Business Letters The lost art

Types of Letters Personal Letter Personal Business Letter Sent from one friend or relative to another Personal Business Letter Sent by an individual to a company or business Business Letter Sent from one company to another Sent from a company to an individual

Personal Business Personal Business Business Individual Individual

Why Compose a well-crafted business letter? More communication takes place by fax, voice mail and e-mail Do not get caught up in new technology thinking it’s the only way to get the message across One group of people who are still impressed when they receive a well written letter in the ordinary mail – Prospective Clients and Customers In the fast-paced times, it can be a refreshing change to receive real mail

Why Compose a well-crafted business letter? - continued The “look and feel” of a business letter immediately gives the reader their first impression Quality of paper Letterhead design Margins Spacing Content

When should business letter be used? When making the first contact with a prospect Introducing yourself in a written format Sent for business purposes Matters that require business-like approach Letter should Have proper content Be easy to understand Be visually pleasing

“Look and Feel” Tips Use good quality 8½” by 11” paper Use 1” margins on all four sides Use a serif font Times Roman (12 point) Georgia (11 point) Use single-space, typed Try to keep your letter to one page Print letter on only one side of the paper Fold the letter horizontally into thirds

Business Letter styles Full block Type every line flush with the left margin Indented Indent return address, closing and your typed name to center of the page Indent each paragraph Also known as “Semi-block style” and “Modified block style”

Full Block Style

Indented style

Components of a business Letter Letterhead or Return Address Date Reference Line Inside Address Salutation Body Complimentary Closing Writer’s Identification Identification Initials Enclosure Notation

Letterhead Used in business letters only Introduce your company Powerful means of portraying the image of your company Modern Conservative Distinguished Includes contact information (name, address, city, province, postal code, telephone, fax, email)

Letterhead

The Return address Used for personal business or personal letters only Provides the address, city and province, and postal code of the writer May include email address

Date Usually entered on Use traditional alphanumerical method Line 15 for a business letter Line 12 for personal and personal business letters Use traditional alphanumerical method July 1, 1867 15 January 2008

Reference line Includes information specifically requested such as job reference, invoice number Re: Job # 625-01 Re invoice No: 5634 2445 134 One or two lines immediately below date

The inside address Used in business or personal business letter Address of person or company to whom the letter is addressed Must include: name of person or company, address, city, province and postal code May include the person’s title or department if known Dr. Calvin Carson Cross Country Coach Dept. of Athletics Colorado Community College at Cripple Creek Cripple Creek CO 80678

Salutation Always placed at the left margin double space below the inside address Includes greeting (ex. Dear ...) Followed by a colon If you don’t know the recipient, use only title and surname Mr. or Mrs. or Ms [Last Name] If you know the recipient by first name, you may only the first name Other salutations include Ladies:, Gentlemen:, Dear Sir or Madam:, To Whom it May Concern:

Body Begins a double space below the salutation Single space the body Use double space between paragraphs Two spaces between sentences Brief and to the point Business people are busy and do not have time to read long letters

Complimentary closing Double spaced below the last line of the body Depends on the tone and degree of formality Respectfully yours, (very formal) Sincerely yours, (typical, less formal) Very truly yours, (polite, neutral) Cordially yours, (friendly, informal) Only the first word is capitalized Followed by a comma

Writer’s identification Placed five lines below the complimentary closing Leave blank lines to sign your name Writer’s name, title or department In business letter and personal letter, always have a handwritten signature and a printed signature

Writer’s identification examples Sincerely, J. Doe John Doe, Manager Yours truly, PatSmith P. Smith Director, Technical Support

Identification Initials Used if someone typed the letter for you Placed two lines below the writer’s identification Your initials are all in uppercase, then the initials of the person who typed the letter in lowercase JAD/cm JAD:cm cm /cm :cm

Enclosure Tells the reader to look in the envelope for more Singular for only one enclosure, plural for more If you don’t enclose anything, skip it Examples: Enclosure Encl. Enclosures: 3 Enclosures (3)

cc Stands for courtesy copies (formally carbon copies) List the names of people to whom you distribute copies, in alphabetical order If you don’t copy your letter to anyone, skip it

Business Letter Considerations

Reader considerations Consider your reader What essential information do they need What are their expectations Have you addressed all the issues Be responsive Address the inquiry or problem Be personal Letters are written by people to people Avoid “To whom it may concern” if possible Use a template version of a letter with caution Not too informal – avoid slang

Be concise and to the point Use as little words as possible to explain your position Use clear and easy to understand language Minimize misunderstandings Think before you write List out the topics you want to cover For each topic, list keywords, examples, arguments and facts Review each topic for relevance Cut out anything that is not relevant Sort the information

Emphasize the positive Talk about what you can, not what you can’t Example: Product is out of stock. Don’t tell the customer you can’t fill the order. Tell them the product is very popular and is sold out. Tell them when you can get the order to them. Don’t use negative words

Language and spelling Don’t use cold, formal language or ‘big words’ Double check the spelling of the last name Take the time to learn the right “preferred” or “known as” name Ensure you are 100% correct in spelling throughout the letter

Two-Point Punctuation No punctuation at the ends of the lines of the parts Exceptions Abbreviations (ex. Rd.) Sentences in the body Use a colon after salutation Use a comma after the complimentary closing