As you write your personal sales letter, keep in mind that your immediate objective is to get a face-to-face interview. Many job hunters put everything possible in their personal sales letter in the belief that their immediate purpose is to get hired. This is a mistake. You cannot get hired without a face-to-face interview. Your personal sales letter will help you achieve that vital objective, In your letter you must show your PE that what you want is so closely connected with what he wants, and is in his own best interests, that by doing what you suggest he is only furthering his own ends. In short, your sales letter must show that your qualifications are the solution to the PE's problem.
Your Own and Your PE's Needs - How to Satisfy Both?
Your needs will be satisfied when you have obtained the great job that you desire. The PE's needs will be satisfied when he hires a superior executive to fill the open position. You have already taken a giant step toward bringing these two needs together by establishing a precise professional objective and researching and developing an outstanding resume. In the personal sales letter you are the product; and if you have taken the necessary time to analyze your needs, accomplishments, experiences, and capabilities, you should now know your product very well indeed.
Let's look again at your PE's needs and requirements. If you were a sales manager in a company selling a sophisticated product - say, EDP equipment what kind of salespeople would you want to hire? What kind of background would you look for? Write down your own ideal job specifications for this position. Mine include a track record of success in selling technical products, experience in the EDP industry, and a technical degree.
How about a senior buyer supervising three other buyers in a medium-size company in the electronics industry? You would probably look for past accomplishment as a buyer in the electronics industry and past success as a supervisor, or as the number-two person in a department of buyers.
Let's try a personnel manager in the insurance industry supervising two other personnel specialists. You would look for someone with a record of success as a personnel manager, successful supervisory experience in the personnel career field, experience in the insurance industry, and a business degree, preferably specializing in personnel.
Notice that the key words in all these examples relate to prior successful experience in the same or a similar function. Again, even if you are a new graduate, classroom experience relative to the job is what is important,
If every one of his or her requirements cannot be met, the PE will usually be willing to compromise, provided the primary specifications of the job are met by outstanding accomplishments. Few would hire a technical salesman who has proved himself by an outstanding record in technical sales, even if he had no degree.
In constructing your personal sales letter, you should strive to meet every possible requirement that a PE would seek. Keep your PE's needs in mind as you develop your sales letter, and present your qualifications so that these needs are filled. This doesn't mean lying or in any way misrepresenting yourself. It does mean emphasizing what you have to offer that is relevant to the job.
The Secret Formula for Writing Your Sales Letter
I have adapted a "secret" formula to help you organize your sales letter in a hard-hitting fashion, for maximum impact with your PE. I call it a secret formula because few job hunters use it, or anything like it. Yet it is a simple adaptation for writing a direct mail sales letter. In this case, the unique product you are "selling" is you. Here it is:
Attention + Interest + Desire + Action - superior sales letter. Let's look at each of these items in turn. The Attention element captures your PE's attention, arouses his curiosity, and tempts him to keep reading. The Interest part keeps the interest of your PE by explaining why you are writing. Now you add Desire. It creates a need for your services by describing what you can do for the PE in a compelling manner. It must also convince your PE of the truth of what you say. Finally, we add Action. It makes clear exactly what action the PE should take and subtly suggests that he do it.
