Direct Mail Campaigns: 10 Rules to Creating Your Magnetic, Irresistible Order Form
The ‘Order Form’ is your response mechanism when you send a letter. It is the most important piece in your mailing package. It is the final ‘call to action’ your prospect will see.In many cases it can be a real stumbling block for someone and can often prevent a person from responding if it is too difficult to complete or doesn’t in any way

Do They Read Long Copy?
One of the more popular questions I get about copy from subscribers is, "Do people really read all that copy?" Of course they are talking about the online long copy sales letters you have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to find out how much it costs. These letters can be from 5-15 pages or more in length and they flat out bug some people.Ask just about anyone, and the “believability score” for salespeople as a group-unfortunately-would rank right down there with most types of advertising, the contractor who says he'll get back to you with a bid, and most politicians.

We're a nation of skeptics. Which is contradictory to the way we try to raise kids. We teach them to not lie, yet they learn that many messages they're exposed to can't really be trusted.

I constantly hear phrases and claims from salespeople that cause the Bart Simpson-like response, “Yeah, right,” or are just plain meaningless to the listener. Not only do these eat away valuable time on a call, they also chip at a salesperson's credibility.

What to Do

Purge puffed-up phrases from your sales vocabulary, and replace them with specific action-oriented, results-type statements.

For example, instead of “We're committed to excellence,” explain the excellence: “We check every order three times to minimize errors.”

Instead of, “We're service oriented,” describe how: “When you call with a question or problem, you dial the direct line of your own customer service rep who knows your account. You won't be bounced around between departments or have to deal with voice mail systems.

Here's one of my favorites. “We're the most respected name in the _____ business.” What a pompous, self-serving, vain, and probably delusional, claim that is! Reminds me of the old Stuart Smalley routine from Saturday Night Live: “And doggone it, people like me!” When I hear the “most respected” claim, I laugh inside and think, “By whom, yourself?” If you want to establish your credibility among your peers or in the marketplace, be able to back it up.

For example, “We were voted the number one provider of widget cleaning services, according to Widget Weekly Magazine.”

And how many minutes have gone by since hearing “cost-effective”? Can anyone, anywhere give me a situation where a listener heard that term and said, “Oh, you're cost-effective? Wow! That's what we're looking for, since the vendor we're using now is cost-useless. Sign me up!”

Again, give examples. I guess “cost-effective” means that buyers get a return for their money. So describe the return in a way they can understand it, instantly: “With this new process, you'll immediately eliminate the extra hours it's now taking you to perform the sorting task by hand. Based on what you told me, that will come to over $200 per month. You'll get your initial cost

Bart Simpson-like response, “Yeah, right,” or are just plain meaningless to the listener. Not only do these eat away valuable time on a call, they also chip at a salesperson's credibility.

What to Do

Purge puffed-up phrases from your sales vocabulary, and replace them with specific action-oriented, results-type statements.

For example, instead of “We're committed to excellence,” explain the excellence: “We check every order three times to minimize errors.”

Instead of, “We're service oriented,” describe how: “When you call with a question or problem, you dial the direct line of your own customer service rep who knows your account. You won't be bounced around between departments or have to deal with voice mail systems.

Here's one of my favorites. “We're the most respected name in the _____ business.” What a pompous, self-serving, vain, and probably delusional, claim that is! Reminds me of the old Stuart Smalley routine from Saturday Night Live: “And doggone it, people like me!” When I hear the “most respected” claim, I laugh inside and think, “By whom, yourself?” If you want to establish your credibility among your peers or in the marketplace, be able to back it up.

For example, “We were voted the number one provider of widget cleaning services, according to Widget Weekly Magazine.”

And how many minutes have gone by since hearing “cost-effective”? Can anyone, anywhere give me a situation where a listener heard that term and said, “Oh, you're cost-effective? Wow! That's what we're looking for, since the vendor we're using now is cost-useless. Sign me up!”

Again, give examples. I guess “cost-effective” means that buyers get a return for their money. So describe the return in a way they can understand it, instantly: “With this new process, you'll immediately eliminate the extra hours it's now taking you to perform the sorting task by hand. Based on what you told me, that will come to over $200 per month. You'll get your initial cost

re service oriented,” describe how: “When you call with a question or problem, you dial the direct line of your own customer service rep who knows your account. You won't be bounced around between departments or have to deal with voice mail systems.

Here's one of my favorites. “We're the most respected name in the _____ business.” What a pompous, self-serving, vain, and probably delusional, claim that is! Reminds me of the old Stuart Smalley routine from Saturday Night Live: “And doggone it, people like me!” When I hear the “most respected” claim, I laugh inside and think, “By whom, yourself?” If you want to establish your credibility among your peers or in the marketplace, be able to back it up.

For example, “We were voted the number one provider of widget cleaning services, according to Widget Weekly Magazine.”

And how many minutes have gone by since hearing “cost-effective”? Can anyone, anywhere give me a situation where a listener heard that term and said, “Oh, you're cost-effective? Wow! That's what we're looking for, since the vendor we're using now is cost-useless. Sign me up!”

Again, give examples. I guess “cost-effective” means that buyers get a return for their money. So describe the return in a way they can understand it, instantly: “With this new process, you'll immediately eliminate the extra hours it's now taking you to perform the sorting task by hand. Based on what you told me, that will come to over $200 per month. You'll get your initial cost

people like me!” When I hear the “most respected” claim, I laugh inside and think, “By whom, yourself?” If you want to establish your credibility among your peers or in the marketplace, be able to back it up.

For example, “We were voted the number one provider of widget cleaning services, according to Widget Weekly Magazine.”

And how many minutes have gone by since hearing “cost-effective”? Can anyone, anywhere give me a situation where a listener heard that term and said, “Oh, you're cost-effective? Wow! That's what we're looking for, since the vendor we're using now is cost-useless. Sign me up!”

Again, give examples. I guess “cost-effective” means that buyers get a return for their money. So describe the return in a way they can understand it, instantly: “With this new process, you'll immediately eliminate the extra hours it's now taking you to perform the sorting task by hand. Based on what you told me, that will come to over $200 per month. You'll get your initial cost

cost-effective? Wow! That's what we're looking for, since the vendor we're using now is cost-useless. Sign me up!”

Again, give examples. I guess “cost-effective” means that buyers get a return for their money. So describe the return in a way they can understand it, instantly: “With this new process, you'll immediately eliminate the extra hours it's now taking you to perform the sorting task by hand. Based on what you told me, that will come to over $200 per month. You'll get your initial cost back in just six months.”

The theory I'm hammering home here is nothing more than substantiating your statements. Tell them what you'll do, then give facts to support the claim. And the more customized you tailor the statement to the prospect or customer, the more successful you'll be.