INQUIRY LETTER

DEFINITION OF INQUIRY LETTER

 A letter of request, also known as a letter or letters of interesting candidates, will be sent to the
companies. Letter of request is a letter from a prospective buyer to the seller requesting
information about the products offered. With the offer of the seller will potential buyers will
know the price, and the sale and purchase, and a description of the goods or services to be
purchased. This is the purpose of the prospective buyer a written request to the seller.

 A letter of inquiry asks someone for specific information. In some cases, such as a request for
promotional material, the recipient will have a clear interest in responding to your letter. In
other cases, such as a request for specific information on a product, the recipient may or may
not be as motivated to respond quickly. Consequently, always make the tone of the letter
friendly and make it easy for the recipient to identify and provide the information you need.

THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF INQUIRY LETTERS :

• Unsolicited Inquiry

An unsolicited Inquiry letter is written by a potential buyer interested in the best bargain. He does it at
his own initiative and convenience. He writes to firms that sell the kind of product he requires or
provides the kind of service he needs, trying to elicit information on price / costs, quality, availability and
other terms of sale. An unsolicited enquiry, since it is at the writer’s initiative has to be written in such a
way that it gets the required response.The letter should have the quality of completeness and clarity.
The writer should be able to give a complete idea of his requirement and the reasons for his enquiry in
clear terms. If the enquiry is long, the writer can prefer to adopt a questionnaire format in the letter.

• A solicited inquiry

A solicited Inquiry is in response to an advertisement / sales letter of a seller. Already the buyer has
some information on the product or service. He requires further details. It is not as lengthy as an
unsolicited enquiry. The questions relate to particular areas of a sale / service. A solicited enquiry may
ask for a brochure / bulletin / catalogue or for a clarification of the items mentioned in them.

• Enquiries asking for a favour

Certain letters of enquiry seek the favour of an information with or without a commercial proposition. It
may be merely seeking some information to be used later. A business organisation may be seeking
information from another firm regarding credit worthiness of a businessman. A research scholar
particularly engaged in market research may send a letter of enquiry with a questionnaire to a firm.
Such enquiry letters should clearly spell out their objectives.
A letter of enquiry typically has the following sections :

1. Addresses

2. Date

3. Opening greeting

4. Reason for writing

5. Questions asking for specific information

6. Request for extra information

7. Closing: request for a quick answer

8. Closing: greeting and signature

EXAMPLE :

1. ADDRESSES

Camford Language School

34 Downs Street

Wrexbury

Devon

EX45 7AZ

United Kingdom

2. DATE

14 April 2011

3. OPENING GREETING

Dear Ms Smith

4. REASON FOR WRITING

I am writing to enquire about your summer courses which I saw advertised in ‘English Today’.

5. QUESTIONS ASKING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

I recently took the FCE exam and I am now studying for CAE. Please could you tell me if you have
advanced courses available? What dates do the courses start and how much is the cost? I will be coming
from Vietnam. I would like to know what kind of visa I should apply for. I would also like to know more
about the accommodation. Are single rooms available? Are meals included in the cost of a course?

6. REQUEST FOR EXTRA INFORMATION

I would be grateful if you could send me more information about your school and the surrounding area.

7. CLOSING : REQUEST FOR QUICK ANSWER

I look forward to hearing from you.

8. CLOSING : GREETING AND SIGNATURE

Yours sincerely,

Kiet Nguyen