reason. Selling a product or service in writing is a tough challenge. So much competes for attention today that people are automatically sceptical, impatient, and bored with the piles of ‘buy me’ mail that arrives in every form including actual letters, emails, videos and social media.

The overabundance of marketing materials nowadays doesn’t mean that you can’t write a good sales letter, just that you can’t expect to do it off the top of your head. If you’re aiming for a slick, graphic-intensive print mailing piece, it’s a good idea to get professional help with the writing as well as design. But today’s online environment offers extraordinary opportunities to create a word-based marketing message and deliver it by email.

To accomplish a strong message for prospective customers, donors, or other groups you want to reach, first understand the core value of what you offer, the problems your prospect wants to solve, and how to connect the two. Then you need to figure out how to pull your reader in and make your case – in five seconds. (For advice on identifying and articulating your core value, check out Chapter 9.)

The step-by-step system that starts with analyzing your goal and audience I introduce in Chapter 2 works for this challenge. I focus on the one-on-one situation, where you want to convince a specific individual that your product or service is of value to him.

Begin by defining your goal. Generally don’t expect someone to respond to a letter by putting a check in the mail. When you introduce something a reader is unfamiliar with, aiming to pique their interest is usually more realistic. The situation might call for referring your audience to your website for more information that might convince him to buy. Often your goal is a meeting so you can present your pitch in person, or at least via a telephone appointment.. So your letter should say just enough to interest your reader in a conversation by showing him why he should care.

Understanding your audience, in this case, involves thinking about the person’s problems and the various audience characteristics I talk about in Chapter 2, and also, looking for a personal connection to give you a natural lead-in. For example, perhaps you talked with a company representative at a trade show, maybe you specialize in working with the same industry, or you read a news story about a new program at the target company.

Also, research the organization as well as the person well enough to anticipate its challenges and explain how you can help. Writing a good sales letter is much easier if you genuinely believe in the prospective match.

Sometimes you can combine both a personal connection and your problem-solving capability in a single opening sentence, such as:

‘Chuck Smith suggested I contact you to explain how I solved his most pressing problem, one you share with him: Reducing government audits of overseas investments.’

You don’t necessarily need to start from scratch when you write each letter. You can develop a strong basic core, but you must customize it as much as possible for every target.

Fortunately, almost every organization tells you everything you need to know on its website. When you don’t know who to write to, dig a bit and you can find the exact person as well as the organization’s explanation of its goals and values. In particular, you can discover a lot about style and tone. Is the company formal? Casual? Cheeky? Reflecting the company’s tone and style in your own communications goes a long way toward suggesting that you’re in synch with it.

When you’re addressing your marketing message to a group rather than an individual – prospective customers for your service, for example – follow much the same process as you would for a specific person. The section on ‘Writing to groups and strangers’ in Chapter 2 shows you how to ‘imagine’ a composite audience and write for it effectively.

Shape a sales letter with these sure-fire strategies:

Plan the letter from a ‘what’s-in-it-for-them’ viewpoint. Assume most decision-makers care about making money or saving it, so figure out how what you offer relates to that.

Frame the entire message in terms of ‘you’ – not ‘I’ or ‘we’.

Lead with something catchy but relevant – a story, a hot button, an unusual benefit, an offer. Or just say why you’re writing.

Incorporate any personal connection you can and your knowledge of the target company.

Explain who you are very briefly and what your product does.

Use relevant, brief case histories and/or testimonials.

End with a clear, specific call to action. What is the next step?

Provide multiple response channels: email, telephone, social media.

Always remember ‘the ask.’ If you want a face-to-face meeting, say so. It’s smart to set a time frame: offering to establish your value in10 minutes, for example, is more attractive than requesting an open-ended commitment and suggests you’re focused and won’t waste the person’s time. Also show flexibility – suggest several timeframes or scheduling the meeting at the reader’s convenience, rather than saying ‘I’ll come at 4 p.m. on Thursday.’

Good salesmen advise that you should always be prepared to follow up with a phone call.

Do all the above in one page maximum, three to five paragraphs. Be sure the letter looks good (see the sidebar ‘Formatting your letters’). And do not allow yourself a single spelling or grammatical error. Just one kills your credibility in an instant. Ask a buddy to proofread for you, and ask her for a personal opinion on how well the letter works, too. Chapters 4 and 5 offer loads of editing and proofreading advice.

Use your judgment about attaching available marketing materials. If they’re well written and designed, they provide excellent backup in many cases. Keep in mind that interested recipients will almost automatically check out you and your company online, so your website and LinkedIn profiles, among other accessible material, should be in good shape to support your marketing message. (I talk about websites and online profiles in Part IV.)

A good sales letter evolves over time and takes considerable thought, not to mention trial and error. The good news here is that the basic message you create on how to present yourself is readily adapted to your website, print and online marketing pieces, 15-second ‘elevator pitch’, and more.

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