Follow-Up Letters

“Don’t fill more than a page and a half with apologies for not having written sooner!”

(Lewis Carroll, Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing)

 

A Follow-Up Letter (postal or via email) refers to an earlier letter, conversation, or meeting and is a graceful way of tying up a loose end, reminding someone to carry through on a promised action, building on something that went before, or spreading goodwill. This little personal touch, which takes three minutes, makes an enormous impression. The ones who do it regularly in business are such standouts. They’re the ones who jump ahead.

 

Write a Follow-Up Letter When

 

• You have not had a response to a letter of yours and you need to remind someone that you are waiting for answers, information, confirmation, or merchandise.

 

• Your telephone messages have not been returned.

 

• You wish to remind someone of an appointment, meeting, favor, request, inquiry, invitation, payment, or work deadline.

 

• A Sales Letter or Product Literature has not produced a response.

 

• Your initial sales letter brings a response (order, expression of interest, request for more information) and you want to amplify the material in your first letter, encourage the customer to order or to buy again, and to keep in touch with the customer for goodwill reasons.

 

• You want to follow-up on a Sales Call or demonstration.

 

• You want to verify with a customer that a shipping problem or missing order has been settled to their satisfaction.

 

• After business lunches, dinners, meetings, or other hospitality you want to express appreciation and acknowledge what was accomplished.

 

• You wish to sum up what was accomplished in a meeting or interview so that there is a record and so that your estimate of what went on can be verified by others.

 

• You need to confirm a meeting date, a telephone or other oral agreement, a message left with a third-party.

 

• A gift you sent has not been acknowledged and you want to know whether it arrived.

 

• You have visited a school, university, or college as a prospective student, or have attended a meeting as a guest and potential member, and wish to express your appreciation and impressions.

 

• Someone has visited your school, university, college, or organization as an applicant and you wish to express appreciation and the hopes that they are interested.

 

• You want to send omitted or supplemental material or to revise an earlier correspondence.

 

So, now we know when the right time is to send a Follow-Up Letter but, how about HOW to write that letter?

Read More Here: How To Write Follow-Up Letters