Business Letter Closing

After my article on business letter writing tips, I had quite a few readers asking for more information on the closing of the letter. While the body of the letter is responsible for passing on the intended message of the letter, the fact remains that the salutations are what gives it the character. Just like your words can express your mind, but your body language expresses your words. The closing of the letter is the body language of the letter.

Business Letter Closings:

For New Contacts
Business letter closing salutations for new contacts need to be kept formal and slightly distant. This is done to avoid eagerness from showing in the letter. The safest bet in these cases is to use the traditional business letter closing phrases.

• Sincerely
• Yours sincerely
• Respectfully yours
• Yours faithfully
• Faithfully yours
• Yours truly

These business letter closing regards are best for sales mailers and mass mailings. Advertisement letters are also best closed with these (as I call them) "safe" phrases.

For Regular Contacts at Same Hierarchical Level
In case of contacts whom one is regularly in touch with, and at the same hierarchical level, business letter closing paragraphs can be friendlier in nature. This is because, the regular contact develops a bond, and the same hierarchical level allows the conversations to be less formal. More so, keeping the friendliness also ensures loyalty to an extent. However, one needs to ensure that professionalism is maintained.

• Kind regards
• Best regards
• Regards
• Warmest regards
• Many thanks
• Truly
• With appreciation

These are best used to keep the informality in the letter, whilst maintaining its professionalism. Let's just say, the letter went for a business meeting with a friend.

For Regular Contact at Different Hierarchical Level
If the recipient of the letter is at a higher or a lower hierarchical level, the business letter closing statement will differ. In most cases while closing the business letter, if the levels are different, either way, business letter closing remark becomes more formal. Writing a business letter closing for a higher or lower level recipient is the same as it would be for a new contact. This is to maintain the difference in status and to keep the fact that the communication is strictly professional, in clear view. In fact, in many cases higher level senders tend to end the business letter without a complimentary close, with just their name. This works at intimidating the recipient to a certain extent. It works well as a negotiation tactic as well.

Casual Business Letter Closings
In spite of the fact that the letter is a formal one, these days people prefer to keep the salutations informal. This is for ease of communication. If the communication is informal and "easy", the business flow tends to be smoother. More so, a client will prefer to stick to a friendlier provider. To maintain this "friendly" relationship, the following business letter closings are also used.

• With love
• Take care
• Cheers
• Adios
• Enjoy!
• Ciao
• See ya soon

All these are not traditionally formal letter closings, however, using these letter closings, brings the sender and the recipient closer, creating a bond. These days, due to excessive use of emails, the letters are often kept shorter and to the point. The letters can be replied to faster and queries can be answered more easily. As such, it is important to keep a standard format of closing the letter. There is an option with most email providers like Google etc, wherein you can set and save your closing and email signature. This way, your closing will be maintained despite the contents of the letter.

Hope this article on business letter closing has helped you out. Always remember, in any business, appropriate communication is the key. This is where I sign off! Take care!