THE CENTRAL SELLING POINT "Learn what most buyers want. Then give to your product that characteristic, if the article deserves it. ... Varying claims are elusive. Too many claims are confusing. One great distinction is usually enough."-Lord & Thomas creeds, "Individuality." "The thought is the kernel around which the whole letter is written. It is the essence of what is to flavor the compound. The thought can be expressed in a single sentence when once it is understood, yet to be fully comprehended in its various relationships affecting the purpose of the letter, it needs amplification and elaboration. And the entire letter is merely this necessary amplification. When finished, it leaves the one vibrant thought, without confusion or mixture of ideas."—Wm. H. Ingersoll, "Letters That Make Good." HE Central Selling Point may be defined as being the most effective reason for the purchase of your product that you can advance, taking into consideration the needs and desires of the individual prospect, or of any one class of prospects. In selecting it, match the needs and desires of your prospect with the merits of the product, and by the elimination of all less effective "talking points," determine upon the one predominating selling point that will most surely cause the prospect to act. "United States Tires are Good Tires." "Best in the Long Run." "99 44/100 Per Cent Pure." "The Pen That Writes Like You." "You can't Forget the Flavor." These are business slogans that have been used successfully to clinch the attention of the buying public upon a single predominating point of superiority or worth. The central selling point emphasized by the United States Tire Company in its famous slogan is that of "solid value"; the slogan means, "you get your money's worth when you buy our tires." The Goodrich slogan-"Best in the Long Run"—gives expression to "endurance" as the central selling point. That behind the Ivory Soap slogan is "purity"; behind the Penpoint slogan, "convenience"; behind the Beech-Nut slogan, "flavor." The following slogans are each built around one such central selling point: "White trucks have the stamina." (Endurance.) "Aims as easy as pointing the finger." (Convenience.) "They wear like a pig's nose.' (Endurance.) "The most beautiful car in America." (Beauty of design.) "If it's weighed on a Fairbanks, there's no argument." (Reliability.) "Clear as a bell." (Tone quality.) Available central selling points are numerically equal to the reasons. that cause a man or woman to determine upon the purchase of a given product. Guided always by the needs and desires of the prospect, you may select as your dominant central selling point: Economy Healthfulness Cleanliness and purity Appetizing qualities Comfort Safety Beauty Efficiency and a host of other qualities that match a need, or an inherited instinct, of the prospect. Economy as a central selling point rarely stands alone. If your product is lower in price than other products, you must impress upon the prospect its good quality, or he will take "economy" to mean "cheapness." If your product costs as much, or more, than competing products, and you urge economy as a selling point, you must persuade the prospect that its endurance, convenience, scientific construction, or other merit, makes it more economical in the long run.. Economy, in that it has reference to an ultimate, rather than an immediate, saving in money, is closely linked with whatever selling point you may advance in selling an article that is essentially useful. The mind can easily digest and assimilate a single idea; the presentation of a number of ideas, or selling points, leads only to confusion. It usually is best, therefore, in an advertising campaign, in any one sales letter, or in a series of sales letters, to limit yourself to the development of a single central selling point. If for any reason you deem it inadvisable to adhere strictly to this rule, do not fail to see to it that among the several points you may develop, you give to one point chief emphasis. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in driving home a single business slogan, and in emphasizing and developing, in business letters and in advertisements, the central selling point that lies behind it. The direct result has been the sale of millions of dollars' worth of products. Note the confusion of claims in the following paragraph from an advertisement: This car meets every requirement of the automobilist. It has beauty and grace of design, ease, comfort, speed, power, durability, combined with flexibility, utility, and economy. The vivid impression left in the mind by the following advertisement is due to the fact that the advertiser has limited himself to a single central selling point, endurance: WHERE STRENGTH MEANS SAFETY A storm-tossed sea-a giant liner crowded to the rails with panic-stricken humanity-and the only thing between the rockbound coast and eternity-an ACCO CHAIN—and it held. At such nerve-racking times you can't blame people for asking -will the captain fail us? Will the anchor chains hold? In the hour of peril, you can't measure human life nor human suffering in dollars and cents. Ocean travel demands SAFETY. Before a seaman can secure a pilot's license he must pass the examiner's test. Before an ACCO CHAIN can get a "commission" it must prove its STRENGTH-every link must test up to its rated capacity to make SAFETY ABSOLUTE. ACCO CHAINS are tested with the largest and most modern type of chain tester in the world. You can stake your last dollar that every link in every chain will HOLD for the purpose intended. And we make chains for every known requirement from Plumbers' Safety Chain to Ships' Anchor Chain-all sizes, styles, and finishes. Economy, through saving money in marketing farm produce by the use of motor trucks, is the central selling point in the following direct sales letter. Note how effectively the point is introduced at the beginning and summed up at the end, of the letter: Dear Sir: There has been a lot of talk about making Alexandria Pike a free road, but so far no definite action has been taken. You must still pay tribute to an old worn-out system of road maintenance and every time you dig down into your pocket for the price of the toll, you experience a feeling of being "held up" on the public highway. But the toll that you pay to the gate-keeper is small in comparison with the tax which is levied upon you by the horse and wagon method of marketing your produce. The valuable time which this method requires you to lose between your farm and the city markets is a tax on your profits-it is the heaviest toll you pay. There are many farmers in Campbell and the adjoining counties who have solved the problem of quicker and cheaper transportation. For the slow and unprofitable horse and wagon equipment they have substituted swift, reliable International Motor Trucks. If you are not acquainted with some of these men who pass you on the road in their trucks, we shall be glad to give you their names and addresses. An International Motor Truck will enable you to secure the highest market prices for your produce and to add to your list of customers. This rapid delivery system will make it possible for you to produce and market more crops, at an increased profit, with a corresponding decrease in transportation costs, because the upkeep of an International Motor Truck is less than that of horses required to do the same work. Investigate this proposition thoroughly. Figure the cost of your present horse and wagon delivery system and then let us |