Good Direct Mail Sales Letters Are Like Good Salespeople

Want to improve your sales letters? Compare them with newspaper classified ads for salespeople. What employers look for in a salesperson, you should look for in a sales letter.

1. Self-starter
The best salespeople require the least amount of supervision. They are self-motivated. Your sales letter needs to work on its own. If you want your prospect to buy through the mail, your sales letter must give every benefit, feature, selling promise, proof and guarantee needed to close the sale.

2. Experience necessary
Top sales people learn from their mistakes. So should your sales letters. The one you are about to mail should have been tested to make sure your list, your offer, your creative and your timing are the best they can be.

3. Works well under pressure
Your prospect is busy and distracted. Your letter will likely arrive as an interruption. So make sure your letter works hard to grab the attention of your potential buyer and make your sales pitch.

4. Excellent communication skills
My wife and I dined out on her birthday a few days ago in a Chinese restaurant where our server was authentic mainland Chinese, charming, professional and incoherent. We could hardly understand her. If she made any suggestive sells at our table, we don