Eight Blunders That Kill A Construction Marketing Sales Letter

Junk Mail! We all hate it! Some people I know write return addresses on all their unwanted mail and it goes back to the sender - sometimes with a rude comment on it! If you receive unsolicited mail, what do you do? Probably trash it. That's why there is an art to writing sales letters to maximise your chance of it getting opened and read.

You only have a few seconds to convince the receiver that your letter is worth reading and in larger companies, the secretary, receptionist or Personal Assistant will open the mail and decide if the person to whom the letter is addressed actually gets to see it!

Remember that your letter will be competing with perhaps twenty, thirty or even fifty sales letters received every day, sent by sales-people people hoping to gain your target's attention. To get through, your sales letter needs to be good, different, professional and relevant.

The fact is that you have a maximum of 8 seconds to grab your reader's attention.

Here are some of the things that kill a sales letter:

1. Using a small type face is hard to read and will be discarded. You need to use 12pt type face. You may just get away with 11pt.

2. The wrong type face can render your sales letter unattractive. Times New Roman is the classic, that's why most newspapers still use this type face. However, something like Ariel or Tahoma can make for a cleaner look.

3. Too much 'sales talk'. You need to make your construction marketing sales letter personal and conversational. Learn lessons from the tabloid press. They draw from personal experience and connect with readers quickly. But do make sure you get the facts right

4. Too many words can cause the reader to lose interest very quickly. If you keep your reader on the page, they will probably skim read and miss the crucial points you want to get across.

5. You need to organise the line spacing in a way that is easy on the eye. 1.15 is a good happy medium

6. If you use incorrect spelling or grammar you will lose the reader and your credibility! This is a real 'turn off!' and it is so unnecessary in this day and age with so many spell checkers and grammar helps on our Word Processors

7. Make sure you address the person correctly. Never use first names unless you know the person well. Make sure you know whether the person you are writing to is a Miss, Mz, Mr, Dr or whatever... if you are unsure, phone the company and ask the receptionist. Say you are writing in to the Chief Exec, or whoever, and ask the correct way of addressing the person. Most receptionists are very helpful with this information. (You might be able to find out more info on this call if you treat the person with respect!)

8. No clear objective - get to the point!

The letter structure should follow the AIDA format:

As a guideline, use the AIDA format:
Attention (I want to read on)
Interest (this is relevant to me and my company)
Desire (this is potentially beneficial and I want to pursue this opportunity)
Action (when I'm called I'll talk/make an appointment/delegate action)

A FEW TIPS I USE MYSELF:

1.A headline can capture attention. Under the salutation write:
RE: Competitive Tender For ........ (Project)

2.Capitalise the first letter of each word in the headline

3.Keep sentences short - 3 or 4 in the letter

4.Use bullet points if appropriate

5.Finish with a call to action - say you will call in a few days to follow up (if you say it, DO IT!)

6.Use black ink type, BUT sign the letter in BLUE ink - it is well know that people respond more to personally signed letters in blue ink

7.I often hand write the addresses on envelopes - in blue ink. This will almost guarantee the letter will be opened. Never use pre-addressed sticky labels on sales letters - 10% may get through if you are fortunate.

Masterclass In Construction Marketing