Four Tips for Writing

Many salespeople consider writing either (a) a boring class they took in college, (b) a time waster, better left to a secretary or (c) unimportant and best gotten out of the way as quickly as possible.

Few salespeople realize the introductory power of a good sales letter or the persuasive power of a strong written proposal. Many salespeople cling to the idea that effective writing skills are unnecessary. “Look,” they reason, “I’m paid to talk and sell. That has nothing to do with writing.”

Yes, but think how much more you could sell if you could talk and write, I argue. Then you could sell to prospects over the phone, in person, and through writing.

Below are four ways to make your sales-writing skills as strong as your verbal selling skills.

n Small, Familiar Words.

Your first goal as writer is to be clear to the reader. The best way to do that is by using small, familiar words. As a rule of thumb, if you have to choose between a large word and a small word, pick the small word every time.

For example, don’t use “endeavor” when you can say “try.” Don’t use “terminate” when you can say “end” or “commence” when you can say “begin.”

Small words are not only more understandable and exact than large words, they also add elegance to your writing.

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he didn’t give a speech about the meaning of that awesome moment. He simply said: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” A poet could not have spoken with more eloquence.

n short, simple sentences

Keep your sentences short and simple. Like small, familiar words, they’re easier to read and understand.

They’re also easier to write. Generally, a sentence should average about 15 to 20 words.

But don’t assume that all sentences must fall within that range. It’s best to vary sentence length. Intersperse sentences of 25 words with shorter ones.

Just as you mustn’t overload a sentence with unnecessary words, you also shouldn’t pack a sentence with too many ideas. A sentence should contain one or two ideas at most. That way the reader won’t lose your meaning.

n active-voice verbs

Use active-voice verbs whenever possible. They give your writing more clarity and emphasis. What is the active voice?

When a verb is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. For example, “The batter hit the ball.” But when it’s passive, the subject receives the action of the verb: “The ball was hit by the batter.”

I read a sales manager’s memo that said: “Expense accounts must be submitted by month’s end.”

Here’s the problem. By using the passive voice, the sales manager did not identify who should submit their expense accounts, so he didn’t receive any. But he received all of them when he rewrote the memo in the active voice: “New salespeople must submit expense accounts by month’s end.”

n conversational style

Strive for a natural, conversational style. On one hand don’t use slang but on the other hand avoid stiff formality. Not long ago a salesperson sent a form letter to customers that read: “There has been an affirmative decision for program termination.”

Many customers called the home office asking what the letter meant. The company could have avoided the problem if it had said in the letter: “The company decided to end the program.”

Don’t shy away from using “I’ll” and “you’ll” in your business writing. For example, I received a business letter that began: “Enclosed herewith is the requested information.” The writer could have made a better impression with: “I have attached the information you requested.”

Use these four tips in your business writing and I’m confident your memos, letters, reports and proposals will attract the attention and produce the results they deserve.