Business Letter Writing Made Simple Revised EditionPDF电子书下载

CHAPTER ONE 17

BUSINESS LETTER WRITING TODAY AND YESTERDAY 17

Personality 17

The Objective 17

TheYou Attitude 18

No Conflict 18

Conciseness 19

Types of Business Letters 19

Appearance and Precision 19

CHAPTER TWO 22

APPEARANCE AND STRUCTURE OF THE BUSINESS LETTER 22

Paper 22

Sizes 22

Color 22

The Letterhead 22

Bottom and Side-Margin Messages 25

Additional Sheets 25

Framing 25

Indentations 25

TheFull Block Form 25

TheModified Block Form 25

Full Indentation 28

Hanging Indentation 28

Punctuation and Abbreviations 28

Elements of the Letter 28

The Dateline 30

The Inside Address 30

The Salutation 30

Body 30

The Complimentary Close 31

The Signature 31

Special Parts of the Business Letter:File Numbers 32

Attention Line 32

Enclosure Line 32

Postscripts 32

Envelopes 32

Window Envelopes 34

Folding the Letter and Inserting Enclosure 34

The Outside Address 34

The Return Address 36

Titles of Respect 36

Numbers and Abbreviations and Their Punctuation 36

Zip Codes 36

Some Final Remarks 37

CHAPTER THREE 38

THE SALES LETTER 38

Your Satisfied Customers:Keeping Them With Your Firm 38

Frequency of Communication 39

Your Ex-Customers:Winning Them Back 40

The Treatment of Special Customers 40

Letters to Help Your Salesmen 40

Testimonials to Promote Sales 45

The Inquiry Letter 45

Enclosures as a Means of Making Sales 46

Effective Form Letters 47

Structure of the Sales Letter 47

The Salutation 47

The Opening 48

Body of the Letter 48

The Closing 49

The Postscript 49

Letters You Dont Have to Write 50

CHAPTER FOUR 52

DIRECT-MAIL SALES LETTERS 52

Direct-Mail Selling a Big Business 52

Advantages of Direct Mail 52

What You Should Know to Sell by Direct-Mail 53

The Product 53

The Market 53

The Prospect 53

Appeals That Sell 53

The Advantage of the Multiple Appeal 53

The Major Appeals 53

The Need for Concentrating the Appeal 54

Inducements as Aids in Selling 54

The Giveaway or Free Item 55

Effective Order Forms 55

The Necessity for Explicit Specifications 57

Types of Direct-Mail Literature 57

The Sales Letter 57

The Post Card 57

The Leaflet 58

The Circular 58

The Broadside 58

The Self-Mailer 58

Brochures,Catalogues,Books 58

Inserts 58

Order-Form Inserts 58

Types of Envelopes 58

When to Mail:The Strategy of Proper Timing 60

Basic Equipment for a Mail-Order Department 60

Reproduction Processes 62

Letter-Press Printing 62

Offset Printing 62

Hooven Process 62

Multigraphing 62

Multilith 62

Mimeographing 62

Nahmco Process 63

Varityper 63

Sources of Lists of Prospects for Direct Mail 63

Purchase or Rental of Lists for Direct Mail Campaigns 64

The Well-Tended List 64

Keep It Orderly 64

Keep It Fresh 64

Test Mailings to Maximize Profitable Results and to Minimize Losses 65

The Sales Letter Series 65

Postal Information 71

First-Class Mail 71

Post Cards 71

Air-Mail Rates 71

Second-Class Mail 71

Third-Class Mail 71

Fourth-Class Mail(Parcel Post) 72

Book Rates 72

Important Sections of Postal Laws 72

Government Regulation:Federal Agencies and Direct Mail 73

CHAPTER FIVE 78

CREDIT LETTERS 78

Usefulness of Credit in the American Economy 78

Credit Risks:Almost Everybody Has Credit—Once 78

Requests for Credit:Some Effective Credit Letters 80

Credit Information:Sources and Types of Data 80

Granting Credit:Be Careful! 81

Credit Letters:The Importance of Tact 82

The Credit Inquiry:Examples of Effective Letters and Inquiry Forms;How?Who?Where? 82

Letters Granting Credit:Some Useful Models 86

SayingNo Gracefully 87

Letters Refusing Credit:Some Tactful Examples 88

Letters Suspending Credit:The Tactful and Firm Explanation 88

CHAPTER SIX 90

COLLECTION LETTERS 90

Types of Appeals 90

The Necessity for Caution 91

TheYou Attitude in Collection Letters 91

Sample Letters 91

Letter Where Leniency Was Applied 91

Letter From a Debtor Requesting an Extension 92

Response to an Explanation for Late Payment 92

The Advantage of the Individually Composed Letter 92

The Collection Letter Series 92

The Formal Notice 92

The First Personal Letters:Examples 93

Sales Talk in Collection Letters:Models 93

The Necessity for Knowing the Reason Behind a Delinquent Account 94

The Appeal to Fair Play 96

The Appeal to Self-interest:Several Examples 97

Discounts,Premiums 97

The Effective Employment of Humor in Collection Letters 98

ThePressure Letter 99

The Masked Request 99

The Use of Drafts in Collection 99

Collection Letters and Delinquency in Installment Buying 99

CollectingBad Debts:Effective Model Letters 101

Store Collection Letters 103

CHAPTER SEVEN 108

EMPLOYMENT LETTERS 108

The Job-Hunt 108

Getting the First Job 108

Changing to the Better Job 108

Where the Job Hunts the Man 108

Principles of Correspondence 108

TheYou Attitude 108

Examples of Letters in Which the Job Seeks the Man 108

The Money Appeal 108

The Security Appeal 109

The Prestige Appeal 109

Checking of References 110

Notifying Applicant of Placing Letter on File 110

Letter of Introduction 110

Acknowledging an Introduction 110

Answering Situations Wanted Ad 110

Postcard Notification to Applicants Answering Ad 111

Man Seeks Job 111

What the Prospective Employer Wants 111

Structure of the Letter of Application 111

The Opening 111

The Second and Third Paragraph 112

The Closing 112

The Data or Personal Record Sheet 112

Sample Openings for Job Letters 112

Openings to Avoid 113

Examples of Good Closings 113

Sample Data or Personal Record Sheet for Student or Recent Graduate Applications 115

Follow-Up Letters 115

Letters Asking Permission to Use a Reference 115

Answer to Reference Requests 116

Sample Letters of Application for Jobs 116

Follow-Up Letter 118

CHAPTER EIGHT 120

COMPLAINTS AND ADJUSTMENTS 120

Characteristics of the Effective Letter of Complaint 120

Clarity 120

Courtesy 120

Conciseness 121

Reasonableness 121

Examples of Letters of Complaint 121

Series of Complaint Letters 122

Adjustment Letters 123

Courtesy 123

Reasonableness 123

Mistake-Prevention Measures Against Complaints 123

Inspection 123

Check-Up 123

Promptness 123

Instructions 123

Packing 124

Avoidance of Misrepresentations 124

Avoidance of Over-Selling 124

Careful Accounting Procedures 124

A Few Donts in Adjusting Complaints 124

Dont Be Flippant 124

Dont Be Belligerent 124

DontCrawl 124

Adjustment Policies 125

TheCustomer is Always Right Policy 125

TheCaveat Emptor Policy 125

The Best Way:Ascertain the Facts 125

Essentials of the Adjustment Letter 125

Picking the Correspondent in Charge of Adjustments 125

Principles of Handling Complaints 125

Avoid Delay 125

Avoid Minimizing the Complaint 127

Avoid Grudging Concessions 127

Avoid Blaming the Customer 127

Turning Complaints Into Assets 127

The Expression of Sympathy 128

The Diplomatic Rejection 128

The Diplomatic Agreement 128

Where a Third Party Is at Fault 128

Examples of Adjustment Letters 128

CHAPTER NINE 133

MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS 133

Routine 133

Inquiry 133

Answers to Inquiry 134

Orders 135

Example of Order Letter 135

Acknowledgments 136

Follow-Ups on Orders 136

Letters with Enclosures 137

Letters of Introduction 137

Letters of Recommendation 138

Social Correspondence in Business 139

Letters of Congratulation 139

Letters of Sympathy and Condolence 140

Accepting an Invitation 140

Declining an Invitation 141

Resignation 141

Inter-Office Correspondence 141

Good-Will Letter 144

Request for Charity 147

Example of an Acceptance Letter 147

Payments by Mail 147

Currency and Stamps 148

Postal Money Order 148

Express Money Order 148

Checks 148

Certified Checks 148

Bank Drafts 148

CHAPTER TEN 151

POST CARDS AND TELEGRAMS 151

Post Cards 151

Distinction Between Post and Postal Cards 151

Advantages of Post Cards 151

Examples of the Use of Post Cards 151

Telegrams 151

Pointers on Telegraphing 152

How to Save Words 152

Punctuation and Form of Telegraphic Messages 155

Phonetic Code 155

Telegrams in Business 155

APPENDIX A-SPELLING 156

Summary of Spelling Rules 156

List of Words Most Frequently Misspelled 157

APPENDIX B-PUNCTUATION 159

The Correct Forms and Usage 159

APPENDIX C-ABBREVIATIONS 167

APPENDIX D-SALUTATIONS TO BE USED WHEN ADDRESSING DIGNITARIES 169

APPENDIX E-WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED OR WRONGLY USED 171

APPENDIX F-WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO AVOID 173

APPENDIX G-GLOSSARY OF TERMS COMMONLY USED IN BUSINESS AND FORMAL CORRESPONDENCE 175

547 Terms and Full Explanations 175