Knowing this is key to writing an effective sales letter

If there’s one thing your prospective customers probably don’t have, it’s time – time for you, time for your advertising, even time for them.

. These days it seems as though you have only nanoseconds to grab your readers’ attention. If your opening doesn’t do its job, your letter goes unread.

The number one rule to getting your letter off to an effective start is to write from your readers’ perspective. To do this, begin not by describing your product or service but by appealing to your readers’ interests, needs, or desires. Only after you have caught the attention of your readers should you begin trying to convince them that what you have is what they want.

Here are some examples of attention – getting openings that might help you connect with potential customers:

¦Offer of dramatic savings “We can provide you more dependable courier service at half the price you now are paying.”

¦Offer of a gift, free trial, or coupon “As a busy office supervisor who has only limited time for shopping – and no time for mistakes in purchasing – you will be pleased to know that you can shop for all your office needs through Office.NET, for more detail visit www.sale-trigger-generator.com a new, interactive computer network now available in your area. Call today for free installation and a no-obligation, 30-day trial.”

¦Appeal to customer’s need or desire “Are you tired of getting sales calls at the dinner hour but afraid that if you don’t answer you’ll miss an important call from a friend? Now there’s a device that screens those calls and automatically plays back an appropriate pre-recorded response.”

¦Thought-provoking question or surprising statistic “When was the last time you checked to see how much your company was spending on duplicating? You may be paying two to three times more than your competition pays for the same volume of copying.”

¦A clever or engaging quotation “Andrew Jackson once said, ‘I have no respect for a man who knows only one way to spell a word.’ Well, for more detail www.sales-letters-creator.com the planners at Creative Retreats Conference Center have no respect for any team of consultants who know only one way to help you boost your employees’ morale and productivity.”

¦A touching or dramatic anecdote “In 1984 Jane Williams survived a 2,000-foot fall when her parachute failed to open. She landed in three feet of water in a farmer’s pond and waded to shore without a scratch. Now she volunteers her time as a nurse’s aid helping veterans who weren’t so lucky.”

¦A testimonial or celebrity endorsement “‘I was so impressed with Mill City Flour’s success in entering the fiercely competitive cereal market,’ said marketing expert Thomas Quinn, ‘that I decided to investigate.’ Here’s what he found about how we do business.”

¦An apology linked to a sales proposal “Your disappointment with how long it took us to deliver your last order is of great concern to us here at the Muffin Shop, where we pride ourselves on quick, dependable service. I apologize for the inconvenience and embarrassment our delay caused you. To make it up to you, I am offering you a special 20 percent discount on your next order.”