4.3 Preliminary Correspondence

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4.3 Preliminary Correspondence

The Quotation / Selling Proposal is usually the last stage in the written communication process, but in preceding stages the same principles can apply to various letters:

State the problem of the customer.

State the Benefits that you can offer, to solve the problem.

State the financial justification for purchasing your product.

NEVER simply write a list of features (or "selling points") without stating the Benefits of those features. For example:

FEATURES	BENEFITS
Simple modular construction	Low construction & repair costs
Minimum operator control	Low operating labour costs
Very few moving parts	Lower maintenance costs; longer
Unique or patented function	Better (unique?) performance (be specific)

If you cannot think of any "benefits" for a particular feature or selling point, there probably are none; in which case, don't bother to mention the feature at all!!!

Next page: 5. FACE TO FACE SELLING