How to Compose an Effective Letter and Memo to Correspond With Sales and Advertising Staffs

When you correspond with your sales andhandle, or (3) tossing them in wastebasket.
advertising staffs, keep in mind that the recipientsThe value of brevity
of your letters and memos are people who areIn this age of electronic communications
accustomed to words and phrases that areequipment when personalized letters can be
forceful and promotional. They are likely to reactdispatched, by the dozens, and even hundreds,
well to descriptions that use positive, persuasive,people welcome letters that are necessary, to
and compelling statements. Here are a fewthe point, and brief. How do you avoid sending out
examples of vigorous, expressiveletters that are plodding and overwritten? Try the
language:stunning successsignificantfollowing steps:
achievementspositive goalsaggressive1. Limit each letter you send to just one topic. It
actioncommanding leadassertiveis better to send three letters on three topics (at
discussionsauthoritative forecastingprofessionalwell-spaced intervals) than try to cram everything
standingdynamic leadershipemphaticinto one missive.
rebuttalelectrifying statements2. Write a preliminary draft and review it carefully.
When communicating with people who are3. Cut everything that is repetitious.
involved with selling, advertising, promoting,4. Condense every sentence that seems lengthy.
marketing, and similar fields of activity, don't be5. Avoid side comments about non-relevant
afraid to speak out in strong terms. And at allmatters.
times, avoid meaningless phrases. Some of the6. Substitute short words for long ones.
worst offenders are phrases like these:7. Limit your entire message (salutation and closing
I want to thank you..included) to one page.
After due consideration..8. Use note-size paper for very brief messages.
As one who has always been known for..9. Consider sending a postcard where the
You may wonder why I am taking the time..message is very brief and the subject is not
Basic preparationsconfidential - neatly typed and properly spaced.
Many letter writers find it helps to compose aWhat to do when you cannot be brief
good letter if they jot down notes first on pieceOccasionally, when you write salespeople,
of paper to indicate the point(s) they want toadvertising colleagues, and vendors, brevity is
make and the reaction they hope to get fromalmost impossible. You may have to describe new
the recipient. If they have difficulty deciding whatproducts, explain changes in service, or discuss
they want to say, then perhaps it is better not toneeds for new kinds of supplies and equipment.
write the letter at all. There is always anSince experience demonstrates that very few
exception. One famous letter began, "I am writingsmall-business owners and managers are skilled
to tell you I have nothing to tell you.." In effect,enough to write a letter that is more than two
he did have something to convey: that all waspages of single-spaced type, the odds are against
going well and that the recipient should be assuredyour doing a good job. What's the alternative?
that he was not beset by any immediateWhen describing product or service that is
problems.specialized or highly technical and requires a
Be specific. We are all only too familiar with longdetailed summary, it is usually best to make the
letters that ramble on and on and leave usprimary letter short and to the point and enclose
wondering just why they were ever sent oran insert. As noted earlier, an attractive,
what we are expected to do, or how we shouldwell-designed envelope stuffer, printed by the
react. Unfortunately, we usually react by (1)supplier, is generally more convincing than a
shoving them in a drawer with miscellaneoustypewritten description in the body of a letter.
papers, (2) giving them to someone else to