You don’t have to be an award-winning copywriter to create effective sales letters.  In fact, writing great sales letters is more of a science than an art.  Even the pros use proven “templates” to create sales letters that get results.

We all have some form of buying resistance.  The objective of your sales letter should be to overcome your reader’s buying resistance while persuading them to take action.  Whether you’re giving a sales presentation in person or on paper, the process of overcoming the barriers leading to buying resistance are much the same. These barriers are manifested in many spoken and unspoken customer comments such us: “you don’t understand my problem, I don’t need it right now, I can’t afford it, what happens if I don’t like it?”

Results-oriented sales letters and sales presentations need to address some or all of these objections before hand to be effective.

It’s important to remember that people are motivated to buy based on their emotions and justify their purchase based on logic only after the sale.

Most people in marketing and psychology agree that the first motivator is pain or fear of loss and the second is gain or pleasure. These are the known throughout history. In short, you can get people motivated with a board smacked across your butt or a carrot dangling in front of their face.

This strategy is probably 2,500 years old and goes back to the ancient Greeks. The great orators of the time spoke to persuade people. Aristotle gave them a 4-step formula for persuading people.

1. Exortium: make a shocking statement or tell a story to get attention
2. Narratio: present the problem to the audience
3. Confirmation: offer a solution to the problem
4. Peroratio: state the benefits of the action on the solutions.

Most of the sales writing and presentations follows along the path of answering essential questions:

1. Are you getting enough attention with your opening?
2. Are you stating a problem that your audience cares about?
3. Do you offer a solution that works?
4. Are you requesting the audience to take an action?

Those are the basics of your sales letter that you cannot afford to miss and remember to address those questions or objections that your audience might have and are the barriers to the buying action.

1. How do I know if you are qualified?
2. Do you have proof of the results?
3. I don’t need it right now?
4. I can’t afford it
5. What happens if I don’t like it?

Step by Step Sales letter template

1. Get Attention
2. Identify the problem
3. Provide the solution
4. Give social proof

1. Get Attention
The opening headline is the first thing that your reader will look at. People have a very short attention span.  If the headline doesn’t call out to them and pique their interest, they will just stop and throw your letter away.

The following are three headline generating templates that are proven to get attention.

“HOW TO _____________________” People love to know how to do things.  When combined with a powerful benefit the “How to” headline always gets people’s attention.  In fact, they’re probably the two most powerful words you can use in a headline.

GOT___________?  WANT TO_______________? Ask them about their problem.

“SECRETS OF _________________ REVEALED!” People always want to know “insider secrets.”  Knowledge is power and those who have it feel powerful.

2. Identify the Problem
Now that you have your reader’s attention you need to gain their interest by spelling out their problem and how it feels to have that problem.  The reader should say to himself, “Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel” when they read your copy.

3. Provide the Solution
Now that you’ve built your readers interest it’s time to provide the solution.  This is the part of the sales letter where you boldly claim that you can solve the reader’s problem.

In this section you will introduce yourself and your product. Before you introduce your product or solution, state your credentials to eliminate any doubt or resistance. Include successful case studies, companies you have done business with, awards or recognitions you have received, conferences you have spoken. You reader should get the impression “you’ve been there and done that” with great success and the reader can expect the same results.

Introduce your product or solution and show the benefits. It’s important you understand the difference between “features” and “benefits.”

Get a piece of paper and draw a line down the center of the paper.  Now write all the features of your product or service on the left.  Think about the obvious benefits and not-so-obvious benefits of the each feature and write them down on the right side of the paper.  Most of the time your product will have hidden benefits that people won’t naturally think of.

Bullet point each benefit to make it easier to read.  Think about every possible benefit your reader may derive from your product or service.  In many cases, people will buy a product or service based on only one of the benefits you list.

4. Give Social Proof
After you’ve presented all your benefits the reader will again begin to doubt you, even though they secretly want all your claimed benefits to be true.  To build your credibility and believability present your reader with testimonials from satisfied customers.

Testimonials are powerful selling tools that prove your claims to be true.  To make your testimonial even more powerful include pictures of your customers with their names and addresses (at least the city and state).

5. Make Your Offer
Your offer should be irresistible.  You want your reader to say to themselves, “I’d be stupid not to take advantage of this deal.”

Your reader has to perceive a high value for a ridiculously low price.  The best offers are usually an attractive combination of price, terms, and free gifts.

6. Give a Guarantee
To make your offer even more irresistible you need to eliminate all risk.  Remember, that people have a built-in fear that they are going to get ripped off. Give the absolute strongest guarantee you are able to give.

“100%, No Questions Asked Guarantee”

The guarantee should extend as long as you can offer it for and show they will see the result during that period. If they don’t get what they expect, they get their money back with no questions asked.  This virtually eliminates all the risk for the buyer.

Hint: Your offer may be so good that people won’t believe it.  You’ve heard the old axiom, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”  To avoid this thinking, give the reason why you can give such as great offer.

7. Inject Scarcity
Most people take their time responding to offers, even when they are irresistible.  There are many reasons why people procrastinate on investing in a solution

When people think there is a scarce supply of something they need they usually rush to get some of it.  You can create a feeling of scarcity by telling your reader that either the quantity is in limited supply or that your offer is valid for only a limited time period.

8. Call to action
Do not assume that your reader knows what to do to receive the benefits from your offer.  You must spell out how to make the order in a very clear and concise language.  Whether its picking up the phone and making the call, filling out an order form, faxing the order form to your office etc…. you must tell them exactly how to order from you.

Just watch the Snuggie commercials

Good luck!