Business Introductions - How to Write Letters of Introduction to Get Doors Open

Letters of Introduction can span a variety of professional topics. Very often, they introduce new team members to customers and clients, or they introduce new businesses to a targeted, specific market. In all cases, Introduction Letters are written to develop some sort of business relationship. These letters differ somewhat from traditional Sales letters in that they are used more to announce the a new business presence than to advertise. A Sales letter describing a specific product is an excellent follow up to an Introduction Letter.

When writing your Letter of Introduction, follow this outline:

Format

1. Use the Modified format arrangement for this type of Letter of Introduction:

a. Place the return address to the right margin of the page with the first character of each line directly beneath the first character of the previous

b. make two line feeds

c. place the date against the left margin of the page

d. make two line feeds

e. place the addressee's address directly below the date against the left margin of the page

f. make three line feeds

g. begin each paragraph of the body against the left margin

h. make two line feeds below the last line of the body

i. place the closing and signature block against the left margin.

Wording

1. In the first paragraph, as in our letter above, open simply with a greeting that includes your business name, address and points of reference.

2. Your Introduction Letter should target a specific customer, client or business. Once youve decided who that customer is, write your second paragraph describing how one of your products greatly satisfies that customers need. If possible, offer in this paragraph any offer you can provide. Look at the second paragraph of our letter for wording that makes the reader feel as if youve written this letter specifically for them.

3. The third paragraph should give some information about your store. In our letter, weve used words to establish in the readers mind the idea that our business has been around for a while. We closed this paragraph by using words to coax the reader to visit.

Tone

1. Remain upbeat and professional throughout your letter.

Email

1. With time being more and more, sending a Letter of Introduction via email, once considered a faux pas, is now becoming increasingly more accepted.

a. Send your letter in the same format as you would for snail mail this conveys to the reader that you took the time to create a professional correspondence.

b. Depending on the circumstances, send the message from the appropriate email account: personal email account for a personal correspondence, professional email account for professional correspondence.

Printing

1. Before printing, decide on what paper to use. For Letters of Introduction, it is best to use common bond paper.

2. Make three carriage returns between the closing and your typed signature. Inside this space, sign your name for professional correspondence. For personal correspondence, there is no need for a typed signature. Simply, sign your name.

3. Print your letter and envelope on the same printer using the same font and an envelope that matches the stationery.

Following Up

1. Many professional letters are, in reality, a correspondence used to ensure the doors of communication stay open between you and the reader. In many cases, the person to whom you are sending a letter is in a position to help your business.

a. Mark your calendar to contact the addressee again in a given time span.

b. With this second correspondence, ask to arrange a meeting.

Rob Noyes owns and operates the Internet's premiere Personal and Business Letter-writing site, LetterRep.com. Contact Rob at admin@letterrep.com for answers and solutions to common letter-writing situations.