Business Communications

1. seven
chapter
© 2015 McGraw-Hill Education.

2. Writing Persuasive
Messages and Proposals
chapter seven

3.  Describe strategies for
persuasive messages.
 Write persuasive requests.
 Discuss ethical concerns.
 Compose sales messages.
 Write persuasive proposals.
Learning Objectives

4.  Know your readers.
 Choose and develop
targeted reader benefits.
 Make good use of
persuasive appeals.
 Make it easy for readers
to comply.
Persuasion Advice

5.  Especially important with
persuasion
 Can use formally
gathered information
(marketing reports, surveys, focus
groups)
 Can gather information informally
(customer notes, talk with service
personnel and other employees,
look at other successful messages)
Know Your Readers

6.  Winning reader
benefits can be
–tangible
–intangible
 They can also be
–intrinsic
–extrinsic
Identify Benefits

7.  Logic based (logos)
 Emotion based (pathos)
 Character based (ethos)
Win with Appeals

8.  Don’t neglect the action part of the
message.
 Make the desired
action clear.
 Make the desired
action as easy as
possible to perform.
Make It Easy

9.  Your goal is to ask
for something the
reader is likely to
oppose.
 You must develop a
strategy that will
convince the reader
to comply.
Persuasive Requests

10.  Open with words that
− set up the strategy and
− gain attention.
 Present the strategy (the persuasion), using
persuasive language and you-viewpoint.
 As a logical follow-up, make the request clearly
and without negatives.
 End the message with the request or with
words that recall the appeal.
Persuasive Requests

11. Sales techniques are
useful:
 in writing other
messages,
 in actual sales
work,
 in selling yourself.
Sales Messages

12.  Learn the product or service
you sell.
– How it is made
– How it works
– What it will do
 Learn about the prospective
customers.
– Their economic status
– Their nationalities
– Their ages
– Etc.
Sales Writing Steps

13.  Logical
− appeals to the thinking mind (saving money, making
money, doing a better job, getting better use)
 Emotional
− appeals to the senses (feeling, tasting, smelling,
hearing)
 Character based
− uses the writer or spokesperson’s voice and projected
image to win trust and invite readers to identify with the
the speaker
The Central Appeal

14. Begin with words that set up the sales
presentation and gain attention.
Present the sales message using imagination,
persuasive language, and you-viewpoint.
Include sufficient information to convince.
Drive for the sale, making it clear, and using
appropriate strength.
Conventional Plan

15.  Like reports, are usually
well researched.
 Like reports, can range
widely in format, length,
and formality.
 Like reports, can be direct
(if invited) or indirect (if
uninvited).
 Unlike reports, are overtly
persuasive.
Proposals
Source: Copyright © 2005 Ted Goff.