The Project Gutenberg eBook of How to Write Letters, by Mary Owens Crowther

1. Has he an account with you now? ________________________________
2. How long has he had the account? ________________________________
3. How does he pay? Prompt ________ Medium _________ Slow _________
4. Have you ever had difficulty in collecting? ________________________
5. What limit have you placed on the account? ________________________
6. Special information. _____________________________________________

In reply to your letter of October 14th in which you inquire concerning the responsibility of J. K. Cramer of New Sussex, Md., we are glad to help you with the following information.

Mr. Cramer has had a charge account with our store during the last five years. Our records show that he has always met our bills in a satisfactory manner. His account is noted for a monthly limit of $300, but he has never reached it.

Concerning Mr. J. K. C., about whom you inquired in your letter of October 14th, our records show that our experience with this account has not been satisfactory.

We find that during the last five years in which he has had an account with us he has caused us considerable trouble with regard to his payments. At the present moment he owes us $240 for purchases made approximately six months ago, to recover which amount we have instructed our attorneys to institute legal proceedings.

We are glad to give you the information you wish concerning our experiences with the A. B. C. Company, about whom you inquire in your letter of April 9th.

The company first came to us on November 8, 1920. On that date they purchased from us 50 lawn mowers at a total cost of $500. They took advantage of the discount by paying the bill on November 18th.

In January, 1921, they gave us an order for 100 at a total cost of $900. This bill they paid in February.

Their latest purchase from us was in July, 1921. At this time their order amounted to 25 lawn mowers. They paid the bill in October after we had sent them several requests for remittance.

We trust this information will be of some value to you in determining just what amount of credit you may feel justified in extending to them.

Whenever you wish to come in and purchase without cash, it will be a great pleasure to us to open a charge account with you.

We have made a record here in the store so that whenever you call it will have been arranged for you to purchase whatever you want.

We think you will approve of the character of service and the quality of merchandise. We wish to win not only your patronage, but your friendship for our store.

Every up-to-date woman realizes the many benefits, the conveniences, and even prestige she enjoys through having a charge account at a dependable store.

A store, in turn, is judged by its charge accounts—it is rated by the women who have accounts there.

And so, because of your standing in the community, if you avail yourself of our invitation to do your buying here, you are reflecting credit both on yourself and on us.

We hope you will decide to let us serve you—all our facilities are completely at your service.

We want to thank you for your order of November 10th, with your check enclosed in full payment. We appreciate the business you have been giving us. The thought has frequently occurred to us that you may desire the advantages of an open account with us. We believe that such an arrangement will make transactions more convenient. We therefore have the pleasure of notifying you that we have noted your account for our regular credit terms of 2% 10 net 30, up to a limit of $500.

We hope that both your business and our acquaintance with you will develop to such an extent that it will be a pleasure to extend to you from time to time larger credit accommodations to take care of your increasing needs.

The business relations between us have been so agreeable that we feel they will continue so. Please remember that if we can ever be of assistance to you in helping you in your business we only ask that you call upon us.

Collection letters may very easily be overdone. The old idea was that any expense or any threat was justified if it got the money, but among the more advanced collection departments common sense has crept in, and it has been ascertained by cost-finding methods that it is not worth while to pursue a small account beyond a certain point and that when that point is reached it is economy to drop the matter. How far it is wise to go in attempting to collect an account is an affair of costs, unless one has a penchant for throwing good money after bad.

The point to bear in mind in writing a collection letter is that it is a collection letter—that it is an effort to get money which is owed. It would not seem necessary to emphasize so entirely self-evident a point were it not unfortunately sometimes overlooked and the collection letter made an academic exercise. There is no excuse for a long series of collection letters—say eight or ten of them. After a man has received three or four letters you can take it for granted that he is beyond being moved by words. You must then have recourse to some other mode of reaching him. Drawing on a debtor is also of small use; the kind of a man who will honor a collection draft would pay his bill anyhow.

If a debtor has assets and there is no dispute concerning the account, he will usually pay. He may pay because you threaten him, but most people with the ability to owe money are quite impervious to threats, and although a threatening letter may seem to bring results, it can never be the best letter because on the other side of the ledger must be recorded the loss of the customer. The average writer of a collection letter usually gets to threatening something or other and quite often exposes himself to the danger of counter legal action. (See Chapter XI on The Law of Letters.)

The most successful collection men do not threaten. The best of them actually promote good-will through their handling of the accounts. The bully-ragging, long-winded collection letter has no place in self-respecting business. The so-called statements of collection by which papers drawn up to resemble writs are sent through the mails, or served, not only have no place in business but many of them are actually illegal.

The letters which are appended have been chosen both for their effectiveness and their courtesy. They represent the best practice. It is, by the way, not often wise for the creditor to set out his own need for money as a reason why the debtor should pay the account. It is true that the sympathy of the debtor may be aroused, but the tale of misery may lead him to extend comfort rather than aid. However, several such letters have been included, not because they are good but because sometimes they may be used.

Most firms have adopted a series of collection letters beginning with the routine card reminder of an overdue account and following with gradually increasingly personal second, third, fourth, and so on, letters.

THE ENCLOSED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT IS SENT TO YOU AS WE BELIEVE YOU HAVE OVERLOOKED ITS PAYMENT.
Stone Brothers

There appears an amount of $29.36 open in your name for the months of October to January which, according to our terms of sale, is now overdue, and if no adjustment is necessary, we trust you will kindly favor us with a check in settlement.

Specimens of business letterheads used by English firms Specimens of business letterheads used by English firms
Back to list of illustration

Our letters of February 15th and March 15th have brought no reply from you. Since they have not been returned by the Post Office we must presume that you received them.

You naturally wish to keep your credit clear. We wish to have it clear. It is really a mutual affair. Will you not send a check and keep the account on a pleasant basis?

We have no desire to resort to the law to collect the $29.36 due us, but unless your remittance is in our hands by May 1st, we shall take definite steps for the legal collection of your account. May we hear from you at once?

The following are collection letters of varying degrees of personal tone. In these seven letters are given the body of the letter, with the salutation and the complimentary close. Headings and signatures have been omitted.

A statement is enclosed of your account, which is now past due. A remittance will be appreciated.

We desire to call your attention again to your past-due account for the month of January for $90.52, a statement of which was mailed to you several weeks ago. We shall appreciate receiving your check in payment of this account by return mail.

Two weeks ago we mailed you a statement of account due at that time, and as we have heard nothing from you we thought it possible that our letter may have miscarried. We are sending you a duplicate of the former statement, which we hope may reach you safely and have your attention.

We call your attention to the enclosed statement of account which is now past due. We have sent you two statements previous to this, to which you seem to have given no attention.

It may be possible that you have overlooked the matter, but we hope this will be a sufficient reminder and that you will oblige us with a remittance without further delay.

We are enclosing a statement of your account and we request as a special favor that you send us a remittance previous to the 28th of this month if possible. The amount is small, but not the less important. We have unusually heavy obligations maturing on the first of next month and you will understand that for the proper conduct of business the flow of credit should not be dammed up.

In looking over your account for the last few months, it occurs to us that we are not getting a great deal of your business. If this is due to any failure or negligence on our part, perhaps you will undertake to show us where we are lacking because we surely want all of your business that we can get.

We wrote you on 18th February and enclosed a statement of your account. We hoped at the time that you would send us a check by return mail. If our account does not agree with your books, kindly let us know at once so that we may promptly adjust the differences.

We hope that you can accommodate us as requested in our previous letter and that we will hear from you by the 10th of March. We again assure you that a remittance at this particular time will be greatly appreciated.

Also please remember that we want your orders, too. Prices on copper wire are likely to make a sharp advance within a few days.

We are enclosing a statement showing the condition of your account at this writing, and we must ask you to be kind enough to do your utmost to forward us your check by return mail.

Our fiscal year closes January 31st and it is naturally our pride and endeavor to have as many accounts closed and in good standing as is possible for the coming year, and this can materialize only with your kind coöperation.

Letters of Application

I am nineteen, a high school graduate, quick and accurate at figures. I have a good position now, uptown, but I should prefer to be with some large corporation downtown. I am interested in a position with room at the top.

I am willing to work for $18 a week until I have demonstrated my ability and then I know you will think me worth more.

A letter or a telephone message will bring me in any morning you say to take your morning's dictation, write your letters, and leave the verdict to you.

This is in answer to your advertisement for a secretary. I have had the experience and training which would, I think enable me satisfactorily to fill such a position. I recognize, of course, that whatever my experience and training have been they would be worse than useless unless they could be modified to suit your exact requirements. (Here set out the experience.)

The lowest salary I have ever received was twelve dollars a week, when I began work. The highest salary I have received was thirty dollars a week, but I think that it would be better to leave the salary matter open until it might be discovered whether I am worth anything or nothing.

This is in answer to your advertisement for a secretary, in which you ask that the experience of the applicant be set forth. I have had no experience whatsoever as a secretary. Therefore, although I might have a great deal to learn, I should have nothing to unlearn.

I understand what is expected of a secretary, and I hope that I have at least the initial qualifications. I have had a fair education, having graduated from Central High School and the Crawford Business Academy, and I have done a great deal of reading. I am told that I can write a good letter. I know that I can take any kind of dictation and that I can transcribe it accurately, and I have no difficulty in writing letters from skeleton suggestions.

Your advertisement does not give the particular sort of business that you are engaged in, but in the course of my reading I have gathered a working knowledge of economics, finance, business practice, and geography, some of which might be useful. I am writing this letter in spite of the fact that you specified that experience was necessary, because one of my friends, who is secretary to a very well-known corporation president, told me that she began in her present place quite without experience and found herself helped rather than handicapped by the lack of it.

I am twenty-two years old and I can give you any personal or social references that you might care for. I have no ideas whatsoever on salary. In fact, it would be premature even to think of anything of the kind. What I am most anxious about is to have a talk with you.

Mr. A. C. Brown of the Bronson Company tells me you are in immediate need of a sales manager for the Western Illinois territory.

Western Illinois offers a promising opportunity for the sale of farm implements and devices. During my experience with the Johnson & Jones Company, I got to know the people of this section very well, and I know how to approach them. The farmers are well-to-do and ready for improvements that will better their homes, lands, and stock. There could not be a better place to start.

As Mr. Brown will tell you, I have been with the Bronson Company for five years. I started as clerk in the credit office, gradually working out into the field—first as investigator, then salesman, and for the last two years as sales manager of the Western Virginia territory. The returns from this field have increased 100 per cent. since I began. With the hearty coöperation of the men on the road, I have built up a system about which I should like to tell you. It would work out splendidly selling Defiance Harrows in Western Illinois.

My home is in Joliet and I want to make my headquarters there. I have no other reason for quitting the Bronson Company, who are very fair as far as salary and advancement are considered.

My telephone number is Cherry 100. A wire or letter will bring me to Columbus to talk with you.

This letter may be of some concern to you. I am not a man out of a job, but have what most men would consider one that is first-class. But I want to change, and if you can give me a little of your time, I will tell you why and how that fact may interest you.

In a word, I have outgrown my present position. I want to get in touch with a business that is wide-awake and progressive; one that will permit me to work out, unhampered, my ideas on office organization and management—ideas that are well-founded, conservative, and efficient. My present position does not give play to initiative.

If you at this time happen to be looking for a man really to manage your office, audit accounts, or take charge of credits, my qualifications and business record will show you that I am able to act in any or all of these capacities.

I have written with confidence because I am sure of myself, and if I undertake to direct your work, you may be assured that it has a big chance of being successful.

I wish to acknowledge your letter of application of December 8th. At present we have no vacancies of the type you desire. I am, however, placing your application on file.

I wish to acknowledge your letter of application of December 8th. At present we have no vacancies of the type that you desire. However, I should be very glad to have a talk with you on December 12th at my office at four o'clock.

Letters of Reference

I am looking for a position as cashier with the Bright Weaving Company. My duties there would be similar in every way to my work in your office, and a recommendation from you would help greatly.

Mr. Sawyer, the first vice-president of the Bright Weaving Company, knows you personally, hence an opinion from you would have particular effect.

Your kindness would be deeply appreciated, as have been all your kindnesses in the past.

A useful practice adopted by some firms is the requirement of a photograph from every applicant for a position.

His application states that he has been in your employ for three years and that he is leaving to take a position in this city.

As all applicants are required by us to furnish references as to character and ability, we shall appreciate your giving us the following information.

Is his statement correct?
Are his character and habits good?
Had he the confidence of his employers?
Can he fill the position for which he has applied?

Remarks: Signed

Dated

I have known the bearer, John Hope, for four years. He is of fine family and has been one of our most highly regarded young men. I would heartily recommend him.

The bearer, George Frothingham, is a young man of my acquaintance whom I know and whose family I have known for some time. They are splendid people. This boy is ambitious and thoroughly reliable. I hope you can find a place for him.

This is to certify that the bearer, Ernest Hill, is an acquaintance of mine, a man whom I know to be thoroughly trustworthy.

This is to certify that Joseph Rance has been in my employ for eighteen months. He is a most willing and able worker, honest, steady, and faithful. I regret that I was obliged to let him go from my employ. I feel very safe in highly recommending him to you.

At luncheon last Wednesday you mentioned that you were in need of another advertising writer. If the position is still open, I should like to recommend Mr. Bruce Walker.

When I first met Mr. Walker he was with Bellamy, Sears & Co., Boston, and was doing most of their newspaper advertising. His work was so good that I offered him a position as advertising writer with us. He accepted, with the approval of Bellamy Sears & Co., and has been with me for the last three years. He has written for us some of the best drawing copy that we ever used, and his work has been satisfactory in every way. He is original and modern in his advertising ideas, and knows how to express them forcefully but without exaggeration. His English is perfect.

I shall greatly regret losing Mr. Walker, but I cannot advance him above his present position, and I agree with him that he is equal to a bigger position than he has here. I hope you can give him the opportunity that he seeks. If you will see him personally, you will oblige both him and me.

Your influence and kindly interest have secured for me the position with Tully & Clark. I want to thank you for the excellent recommendation which you gave me and to assure you that I shall give my best attention to my new work.

Letters of Introduction

Accompanying this note you find letters of introduction which I hope will be what you want.

I am glad to give you these letters and should you need any further assistance of this kind, please consider me at your disposal.

This will introduce the bearer, Mr. Albert Hall, whom I personally know as being a gentleman in conduct and reputation.

Any courtesy shown to Mr. Hall I shall consider a favor to myself, and I ask for him all possible attention and service.

The bearer, David Clark, has been an acquaintance of mine for five years. He is a young man of good habits. I would recommend him for any position within his ability.

Mr. Walter Green, whom this will introduce to you, is a member of our Credit Department. He is visiting New York on a personal matter, but he has offered to make a personal investigation of the Crump case and I have advised him to see you, as the man who knows most about that affair. If you can find the time to give him a brief interview, you will do him a favor, and I also shall appreciate it.

The bearer of this letter, Miss Mildred Bryan, my stenographer, is available for a position, owing to the fact that I am moving my office to Cincinnati.

She is an unusually competent young woman—quick, accurate, intelligent, and familiar with the routine of a law office.

If you need a stenographer, you cannot do better than engage Miss Bryan, and I am taking the liberty of giving her this letter for you.

Letters of Application

Letters of Reference

Letters of Introduction

Letters of Inquiry