Stop Sending Cover Letters
copyright (c) 2008 by Kevin Donlin
You can learn a lot about how to write a powerful cover letter, not by
reading books on cover letters written by employment experts, but by
reading your junk mail.
That’s right: Start reading the sales letters you get in the mail if you
want to write cover letters that produce job interviews.
That’s because, as far as is known, nobody ever got rich writing books on
cover letters.
But there are plenty of copywriters who earn more than $500,000 per year
and $50,000 per letter.
They get this kind of money for writing sales letters that sell in the
millions of dollars.
And, since your job search is ultimately a sales and marketing campaign,
why not take your cover letter cues from the letters written by highly paid
copywriters?
Here are four ways to do it …
1) Begin with a Name
When’s the last time you bought something from a sales letter that began,
“Dear Occupant”?
I thought so.
Why not?
Because, if the writer doesn’t even know your name, how are they going to
understand your situation enough to deserve getting your hard-earned money?
Employers think the same way.
Why should they give you their money — in the form of salary — if you
start your cover letter, “Dear Sir or Madam”?
So, it behooves you to start every cover letter with the name of the hiring
authority. Make as many phone calls as it takes to find that person’s name.
Here’s a script to use when you call: “I’m writing a letter to the head of
your Accounting/Customer Service/Warehousing Department. Could I have the
correct spelling for that person’s name please?”
2) Know Your Reader, Then Prove It
Your cover letter should show that you researched the employer. The more
relevant, specific facts you can include in your letter, the better your
odds that at least one of them will connect with the reader.
Every company hiring has problems to solve and opportunities to capitalize on.
Find them by asking the people you know personally and professionally. Good
places to start are your email address book, followed by Linkedin.com. You
can also try Facebook, MySpace and Zoominfo.com.
Google can provide a mountain of intelligence. Your main task will be to
prioritize which facts to include and which to leave out of your cover letter.
In fact, if you don’t have room for everything, that can be good!
In your cover letter, include two or three relevant bits of information
from your research, then language to this effect: “There isn’t room here to
discuss all the ways I can contribute to ABC Corp., so please call me today
to learn four more areas I can help you with, including the $750,000
opportunity mentioned in yesterday’s New York Times.”
3) Turn I, Me, My into You, You, You
Read any good sales letter and one of the most common words will always be YOU.
That’s because good copywriters understand human nature, and how natural it
is to be selfish. We care about ourselves first and foremost.
And, because hiring managers are human, they care more about themselves and
their problems than about you and yours.
With that in mind, you can instantly improve any cover letters by making
one, simple change: Turn all the mentions of “I, me, mine” into “you, You,
YOU.”
Example: Don’t write, “I’m applying for a job where my skills will be
rewarded with the opportunity for me to advance.”
Blech.
Write this: “You will benefit from my 11 years of accounting experience,
which will help make a rapid contribution for your clients and your bottom
line.”
4) End with a Call for Action
The best sales letters don’t just peter out with language like, “Please
drop us a line if you like our product.”
Instead, they ask for specific action, NOW.
Here’s the closing from a letter selling mini-trampolines (I bought one, by
the way): “Seeing is believing, so send for your Tramp-o-matic 3000 today.”
And here’s one from a letter selling business book summaries (I bought this
one, too): “One quick toll-free phone call — 1-800-123.4567 — or an
online click to www.abc.net — and we’ll get your first two summaries off
to you, plus your eight bonus summaries.”
Need more ideas?
Here’s a closing you can adapt to your needs: “Please call me today at
555-1212 and I’ll tell you how the same sales skills that helped me
produce $235,890 in revenue last quarter can quickly boost profits for you.”
Or this: “Please call me today at 555-1212 and I’ll explain how the same
accounting skills that helped me save $35,950 in taxes last quarter can
increase profits for you.”
So, stop sending cover letters to employers, and start sending sales
letters instead.
When you do, you can’t help but sell more of them on the idea of hiring you.
Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996,
he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people.
Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today,
Fox News, ABC TV, CBS Radio and others.
To learn more about Guerrilla Resumes, Click Here


