17.1.19

Business letter of introduction

Business letter of introduction

A business introduction letter is the process of introducing the business, a product, or a service to a company, to a group, or to the individual who can yields profits to the company.
A good business introduction letter should be first class mail because it is fast, accurate, reliable and economical.

See CBR pp 160-166
Important rules to follow
Rule 1: A business letter of introduction should include the name of the person or the company name you contacting, the reasons and purposes for writing, and also some additional information about his company and his contact information.
Rule 2: A business introduction letter should be simple, clear, and  it should contains a maximum of 3-4 paragraphs. Try to write all the main points in the first paragraph of the letter.
Rule 3: Before writing the letter, organize the main points and what need to be included. Frame the sentences within the body of the letter, be specific and straight to the points about your intentions.
Rule 4: A business introduction letter should include the details of the senders address, telephone numbers, his background information, along with the main points, and the purpose of the letter.
Rule 5: Always keep track of the business letter and the place we are sending to, who is the concerned person, and his telephone number etc..
Rule 6: A business introduction letter should always be in direct form and it should be easy to mail and reaches the concerned person directly. Write the business letter clearly, specific to the point.
Rule 7: A business introduction letter should be pleasant; conversational tone is accepted and expected even though we are writing a formal letter.
Rule 8: A business letter consists of six parts: The heading, inside address, salutation, letter body, closing and signature.

Writing the Basic Business Letter


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Parts of a Business Letter

This resource is organized in the order in which you should write a business letter, starting with the sender's address if the letter is not written on letterhead.

Sender's Address

The sender's address usually is included in letterhead. If you are not using letterhead, include the sender's address at the top of the letter one line above the date. Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the letter's closing. Include only the street address, city, and zip code.

Date

The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written. However, if your letter is completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished in the date line. When writing to companies within the United States, use the American date format. (The United States-based convention for formatting a date places the month before the day. For example: June 11, 2001. ) Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page. Depending which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or tab to the center point and type the date.

Inside Address

The inside address is the recipient's address. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you are writing. If you do not have the person's name, do some research by calling the company or speaking with employees from the company. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title. Usually, people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess. To write the address, use the U.S. Post Office Format. For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line. The inside address begins one line below the sender's address or one inch below the date. It should be left justified, no matter which format you are using.

Salutation

Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title. If you know the person and typically address them by their first name, it is acceptable to use only the first name in the salutation (for example: Dear Lucy:). In all other cases, however, use the personal title and full name followed by a colon. Leave one line blank after the salutation.
If you don't know a reader's gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as "To Whom It May Concern." It is also acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine gender. For example, you might write Dear Chris Harmon: if you were unsure of Chris's gender.

Body

For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each paragraph within the body of the letter. Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important. In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point. The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point. In the next few paragraphs, continue justification with background information and supporting details. The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some type of action.

Closing

The closing begins at the same vertical point as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize the first word only (for example: Thank you) and leave four lines between the closing and the sender's name for a signature. If a colon follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing; otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.

Enclosures

If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you indicate this simply by typing Enclosures one line below the closing. As an option, you may list the name of each document you are including in the envelope. For instance, if you have included many documents and need to ensure that the recipient is aware of each document, it may be a good idea to list the names.

Typist initials

Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter. If you typed the letter yourself, omit the typist initials.

A Note About Format and Font

Block Format
When writing business letters, you must pay special attention to the format and font used. The most common layout of a business letter is known as block format. Using this format, the entire letter is left justified and single spaced except for a double space between paragraphs.
Modified Block
Another widely utilized format is known as modified block format. In this type, the body of the letter and the sender's and recipient's addresses are left justified and single-spaced. However, for the date and closing, tab to the center point and begin to type.
Semi-Block
The final, and least used, style is semi-block. It is much like the modified block style except that each paragraph is indented instead of left justified.
Keep in mind that different organizations have different format requirements for their professional communication. While the examples provided by the OWL contain common elements for the basic business letter (genre expectations), the format of your business letter may need to be flexible to reflect variables like letterheads and templates. Our examples are merely guides.
If your computer is equipped with Microsoft Office 2000, the Letter Wizard can be used to take much of the guesswork out of formatting business letters. To access the Letter Wizard, click on the Tools menu and then choose Letter Wizard. The Wizard will present the three styles mentioned here and input the date, sender address and recipient address into the selected format. Letter Wizard should only be used if you have a basic understand of how to write a business letter. Its templates are not applicable in every setting. Therefore, you should consult a business writing handbook if you have any questions or doubt the accuracy of the Letter Wizard.
Font
Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the font. The generally accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12, although other fonts such as Arial may be used. When choosing a font, always consider your audience. If you are writing to a conservative company, you may want to use Times New Roman. However, if you are writing to a more liberal company, you have a little more freedom when choosing fonts.
Punctuation
Punctuation after the salutation and closing - use a colon (:) after the salutation (never a comma) and a comma (,) after the closing. In some circumstances, you may also use a less common format, known as open punctuation. For this style, punctuation is excluded after the salutation and the closing.
Think of a basic business letter in three steps:
  1. Introduction - The reason for writing
    The introduction helps the reader understand in which context the letter should be considered. Possibilities include job interview inquires, business opportunity requests, complaints, and more. Each type of business letter has its own standard phrases which you can find in this this guide to different types of business letters.
  2. Details - What you would like to accomplish
    The detail section of a business letter is extremely important. This is where you achieve your goals in writing a business letter.
  3. Conclusion / Next Steps - What you would like to happen in the future
    Provide a call for future action. This can be a chance to talk in person, a follow-up letter or more. It's important and expected to make it clear what you would like for the next step from the person reading your business letter.
The phrases presented in this guide provide a frame and introduction to the content of business letters. At the end of this guide, you will find links to sites that give tips on the difficult part of writing successful business letters - arguing your business objective. By using these standard phrases, you can give a professional tone to your English business letters. Once you understand these basics, you can refine your business letter writing skills by focusing on different types of business letters, as well as other business documents to refine your skills for your business needs at your employers or your own small business organization.
The Start
The start of any business letter begins by addressing the recipient of the letter.
Dear Personnel Director,
Dear Sir or Madam: (use if you don't know who you are writing to)
Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: (use if you know who you are writing to, and have a formal relationship with - VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss)
Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)
Note: If you are unsure how formal you should be, always choose a more formal form. Writing to a specific person is always preferred if at all possible.
The Reference
Begin by referencing a specific conversation or other contact means. If this is the first letter in a conversation, you can also provide the reason for writing.
With reference to your advertisement in the Times, your letter of 23 rd March,
your phone call today,
Thank you for your letter of March 5 th .
The Reason for Writing
I am writing to...
... inquire about
... apologize for
... confirm
... comment on
... apply for
Examples:
I am writing to inquire about the position posted in The Daily Mail.
I am writing to confirm the shipment details on order # 2346.
I am writing to apologize for the difficulties you experienced last week at our branch.
Once you have introduced the reason for writing your business letter, move on to stating more specifically the purpose of your letter. Here are a number of possibilities:
Requesting
Could you possibly?
I would be grateful if you could
Agreeing to Requests
I would be delighted to
Giving Bad News
Unfortunately
I am afraid that
Examples:
Could you possible forward your job requirements?
I am afraid that I will be able to attend the conference next week.
I would be delighted to give you a tour of our facility this coming month.
Enclosing Documents
I am enclosing
Please find enclosed
Enclosed you will find
Closing Remarks
Thank you for your help Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
there are any problems.
you have any questions.
Reference to Future Contact
I look forward to ...
hearing from you soon.
meeting you next Tuesday.
seeing you next Thursday.
The Finish
Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to)
Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to)
Best wishes,
Best regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)
Sample Letter
Here is a sample letter using some of these forms:
Ken's Cheese House
34 Chatley Avenue
Seattle, WA 98765
Tel:
Fax:
Email: kenny@cheese.com
October 23, 2006
Fred Flintstone
Sales Manager
Cheese Specialists Inc.
456 Rubble Road
Rockville, IL

Dear Mr Flintstone:
With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for: 120 x Cheddar Deluxe Ref. No. 856
The order will be shipped within three days via UPS and should arrive at your store in about 10 days.
Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Beare
Director of Ken's Cheese House
More Detailed Help with Business Letters
If business letter writing is important to your career, I'd consider purchasing 3,001 Business and Sales letters. This reasonably priced package provides templates of English business letters for just about any business situation imaginable. For more detailed help with standard business writing skills, I highly recommend these business English books.
Now that you understand basic business letter writing style, you can use this guide todifferent types of business letters to refine your skills for specific business purposes such as making inquiries, adjusting claims, writing cover letters and more.


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