#9. MAKING A GENERAL BUSINESS

#9. MAKING A GENERAL BUSINESS

1.  A letter of acknowledging an enquiry

Acknowledging receipt of an enquiry/request
- Thank you for your letter of … regarding / concerning / in connection with …
- I refer to your enquiry about / relating to …
- I have received your letter of … requesting information about … 

Explaining action taken as a consequence of the enquiry
- I have (reviewed our available stock) … 
- We held a meeting on 21 January to discuss possible solutions. 
- I have checked/looked into/investigated (the possible approaches) …

Making suggestions / justifying recommendations / pointing out pros and cons / hedging 
- The best choice would be … since …
- I highly recommend … as / due to the fact that …
- … would probably be more suitable because …
- … seems to suit you better although …
- Perhaps you should choose … even though …
- I suggest that you (should) choose …
- I recommend this item since …
- In view of the fact that …, I would strongly recommend … as …

Apologising and rejecting proposals
- While I appreciate your firm’s need for this information, I regret that …
- It will not be possible to … for legal reasons. We are bound to …
- Your proposal is of interest to us, and we have had consultations about it. 
- However, we feel that it will not be in our interests to … for reasons of (privacy). 
- We are concerned that …

Stipulating action requested or to be taken
- We shall arrange for … by …at the latest. 
- I shall see to it that …
- Our company will arrange for …

Establishing goodwill and suggesting contact
- I hope this suggestion/information will be useful to you.
- I hope this information will prove useful to you.
- I hope that this information will help you to make decisions on your order.
- I look forward to hearing from you.
- I look forward to receiving your confirmation of …
- I look forward to doing business with your company in the future …
- Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further queries on …
- Do contact me on 27615432 if you need further information.
- Please do not hesitate to contact me on 27615432 if I can be of further assistance. 

Example :BUSINESS NAME

Door Number and Street Name,
Area Name,
Town Name - Postal Code,
PHONE : 0000-00000
FAX : 0000-00000

5th November - 2008


Reference No. : MMM / KOLK / 90099


To :

Mr. N.K. Tadani,
G.M-SCD & MPC,
Hindustan Automobiles Ltd.,
Panaji – 403 001.
Dear Sir,

Thank you for your kind letter of enquiry. We are delighted to be at the receiving end of it.

Please find herewith the copy of our product catalogue together with the company profile for your scrutiny. Also enclosed is the list of customers to whom we have been obliged to serve.
If you require any more details, you are welcome to put your queries. And it would be a great pleasure for us if you visit our works once at your convenient time.

We look forward to hear from you please.

Regards & thanks.

Yours very sincerely,

M.Nikhil Chowdry
G.M. : Sales Coordination
Note : Respond immediately to customer’s queries. Your language and etiquette ofmannerism determine the sales promotion. Ensure that a prospective client stays hooked in your list of customers.

Example letters

NOVELTY SAFETY EQUIPMENT LTD
14th Floor Shun Koo Building 
Aberdeen Hong Kong

18 May 2016

Attn: Mr Tim Lee 
Manager
Sun Lee Consultancy Ltd 
198 Fa Yuen Street 
Mongkok
Kowloon

Dear Mr Lee

Enquiry regarding fire extinguishers

Thank you for your enquiry regarding our newly released range of fire extinguishers.

You will see from the enclosed catalogue that the range has been extended to include some highly efficient portable extinguishers for use on construction sites.

We are offering to our existing customers a 15% discount on orders of extinguishers from this new range.

We look forward to your increased order at this discount rate.

Yours sincerely

Silvia Choi

Silvia Choi 
Merchandising Manager

Enc. 1

####

 Everlong Batteries ] 
171, Choi Hung Road
Hung Hom, Hong Kong
Tel/Fax 2235 2449

18 May 2016 

Mr J Wong
Purchasing Officer
Fortune Goods
317 Orchard Road
Singapore

Dear Mr Wong

Enquiry about Batteries

Thank you for your letter of Friday, 13 May 2016 regarding making copies of the sample battery you sent us.

I have investigated the situation and found that your specifications are exactly the same as the design of a proprietary camera battery manufactured by a large Japanese electronics company.

We feel that it would not be in our interests to supply this type of battery.

However, I would like to thank you for considering our company as your supplier.

I look forward to doing business with your company in the future

Yours sincerely

####

Gloria Business Consultants 
6 Floor, 67 Booth Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

18 May 2016 

Taifoon Trading Company
135 Tong Chong Road
Shaukiwan
Hong Kong

Dear Sir

Creating a New Image
Thank you for your letter of Friday, 13 May 2016 concerning the creation of a new image for the Yunan route.

We would like to congratulate your company on the inauguration of this new route. We are very much interested in helping to create a new image for it.

We would be pleased to quote prices and schedules if you could provide us with more detailed information.

May we suggest that we send two representatives, Mr. David Poon and Miss Cindy Tam to your office on Monday, 23 May 2016 at 10:00 a.m. for further discussions. Please do not hesitate to contact me if the date and time is not convenient for you. My telephone number is 2346-8999.

Yours faithfully

S. Kong

Simon Kong
Managing Director
 

2.  A letter of refusalX

Mrs. P Jones

 Manager

Cole & Sons

8 High Street

Euston London

UK

Dear Mrs. Jones,

Thank you for your enquiry of 25 August. We are always pleased to hear from a valued customer.

I regret to say that we cannot agree to your request for technical information regarding our software security systems. The fact is, that most of our competitors also keep such information private and confidential.

I sincerely hope that this does not inconvenience you in any way. If there is any other way in which we can help, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Yours sincerely,

Comments

This letter responds to an attempt by a client to obtain sensitive information. It states the company policy clearly, but softens the refusal by mentioning that the company is no different from other companies in this respect.

Alternative phrases

Line 1      Many thanks for . . .

Line 1      We are glad to hear from an old customer.

Line 3      I am sorry, but we . . .

Line 4      In fact. . .

Line 7      ... please contact us again.

Useful phrases

Line 1

We are always pleased to hear from a valued customer.

Line 3

I regret to say that we cannot agree to your request for . . .

Line 6

I sincerely hope that this does not inconvenience you in any way.

Line 6

If there is any other way in which we can help, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Notes

Para. 1

Identify the enquiry.

Para. 2

Reject the request politely and give the reason.

Para. 3

End with a friendly message.