How NOT to Sell to the US­

­Just like there are good ways to sell to the USA, there are also bad ways to sell. Here are a few of them starting with the worst:­

Don't Send Mass E-mail Mailouts (SPAM)­

A good e-mail marketing strategy can be very effective in finding new customers. But these e-mails should be personalized (addressed to that company) and sent on a one by one basis.­

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You should NOT gather several e-mail addresses together and send a message to all of them at once. Importers HATE to get e-mails like this trying to sell them something. It's called SPAM and it is not an effective way of marketing your product. It called "poor man's marketing". In addition, it is illegal in the US.­

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Think of it this way. When is the last time you ordered a product from someone who sent you a SPAM e-mail message? Probably you never have. And importers do not order products from SPAM e-mail messages either.­

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Don't Send A Fax­

This is a step up from e-mailing, but is still a bad way to try to sell your products. Faxed pages are only black and white and you can send only one or two pages. Usually exporters can send a nice brochure by mail (the preferred way of marketing) for the same price as they pay for long distance telephone charges to send a fax. Avoid sending your sales letters by fax.­

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Don't Send Sales Letters that Have Spelling/Grammar Mistakes or Use Out-of-date English­

The sales letter that you send to a prospective buyer is your representative of your company. If it looks good then you look good. If it looks bad then you look bad.­

Check your letter to make sure there are no spelling mistakes. Do not use abbreviations like you are using a telex. For example, using "pls" for please and "u" for you make the importer think that you are lazy. Do not use out-of-date sentences like "Would you be so kind..." and "Under separate cover please find..." These old sentences show that you are old fashioned. Never push the importer to do something. Sentences like, "I am looking forward to your favorable reply" are pushy and should not be used. Never use words like "prompt", "ASAP", "at your earliest convenience" etc. They are rude and pushy. US importers are professionals. They will answer you because it's the business-like thing to do. Not because you push them.­

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Don't Send Letters that Use the Word "introduce" in the Opening Paragraph­

Letters that start something like "We would like to introduce ourselves" are in fact screaming "I'm a boring sales letter!" Do not use the word "introduce" when trying to sell your products. It's an immediate turn off.­

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Here is a list of words and phrases that you should not use­

because they are old-fashion or rude­

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(in red, like blood because if you use them your­

change of success is dead).­

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Under it is the modern word or phrase that you should use­

(in green, like US money because if you­

use them you'll get orders).­

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Would you be so kind­

Please­

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I would like to take this opportunity to...(thank you for)­

Don't use this at all. Start with your sentence. Thank you for...­

kindly­

please­

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thank you in advance­

(Don't use it. It's impossible to thank someone before they do something!)­

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acknowledge receipt of­

Thank you for­

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advise­

say, tell, let us know­

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am in receipt of­

I have received­

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as per­

as, according to­

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at this time­

now­

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due to the fact that­

as, because, since,­

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duly­

(Don't use it.)­

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enclosed please find­

enclosed, here­