Page 248 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

young salesman who drops in on you every day and talks about the weather
and everything else under the sun, but who never gets to the point of telling
you what he wants or what he wants you to do. These salesmen are good-
friend makers, but usually poor order-getters. The same thing holds true of
writers of sales letters. There are many who can write a very human and
interesting sales letter which will be read by the people to whom it is sent, but
it fails to get the business. It brings back many favorable replies but
comparatively few orders.

The trouble is the same in both instances. The salesman doesn’t get the order
because he doesn’t ask for it, and the man who writes the letter doesn’t get
what he is after because he doesn’t come out clearly in his letter and tell the
prospect what he wants him to do.

No sales letter should be allowed to go out unless it ends up by telling the
recipient just exactly what action you want him to take, and make it as easy
as possible for him to take that action.

This does not mean that some hackneyed expression such as “Do It Now” or
“Send Back the Card Today” is all that is needed. Neither does it mean that
the letter should conclude with some domineering, arbitrary demand that the
prospect do certain things without giving him any reason at all for doing
them. But it does mean that a properly constructed sales letter will lead the
prospect through the stages of attention, interest, desire, and conviction up to
the final stage of action.

If the presentation is allowed to stop before the action stage is reached, all the
work which has been done will have been in vain. So, be sure in your letters
that in the last paragraph, or at least in the last few paragraphs, you make it
clear that you are writing to the person for a definite purpose, and the reason
why it is to his advantage to do what you want him to do. Then tell him what
you want him to do so as to start the ball rolling. If you want him to sign an
order, ask him to sign an order. If you want him to send back a reply card,
ask him to send back a reply card.

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