April 25, 2007 21:12
Category: How To Write
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A business letter is usually a communication from one entity to another in which there is an expression of interest. There is little scope of personalization in business letters though it cannot be ruled out in such communications as seeking favor or one between 2 business partners of long standing.
To tell it in short, what becomes important in a business letter is how to quickly put your point across without sounding too iterative. Here are some points to consider as to how to write a business letter:
Telling It Clearly
As mentioned above, the objective of business letter has to be clear and succinct. Unless specifically desired otherwise, it ought to spell out the purpose of writing in the first few opening sentences. This is more so since a busy businessperson is expected to routinely go through quite a number of mails everyday.
Thus, if a business letter fails to evoke his or her interest in the first few lines, chance is the letter will be pushed aside for later reading, which may never happen.
Formal Tone
A business letter is characteristically impersonal. Which means it may not have the usual normal way we converse with each other. Since there is no interpersonal relation at play but only conveyance of formal message, the correct way will be not to venture beyond what is actually expected to whom the letter is addressed. The least expected from a business letter is confusion in the mind of addressee.
Short Sentences
Relatively short sentences are any day preferred for business letter. Not only the writer has clear idea of what he is trying to convey, even the reader finds it easy to understand a letter. Long winding sentences contribute pretty little to a business letter. Rather they add to misunderstanding of its purpose.
Coming to think of it, lest the writer has good control over the language, it is better to avoid long sentences.
Correct English
It is seldom that a business letter is expected to be a literary gem. That doesn't exempt the necessity of using good and correct English, or any language for that matter. There are 2 points to bear in mind: 1) grammatically wrong language creates adverse impression in the mind of addressee, and 2) bad usage of language, even if grammatically correct, is prone to be interpreted wrongly.
Here is a quick glance of a business letter format, courtesy cyberbee, (image link).
Business letters can come in many hues. Examples: expression of interest, thanking for service, inviting to participate (in seminar), requesting for sponsorship (of an event), introducing to prospective clients, reminding for dues, and so on.
Below we'll attempt to write a business letter that introduces a company to its likely clients. While the format is shown in the image above, we'll write the main text.
Please refer last week's seminar on Water Control Program at the New Prestige Hotel. It has been a pleasure exchanging ideas with you, more so since we converged on many points that were discussed.
We understand your company plans to shortly undertake a water management project in your plant. If you would recall our talks, I mentioned our company specializes in implementation of similar projects and has served quite a few corporate clients since last 7 years.
We are 60-people strong company with factory located at Simpri [name of location]. The factory is manned by 25 skilled personnel who are adept at catering to customized solutions as needed by our clients. Adjacent to the factory is our chemical lab run by highly qualified technicians to test various properties of treated and untreated water.
The strong technological backbone of our company sets us apart from other companies, and we take pride in the fact all our clients are a satisfied lot. They have reposed faith in our ability to satisfactorily serve their requirement. They are also happy with our top-class after sales service. Please refer to attached sheet for their testimonials.
We have already done a basic study of your water problem at our end, and we are confident that given responsibility, we'll be able to implement your project to your complete satisfaction.
On behalf of our company I will be very much interested to meet you to tell more about our study and how best we feel your water project can be addressed.
Please feel free to call me at 123-456-789 so that we can discuss the issue further. If I'm not hearing from you until end of next week, I'll follow up with you and see if a meeting can be arranged at your convenience.
The above represents only the main body text of a business letter. Hope this example helps visitors with some knowledge as to how to write a business letter.
Related reading:
1. How To Write A Letter
2. How To Write A Letter Of Recommendation
