 Sales Letters

Typical sales letters start off with a very strong statement to capture the interest of
the reader. Since the purpose is to get the reader to do something, these letters
include strong calls to action, detail the benefit to the reader of taking the action and
include information to help the reader to act, such as including a telephone number or
website link
 Order Letters
Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to a manufacturer, retailer or
wholesaler to order goods or services. These letters must contain specific information
such as model number, name of the product, the quantity desired and expected price.
Payment is sometimes included with the letter
 Inquiry Letters
Inquiry letters ask a question or elicit information from the recipient. When composing
this type of letter, keep it clear and succinct and list exactly what information you
need. Be sure to include your contact information so that it is easy for the reader to
respond
 Adjustment Letters
An adjustment letter is normally sent in response to a claim or complaint. If the
adjustment is in the customer’s favor, begin the letter with that news. If not, keep your
tone factual and let the customer know that you understand the complaint
 Complaint Letters
The words and tone you choose to use in a letter complaining to a business may be
the deciding factor on whether your complaint is satisfied. Be direct but tactful and
always use a professional tone if you want the company to listen to you
 Follow-Up Letters
Follow-up letters are usually sent after some type of initial communication. This could
be a sales department thanking a customer for an order, a businessman reviewing the
outcome of a meeting or a job seeker inquiring about the status of his application. In
many cases, these letters are a combination thank-you note and sales letter.
 Letters of Recommendation
Prospective employers often ask job applicants for letters of recommendation before
they hire them. This type of letter is usually from a previous employer or professor,
and it describes the sender’s relationship with and opinion of the job seeker.
  Acknowledgment Letters
Acknowledgment letters act as simple receipts. Businesses send them to let others
know that they have received a prior communication, but action may or may not have
taken place.
 Cover Letters
Cover letters usually accompany a package, report or other merchandise. They are
used to describe what is enclosed, why it is being sent and what the recipient should
do with it, if there is any action that needs to be taken. These types of letters are
generally very short and succinct.
 Letters of Resignation
When an employee plans to leave his job, a letter of resignation is usually sent to his
immediate manager giving him notice and letting him know when the last day of
employment will be. In many cases, the employee also will detail his reason for leaving
the company.

The structure of a business letter

Sections of a Business Letter

Each section of your letter should adhere to the appropriate format, starting with your
contact information and that of your recipient’s; salutation; the body of the letter; closing;
and finally, your signature.
Your Contact Information
 Your Name

 Your Job Title

 Your Company

 Your Address

 City, State Zip Code

 Your Phone Number

 Your Email Address

The Date
 The date you're penning the correspondence
Recipient’s Contact Information
 Their Name

 Their Title
  Their Company

 The Company’s Address

 City, State Zip Code

The Salutation
 Use "To Whom It May Concern," if you’re unsure specifically whom you’re addressing.

 Use the formal salutation “Dear Mr./Ms./Dr. [Last Name],” if you do not know the
recipient.

 Use “Dear [First Name],” only if you have an informal relationship with the recipient.
The Body
 Use single-spaced lines with an added space between each paragraph, after the
salutation, and above the closing.

 Left justify your letter (against the left margin).

Closing Salutation
Keep your closing paragraph to two sentences. Simply reiterate your reason for writing
and thank the reader for considering your request. Some good options for
your closing include:
  Respectfully yours

  Yours sincerely

  Cordially

  Respectfully

If your letter is less formal, consider using:

 All the best

 Best

 Thank you

 Regards
Your Signature
Write your signature just beneath your closing and leave four single spaces between
your closing and your typed full name, title, phone number, email address, and any
other contact information you want to include.
For example
Your truly
Your sincerely
Example of business latter

Business Letter Formats

Professional correspondence should always have a clean, crisp appearance,
and Ginger’s business letter templates will help you achieve the look you
want.

Full Block Format

Full block style business letters have a formal appearance, however they can
be used in informal business situations as well as formal ones. If you are
looking for a single format that will work well in every situation, this is a good
one to use.
Notice that the following business letter format is laid out so that it is easy to
read. It is also a template that is very easy to type, as there are no indents to
worry about

Full Block Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date
Recipient’s Name
Company
Address
Address
Address
Dear (Recipient’s Name),
This block format business letter template illustrates how quick and easy
communications can be to type. Notice that it looks very much like the semi-
block letter format, except the paragraphs are not indented. This is a format
you can use for all business occasions.
Notice that all elements in this letter are left justified. This formatting provides
a crisp, modern look that many people prefer.
If you have any enclosures to include in this letter, make a note at the bottom
left, a few spaces below the signature block. Just write “enclosures:” and
follow up with the names of any items inside the envelope. A brochure, an
application, or a copy of an invoice are some of the things you might think
about including.
Sincerely,
Your First name, Last name, and Title
Modified Block Format
Modified block style business letters are less formal than full block style
letters. If you are corresponding with someone you already have a good
working relationship with, the modified block style letter is a good one to use.
Notice that the following business letter format is written without indents. If you
prefer to use indents, try using the semi-block or modified semi-block format
instead.

Modified Block Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date
Recipient’s Name
Company Name
Address
Address
Address
Dear (Recipient’s Name):
This modified block business letter format looks very much like the modified
semi-block letter format, except the paragraphs are not indented. Modified
block letters are just a little less formal than full block letters.
Notice that the sender’s address, the closing, the signature, and the signature
block all start near the center of the page. In some cases, people who prefer
to use this format begin these elements five spaces to the right of the center
of the page.
If you have any enclosures to include in this letter, make a note at the bottom
left, a few spaces below the signature block. Just write “enclosures:” and
follow up with the names of any items inside the envelope. A brochure, an
application, or a copy of an invoice are some of the things you might think
about including.
Sincerely,
 
Your First name, Last name, and Title
 
Standard Format
Standard format business letters are quite formal. Because they include an
optional subject line, they are ideal for situations in which you need to create a
formal response or communicate about an account number or case number.
At the bottom of this template, you’ll see something the other business letter
templates don’t contain. Below the signature block are three lines of text
indicating that a secretary or assistant typed the letter for the sender, that a
copy was sent to another recipient, and that there are enclosures. In other
business letter formats, “enclosures” is written out. In standard format, the
word is abbreviated.

Standard Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date
Recipient’s Name
Company Name
Address
Address
Address
SUBJECT: Type the subject here and underline it.
Dear (Recipient’s Name),
This standard business letter format looks very much like the block letter
format. Notice that everything is left justified.
You will notice that this template contains some elements that are different
from those in the other business letter formats on this page. First, there is a
subject line. This element is optional, and can be replaced with a “RE:” line
that is used to reference something specific like a previous communication or
an account number. Be sure to underline this so that it stands out.
Additionally, this template has three other elements. On the line located
beneath the signature block, you will notice my initials in upper case letters. A
colon separates them from my assistant’s initials, which are written in lower
case letters. This indicates that my assistant typed the letter for me. If you
type a standard business letter yourself, you do not need to include this
element.
Beneath the initials, you will see “cc:” followed by my business partner’s
name. This indicates that I have sent a copy of this letter to my partner. If you
write a letter like this one but don’t cc anyone, there’s no need to include this
element.
Finally, you will notice the letters “encl” followed by a colon. This indicates that
there are enclosures. Interestingly, the standard business letter is the only
one in which you use “encl” instead of writing “enclosure” to show that a
brochure, application, invoice, or other item(s) are enclosed. As you may have
already guessed, you can skip the “encl” if you haven’t included anything with
the letter in the envelope.
Sincerely,
Your First name, Last name, and Title
YN:an
cc: Business Partner, Other entity
encl: Business letter template
Open Format
The open format business letter has a clean, formal look just as the block
format letter does. It is suitable for all business communications.
There is one major difference between this format and the other business
letter formats on this page: It contains no punctuation after the greeting, and
no punctuation after the closing.
Semi-Block Format
The semi-block format business letter is a little less formal than the block
format letter and slightly more formal than the modified block format letter. It
works well in almost all situations and is a good choice if you find yourself on
the fence about which format to use.
Semi-block business letters differ from most others in that the first line of each
paragraph is indented. Look at the modified semi-block business letter
template if you’d like to try another format with indentations. It is the least
formal of all the formats shown on this page.

Semi-Block Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date
Recipient’s Name
Company
Address
Address
Address
Dear (Recipient’s Name),
This semi-block business letter format looks very much like the block letter
format, except the
paragraphs have been indented. Semi-block format letters are just a little
more formal than modified semi-block business letters.
Notice that the sender’s address, the closing, the signature, and the signature
block are left justified.
The only elements of this business letter format that are not left justified are
the first lines of each of the paragraphs.
If you have any enclosures to include in this letter, make a note at the bottom
left, a few spaces below
the signature block. Just write “enclosures:” and follow up with the names of
any items inside the envelope. A brochure, an application, or a copy of an
invoice are some of the things you might think about including.
Sincerely,
Your First name, Last name, and Title

Letters can also be classified based on their content or message. Letters that contain good
news or a good message or favourable information are good-news letters. Letters that
contain a bad news or a bad message or an unfavourable information are bad-news letters.
Not only personal letters but also an official letters can be classified on this basis. A letter
sanctioning a loan to a customer or an over-draft facility to a concern, a letter of
appointment or promotion or a letter acceding to the request of a client are good-news
letters.
Unfortunately, in business, one has to undertake the unenviable job of communicating bad
news as well. It may be the rejection of a loan application, the denial of a due promotion or
rejection of a client’s request.
Business organizations have also got to write letters that contain neither good or bad news
from the stand point of the receiver. It may be the announcement of a change of office
hours or premises, or an announcement of a new product, such letters contain neutral
messages and can be called “neutral – news letters”.
A good news letter is easy to write because of its content. A bad news letter has to be
written unoffendingly. Neutral letters usually are unsolicited letters. The receiver may treat
it as junk mail. So care should be taken to write them well so that customers / recipient’s
interest is aroused and he responds to them as desired by the sender.
These classifications of letters as official/and personal, formal or informal as good news
letters, bad-news letters and neutral message letters are classifications based on general
criteria and are broad classifications based on content. Business letters can be classified on
the basis of the nature of business they transact or take care of. Of course, all business
letters take care some area of the business.

A Complaint Letter is a type of letter written to address any type of wrong-doing, offence,

grievance, resentment arising out of a product, service, etc. It is used to raise your concern about

unfair things and seek a productive outcome.

1. Personal Complaint Letters - When a letter is written at a personal level by an

individual it is called as Personal Complaint Letter. These are written by consumers
to get refund, replace a product etc.  These are also written for grievances’ regarding
a service or any issue affecting the individual or society at large.

2. Professional Complaint Letters - When a letter is written on behalf of an

organisation it is called known as Professional Complaint Letter. These letters have
the backing of an organisation and are mostly related to professional items and
services

When writing a complaint letter you should:

  describe your problem and the outcome you want
 include key dates, such as when you purchased the goods or services and when
the problem occurred
 identify what action you’ve already taken to fix the problem and what you will
do if you and the seller cannot resolve the problem
 ask for a response within a reasonable time
 attach a copy of any supporting relevant documentation such as a receipt or
invoice.

Adjustment Letters
An adjustment letter is a response to a written complaint. The objective is to inform the
reader that their complaint has been received. It is also a legal document recording what
decisions were made and what actions have or will be taken