Inquiry Letters

A letter of inquiry is a request for information that the writer believes the reader can provide. Regardless of its subject, the objective is to get the reader to respond with an action that satisfies the inquiry. The action taken can benefit either the writer or the reader, and sometimes both. That being the case, the scope must include enough information to help the reader determine how best to respond.

How to write an inquiry letter:

• Be courteous. Remember, by making this request you are imposing on the reader’s time and/or resources.
• Don’t send an inquiry letter for information you could easily find out by other means, such as with a quick search on the Internet.
• Your letter can be fairly short, but it should be long enough to adequately explain what it is that you are inquiring about and what you want the reader to do in response to your letter.
• Generally, give at least a couple of weeks for the person, company, or organization to respond to your inquiry before you send a follow-up letter or make a follow-up phone call.
• If appropriate, you may want to mention that you will keep confidential any information provided. (This may increase the likelihood that the reader will respond to your inquiry.)
• Make it as easy as possible for the person to respond to your request. This might mean offering to pay for any needed photocopies or mailing costs, or perhaps including a self-addressed, stamped envelope; necessary forms, questionnaires, or other documents; and so forth.
• Make sure to include contact information so that the person can easily get in touch with you if necessary, such as your cell or home phone number or e-mail address.
• When the person responds to your inquiry, it is a good idea to send a quick note of thanks expressing your appreciation and telling how the information helped (or can help) you. If appropriate, you may want to offer to return the favor in the future.

How to respond to an inquiry letter:

• Specifically indicate the inquiry that was made, as you understand it.
• Express your appreciation for the person’s interest.
• If possible, personally respond to the inquiry. You might want to include with your response letter any brochures, catalogs, reports, or other helpful information available.
• If appropriate, clearly describe any action you feel the person should take and the reason(s) for such a recommendation. (However, you may want to use caution because of any possible liability you might incur for offering such advice.)
• If you cannot personally answer the person’s question, let him/her know that you have contacted the person who can and that he/she will shortly be in touch with the reader. If this is not possible, express your regret for being unable to help the reader, and try to find out for him/her the contact information for someone who can help.
• If appropriate, you might want to include additional information about your organization, the products or services you sell, or the subject matter of the inquiry, beyond the scope of the original inquiry.
• Close by saying that you would be happy to help the reader in the future if he/she needs further assistance or by wishing him/her well in his/her endeavor or project, etc.

Inquiry Letter Tips:

• Begin your letter by stating who you are and giving your status or position (such as student, researcher, interested consumer, etc.), and tell how you found out about the individual or entity that you are writing to.
• Clearly state what it is that you are inquiring about and what you would like the recipient of your letter to do. Make your inquiry as specific as possible.
• You might want to briefly explain the purpose of your letter or what you hope to accomplish. Such an explanation may prompt the recipient of your letter to act more quickly.
• If appropriate, consider mentioning the letter recipient’s qualifications for responding to your inquiry (this may prompt him/her to act when he/she might otherwise be hesitant to do so). For example, you could explain that you are writing to the reader because she is a leader in her field and the accepted authority on the subject you are interested in.
• Include the date by which you need the information, services, etc., that you are requesting, and indicate that you await the reader’s response.
• Thank the person for his/her time.

Sample Letter of Inquiry

The Virtual Community Group, Inc.
17 Park Road
Rural Town, NH

July 14, 2010

Jane Smith, Executive Director
Xavier Foundation
555 S. Smith St.
Washington, D.C. 22222

Dear Ms. Smith,

I am writing to inquire whether the Xavier Foundation would invite a proposal from the Virtual Community Group, Inc., requesting an investment of $50,000 per year over two years to support our Enterprise 2000 initiative. This grant would provide part of the funds needed for us to train at least 1200 low-income entrepreneurs in rural New Hampshire in the computer skills they need to create sustainable businesses as we enter the twenty-first century. Your literature indicates that the Xavier Foundation is searching for innovative ideas to improve the lives of the rural poor; we believe Enterprise 2000 falls well within your area of interest.

Information technologies are a promising solution to one of the primary obstacles facing the small rural enterprise: the geographic distances which inhibit networking with other businesses, and which segregate them from a larger marketplace. The Internet and other networks are now making it possible for entrepreneurs even in the most remote locations to communicate and do business on a region-wide, national, or even international basis. Working in conjunction with other organizations, Enterprise 2000 gives program participants technical skills training adapted to individual need; and, in collaboration with organizations which recondition and redistribute used computers, we also assure that they obtain the necessary computer hardware, at low or no cost.

We believe that broadly-implemented technical skills programs such as Enterprise 2000 have the potential to transform the lives of many struggling entrepreneurs, and change the economic landscape of impoverished rural communities. Unlike many poverty alleviation initiatives, all of the Virtual Community Group programs are predicated on the assumption that these entrepreneurs already have 90% of what it takes to compete in the marketplace -- intelligence, ambition, initiative, and talent. After two years of experimentation and program development, the Virtual Community Group has fashioned a superb, easily replicable model in Enterprise 2000, and established a high degree of credibility among community groups, policy makers, and funders. With your support, we can make that 10% difference in the lives of these hard-working people and the future of our rural communities.

Please feel free to call me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Executive Director

_________Better Widget Makers, Inc.__________

5555 Widget Avenue

Silver City, CO 80456

September 26, 2003

Mr. Russ Hamilton

Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Golden Bread Company

123 Loaf Street

Silver City, CO 80451

Dear Mr. Hamilton:

Construction on the new employee cafeteria at Better Widget Makers, Inc. is nearing

completion and I am looking for a supplier capable of fulfilling our weekly bakery needs.

Do you have an information packet that would help me project the cost of doing business

with your company? We will need daily deliveries of pastries, pies, dinner rolls and

sandwich bread. Our facility operates 24/7, Monday through Friday, with a flextime

workforce of 1,500 employees. To complete my operational budget I will need the

following information:

• Wholesale price sheets

• Quantity cost breaks

• Annual contract discounts

• Delivery and or any other service charges.

To submit my proposal to the finance committee at their October 20th meeting I will need

to receive your information by the 10th. I will also need to meet with you after reviewing

the requested materials. Please call me for an appointment at your earliest convenience.

My personal extension is 216-8080, # 29.

In keeping with long-standing policy we would like to place this contract locally. I look

forward to working with you and am hopeful that the Golden Bread Company can fulfill

our needs.

Sincerely,

Ida Mae Knott

Purchasing Agent

Business Letter Styles

Modified Block Style

Block Style

Semiblock Style

Elements Business letters (in the United States) usually contain the following elements, in order: Sender's address & contact information Date of writing Recipient's name, title, company, & address salutation/greeting Subject Message (body of the letter) Valediction/closing Sender's signature Sender's name, title, company In some situations, a business letter may also include the following optional information: Enclosures (Encl.: or Enc.:) Recipients (cc:) Reference Initials (of the typist, if different from original author of letter) Line Spacing In general, each element or paragraph of the letter is followed by a single blank line, except: the date, followed by three or four blank lines; the final content paragraph, followed by two blank lines; the valediction/closing, followed by three or four blank lines (enough for the sender to sign the letter); and the sender's title, followed by two blank lines. Sample Business Letters Full Block Business Letter Components This sample includes the formal components of full block business letters. Some of these components are optional for typical, employment-related business letters. You may download or copy samples, examples or templates of employment-related business letters, by clicking on the links below. Legend: Return Address: If your stationery has a letterhead, skip this. Otherwise, type your name, address and optionally, phone number. These days, it's common to also include an email address. Date: Type the date of your letter two to six lines below the letterhead. Three are standard. If there is no letterhead, type it where shown. Reference Line: If the recipient specifically requests information, such as a job reference or invoice number, type it on one or two lines, immediately below the Date (2). If you're replying to a letter, refer to it here. For example, Re: Job # 625-01 Re: Your letter dated 1/1/200x. Special Mailing Notations: Type in all uppercase characters, if appropriate. Examples include SPECIAL DELIVERY CERTIFIED MAIL AIRMAIL On-Arrival Notations: Type in all uppercase characters, if appropriate. You might want to include a notation on private correspondence, such as a resignation letter. Include the same on the envelope. Examples are PERSONAL CONFIDENTIAL Inside Address: Type the name and address of the person and/or company to whom you're sending the letter, three to eight lines below the last component you typed. Four lines are standard. If you type an Attention Line (7), skip the person's name here. Do the same on the envelope. Attention Line: Type the name of the person to whom you're sending the letter. If you type the person's name in the Inside Address (6), skip this. Do the same on the envelope.. Salutation: Type the recipient's name here. Type Mr. or Ms. [Last Name] to show respect, but don't guess spelling or gender. Some common salutations are Ladies: Gentlemen: Dear Sir: Dear Sir or Madam: Dear [Full Name]: To Whom it May Concern: Subject Line: Type the gist of your letter in all uppercase characters, either flush left or centered. Be concise on one line. If you type a Reference Line (3), consider if you really need this line. While it's not really necessary for most employment-related letters, examples are below. SUBJECT: RESIGNATION LETTER OF REFERENCE JOB INQUIRY Body: Type two spaces between sentences. Keep it brief and to the point. Complimentary Close: What you type here depends on the tone and degree of formality. For example, Respectfully yours (very formal) Sincerely (typical, less formal) Very truly yours (polite, neutral) Cordially yours (friendly, informal) Signature Block: Leave four blank lines after the Complimentary Close (11) to sign your name. Sign your name exactly as you type it below your signature. Title is optional depending on relevancy and degree of formality. Examples are John Doe, Manager P. Smith Director, Technical Support R. T. Jones - Sr. Field Engineer Identification Initials: If someone typed the letter for you, he or she would typically include three of your initials in all uppercase characters, then two of his or hers in all lowercase characters. If you typed your own letter, just skip it since your name is already in the Signature Block (12). Common styles are below. JAD/cm JAD:cm clm Enclosure Notation: This line tells the reader to look in the envelope for more. Type the singular for only one enclosure, plural for more. If you don't enclose anything, skip it. Common styles are below. Enclosure Enclosures: 3 Enclosures (3) cc: Stands for courtesy copies (formerly carbon copies). List the names of people to whom you distribute copies, in alphabetical order. If addresses would be useful to the recipient of the letter, include them. If you don't copy your letter to anyone, skip it. Tips: Replace the text in brackets [ ] with the component indicated. Don't type the brackets. Try to keep your letters to one page, but see page 2 of this sample if you need continuation pages. How many blank lines you add between lines that require more than one, depends on how much space is available on the page. The same goes for margins. One and one-half inch (108 points) for short letters and one inch (72 points) for longer letters are standard. If there is a letterhead, its position determines the top margin on page 1. If you don't type one of the more formal components, don't leave space for them. For example, if you don't type the Reference Line (3), Special Mailing Notations (4) and On-Arrival Notations (5), type the Inside Address (6) four lines below the Date (2). Simplified Style Simplified Style is a form letter similar to the Straight shape fully but it’s just that without any greeting and closing greetings. Usually this letter in addressed to the people who were working in the company. Sometimes a simple form of letter writing is very simple without the need to look at tidiness and order. Parts of the letter of the Simplified Style : 1. Letterhead 2. The date of the letter 3. Letter No. 4. Attachment 5. Concerning 6. The letter is aimed at 7. A word of salutation 8. Body of the text 1. Introduction letter 2. Explanation of the contents of the letter 3. Closing the letter 9. Closing Greetings 10. Name of office 11. Signature 12. Who signed the name 13. Carbon copy 14. Page appendix letter / Initials