This is part of the Guide to Successful Marketing and Selling to US Importers.
This guide has a chapter containing more comprehensive information on
writing effective sample sales letters that get results.
For more information, click here.
Direct marketing (sending a sales letter by mail) is the most effective way to market your products and find new buyers. With all the new technology we have today (internet, fax, B2B, etc) more than 8 out of 10 US importers say they prefer to be contacted by sales letter. But you cannot send just any letter. The sales letter that you send represents your company. If it looks good, you look good. If it looks bad, you look bad. If there are mistakes in the letter then the quality of your product is questioned.
An estimated 97% of all sales letters go into the trash. It is important that your sales letter looks nice and is effective in order to be part of the 3% of letters that stay on the importer’s desk. Importers generally look at the first paragraph first. If they are still interested they skip down to the last paragraph to look for the seller’s web site address. Our research showed that US importers generally do not look at the second or third paragraph.
Sales letters don’t sell anymore. Your web site does that now. Your sales letter has two functions. The first is to introduce your company and your products and the second is to direct the reader to your web site. Effective sales letters generally have four paragraphs and are arranged in the following manner:
A recent research study showed that US importers generally spend seven seconds looking at a sales letter to determine if they are interested or not. If within that 7 seconds you have convinced the reader that you have a product they would like to buy and resell then they will continue reading. Otherwise the letter goes into the trash.
At this point you have the reader’s interest and have given the basics. This paragraph tells the importer the benefits of buying your product. Here you show the buyer how he/she will benefit from buying your product.
Paragraph 4: Request for Action
This paragraph is short and has only one function: go to your web page for more information. It is very important that you put your web site address in this last paragraph and encourage the reader to go there to see more about your products.
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Here is what a typical sales letter might look like. More examples of general sales letters, sales letters that can be used by agents (middlemen, representatives), and follow-up sales letters to be sent to someone that has visited your office or trade fair booth can be found in the Guide to Successful Marketing and Selling to US Importers.
Boris Textile Producing Co. Ltd. is a leading Russian manufacturer and exporter of socks and hosiery. The range of our product line, good quality, and competitive prices have made us one of the fastest growing companies of its kind in Russia.
Located in Moscow, we produce a wide variety of socks and hosiery items in a cotton-woolen-nylon blend for men, women, and children. These socks are of good quality and are popular with customers. Our total production averages 10 million pairs per year, 70% for export and 30% for the domestic market.
We at Boris Textile Co. will work with you to produce the types of socks or hosiery products that will sell well in your stores. We guarantee both our quality and on time delivery of shipments and our prices are very competitive.
For more information please go to our web site at www.boristextile.com.ru .
This sales letter is short and positive, it gives the necessary information, and it encourages the reader to go to the seller’s web site.
How Not To Write A Sales Letter
Every word in your sales letter must be chosen carefully. Do not use words that are pushy, like "prompt", and "ASAP", and "at your convenience". US importers do not like to be pushed into making a decision.
Do not try to flatter the buyer with words like "esteemed" and "respected". US importers will give you an order because you have a product they want. Not because you tried to inflate their ego.
Do not use abbreviations. Using "B. Rgds" for "Best Regards" and "Tkx" for "Thank You" implies that you are lazy. No US importer wants to do business with someone who is lazy.
Do not misspell any words or use bad grammar. Your sales letter is the only representation of your company that the buyer sees. In their eyes a poorly written sales letter means poorly produced products.
Do not make the reader hunt for your web site address. The goal of your letter is to get the prospective buyer to go to your web site for more information and hopefully to give you an order. Put your web site address in the last paragraph and also in the contact information at the top of the letter. Make it easy for the buyer to get the information he/she wants and to contact you for more details and possibly a price quote.
