10 Tips for Writing Business
Communications that get results!
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Face it. If you're like most people
having to write is... worse than getting a root canal.
You're not good at it... you know
you're not good. You hate sitting down to write... even though you
have things that need to be written... and need to be written NOW!
It's not a pretty picture.
Cheer up. I'm about to solve your
writing problems forever with a handy check-list you can print and
keep readily at hand to be consulted each time the situation calls
for something written by you.
1) Be clear on what you want to say...
what you need the recipient to read.
A major reason writing is so difficult
for so many people is because they have not considered the objective
BEFORE writing a word. WRONG. Good business writing is based on
stating a clear objective, like this:
I want my customer Linda to order her
Venetian blinds today for installation 30 days from now.
Knowing where you're going... and what
you want to achieve... makes getting there a whole lot easier.
2) Be clear on what the customer gets.
The person you are writing to -- your
customer -- is the most important person on this planet at this
moment.
Your job in writing to her is to ensure
that she understands EXACTLY what she is getting from you... and
exactly what you want her to do and HOW you want her to do it.
ALL business communications that work
are based on just 4 vital words:
YOU GET BENEFIT NOW.
Before you write a single word write
down each and every benefit the customer is getting from you. Start
each of these benefits with the words
YOU GET... and make what they get
clear, compelling, and motivating.
3) Make an offer and make sure that
offer is meaningful.
As I write the economy is punk, anaemic
and anything other than robust. So what? That just means that in
order to motivate your customer, you must improve your offer, adding
another scoop to the ice cream cone you are offering.
Craft this offer before using it. Make
sure that what you're offering is valuable... and that you present it
in such a way that it jumps off the page and seizes the recipient's
brain, thereby inducing that "I've got to get this" feeling
that ensures success and money in YOUR pocket.
Offers are everything... when you're
making a grand one, say so in no uncertain terms.
4) Keep what you write short and sweet.
People hate reading only slightly less than they hate writing!
Dwight Eisenhower, who after all was a
military man, required his cabinet secretaries to present their
policy recommendations in memoranda not more than 1 page. The
president's point was simple: if you're clear on your objective, one
page is sufficient to get your point across.
5) NEVER use text language in a
business communication.
Text language is sloppy language; it's
also language that can easily be misunderstood. The essence of
business writing is enabling your customer to get the gist, the
essential point promptly and easily. Text message s are often
confusing and unclear, the exact opposite of what you want: just
because people get it fast, doesn't mean they get it accurately!
6) Make sure you give your customers
crystal-clear instructions on what to do and how to do it.
Before asking a customer to follow your
instructions... follow them yourself. You might find the results
instructive.
The sad truth is, far too many
instructions for customers have never been tried by the people
providing these instructions. As a result, they are muddled,
confusing, incomplete, and unclear. Ouch! That's why you must try
them before you send them. Do that now!
7) Make it clear how to get in touch
with you.
As humans we have created a network of
communications which enables us to connect instantly with people
worldwide. Problem is, we're less dazzling about providing the
necessary instructions enabling us to profitably use this network.
Be different! Give your customers the
complete and essential communications information required to connect
with you... and make these details clear and easy to follow.
This information should include, but is
not limited to:
* telephone * fax * cell phone *
e-mail, etc.
8) Review your communication before
sending it.
Receiving as I do dozens of business
communications daily, I can assure you that if proof reading is not
dead, it most assuredly is on the critical list. People nowadays
claim to be so "busy" that they beg your indulgence for
sending communications that would embarrass a schoolboy, sloppy,
sloppy, sloppy in the extreme.
That's why you must never forget this:
people, fairly or not, evaluate your ability to handle a project by
not only how quickly you deliver your words... but by the accuracy
with which you present them. In short, presenting properly is an
important ingredient in whether the customer decides to do business
with you at all. That's why the most important writing you will EVER
do is ...re-writing!
9) "It don't mean a thing if it
ain't got that swing."
Now for the acid test. Does it move?
The less experience you have had in
writing prose that both informs and moves people to action, the more
important is this step: reading what you've written before sending.
A word of caution: this stage can be
painful, very painful indeed if what you've written is full of
grammatical and other errors; if it's turgid, sluggish, like walking
through a bog. Yes, it can be painful indeed.
Remember, you can only advance if YOU
deal with such problems before you inflict them on your customers! So
read what you've written and be glad to correct before your
unfortunate customers wince at the same words (and errors).
What you're looking for is not only
accuracy but a lilting cadence, clear, agile, pleasant to hear,
irresistible to read. It takes time to create... but it pays off for
a lifetime.
10) Say it with conviction and
sincerity
One more thing, an absolutely essential
thing: make sure that what you write is sincere, honest, and based on
strong convictions. If not, what you write can never be truly
convincing because it has not convinced you.
To write without belief is to create
something which, at heart, is hollow and lifeless. It cannot work
with others, because it has not worked with you.
Thus, before you even think of writing,
make certain you believe in what you're writing. Feeling and
injecting this confidence into what you write is the best way to get
and hold the attention of all customers. After all, they value and
require want sincerity, truth, candor, too. They want to know that
you stand behind the words you're sending. If you present your
message in such a way, you are well on your way not merely to writing
a persuasive communication but to establishing and cementing that
all-important lifelong relationship with your customer .
Congratulations! Your writing has come a long, long way!
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is
CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn
how to profit online through automation. Attend Dr. Lant's live
webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the
website of your choice! Dr. Lant is the author of 18 best-selling
business books as well as a consultant and recognized marketing
expert. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James
http://www.SuccessRoute.biz
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