Writing for Business Success/Business writing in action/Sales message
Read Chapter 9.6 in Business Communication for Success. This reading points out that the central purpose of a sales message is to persuade. Effective sales messages encompass the three rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos. You will need to speak to the heart as well as the head to engage audiences. Take a few moments to review the video resources on selective information processing and cognitive shortcuts in the Perception and Differences in Perception topics. The Elaboration Likelihood Model, in particular, clearly describes how perception and decision-making are influenced by both central (thinking) and peripheral (affective) pathways.
Recommended: Do the four chapter exercises, with the modifications suggested here. The first exercise invites you to create your own sales message in 100 words or less. Please feel free to refer to the business proposal you created earlier in the course, if you wish to revise your unique value proposition (UVP), or any other part of your proposal.
Next, identify one sales message you consider to be effective, and explain why you selected this message. Then, consider one purchase you made recently, and explain what motivated your interest and why you chose to buy this item.
Finally, practice your interviewing skills by asking ten friends to describe one purchasing situation when they were more motivated by emotion, and another when they were more motivated by reason.
