Business Correspondence by Anonymous

"The winter months are the best time for comprehensive information to soak in--but the letter generally is not the place for this. Put personality in the letter--specifications in the circular." This is the advice of an experienced correspondent whose length of service enables him to speak authoritatively.

"A winter letter may be long, verbose and full of interesting information; the farmer will read it carefully. This is the time to get in specifications, estimates, complicated diagrams and long arguments which require study. Letters for the work months need to be short and snappy, both to insure reading and to act on a tired mind."

And then finally the proposition must be made so plain that there is no possibility of its being misinterpreted. What a city man who is a wide reader gets at a glance, the ordinary farm owner or farmer's boy--often with only a rudimentary knowledge of English--must study over.

"So needful is the observance of this principle in our business," says this manager, "that our sales letters have come to be almost a formula. First we state our proposition. We then proceed to take up each element of the offer and make it as plain and plausible as possible."

"All the letter is a plain exposition of 1, 2, 3, 4--the preceding paragraphs are summarized and connected. For instance, after the item offered has been treated and the length of trial made clear, the two are summarized thus:

"The _separator_ we offer is not only the best that money can buy but it is _just what you need_--no wonder we are willing to give you 30 days in which to try it.

"But what about freight?"

"Just this."

* * * * *

"Then we explain freight paid and return privilege. This gives a continuous and increasing summary straight through the letter, which closes with a recapitulation of the proposition.

"The aim of putting several summaries of the proposition in all sales matter is so that there can be no possible mistake about the proposition, for thousands of propositions are turned down by people on farms simply because the reader does not quite understand everything."

The farmer is in constant dread of "being caught" and there is little likelihood of his taking advantage of any offer that is not absolutely clear in his mind. The letter writer must realize what a point this is with the average farmer. What a city man does he can keep to himself; if he buys a gold brick he gets rid of it and forgets the transaction just as quickly as possible. But what the farmer does is neighborhood gossip. If one of those "slick city fellers" sells him something he can't use, every one knows it.