Writing a (British) enquiry

When writing business letters in English, you have to keep a certain order. If you do something wrong, the addressee might still understand it, but could also deem you incompetent or rude.

In order to avoid easily made mistakes regarding the order of the letter, just follow these steps:

On top of the page you have a letterhead in which you can find the name of your company, its address and telephone number and maybe an e-mail address and a website. The companies logo of course is an important part of a letterhead, too.

If you're writing the business letter not on behalf of a company, but on your own, you can either just write your address or you could develop a creative letterhead for private purposes.

In Germany, a letterhead could look something like this:

Company name / your name

Street and street number

Postal code and city

Telephone number, Fax

Website: www.grammatikgefluester.jimdo.com | E-mail: thisisnotarealmail@whatever.de

Or maybe like this:

This can easily be made using Microsoft Word or other text programs.

You can write the date on the left or right hand side of the letter above the address of the recipient.

In Europe, is is common to write (day/month/year), whereas in America the date is usually written (month/day/year).

To avoid confusion, you should write the month and also the year out in full:

3rd August 2017 or 3 August 2017

The address of the recipient of the letter. Make sure you write everything in the correct order or the letter might not be received.

Please also remember that a German address has a different order than a British (or American) address:

Do not write a telephone number or e-mail address into the inside address!

If you know who you are writing to, use their name:

Dear Mr. Lincoln(,)

Dear Ms Pollard(,)

If you are writing to a woman, but don't know whether she's married or not, always address her as "Miss" or "Ms.".

If you don't know who you are writing to, write

Dear Sir or Madam(,)

In e-mails you can also use the company name, but it is a little less formal than "Dear Sir or Madam":

Dear Cake Company(,)

Dear IFS Schweinfurt(,)

If you use a comma after the salutation, you will have to use a comma later in the complimentary close. If you don't have one here, also don't write a comma in the complimentary close!

Unlike in Germany, the subject line comes after the salutation!

Here you can explain in a few words why you are writing this letter. In an enquiry you always start with:

Enquiry about...

Note that the subject line is often written in bold letters. Examples for subject lines in enquiries are:

Enquiry about fruit cakes

Specific enquiry about knitting yarn

Enquiry about guitar strings

Enquiry about your latest model of computer TX3000

Enquiry about your perfume No. 1234

You start by stating where you have gotten the companies address from. If you're enquiring about something from a specific ad, refer to it. For example:

We saw your advertisement for roller skates in the latest issue of the magazine Freizeit.

We refer to your description of your new computer TX3000 in your online newsletter.

Your products/services have been recommended to us by...

We have obtained your address from the German Chamber of Commerce.

At the Igedo Fashion Fair in Düsseldorf our representative has visited your stand.

Of course you want the adressee to know who he or she is dealing with. Introduce your business in one or two sentences. Mention what kind of business you are working for, and have something positive to say about it. For example:

We are a major German importer of textiles specialising in silk wear.

Our company is an innovative start-up distributing all kinds of musical instruments to customers all around Europe.

We are a medium-sized business manufacturing upmarket porcelain.

We are one of the leading wholesalers of computer equipment in Great Britain.

Our well-known enterprise offering sophisticated delicacies...

Now come to the reason for this letter: Tell the addressee precisely what you are interested in and why you want it:

As there is a growing demand for guitar equipment in Germany, we are interested in your products.

As there is a great interest in your new computers, we are interested in importing the following articles: ...

As there is a ready market for pocket watches on the local market, we would like to distribute a selection of your ...

As we are always interested in exploring new culinary specialities, we are very interested in your range of first-class products.

If you want to get information on various products, the prices or a description of a certain product, ask for it. If you already have something specific in mind, ask for an offer. It is important to give all the relevant information on this topic to the adressee.

At the fair we saw several bales of the silk you offer and were told you could produce any tailor-made garments from it. Attached you will find several sewing patterns of dresses. Could you produce 500 items of each dress within one month? Please send us a detailed quotation.

Please let us have a brochure describing your product range.

Would you please attach detailed information on your most recent models / a current price list?

We would appreciate sales literature on your ...

Could you please send us a cost estimate for the services you offer.

Please send us a brochure describing your milling machine TZ4. Would this product be utilisable for higher quantities of ...

Politely ask for details of payment and delivery:

We require details of your prices and discounts.

Could you please also send us information on your terms of payment and delivery?

Please quote us your most favourable terms of payment and delivery.

Do you grant any quantity or cash discounts?

Can you deliver ex stock?

We would be grateful for information on your delivery periods.

Here you can ask for anything you haven't asked yet, for example:

Could you send us some samples of your exquisite jam?

A visit by a representative would be appreciated.

We would appreciate a demonstration on our premises.

Furthermore we would like to know if there are any cakes without nuts available.

Would there be any maintenance service if the machine gets damaged?

End the body text with a phrase to create good will:

If your prices are competitive, we may be able to place substantial orders in the near future.

We hope to hear from you shortly.

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.

We look forward to an early reply.

Before writing your name, write something like:

Yours sincerely (,)

Kind regards (,)

Best regards (,)

Yours faithfully (,)

The most widely used phrase is "Yours sincerely". If you have used a comma after the salutation, use one after the complimentary close, too.

Write the name of your company first. The signature itself will come next, so leave some space (a few lines) for it. Then write your name and maybe your position or department.

Yours sincerely,

IFS Schweinfurt

(after you print it, sign here)

Arturo Perez

Purchasing Department

----

Yours sincerely,

Omnicare

Heidi Schmidt

Import Manager

If you have enclosed something with the letter, make sure to write it down below the signature block:

Enc.: 1 brochure

Enclosures: 1 brochure about our company

                         1 leaflet

Be polite! The British use many words and phrases, so make sure you can use some of them, too. Here are some examples:

We would appreciate...

We would be very grateful if you...

Please...

Thank you...

Could you...

Would you be so kind as to...

Be precise! If you just ask for information on computers, but want to buy tablet computers, the addressee doesn't know this and will send you things you might not need and you might not get the information you wanted.

Be correct! If you aren't that sure all your words are written correctly, let someone else proofread the letter, too, or look it up in a dictionary.