The importance of letter writing

The letters we write can spell the difference between making and missing an important sale, between landing and losing a job, between a yes and a no from the girl or boy of our dreams. A neighbor of mine recently wrote to two contractors for

bids on a concrete driveway. Here’s the beginning of one reply: “Dear Mr…………………………. : I

am offering you a special price because I am having a slack season now. I have some debts to pay and this work will be a big help to me.” The second began: “Dear

Mr………… : 1 can give you a good solid driveway with a six-inch bed of cinders and

three inches of concrete. Properly graded and drained, this should last you 20 years without cracking.” The second man got the job. Why? Because he told my neighbor what he wanted to know, not how much good the job would do the contractor. He followed the first principle of good letter-writing, one I’ve hammered at in my classes for years: think of your reader’s problems, not of your own.