Cutting, Watching or Justifying Expenses
Guidelines and Alternate Phrases
State the expense of concern immediately. Even in a persuasive letter, your readers still need to know to what conclusion you intend to lead them. Without knowing the bottom-line message, they feel manipulated. Another inherent danger in building your case before making your request is your readers may examine your evidence and arrive at an altogether different conclusion. By giving your statement of “wants” first, you can guide their thinking toward your own conclusion.
Include a why. Readers need motivation for both belt-tightening and spending. Include both obvious and not-so-obvious reasons for your request.
Of course, such uncontrolled expenses reflect an attitude of carelessness to those we supervise.
Such extravagance is not the kind of image we want to project to our customers. Our niche has always been the highest quality at the lowest profit margin.
Such expenses may drastically affect our available funds for bonuses and raises at year’s end.
As we are all happily aware, sales are going up. But if expenses rise to the same point, or even higher, what have we gained?
Don’t base your request to cut or watch expenses on personal observation alone. You need facts to back up what you say; otherwise, the reader will likely argue that you have latched onto the “exceptional.” If you don’t want to gather the facts yourself, then ask the responsible person (perhaps your reader) to do so. Without authoritative data, the issue remains vague.
Translate vague costs to specific, understandable dollars.
When ordering a “cut,” offer alternatives. Suggest ways to accomplish the same activities with fewer dollars. Or ask for such suggestions from the readers. Pinpoint your priorities for spending.
When justifying expenses, anticipate alternative solutions and address them. What limitations do these other options have?
Be accurate in your predictions and figures. Avoid sounding like you’re going into bankruptcy if the postage meter isn’t replaced, but do make readers aware of the seriousness and specific repercussions of the situation.
Don’t reprimand by way of a cutting-expenses letter sent to more than one reader. In pointing out one individual’s weakness, communicate privately, not with a distribution list.
Don’t sound abrasive. In a “problem” statement, calling someone by name in direct address (“Wayne, this is a function of your department.”), you have made the issue a personal attack. Including yourself in a we-need-to-cut-or-watch-expenses statement makes a much more palatable suggestion and makes your reader feel that thrift is a team effort.
I have every confidence that you, as directors, can pull us out of this unpleasant predicament.
I’ll appreciate any suggestions you can give me on how you plan to cut expenses in your division during the next quarter.
I know you won’t let me down.
Come on, we can do it. Keep one hand on the wheel and the other on your wallet.
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