Focus on the benefits

The Internet reduces your window of opportunity to only a few seconds. An effective sales letter focuses on benefits. Ineffective sales letters spend too much time talking about the features and advantages of a product or service.

A sales letter on your website must grab the visitor’s attention from the first line. If visitors are distracted or frustrated in the first 5 to 10 seconds after arriving at your sales page, the vast majority will abandon your site with no intention of returning.

That’s why your sales letter must focus on benefit selling. Start your letter by talking about the benefits customers will get by buying your product or service. Control the urge to demonstrate your expert knowledge of the product’s features and advantages in every line of your sales copy. Your sales letter is not the place to do this. It’s not about you—it’s all about the customer. Your customers only want to know how your product is going to solve their problem.

Make sure your copy focuses on how your product is going to improve the lives of your customers. The only reason to go into detail about features and advantages in a sales letter is when it helps customers get a clearer picture of how your product is going to make their lives better.

The easiest way to shift your focus away from what you say and do—and onto what customers want—is by shifting the focus of the words you use. Instead of talking about I and mine, talk about you and yours. By consciously focusing on the words you use, you’ll be able to write more powerful, customer-oriented sales copy that immediately engages visitors in the sales dialogue.

Converting prospects into buyers is the key to business success, whether you make your sales presentation in a conference room or over the Internet. When you make a sales presentation on the Web, your sales letter is your salesperson. Improving your sales letter is the first step to increasing your Internet sales. A sales letter that turns visitors into buyers must do the following:

• Captivate the visitor’s attention with a dynamic headline.

• Guide visitors through the sales process by showing them how your solution is connected to their problem.

• Raise their desire to a peak by showing them how your product will improve their lives.

• Make it easy for visitors to take action and satisfy their desire by buying your product or service.

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