How to write more powerful business letters

Many people in business breathed a sigh of relief when email began to take over the bulk of their daily correspondence. Business letter processing, even today, is complicated and finicky compared to the blissful simplicity of email.

However, as you know, there are still times when ink on paper is essential. Many of the so-called “professions” (law, accounting, etc.) in the UK at least still insist that correspondence be done by printed letter. They are deeply suspicious of email, and for good reason, as its confidentiality can never be guaranteed. Business letters are at least fairly private: you have to assume that it’s easier and faster to snoop on email than it is to open envelopes steamed over boiling water.

In other cases, too, printed letters provide a more tamper-proof formal record of business agreements, grievances, employee warnings/firing, and other matters that need to be engraved on tablets of stone. (Well, paper, anyway.)

Ancient structure, modern style.

Highlighted and ridiculed by the informal nature of email, the quaint formality of the old-fashioned business letter seems positively Dickensian and totally inappropriate for the way we do business now.

However, there is an answer. Use the formality of structure that makes the business letter the bulletproof form of communication it has become. Combine that with the short, to-the-point style of writing more common in emails, and you’ve got some good engagement.

Let’s start with the structure, or rather, the tag that provides the structure.

There are variations between the accepted tag used in different English language markets. These are the main British forms of treatment. I’ve also included the US/Canada equivalents where I know them, but I’m afraid I don’t know the ones used in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

formal letters

The addressee will be a title, for example “The CEO” or an organization or company when you don’t know who your letter should be addressed to. When you type a title, the salutation is “Dear Sir,” “Dear Madam,” or, if you want to play it safe, “Dear Sir/Madam.” When you write to an organization it’s “Dear Sirs”, Dear “Ladies”, or again, if you want to play it safe (but stick to the point), “Dear Sirs/Madams”.

Your signature will be “Sincerely” (UK) or “Sincerely” (US and Canada).

less formal letters

This is where you have a name. And this is where you can get into trouble if you are not sure of the person’s gender. Someone named JC Jennings could be a Jack or a Joanna. Someone named Leslie Matthews could also be anyone (traditionally, the feminine version of the name is spelled “Lesley” and the masculine “Leslie,” but I know at least one lady, Leslie).

Equally watch out for unisex names like Jody, Jo, Bobbie, Alex, Rob, Robin, Carol (yes, really) Billie, Chris, Darryl, Eddie, Sam, Jackie, Nicky, Frances (f) vs Francis (m) , Freddie , Gabrielle (f) against Gabriel (m), Georgie, Gerry/Jerry, Charlie, Nat, Harry, Jessie (f) against Jesse (m), Stevie, Mel, Pat, Ronnie, Sacha, Sandy, etc. And that’s before we get into the names of non-English speaking cultures.

People these days don’t usually announce if they are “Mr” or “Mrs” or whatever. When in doubt, don’t risk embarrassment; call the organization in question and ask.

Some people borrow a horrible technique from email and use a person’s full name in the greeting, for example, “Dear Suzan St Maur.” I don’t know about you, but this irritates the hell out of me and I wouldn’t recommend it.

So when your letter is addressed to “Mr. JC Jennings,” your salutation is “Dear Mr. Jennings.” If the information he has is simply “Joanna C Jennings,” he probably can take a chance and write a “Dear Mrs. Jennings” greeting. I don’t know many men Joannas, but don’t count on that…

Your signature will be “Sincerely.”

even less formal letters

This is where the influence of the Internet can be allowed to come in and give you some freedom from the formalities expected in, well, more formal letters.

If you’re writing to someone you know by their first name, then your greeting will be “Dear (name)” and you don’t need to sign “yours” unless you specifically want to. Common forms of farewell include “best regards” (US), “kind regards”, “best wishes”, etc.

design

This is not followed as strictly as it used to be, and it is now considered correct to design a letter design around the company letterhead design. The items you need, wherever you put them, should include:

Your business name and address (usually on the letterhead design)
The date
The recipient’s name, title, company name, and address.
The greeting (“dear so-and-so”)
The subject of the letter (“re:” whatever)
The body of the letter
The signature (“Yours whatever”)
Your own name and title

Traditionally, your own address should go at the top right of the letter, with the date below to the right. On the next line on the left margin, you put the name and address of the recipient. After one or two spaces, the “Dear (whoever)” goes below that. Two spaces below that, you can put your “re: (topic)” or just the topic in bold and/or underlined.

Once you’ve finished the body of the letter, create one or two spaces and place the signature in the range to the left or a few tabs to the right. Create a sufficient number of spaces for your signature, and then enter your name (and title, if applicable) so that it begins directly below the “Y” for “Yours.”

If your letter turns to a second page, where it breaks on page 1, create a space, and then to the right write “continuation.” You can start page 2 by simply entering “page 2” and starting again two or three spaces below. Some people create a mini-title for the second page with the recipient’s name on the left, the date in the middle, and the page number on the right, followed by an underline that runs across the entire page. This is useful if the two pages are separated.

Good. Now that we’ve established the ground rules, what do we say?

Keep the style sharp and simple.

Business letters are not literary works. They are verbal workhorses with the sole purpose of conveying information and what you want the reader to do with it, as quickly and clearly as possible.

Start by taking notes as you would to yourself. These notes will come out in a direct style naturally, because you don’t feel intimidated or uneasy when writing to yourself. Don’t limit yourself to one structure at this stage. Just write everything you can think of that should be included in the letter.

Now, match your notes to the sequence on one of the “skeletons” described below. Discard any notes that are not relevant.

If you build your letter this way, you’ll find your style to be clear and direct, with no adjectives, adverbs, business phrases, “corporate language,” or other business nonsense that some people use in business letters.

All you need to do then is tidy up with good editing and spell and grammar checking. (Although many people take a lenient view about spelling and grammatical errors in email, they stick out like sore thumbs in printed letters and make you look very amateurish.)

Build your content on a “skeleton”

You will typically identify the subject of the letter with “re: Your pending account” or, less formally, “Your pending account” in bold and/or underlined type. Then make notes or bullet points of the main topics you need to include, in a skeleton like this:

Typically these would be:

1. Background
I see from our records that you were first billed for this amount four months ago and statements have been sent to you every month since.

2. The complicated subject
This can’t go on, especially since you haven’t contacted us to discuss extending your credit.

3. What I want to happen now
Pay in the next seven days

4. or
We will be forced to initiate legal proceedings against you.

5. Sweetener
If you pay by return, we will take no further action and will restart your 30-day credit as before

6. Next move
Please contact me urgently and let me know what you plan to do.

Same skeleton, different content

You can use this skeleton for a number of business letter purposes. However, not all business letters have you sitting so comfortably in the driver’s seat. Let’s say you were the recipient of this letter and want more time to pay. The elements remain the same, but we approach it from a different angle…

1. Background
Thanks for letting me know about this. I had no idea we were paying so late.

2. The complicated subject
We are experiencing serious cash flow issues at the moment, but we have taken steps to rectify this and anticipate that the issue will be resolved within the next 3 weeks.

3. What I want to happen now
Would you consider extending our credit for a while longer, perhaps with interest chargeable at a rate we can agree on?

4. or
We would really like to continue purchasing our supplies from you, but if we start a dispute, we will lose goodwill and our business relationship will end.

5. Sweetener
I can assure you that our cash flow problem is temporary and we want to preserve our business relationship with you if possible.

6. Next move
I will call you in the next few days to discuss payment terms.

build your own skeleton

Obviously, that 6 point skeleton won’t work for all trading cards, but a shortened version will come in handy because you can rebuild it to suit any number of different needs. Here is the basic one that I use:

1. Background
2. The key issue
3. What will or should happen
4. What to do next

Any other advice? Only business letters should always be as short as possible. That is not as simple as it seems. Someone famous (I don’t remember who) once apologized for writing someone a long letter, since he didn’t have time to write a short one. It’s hard to write concisely, but if you use the skeleton and style tips above, you’ll find it a bit easier.

If you need to go into details, separate them into a separate (but attached) document and use the letter only as a summary of the problem and a call to action.

I’m not a social psychologist so I can’t cite a scientific reason, but separating the details from the key points usually means that both read more thoroughly. It’s probably because, by separating the two elements, it provides readers with more digestible snippets. Anyway, it works!