国际商务英语Chapter10.BusinessLetters.pptVIP

Chapter 10,Business Letters,Different types of business letters,Establishing Business Relations Inquiry Letter Offers, Counter-Offers and Declining Offers Order and Order Acceptance Complaints and Claims,Establishing Business Relations,function: to enlarge business scope and turnover Merchants abroad may be approached through some of the following channels: communication in writing; attendance at the export commodities fairs; contact at exhibitions held at home or abroad; mutual visits by trade delegations and groups. Of all these channels, the first one is the most constantly used in business activities. But by what means can a writer of business letters secure all the necessary information about a new customer? He may do so by referring to or with the help of: the bank, the periodicals, the advertisements in newspaper, the introduction from his business connections, the market investigation, the Commercial Counselors office, the chamber of commerce both at home and abroad and self-introduction by merchants themselves.,a successful business letter of establishing business relations should contain the following: The source of his information. His intention. The business scope of his firm and also its branches and liaison offices, if any. The reference as to his firms financial position and integrity.,Inquiry Letter,When making an inquiry, begin with the question or questions you want to ask. Keep your inquiry short and to the point; say what needs to be said and then stop. One paragraph should only concern one question. Sometimes, inquiries follow the wish to establish business relations, thus there may be no individual inquiry letters.,Offers, Counter-Offers and Declining Offers,two types of offers: the non-firm offers and the firm offers. Non-firm offers are usually indicated by means of sending catalogues, price-lists, proforma invoices and quotations; though quotations with certain qualifying words sometimes play the function of firm offers. A firm offer is made when a seller promises to sell goods at a stated price within a stated period of time. The promise may be expressed (i.e. clearly stated in words), as when it takes the form of a letter; or it may be implied (i.e. understood), as when it takes the form of a quotation that contains the words for acceptance within seven days, or similar qualifying words. The firm offer creates a power of acceptance permitting the offeree by accepting the offer, to transform the offerors promise into a contractual obligation. Thus, once it has been accepted it cannot be withdrawn.,A satisfactory offer will include the following: 1) an expression of thanks for the inquiry, if any; 2) names of commodities, quality, quantity and specifications; 3) details of prices, discounts and terms of payment; 4) a statement or clear indication of what the prices cover (e.g. packing, freight and insurance); 5) packing and date of delivery; 6) the period for which the offer is valid. Without the last point, a firm offer can be turned into a non-firm offer.,Example 1: (offer) Dear Sirs, We confirm your mail of 2nd Sep. asking us to make you firm offers for both Groundnuts and Walnut-meat CFR Copenhagen. We mailed back this morning, offering you 250 metric tons of groundnuts, hand-picked, shelled and ungraded at RMB￥2,800 net per metric ton CFR Copenhagen or any other European Main Port for shipment during October/ November, 1995. This offer is firm, subject to the receipt of reply by us before 25th Sep. Please note that we have quoted our most favorable price and are unable to entertain any counteroffer. As regards Walnut-meat, we should inform you that the few parcels we have at present are under offer elsewhere. However, if you should make us an acceptable bid, there is a possibility of your obtaining them. However you may avail yourselves of the advantage of this strengthening market if you will send us an immediate reply. Yours faithfully,Example 2 (offer) Dear Sirs, We are in receipt of your letter dated March 21 and, as requested, are airmailed you, under separated cover, one catalogue and two sample books for our Printed Shirting. We hope they will reach you in due course and will help you in making your selection. In order to start a concrete transaction between us, we take pleasure in making you a special offer, subject to our final confirmation, as follows: Art. No. 17780 Printed Shirting Design No. 1234-2A Specifications: 30*36*71*69 Quantity: 12,400 yards Packing: in bales or in wooden cases, at sellers option Price: US $. per yard CIFC5% Vancouver Shipment: to be made in three equal monthly installments, beginning from June. 19 Payment: by confirmed, irrevocable L/C payable by draft at sight to be opened 30 days before the time of shipment We trust the above will be acceptable to you and await your trial order with keen interest. Yours faithfully,Buyers make counter-offers when they find any terms or conditions in the offer unacceptable. A counter-offer is virtually a partial rejection of the original offer and also a counter proposal given by the buyer or the offeree. The buyer may show disagreement to the price, or packing, or shipment and state his own terms instead. Such alternations; no matter how slight they may appear to be, signify that business has to be negotiated on the renewed basis. The original offerer or the seller now becomes the offeree and he has the full right of acceptance or refusal. In the latter case, he may make another counter-offer of his own. This process can go on for many a round till business is finalized or called off.,A letter of making counter-offers should cover the following points: 1) thank the seller for his offer; 2) express regret at inability to accept; 3) state reasons for non-acceptance; 4) make a counter-offer if, in the circumstance, it is appropriate; 5) suggest that there may be other opportunities to do business together.,Sellers may reject orders when they find some terms or conditions in the buyers counter-offer unacceptable. Letters rejecting orders must be written with the utmost care and with an eye to good will and future business. When sending such letters, it should contain: 1) regret your inability to meet the buyers needs; 2)propose an alternative product, if one is available; 3)state, if possible, your own terms and conditions upon which business is likely to materialize; 4)hope for the opportunity to serve him some other time.,Example 1 (counter-offer) Dear Sirs, Groundnut Kernels 2006 Crop We are in receipt of your letter of August 22 offering us 40 metric tons of captioned goods at $370 per metric ton on the usual terms. In reply, we regret to inform you that our buyers in Rotterdam find your price much too high. Information indicates that some parcels of Indian origin have been sold here at a level about 10% lower than yours. We do not deny that the quality of Chinese Kernels is slightly better, but the difference in price should, in no case, be as big as ten per tent. To step up the trade, we counter-offer as follows, subject to your reply received by us on or before 14th Sep. 50 metric tons of groundnut kernels 2006 crop at $ 355 per m/t CIF Rotterdam, other terms as per your letter of August 22. As the market is declining, we recommend your immediate acceptance. Yours faithfully,Example 2 (declining a counter-offer) Dear Sirs, Silicon Steel Sheets We learn from your letter of 10th Oct. that our price for the subject article is found to be on the high side. Much as we would like to cooperate with you in expanding sales, we are regretful that we just cannot see our way clear to entertain your counter-offer, as the price we quoted is quite realistic. As a matter of fact, we have received a lot of orders from various sources at our level. If you see any chance to do better, please let us know. On account of a limited supple available at present, we would ask you to act quickly. In the meantime, please keep us posted of developments at your end. We assure you that any further inquiries from you will receive our prompt attention. Yours faithfully,Order and Order Acceptance,Order messages are most pleasing to the sellers. They are a common form of correspondence for obtaining equipment, services, and supplies. Nowadays, you will easily find order forms provided by the seller. All you have to do is to fill in the blanks as required and return the forms to the seller. Also you can find many order forms on Internet home pages. When a form is not available, a letter is needed for the order. When writing an order letter, you must include all the specifics necessary to complete the order to your satisfaction. To make your order clear and easy to understand, you could use the listing format of the order form as a guide to giving information about the following matters: 1) Name of commodity, model number, size, color, or any other relevant information; 2) Quantity; 3) Date and method of shipment; 4) Price per item; 5) Packing; 6) Payment;,Example (order letter) Dear Sirs, Please send us the following merchandise that you advertised in the December 5 issue of the China Food. 20 cases Yanshan ChocoBars (4-ounce bars, 12 boxes of 24 bars per case) $12.20 ea 40 cases Yanshan Chocolate Hearts (16-ounce, individually wrapped, assorted colors, 12 hearts/case) $ 24.00 ea 20 cases Yanshan Nut Delight (16-ounce boxes, 12 per case) $22.50 ea Since we must have this merchandise in time for Valentines Day (Feb.14), we need confirmation that you will ship no later than Jan. 30. As the amount involved for this transaction is below $1700.00, we shall be glad if you agree to D/P payment term as usual. Would you please include with the delivery a few samples of Yanshan Chocolates, as you did with last years order? The samples helped convince our customers to buy your delicious products. Yours faithfully,An acceptance or a confirmation is in fact a complete agreement of the buyers or the sellers, who after mutual negotiations are willing to enter a contract in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed upon by the buyers. In cases where the buyers have taken the initiative by placing a formal order with the sellers, containing all the necessary terms and conditions, the sellers acceptance concludes the deal. After acceptance and confirmation, a Contract or a Sales Confirmation is made out, and signed by both parties. For a satisfactory order acknowledgement, you should follow the general structure: 1. Specifying the delivery date. The top concerned problem of your customer is when he can get his order; therefore, it is best to begin the acknowledgment with an exact date of delivery. 2. Building goodwill. Expression of appreciations will meet the need of sellers gratitude and cultivate customer loyalty. 3. Reselling products or services. If your customer is a new one, you may add a few lines to make them familiar with your products and your company. Most customers want to be reassured that they have made the right choice.,Example (order acknowledgment) Dear Sirs, Thank you for your order for Yanshan Chocolates. We are pleased to confirm that we will deliver your complete order on Jan.25. We will be delighted to send you some samples of our delicious Yanshan Chocolates samples to help ensure that your customers will return to your store for the candy everyone loves. By the way, we have recently introduced a new itemMunch Bar. Munch Bars have a crunchy, chocolate-and-almond taste, and they sell for the same price as our ChocoBars. We will send you some samples and we believe that your customers will like them as much as they loved our ChocoBars. Yours very truly,Complaints and Claims,There are two kinds of complaints which are frequently made by buyers: the genuine complaint, which arises from one of the following situations. a) The wrong goods may have been sent. b) The quality may not be satisfactory. c) The goods may have been delivered damaged or late. d) The prices charged may be excessive, or not as agreed. The second kind of complaint is made by buyers who find fault with the goods as an excuse from their contracts, either because they no longer want the goods or because they have found that they can get them cheaper elsewhere.,If a complaint has to be made by buyers, the matter should be investigated in detail, and these details should be laid before the party charged. When making a complaint, plan your letter as follows: a) Begin by regretting the need to complain; b) Mention the date of the order, the date of delivery, and the goods complained about; c) State your reasons for being dissatisfied and ask for an explanation; d) Refer to the inconvenience caused; e) Suggest how the matter should be put right.,Example 1 (complaint letter) Dear Sirs, Claims for Poor Packing We regret having to inform you that the cotton Piece Goods covered by our Order No. 920 and shipped per s/s PEACE arrived in such an unsatisfactory condition that we can not but lodge a claim against you. It was found upon examination that nearly 20% of the packages had been broken, obviously attributed to improper packing. Our only recourse, in consequence, was to have them repacked before delivering to our customers, which inevitably resulted in extra expenses amounting to $650. We expect compensation from you for this, and should like to take this opportunity to suggest that special care be taken in your future deliveries as prospective customers are apt to misjudge the quality of your goods by the faulty packing. Yours faithfully,Example 2 (complaint letter) Dear Sirs, Our Order No. KK-9 After carefully examining the curtain materials supplied to our order of Feb. 20th, we must express surprise and disappointment of their quality. They certainly do not match the sample you sent us. Some of them are so poor that we cannot help feeling there must have been some mistake in making up the order. The materials are quite unsuited to the needs of our customers and we have no choice but to ask you to take them back and replace them with materials of the quality ordered. We have no wish to embarrass you and if you can replace the materials we are prepared to allow the stated time for delivery to run form the date you confirm that you can supply the materials we need. Yours truly,Replies to complaints should always be courteous, even if the complaint is unfounded; the sellers should not repudiate the claim until they have good and reliable grounds to do so: Suppose you are the seller, the following rules are to be noted when dealing with a complaint: a) The first thing that has to be decided is whether the complaint is justified. If so, then you have to admit it readily, express your regret and promise to put matter right. b) If the complaint is not justified, point this out politely and in an agreeable manner. It would be a wrong policy to refuse the claim offhand. c) If you cannot deal with a complaint promptly, acknowledge it at once. Explain that you are looking into the matter and that you will send a full reply letter. d) All complaints should be treated as serious matters and thoroughly investigated. There is no need for the sellers to tell a long story of how the mistake was made, and a short explanation may be useful.,Example 1 (complaint accepted) Dear Sirs, Your Order No. ZK-9 Thank you for your letter of 10th Oct. We are sorry that you have had to write to us about the shipment of your order. There was a slight delay in the port of Southampton, as port handling facilities were fully occupied during this very busy season. However, the S/S FLOWER left for Toronto yesterday with your order on board. It is due in Toronto on the 16th December. Our advice of