Sales Letter: Recap the Prospect‘s Problems, Not How You Can Help Them

Here is an example of a follow-up letter that underscores the principles of change agent selling. Because prospects have an inherent need to be heard and understood, it is imperative to reflect back to your prospects your interpretations of their situation and their key issues. This reinforces the tenet that the salesperson who has the best understanding of a prospect’s problem will consistently outsell the salesperson with the best solution. Notice there are no statements about us or our superior offering. They simply don’t care. Our recap is all about their problems and their ensuing consequences. That’s what they buy.

October 28, 2004
Kevin Davis
Principal Corporation
5425 Miami Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45243

Dear Kevin:

Thank you for the time in allowing me to meet with you and Paul Jones. I appreciate your openness in discussing the future vision of Principal Corporation and I look forward to working with you in defining your sales process and helping you to grow your business.

Situation

Principal Corporation has been a very successful business. You have maintained an unprecedented impressive record of doubling sales every three years. You are looking to transition your business from a successful entrepreneurial driven business to a more process driven, professionally managed business. In looking to grow your business for the future, you have identified the need for more structure in your sales process, more sales management accountability, and a better handle on the strengths and weaknesses and future potential of your salespeople.

Key Issues

• Adapting to new markets – You are entering new markets beyond your traditional markets and your team is going to face more competitive issues and challenging sales situations. Their skill sets will have to be upgraded in order to effectively compete.
• Target Accounts – You are looking to segment more effectively key target accounts to go after. In order to accomplish this you will have to manage your salespeople closer and hold them more accountable.
• Lack of Process – You want to institutionalize a more repeatable sales process and selling proposition that will allow you to better qualify selling opportunities in your pipeline and that will provide you with a more professional approach.
• CEO Mentality – You would like your salespeople to act more like owners. As owners, they will have to have a much better selling strategy so that they can protect their assets of time, information, resources, relationships and self-esteem.
• Qualifying Opportunities – Your sales team is too quick to demonstrate and propose and bid without first qualifying the opportunities (find pain) and selling more strategically as opposed to transactionally.
• True Assessment of Sales Force – Being new in your position, you want a better handle on the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team so you can grow it accordingly. Who has growth potential, who is open to change, who is willing to take risks, and who are your future players? Also it would be important to evaluate yourself to determine how to best optimize and maximize your sales management potential. Bottom line, after the assessment you will know who the right people are.

(The final step of the process is where you can apply your own process, proposal and investment.)

Our Process to Address Your Issues

(This is where you outline your process to address their problems.)

We propose the following:

(Outline and detail the specific steps to your proposal.)

Investment

(Detail the investment for your product or service.)

Kevin, I look forward to earning your trust and confidence and meeting with you and your general manager to review all the details.

Sincerely,

Rick Farrell

President