Business Correspondence | Page 5

a dominating personality. The letter can minimize this handicap by an
attractive dress and force attention through the impression of quality.
The letter lacks the animation of a person but there can be an
individuality about its appearance that will assure a respectful hearing
for its message.
The personal representative can time his call, knowing that under
certain circumstances he may find his man in a favorable frame of mind,
or even at the door he may decide it is the part of diplomacy to
withdraw and wait a more propitious hour. The letter cannot back out
of the prospect's office; it cannot shape its canvass to meet the needs of
the occasion or make capital out of the mood or the comments of the
prospect.
The correspondent cannot afford to ignore these handicaps under which
his letter enters the prospect's office. Rather, he should keep these
things constantly in mind in order to overcome the obstacles just as far
as possible, reinforcing the letter so it will be prepared for any situation
it may encounter at its destination. Explanations must be so clear that
questions are unnecessary; objections must be anticipated and answered
in advance; the fact that the recipient is busy must be taken into
account and the message made just as brief as possible; the reader must
be treated with respect and diplomatically brought around to see the
relationship between his needs and your product.
But while the letter has these disadvantages, it possesses qualities that
the salesman lacks. The letter, once it lies open before the man to
whom you wish to talk, is your counterpart, speaking in your words just
as you would talk to him if you were in his office or in his home. That
is, the right letter. It reflects your personality and not that of some third
person who may be working for a competitor next year.
The letter, if clearly written, will not misrepresent your proposition; its
desire for a commission or for increased sales will not lead it to make
exaggerated statements or unauthorized promises. The letter will reach
the prospect just as it left your desk, with the same amount of
enthusiasm and freshness. It will not be tired and sleepy because it had

to catch a midnight train; it will not be out of sorts because of the poor
coffee and the cold potatoes served at the Grand hotel for breakfast; it
will not be peeved because it lost a big sale across the street; it will not
be in a hurry to make the 11:30 local; it will not be discouraged
because a competitor is making inroads into the territory.
You have the satisfaction of knowing that the letter is immune from
these ills and weaknesses to which flesh is heir and will deliver your
message faithfully, promptly, loyally. It will not have to resort to clever
devices to get past the glass door, nor will it be told in frigid tones by
the guard on watch to call some other day. The courtesy of the mail
will take your letter to the proper authority. If it goes out in a dignified
dress and presents its proposition concisely it is assured of a
considerate hearing.
It will deliver its message just as readily to some Garcia in the
mountains of Cuba as to the man in the next block. The salesman who
makes a dozen calls a day is doing good work; letters can present your
proposition to a hundred thousand prospects on the one forenoon. They
can cover the same territory a week later and call again and again just
as often as you desire. You cannot time the letter's call to the hour but
you can make sure it reaches the prospect on the day of the week and
the time of the month when he is most likely to give it consideration.
You know exactly the kind of canvass every letter is making; you know
that every call on the list is made.
The salesman must look well to his laurels if he hopes to compete
successfully with the letter as a selling medium. Put the points of
advantage in parallel columns and the letter has the best of it; consider,
in addition, the item of expense and it is no wonder letters are
becoming a greater factor in business.
The country over, there are comparatively few houses that appreciate
the full possibilities of doing business by mail. Not many appreciate
that certain basic principles underlie letter writing, applicable alike to
the beginner who is just struggling to get a foothold and to the great
mail-order house with its tons of mail daily. They are not mere theories;
they are fundamental principles that have been put to the test, proved

out in thousands of letters