The sun., 1919-08-17

ours for some time, and we hold Il In
so high regard that we have In the
past granted it loans aggregatins
100000. Moreover, in view of our
satisfactory business relations, we
should have no hesitancy in granting
IL an even larger line Of credit &C.
commodation than we have done here
tofore. The firm is not In debt to
us at the present time.
I'VE therefore believe that you
would be amply justified in purchas-
Ing the notes of this firm as a legiti-
mate banking risk"
We come, second, to the considera-
ton OF proper psychology In business
writing. This subject is SO broad and
has so many ramifications that It is
difficult to pick out any one phase of
the matter as being the most lmpor-
tant. and therefore entitled to exclu-
sive treatment. One pronouncement,
however, can be laid down with en-
phasis-keep your customers or your
prospective customers interests al
ways IN the foreground Of your mind
while you are debating letters, COM
posing booklets, or constructing adj
vertisements, remembering that every
piece of writing that bears your firms
letterhead Is a potential business
builder. 1t follows therefore, that
the pronouns "you" and your
should be used oftener than the pro-
nouns az" my" me" Eve" our
and "us." The you" point of view.
II 1t sincerely pervades the written
communication as a whole, helps to
maintain a tone Of friendly interest
in the problems and needs of the
reader.
The. following letter written by q
home office correspondent of a large
life insurance company to a some
what irritated policy holder illustrates
how easy it is to put the 1--WE" view
point before the ''youH viewpoint:
your letter Of the 2sth ultimo ad-
dressed to our agency cashier at
Blanktown has been referred to the
writer for attention. In the matter
OF charging interest on overdue pre-
tniums, we feel that our practice Is
the proper one.
Each days delay in payment after
the due date Of the premium means a
direct loss to the company. g., to
the policy holders. 1t is only fair,
therefore, that those who take advan-
tage Of the grace privilege should pay
interest covering the period of the de-
layed payment. 1t is obvious that If
q large number Of policy holders avail
themselves of the grace privilege,
without paying overdue interest, a
considerable annual loss would be
involved, and this loss would fall
upon the policy holders as a whole.
We hold to the view that those who
pay promptly should not be penalized
to the advantage Of those who do not
The amount of interest collected in an
individual case may appear to be a
small item, but you will appreciate
the company's position If you will
consider for a moment what the ag-
gregate would be If one-half of the
policy holders were to defer their pre-
MUM payments for, say, thirty or
thirty-One days. 1t is clear that, in
such an event, the annual loss in in
terest would he considerable. And 1t
would. In effect, be charge against
the remaining policy holders who had
paid promptly on the due date.
1--WE very much regret your dissat-
isfaction with the cempany's rule. It
is uniformly applied where the grace
is taken advantage OF, and, frankly,
we can recall but few instances where
the policy holders have differed with
us on this point. In fact, the COM
pany's course. when explained as
above, invariably seems to meet the
policy holders view"
While the above Is a fairly good
letter, there is too much Of the i've"
viewpoint in 1t, which gives stiif,
unyielding tone to the entire letter.
The letter might be improved thus:
"Mr. @. T. Smith. our agency cash
Ter at Blanktown, has asked me to re-
ply to your letter Of July 2S in refer
ence to why We charge interest on
overdue premiums. / am very glad
indeed to comply with Mr.. Smiths re-
quest, for I hope that by so doing
shall be able to serve you In def
nitely personal way.
your objection to paying interest
on overdue premiums is doubtless due
to the fact that the company's policy
In this matter has not been fully ex-
plained to you. 1t Is, of course, ap-
parent to you that each days delay
In the payment Of a premium after
its due date means direct loss to the
company-that is, to the policy hold
ers; and the larger the number OF
policy holders who avail themselves
of the grace privilege without paying
overdue interest. the heavier the an
nual loss which the policy holders as
a whole would have to bear.
"You can readily imagine what
large total this annual loss would
amount to il only one-third Of the pol