Sample 36:

Letter Selling an Idea

		*Thompson Steel* Operations 1900 Banning Road Bethlehem, PA 18015 215/555-6164, Ext. 2024
		December 6, 19XX
Use of letter format for an internal document signifies greater formality and importance than use of memo format would.		Mr. Michael Thompson, President Thompson Steel Suite 16 Building 298

		Dear Mike:

		Status of The AS/400

Pace the reader's expectation by stating a problem that will be of interest to him or her. State it in a way with which he or she will agree without belaboring the obvious.		The AS/400 we have been using to maintain and report on inventory is still down. IBM service representatives have corrected the hardware problem, but we are continuing to have software problems. The customer service representative for software support will be here Friday, December 12. Until then, we will not know whether we lost any data or, if we have, how much. This is an old machine, and its age is beginning to show. As the enclosed repair record indicates, it has been down on three occasions in the past year. Although this is the first time it has been down for more than a few days, the importance of accurate inventory records and control to our operations is too critical for us to rely on this machine much longer.

Lead the reader in the direction of your idea. How quickly you can present your new idea depends on how much resistance you are likely to encounter.		At this point, the most practical solution is to purchase a new AS/400 and disk array. Our current software and data could be migrated directly with little or no reconfiguration. Once the new system is installed and operational, we could sell the old AS/400 to a firm willing to maintain it or donate it to LeHigh University or another regional school for the tax deduction we would receive.

Blend outcomes by showing the reader how he or she (or the organization as a whole) will benefit by your idea. When an issue has two or more sides, cover the options in a way that encourages the reader to make an informed decision.		Other possible options include the following: Do nothing now and hope for the best. While we might be able to eke out another year or even two from the current AS/400, we would be doing so at continually increasing risk of major data loss and down time. Even with daily backups, another major problem with the AS/400 could be much more expensive than purchasing a new machine now. Add a second disk array to our current system. This would be a relatively substantial expense for what would amount to a temporary fix. It would help protect us against major data loss and downtime, but it would not substantially increase the usable life or our current AS/400, given the demands we make on it daily. Migrate to a different platform. While other platforms, such as Digital's AXP or IBM's RS6000, have their own advantages, developing and installing new software and migrating our data to another platform would be major tasks. I will investigate this possibility if you wish, but without compelling reasons for changing platforms, I suspect that the cost would be prohibitive.

Motivate by asking for what you expect. As with other persuasive messages, convincing the reader to take a small step now may be easier than selling a major change all at once.		Although we did not budget for this, because of the importance of the AS/400 to inventory control and a number of our other operations, I recommend that we act quickly to purchase a new AS/400. With your authorization, I would solicit a specific bid from IBM. If we buy now, IBM might be willing to help us with the upgrade and the disposition of the old machine, which could still be a valuable piece of equipment in a less demanding environment. If you'd like to discuss this further before deciding, please give me call.

		Cordially,
		Paula Sponseller, Operations enc

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