Deck 9: Persuasive and Sales Messages

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a secondary purpose of persuasive messages?

A)To build a good of the writer
B)To enhance the reputation of the writer's organization
C)To cement a good relationship between the writer and the reader
D)To overcome any objections that might prevent or delay action

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is LEAST likely to counter the objection of a reluctant reader?

A)Specify how much time or money is required.
B)Show that the sacrifice is necessary to achieve a more important goal to which the reader is committed.
C)Ignore the objection.
D)Turn the disadvantage into an opportunity.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following would likely help you build credibility in selling a new product?

A)Exaggerating for emphasis
B)Speaking negatively of the competition
C)Underestimating costs
D)Describing the product's benefits in detail

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following would be the LEAST effective content for the body of a sales letter?

A)Information readers will find useful even if they do not buy or give.
B)Stories about how the product was developed or what the organization has done.
C)Stories that use subliminal messages to convince readers to buy a product or make a contribution.
D)Word pictures of readers using the product and enjoying its benefits.

Question 5

Choose the element of style demonstrated by this sentence: "Swiftly, she swept her sleeping child into her arms, and ran out of the blazing building."

A)Persona
B)The rule of three
C)Rhyme
D)Alliteration

Question 6

"Why not send a cheque today?" is a poor ending for a direct mail letter.Why?

A)Questions aren't a good idea in a direct mail letter.
B)The question lacks you-attitude, and therefore seems obnoxious.
C)The question lacks positive emphasis, and therefore encourages a "no."
D)This question makes the action sound too easy, and won't grab a reader's attention.

Question 7

Which of the following uses an appeal to values, needs, and beliefs shared with the audience?

A)Pathos
B)Logos
C)Ethos
D)Demos

Question 8

"Please submit your end-of-the year report by December 31, 2015, so we can include your accomplishments in our report to the Corporate Office due January 20, 2016." Is it appropriate to give the report due date in this sentence?

A)No, because the reader will not believe that the writer can produce a good report in only 20 days.
B)No, because it does not benefit the reader.
C)Yes, because the deadline shows the time limit is real.
D)Yes, because the mention of a due date builds emotional appeal.

Question 9

Which of the following is the BEST way for small businesses to speed payments?

A)Threaten legal action.
B)Send at least 3 collection letters in quick succession.
C)Establish a personal relationship with customers.
D)Offer a repayment plan.

Question 10

"Our goal was accomplished through blood, sweat, and tears." According to the rule of three, which of the words in this sentence receives the most emphasis?

A)Blood
B)Sweat
C)Tears
D)Goal

Question 11

At what point in the collection series, if any, would it be appropriate to send an obvious form letter?

A)Early in the series
B)In the middle of the series
C)Late in the series
D)Such a tactic is never appropriate in a good collection series.

Question 12

Which of the following options correctly explains the pronoun strategy you should use in a fundraising letter?

A)Speak exclusively to you, to keep the focus on what the reader is doing.
B)Only speak about we, to make the reader feel included in your organization's efforts.
C)Use we to speak about your organization, but make sure to switch to you at the end (when you discuss what your reader is doing).
D)Speak exclusively in terms of I, provided you have created enough credibility for yourself.

Question 13

You need to persuade employees in a newspaper office to stop making personal calls during office hours.Which of the following would be the BEST common ground?

A)Increasing productivity
B)Keeping phone lines open for late-breaking stories
C)Pleasing senior executives
D)Saving the paper money

Question 14

Which is NOT a source of credibility in the workplace?

A)Enthusiasm
B)Knowledge
C)Image
D)Relationships

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the four modes for openers for direct mail?

A)Common ground
B)Question
C)Startling statement
D)Narration or anecdote

Question 16

Which of the following is the BEST way to deal with an objection?

A)Eliminate it.
B)Don't mention it at and just focus on your own argument.
C)Show that the reader is being unreasonable.
D)Don't it until the last paragraph of the message, when the reader is already persuaded to see things your way.

Question 17

Which of the following examples BEST describes a situation in which the direct request pattern is MOST appropriate?

A)You expect quick agreement.
B)The audience's initial reaction is negative.
C)The audience feels strongly about the subject.
D)You can show that the audience benefits directly from doing as you ask.

Question 18

You are writing to a reader who favours a different solution than the one you recommend.Which of the following strategies is MOST likely to persuade the reader?

A)Describe your reader's solution first; explain why it won't work; then go on to describe your own solution.
B)Ignore your opponent's solution, and just concentrate on your own.
C)Describe your own solution first.Then briefly say why your reader's idea won't work.
D)Go back and forth between solutions, contrasting step by step.

Question 19

In a sales letter, when should you mention the price of a luxury good?

A)Early in the letter
B)In the middle of the letter, as soon as benefits are first mentioned
C)In the last fourth of the letter, after the copy makes the reader really want the product
D)Only on the reply card, since by then the reader will have definitely decided to make a purchase, and the price will no longer be an issue

Question 20

If an objection to your argument is false and is based on misinformation, which of the following would be the BEST way to counter it?

A)Ignore the objection.
B)Identify the objection and argue against it.
C)Give the response to the objection without naming the objection.
D)Attack the source of the objection.

Question 21

The subject line of a persuasive e-mail request should make it clear that you're asking for something.

Question 22

You are raising money for a cause that you know many readers will view as hopeless.Which of the following is the BEST strategy you can use to motivate readers to donate to your cause?

A)Remind readers that every little bit helps.
B)Reason by analogy: draw comparisons between your cause and causes that have been successful.
C)Rely very heavily on vicarious participation.
D)Use strong psychological description, with rhythmically pleasing word choices.

Question 23

The most effective presentations of solutions make clear your personal opinions.

Question 24

Daniel Goleman's research on workplace skills and competence shows that emotional intelligence is twice as important as technical skills.

Question 25

What do the letters in the SPICE acronym stand for?

A)Subtlety, precision, incongruity, confidence, and enduring appeal
B)Simplicity, perception, insightful thought, confidence, and empathy
C)Strong pull, profundity, interest, confidence, and emotional intelligence
D)Simplicity, perceived self-interest, incongruity, confidence, and empathy

Question 26

You're raising money for a daycare in a poor neighborhood.Your fundraising letter states that, while parents who qualify do pay a small sum of the cost, they cannot possibly cover it all; you're careful to cite exact dollar amounts, and average incomes in the neighborhood.Which of the following options BEST describes the kind of proof that this strategy fulfills?

A)The problem deserves the reader's attention
B)Your organization is helping to solve the problem
C)Private funds are needed
D)Your organization will use the funds wisely

Question 27

Which of the following is the LEAST effective strategy for showing a reluctant reader that the positives of your message outweigh the negatives?

A)Put time and/or money in the context of the benefits they bring.
B)Demonstrate that your message is a common approach to this problem.
C)Explain that the advantages of the group outnumber or outweigh the disadvantages as a group.
D)Turn the disadvantage into an opportunity.

Question 28

A solid track record helps build credibility.

Question 29

Stories are an effective way to make a message more persuasive.

Question 30

In sales letters, which of the following is the LEAST effective strategy for making an action you've required of a reader sound easy?

A)Emphasize that postage has been paid.
B)Outline online options.
C)Put the cost in perspective.
D)Fill in some of the information on the reply card.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of a rack card?

A)It's cost-effective.
B)It's portable.
C)It's nuanced and in-depth.
D)It's good at grabbing attention.

Question 32

Research suggests that busy executives are most likely to pay attention to messages that evoke an emotional response.

Question 33

Which of the following is LEAST useful for building desire while reducing resistance in the body of sales letters?

A)Survey results
B)Celebrity endorsements
C)Pricing plans
D)Test results

Question 34

The longer people delay, the less likely they are to carry through with the action they had decided to take.

Question 35

What does the "D" in the AIDA persuasive plan stand for?

A)Describe
B)Detail
C)Document
D)Desire

Question 36

Which of the following should you NOT consider when you design a brochure?

A)How to cover multiple selling points
B)How it will be distributed
C)Whether there are visual constraints (for example, a holder blocking the bottom of the brochure)
D)Who your audience is

Question 37

In a business environment, it's redundant to say "please" when making a request to someone in a similar position level as you.

Question 38

Reminding a reader of the importance of a credit history is not acceptable in the middle letter of a series of collection letters.

Question 39

Which of the following strategies is NOT a useful way to make the price of a product seem more attractive?

A)Emphasize that quality costs money.
B)Link the price to a benefit the product provides.
C)Show how much the product costs each day (e.g."For the price of just one cup of coffee a day ....").
D)Allow customers to charge sales or pay in installments.

Question 40

Most businesses find that phoning rather than writing results in faster payment.

Question 41

The rule of three states that, when you have a series of three items that are logically parallel, the middle one receives the most emphasis.

Question 42

A good strategy in fundraising appeals is to ask for at least triple what you expect you'll actually get, since readers will inevitably give you less than you ask from them.

Question 43

Citing experts can be detrimental for your persuasive appeal, since it takes the focus off your own competence.

Question 44

A good brochure attempts to include as many selling points and themes as possible, in order to maximize persuasive appeal.

Question 45

Questions can be a good way to start a sales or fundraising letter.

Question 46

The AIDA acronym for designing effective persuasive messages emphasizes the fact that you should open by motivating Action.

Question 47

TV is still the primary medium for advertising.

Question 48

You should focus on grabbing attention on the front of a rack card, and save details for the back.

Question 49

Studies have shown that shorter sales letters are more effective at bringing in new customers than longer sales letters are.

Question 50

Including a P.S.is useless in a persuasive letter since, if you haven't convinced the reader to act already, tacking on an additional section at the end won't help.

Question 51

The body of a strong sales or fundraising letter should prepare the reader for the call to action in the close.

Question 52

The basic emotional strategy for fundraising appeals is to evoke vicarious participation.

Question 53

Humour can distract an audience from the purpose of a persuasive message.

Question 54

You should always name your request in the subject line of your persuasive message, even if you know your reader is reluctant.

Question 55

One of the reasons people give for not contributing to fundraising campaigns is that a gift of $25 or $100 seems too small to matter.

Question 56

Effective direct mail mimics the rhythm of conversation.

Question 57

Fundraising letters should not ask readers to donate time by writing letters or helping at a fundraising event; you should use a separate message with a different purpose for non-monetary requests.

Question 58

The close of a sales or fundraising letter should be tentative when it asks for action (for example, "If you'd like to help ......"), to convey respect for the reader's decision.

Question 59

Allowing customers to pay in installments is a bad idea.

Question 60

Exaggeration makes a persuasive message even more persuasive.

Question 61

A mailing list composed of people with no prior connections to your group is known as a ________ list.

Question 62

In a fundraising letter, the basic emotional strategy is known as _____.

Question 63

People who benefit directly from keeping things the way they are have a _____.

Question 64

_____ letters ask customers to pay for goods or services they have already received.

Question 65

_____ is the repetition of final vowel sounds and, if the words end with consonants, final consonant sounds.

Question 66

Establishing _____ is a persuasive that avoids the me-against-you of some persuasive situations, and that suggests that both you and your audience have a mutual interest in solving the problems you face.

Question 67

A _________ is a character who allegedly wrote a direct mail letter.

Question 68

Explain how to organize a persuasive problem-solving message, and indicate where in this process you should deal with readers' valid objections.

Question 69

_____ occurs when several syllables begin with the same sound.

Question 70

Is persuasion cold-hearted manipulation? In a difficult persuasive situation, you know that your reader definitely does NOT want to do as you ask, and most people resent being manipulated.Assuming that you have good reasons for the action you are requesting, how do you convince the reader without making him or her coerced? Use specific examples to illustrate the persuasive strategies you discuss.

Question 71

_____ is what determines the audience's response to you as the source of the message.

Question 72

__________ refers to the deceitful practice of some companies who market a mere semblance of environmentally friendly action.

Question 73

Briefly characterize the three types of letters typically used in the collection series.

Question 74

List and define the three elements of effective persuasion, and provide an example of each.

Question 75

List three strategies to try to get readers to respond promptly, and provide an example of each.

Question 76

List four strategies to help you counter objections to your point of view, and provide an example of each.

Question 77

A _____ is a reader benefit that can motivate your readers to act, and that serves as an umbrella under which all the other benefits can fit.

Question 78

List the three components of good direct mail, and explain why these components are crucially important.

Question 79

________ is the repetition of a pattern of accented and unaccented syllables.

Question 80

______ mail asks for an order, inquiry, or contribution right from the reader.