June, 2015

If you're selling an expensive product or service, like a Cloud Management System or an ERP solution, chances are you won't be dealing with a single "decider."

The people you're selling will probably have to take your proposal to their top management and sell them on the purchase.

That's the situation Best Software (since acquired by Sage) found itself in.

Best's software, Abra Suite, was a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) that made life easier for HR people and dramatically brought down HR administration costs.

But the HR managers who'd want to buy Best's solution would be faced with the challenge I mentioned. They'd have to walk into the lion's den of top management and convince their bosses that the purchase of Abra Suite made sense.

That's why Kathleen Litschgi, Marketing Manager at Best, and

The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit included . . .

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

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

* An ROI Estimator that quickly estimated just how much money Abra Suite might save the company

* An interactive presentation that provided comprehensive product information including tours of Best's key products

We offered the kit in a hard-hitting email.

Creating a powerful offer was just the first step. Next, I had to write an email that would sell the offer which went to thousands of HR managers. 

So how did my email do?

Here's a note I received from Kathleen at Best Software after the early results came in:

"The up-front response to the Abra Suite Management Buy-in Kit email campaign you wrote for Best Software was phenomenal! Within 48 hours the response rate was TRIPLE that of our control package. This email campaign generated more leads for our product in two short days than any other single lead generation has generated for us in a full year!"

Kathleen Litschgi 

When you're going to work with a freelance copywriter, of course look for someone who can write compelling copy. But also search for a copywriter who can come up with creative offers like the one I helped develop for Best. Remember . . . the offer and the copy are both critical to your campaign's success.