In this lesson we’ll look at legal English vocabulary related to intellectual property, or IP. Intellectual property includes patents, as well as trademarks and trade secrets. IP may be licensed to others, but it still belongs to the rights holder. We’ll cover activities such as counterfeiting, as well as reverse engineering. And finally, we’ll look at designation of origin.
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on dealing with a customer’s doubts about a proposed solution during the sales process.
Customers rarely agree to buy after an initial pitch. Sales typically involves a lot more work than just the initial approach. You need to get to know the customer, understand their needs and offer them good solutions. And somewhere along the way, you’ll have to deal with their questions and doubts. After all, people want to be sure they’re making the right choice, and that they’re spending their money wisely. And even when you’ve shown them all the right reasons to buy from you, they might still be on the fence. So what can you do?
Well, there are a few useful techniques that can help you deal with a customer’s doubts. We can ask about reasons, and propose solutions. We can also relieve their fears and anticipate their concerns. And finally, we can show them why the other alternatives are not good choices. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to use these techniques.
In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Aaron, a salesman at a commercial refrigeration company. He’s been talking with a hotel about providing cooling systems for their restaurant and bar. Aaron has taken the time to get to know his customer, and he’s submitted a proposal that he thinks matches their needs. But now the customer has some doubts. Besides Aaron, you’ll hear Eva, the hotel manager, and William, the contractor who’s renovating the hotel.
Listening Questions
1. What is Aaron’s solution to Eva’s first concern?
2. What other concern of Eva’s is Aaron able to guess?
3. Why does Aaron think that not choosing his solution for the freezer is a bad idea?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on matching solutions to customers’ needs during the sales process.
Have you ever been frustrated by a salesperson who tried to sell you something you didn’t need? Yes, we all have! And so if you’re the one doing the selling, remember that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t likely to work. Instead, you need to build a relationship and learn about your customer’s needs. Only then can you provide the right solution.
In our last two lessons on the sales process, we looked at how to make your initial approach and understand the customer’s needs. So in this lesson, we’ll look at the next step in the process: matching a solution to those needs.
There are several techniques we can use to offer a solution to a customer. We can warn them against doing things a certain way. That is, we can advise them against solutions that don’t match their needs. We can also emphasize cost benefits or quality, and ask hypothetical questions in order to persuade them. And finally, once we’ve used these techniques, we can finish by summarizing agreement.
In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Aaron, a salesperson with a commercial refrigeration company. He has been talking to customers at a new hotel who need equipment for their bar and restaurant. Aaron has visited the hotel to meet them and talk about their needs. Now Aaron is putting together a proposal, and he calls the hotel manager, Eva, to talk about some of his proposed solutions.
Listening Questions
1. What does Aaron advise Eva against doing at the beginning of their conversation?
2. What point does Aaron emphasize when he recommends the Coil-Pro unit?
3. At the end of the conversation, how does Aaron introduce his summary of their discussion?
If you’re a fan of technology, you’ve likely come across the term Internet of Things, or IoT. It’s the connection of everyday devices to the Internet and has already started to change the way we interact with each other and the online world, and as Business Insider explains, it’s just getting started.
The Internet of Things has been labeled as “the next Industrial Revolution” because of the way it will change the way people live, work, entertain, and travel, as well as how governments and businesses interact with the world. In fact, the revolution has already started.
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to get action over the telephone in English.
Being productive at work means getting stuff done. And sometimes to get our own work done, we need other people to get things done. So when you need action from someone, what’s the best or quickest way to get it? Well, often we just pick up the phone and call the person.
And what do you say? Is it okay to just come out and say “hey, do this” or “hi, do that?” Not really. You need to be firm and direct, but not that firm and direct. You might need to emphasize how important the issue is. Next, you might lead into the main issue before you actually talk about what you want or need done.
But that’s not all! If you want action, you want to make absolutely sure you’re going to get it. That’s why you might ask for a guarantee, which is like a promise from the other person. And finally, just to be 100% sure, you should finish off by confirming the action. In this way, you’re not being too direct or bossy, but you’re still firmly doing more than just making a polite request.
In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Nathan, who works for an aircraft company called Cyclops. Nathan is calling George at a company called Airtronics. Nathan is calling because he wants to get action on a proposal from George. More specifically, he wants to make sure George is going to submit the proposal to Cyclops today.
Listening Questions
1. Why does Nathan think it’s important for George to submit a proposal today?
2. What important question does Nathan ask that relates to whether George can complete his proposal?
3. Near the end of the conversation, Nathan asks George to do something just to confirm that the proposal is being sent. What does he ask George to do?
