Introduction Letters

[say'n somthin]

Hello guys - I am a new member but a long time listener/reader. I just wanted your thoughts on introduction letters to new customers and letters that are sent out before the beginning of the season. Does anyone have any templates or know where to get any? How far in advance should you send them out. I have a big contract to bid on and they would like an intro letter. I have a small paragraph however I do not think it is enough. I have been in the business for quite a long time but am getting more commercial that want things like this. I just want the information to be benefitial and not waste anyones time. Also, any thoughts on any of the software for our companies that you can buy over the internet? Thanks

[bobkessler]

Intro Letters

Great question. You're going to get a lot of positive feed back on this. You might want to give up a bit more information like where you are located and type of business you are seeking like; lawn maint, landscaping, tree work, irrigation, etc. Are these just flyers you are handing out personally, or are they going to be in an envelope for mass mailing, or is it a flyer for bulk mail? It all makes a difference.
I like short and sweet. We open our mail over the garbage can. Whatever doesn't look interesting we don't even open. Once it's open I read the average person looks at it for an average of 6 seconds.
So, here's a few things that worked for me.

1. many people just love coupons. Give em one.
2. try to target seasons. No sense in sending out a fert coupon or flyer in Dec. in most parts of the country
3. single page single page single page single page
4. be sure of your target. I once paid a company to send out 10,000 flyers and every one of them went to apartment complexes. My fault, I just wasn't listening.
5. always include the fact somewhere that you are licensed and insured, small print but they will see it
6. if they fit, a well chosen picture says a lot

Ok that's all I can think of right now. Be patient and the other guys will hop on with some even better ideas.

[say'n somthin]

Mr. Kessler;

Thank you so much for helpful info. We are in the lawn/landscape maintenance. We do very little installation but rather maintain everything once it is installed. Simply, I am not big enough just yet to do the install. As far as flyers/letters; I want to make sure that I'm not wasting my time nor the customers. So I do not want it to go straight to the can but want to get thier attention to choose me over the competitors! So a question to your reply is what works best and how? This question is to all who view this thread.

Thank You

Ted

[Team Gopher]

Hi say'n somthin,

Here is a sample letter you can download here. I hope it helps.