Page 247 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

may be perfectly true but which strengthen the doubts of a skeptical prospect.
A master letter writer always tones statements down to a point where they
will be accepted on their face, even if he has to understate the truth. He
seldom, if ever, indulges in superlatives. Particularly is he careful not to
overuse the word “very.”

The letters of both Lincoln and Franklin, while not sales letters, are
noteworthy for their tone of sincerity and deference to the opinion of others.
Commenting on humility as a factor in dealing with men, Benjamin Franklin
says in his autobiography: “I cannot boast of much success in acquiring the
reality of this virtue, but I have learned a good deal with regard to the
appearance of it. I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the
sentiments of others, and all positive assertions of my own. I even forbid
myself, agreeably to the old laws of Junto, the use of every word or
expression in the language that imported a fixed opinion such as certainly,
undoubtedly, etc., and I have adopted instead of them, I conceive, I
apprehend, or I imagine a thing to be so and so, or it appears to me at present
to be so and so. When another asserted something that I thought an error, I
denied myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and in answering I
began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would
be right, but there seemed to me to be some difference. The modest way in
which I proposed my opinions procured for them a readier reception.”

There is a great deal of truth in Franklin’s assertion, and in our letters to our
customers and to our prospects we are wise if we avoid making assertions
which challenge credulity, or in any way make it appear that we are trying to
exaggerate the virtues of what we are selling.

If the virtues of our products must be expounded, let it be done by means of
enclosures. Quite often we get letters from our customers which can be
marked up in such a way that the heart of them is quickly found, and these
letters can be used to bring out a point we want to get over.

Ask for the Order

You probably have had experience with the very friendly and agreeable