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