Anatomy Of A Sales Letter

Here's a letter used by a tiny little independent service station that once stood on an obscure piece of ground located on the outskirts of Toledo Ohio. It's part of a series of letters that was used to steal customers from the established service businesses run by the well to do dealers of the time.

Its form & style are perfect for pointing your prospects attention to your (USP) Unique Selling Proposition, and planting the seeds of doubt about the wisdom of continuing with their existing suppliers.

It also does a superb job of demonstrating that the best defense is a strong offense. Note how it takes what some might see as a point of objection (the fact that it is a small independent), and turns it into a benefit!

Legend has it that this series of sales letters resulted in a 500% increase in sales within a period of only 15 weeks!

Dear Sir:

Have you ever taken your car to a dealer service station for repairs, paid a high bill, and driven away only to find that your car ran worse than before?

If you were one of those people that had such an experience, wouldn't you be living the painful emotions that went along with it all over again?

Have you ever had it suggested to you, about the time your valves first needed grinding, that you'd better consider 'turning in the old boat on a new one?'

Auto dealers, carrying enormous overhead, have to render service as a necessary incident to their business, which is the selling of cars --- forced on them by the manufacturers.

It's an annoyance and a drain, the high cost of which is passed on to you. The dealer's eye is always on a sale, for it is in selling that he makes his money.

With us it's different. Maintaining Dodges in good running order is our sole business. We have to do a good job or close up. We're not interested in coaxing you to replace the good car you have now, or in fostering the skillful propaganda that has made so many people think an automobile, built by the best mechanics out of the toughest materials, has a shorter life than a typewriter, a good washing-machine or a printing press.

Keep your car in repair and get your money out of it!

Don't be fooled… people will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid embarrassment by turning it in as worn out - only to have it run sixty thousand miles further in the hands of some taxi-cab company which knows its value.

With low overhead, our labor charge is only $25.00 an hour, instead of $50.00. Genuine Dodge parts cost the same everywhere.

Our splendid shop at Post and Albion is equipped to build a complete car, if necessary, and we fully guarantee our work. You can run out in ten minutes, and we'll take you back home or to a car rental counter in one of our own cars.

Forty or fifty other Dodge owners have also taken advantage of our free carbon-cleaning offer that's also available this month only. Why not try it yourself?

MILLER SAWYER SERVICE COMPANY

Manager

With a little ingenuity, this letter can easily be adapted to any number of situations. Are you the little guy in your industry? Do you face some common objections that you could counter straight out of the gate with a letter like this?

Do your competitors have conflicting interests that your potential clients should know about? Use this letter to get the word out.