Instructor : Jimmy Tsao

Contents

Ch.1. Introduction to Business EnglishCh. 2. Letter Formats

Ch. 3. 7 C’s in Business LettersCh. 4. Customers

Ch. 5. Trading ProposalCh. 6. Credit Enquiries and Replies

Ch. 7. Agreement on Business Terms Ch. 8. General Terms and Conditions in BusinessCh. 9. Trading Enquiries

Ch. 10. Offer and Acceptance Ch. 11. Sales Promotion Ch. 12. Orders Ch. 13. Contracts Ch. 14. Letter of Credit Ch. 15.Marine Cargo Insurance Ch. 16.Ocean Transportation Ch. 17.Shipping Documents Ch. 18.Bill of Exchange

Ch.19.Collection and Payment Ch.20.Claims and Adjustments

Ch.21.Regaining Lost Customers Ch.22.Establishment of Agencyship

Ch.23.Business Cable,Telex,and Fax Ch.24.Circular Letters

Ch. 25.Position Vacant &Position WantedCh. 26.Social Letters in Business

Ch.27. E-mail

Ch.1. Introduction to Business English

1.Definition:

Business English is English used in business. It handles mainly all kinds of communication in domestic or international business, especially the correspondence regarding international trade.

2.Coverage:

In addition to grammar and business writing, Business English covers domestic/international trade practice, business knowledge, fax, e-mail, trading terms, etc.

3.Purpose:

The purpose of learning this Business

English is to get basic letter-writing skills,

trade knowledge and know-how, and

business terms and to be able to use them

in the business fields the learners are going

to devoted to .

4. Key Writing Skills---3 –Para. Structure:

In Business English letter writing, it is important that the format of the body should be divided into three major paragraphs as follows:

Introduction Information Action

  .

Sept. 5,2012 XYZ Imports, INC235 Cheng-De BoulevardNew York, NY 12345USA

  

  

Dear Sirs, We are pleased to receive your letter of August 31,2012 concerning our cosmetics. As requested , we enclose our latest catalogue and price list for your reference. We are sure that our products are excellent in quality and reasonalbe in price. As orders are rushing in, we would suggest you place your order without delay. We look forward to hearing from you soon.    Sincerely yours, _____________  Jimmy Tsao Manager

ABC Cosmestics Co.,LTD.3F-4 26 Min-Sheng E. Rd.Taipei, Taiwan 104 

5. International Trade Procedure a. Exporters---- looking for Customers--- b. Importers c. Trade Proposal to --- d. Buyers or Suppliers e. Credit Enquiries --- f. Buyers or Suppliers g. Sales Promotion---to h. Enquiries i. Replies/Quotation Request j. Quotation/Counter-offer k. Acceptance/Order l. Sales confirmation/Opening L/C(Letter of Credit) m. L/C receipt/ Shipping Instruction n. Shipment and (EL)Export License o. S/O (Shipping Order)/Ins. p. Shipping Advice q. Negotiation(押匯 ), then get r. Customs Clearance(進口贖單 )(its copies to the other side for them

to do that there when reached) s. Follow-up Letters--- ( 取提單 )Bill of Lading to get D/O(Delivery Order) 小提單 to get the products at harbor…. t. Adjustment/Complaint…..

Chapter 2 Letter Formats

1. the 7 Principal Parts of a Business Letter

2. Mailing

1. the 7 Principal Parts of a Business Letter

Letterhead, Date, Inside Name & Address, Salution,

Message, Complimentary Close, Signature & Official Position

Letterhead

ABC Cosmestics Co.,LTD.

3F-4 26 Min-Sheng E. Rd.

Taipei, Taiwan 104

S

Date

Inside Name Sept. 21,2012

And Address

XYZ Imports, INC

235 Cheng-De Boulevard

New York, NY 12345

USA

Salution

Dear Sirs,

We are pleased to receive your letter of August 31,2012 concerning our cosmetics.

As requested , we enclose our latest catalogue and price list for your reference.

We are sure that our products are excellent in quality and reasonalbe in price.

As orders are rushing in, we would suggest you place your order without delay.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Body

Complimentary Close

Sincerely yours,

Signature&Official Position

_________________________

Jimmy Tsao

Manager

For reference:

1. Internet Marketing

Marketing managers should notice 4 Ps & 4 Cs and try their best

to set up good & long relationships with those customers

Product, Promotion, Price, & Place(通路)

Customer Experience, Customer Relationship,

Communication & Community

CHAPTER 3 7 C’s in writing English Business Letters

Completeness, Clearness, Correctness, Concreteness,

Conciseness, Courtesy, Consideration

1 .Completeness Writing a letter without giving complete information will give rise to doubt and misunderstanding. (Date, * Thank you for your letter. --Thank you for your letter of Sept. 28….) (Order Number,* We have received your goods.-- We have received your sporting goods on our Order No.123)

2.Clearness

Using clear words and structures, instead of vague, obscure,

And ambiguous ones, is essential to good business letter writing.

(Word, *We will ship the computers ordered biweekly.

--We will ship the computers ordered two times a week.)

(Structure, * The toys were packed in our opinion poorly.

--In our opinion, the toys were packed poorly.)

3. Correctness In respect to correctness, there are 4 approaches: ( Correctness of Statement, Accuracy of Numerical Expression, Correct Use of Commercial Terms, Grammatical Correctness)(Correctness of Statement, *Our bikes are certainly the best on the market.-- Our bikes are solid in quality and attractive in design. They are enjoying good market.)(Accuracy of Numerical Expression,* The loan limit is US$100. --The loan limit is US$100 or less. )(Correct Use of Commercial Terms, * We offer US$2.50 FOB Taipei.-- We offer US$2.50 FOB Keelung.) 

4.Concreteness  To give an exact picture in any statement is to the

point.(Adjective, * Our prices are the best.-- Our prices are

the lowest on the market.)( Noun, * We expect to receive your reply.--We expect

to receive your early confirmation of the order.)(Number, *We will make shipment under your L/C.--

We will make shipment under your L/C No.BC-01. )( Date, * You will receive our samples in due time.--

You will receive our samples before June 10.) 

5.Conciseness Simple and concise words and sentences, instead of long and tedious ones, will make the letter clear and effective. The following are lists of words and phrases to be avoided using and suggested using: ( Words, * apparent—clear, *approximately—about, *commence—begin, *contribute—give,* participate—take part,) ( Phrases,* at an early date—early, *at all times—always,* at this moment—now,*by means of—by, *cost the sum of—cost… ) The following are examples of making long sentences short: ( *Thank you for the letter. You wrote your letter on Jan.20. -–Thank you for your letter of Jan.20.)

6.Courtesy Courtesy is the major element for winning customers. There are 5 ways for improving courteous elements in business communication. ( Polite words or expressions: e.g. thank you, please, excuse me, request, regret, etc. Thank you for your letter Sept.28. We request your immediate payment. We regret to inform you that you have to pay before Sept. 28.) ( Use of Passive Voice: * You made a serious mistake.—A serious mistake was made. ( Use of Positive Words: * We do not think you will be dissatisfied.—We are sure that you will be satisfies.) (Use of Subjunctive Mood: We would be grateful if you would send us your latest catalogue. )

7.ConsiderationTrying to be in a customer’s shoes is essential in

business communication.The proper use of the “ You-Attitude” is necessary.

Pay attention to use”You” more often than “We”.The following are some examples:(Use”You”instead of”We” , * We are pleased to

announce that we will offer you a 5% discount.—You will be pleased to know that we will offer you a 5% discount. )

( Use”Your”instead of “Our”, *We insist on receiving our payment soon.—Your immediate payment is requested .)

 

QuestionsWhat are the 7 C’s in the skills of writing business letters? 電子資料交換 : Electronic data interchange (EDI) is

the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents from one computer system to another, i.e. from one trading partner to another trading partner. It is more than mere e-mail; it serves many other technical transmission purposes. It is broadly used in trade-related business.

  

Chapter 4 Looking for customersThe sources which can help an

exporter/importer find his customers are as follows:

AdvertisementRecommendationVarious Trade OrganizationShow/Fair/Exhibition

 Advertisemen

Example 1 Importers ask some Magazine companies to advertise some ads. on it.   Oct.21, 2012 Importer Magazine Co.,Ltd. P.O.Box 5555 Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.     Dear Sirs,   From TAITRA we understand that you are rendering the service of introducing foreign importers to the local

exporters and manufaturers.   We are one of the leading importers of bicycles in the US with branches in 20 major cities of the world, such as

London and Tokyo, and as the expansion of business requires we are quite interested in importing bicycles from Taiwan.

  If you should kindly publicize our interest in your magazine, we would be very grateful. Your early reply in this

matter would be highly appreciated.   Sincerely Yours,   ___________   *TAITRA: Taiwan External Trade Development Council

  Recommendation Example 2 Oct.21,2012  The Trade Weekly News The World Trade Center Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.   Through the courtesy of the TAITRA, we come to know that you are in a position to help the foreign

importers get in touch with the local exporters. With this in mind, we are writing to request your kind assistance.

  As one of the most reputable importers of electronic products in Australia, we have been engaged in

this line of business for over 20 years and have been enjoying very good reputation for our products in the market here. We are anxious to find suitable and dependable suppliers for our electronic products.

  We would, therefore, appreciate it very much if you should kindly make our request public in one of

your publications.   Thank you in advance in this matter.   Sincerely yours, ____________ James Winston  Manager  

Example 3 Oct.21, 2012     Formasa Shoes Co.,Ltd. 222 Zhongshan N. Rd. Sec. 1 Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.   Dear Sirs,   For the past 5 years we have been importing your shoes and we have been quite satisfied

with your quality and service.   As now our business is expanding rapidly and we are planning to include glassware items

in our range, we should therefore be very much obliged if you would recommend some friends of yours who are able to supply glassware to us. For your information, our initial order will be around US$ 100,000.

  We appreciate your cooperation in the past and are looking forward to hearing from you

again soon.    Sincerely yours,   _____________

3.Various Trade organizations

Example 4 Oct.21, 2012  The Chamber of Commerce Of Los Angles Los Angles, CA. 90020 U.S.A.   Dear Sirs,   We are a twenty-year-old manufacturer of furniture in Taiwan and in the past years have been

exporting our products to Canada and South America on the west coast, we would appreciate it very much if you should kindly supply us with a list of reliable business firms in Los Angles area who are interested in importing our furniture.

  For the convenience of your checking our credit standing, we refer you to the following bank for

further details: The Bank of Taiwan, Yuan-Shan Branch, Taipei, Taiwan   Your kind assistance in this matter would be highly appreciated.   Sincerely yours,   ____________

Example 5     Oct.30, 2012    The TAITRA 3-123, Keelung Rd., Sec.1, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.    Dear Sirs,   We are interested in developing our trade in your market and would be grateful if you could kindly introduce us to the

related importers in your country.   As a manufacturer of leather goods we have been established for over ten years and have won good reputation for our

unique design and excellent quality.   For information about our credit standing, please refer to the following: The Bank of America Los Angeles Branch, Los Angeles, CA.90020 USA   Your kind assistance in this matter would be highly appreciated.   Sincerely yours,   _____________ James Winston Manager    

4. Show/Fair/Exhibition   April 12,2012

The Italian Business

Association

Milan, Italy   Dear Sirs,   It has been our honor and pleasure to meet your group in the yearly Sporting Goods

Exhibition held in Taipei.   We are one of the leading and reputable expoters and manufacturers of sporting

goods in Taiwan and our products have been exported to America, Canada, and Australia. As we are developing our market to Europe, especially Italy, we should

be grateful if you would kindly send us a list of importers in your country who are interested in importing our first-rate sporting goods.

  Your early sending us the above list would be much appreciated.   Sincerely yours,    

Questions  What are the sources which can help an exporter/importer find his

customers?What are the trade organization which can help an exporter/importer

develop his trade in Taiwan? Give one example.Why does a company supply trade references?When a company introdues itself, what are the points to be included?    Letter-writingAs an importer of toys in the U.S., write your letter to the Taipei

Chamber of Commerce to ask them to recommend potential exporters.

   Trade-Van關貿網路 1996/7/1成立http://www.tradevan.com.tw/web/gurst/abouttv