Business to business letter suggesting an initial offer of business terms

In the course of business, it's often necessary to do some preliminary spadework in your correspondence.

This is basically early negotiation, but you're finding your way through the possibilities, and you want a response to your ideas.

Important: You don't yet want to commit to anything, and you're pretty sure the other side doesn't, either. So you don't include anything which is an actual business proposal, to which you can be held.

You take the initiative by making the first suggestions. This initial letter is often a very useful ice breaker, so both sides can have a working reference point for discussions.

This example is of a first approach by a supplier, after a personal contact in which the idea of doing business was first raised. The letter style is working on previous comments, and is less formal than a normal business letter.

The writer is sending the recipient some pricing materials, but is also suggesting that they can do one off deals at better prices, as well as entrepreneurial deals. The references to ad hoc business and turnover mean that the writer is prepared to do clearance of stock deals.

Note: . In this case, the letter is to an established business which obviously already has a supplier, so there are terms to discuss.

Example:

Addressee

Your Reference
Our Reference
Contacts

Dear (name of contact)

I refer to our recent conversation about the benefits of a possible contractual arrangement between your firm and ours, and your interest in some of our product lines.

I've taken the liberty of enclosing some of our standard materials to give you a ballpark set of figures and prices to work with.

In practice, we should be able to provide some pretty good one off deals and perhaps long term extra discounts, based on turnover volumes. I think we have a mutual interest in entrepreneurial, ad hoc, business opportunities, as well as regular business.

Anyway, have a look at the normal prices and volumes, so you can see the baseline. Let me know what you think you can do with these prices, and any suggestions you may have regarding the entrepreneurial and discount approaches.

I'll be particularly interested to hear your professional opinions, and any perspectives you may have on these subjects.

Yours sincerely

Signed
Title
Date

Disclaimer

Please note:

This text is intended for advisory and guideline purposes only.

Any business letter can become a legal document, so check your content properly before issuing.

Any executable or statutorily defined document should be checked for compliance with legal requirements, and you should seek legal advice regarding its contents.