抄録
Cover letters for sales proposals often influence purchasers' decision making. To examine the effectiveness of cover letters, the author classified 34 cover letters submitted by corporations in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and seven other countries into: (1) transmittal type, (2) commercial type, (3) summary type, (4) prediction type, (5) capabilities type, and (6) mixed type. The result of analyzing these cover letters indicates that transmittal-type letters, which are usually as short as a few lines, are often used for standardized equipment and parts, while summary-type, prediction-type, capabilities-type and, in particular, mixed-type letters are preferred for proposals of customized equipment, such as rotating machines.
