Transcript Slide 1

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Indirectness in Persuasive Messages
•
•
•
•
Advice about persuasion
Persuasive requests
Sales messages
Proposals
8-2
Advice about Persuasion (1 of 5)
•
•
•
•
Know your readers.
Choose and develop targeted reader benefits.
Make good use of persuasive appeals.
Make it easy for readers to comply.
8-3
Know Your Readers (2 of 5)
• Especially important with persuasion
• Can use formally gathered information
(marketing reports, surveys, focus groups)
• Can gather information informally (study
customer notes, talk with service personnel
and other employees, look at other messages
that have succeeded)
8-4
Choose Winning Reader Benefits (3 of 5)
• These can be
– Tangible
– Intangible
• They can also be
– Intrinsic
– Extrinsic
8-5
Use Winning Appeals (4 of 5)
• Logic based (logos)
• Emotion based (pathos)
• Character based (ethos)
8-6
Make It Easy for Readers to Comply (5 of 5)
• Don’t neglect the action part of the message.
• Make the desired action clear.
• Make the desired action as easy as possible to
perform.
8-7
Preliminary Considerations in Writing
Persuasive Requests (1 of 2)
• Your goal is to ask for something the reader is
likely to oppose.
• You must develop a strategy that will convince
the reader to comply.
8-8
Procedure for Writing a Persuasive
Request (2 of 2)
The message plan:
Opening • Open with words that
– set up the strategy and
– gain attention.
• Present the strategy (the persuasion), using
persuasive language and you-viewpoint.
• As a logical follow-up, make the request clearly
and without negatives.
Closing • End the message with the request or with
words that recall the appeal.
Body
8-9
Good Strategy in a Persuasive Request
(1 of 5)
Opening
Dear Ms. McLaughlin:
I’m sure you’d agree that business
communication teachers need to be in
touch with business experts in the field.
Experienced professionals like you can
give teachers the realistic input that is so
important to their practical coursework.
8-10
Good Strategy in a Persuasive Request
(2 of 5)
Body
For this reason, I believe that you could make
an important contribution to the national
meeting of the Association for Business
Communication, which will be held in New
Orleans at the Sheraton Hotel, October 28-31.
This conference brings together about 300
business communication professors from
around the US and the world who are looking
for ways to keep their teaching abreast of
current practice. Your perspective could be
especially valuable to them.
8-11
Good Strategy in a Persuasive Request
(3 of 5)
Body Continued
Could you join us on Friday afternoon from
2:00 to 2:45 pm to tell us about your work as a
supervisor at Lexmark? What common writing
problems do you see, and what you think we
should be doing in the colleges to help our
students avoid them? How can we better
prepare our students for writing in the
workplace? Any insights you could share on
these and related topics would be much
appreciated.
8-12
Good Strategy in a Persuasive Request
(4 of 5)
Body Continued
You would not need to prepare a formal
presentation. In fact, anecdotes and examples
from your work would be preferred. You could
speak for about 30 minutes, leaving 15
minutes for discussion. Since your talk would
be one of several break-out sessions, it would
be attended by 30-40 people, making for a
relaxed, conversational atmosphere.
8-13
Good Strategy in a Persuasive Request
(5 of 5)
Closing
Will you please share your experiences
and advice with us? By doing so, you will
help us help hundreds of business-writing
students. Since I will be compiling the
final program on the 15th, please let me
know by the 10th if you can join us.
Sincerely,
8-14
Why Write Sales Messages?
• Sales techniques are useful in your other
activities:
– in writing other messages
– in actual sales work
– in selling yourself
8-15
Questioning the Ethics of Sales
Messages
• Sales messages can be unwanted.
– “Junk” mail
– SPAM
• Sales messages can use unfair tactics.
– Deceptive wording
– Deceptive or manipulative visuals
• Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and let your
conscience be your guide.
8-16
Preliminary Steps for Sales Writing
• Learn the product or service you sell.
– how it is made
– how it works
– what it will do
• Learn about the prospective customers.
– their economic status
– their nationalities
– their ages
– etc.
8-17
Determining the Central Appeal
Three kinds:
• Emotional
– appeals to the senses (feeling, tasting, smelling, hearing)
• Logical
– appeals to the thinking mind (saving money, making
money, doing a better job, getting better use)
• Character based
– uses the writer or spokesperson’s voice and projected
image to win trust and invite readers to identify with the
speaker
8-18
Determining the Makeup of the
Mailing
• Sales messages can have many pieces:
– Main message
– Cover envelope
– Return envelope
– Payment form
– Brochures/attachments
– Free gift, etc.
• As you plan your contents,
– Plan which pieces you will use
– Plan how they will work together
8-19
Organization of the Sales Message
• Many variations are used.
• But there is this conventional pattern:
– gain attention
– create desire
– cover all necessary information
– drive for the sale
– possibly add a postscript
8-20
Conventional Pattern of the Sales
Message in Detail
The message plan:
Opening • Begin with words that set up the sales
presentation and gain attention.
Body • Present the sales message using imagination,
•
persuasive language, and you-viewpoint.
Include sufficient information to convince.
Closing • Then drive for the sale, making it clear, and
•
•
using appropriate strength.
Urge immediate action.
May recall basic appeal in final words.
8-21
A Logic-Based Sales Message (1 of 4)
Opening
Would you like to save up to 12 cents
a gallon on your bill for fuel oil?
Does your monthly oil bill make you wince?
Wouldn’t you like to beat the high cost of
heating--cut your annual fuel bill by as much
as 30-40 percent? Then I think you’ll be
interested in our Catalytic Carburetor
Assembly. Complete details are yours for the
asking . . . as explained below.
8-22
A Logic-Based Sales Message (2 of 4)
Body
Installed on your present oil burner, the Catalytic
Carburetor Assembly permits burning of the
present type of catalytic fuel oil at highest
efficiency . . . and with a clean fire. What’s more,
it easily pays for itself in fuel oil savings and
brings your burner completely up to date. A little
simple arithmetic with your current oil bill will
show you how substantial these savings are.
Figure you might save up to 12 cents on every
gallon, and see what a difference that makes.
8-23
A Logic-Based Sales Message (3 of 4)
Body continued
But there’s no need to take our say-so about the
savings you can make--because we back our
Catalytic Carburetor Assembly with a written moneyback guarantee. Your can’t lose--you either get the
savings we guarantee, or the assembly is removed
and your money refunded in full.
Scores of satisfied users throughout the state are
enjoying more efficient, more economical heating-thanks to the Catalytic Carburetor Assembly. We
believe that you, too, would benefit by installing this
device on your oil burner.
8-24
A Logic-Based Sales Message (4 of 4)
Closing
To receive full information on the Catalytic
Carburetor and how it can save fuel dollars,
just check the enclosed postage-paid card for
correctness and drop it in the mail. I’ll see to
it that you get complete details right away . . .
without cost or obligation.
Sincerely,
8-25
A Message Selling Quality Candy
(1 of 4)
Opening
Dear Ms. Wingler:
Soon your clientele and new customers will
be coming to your shop for the new, exciting
Bonnes Bouchées. Get ready to answer all
their demands for this nationally advertised
candy now!
8-26
A Message Selling Quality Candy
(2 of 4)
Body
Bonnes Bouchées, made in the French manner,
are going on the market in exclusive shops soon.
The success of an advertising campaign in New
Yorker and Ladies Home Journal magazines has
speeded up our constantly stirring mixing bowl—to
fill all reorders. Distinctive Bonnes Bouchées are
fast—they speed from our kitchen to your shop,
pause on your shelf only long enough to get
tagged, then dash on to the customer. Refill orders
and adjustments are given quick attention.
8-27
A Message Selling Quality Candy
(3 of 4)
Body continued
Pick the candies you want from the six kinds
pictured in the enclosed brochure. You’ll find
wholesale prices, order blanks, and a postage-paid
envelope addressed to us there, too. Look at the
“special” day features. Would you like to have the
Easter display sent with your first order?
Templates for newspaper advertising are sent to
you free. These individual templates and our
national magazine advertising are your grateful
salespeople. They’ll keep demand for Bonnes
Bouchées among your customers.
8-28
A Message Selling Quality Candy
(4 of 4)
Closing
Send your order for fast-moving Bonnes
Bouchées today! Your customers will be the
first in Ohio to sample these new-fashioned
candies.
Sincerely,
8-29
Opens with an
attention-getter
Reasons stress
reader benefit
8-30
Call for action is
clear and easy
Postscript adds
that extra punch
Opt-out
message
included
8-31
Proposals
• Like reports, are usually well researched
• Like reports, can range widely in format,
length, and formality
• Like reports, can be direct (if invited) or
indirect (if uninvited)
• Unlike reports, are overtly persuasive
8-32
Types of Proposals
• Internal or external
• Solicited or unsolicited
8-33
Typical Proposal Contents
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Writer’s purpose and reader’s need
Background
Need (elaborated)
Description of plan
Benefits of the proposed plan
Particulars (logistics)
Evidence of ability to deliver (credentials)
Concluding comments
8-34
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Introduction
References the
invitation,
indicates
expertise,
establishes the
main line of
argument, and
sets up the
plan.
Thank you for inviting Mind-Body
Connections to propose a solution to the
stress in your workplace. We have 17 years’
experience helping companies like yours
identify sources of stress and find costeffective ways to eliminate them.
Below we describe our two-phase plan for .
...
8-35
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Body: Needs Section
Before
describing the
plan, goes
into more
detail about
the need for
the proposed
solution.
The Costs of Stress
Your company is being robbed by
stress—and you are certainly not
alone. According to Pew Research,
stress is costing American business
$80 billion to $100 billion a year. The
cost to companies comes in the form
of low productivity, absenteeism . . . .
8-36
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Body: Part I of the Plan
Goes into detail
about the
proposed
research
methods,
showing that
they are valid
and efficient.
Proposed Analysis
The first step toward finding a
solution is to identify the main
sources of stress in your
workplace. . . .
Our research will take three
forms: . . . .
8-37
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Body: Part II of the Plan
Lists possible
solutions, gives
evidence that
they work, and
spells out the
likely benefits
of each.
Effective Solutions
We tailor our recommendations
to each client—that is what
makes our solutions both
effective and economical.
Depending on the results of our
research, we may advise any of
the following proven stressreduction methods: . . . .
8-38
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Body: Cost/Budget Section
Comes after the
persuasive plan,
makes costs easy
to read and
understand,
shows that costs
are low in light
of likely savings.
Estimated Cost
The following table shows . . .
Given the information you
provided, it is likely that you are
losing as much as $30-50
thousand a year to stress-related
expenses . . . .
8-39
A Solicited Letter Proposal
Credentials/Conclusion
Final effort to
differentiate this
proposer from
the competition;
final reminder of
the central
argument:
saving money.
Why Mind-Body Connections?
Our solutions work. We . . .
[main qualifications].
We would welcome the
opportunity to make Pros-onDemand a more productive
business.
8-40
Sample Opening of an Unsolicited
Internal Proposal
Expanding our clientele, having good relationships with our
current clients, and making profit doing it: These are the factors
that determine our success in this industry. With very little
investment, we can improve all three of these areas at Lakeside
Fitness Club. We are currently using a simple database program to
store client information. This system, though effective, does not
have the tools necessary to allow this business to operate at its full
potential. In fact, it is most likely costing the club not only revenue,
but customer loyalty.
After doing some research, I believe that subscribing to e-Customer,
a customer relationship management (CRM) system, would help
improve these concerns drastically. Using this application will allow
us to keep in touch with our customers’ needs, therefore improving
customer relationships and adding value to the Lakeside name.
8-41
What Might Be the Major Sections in
the Rest of This Proposal?
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Need for a New System
The Capabilities of e-Customer
The Benefits of e-Customer for Lakeside
The Cost
Implementation Plan
Request for Approval (conclusion)
8-42
What Might Be Persuasive Points to
Make in a Response to this RFP?
The University of X is soliciting nominations for its universitywide Outstanding Teacher Award.
Criteria used by one school:
1. Is committed to teaching
2. Demonstrates creative approaches to teaching
3. Shows respect for diversity of opinions and
experiences of students
4. Maintains high but attainable standards of
performance
5. Stimulates independent work by students that leads
them to be creative, self-directed learners
6. Establishes a classroom atmosphere that fosters
self-confidence, a positive self-concept, and mutual
respect.
8-43
If you want to succeed, you should
strike out on new paths rather than
travel the worn paths of accepted
success.
--John D. Rockefeller
8-44