In most parts of the world, having lunch or dinner together is an important part of doing business. In places such as North America, eating meals is a way of building a relationship or celebrating a partnership. And in other cultures, such as China, much of the real work of making deals actually often gets done over the dinner table.
No matter where you are doing business, it’s important to be able to handle the basics of dining out. This includes ordering food, recommending dishes, proposing a toast, and paying for the check, among other things. These skills will be the focus of this episode.
在聆聽中, we continue to follow Mario and Francesca, who represent the Italian fashion company Viva, on their visit to the U.S. As planned, they are having dinner in Las Vegas with their distributor Adriana, who works at the American company Foxtrot. Bill, one of their new customers, has also joined them.
When the dialog begins, the group has already made some small talk and looked at the menu. Now they are ready to order.
聽力問題:
1) Why doesn’t Francesca want to try the “steak tartare?” 2) How does Francesca signal that she’s ready to go back to the hotel? 3) Who pays for the meal?
For today’s Business English Podcast lesson, we’re going to focus on the “classic sales” approach to selling products and services. This approach is based on explaining the features, attributes and benefits of your products using the “FAB” technique.
The FAB technique is useful for people working in the manufacturing and retail trade – anyone who has to present products. 尤其, we’ll look at how this approach can be applied in the Merchandizing business. Merchandizing is the trade name for businesses involved in the design and manufacture of clothing and household items.
在對話方塊中, we rejoin Marco and Francesca on their trip to a fashion trade show in the U.S. Their company, Viva, has just created an exciting new line of clothes. With the help of their American partner, 狐步舞, they are hoping to get a couple big sales contracts with U.S. department stores.
The listening takes place in the Foxtrot showroom. We’ll hear Francesca speak to a potential customer, Bill, who is a buyer for Bancroft’s, a retail chain store that targets professional women.
聽力問題
1. What is the key feature of Viva’s fall colors this year? Can you name some of the colors? 2. Why is the Viva Professional line more expensive? 3. As described in the dialog, what are the main benefits of Viva’s clothing line?
