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THE LEVISON LETTER
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Action Ideas For Better Direct Mail,
E-mail, Web Sites & Advertising

Published by
Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriting

April 2007
Volume: 22 Number: 4

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The Best Way To Sell Smart -- A Case History
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Some time ago, Best Software (which has since been acquired by Sage) came up with a really
unique and creative marketing idea that I want to share with you. If you think it's hard coming up
with new ways to sell prospects, and believe that every trick under the sun has already been tried,
I think you'll get a kick out of this. This idea worked like a charm for Best (a BIG winner),
and it just might work for you.

A little background.

One of Best Software's hottest products was Abra Suite. It's a Human Resources Information
System (HRIS) that makes life easier for HR people and brings down HR administration costs.

Of course, Abra Suite isn't a $49.95 item that you buy on impulse. It can cost anywhere from $985
to a whole lot more. Another challenge . . . typically, one person doesn't make the buying decision.
A bunch of people have to buy into the idea that a new and sophisticated HR system makes sense.
A challenging sales scenario indeed!

The problem.

If you've ever sold high-ticket software, you understand that you have essentially two choices.
You can sell "top down" and try to get the CEOs to bring along their middle management. Or you
can sell to middle managers (Human Resources executives in this case), and have THEM convince
senior people that the purchase of new software makes sense.

Best Software was having success with the second option (selling to the HR crowd), but they
weren't doing everything they could to support those folks as they made their case to their upper
management bosses.

The solution.

Kathleen Litschgi, the Senior Marketing Manager on Abra Suite, wasn't content to let HR
managers walk into the lion's den of top management without some help.

She wanted to support them with a variety of materials that could help them make a persuasive
case for purchasing Abra Suite. So she created something really neat:

"The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit"

The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit gives the HR Manager the ammunition they
need to sell their boss. The kit
included:

o A brochure called "Building a Competitive Workforce,"
designed to provide management with a quick look at the benefits of an HRIS.

o An APA Employer Practices article titled "Determining the Business Impact of HRIS."

o An ROI Estimator that quickly estimates just how much money Abra Suite might save
the company.

o An interactive CD that provides comprehensive product information including interactive
tours of Best's key products.

o A "smart" pen that pops up answers to management's HRIS questions.

The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit was offered to prospects in ads, on a private
Web page, and via an opt-in e-mail campaign.

What's the best way to sell the Buy-In Kit to the prospect?
I think you have to do what I always suggest in The Levison Letter.
You have to emphasize the offer, not the product - the Buy-In Kit, not Abra Suite. That's
what I did in the e-mail. Here's how the copy started:

"Dear Barbara:

You probably know that a Human Resources Information System
(HRIS) can make your life easier and save your company money.

The trouble is, your boss may not know it.

That's why Best Software, the creators of Abra Suite, the leading HRIS for growing
businesses, is offering you a powerful, practical tool . . . A FREE HRIS Management
Buy- In Kit.

It's all the ammunition you need to provide your management with solid facts that can help them
understand why an HRIS like Abra Suite makes sense for you AND your company's bottom line."

ETC.

If you want to see the complete e-mail, you can find it at www.levison.com/best

The take-away message this month?

Don't always settle for the tried and true fulfillment offer - the White Paper, the report,
the free CD. Concentrate on how to solve your prospects' biggest problems, and the light bulb
may light up for you!

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How To Get In Touch
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Ivan Levison
Direct Response Copywriting
14 Los Cerros Drive
Greenbrae, CA 94904

Phone: (415) 461-0672
Fax: (415) 461-7738
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Web Site: http://www.levison.com

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Copyright 2007, by Ivan Levison, All Rights Reserved.

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