40 Essential Communications Pieces For Your Sales Arsenal

I often get asked what sorts of sales pieces does a business need to maximise their sales conversions and repeat sales. Well - every business IS different, but here is a good starting point.

Generating leads

1. A Yellow Pages ad that sells (if you're in a classification where there are a large number of large ads featured).
2. A variety of appointment generating letters with unique gimmicks - designed to be followed up with a phone call to gain an appointment. Continually test new approaches to see which one delivers the best result for your efforts.
3. Appointment rain check letter - for people who don't agree to the appointment (refer above letter). This is designed to say thanks for their time and to give them some additional information about the company with the view of gaining an appointment down the track.
4. A series of "sell off the page" campaigns to past prospects and qualified lists. Some businesses are reluctant to try this approach because they feel that a sale needs face to face contact. In some situations it does, but in others, it really doesn't. By thinking outside the square you may find that you can, in fact, sell your product or service off the page. Having said that, there will always be some industries where it doesn't work. If you're wondering if this approach might work for your business, just send me an email at kris@wordsthatsell.com.au
5. A series of press ads, cold sales letters and letters to clients, that promote "timely" events eg. end of financial year, Easter, Christmas etc.
6. Endorsed mailer - where one of your client writes a letter to your prospects endorsing your services. This can work fantastically well because they're hearing how good your business is from someone who counts ... another customer.
7. A "host beneficiary" campaign - where a strategically aligned business writes to their clients recommending your business and offering them a special "deal" on your behalf. This is a fantastic win-win. Naturally, it's important to reciprocate the offer by then writing to your clients recommending the other business's products or services.
8. Two or three good lead generation ads in a targeted publication promoting a FREE report, a consultation or FREE seminar. Almost every industry can use this approach with great results. What can you offer?
9. A series of small classified ads promoting your website and or your business Depending on the industry, you'd be surprised at how well this can actually work. Even if you're in a b2b field, there are numerous newspaper classifications where you could place your ad.
10. Post box fliers - depending on your product or service, you could find that this is a highly cost effective ways to generate extra leads.
11. Website postcards - if you have some really valuable information on your website, use a postcard to drive traffic to the site.
12. A Website that sells - it doesn't matter what type of business you're in, a website is a must.
13. One press release every month - FREE publicity is like gold. Tap into it for all its worth. Maximizing your sales conversions
14. Appointment confirmation letter that reminds them of the appointment date and gives them preliminary information that excites them about meeting with you.
15. Benefit-oriented corporate brochure.
16. Product and services fact sheets that go inside a presentation folder.
17. A series of how-to reports and/or white papers which pitch you as an expert in your field.
18. A "Questions and Answers" document which handles any buyer objections up front and gives them all the information they need to make an informed decision.
19. A "case studies and client success stories" document giving specific details of wins experienced by clients.
20. A comprehensive, benefit-oriented proposal template.
21. A powerful enquiry letter and information package with a limited offer and a clear, powerful call-to-action.
22. E-Profile - an electronic brochure that you can email to prospective clients instantly.
23. Cross-selling checklist which lists all options a customer might consider. This helps maximise the average value of each sale.
24. A series of powerful, staged email auto-responder messages that follow up email requests for information and keep encouraging your prospect to buy.
25. Drip-feed prospect nurturing campaign where you follow up unconverted leads with a series of letters designed to subtly sell them on your services in a staged manner.
26. "Sorry we couldn't help you" letter that gets sent out after receiving a rejection. This helps endear your company to the prospect even though you didn't make the sale AND it may even steer them back to you down the track.
27. A variety of how-to articles that you submit to various e-newsletter publishers and article announce groups with the view of having them include your article in their e-zines.
28. A variety of introductory e-books which act as information packs and also as viral marketing tools (spreading the word about your business).

    After the sale

29. A "thank you for investing" letter.
30. A "welcome to xyz company" package with thank you letter, "how to get the best use out of our widgets" report and some other helpful tools that nurture the relationship and offer post-purchase reassurance. This is a very powerful tool in increasing referrals and minimising refunds.
31. A 2 week review letter with feedback form and response maximising device.
32. A 6 month review letter asking their feedback and mentioning that you will call to review their situation.
33. A well-thought out nurturing program with a total of 2 nurturing pieces per year (in addition to at least 4 newsletters per year) and 2 to 3 letters asking for a repeat sale (depending on your industry.
34. A referral campaign designed to generate high numbers of direct referrals in return for an incentive.
35. A "thanks for your referral" letter.
36. Introductory letter to people who have been referred.
37. Invitation to a "closed door event" - if you're in the retail industry.
38. Newsletter - an absolute must. If most of your clients have emails, an email newsletter will suffice.
39. "Special offer" sales letters - One of the reasons some businesses don't generate much repeat business is that they simply don't ask customers to buy from then again.

    As I mentioned earlier, these are the basics. Naturally, there are more you can add to this list, however this is a good starting point.