ArticlesAmerica Blog

Friday, October 27, 2006

Write Powerful Business Letters That Sell!

Writing good business letters is a skill often overlooked in todays rapidly moving business climate.But without the ability to write succinct and compelling business letters, you are at a serious disadvantage in any area of business.

In addition to writing articles, the ability to write succinct and compelling business communications, ie.business letters and reports, is an absolute must in achieving credibility and commanding respect from those with whom you do business.

Business letters account for over 90% of all interpersonal business communications.A poorly written business letter can cost you sales, leads, or contracts.

While similar in purpose and intent ie.(to inform; to motivate; to convince etc.) article writing and business letter writing differ primarily insofar as audience is concerned.

Your article audience can be hundreds, thousands, even millions.

On the other hand, a business letter is aimed primarily at one or possibly several people ( board of directors)etc.

The person receiving your business communication will definitely judge you in large part on the basis of your written communications skills.Whether you're applying for a job; bidding on a contract; or trying to make a sale.And that judgement can often be harsh.You want to give yourself every advantage in going for that job, sale, or contract.

Your letter is in effect your personal representative or your "advance person" so to speak.It presents a non visual "picture" of what you are like. Your skills, abilities and mindset.

And as with a human representative, you want your "written rep" to present all the values and standards that you stand for.You want that "picture" to be sharp, clear and most of all positive.

Here are some points to keep in mind when writing your next business letter to make it powerful and effective:

  • Your Greeting or Salutation

  • The Opening Sentence

  • The Opening Paragraph

  • The Body Of The Letter

  • The Concluding Paragraph Or Close

  • Punctuation

  • Spelling

  • Grammar



  • The Greeting

  • What do you know about the person?

  • What is the persons title?

  • Is the person male or female?


  • The Opening Sentence

  • This usually states the reason you're writing


  • The Body

  • Here you give the details of what you want to say





  • The Closing Paragraph


  • Here you summarize succinctly what you said in
    the body


  • Last but not least always check your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Despite what some internet marketers say, spelling, grammar and punctuation, are extremely important in interpersonal business communications.If you fall short on this,it can stop you dead in your tracks.

    Finally,


    Proofread

    I can't stress this one enough. The only way to know exactly what you've written is to proofread. And not just once. Do it two or more times. Until you're satisfied that you've got it right. Multiple proofs might sound like a lot of work, but trust me: the results will make it more than worthwhile.

    Now and only now do you sign your letter,mail it and you're done. Look at you! You got that contract!!

    Here is a terrific resource that will sharpen your business letter writing skills and really put you in the big leagues of business communications-http://www.articlesamerica.com/business/busin
    ess/index.htm

    About The Author: Jerry Johnson owns and operates ArticlesAmerica.com,an article directory that serves rich content free to webmasters, marketers, and site owners. Submit your articles and get content for your website now. http://www.articlesamerica.com