“Please don't hesitate to throw me in the bin”

So you've written an awesome sales letter. Spent hours sweating over every sentence. But does it go out to the prospect with a closing line that says, “Please don't hesitate to throw me in the bin”?

Of course you won't have used those words, but if it says “Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any further questions, or for more information” ... or words to that effect, you may as well have said “throw me in the bin”!

Wherever possible, say something PRO-active like: “Because this is so important for your business and I know you’ll have some questions, I’ll call you in the next four days ...” Then call. Will this make you more sales? You bet!

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Don’t do “Quotes” … Win MORE jobs

When you give a prospect a QUOTE, you are inviting them to “shop around”.

A vastly better approach is to have a winning mindset, and assume that they are not going to go elsewhere, because you ARE delivering the best value package. Then give them an ‘action plan’ full of benefits (to them), reinforcing throughout why you are the best solution for them.

Now, this does NOT mean you should be naïve and think that just because you believe you’ll get the business, you will. No, what I’m saying here is that you need to get out of the ‘quote mentality’ of price/item, and do everything you can to build a case around WHY the prospect should deal with you. And that means knowing as much as possible about what they want out of the transaction. The more you probe to find out what THEY want, the more they’ll be psychologically involved in helping you get the solution.

Importantly too, when you submit your proposal, you should put your price UP FRONT so that the prospect doesn't spend the rest of the document wondering “what's all this going to cost?”. Rather, they’ll see it spelt out proudly up front, which means the rest of your plan can build more and more VALUE into that price.

Record your gems!

If we had a dollar for every time a client has called me, or come up to me at a seminar saying, “I can't write a good ad or a sales letter. I just go blank” ... and then, when I ask them what it is they do, they proceed to articulate beautifully a string of powerful selling points about what they do! My usual advice is, go write that down now! There’s your sales presentation right there.

Here’s an even better tip. Grab a friend and a voice recorder. Your friend must be someone who's prepared to listen to your ramblings. Then, with the voice recorder set, proceed to tell them why they should buy from YOU, why your product is better, more efficient, longer lasting, more durable... whatever ... and mention all the extra special things you do that customers love you for.

The point is, you KNOW what sells. It’s just that often we get a mind melt when we try to write it down. Also, record yourself actually selling your product or service, perhaps on the phone. Having done that, you'll have the seeds of brilliant copy!

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