Business Letter Basics

No matter what type of business you operate, written communication will form a large component of your management duties. You will frequently be required to ‘put something in writing’, whether it’s to advise of your change of address or telephone details, to order products, to change an existing order, to complain about a product or service, in dealing with your accountant, solicitor or government agencies, or to reply to an invitation you have received.

To appear professional you should know the basic guidelines for letter writing. These include:

• Always include your business name, your name and position, your address and a contact telephone number. It’s easy to design a letterhead that can be stored on your computer and used for all correspondence, or you can have some letterhead printed;

• Always include a reference and reference number, item, account or policy number where relevant;

• Always be polite, even if you are dissatisfied about the issue;

• Always sign your letter (don’t laugh - I’ve seen many letters without signatures);

• Type all official correspondence wherever possible, and then sign your signature in ink at the bottom;

• ALWAYS keep copies of letters you send; and

• Always proofread your letters for errors.

If you will be sending lots of letters of a similar nature you may like to set them up on your computer as a template. If you don’t know how to set up templates or mail merge documents, I urge you to contact a reputable secretarial service or virtual assistant for assistance. Once set up, these templates will save you a lot of time.

Article Source: http://www.therepozitory.com.au

Donna-Marie Coggins is the owner of Jacaranda Business Support Services and YourSmallBizExpert.com, and Author of books such as Ready, Set, Go For It! The complete women’s guide to operating a small business in Australia. Offering writing, editing, mentoring and business planning/start-up support, she can be contacted at info@jacaranda-business-support.com. For your free guide, 60 FREE and low cost ways to get your business noticed, go to www.yoursmallbizexpert.com.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated