Situation 2：Writing“Sales Letter”
A sales letter is a piece of direct mail which is designed to persuade the reader to purchase a particular product or service in the absence of a salesman. It has been defined as“A form of direct mail in which an advertiser sends a letter to a potential customer.”A sales letter is often, but not exclusively, the last stage of the sales process before the customer places an order, and is designed to ensure that the prospect is committed to becoming a customer.Normally, it only takes the customers 3 minutes to decide to read the mail or not.There is a three-“A”principle in writing a sales letter：ATTENTION, ATTITUDE and ACTION.
Attention（to grasp customer's attention, including the profit, interest, benefits, opportunity, etc.）
Attitude（to show your positivity, your reliability, your respect）
Action（to get a replying intention, request and order action）
Sample 1：Initiate an Order
Dear Terry，
Leading companies such as Triumph and Aimer, now work with us as their reliable supplier for corset products for the superior quality and competitive price.
You can find more detailed information regarding our best selling products in the attachment.
We want to save your purchase cost by 5%，please send us your requirements.
Thanks and best regards，
Jason.
Sample 2：To Large-size Purchasing Agent
Dear Dennis，
Last time we met at the Canton Fair, you said yon were very interested in our products. However, we haven't heard from you for several months.
To enable you to get a comprehensive understanding of our quality and service, we would like to extend a very special offer for your first sample order, with a 15%discount（only limited to the first container）.
We noticed that Heat-Tech is a hot-seller of yours, and we have some new breakthroughs in this field, which may save you up to 8%in costs.
Enclosed is our latest product catalogs, please tell me which styles you want to select.
Best regards，
Sally
Sample 3：To Middle-size Purchasing Agent
Dear Whitlock，
I just visited your website, and found that you deal with products such as camisoles, slips, garters, girdles, and have growing demands. You may be happy to find us as a new, reliable source of women's underwear with superior quality guaranteed by COC and WRAP certificates.You can select from an abundant variety of women's lingerie and underwear, with our stylish original designs that are updated every three months.
To enable you to get a more comprehensive understanding of our quality and service, we would like to extend a very special offer for your first sample order, with 10%off（only limited to the first container）.
You may find the product catalogs in the next e-mail. Please tell me what items are more favorable for you.
Best regards，
Sally
Sample 4：To Small-size Purchasing Agent
Dear Mr. Parker，
Hope you are having a nice day.
We are a qualified supplier with ISO certificate and CE certificate since 2010. We are capable to meet your quality standard, while cutting your cost by at least 10%.Our customers include Etoile and Muse, who have found our bras and shorts are superior in quality and innovative in style.
I will send you more detailed information regarding this product in another email. When you receive it, please email me your requirements for these products.
Thanks，
Jackie
Notes：
Writing a sales letter could be very tricky. Make a summary of the following don'ts and do's and then select a product and write a sales letter.
Here are some don’ts in writing a sales letter.
Don’t Send Mass E-mail Mail-outs（SPAM）
A good e-mail marketing strategy can be very effective in finding new customers. But these e-mails should be personalized（addressed to that company）and sent on a one by one basis.
You should NOT gather several e-mail addresses together and send a message to all of them at once. Importers HATE to get e-mails like this, trying to sell them something.It's called SPAM and it is not an effective way of marketing your product.It's known as a“poor man's marketing strategy”.In addition, it is illegal in the US.
Think of it this way. When is the last time you ordered a product from someone who sent you a SPAM e-mail message?Probably, you never have, and importers do not order products from SPAM e-mail messages either.
Don’t Send A Fax
This is a step up from e-mailing, but is still a bad way to try to sell your products. Faxed pages are only black and white and you can send only one or two pages.Usually exporters can send a nice brochure by mail（the preferred way of marketing）for the same price as they pay for long distance telephone charges to send a fax.Avoid sending your sales letters by fax.
Don’t Send Sales Letters that Have Spelling/Grammar Mistakes or Use Out-of-date English
The sales letter that you send to a prospective buyer is your representative of your company. If it looks good, then you look good.If it looks bad, then you look bad.
Check your letter to make sure there are no spelling mistakes. Do not use abbreviations like you are using a cellphone.For example, using“pls”for please and“u”for you, makes the importer think that you are lazy.
Do not use out-of-date sentences like“Would you be so kind……”and“Under separate cover please find……”These old sentences show that you are also，“old fashioned”.
Never push the importer to do something. Sentences like，“I am looking forward to your favorable reply”are pushy and should not be used.Never use words like“prompt”，“ASAP”，“at your earliest convenience”etc.They are rude and pushy.US importers are professionals.They will answer you because it's the business-like thing to do.Not because you push them.
Don’t Send Letters that Use the Word“Introduce”in the Opening Paragraph
Letters that start something like“We would like to introduce ourselves”，are in fact screaming“I'm a boring sales letter！”Do not use the word“introduce”when trying to sell your products. It's an immediate turn off.
Here is a list of words and phrases that you should not use（with underlined）because they are old-fashion or rude and words and phrases you may use instead.
Would you be so kind
please
I would like to take this opportunity to
Don't use this at all. Start with your sentence.“Thank you for……”
Kindly
please
Thank you in advance
Don't use it. It's impossible to thank someone before they do something！
Acknowledge receipt of
Thank you for
Advise
Say, tell, let us know
I am in receipt of
I have received
As per
As, according to
At this time
Now
Due to the fact that
As, because, since，
Duly
Don't use it.
Attached/enclosed please find
Attached is
Then how to write a good sales letter, take a look of the following resources and add your ideas in it.
The first step in writing a sales letter is to get a list of addresses of prospective buyers. The second step is to send each of the buyers on your list a sales letter.The sales letter that you send represents your company.If it looks good, you look good.If it looks bad, you look bad.If there are mistakes in the letter, the quality of your product is questioned.Effective sales letters generally have four paragraphs and are arranged in the following manner.
Paragraph One：Attracting Attention
The first sentence must get the reader's attention. Asking a question in which the answer is guaranteed to be“yes”is a good way to start.“Would you like to improve your life?”The opening paragraph, in fact the first sentence, should excite curiosity or attract the attention in some way that will make the reader continue to read the letter.
The most difficult paragraph to write in a sales letter is the first one. You have just a few seconds to get the reader's attention.
Would you like to see your factory's production increase by 15%or more?
Would you like to enlarge your underwear market share by 10%?
Another way to start a sales letter is to write a sentence that will surprise or shock the reader.
In 1996 we helped over 250 small businesses like yours to increase their productivity.
Since 1991 we have grown from a small printing company to one of the largest publishing houses in the city.
If you are contacting the customer for the first time or if your company is unknown, you might start with a general introduction of yourself.
Example：
Alfred's Textile Marketing Co. Ltd.is a leading Russian manufacturer and exporter of socks and hosiery.The range of our product line, good quality, and competitive prices have made us one of the fastest growing companies of its kind in Russia.
Paragraph Two：Building Interest and Desire
The second paragraph must convince the reader of the value of the product. When you have succeeded in getting the reader's attention, you must hold that attention.The best way to hold it is to build interest by describing your product so that the reader can virtually experience it.Use colorful, descriptive words.
In paragraph two you must show the reader that he/she either
-needs your product（a car）
-could use your product（an easier inventory system）
-should not be without your product（insurance）
OR-would benefit from your product（a new line of clothes he/she could sell）
Sentence by sentence you lead the reader through your sales pitch.
Example A：
Located in Moscow, we produce a wide variety of socks and hosiery items in a cotton-woolen-nylon blend for men, women, and children. These socks are of good quality, are popular with customers, and sell well.Our total production averages 10 million pairs per year，70%for export and 30%for the domestic market.
Example B：
We are happy to announce that we are now offering this same service to American import companies like yours. From our office in New Deli, the heart of low cost and good quality ready-to-wear garments, we can supply your company with whatever kind of apparel you would like.
Paragraph Three：Convincing the Reader
If you have done your work well to this point, the reader is already interested and is partially convinced. You must convince readers that it is to their advantage to buy your product or use your service.
If the reader has read your letter to this point then he/she is interested in your product. Paragraph three convinces him/her to buy it.It is here that you show what buying your product would mean to the reader.
Example：
The wide range of Indian export companies that we work with insure you of getting just the items that you are looking for. Whether it be baby wear, children's wear, ladies and men's outer and underwear, leather wear, socks, belts, bags, shoes, or household items such as bed linen, towels, bathrobes, or table cloths we can make sure that you get the quantity you need at the best possible price.And our quality controllers insure that the garments are well made.
Paragraph Four：Directing Favorable Action
You have now reached the point where if your letter was successful, you must move the reader to act. The fourth paragraph must tell the reader what to do to get the product.Tell the reader exactly what to do and make it easy to do.The desired action is go to your website, to get more information and, hopefully contact you for specifics or to place an order.Even the most highly motivated and excited customer will not act if the action you are requesting is too difficult.
Exercise：
Here are several sales letters, are they good ones?Please tell others your reasons.
Letter 1：
Dear Mike，
This is Jenny from EDF Co. Ltd.We're so pleased to receive your samples.I already sent them to our factory last week, and was informed the real material is PP, not ABS as you mentioned last time.What's the matter?
I'll give you reply as soon as we get the offer from the factory. It will take several days.Please be more patient.But they also told me, the raw material price has increased recently.Could you please confirm the price quickly after you get it?We'll purchase the raw material and do the production immediately！
Looking forward to your reply. Thank you！
Best regards，
Jenny
Letter 2：
Dear Mike，
How are you?
We received all your samples. The factory checked the details, and found the material was PP, not ABS as you told.
Please give them some more time to re-check the price, because the material is different from the past orders. However, the material was increased recently.Therefore, please kindly place the order soon, if the price is OK for you！We'll do the production as soon as possible.
Thank you！
Kind regards，
Tommy
Letter 3：
Hi Mike，
Samples received and already passed to vendor. The material was PP, not ABS.Offer sheet is preparing and will be sent to you soon.
By the way, raw material increased these days, please make a decision quickly to go ahead after price confirmed. We'll arrange the mass production as soon as possible.
Thanks and best regards，
Cathy
Words and Expressions
absence 缺席、缺乏
attachment 附件
breakthrough 破裂
camisole 女背心
capable 能干的
catalog 目录
competitive 竞争的
container 集装箱、容器
corset 紧身衣
enclosed 被附上
exclusively 唯一地
extend 延伸
garter 吊袜带
girdle 腰带
initiate 开始、创始
lingerie 吊带女睡衣
persuade 说服
pitch 投、扔
potential 潜在的、可能性的
principle 原理、原则
prospective 预期、展望
prospect 前景、预期
purchase 购买
pushy 有进取心的，固执己见的
reliability 可靠性
reliable 可靠的
represent 代表、表现
rude 粗陋的、不精致的
slip 吊带睡裙
slip 纸片
SPAM（stupid pointless annoying messages）垃圾邮件
stage 舞台、阶段
update 更新
virtual 实质的、事实上的