By using business correspondence not only coordination of business activities occurs, but also collection necessary information for a given organization, which will be in demand during various reporting audits. Therefore, first of all, the tasks of administrative employees include the correct maintenance of business documentation, for which various internal instructions and shapes. The advantage of a standard form is the fact that a person fills it out automatically, thereby saving his and the company’s time.
Business correspondence should contain:
Reliable and complete information;
- brief summary due to the lack of narration;
- neutral tone of address, but in a friendly manner;
- a logical chain, and not an emotional assessment of the stated facts.
How to write a business letter?
The most important thing is to decide what type of business letter is suitable for a given situation. There are several types of it:
Reminder;
- confirmation;
- refusal;
- covering letter;
- invitation;
- warranty;
- informational;
- letter of notification and order.
As a rule, business letters that contain a request, proposal, appeal, request or demand require a response.
Rules for writing a business letter.
The tone of a business letter carries a very important emotional load, since veiled disrespect will still appear despite impeccable communication techniques. You should be especially careful when writing a business letter containing a refusal. In this case, you should not state the refusal at the very beginning of the letter. In the first part of the message you should provide convincing arguments in favor of your point of view; for this you can use formulas such as
- “Unfortunately, we cannot satisfy your request”;
- “We are deeply sorry, but it is not possible to satisfy your request,” etc.
When refusing, it is important to remember that our task is to refuse, but not to lose a customer, partner, etc.
So, the basic rules for writing a business letter:
To correctly understand the essence of the letter, it is necessary to repeat the request addressed to the addressee several times in the text;
- in the refusal letter it is important to indicate the reasons why this request cannot be satisfied;
- rejecting an offer is a refusal formula.
Language of business correspondence.
It is important that the reader of business correspondence grasps only its essence, and not the language in which it is written. It is in this condition that lies the mastery of the rules of writing a business letter, which is developed over many years of experience.
It should be remembered that in a business letter:
Must be consumed simple words at the same time, without impoverishing the content;
- use verbs more often rather than adjectives - this will make the text of the letter dynamic;
- stay close to the meaning of the address, without going into details and reasoning;
- do not use long sentences, as they distract the reader’s attention;
- the transition between phrases should be logical and invisible;
- use as few pronouns as possible.
A business letter is distinguished by literacy and style.
Preparation of business correspondence.
When writing a business letter, remember that top part(1/4 sheet of A4) should be left free for the letterhead. Also in the upper corner of the letter the outgoing number and date are indicated, which are recorded in a special journal of outgoing mail.
In the lower left corner the position, surname and signature of the manager are indicated, and at the very end of the sheet the surname of the executor of the business letter is indicated with his telephone number for additional information.
Thus, a business letter consists of three parts: the essence of the request, its rationale and supporting information.
When replying to a letter, you should refer to the last letter of the given addressee in the first part of the content. If there is foreign correspondence, then for better clarity it is necessary to attach a booklet to the letter, the link to which will be indicated in this letter. It is very important to end such a letter with gratitude for your cooperation and the phrase “Sincerely yours (name) ...”
Letters of request are an integral, important and necessary part of business correspondence. On the one hand, these are tactful and diplomatic requests on current issues, on the other hand, they are a tool for achieving certain goals of the addressee. The purpose of any letter of request is to induce the addressee to take certain actions required by the author of the letter. How to write a letter of request to get as close to a positive response as possible?
Any letter of request must consist of a well-thought-out rationale and a clear statement of the request. In addition, you can use techniques that increase the efficiency of writing.
Step 1. Who do you contact with your request?
Address the addressee personally, preferably by first name and patronymic:
“Dear Ivan Ivanovich!”, “Dear Mr. Ivanov!”
Firstly, you will express your respect to the addressee, and secondly, a request addressed to a specific person imposes responsibility on him for its implementation. There are situations when a request is addressed to a team or group of people. In this case, it is also advisable to personalize the appeal as much as possible:
“Dear colleagues!”, “Dear managers!”, “Dear junior employees!”, “Dear HR employees!”
Step 2. Why are you contacting me?
Give a compliment to the recipient. By giving a compliment to the recipient, you answer his question: “Why are you asking me this question?” Note his past achievements or personal qualities.
“You are always ready to listen and find the best way to solve the problem of almost everyone who contacts you. And, to give you credit, you helped a lot of people.”
“You are a leading expert in the field...”
“You helped many people resolve the most difficult questions in the field of..."
This technique will allow the addressee to look at the request more closely and try to find an opportunity to satisfy fuck her.
A compliment is appropriate when we're talking about about non-standard requests, when the addressee needs to win over, when you need to pay attention to certain merits and qualities that are necessary and important for the fulfillment of your request.
It is very important not to cross the line between a compliment and rude flattery. Be sincere.
Step 3. Justification of the request
Any request must be justified as to why you are making this particular request. Enter the addressee into the context of your problem.
At this stage, you need to select the three most significant arguments for the addressee. It is best to build arguments according to the following scheme: strong - medium - strongest.
There are requests different levels complexity, so the addressee is not always interested in fulfilling someone’s requests. He needs to be convinced that fulfilling the request has potential benefits:
Interest the recipient
Offer to implement some attractive opportunity for him related to the fulfillment of your request:
“At all times, business-minded, enterprising people have strived not only to achieve material success, but also to leave their mark on the history of their Motherland, to be remembered for their good deeds, and to win respect.”
« The successful activity of any professional community is, first of all, understanding and support from friendly Unions, participation in joint events and projects».
« Of course, your big goal is a clean and comfortable city for people».
Or voice a problem that is very relevant specifically for your addressee:
“You, as a wise owner of the city, are probably concerned about the chaotic walks of children of different ages in unsuitable places, which leads to increased traffic accidents and an increase in child crime.”
“Your department has received more frequent calls on non-core issues, which takes up a lot of valuable working time.”
Show how your request can help realize the opportunity:
« And today, when our country relies on youth, it is difficult to find a more necessary, sacred cause than helping young men and women from disadvantaged families. In our city there are those who already provide such assistance - under the auspices of the mayor’s office, our charity center “Heritage” operates on donations from citizens, teaching troubled teenagers folk crafts ».
Or to solve the problem:
“Equipping specialized places for children of different ages to spend time will help reduce the level of child crime and minimize road accidents involving children.”
Describe the significance of the request
When there is nothing to offer the addressee or in the context of this request it is inappropriate, then it is better to bring the addressee up to date. Here you need to describe the situation as fully as necessary to understand the relevance of the request and the importance of its implementation. The significance of the request must be described in such a way that it “touches the soul.” If the request does not fall into the category of “touchy”, then you need to show the addressee the cause-and-effect relationship, which will ensure that the addressee fulfills the request.
“From (date), according to lease agreement No. X, the rent for 1 m2 is 20 USD. in a day. Over the past three months, there has been a decline in trading activity due to economic instability and social unrest. The average profit from trading is 10 USD. per day, which is not enough even to pay rent. If measures are not taken, private entrepreneurs will be forced to close their outlets, which may negatively affect your income."
Thus, you must make it clear to the recipient that fulfilling the request carries the prospect of receiving material or non-material benefits.
Step 4. Statement of the request
When the addressee is prepared, you can state the actual request. The text of the request should be quite concise and extremely clear. In no case should there be ambiguity or understatement. For example, if we are talking about reducing rent, it is important to indicate to what level:
“We ask you to reduce the rent level until the situation stabilizes to 5 USD. per m2 per day.”
If we are talking about the provision of services, then make the request as specific as possible, indicating the desired dates, price issue, etc.:
« To equip a pottery workshop, we need a kiln for firing ceramics - we ask you to help us purchase it. The cost of the stove with installation is 998 thousand rubles».
IN in this example It is not entirely clear what kind of help is required from the addressee. It would be better to formulate the request more specifically: “We ask you to help us purchase a kiln for firing ceramics by transferring 333 thousand USD to the bank account of the company for the production and installation of kilns.”
Whatever you ask for, the recipient must know exactly when, what, how much and at what price you want to receive. A generalized request is more at risk of refusal, because the recipient does not always have the time and desire to deal with the details. In addition, you run the risk of not getting what you want by transferring the initiative to the recipient.
For example, private entrepreneurs wrote a letter asking for a rent reduction, but did not indicate to what level they want to reduce the rent:
“We ask you to reduce the rent until the situation stabilizes.”
As a result, they received a reduction in rent, but only slightly (by 1% of the existing one). Thus, their request was granted, but did little to change the position of the initiators of the letter.
In some cases, the text of the request can be bolded to make it stand out in the text, but do not overuse this technique.
Step 5: Summarize your request.
Repeat your request and emphasize how the recipient will benefit if the request is fulfilled. The request should be modified somewhat. It is best to construct a sentence according to the scheme: “If you fulfill the request, you will be happy.”
“If you meet us halfway and reduce rents until the situation in the region stabilizes, you will not only be able to save more than 150 jobs, but also will not incur global losses due to the complete absence of rent.”
But there may be other options:
“You can be sure that every ruble of your charitable donations will go to a good cause and help those in difficult situation the boys will grow up to be worthy citizens.”
“You can be sure that every child’s smile will give you moral satisfaction from your difficult work, and your efforts and efforts are an investment in worthy and happy citizens of the near future.”
The main thing is to repeat the meaning of the request and the benefits of fulfilling it. The benefit does not have to be material. Remember that the addressee is a person, and feelings are not alien to him.
EXAMPLE:
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“We kindly ask you, I.I. Ivanov, organize a meeting of applicants with the main manager of your company. We will be grateful for your assistance. With respect and gratitude, Director of the employment center P.P. Petrov" |
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“Dear Ivan Ivanovich! Your company has been participating in the Career Guidance Program for applicants for several years now, helping them decide on their choice of profession. As a HR manager, you are interested in training professionals, and we are ready to help schoolchildren begin to train masters of their craft. Today, the profession of manager is one of the most common, but many applicants do not have a clear idea of its meaning. In this regard, we ask you to organize a meeting of the general manager with applicants on March 23 at 15.00 at the base of your company. By telling the guys about the secrets of the profession today, you are laying the foundation for training real professionals tomorrow. Perhaps in a few years it will be one of them who will bring your company to new level development. With respect and gratitude, Director of the employment center P.P. Petrov" |
And don’t forget about the design of the letter – this is the “face” of the organization. If the initiator of the letter of request is an organization, then such a letter is drawn up on letterhead with the signature of the manager or authorized person. If you are a private person, then it is sufficient to comply with basic norms in the arrangement of letter elements. These details are legally and psychologically very important for the addressee and the formation of the correct image of the sender.
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- | Send hundreds of proposals, requests and other business letters every day, but are not getting the desired result with your message? Don’t know how to unobtrusively and politely remind the recipient of his obligations? Then online training will certainly help you "Business Writing Skills"! You can go through it at any time convenient time By . | - | - |
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Do you have any urgent questions for the organization that should be recorded? In this case, writing a written appeal is indispensable. However, not everything is as simple as it seems. Formatting a competent business letter - a whole science. And it wouldn’t hurt for everyone to learn or remember the basic skills of compiling it.
First, let’s decide on the method that is most convenient for you to write a letter or request to an organization. Most often, online messages are used using Internet resources. If you write a letter this way, then you cannot do without:- Computer (laptop);
- Text editor;
- Email.
If you are using manual method writing, you will also need a printer for printing.
The first stage of writing a letter is the “header”. At the top of the page there must be:- The name of the organization you are applying to;
- Full name of the director of the organization or responsible person;
- Institution address;
- Date of the application;
- City of application.
Desirable “header” items also include the company’s coordinates – fax, phone, email address, OKPO, OGRN, INN/KPI. Depends on the topic of the appeal and the organization itself.
- Promotional letters;
- Letters of recommendation;
- Information letters;
- Cover letters;
- Thanksgiving letters;
- Letters of congratulations;
- Letters of instruction;
- Letters of inquiry;
- Letters of request;
- Reply letters;
- Notification letters;
- Letters of invitation.
Depending on what type of appeal you are using, formulate the content correctly. For example, if you are composing positive feedback to the organization, you should describe in detail the reason for your application, what exactly you liked, and so on.
Download from our portal:
Important element writing a letter to an organization - “don’t throw water” and write to the point. Express your thoughts in such a way that your letter will interest company employees. To do this, according to the rules of business etiquette, use special “intriguing words.” However, you should not overdo it, because we are talking about a document, not personal correspondence. Describe the situation concisely, but make it readable. If the conversation is about compliance with the law, be sure to make references to the laws of the Russian Federation. When describing conflict situation the proposal of a number of measures to escalate the incident is welcomed.
Competently drafting a letter to the right organization is the key to the success of your appeal. Study carefully all the points described above and feel free to get to work. Do not forget that the letter should not contain spelling, punctuation and stylistic errors.
Business writing is one of the main communication tools in any business. A well-written business letter will help create a positive impression of the company. And one illiterately written letter can destroy your entire reputation. We have already written about the rules of business correspondence, now let's look at specific examples business letters.
Samples of business letters
There are many types of business letters - business proposals, letters of claim, letters of gratitude, letters of refusal, cover letters, letters of guarantee, information and so on. The principles of their compilation are practically no different from each other. Take a look again to avoid mistakes.
Examples of thank you letters
Example of a letter of guarantee
Sample response letter
This clear example what a polite letter containing a refusal might look like:
Example of a newsletter
Example of a letter of complaint
Examples of letters in English in business correspondence
Unfortunately, not everyone has a high level of English proficiency. And often managers are somewhat lost when they need to write a business letter to English language. If even in Russian people cannot always understand each other in correspondence, then what can we say about foreign language? The best way out in this situation, you will search for similar letters and use suitable phrases from them in your letter. Here are three examples of business letters in English: a letter of gratitude to the client, a letter clarifying the terms of the transaction, and a letter of response to the purchase offer. Each file contains a version of the letter in English and its translation into Russian.
Download a letter of gratitude to the client in English.
Download the letter with the terms of the deal in English.
Download the letter of response to the purchase offer in English.
Structure of a business letter
A clear structure is an essential characteristic of a business letter. It will help the recipient quickly understand the meaning of what is written and reduce the time it takes to read it. A business letter consists of the following main parts:
1. Heading (subject of the letter). The title of the letter should contain its brief purpose or essence. You cannot use any abstract phrases here. It should be clear to the recipient what the letter is about based on the title alone. For example, “About changes in prices for the supply of products” or “Business proposal for trade cooperation with company XXX.”
2. Greeting. The greeting “Dear + First Name and Patronymic!” is considered traditional in business letters. However, it is not necessary to use the name. You can also address the addressee through his position: “Dear Mr. Director!” However, keep in mind that calling by name somewhat reduces the psychological distance and emphasizes the well-established business relations. If the letter is addressed to a group of people, then it is acceptable to write “Dear ladies and gentlemen!”, “Dear partners!” and so on. Using the abbreviations Mr., Ms., or initials is perceived as disrespectful, so try to avoid it.
3. Statement of the purpose of writing the letter, its essence, and main idea. This is the main part of the letter. Here you write directly about the very reason for writing the letter.
4. Your proposals for solving this problem, recommendations, requests, complaints.Business letters almost always imply a certain reaction from the addressee (except for purely informative letters). Therefore, it is important to describe not only the problem itself, but also offer your own options for solving it. If you write a complaint, then ask that appropriate measures be taken; if you make an offer of cooperation, then describe it possible options. In short, the recipient of your letter must not only understand “what” you want from him, but also understand “how” you propose to implement it. Then it will be a real business letter.
5. Brief summary and conclusions. At the very end we can summarize all of the above. However, it is not always possible to do this very briefly. In this case, it’s not worth writing in several sentences what you already described in the first two paragraphs. remember, that best friend a business letter is about brevity. Therefore, in most cases it is enough to limit ourselves to the phrases “I hope for successful cooperation”, “I am waiting for your answer on this issue" and so on.
6. Signature. A business letter is signed with the position, first and last name of the sender with the traditional phrase “With respect.” Other options are also possible: “With Best wishes", "Sincerely yours" and so on, depending on the closeness of your contact with the recipient. The phrase “With respect” is the most universal, so if you are in doubt about how it would be more appropriate to subscribe, then use this phrase and you definitely won’t miss.
It would also be a good idea to add options for contacting you in your signature: other email addresses, work phone numbers, Skype. The benefit of this is not only that the recipient, if desired, will be able to quickly contact you in a way convenient for him, but also that this way you will demonstrate your openness and readiness to communicate with the recipient.
And don't forget that official letter is first and foremost a document. Therefore, by neglecting the rules for drawing it up, you irrevocably ruin the reputation of your company and yourself as a specialist.
In business document flow, the request letter format is used very often when there is a need to obtain the consent of the second party or a specific service from it. Ready samples and examples for different situations, as well as rules for composing such letters, can be found in this article.
The tradition and rules for drawing up a letter of request have developed exclusively in practical document management - i.e. There are no forms or instructions approved at the legislative level. However, in general view the following structure should be followed:
- As usual, the “header” is first filled out, which indicates the full name of the sending organization with the corresponding contact information, as well as the name of a specific employee (usually the director of the company) and the name of the recipient organization.
- This is followed by the text itself, which consists of a description of the situation and justification for the request. The text should be as short as possible - usually 1-2 paragraphs are enough. It is important to state your request specifically and unambiguously so that the interlocutor clearly understands the essence of your appeal.
- This is followed by the signature, transcript of the signature and date of compilation.
Thus, it is drawn up according to the standard version for such documents - the form is given below.
The finished sample can be used as an example.
NOTE. The decision to indicate or not indicate the title of the document (i.e. to write “Letter of Request” in the middle) is made by the sender himself. Typically, this is necessary in cases where it is appropriate to emphasize the nature of the document and the purpose that one company is trying to achieve from another.
Since in this case we are talking about the fact that one company is counting on some favor or even a concession from its partner, of course, the writing of the letter, its design and even its sending should be taken very seriously. Any detail can make an impression, so it’s better to take into account even the seemingly insignificant nuances:
- First of all, it is better to send it using physical mail - regular Russian Post or, even better, a private organization that delivers correspondence door to door and much faster. Message to in electronic format or even more so, transmitted by fax is often perceived more facelessly, like spam.
- Besides physical method document execution (i.e. as usual mailing) allows you to make a favorable impression due to more expensive paper, envelope, stamp and other means of design.
- To write the text, a company letterhead is always chosen - this allows you to make the request more official.
- It is better to avoid obvious clericalism in the text - i.e. stable words and expressions that are commonly used in the business environment. They literally “dry” the narrative and make a generally negative impression. They are easy to replace original options- for example, “I ask you to consider” to “I hope for your understanding and assistance in resolving this issue.”
- Finally, it is worth generally adhering to the traditions of business correspondence, i.e. the text is predominantly written in formal business style. Lyrical digressions, there should not be too complex syntactic constructions, or ambiguous (in meaning) phrases. Care should be taken to ensure that the message is very easy for the interlocutor to perceive, both in terms of understanding and psychologically.
ADVICE. If it is possible to write the text by hand, it is better to use this method. A handwritten letter makes it stand out from everyone else. However, it is better to entrust the writing to a specialist who knows calligraphy techniques.
Varieties
Depending on the specific situation There are different types of letters. Most requests relate to financial issues - for example, providing a discount, reducing payment for a service or deferring it. A minority of request letters are devoted to assistance in resolving some other issues. The most common cases and ready-made examples letters are discussed below.
About the allocation of funds
A request to allocate money even for charitable purposes is a rather serious request. Therefore, when drawing up, it is important to describe the situation as specifically as possible and, moreover, to clearly indicate what exactly the money is needed for, and for what reason it cannot be taken from another source.
When compiling, you can use this example as a basis.
From NPO "Rainbow"
Deputy of the Legislative Assembly
St. Petersburg Miloshnikov I.N.
Dear Ilya Nikolaevich! The director welcomes you non-profit organization Rainbow". Our organization was founded in 2012 and throughout all these years it has been continuously providing financial assistance children suffering from acute forms of leukemia. The main direction of our activity is the purchase of relevant medicines and carrying out complex operations.
All these years, the main source of funding for our activities was the LLC “...” enterprise. However, in April of this year 2017, funding volumes decreased sharply, and in this moment we cannot carry out charitable activities in the same volume.
According to our data, the annual budget of the fund, taking into account private donations, should be 10 million rubles. Thus, due to the termination of financing, it is necessary to cover the difference in the amount of 8 million rubles. annually. We hope for your assistance, since it is currently not possible to find sponsors.
Sincerely, Svetozarov V.K.
About delivery of goods
Here it is important to demonstrate your interest and desire to cooperate. Therefore we need to find Right words so that the interlocutor is imbued with trust and makes an appropriate decision. You can take this example as a basis.
General Director of LLC "..."
Nekrasov N.K.
From the director of LLC "..."
Elizarova V.M.
Greetings, Nikolai Konstantinovich! At the regional exhibition agriculture, which took place in May of this year, our company became interested in the samples of machinery and equipment that were offered by you.
We would like to begin cooperation with you by delivering a trial batch of goods ( full list attached as a separate document to this letter). We guarantee timely payments for goods and services. We express our hope for long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Our contact details:
Sincerely, Elizarov V.M.
About providing discounts
This is a fairly common type nowadays because economic conditions in many respects they have worsened. Experience shows that convincing a counterparty to provide a discount works especially well in the following cases:
- if companies have been cooperating for a long time, for example, more than a year;
- if purchased immediately a large number of goods.
to CEO
LLC "Avantage" Filippov G.V.
From the director of Veres LLC
Alexandrova K.N.
Hello, Gennady Viktorovich. We are pleased to note the fact that our companies have been cooperating for more than 2 years. We express our gratitude to you for the consistently high quality of your services, as well as for your assistance in resolving a number of current issues.
We believe it is no secret to you what Last year The economic situation in our market niche has deteriorated significantly. Unfortunately, at the moment we are experiencing a certain lack of income, which is associated with a decrease in quarterly profits.
In connection with these circumstances, we hope for your understanding and consent to provide a discount of 10% on services that will be provided in the next calendar year 2018. Of course, such a measure is temporary, and we are committed to full cooperation on mutually beneficial terms if the economic situation stabilizes.
Sincerely, Alexandrov K.N.
About rent reduction
In this case, the rationale for your request in the letter will be approximately the same as discussed in the previous example.
to CEO
LLC "Avantage" Filippov G.V.
From the director of Veres LLC
Alexandrova K.N.
Hello, Gennady Viktorovich. In the fiscal year that ended in 2016, our company suffered losses that exceeded expectations by 10%. We are forced to admit that our company has been affected by the financial crisis. This is reflected in a decrease in client flow by 15-20% of owners.
In this regard, we hope for your agreement to provide a 10% discount on rent. Please note that we are quite large tenants and at the same time, during the entire period of our five-year cooperation, we did not allow a single delay in payment, and also filled out all other terms of the contract. We proceed from the fact that this measure is temporary, so we are ready to continue paying the fee in full as soon as the market situation stabilizes.
Sincerely, Alexandrov K.N.
About deferred payment
In this case, it is important to admit that you really did not make the payment on time and explain the reason in detail. Of course, you need to accurately indicate the repayment terms of the entire amount.
To the Director of LLC "Gruzodar"
Vakulov N.Yu.
From the director of Parabolia LLC
Aksakova T.G.
Hello, dear Nikolai Yurievich. In September 2017, we did not pay the next payment for your services in the amount of 100,000 rubles. We officially notified you a month in advance of the impossibility of making a payment. At this time, we clarify that the company has found funds to pay. We ask you to provide an installment plan for two months: October and November (50,000 rubles each).
We do not shy away from our financial obligations and debts and draw your attention to the fact that during all 3 years of our cooperation we have never violated the contract. We hope for your understanding and look forward to further mutually beneficial cooperation.
Sincerely, Aksakov T.G.
Please pay for another company
Such requests may arise in cases where one company undertakes to fulfill the financial obligations of another company under certain conditions. You can use this template as an example.
IP Blagodarova A.K.
from IP Inina A.A.
Hello, dear Anatoly Konstantinovich. As you know, you have a debt to me in the amount of 100,000 rubles. Over the past fiscal year I also had a debt to 3 companies in the amount of 50,000 rubles. I suggest you pay my debt in full. For my part, I guarantee the provision of installment plans for the entire balance of your debt for a period of 6 months.