The Structure of a Reply to an Inquiry Email
As with an email of inquiry, the reply to an inquiry can be broken down into 5 steps:
| Replying to an Email of Inquiry | |
| 1 | Thank the recipient for their email, referring to the date. |
| 2 | Explain what you are attaching to your email. |
| 3 | Highlight the key points. |
| 4 | Answer any specific questions your recipient had. |
| 5 | Close the email and make yourself available for future questions/inquiries. |
Step 1: Opening
When replying to an inquiry, be sure to open by using the name of your prospective client. If she closed her inquiry with “Kind regards, Julie Zander”, then you must open with “Dear Julie,” not “Dear Sir or Madam,”.
Start the actual text of your email by thanking the recipient for the inquiry, and always reference the date and subject of the inquiry,
- Thank you for your email dated January 6th, in which you inquired about our Bismarck line of office chairs…
Step 2: Confirmation and Attachment
It is important to state early in the email whether or not you are able to fulfill the request. If you are, simply put, do not forget to attach any relevant materials that the recipient has asked for.
- I am pleased to say that we can supply 90 MNE-731 Bismarck office chairs from stock, and we will have no problem meeting your requested delivery date of…
- Our training center offers an extensive range of English courses that we are confident will help your staff with their language training needs…
- I have attached our current catalogue as a PDF, in which you will find the prices for the Bismarck line…
- Please find attached our price list for English courses, including discounts for groups starting in summer…
On the other hand, if you are unable to fulfill the recipient’s inquiry, now is the time to offer suitable alternative. Do not make any negative comments regarding the recipient’s initial interest in the goods or services that you are unable to provide.
- Unfortunately, the MNE-731 office chair is no longer in production, but we are happy to report that the model has been improved. The new MNE-732 is now available with the same great styling as the MNE-731 but with even more comfortable seat cushions…
- The SI2020 is indeed an excellent cash register. However, new government restrictions require that all cash registers have internet connectivity, so we would recommend the SI2023…
Steps 3 & 4: Highlight and Clarify
If you are able to fulfill the inquiry, take some time here to sell the goods or services by highlighting the key areas and answering any specific questions the recipient had.
- Once you have seen the performance of the SI2023 cash register, we are confident that you will be impressed…
- Our teachers are among the best in the country, and we stand behind our convictions by offering a money-back guarantee….
- Yes, the SI2023 does also come in black…..
- We do indeed offer the possibility to organize a product demonstration at your premises…
Step 5: Closing
Close by thanking the recipient for their interest in your goods or services, and be sure to express your willingness to assist with any further questions.
- Thank you once again for contacting us, and we look forward to working with you in the future.
- Once again, thank you for writing, and please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions you might have.
After having a look a the sample reply to email of inquiry below, you are welcome to continue on to the quizzes for this lesson.
