Need new clients? Try using a lively sales letter

Generating new leads is a fundamental issue most small and midsize businesses continuously face.

There is a basic truth in business: If you don't grow, you die. There is no status quo.

Without a constant supply of leads, a business will always be challenged with the problem of generating new cash flow opportunities from month to month and year to year.

Many business owners are so involved in managing day-to-day operations that they fail to recognize the need to continually acquire new customers as the driver to grow their business for long-term success.

With new leads coming in, financial performance can then be improved by focusing on:

• Tactics to improve the conversion rate of leads to new customers.
• Increasing the number of transactions per customer.
• Increasing the average dollar sale per transaction.

This process is not "rocket science" but it does require understanding the fundamental issue of focusing on generating new leads as the basis for the long-term growth of any business.

There are many marketing and sales tactics that can be used to generate new leads.

Sales letters effective

This article focuses on creating an effective letter as a commonly used tactic for generating cold leads, that is, to open the door to a potential customer who you have never met before.

For many small businesses, a sales letter may be the most effective tool for a low cost tactic as a lead generator with a targeted prospect customer.

With a good list of targeted customers and a strong offer, a well-scripted sales letter can be the basis to generate a large number of qualified leads.

The following are nine tips that can guarantee an effective lead generating letter.

1. Grab attention in the first line. For a person receiving a letter from an unknown sender, they will subconsciously read for four seconds to determine whether they have an interest in continuing. So the opening line must be an attention getter. It is the most important line in the whole letter. The objective of the first sentence is to get the reader to read the second sentence…. and the second sentence to read the third sentence and so on. Every sentence is important, but the first sentence is the most important.

2. Write in a style that communicates…. that's all that matters. Write in a conversational style as if you are sitting down talking to someone you know on a face-to-face basis. Similar to speaking, you don't have to always use complete sentences. Your goal is to generate a lead, not to get an "A" from a schoolteacher.

3. Focus the content of the letter on WIIFM (What's In It For Me, i.e. the prospective lead). When you have identified the target audience as prospect leads, make sure you focus on their needs, wants and dreams that are relevant to your products or services. And always address the letter to a specific person so that you create a personable, friendly and genuine communication. These are important traits of a salesperson and, in this case, your letter is a salesperson on paper.

4. Emphasize benefits as the reason for the letter recipient to respond, to move from being a cold prospect to becoming a serious lead. Recognize that what your product or service does is simply a feature…. what it does for the recipient of the letter is their benefit. And provide as many benefits as you can so that the recipient has no option but wanting to contact you to get more information on your product or service. They will have the desire to take action, giving you the opportunity to make a sale.

5. As you write the letter, ask the question of yourself as to whether a salesperson on the other side of your desk would have convinced you to take action. Read your letter aloud to see if it convinces you as a buyer.

6. Make sure the words explain exactly what action you want the recipient to take. Don't assume anything. You need to create enthusiasm with the reader. For example, "Pick up the phone and call me at xxx-xxx xxxx. Go ahead and do it now while you still have the letter in your hands".

7. Don't end any page, except the last page, with a complete sentence. The human mind seeks completion. So if a page ends in midsentence there is a natural tendency to turn to the next page to continue the thought in the sentence. This improves the odds of the person reading from one page to the next in your letter.

8. Make sure the letter layout provides appeal with visual variety. Paragraphs should not be long blocks of copy, usually not more than five to seven lines of copy per paragraph. Use boldface type, italicizing and underlining in writing to create the same impact as intonation, inflections and voice volume that you would use if it were the spoken word. This will make the visual appearance of the page more inviting and easier to read. But don't overuse the emphasis techniques to the point that they interfere with the flow of the words and thoughts of the communication.

9. And most important of all, to convert the letter recipient to a lead make a follow-up phone call to be sure they received the letter.

Even with the ideal letter, the proactive response from the letter recipient will probably be less than 2 percent.

If you have not received specific follow up from the prospect, call them within the first 10 days from mailing the letter to ask if they received your letter.

If "yes," have a script that will lead you to the specific next step you want with this lead. If "no", or they "don't remember," have a script that says "That's OK. These are the key points that were in the letter." Then move into the "next step" script as if they acknowledged receiving the letter.

Writing a letter to generate a lead has the following benefits:

• It targets a very specific prospect.
• It allows for a clear and controlled communication.
• It is low cost.

Use these tips as a way to generate consistent leads to continually grow your business, revenue and profitability.

Iain Macfarlane is the president and founder of BizCOACHING & Associates in Madison, a franchise of ActionCOACH Business Coaching. He was named "Coach of the Year 2005."