Too many sales letters are shaped into paper airplanes and flown into trash cans because freelancers write sales letters that sell their services. These freelancers have never listened to the quietly- whispered secret that says their sales letters should sell solutions, not services, to yield the best results.

Solutions are jewels; they shimmer in sales pieces.

Prospects will peruse your sales letter if they discover you have a solution (or solutions) to their existing or future problem or problems.

To write a "solution-savvy" sales letter follow the copywriter’s adage: write "client-centered" copy. Zero in on the prospect, his business, his needs, his problems. Then pitch yourself as the freelancer who can fulfill his needs and solve his problems. Crown your claims with clients whom you’ve worked for and specific results you’ve achieved on solving similar problems.

Here are four softly-whispered secrets to write a solution-savvy sales letter:

• SECRET #1: FOCUS ON THE CLIENT’S NEED OR PROBLEM.

As a freelancer writing for this client’s business and industry, you should know the type of needs and problems the client faces regularly — or could face in the future. Zero in on a specific need or problem that is hurting the client’s profitability or productivity. (Note: prospects are more motivated to contact you if you pitch yourself as a freelancer who has a solution to a present problem, rather than a future or potential problem).

• SECRET #2: FOCUS ON THE BENEFITS OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM OR MEETING THE NEED.

Tell the prospect what he and his business can gain if his problem is solved. Usually, it means an increase in profitability or productivity. Maybe both. Also stress the possible consequences of not taking action now to solve this problem.

• SECRET #3: WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

Here is where you present your solution. First, describe the service you are recommending. A press kit? Direct mail package? A series of ads?

— Tie it into the client’s needs. The client may have a new product to promote; he needs a low-cost marketing method that will produce lucrative results.

— Stress your uniqueness to undertake this task. Why you — and not someone else? What qualifications do you brandish and what type of specific results have you achieved for similar businesses with the same type of problem?

— Offer secondary solutions that also may work to solve the client’s problem. These secondary solutions also may be alternatives that the client’s competition is using; if this is the case, point out their weaknesses and emphasize why your primary solution is better.

• SECRET #4: THE "CLIENT-CENTERED" CONSUMMATION.

The closing of your sales letter should show the client that the benefits predictably outweigh the costs. If the client is investing $6,000 for you to write a DM package, the client doesn’t just get a DM package; he receives exposure for his new product, generates new leads and sales, targets specific segments of his market, increases his company’s profit, etc.

Secondly, recommend a call-for-action schedule. Tell the client when you’re available, how long the project will take, and when he can expect it by.

Here’s a list of common solutions that clients often seek.

Your solution is the:

• least expensive
• best value
• most reliable
• most advanced

• the most flexibility
• the highest return for the client’s investment
• the highest quality
• the most competent controls to measure results
• Your solution saves time
• Your solution will produce the highest customer/client satisfaction
• Your solution eliminates or automates the most labor-intensive operations
• Your solution profits on new or emerging trends

© B. Konradt

This article was posted on May 20, 2004