Essentials of Business Communication

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Transcript Essentials of Business Communication

Chapter 7

Persuasive Messages

Ch. 7-1

Writing Plan for Persuasive Request

Opening

•

Gain attention.

Body

• •

Build interest.

Reduce resistance.

Closing

•

Motivate action.

Ch. 7-2

Ineffective Favour Request

Dear Mr. Davis: Would you be interested in speaking to the students at Foothill College?

If you are in town on April 16, our Associated Student Organization is having a Career Planning Day. Many of our 15,000 students will attend this function where three major speakers have been invited.

Ch. 7-3

Ineffective Favour Request

We hope to find good speakers from industry, education, and government. We could offer you 30 minutes to give information about politics as a career, its rewards, and its punishments. Let me know by March 15 if you'd like to be one of our speakers. We'd enjoy having you and it could be good for you, too. If you let me know early enough, we can do some publicity.

Sincerely ,

Ch. 7-4

Ineffective Favour Request

Faults in the previous letter: 1. Starts out directly with a question 2. Provides an easy excuse for refusal.

3. Sounds writer-centred instead of reader centred.

4. Closes without telling reader how to reply.

Ch. 7-5

Improved Favour Request

Dear Mr. Davis: Over 15,000 students attend Foothill College, and many are registered voters in your riding.

On Thursday, April 16, you will be able to introduce yourself to these potential voters at the Associated Student Organization's Career Planning Day.

Ch. 7-6

Improved Favour Request

On this day we plan to have three major speakers representing industry, education, and government. As one of the three speakers, you would have 30 minutes to describe a career in politics and its rewards and possible drawbacks. To give Foothill students an opportunity to meet you and to learn about a career in politics.

Ch. 7-7

Improved Favour Request

Please call me at 320-5832 to confirm this speaking engagement. We will need your approval by March 15 so that appropriate publicity can be prepared.

Respectfully,

Ch. 7-8

Tips for Making Claims

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Begin with a compliment, point of agreement, statement of the problem, or brief review of action you have taken to resolve the problem.

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Provide specific details about the problem.

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Explain why the receiver is responsible.

Ch. 7-9

Tips for Making Claims

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Enclose document copies supporting your claim.

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Appeal to the receiver's fairness, ethical and legal responsibilities, and desire for customer satisfaction.

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Describe your feelings and your disappointment.

Ch. 7-10

Tips for Making Claims

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Avoid sounding angry, emotional, or irrational.

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Close by telling exactly what you want done.

Ch. 7-11

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

Dear Mr. Watson: SUBJECT: VISA ACCOUNT NO. 5039-0164-4290-4492 Because of the wide acceptance of the Visa credit card and because of your attractive interest rate, my wife and I were pleased to become cardholders two years ago. Recently, however, we experienced a charge to our account that we would like to discuss with you.

Between the period of August 7 and September 27, we made 12

Ch. 7-12

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

small purchases. Ten of these purchases were given telephone approval. When we received our last statement (a copy is enclosed), we were surprised to see that we were charged $10 each for these purchases because our account was over our limit. The total charge was $120.

Of course, we should have been more careful with our limit and the number of purchases that we were making. We believed, however, that if our purchases received telephone approval, we were still within our credit limit.

Ch. 7-13

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

Please examine our account and reconsider this penalty. As we have never exceeded our credit limit in the past and because we had received telephone approval for most of the charges in question, we feel that the $120 charge should be removed.

Sincerely,

Ch. 7-14

Writing Plan for a Sales Letter

• • • • •

Gain attention by standing out from the competition.

Emphasize a central selling point.

Appeal to the needs of the reader.

Reduce resistance by creating desire for the product.

Introduce the price strategically.

Ch. 7-15

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

1. Offer

Follow my instructions, and you could be the winner of ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

2. Product Feature

Six Alberta steaks from fine, corn-fed beef can be yours for only $62.95.

Ch. 7-16

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

3. Inside Address Opening

We're asking your help, Mrs. Lee, in a national survey of car owners.

4. Startling Statement

Do you realize that drunk drivers injure more than 50,000 people every year?

Ch. 7-17

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

5. Story

Tommy doesn't live in your neighbourhood. He grew up in a neighbourhood without playgrounds. There, parks were a safe place for drug dealers not children. If only he could go to camp, he'd see how beautiful life can be.

Ch. 7-18

Techniques for Reducing Resistance

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Reader benefit

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Concrete benefit

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Objective language

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Product confidence

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Ch. 7-19

Techniques for Introducing Price Strategically

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Show the price in small units

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Show how the reader is saving money

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Compare your prices with competitors

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Make your price a bargain

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Testimonials

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Ch. 7-20

Motivating action by Stimulating Reader to Buy

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Make the action clear

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Make the action easy

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Provide an offer

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Limit the offer

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Ch. 7-21

Online Sales Letters

• • •

Be selective. Send only to targeted customers.

Make the recipient feel special.

Keep the message short and conversational.

Ch. 7-22

Online Sales Letters

• • • •

Focus on one or two key selling points.

Make the recipient feel special.

Provide way to be removed from mailing list.

Project sincerity.

Ch. 7-23

Ch. 7-24

Essentials of Business Communication

Transcript Essentials of Business Communication

Persuasive Messages

Writing Plan for Persuasive Request

Ineffective Favour Request

Ineffective Favour Request

Ineffective Favour Request

Improved Favour Request

Improved Favour Request

Improved Favour Request

Tips for Making Claims

Tips for Making Claims

Tips for Making Claims

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

Effective Persuasive Claim Letter

Writing Plan for a Sales Letter

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

Gaining the Reader’s Attention in Sales Letters

Online Sales Letters

Online Sales Letters

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