A letter that plainly conveys true ideas is a sales letter; for it gets
across to the mind of the recipient a clear, definite mental impression
of the writer's real personality and thoughts.

In all your correspondence, throughout the period of preparation for
your chosen life career, send out true ideas of your best capability. If
you do, you doubtless will find the door of your desired opportunity
open by the time you are fully prepared to knock. Successful business is
always ready in advance to welcome "comers;" whenever and wherever they
are sighted. Therefore project your personality far and wide through
your letters. Employ the medium of correspondence, with salesmanship
knowledge and skill, even when you write the most ordinary messages to
your acquaintances or to strangers. That is, _think out certain ways to
sell particular ideas about yourself_; then incorporate these bits of
salesmanship in your letters.

A young man in his senior year at college selected a large corporation
as his prospective employer. He did not know any of the executives of
the company, but he worked out a plan to get acquainted through letters.
He was especially desirous of entering the field of foreign trade, and
had made a fairly comprehensive study of the export business. He wrote
to the president of the corporation, gave a brief outline of articles
and books he had read; then complimented the great company by declaring
that he realized the knowledge he had acquired was theoretical and
abstract, and that he wished to gain practical, concrete ideas by
studying the methods of the corporation. He enclosed with his letter ten
cents in postage stamps, and requested that he be sent any forms,
instruction sheets, sales bulletins, etc., the president was willing to
let him have for study.