4 Pointers on Putting out a Newsletter that Sells

First sales calls almost never produce orders right off the bat.

businesswoman reading newsletter

Typically, it takes four to five contacts with a sales representative before a prospective customer buys.
About 55% of new sales leads who have inquired about a product or service, Direct magazine reports, take more than a year to purchase it (if they buy it at all) from an advertiser — or a competing supplier.
Only 10% of new sales leads buy within three months after they first request information about a product or service. About 16% take three to six months. Some 19% “think about it” for six months to a year.

In this marketing environment, both sales representatives and direct marketers must maintain frequent contact with potential first-time and repeat buyers. And a well-executed newsletter every month or two is an economical and effective way to do so. But many newsletters fail at the job. Here are four tips on making yours sell:

Good for you! You have just been elected president of your local Rotary Club.

But will most of your customers perceive that your news about the honor is good for them? They want to know “What’s in it for me?” That is all that you can be sure interests them.
Any information outside of that may give people warm and fuzzy feelings about you. But that is not marketing. It is public relations, which Russell Lynes defined as “A sheep in sheep’s clothing.”

Mind your customer’s business.

You know the subject that concerns him most. That is why you offer the latest wrinkle in porcelain tooth inlays to dentists, not road contractors. And the newest advance in roofing materials to roofers, and not to lawyers.
The core substance of your newsletter should be information about developments that your customer might otherwise miss in his central area of business/professional activity. Do not describe only products you sell. You surely should include them, and you would be a fool to promote a direct competitor’s offers. But your newsletter’s purpose is to appear as a trustworthy source of helpful information. That reputation will rub off on yourself, your business, and your contact people.

Exploit associated subjects.

Very few decision-makers concentrate exclusively on one point of interest. A ripple effect makes them pay attention to developments related to their main area of concern.
For example, if you are selling to non-profits in California or other western states, their managers would surely feel curious about the reasons for a crackdown on certain charities in New York. Cuomo.

Cover all the bases.

Every business or professional organization today is vitally impacted by decisions in Washington, D.C., various states, and regulatory bodies concerning, as a few examples, the environment, safety conditions, employment conditions, and health insurance.
A few sign-ons to Google most likely will uncover all the facts you need to produce a newsletter that will command the attention of your best sales prospects — without wasting your sales staff’s time or shoe leather, leaving your sales reps free to do what they do best: close sales.