Car Dealer Sales Letter Design Strategies - Tip # 8

Is your Dealership looking for help to design a sales letter?

Your layout is very important in a sales letter, because you want your letter to look inviting, refreshing to the eyes. In short, you want your prospect to stop what he’s doing and read your letter.

If your prospect sees a letter with tiny margins, no indentations, no breaks in the text, no white space, and no subheads…if he sees a page of nothing but densely-packed words, do you think they'll be tempted to read it?

Not likely.

If you do have ample white space and generous margins, short sentences, short paragraphs, subheads, and an italicized or underlined word here and there for emphasis, it will certainly look more inviting to read.

When reading your letter, some prospects will start at the beginning and read word for word. Some will read the headline and maybe the lead, then read the “P.S.” at the end of the letter and see who the letter is from, then start from the beginning.

And some prospects will scan through your letter, noticing the various subheads strategically positioned by you throughout your letter, then decide if it’s worth their time to read the entire thing. Some may never read the entire letter, but order anyways.

You must write for all of them. Interesting and compelling long copy for the studious reader, and short paragraphs and sentences, white space, and subheads for the skimmer.

Subheads are the smaller headlines sprinkled throughout your copy.

Like this.

When coming up with your headline, some of the headlines that didn’t make the cut can make great subheads. A good subhead forces your prospect to keep reading, threading him along from start to finish throughout your copy, while also providing the glue necessary to keep skimmers skimming.

Looking for even more help for your Dealership?  Well take some time and browse through our previous posts or wait until your next issue!

Car Dealer Marketing Tip 7 - 7. The More You Tell, The More You Sell

Does the debate on using long copy versus short copy ever seems to end in your Car Dealership? Usually it is a newcomer to copywriting who seems to think that long copy is boring and, well…long. “I would never read that much copy,” they say.

The fact of the matter is that all things being equal, long copy will outperform short copy every time. And when I say long copy, I don’t mean long and boring, or long and untargeted.

The person who says he would never read all that copy is making a big mistaking in copywriting: he is going with his gut reaction instead of relying on test results. He is thinking that he himself is the prospect. He’s not. We’re never our own prospects.

There have been many studies and split tests conducted on the long copy versus short copy debate. And the clear winner is always long copy. But that’s targeted relevant long copy as opposed to untargeted boring long copy.

Some significant research has found that readership tends to fall off dramatically at around 300 words, but does not drop off again until around 3,000 words

If I’m selling an expensive set of golf clubs and send my long copy to a person who’s plays golf occasionally, or always wanted to try golf, I am sending my sales pitch to the wrong prospect. It is not targeted effectively. And so if a person who receives my long copy doesn’t read past the 300^th word, they weren’t qualified for my offer in the first place.

It wouldn’t have mattered whether they read up to the 100^th word or 10,000^th word. They still wouldn’t have made a purchase.

However, if I sent my long copy to an avid die-hard golfer, who just recently purchased other expensive golf products through the mail, painting an irresistible offer, telling him how my clubs will knock 10 strokes off his game, he’ll likely read every word. And if I’ve targeted my message correctly, he will buy.

Remember, if your prospect is 3000 miles away, it’s not easy for him to ask you a question. You must anticipate and answer all of his questions and overcome all objections in your copy if you are to be successful.

And make sure you don’t throw everything you can think of under the sun in there. You only need to include as much information as you need to make the sale…and not one word more.

If it takes a 10-page sales letter, so be it. If it takes a 16-page magalog, fine. But if the 10-page sales letter tests better than the 16-page magalog, then by all means go with the winner.

Does that mean every prospect must read every word of your copy before he will order your product? Of course not.

Some will read every word and then go back and reread it again. Some will read the headline and lead, then skim much of the body and land on the close. Some will scan the entire body, then go back and read it. All of those prospects may end up purchasing the offer, but they also all may have different styles of reading and skimming.

Interested in finding the top Headlines for your Media, Print, Radio and Flyer Advertising?For only $19.99 we are offering our clients the top Headlines and Phrases To Use For Your Markeitng and Advertising. Simply send us an email to sales@automarketingprofits.com for more information.

Tip #6 - The Importance Of Car Dealers Using Headlines

If your Dealership is going to make a single change to boost the response rate of your advertising - the most important focus should on your headline (you do use one with your advertising don’t you?).

Why? Because five times as many people read your headline than your copy. Quite simply, a headline is…an ad for your ad. People won’t stop their busy lives to read your advertsement unless you give them a good reason to do so. So a good headline promises some news and a benefit.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “What’s this about news, you say?”

Think about the last time you browsed through your local newspaper. You checked out the articles, one by one, and occasionally an ad may have caught your eye. Which ads were the ones most likely to catch your eye?

The ones that looked like an article, of course.

The ones with the headline that promised news.

The ones with fonts and type that closely resembled the fonts and type used in articles.

The ones that were placed where articles were placed (as opposed to being placed on a full page of ads, for example).

And the ones with the most compelling headlines that convinced you it’s worth a few minutes to read the copy.

The headline is that powerful and that important.

I’ve seen so many Automotive ads over the years that either had a brutal headline or not even a headline. And that’s just the equivalent to flushing good advertsing money right down the toilet.

Why? Because your response can increase dramatically by not only adding a headline, but by making that headline almost impossible to resist for your target market.

And those last three words are important. Your target market.
 
For example, take a look at the following headline:

Announcing…New High-Tech Gloves Protect Wearer Against Hazardous Waste

News, and a benefit.

Will that headline appeal to everyone?

No, and you don’t care about everyone.

But for someone who handles hazardous waste, they would sure appreciate knowing about this little gem.

That’s your target market, and it’s your job to get them to read your ad. Your headline is the way you do that.

Ok, now where do you find great headlines?

You look at other successful ads (especially direct response) that have stood the test of time. You look for ads that run regularly in magazines and other publications. How do you know they’re good? Because if they didn’t do their job, the advertiser wouldn’t keep running them again and again.

You get on the mailing lists of the big direct response companies like Agora and Boardroom and save their direct mail packages.

You read the National Enquirer.

Huh? You heard that correctly.

The National Enquirer has some of the best headlines in the business.

Pick up a recent issue and you’ll see what I mean. Ok, now how could you adapt some of those headlines to your own product or service?

Your headline should create a sense of urgency. It should be as specific as possible (i.e. say $1,007,274.23 instead of “a million dollars”).
   

The headline appearance is also very important. Make sure the type used is bold and large, and different from the type used in the copy. Generally, longer headlines tend to out pull shorter ones, even when targeting more “conservative” prospects.

It should go without saying that when you use other successful headlines, you adapt them to your own vehicles and dealership. Never copy a headline (or any other written copyrighted piece of work for that matter) word for word. Copywriters and ad agencies are notoriously famous for suing for plagiarism. And rightfully so.

Interested in finding the top Headlines for your Media, Print, Radio and Flyer Advertising?For only $19.99 we are offering our clients the top Headlines and Phrases To Use For Your Markeitng and Advertising. Simply send us an email to sales@automarketingprofits.com for more information.

Tip #5 - Utilizing A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) In Your Dealership

Does your Dealerhsip utilize this?   The unique selling position, or USP is often one of the most often misunderstood elements of a good sales letter. It’s what separates your vehicles and service sales from your competitors.

Let’s take a quick look at some unique selling propositions for your vehicle:

1)     Lowest Price – If you’ve got the corner marketed on budget prices, flaunt it. Wal-Mart has made this USP famous lately, but it’s not new to them. In fact, selling for cheaper has been around as long as capitalism itself. Personally, I’m not crazy about price wars, because someone can always come along and sell for cheaper. Then it’s time for a new strategy…

2)     Superior Quality – If your vehicle outperforms your competitor’s product or is made with higher quality, it’s a good bet that you could use this fact to your advantage. For example, compare Breyers Ice Cream to their competitor’s. From the packaging to the wholesome superior ingredients, the quality is evident. It may cost a little more than their competitor’s ice cream, but for their market, it sells.

3)     Superior Service – If your Dealership offers superior service over your competitor’s, people will buy from you instead. This is especially true with certain markets that are all about service: long-distance phone companies, Internet service providers, cable television, etc.

4)     Exclusive Rights – My favorite! If you can legitimately claim that your Dealership has exlclusive rights to some service or FREE GIVEAWAY, etc., then you have a winner for exclusive rights and customers  must buy from your store.

Ok, what if you are not the only *Chev* dealer in town? Don't think you are the same as your competitor because there are always differences. The trick is to turn them into a positive advantage for you. You want to put your “best foot forward.” So what can we do in this scenario?

One way is to present something that your store has devised internally that no other Dealer does. Look, there’s a reason why computer store “A” offers to beat their competitor’s price for the same product by X%. If you look closely, the two packages are never exactly the same. Company “B” offers a free scanner, while company “A” offers a free printer. Or some other difference. They are comparing apples to oranges. So unless you find a company with the exact same package (you won’t…they’ve seen to that), you won’t be able to cash in.  Can you think of ways to do this in your store?

But what if you truly have the same vehicles for sale as the guy up the road?

Unless your prospect knows the inner workings of both your and your competitor’s Dealership, including your inner processes, customer service, and everything in-between, then you have a little potential creative licensing here. But you must be truthful.

Want some more USP examples?

• We are the only car repair shop that will buy your car if you are not 100 percent satisfied with our work.
      
• Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s on us!
  
  
• No other furniture company will pay for your shipping.
  
  
• Our recipe is so secret, only three people in the world know it!
    
  

As with most ways to boost copy response, research is the key with your USP. Sometimes your USP is obvious, for example if you have a patent. Other times you must do a little legwork to discover it (or shape it to your target market).

Here’s where a little persistence and in-person selling really pays off. Let me give you an example to illustrate what I mean:

Suppose your company sells beanbag chairs for kids. So you, being the wise marketer that you are, decide to sell these beanbags in person to prospects before writing your copy. After completing twenty different pitches for your product, you discover that 75 percent of those you visited asked if the chair would eventually leak. Since the chairs are for kids, it’s only logical that parents would be concerned about their youngster jumping on it, rolling on it, and doing all things possible to break the seam and “spill the beans.”

So when you write your copy, you make sure you address that issue: “You can rest assure that our super-strong beanbag chairs are triple-stitched for guaranteed leak-proof performance. No other company will make this guarantee about their beanbag chairs!”

Looking for more ideas to increase your Dealership's success?

Go to http://www.automarketingprofits.com/automotive-marketing-books.html
to order "52 Free / Low Cost Marketing Strategies Guaranteed to Attract New Customers & Clients Into Your Auto Dealership In Any Economy".

Tip # 4 - Involving Proof and Believability In Your Dealer Ads

When your prospective customer reads your ad, you want to make sure they believes any claims you make about your vehicles or Dealership. Reason being -  if there’s any doubt in their mind, they won’t bite, no matter how sweet you make your deal. In fact, the “too good to be true” mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale…even if it is all true.

So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all, it’s the perception you need to address up front. But of course you also must make sure your copy is accurate and truthful.

Here are some tried and tested methods that will help:

If you’re dealing with existing customers who already happy with your Dealership, emphasize that trust. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Make them stop, cock their heads, and say, “Oh, yeah. This Dealer has never done me wrong before. I can trust them.”

Include testimonials of satisfied customers. Be sure to put full names and locations, where possible. Remember, “D.C.” is a lot less believable than “Derek Clark, San Diego, CA.” If you can also include a picture of the customer and/or a professional title, that’s even better. It doesn’t matter that your testimonials aren’t from somebody famous or that your prospect does not know these people personally. If you have enough compelling testimonials, and they’re believable, you’re much better off than not including them at all.

If posibble , cite any awards or third-party reviews the product or service has received

If you have either sold a lot of vehicles  --  Or you are  New Dealer and your manfucturer is #1 in sales , tell them. It’s the old “5 million people can’t be wrong” adage (they can be, but your prospect will likely take your side on the matter).

Try to incorporate a great return-policy if not completely satisified - Perhaps a 7-Day Return Policy at your Dealership? 

If you can swing it, adding a local celebrity endorsement to establish credibility. Heck, if ‘ol honest " ? " drives " ?  ", it must be true! Get the idea...

If you are limiting the offer with a deadline “purchase by” date, be sure the deadline is real and does not change. Deadline dates that change every day are sure to reduce credibility. Your prospect will suspect, “if his deadline date keeps changing, he’s not telling the truth about it…I wonder what else he’s not telling the truth about.”

And also avoid the "hype" at all costs.

I hope you find value in this weeks post and wish you all that this year - 2012 will be your best ever!

Looking for more ideas to increase your Dealership's success?

Go to http://www.automarketingprofits.com/automotive-marketing-books.html
to order "52 Free / Low Cost Marketing Strategies Guaranteed to Attract New Customers & Clients Into Your Auto Dealership In Any Economy".

Santa's Way Of Helping Out Your Dealerships Marketing

Season's Greetings from all of us at Auto Marketing Profits.
What is that ringing sound you hear?  It is the sound of cash registers everywhere ringing up sales thanks to Santa Claus.

Just because Santa's old, overweight, long-haired and unshaven and dresses funny, don't overlook his business acumen. Santa is a marketing and sales generating expert and you can become one, too, if you follow his proven methods.

It is true that Santa is mythical - but ask anyone what Santa does or who he is and you will quickly find out that everyone you ask knows exactly about him. 

Let us have a look at why he is a marketing genius:

Uniqueness
Be it that red suit, way different way of transportation or his big belly laugh - Santa is simply one of  a kind.

Free Publicity
He seems to be a master of receiving free presss being mentioned all over the media during winter - with many movies, books and songs being written about him.

Customer Focused
Santa is not focused on himself and does not talk about how long he has been in business or how much he works and what a workload he has.  Rather - he only looks to learn what the everyone else wants.

Giving Away Something For Free
While most gifts in homes are from  the family or close relatives, in most house's with youngsters there are many gifts that have the name Santa on them.

How can your Dealership grab some ideas from Santa?

1) Clarify how your Dealership is unique and what seperates you from your local competitors.

2) Grab the media's attention during the holidays but also all year long.

3) Ask your previous customers and leads what they want and look to provide some services / inventory that fits their exact need and want.

4) Give something away for free - articles, free reports, a workshop for women.

5) Know what you are selling - yes, you do know about your vehicles and Dealership but start selling your customers on achieving their exact dream or hope and deliver to them results they can achieve.

It does not matter if you celebrate Christmas - but start marketing like Santa and you will be seeing more happy customers and leads at your store.

From our families to yours; may you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. - See you in 2012!

Tip # 3 - Push Your Customer's Emotional Hot Buttons

Grabbing your Dealership customer's hot buttons is where research really pays off.  Kowing where to push those buttons needs to be known first if you wish to get any results.

This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are.

Listen to this story first, and I’ll tell you what I mean: Once upon a time a young man walked into a Chevrolet dealer’s showroom to check out a Chevy Camaro. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the Camaro or the Ford Mustang up the road at the Ford dealer.

A salesman approached him and soon discovered the man’s dilemma.

“Tell me what you like best about the Camaro,” said the salesman.

“It’s a fast car. I like it for its speed.”

After some more discussion, the salesman learned the man had just started dating a cute college cheerleader. So what did the salesman do?

Simple. He changed his pitch accordingly, to push the hot buttons he knew would help advance the sale. He told the man about how impressed his new girlfriend would be when he came home with this car! He placed the mental image in the man’s mind of he and his girlfriend cruising to the beach in the Camaro. How all of his friends will be envious when they see him riding around with a beautiful girl in a beautiful car. 

And suddenly the man saw it. He got it. And the salesman recognized this and piled it on even more. Before you know it, the man wrote a nice fat check to the Chevy dealership, because he was sold!

The salesman found those hot buttons and pushed them like never before until the man realized he wanted the Camaro more than he wanted his money.

 

I know what you’re thinking…the man said he liked the car because it was fast, didn’t he?

Yes, he did. But subconsciously, what he really desired was a car that would impress his girlfriend, his friends, and in his mind make them love him more! In his mind he equated speed with thrill. Not because he wanted an endless supply of speeding tickets, but because he thought that thrill would make him more attractive, more likeable. 

Perhaps the man didn’t even realize this fact himself. But the salesman sure did. And he knew which emotional hot buttons to press to get the sale.

Now, where does the research pay off?

Well, a good salesman knows how to ask the kinds of questions that will tell him which buttons to press on the fly. When you’re writing copy, you don’t have that luxury. It’s therefore very important to know upfront the wants, needs, and desires of your prospects for that very reason. If you haven’t done your homework, your prospect is going to decide that he’d rather keep his money than buy your product. Remember, copywriting is salesmanship in print!

It’s been said many times: People don’t like to be sold.  

But they do like to buy.

And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionally. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.

And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk a moment about perceived “hype” in a sales letter. A lot of more “conservative” advertisers have decided that they don’t like hype, because they consider hype to be old news, been-there-and-done-that, my customers won’t fall for hype, it’s not believable anymore.

What they should realize is that hype itself does not sell well. Some less experienced copywriters often try to compensate for their lack of research or not fully understanding their target market or the product itself by adding tons of adjectives and adverbs and exclamation points and big bold type.

Whew! If you do your job right, it’s just not needed.

That’s not to say some adverbs or adjectives don’t have their place…only if they’re used sparingly, and only if they advance the sale.

But I think you’d agree that backing up your copy with proof and believability will go a lot farther in convincing your prospects than “power words” alone. I say power words, because there are certain adverbs and adjectives that have been proven to make a difference when they’re included. This by itself is not hype. But repeated too often, they become less effective, and they take away (at least in your prospect’s mind) from the proof.

 

Stay tuned for our next post and tip to assist your Car Dealership.  Be sure to have a peak at our

Car Dealership Marketing Website To Attract More Customers.