"Social skills needed to gain admittance into Greek system are same aptitudes that can later give them a leg-up in corporate climbing," says Forbes magazine.

2. Only about 8.5% of full-time university undergraduates are members of either a fraternity or sorority.

3. Fraternities have produced 48% of all US presidents.

4. Fraternities have produced 42% of US senators.

5. Fraternities have produced 30% of US Congressmen.

6. Fraternities have produced 40% of Supreme Court justices.

7. Among fraternity members who are Forbes 500s CEOs, 11 are Beta Theta Pi members.

8. 9 are Sigma Alpha Epsilon members and 9 are Sigma Chi members.

9. 8 are Lambda Chi Alpha members.

10. And 7 are Alpha Tau Omega members.

For full article, go here: http://www.forbes.com/work/careers/2003/01/31/cx_dd_0131frat.html

* Have you taken into account fact that reader may be receiving many competing offers and enumerated principal advantages of your product or service? When a business-opportunity dealer wrote, "I learned pitfalls of mail order hard way. I bought many, many worthless programs," I urged him to reveal dollar amount he'd wasted before finding program that enabled him to turn a profit for first time, and to elaborate on what made those programs worthless. Use this formula if you have difficulty putting your advantages into words: "Unlike other XXXs, we..." For instance, "Unlike larger law firms, at BB&G you deal consistently with partners, knowledgeable experts who always return phone calls within 48 hours."

* Have you addressed and disarmed most common fear, misgiving or concern prospects might have about buying from you? There's always a natural uncertainty about buying from a stranger. Guarantees help, as do testimonials from satisfied customers and lists of large organizations that you've served. These don't always have to appear in letter itself, as in: "If this sounds too good to be true, I'll happily supply you with names and telephone numbers of dealers in your state who have secured their future with our plan."

* Do you use a "P.S." to provide a compelling reason for reader to act now? Studies show that a postscript gets read more often than any other portion of a letter. Word your "P.S." so that it makes sense if it's read first, and include an incentive for acting fast, as in, "Remember, we have only thirty-one of these slightly damaged, fully functional metronomes left at 80 percent off, so place your order today!"

For additional do's and don'ts, collect and study especially impressive or awful letters that come in your mail. My "sample sales letter" file measures almost three inches thick!