IELTS General Test – Passage 03: Using direct mail to sell your product reading with answers explanation, location and pdf summary. This reading paragraph has been taken from our huge collection of Academic & General Training (GT) Reading practice test PDF’s.
Using Direct Mail to Sell Your Product
When you have set up your own business, you must, of course, start selling your goods or services. One way is by using direct mail – in other words, sending a sales letter (or email) directly to companies that might want to do business with you.
One important factor is your mailing list – that is, who you contact. You can build this up from your own market research, existing clients and advertising responses, or you can contact list brokers and rent or buy a compiled list. If you are contacting a business, it is important to address the letter to the decision maker, ideally by name or at least by job title.
While the desirability and price of the product on offer will obviously influence sales, you also need to gain the maximum impact from your sales letter. To achieve that, bear the following points in mind:
• You have no more than two seconds from when the reader starts the letter to convince them to continue. If you fail, they will throw it away. The opening is crucial to attract their attention. And so that they don’t lose interest, avoid having too much text.
• Try to send each mailing in a white envelope. It might be cheaper to use a brown envelope but it doesn’t make for such good presentation.
• Include a brochure. Depending on the volume and on whether you can afford the cost, try to use at least two-colour printing for this. If practicable, it may be worth enclosing a free sample – this is a much greater incentive than photographs.
• However interested your potential clients are in buying, they will only do so if it can be done easily. So, include an order form (and of course details of how to return it) with your letter.
• When you receive your replies, assess your response rate and monitor the sales. If necessary, the sales letter can then be amended to attract other clients on subsequent mail shots; make sure each different letter is coded so that monitoring is easy and effective.
• Ensure that each reply is dealt with quickly and professionally. If further details are requested, these must be sent out promptly. There is no point in encouraging potential customers to contact you if your service is slow or non-existent.
Questions 15-21
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-21 on your answer sheet.
15. Sales letters should be sent to the …………… in a company.
16. Your letter should make as much …………… as possible.
17. The reader’s attention needs to be caught by the …………… of your letter.
18. Letters should be sent in a …………… .
19. It is best to print the …………… in two or more colours.
20. Consider sending a …………… as this is more effective than a picture.
21. You should calculate the …………… to your letter.
________________
ALSO TRY:
1) IELTS 10 READING PASSAGE – PASSPORT APPLICATION ↗
2) IELTS 10 READING PASSAGE – AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SERVICES ↗
3) IELTS 10 READING PASSAGE – PLANNING A GAP YEAR ↗
4) IELTS 10 READING PASSAGE – SUCCEEDING AT INTERVIEWS ↗
5) IELTS 10 READING PASSAGE – SERENDIPITY ↗
________________
Answers
Check out Using direct mail to sell your product reading answers below with explanations and locations given in the text.
15. decision maker
16. impact
17. opening
18. white envelope
19. brochure
20. (free) sample
21. response rate
Have any doubts??? Discuss in the comments ...
If you want the pdf summary of Using direct mail to sell your product reading passage and answers, please write your email in the comment section below. We’ll send it across at the speed of light.
ALL THE BEST !