Reply To Enquiry Letter

1. Introduction Replies to enquiries can be positive, for example when you give the reader information, or agree to do something. They can also be negative, saying you are unable to help, or do not have the information, service or product that the reader has asked for. If the letter is positive it may also have the purpose of persuading the reader to do something such as buying a product or booking a service. In order to do this, you might want to include extra information or attractive-sounding descriptions. ou will certainly want to make a good impression on the reader by sounding helpful, business-like, and efficient. !etters replying to an enquiry usually finish with an offer to give more information or further help if this is needed. If the letter is negative, the negative information should usually be given in a way that does not preclude further contact" you might be writing to a potential colleague or customer in the past. In a negative letter, you might want to offer a solution to the problem, despite being unable to help personally. 2. Discussion 2.1 Part of Reply to Enquiry Letter a Opening #ention your prospective customer$s name. If the customer signs the letter #r. %. &reen, then begin 'ear #r &reen, not 'ear (ir, which would indicate that you have not even bothered to remember the enquirer$s name. Thank the writer for his enquiry. #ention the date of his letter and quote any other references that appear. )xample " Thank you for your enquiry of June 6th 1984 in which you asked about...

I would like to thank you for your enquiry of May 10 and I a that we would be able to su!!ly you with the...

!leased to tell you

"e were !leased to hear fro your letter of 10 #ece ber that you were i !ressed with our selection of... Thank you for your letter $J 1691 which we recei%ed this ornin&.

b Confir ing t!at you can !elp !et the writer know as soon as possible if you have the product or can provide the service he is enquiring about. It is irritating to read a long letter only to fine that the firm cannot help. )xample " "e ha%e a wide selection of sweaters that will a!!eal to aita&es' and in !articular the teena&e arket which your s!ecified. (ur factory would ha%e no !roble your enquiry. "e can su!!ly fro stock and will ha%e no trouble in eetin& your deli%ery date. I a !leased to say that we will be able to deli%er the trans!ort facilities you require. "e can offer door) to)door deli%ery ser%ice. c "elling your product )ncourage or persuade your prospective customer to do business with you. * simple answer that you have the goods in stock is not enough. our customer might have made ten other enquiries, so remember it is not only in sales letters that you have to persuade. #ention one or two selling points of your product, including perhaps any guarantees your offer. in turnin& out the 6000 units you asked for in

)xample " "e think you ha%e colour. (nce you ha%e seen the #elta 800 in o!eration we know you will be i !ressed by its trouble)free !erfor ance. "e can assure you that the ( e&a +000 is one of the ost outstandin& achines ade an e*cellent choice is selectin& this line' and once you

ha%e seen the sa !les we are sure you will a&ree that this is unique both te*ture and

on the arket today' and our confidence in it is su!!orted by our fi%e)year &uarantee. d "uggesting #lternati$es If you do not have what the enquirer has asked for, but have an alternative, offer it to him. %ut do not critici+e the product he originally asked for. )xample " ,and while this en&ine has all the qualities of the dri%e has the added ad%anta&e of ha%in& fewer It also sa%es on oil as it, The odel has now been i !ro%ed' its steel casin& ha%in& been re!laced by !lastic which is li&hter' ore durable and stron&er. (f course leather is an e*cellent aterial to work with in the u!holsterin& of ore odel you asked for' the -ower

o%in& !arts' so less can &o wron&.

furniture but escalatin& costs ha%e !ersuaded custo ers to look for so ethin&

co !etiti%e in !rice. .ortunately Tareton -lastics ha%e !roduced an a a/in& substitute' 01etherine2' which has the sa e te*ture' stren&th and quality of leather' but is less than a quarter of the cost. The sa !les enclosed will con%ince you, e Referring t!e Custo er Else%!ere It is possible, or course, that you may not be able to handle the order or answer the enquiry. our correspondent may be asking about a product you do not have or service you do not give. If this is so, tell him and is possible refer him elsewhere. )xample "

I re&ret to say that we no lon&er !roduce the ty!e of sta!ler you refer to. 3ince we find there is no lon&er sufficient de and for it. I2 sorry we cannot be of hel! to you. The book you ention is not !ublished by us. 4ut by 5reenhill 6ducation 1td. If

you would care to write to the ' their address is, "e no lon&er anufacture !ure cotton shirts as their retail !rices tend only to arket. 7ll our &ar ents are now !oly)cotton. "hich is

attract the u!!er end of the

stron&er needs little ironin&' and allows %ariations in !atterns. 8owe%er' if you are still set on !ure cotton &ar ents' we ad%ise you to contact 1ouis .ashions 1td. at, 6%en if the !roduct is yours' you ay still ha%e to refer the enquirer elsewhere. I confir that the !roduct you require is one of ours' but since we are able to

deal only with wholesalers' not retailers. May I refer you to 4ri&ht 9 :o. 1td. at 118 .irshill ;ead,< (ur a&ents in Italy are Intal 3.!.7' =ia 7lberto -oe o >9' ;o e' and they carry a full stock of our &oods. f Catalogues& price list& prospectuses& sa ples #ake sure that you enclose current catalogues and price-list if you are sending them. *nd if price are sending them. *nd if prices are sub,ect to change, then let your customer know. It is bad policy to suddenly send a letter telling him that prices have been increased by -./ after you have quoted a firm price. *nd if you know they will follow the letter immediately by separated post.

)xample " -lease find enclose our current catalo&ues and !rice)list quotin& c.i.f !rices ?obe. The units you referred to in you letter are featured on !! @1)@4 under catalo&ue nu bers A@+)A@>. "hen orderin& could you !lease quote these nu bers< The sa !les you asked for will follow by se!arate !ost.

"e ha%e enclosed our booklet on the ( e&a +000 and are sure you will a&ree that it is one of the finest achines of its kind. It can be ada!ted to your s!ecifications and details of this are on !a&e 1+ under the headin& 03tructural :han&es2. "e ha%e sent you our su er catalo&ue which infortunately is only !rinted in

6n&lish. 8owo%er' we ha%e enclosed a 5er an translation for the rele%ant !a&es B11) 4CD and ho!e this will !ro%e hel!ful. ,and we ha%e enclosed our !rice)list' but should !oint out that !rices are subEect to chan&e as the arket for raw aterials is %ery unstable at !resent. g De onstration& representati$es& s!o%roo $isits

0ertain products, e.g. heavy equipment, machinery, installations, may need demonstrating. In these cases the company might send a representative, or advisor if equipment is to be installed. They could, howover, suggest that the customer visits their agent in his own country, or a stockiest with a showroom. )xample " "e ha%e enclosed all the details about the 1aren welder' but feel that a de onstration will &i%e you can see the achine in action. 7s the enclosed illustrated booklet cannot really show the efficiency of the .arnon word)!rocessor' can we send our re!resentati%e to you with a enclosed !re)!aid card and return it to us. The enclosed catalo&ue will &i%e you an idea of the ty!e of sound equi! ent we !roduce' but ay we su&&est that you %isit our a&ent2s showroo s in 4ristol where you can see a wide ran&e of units< The address is, "e will be able to instal the equi! ent within three onths' but would like to send Mr T. 5riffith' our chief en&ineer to look o%er your !lant and !re!are a re!ort on the installation' takin& into account your !articular require ents. ! Closing odel of the achine' and he can &i%e you a de onstration< If you are interested in a %isit' !lease fill in the ore of an idea of its ca!abilities. "e would therefore like to in%ite you to our centre in 4ir in&ha where the equi! ents is set u! and you

*lways thank the customer for writing to you. If you have not done so in the beginning of the letter, you can do so at the end. enquiries. )xample " (nce a&ain we would like to thank you for writin& to us and would welco e any further !oints you would like us to answer. -lease write to us a&ain if you ha%e any questions' or call us at the abo%e tele!hone nu ber. I a sorry we do not ha%e the odel you asked for' but I can !ro ise you that the eet your e*!ectations' and re e ber we ou should also encourage further

alternati%e I ha%e su&&ested will certainly offer a full &uarantee for three years.

"e ho!e to hear fro you a&ain' soon. 7nd can assure you that your order will be dealt with !ro !tly. 2.2 'uotation In your reply to an enquiry, you may want to go as far as giving your prospective customer a quotation. %elow is a guide to the sub,ects you should cover in your quotation. -. 1rices 2hen a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer quotes a price, he may or may not include other costs and charges such as transport, insurance and taxes 3e.g.in the 45, 6alue *dded Tax or 6*T7. 1rices which include these extra cost are known as gross prices, those which exclude them are known as net prices. )xample " The net !rices of this article is F10.00' to which &ross !rice of F10.80. "e can quote ' those which e*clude the are known as net !rices. The net !rices of this article is F10.00' to which &ross !rice of F10.80. "e can quote you a &ross !rice' inclusi%e of deli%ery char&es' of F@>.C0 !er 100 ite s. These &oods are e*e !t fro =7T. ust be added =7T at 8G' akin& a ust be added =7T at 8G' akin& a

7 fir 2s quotation is not necessarily le&ally bindin&' i.e. they do not always ha%e to sell you the &oods at the !rice they quoted in their re!ly to an enquiry. 8owe%er' when !rices tend to fluctuate' the su!!lier will add a !ro%ision to their quotation statin& that their !rices are subEect to chan&e. If the co !any akes a fir offer' it eans they will hold the &oods for a certain ti e until you order' e.&. fir 14 days. 7&ain' this is not le&ally ay be co !elled by increased ediately if bindin&' but su!!liers &enerally kee! to their offer to !rotect their re!utation. The !rices quoted abo%e are !ro%isional' since we this ha!!ens. "e can offer you a !rice of F6.+9 !er ite ' fir subEect to an increase of CG. "hene%er !ossible you should quote !rices in your custo er2s currency' allowin& for e*chan&e fluctuations. The !rice of this e*chan&e. 8. Transport and insurance costs In commerce there are a number of abbreviations that explain which price is being quoted to the customer. The list below is in rough order of the greatest number of extra costs to be carried by the buyer. )xample " a. )x-works3ex-factory, ex-mill, ex-warehouse7 The buyer will have to pay all the costs once the goods have left the factory, mill, or warehouse. If you are quoted any of these prices you will have to pay for insurance and transport yourself. - f.o.r. 3free on rail7 The !rice quoted co%ers the cost to the nearest railway station. - f.a.s. 3free alongside ship7 There are no e*tra char&es u! to takin& the &oods to the side of the shi!.In so e !orts s all boats Bbar&es' li&hterD are used to take the &oods to the shi! and an odel of cassette !layer is +800 4el&ian francs at today @ rate of +1 days' after which the !rice will be costs of raw aterials to increase our !rices to custo ers. I will infor you i

f.a.s. quotation eans that there will be no char&e for this' but there will char&es for loadin& the &oods on to the shi!. - f.o.b 3free on board7 1oadin& on to the shi! is included in the !rice quoted. - c. 9 f. 3cost and freight7 In this case the !rice includes cost and shi!!in& to the destination na ed' e.&. F@00.00 c. 9 f. 8on&kon&. 4ut note that insurance is not included.

- c.i.f. 3cost, insurance, and freight7 7s the ter indicates' the !rices included all costs u! to the na ed detination' e.&. FC00. 00 c.i.f. 4o bay. $ote that so e of the abo%e abbre%iations ay also be written without full sto!s andHor in ca!ital letters Be.&. :I.' ..(.;.D. This book uses these abbre%iations as abo%e' but you ay co e across %ariations elsewhere. b. )x-ship The importing port is named, and the price includes delivery to this port e.g. ex-ship #anila. c. :ranco quay The prices includes all costs up to the importer$s dockside, e.g. franco quay ;amburg. Two other term which should be noted, but are usually used only in the 4. 5. are " - 0arriage paid 3c.p. or c<p7 :har&es will be !aid by the sender e.&. "e are re!lacin& the da a&ed &oods and will send re!lace ents carria&e !aid. - 0arriage forward 3c.f. or 0<p7

The trans!ort char&es are !aid by the recei%er e.&. "e will send the re!lace ent &lasses but as you were res!onsible for the breaka&es. "e will send the carria&e forward.

=.

'isco

unts #anufacturers and wholesalers sometimes allow discounts to be deducted from the net or gross price. They may allow a trade discount to sellers in similiar trades or a quantity discount for orders over a certain amount or a cash discount if payment is made within a certain time e.g. seven days )xample " "e allow a @G discount for !ay ent within one onth. The net !rice of this odeo l is F>.C0 less 10G discount for quantities u! to 100 and 1C G discount for quantities o%er 100. "e do not nor ally &i%e discounts to !ri%ate custo ers but because of your lon& association with our co !any we will allow you +0G off the retail !rice. The !rices quoted are c. 9 f. Aokoha a but are subEect to a +0G trade discount off net !rice and we will allow a further +0G trade discount off net !rice for orders of ore than +000 units. >. #ethod of payment 2hen quoting terms, you may require or at least suggest, any of several methods of payment 3letter of credit, bill of exchange, etc.7 :or a full treatment of this sub,ect, see ?.=.-<8 and @.A<B. )xample " If you would kindly send us your !ersonal cheque for the a ount quoted. "e will then send the article by re&istered all. -a% ent for initial orders should be ade by si&ht draft. -ayable at #en $orske :redit bank. ?irke&aten +1. (slo 1. :ash a&ainst docu ents A. Cuoting 'elivery If the enquiry specifies a delivery date, confirm that it can be met, or it not, suggest an alternative date. 'o not make a promise that you cannot keep, it will give you a bad reputation, and if a delivery time is a condition of ordering, the customer could sue you if you break the contract or he could re,ect the goods. )xample "

,and we are !leased to say that we can deli%er by #ece ber 1st for the :hrist as rush. 7s there are re&ular sailin& fro $ew Aork' we are sure that the consi&n ent will reach you well within the ti e you s!ecified. "e ha%e the aterials in stock and will shi! the i ediately we recei%e your order.

7s there is a hea%y de and this ti e of year for heaters' you will ha%e to allow at least si* weeks for deli%ery. "e could not deli%er within two weeks of recei!t of order' as we would need ti e to !re!are the aterials. 8owe%er' if you could let us ha%e a onth' we could &uarantee deli%ery within that !eriod. ?. :ixed terms and negotiable terms It is possible to quote terms in two ways, by stating your and discounts without leaving room for negotiation, or by implying that the customer could write again and discuss them. In the two examples below, the companies make firm quotes, indicating that methods of payment and discounts are fixed. )xample " 7ll list)!rices are quoter f.o.b. 3outna !ton and are subEect to a +CG trade discount with !ay ent by letter of credit. The !rices quoted are e*)works' but we can arran&e frei&ht and insurance if required' and unless otherwise stated' !ay ent is to be ade by @0)day bill of e*chan&e' docu ents a&ainst acce!tance. In the ne*t two e*a !les' the use of the ad%erbs nor ally and usually soften the tone of the state ents to indicate that althou&h the fir !refers certain ter s' these can at least be discussed. In the final e*a !le the su!!lier e%en asks of this arran&e ent is satisfactory. "e usually offer an 18G trade discount on f.o.b. !rices' and would !refer !ay ent by irre%ocable letter of credit.

$or ally we allow a +@G trade discount off net !rices with !ay ent on a docu ents a&ain !ay ent basis. -lease let us know if this arran&e ent is satisfactory. B. &iving an estimate 0ompanies which are asked to estimate for a particular ,ob of work may include the estimate in tabulated form in a letter. #ore often, however, they will send their official estimate form with a covering letter *s you know, our representative has visited your factory to discuss the extension which you wish to add to it. *nd I know have pleasure in enclosing our official estimate. 2.( )!at "!ould )e Careful of Reply to Enquiry a. 'o not make any promises you cannot guarantee to keep. If the enquiry has been about discounts, delivery dates, or other factors which may be flexible, make it clear what you generally do. 'o not say what you will do in this case until you have agreed on something definite. b. 'o not cut of contact with someone you give a negative reply to. them in the future. Remember to thank the reader for the enquiry. c. 'o include all the information the reader has asked for. d. 'o apologi+e for not being able to help, if this is the case. e. 'o invite the reader to call or write to you again with further enquiries. Include the information 3phone number, email address7 that he or she might need to do this ou might need

E*a ple Reply to Enquiry Letter T;) %I& 0D. 0ilegon 2est Eava our ref " '(<RR 8 Euly 8..@ Dur ref " '!<R0 Thomas B 0o. !td. Regrent (treet >=A !ondon 2.i. 'ear #adam, Re " Request for 0atalogue Thank you for your inquiry letter of 8> Eune 8..@ and interested in our advertisement. *s requsted, we enclose herewith the latest illustrated catalogue together with price list and the terms. 'ispatch of poduct will be sent after we receive two weeks order letter, and we could give =/ cash discount in =. days from invoice date. 2e are looking forward to your order soon. ours faithfully, 'eli susilawati #arketing #anager )ncl. catalogue

0. 0onclusion