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BEP 325 – Business Development 1: Networking with Customers

Business English, Sales English, Socializing / June 2, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to talk with customers in English. Potential customers, that is.

If you work in sales or business development, a big part of your job is meeting new people in search of new customers. That might include cold-calling, where you phone someone at work or drop by their office. But often this kind of networking takes place at events, like conferences, forums, and pretty much anywhere else you have a lot of people in one place.

At these events, you don’t usually begin a conversation talking about business. Instead, you talk about the weather, or sports, or other non-work topics. This is where socializing in English and doing business in English are closely connected. You’ve got to break the ice socially before you introduce your company, the work that you do, and other clients. And then you’ve got to lead into talking about the customer’s needs and asking to follow up at a later time. The trick is doing this naturally.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Nick, who works in business development for an HR consulting company. Nick is at a dinner event during a big HR conference. He is seated at a table with Andria. Nick clearly demonstrates how an English sales conversation works, as he identifies Andria as a potential customer.

Listening Questions

1. How does Nick introduce his company?
2. What do Nick’s company and Andria’s company have in common?
3. What does Nick ask to identify a gap in Andria’s HR strategy?

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BEP 299 – Sales English 6: Post-Sales Follow-Up

Business English, Sales English / February 4, 2017

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on following up with a customer after a sale in English.

In sales, your work doesn’t end when the customer agrees to buy what you’re selling. Good salespeople understand the importance of following up, of making sure the customer is satisfied, and of helping them understand their new product or service. After all, happy customers continue to be customers, and selling more to existing customers is easier than finding new ones.

How exactly do you make sure customers are satisfied? For one thing, you might need to reassure them that what you’ve sold them is the right solution. They might worry about quality or reliability, and it’s your job to tell them clearly that they have nothing to worry about.

But sometimes a customer has a problem with their product, a problem that you need to resolve. In this case, it’s important to state confidently that they’ll have a quick solution. Besides these kinds of worries, it’s very helpful if you can show the customer how their product works using clear language. You might also provide extra tips that improve their experience with the product. And finally, we often discuss things the customer shouldn’t do when using the product.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a post-sales follow-up conversation between Aaron, Eva, and Dave. Eva is the manager of a hotel with a new café, bar, and restaurant. Aaron has just sold them refrigerated coolers for the café and bar. And Dave is a contractor working on the hotel’s renovations. Aaron is talking with Eva and Dave to make sure everything went well with the installation of the coolers.

Listening Questions

1. What does Aaron promise when Dave points out that there is a “kick plate” missing?
2. What special tip does Aaron share on cleaning the display cases?
3. What expression does Aaron use to caution Eva against forcing the glass door open too far?

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BEP 298 – Sales English 5: Dealing with Setbacks

Business English, Sales English / January 28, 2017

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on dealing with setbacks near the end of the sales process.

Working in sales can be really tough. Sometimes you put a lot of hard work into the process but still things don’t work out the way you want. You might understand your customer’s needs and propose a great solution. But still, some customers might not see the value of what you’re offering.

In some cases, that means they decide not to buy what you’re selling. In others, it means they don’t completely accept your price or terms. Whatever the case, you’ll need to be prepared to deal with these kinds of setbacks. After all, a good salesperson is not just a good talker, they can adapt and face challenges with confidence.

One part of dealing with setbacks is responding to the bad news with understanding and a positive attitude. Tell the customer you understand their concerns and let them know you’re still interested in doing business in the future. And you should be careful not to use language that shows disappointment or frustration.

If you have to negotiate on the price or terms, you need to proceed carefully. Sometimes you might agree with hesitation, making sure to tell the customer why something might be difficult. And sometimes you’ll need to stay firm, while remaining polite and friendly. It’s also a good idea to know the language we use to offer something, such as little extras that will make the customer happy. And finally, at this point in the sales process, you will often have to discuss or make suggestions about the schedule and timelines.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Aaron, who works in sales for a commercial refrigeration company. Aaron has been trying to sell cooling systems to a hotel undergoing remodeling. He has offered some great solutions and overcome some obstacles, and now he’s about to hear the customer’s decision. Aaron is talking on the phone with Eva, the hotel manager.

Listening Questions

1. How does Aaron respond when he first hears Eva’s decision?
2. What does Aaron emphasize about the deli cases in response to Eva’s concerns about the price?
3. What extra does Aaron offer to Eva to help push her to accept the price?

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BEP 288 – Sales English 4: Dealing with Doubts

Advanced, Business English, Sales English / May 29, 2016

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?

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BEP 287 – Sales English 3: Matching a Solution to Needs

Advanced, Business English, Sales English / May 22, 2016

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?

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