Truly yours,
THE BURNHAM COMPANY
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Here is a letter sent out by a rival tailor. It grips attention in the first sentence and carries conviction. It prompts immediate action and every sentence carries an appeal. Unlike the preceding letter, it does not talk about the writer but about the goods he has for sale—the bargains he offers
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The manager and owner of a business which was in immediate need of money had tried out different sales letters with but fair success. His product sold to men; it would stand up under trial; the difficulty lay entirely in awakening interest in a highly competitive product.
As there seemed scarcely a chance that the business might be made to live, the manager decided to take the public into his confidence—partly, perhaps, as extenuation for the failure he saw ahead. So he led out with a sales letter beginning with this appeal:
Suppose you had put every cent of money—every bit of your wide experience—every ounce of energy—into a business wouldn't you want to see it go—live?
And if you knew—positively knew—that you had the test product of its kind in the world—wouldn't it spur you to still greater efforts—if you knew that there was danger of failure simply because the public was not prompt enough in responding?
You, like hundreds and thousands of others, have had it in mind to buy of me sometime. It is vital to the life of my business that you make that sometime NOW!
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