mentioned at all. Many solicitors consider it so essential to keep
the price in the background until near the end of the canvass that
they artfully dodge the question, "What is the cost?", until they
think the prospect is sufficiently interested not to "shy" when the
figure is mentioned.

A letter from a company seeking to interest agents starts out
awkwardly with a long paragraph:


"We will be pleased to have you act as our salesman. We need a
representative in your city. We know you will make a success."

* * * * *

Then follows a second paragraph giving the selling price of a
"complete outfit" although there has not been a line in the letter
to warm up the reader, to interest him in the proposition, to point
out how he can make money and show him where he will benefit by
handling this particular line.

After this poor beginning the letter goes on with its explanation
and argument, but the message is lost - a message that might have
borne fruit had the writer repressed his own selfish motives and
pointed out how the reader would gain. There is then plenty of time
to refer to the cost of the outfit.

A letter from a manufacturing concern selling direct to the consumer
starts out in this kill-interest fashion:


"Did you get our circular describing the merits of our celebrated
Wonderdown Mattresses which cost, full size, $10 each?"

* * * * *

An experienced correspondent would never commit such a blunder for
he would not bring in the price until near the end of the letter;
or, more likely, the dollar mark would not appear in the letter at
all. It would be shown only in an enclosure - folder, circular,
catalogue or price list. So important is this point that many
schemes have been devised for keeping the cost in the back-ground
and this is one of the principal reasons why many concerns are
emphasizing more and more the free trial and selling on instalments.

One manufacturing company makes a talking point out of the fact that
the only condition on which it will sell a machine is to put it in a
plant for a sixty-day trial; then if it is found satisfactory the
purchaser has his option of different methods of payments: a
discount for all cash or monthly instalments.

There are many propositions successfully handled by gradually
working up interest to the point where price can be brought in, then
leading quickly to the inducement and the clincher. In such a letter
the price could not be ignored very well and the effect is lost
unless it is brought in at the proper place, directly following the
argument.

Like all rules, there are exceptions to this. Sometimes where the
reader is familiar with the proposition it may be a good policy to
catch his attention by a special price offer at the very beginning
of the letter. This is frequently done in follow-up letters where it
is reasonably certain that the preceding correspondence has
practically exhausted explanation, description and arguments. The
problem here is different and a special price may be the strongest
talking point.

Then, of course, there are letters that are intended merely to
arouse the interest of the reader and induce him to write for prices
and further information. The purpose here is to stimulate the
interest and induce the recipient to send in particulars regarding
his needs and ask for terms. After a man's interest has been this
far stimulated it is comparatively easy to quote prices without
frightening him away.

But in the majority of sales letters an offer must be made, for
price, after all, is the one thing that is, to the reader, of first
importance. Most men want to know all about a proposition without
the bother of further correspondence and so a specific offer should
usually follow the arguments.


How To Bring The _Letter_ To
A CLOSE

PART II - HOW TO WRITE THE LETTER - CHAPTER 7


GETTING ATTENTION, _explaining a proposition and presenting
arguments and proofs are essentials in every letter, but they merely
lead up to the vital part_ - GETTING ACTION. _They must be closely
followed by_ PERSUASION, INDUCEMENT _and a_ CLINCHER. _The well
written letter works up to a climax and the order should be secured
while interest is at its height. Many correspondents stumble when
they come to the close. This chapter shows how to make a get-away -
how to hook the order, or if the order is not secured - how to leave
the way open to come back with a follow-up_

* * * * *

Nothing will take the place of arguments and logical reasons in
selling an article or a service. But most salesmen will bear out the
statement that few orders would be taken unless persuasion and
inducement are brought into play to get the prospect's name onto the
dotted line. Persuasion alone sells few goods outside of the church
fair but it helps out the arguments and proofs. The collector's
troubles come mainly from sales that are made by persuasion, for the
majority of men who are convinced by sound arguments and logical
reasons to purchase a machine or a line of goods carry out their
part of the bargain if they can.

There are a good many correspondents who are clever enough in
presenting their proposition, but display a most limited knowledge
of human nature in using persuasions that rubs the prospect the
wrong way.


"Why will you let a few dollars stand between you and success? Why
waste your time, wearing yourself out working for others? Why don't
you throw off the conditions which bind you down to a small income?
Why don't you shake off the shackles? Why don't you rise to the
opportunity that is now presented to you?"

* * * * *

Such a letter is an insult to anyone who receives it, for it really
tells him that he is a "mutt" and does not know it. Compare the
preceding paragraph with this forceful appeal:


"Remember, the men now in positions you covet did not tumble into
them by accident. At one time they had nothing more to guide them
than an opportunity exactly like this one. Someone pointed out to
them the possibilities and they took the chance and gradually
attained their present success. Have you the courage to make the
start, grasp an opportunity, work out your destiny in this same
way?"

* * * * *

This is persuasion by pointing out what others have done.
It is the persuasion of example; an appeal that is dignified and
inspirational.

And here, as in all other parts of the letter, there is the tendency
to make the appeal from the selfish standpoint - the profits
that will accrue to the writer:


"We strongly advise that you get a piece of this land at once. It is
bound to increase in value. You can't lose. Won't you cast your lot
with us now? It is your last opportunity to get a piece of this
valuable land at this extremely low price. Take our word for it and
make your decision now before it is too late."

* * * * *

A manufacturer of folding machines got away from this attitude and
cleverly combined persuasion and inducement in an offer made to
newspaper publishers during the month of October:


"You want to try this folder thoroughly before you buy it and no
better test can be given than during the holiday season when heavy
advertising necessitates large editions. Now, if you will put in one
of these folders right away and use it every week, we will extend
our usual sixty-day terms to January 15th. This will enable you to
test it out thoroughly and, furthermore, you will not have to make
the first payment until you have opportunity to make collections for
the December advertising. This proposition must be accepted before
Oct. 31st."

* * * * *

Such an inducement is timely and doubly effective on this account.
The appeal reaches the newspaper man at the season of the year when
he is busiest; just the time when he most needs a folder, and the
manufacturer provides for the first payment at the time of year when
the average publisher has the largest bank account.

Occasionally the most effective persuasion is a ginger talk, a
regular "Come on, boys," letter that furnishes the dynamic force
necessary to get some men started:


"There is no better time to start in this business than right now.
People always spend money freely just before the holidays - get in
the game and get your share of this loose coin. Remember, we ship
the day the order comes in. Send us your order this afternoon and
the goods will be at your door day after tomorrow. You can have
several hundred dollars in the bank by this time next week. Why not?
All you need to do is to make the decision now.

"Unless you are blind or pretty well crippled up, you needn't expect
that people will come around and drop good money into your hat. But
they will loosen up if you go out after them with a good proposition
such as this - and provided you get to them before the other fellow.
The whole thing is to get started. Get in motion! Get busy! If you
don't want to take time to write, telegraph at our expense. It
doesn't make much difference how you start, the thing is to start.
Are you with us?"

* * * * *

Now, there really is nothing in these two paragraphs except a little
ginger, and a good deal of slang, but this may prove the most
effective stimulant to a man's energy, the kind of persuasion to get
him in motion.

One thing to be constantly guarded against is exaggeration - "laying
it on too thick." Concerns selling goods on the instalment basis
through agents who are paid on commission, find their hardest
problem is to collect money where the proposition was painted in too
glowing colors. The representative, thinking only of his commission
on the sale, puts the proposition too strong, makes the inducement
so alluring that the goods do not measure up to the salesman's
claims.

Then the correspondent should be careful not to put the inducement
so strong that it will attract out of curiosity rather than out of
actual intent. Many clever advertisements pull a large number of
inquiries but few sales are made. It is a waste of time and money to
use an inducement that does not stimulate an actual interest. Many a
mailing list is choked with deadwood - names that represent curiosity
seekers and the company loses on both hands, for it costs money to
get those names on the list and it costs more money to get them off
the list.

The correspondent should never attempt to persuade a man by assuming
an injured attitude. Because a man answers an advertisement or
writes for information, does not put him under the slightest
obligation to purchase the goods and he cannot be shamed into
parting with his money by such a paragraph as this:


"Do you think you have treated us fairly in not replying to our
letters? We have written to you time and again just as courteously
as we know how; we have asked you to let us know whether or not you
are interested; we have tried to be perfectly fair and square with
you; and yet you have not done us the common courtesy of replying.
Do you think this is treating us just right? Don't you think you
ought to write us, and if you are not intending to buy, to let us
know the reason?"

* * * * *

If the recipient reads that far down into his letter, it will only
serve to make him mad. No matter what inducement the company may
make him later, it is not probable that it can overcome the
prejudice that such an insulting paragraph will have created.

Some of the correspondence schools understand how to work in
persuasion cleverly and effectively. Here is a paragraph that is
dignified and persuasive:


"Remember also that this is the best time of the entire year to get
good positions, as wholesalers and manufacturers all over the
country will put on thousands of new men for the coming season. We
are receiving inquiries right along from the best firms in the
country who ask us to provide them with competent salesmen. We have
supplied them with so many good men that they always look to us when
additional help is required, and just now the demand is so great
that we can gurantee you a position if you start the course this
month."

* * * * *

Persuasion plays a small part in selling general commodities, such
as machinery, equipment, supplies, and the articles of every-day
business, but correspondence courses, insurance, banking, building
and loan propositions and various investment schemes can be pushed
and developed by an intelligent use of this appeal.

Merged with the persuasion or closely following it should be some
inducement to move the reader to "buy now." Description,
explanation, argument and even persuasion are not enough to get the
order. A specific inducement is necessary. There are many things
that we intend to buy sometime, articles in which we have become
interested, but letters about them have been tucked away in a
pigeon-hole until we have more time. It is likely that everyone of
those letters would have been answered had they contained specific
inducements that convinced us it would be a mistake to delay.

In some form or another, gain is the essence of all inducements, for
gain is the dynamic force to all our business movements. The most
familiar form of inducement is the special price, or special terms
that are good if "accepted within ten days." The inducement of free
trial and free samples are becoming more widely used every day.

The most effective letters are those that work in the inducement so
artfully that the reader feels he is missing something if he does
not answer. The skillful correspondent does not tell him bluntly
that he will miss the opportunity of a life time if he does not
accept a proposition; he merely suggests it in a way that makes a
much more powerful impression. Here is the way a correspondence
school uses inducements in letters to prospective students in its
mechanical drawing course. After telling the prospect about the
purchase of a number of drawing outfits it follows with this
paragraph:


"It was necessary to place this large order in order to secure the
sets at the lowest possible figure. Knowing that this number will
exceed our weekly sales, we have decided to offer these extra sets
to some of the ambitious young men who have been writing to us. If
you will fill out the enclosed scholarship blank and mail at once we
will send you one of these handsome sets FREE, express prepaid. But
this offer must be accepted before the last of the month. At the
rate the scholarship blanks are now coming in, it is more than
likely that the available sets will be exhausted before November
1st. It is necessary therefore that you send us your application at
once."

* * * * *

It is not necessary to offer something for nothing in your
inducement. In fact, a good reason is usually a better order getter
than a good premium. Make the man want your proposition - that is the
secret of the good sales letter. If a man really wants your product
he is going to get it sooner or later, and the selling letters that
score the biggest results are those that create desire; following
argument and reason with an inducement that persuades a man to part
with his hard-earned money and buy your goods.

It is a never-ending surprise - the number of correspondents who
cleverly attract the interest of a reader, present their proposition
forcibly and convincingly, following with arguments and inducements
that persuade him to buy, and then, just as he is ready to reach for
his check book, turn heel and leave him with the assurance that they
will be pleased to give him further information when they could have
had his order by laying the contract before him and saying, "Sign
here."

There are plenty of good starters who are poor finishers. They get
attention but don't get the order. They are winded at the finish;
they stumble at the climax where they should be strongest, and the
interest which they worked so hard to stimulate oozes away. They
fail because they do not know how to close.

As you hope for results, do not overlook the summary and the climax.
Do not forget to insert a hook that will land the order.

Time, energy and money are alike wasted in creating desire if you
fail to crystallize it in action. Steer your letter away from the
hold-over file as dexterously as you steer it away from the waste
basket. It is not enough to make your prospect want to order, you
must make it easy for him to order by enclosing order blanks, return
envelopes, instructions and other "literature" that will strengthen
your arguments and whet his desire; and more than that, you must
reach a real climax in your letters - tell the prospect what to do
and how to do it.

The climax is not a part distinct from the parts that have gone
before. Persuasion and inducement are but elements of the climax,
working the prospect up to the point where you can insert a
paragraph telling him to "sign and mail today." How foolish to work
up the interest and then let the reader down with such a paragraph
as this:


"Thanking you for your inquiry and hoping to be favored with your
order, and assuring you it will be fully appreciated and receive our
careful attention, we are."

* * * * *

Such a paragraph pulls few orders. Compare the foregoing with the
one that fairly galvanizes the reader into immediate action:


"Send us a $2.00 bill now. If you are not convinced that this file
is the best $2.00 investment ever made, we will refund your money
for the mere asking. Send today, while you have it in mind."

* * * * *

Here is a paragraph not unlike the close of dozens of letters that
you read every week:


"Trusting that we may hear from you in the near future and hoping we
will have the pleasure of numbering you among our customers, we
are,"

* * * * *

Such a close invites delay in answering. It is an order killer; it
smothers interest, it delays action. But here is a close that is
likely to bring the order if the desire has been created.


"Simply wrap a $1.00 bill in this letter and send to us at our
risk."

* * * * *

A writer who does not understand the psychology of suggestion writes
this unfortunate closing paragraph:


"Will you not advise us at an early date whether or not you are
interested in our proposition? As you have not replied to our
previous letters, we begin to fear that you do not intend to avail
yourself of this wonderful opportunity, and we would be very glad to
have you write us if this is a fact."

* * * * *

How foolish to help along one's indifference by the suggestion that
he is not interested. Just as long as you spend postage on a
prospect treat him as a probable customer. Assume that he is
interested; take it for granted that there is some reason why he has
not replied and present new arguments, new persuasion, new
inducements for ordering now.

A firm handling a line very similar to that of the firm which sent
out the letter quoted above, always maintains the attitude that the
prospect is going to order some time and its close fairly bristles
with "do it now" hooks:


"Step right over to the telegraph office and send us your order by
telegraph at our expense. With this business, every day's delay
means loss of dollars to you. Stop the leak! Save the dollars! Order
today!"

* * * * *

Another unfortunate ending is a groveling servility in which the
writer comes on his knees, as it were, begging for the privilege of
presenting his proposition again at some future time. Here are the
two last paragraphs of a three-paragraph letter sent out by an
engraving company - an old established, substantial concern that has
no reason to apologize for soliciting business, no reason for
meeting other concerns on any basis except that of equality:


"Should you not be in the market at the present time for anything in
our line of work, we would esteem it a great favor to us if you
would file this letter and let us hear from you when needing
anything in the way of engraving. If you will let us know when you
are ready for something in this line we will deem it a privilege to
send a representative to call on you.

"Trusting we have not made ourselves forward in this matter and
hoping that we may hear from you, we are,"

* * * * *

It is a safe prediction that this letter was written by a new sales
manager who will soon be looking for another job. Such an apologetic
note, with such a lack of selling talk, such a street beggar
attitude could never escape the waste basket. The salesman who
starts out by saying, "You wouldn't be interested in this book,
would you?" takes no orders. The letter that comes apologizing and
excusing itself before it gets our attention, and, if it gets our
attention, then lets down just as we are ready to sign an order, is
headed straight for the car wheel plant.

Avoid in the closing paragraph, as far as possible, the participial
phrases such as "Thanking you," "Hoping to be favored," "Assuring
you of our desire," and so forth. Say instead, "We thank you," "It
is a pleasure to assure you," or "May I not hear from you by return
mail?" Such a paragraph is almost inevitably an anti-climax; it
affords too much of a let-down to the proposition.

One of the essentials to the clinching of an order is the enclosures
such as order blanks and return envelopes - subjects that are
sufficiently important to call for separate chapters.

The essential thing to remember in working up to the climax is to
make it a climax; to keep up the reader's interest, to insert a hook
that will get the man's order before his desire has time to cool
off. Your proposition is not a fireless cooker that will keep his
interest warm for a long time after the heat of your letter has been
removed - and it will be just that much harder to warm him up the
second time. Insert the hook that will get the order NOW, for there
will never be quite such a favorable time again.


"STYLE" In Letter Writing -
And How To _Acquire It_

PART III - STYLE - MAKING THE LETTER READABLE - CHAPTER 8


SPECIFIC STATEMENTS _and_ CONCRETE FACTS _are the substance of a
business letter. But whether that letter is read or not, or whether
those statements and facts are_ FORCEFUL _and_ EFFECTIVE, _is
dependent upon the manner in which they are presented to the
reader - upon the "style." What "style" is, and how it may be
acquired and put to practical use in business correspondence, is
described in this chapter_

* * * * *

Letter writing is a craft - selecting and arranging words in
sentences to convey a thought clearly and concisely. While letters
take the place of spoken language, they lack the animation and the
personal magnetism of the speaker - a handicap that must be overcome
by finding words and arranging them in sentences in such a way that
they will attract attention quickly, explain a proposition fully,
make a distinct impression upon the reader and move him to reply.
Out of the millions of messages that daily choke the mails, only a
small per cent rise above the dead level of colorless, anemic
correspondence.

The great majority of business letters are not forcible; they are
not productive. They have no style. The meat is served without a
dressing. The letters bulge with solid facts, stale statements and
indigestible arguments - the relishes are lacking. Either the writers
do not realize that effectiveness comes only with an attractive
style or they do not know how a crisp and invigorating style can be
cultivated. Style has nothing to do with the subject matter of a
letter. Its only concern is in the language used - in the words and
sentences which describe, explain and persuade, and there is no
subject so commonplace, no proposition so prosaic that the letter
cannot be made readable and interesting when a stylist takes up his
pen.

In choosing words the average writer looks at them instead of into
them, and just as there are messages between the lines of a letter,
just so are there half-revealed, half-suggested thoughts between the
letters of words - the suggestiveness to which Hawthorne referred as
"the unaccountable spell that lurks in a syllable." There is
character and personality in words, and Shakespeare left a message