#1: Write the Features/Benefits - The biggest hurdle to writing a great sales letter is just getting started. Many people have a fear of writing. One way to get your letter started and develop a helpful guide for your letter is to write a feature/benefit list.   Take a set of 3 x 5 cards and write all the features you know about on one side of the cards. Then turn the cards over and write a benefit for each feature. Youll have started your letter and produced a list of benefits you can use to write it.   Tip #2 - Once you have completed the letter, let it sit for a day or so. This will allow you to be more objective you when you edit your letter. If youve just spent the last few hours working on it you will find it hard to catch the mistakes or edits in the letter because youre just too close to it. Tip #3 - Develop a "swipe file" to help get your creative juices flowing. When you see a great ad or receive a particularly effective letter in the mail, keep it in a file that you can refer back to again and again. Companies pay thousands of dollars to develop their marketing materials; you might as well take advantage of that by using them as a model for your own work.   Tip #4 - Before you start writing your sales letter, develop a customer profile sheet by documenting every thing you know about your target customer. Some great copywriters put a picture of a typical customer in front of them as they write to help them remember to whom they are writing the letter.   Tip #5 - I often get the question, "How long should my sales letter be?" and my answer is, "As long as it needs to be." Each part of your sales letter should be building your case. If it takes multiple pages to build your case, then thats how long your letter should be; I use a 24-page sales letter to successfully sell one of my products.   Most anyone can write a powerful sales letter by just following this simple 12-step process. Make sure that you include each of the steps because each step builds your case in a unique way and adds to the readers emotions.   Telephone Success Strategies for Small Businesses       The other day I was in an auto parts store buying an oil filter. It was on a Saturday morning and there were only two workers on duty. The place was packed and the line to purchase goods was long, and most of the people were getting impatient.   Suddenly, the phone started ringing and the worker seemed very irritated. Finally, after about 10 rings he got frustrated and answered the phone. He was rude and brief while he reluctantly answered the callers question. As soon as he could, he slammed down the phone and resumed his behind-the-counter duties.