ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ls Gontents ls Jobs and responsibilities
look at the fol owing tasks. Which do you do in your job? Which do you do in Engtish?
Compareyour answers with a partner's. often sometimes never Engtish make phone calts write emails fifl in forms do Internet searches go on businesstrips take part in meetings take clients out for meals give presentations do market research go to trade fairs handle customer complaints
Whlchof the tasks aboveare typical for peopleworking ln sales?Whichare typical for
people working in purchasing?Dlscusswith a partner.
CarolSayersand Kim Dong-Sunboth work for Interflights, an air carrler locatednearSeoul. AUDIO
Usten to them describetheir iobs.lfl howorks ln sales andwho works in purchasing? tr\ ll:l 2-t 6 I UNIT1 Jobsand responsibilities
Listen again and decide who does the fotlowing as part of his/her job. :- i.Ltr',"t-*iffi*-ifi-i *--"---"r*,l-- _..-*-| i : -_ r cal sandvisits clients I ._-.__.__.._t z writes emaits 3 collectsa$gryrygy: : ____l__ -_ _ _ ] I i i 4r -presentsu"i:-qproducts f----i------i r___ _ I _* _ _: I tr1'rur9'"':1t:!_ i ] i I i-_...,_=*__*+__-_____ I 7 makesoffers I : 1 ,hfr-^fc ,ii ,ti g goes to trade fairs til 1t 10 deals with tenders - -_. - - -- *-,,.-) +--,*_-,--r"..-'_--.---^- tl. 1! handles complaints 72 writesreports
2 tlatch the two parts to makephrasesusedby Caroland Dong-Sun. a to negotiate date b to handle tenders c market order forms d to fitlin contracts e delivery complaints f to draw up research
ilow matchthe phrasesa-f to the definltions r-6.
r To write down the information needed to purchasegoods or services. icti
z Cotlecting information about what customers buy, and why. -i_l--l
3 To write a formal request to suppliers asking them to present their proposals or il
offers. 4 To try to reach an agreement about details like price, quantity, discounts, etc. ,'--, ii i_- l
5 The goods have to be delivered T---"1 il
by this time. 6 To take care of customers'problems. i** I i
l atch the job ads from a Brltlsh newspaperon the next pageto the fobtlttes below. ----t keyaccountmanager 1 r----l seniorpurchaser i_l n L] salesrepresentative supplychainmanager
UNlT 1 Jobsand responsibilities | 7
The ideal candidate wil be responsible for the
This is a senior sales role with a strong focus on
ordering and sales ofthe products
improving key and strategic accounts. As a senior
member of the team, you will be responsible for
as wel as the identification of new
managing specific global, multinational and He/She wil be business opportunities' required to
national retailers as well as identifying and
be flexible and wil be able to offer
exploiting new business opportunities. excel ent customer service'
The ke)r skil s recJuirement,$ ur(! a,sfollou,s:
Ihis will bea keypositionwithinthe record in n.goriuriorr, *a *ing,
productionandcommercialoperations. :. )pr"l*T
Knotrledge of materials used in lhe -, manufa"tuie
Reportingto theProductionDirector,themain of fumiture . Ability to create
responsibilityofthis positionis to manage,
and develop supplier relationships o
Skil s in sourcing products and
contsolandrecordtheflowof productsfrom services . {bi[iry
ourownandthirdpartyproductionsitBs,
ro work wirhin a projee r team enyironment
4 tlatch the fol owing iob titles with the descriptionsbelow. 1
makes sure that clients'needs aremet and key account manager
helps customerswhen things go wrong 2
is responsiblefor specific sales senior purchaser (or buyer)
accountsand direct client contact 3
is responsiblefor strategic planning sales representative
(i.e. making sure a company has everything 4 suppty chain manager
necessaryfor production, including machines 5 and new production sites) strategic buyer
negotiateswith suppliers about long-term or 6 frame contracts regionalsalesmanager
is in chargeof making and maintaining contact 7
with clients within a specific geographicalarea
sourcing (or procurement)officer
is responsiblefor large clients, especial yfor 8
clients of strategic interest to the company customer service manager g
is in chargeof a team of purchasers o
h is in chargeof logistics and of making sure suppliers meet demands
What is your iob title? Howwould you describewhat you do in English?
Job titles in most countries are usual y determined by the person's positionin the hierarchy,their
payment, and whether they are legal y al owed.to represent their company and sign contracts, for
example. This is not atways the case in the U.S.,the U.K. and other Engtish-speakingcountries. The job
titles there often give you no clear indication of the person'sresponsibilities becauseeach company has
a different structure and operates under different rules. Thus a vice president (V.P.) in one organization
may have a very different job description from a V.P.in another company. I I UNITl .lobsand responsibilities 5
Youare taking part in a seminarwlth peoptefrom other companies.Uselanguagefrom the box to
preparea short presentationon your company,the deparlmentyou work in and,especiatly, your iob
and responsibitities.Thengive the presentationto a partner or the group.
i Descdblng the company/department Describing responsibilities
i I wort in the sales/purchasing My team is responsiblefor...
department of a smalUmedium-sized/ I am in charge of ... l, large companycal ed ... My main responsibility is...
iwWe. develop/make/ produce/setl/...
A lot of our/my work involves ...
Our deoartment is divided into ... ]ou We have to/need to ...
We need to liaise/work closely with ... iw( I spend a lot of time ... My job atso includes ...
iw,We also are more actively involved in ...
lMlMy team/group makessure that... i Global sourcing (HQ) Controtling/ Finance fF.ti"".t I i purchasing I Regionalkey accounts I Spare parts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Regionalkev accounts l- nircratt maintenance Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts I Regionalkey accounts I Aircraft equipment Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts Keyaccounts I Offce suppty - |_ L AUDIO
@ 6 A fetlow memberof the sales departmentat Interfl ghts lc fl flng CarolSayeroIn on a meetlng 4
she missed.Llstenand decldewhlch toplcs from the agendethey dlseuss. Agenda
Sales Meeting 5 June, 3.00 - 5.00 Room 2.343
Participants: Park Chin-Sun, Daniel Berndt, James Falter, Bob Jameson
1.1 Introduction to 'Sales!'client managementprogram - timeline and organization 1.2 Trainingrequirements
2.1 New sales targets (update from Chin-Sun) 2.2 New Asian facilities
2.3 Europeanfigures for the last year
2.4 New offers in South America
3.1 Next year'sholiday planning UNIT1 lobs and responsibilities | 9
Listenagainto the diatogue.Completethese sentences.
r ... first of al , Chin-Sunhas revised our z She wants to by ten per cent overa[[. 3 There are also some for the various regions. 4 lt certainly meanswe wi[[ be
our new targets, if it al works out.
S Did Chin-Sunpresent my ideas for there? 6 We witl also need a specifical y for the region. 7 l'll
that, although I'mafraid it might 8 | could atso contact the In my area. m"q $ F,- ll:riqllig-rlyrs *-*. - ,'iii, i:i":'--':;-J-;i::j....:J:a.'* .i.-e;;'|' ;!+::;i.i.]i :]
..:.::::::;*-*,'*'---__.--.-li.:;i -.i
The words goa!, objective, and targethave similar meanings.Goalstend to be long-term i
and are often used to refer to company plirns, for example.The word objectives is often
used in more formal situations to refer to specific things people want to achieve
(objectivesof a meeting, for example). In both sales and purchasing, however,or i
whenever money or figures are involved, the most frequently used word is target,
Hereare some expressionswith fargef: to set a torget to be obove/below target to be on target to exceeda target to reach o target to revise a taroet 7
Gompletethe sentenceswlth the correctform of the expressionsfrom the box.
r Managementshould be satisfied. We right target this year. z Unfortunately,last year we wel target, so we had to cut the number of our sales team. 3 The board of directors already our new sales targets for next year.
4 After the stock market crash last year, we had to our targets.
5 This year has gone very wetlfor us and the way it looks now, we
should targets by at least fifteen per cent.
6 We had a couple of big orders, which enabled us to the target by the end ofthe
third quarter. Hopefulty,it wil continue like this. 7we easily
our profitability targets. HQwitt be happy to hear that, I'msure. 10 | UNIT1 ,lobsand responsibilities 8
Lookat these expressionswith the word sdles. promotion targets meeting tax force i I I, figures a:
Match the erpressions above with the definitions below.
r The amount of goods sotd by a company.
z The complete team of people working in sales.
3 An amount which must be paid to the governmentfor every item sold.
4 The leveI of sales that a sales team wants to reach.
5 An occasionwhere the membersof a sales team get together to discuss results and make plans.
6 The amount which has been sold of a product.
7 A set of activities designed to increasethe sales of a product.
8 A man or woman working in the sales department. AUDIO
a 9 Kim Dong-Sun from Interflights is making a telephone cal to his coleague fohn, one of the 5
flight crew coordinators. Listen and complete the two gaps in the reguisition form. Descriptionof goods/services: Clickhereto enterdetails Dategoods/servicesrequired: I July Personmakingthe request: 2 Date: 20 March Clickhereto enterquotes UNITl Jobsand responsibilities | lJ-
Hsten agaln and tick p the correctstatements.Are the klnds of suggestionsllong-
Sunmakes typical of purchasersat your company?Why,or why not?
r Johnis interested in getting companycredit cards for the flight crew.
z The flight crew often need to get cash when away on business.
3 There are no suppliers on the market for the credit cards Dong-Sunhas requested. 4 Dong-
Sunsuggests some solutions that Johnhad not thought of.
5 Johnwil make an assessmentof the various offers and comparethem.
6 John is unhappy becauseDong-Sunis taking too much time to find a solution. 10
Completethe table wlth verbsand nounsfrom the unit so far. 'T-' i VERB i NOUN . I i to agree 1 to specify i_ j to suppty AUDIO @ tI
fohn ls Informing his departmentabout the credlt cardissue discussedin exercise9. 6
Completethls excerptwith the correctform of wordsfrom the table above.Thenlisten to checkyour answers. you
So I wantedto update al on the situationwith the variousofferspurchasinghasreceivedfor
credit cards for the international flight crew. Dong-Sun'steam is currently these offers. The
'is very tough at the moment, which is of course good for us- Not 3 atl were able to meet our
4, so they were able to exclude some s
offers straight away.They witt have to
the rest very carefu[y and perhaps put in
6 for more information. But the people in our purchasingdepartment are very - for us-
thorough, and I'msure that they wilt find the best M -1 -rr .:3s and responsibilities TEIEPHOl{E LAI{GUAGE Saying who you are
Getting through to the right person
This is Adam Bedserfrom XYZLtd.
Coutd/CanI speak to John Murphy, please? :
It's DavidJonesfrom purchasing.
I'dtike to speak to somebodyin your sales/ i Hi Sarah. lt's Frankhere. purchasingdepartment, ptease. l
ls Michelte there at the moment? t2
Workwith a partner. Usethe information in the PartnerFiles
to practisea telephonedialoguebetweensomeonein purchasing
(Partner A) and someone in sales (Partner B). Look at PartnerA File r, p. 6o
the phrases above before starting. Partner B File r, p.6z
Readthese commentsthat peoplein sales and purchasingdepartmentshavegiven
about working together.Whichdo you agreewith? Veronica Lu, Head of Sales
Whenwe had to streamline our processes last yeor we salespeoplehad a terrible
time with our purchasers.lt always takes them too long to do their'shapping',ond
therefore it takesour company too long to produce our goods. lt reatly is a disaster!
Marcel Le Maigre, Account Manage
Cooperationbetween buyers and salespeople
within one company?Neverheard of it. Whatever .... *o|t!'!"'""d
!:::!1,1""i'|i,!!":,.::,:111,,.,,t EmmaWild, Sales Representative
Buyersbuy. And salesreps sel . Sa buyers and sel ers ore'natural enemies'; they are on
opposite sides, have opposing interests ond quite a different mentality. Of course they
deol with each other in sepat'atecompanies,but in the same company?No.How could they possibly cooperote? .s Maria Santos, Senior Purchaser
Salesand purchasingare otl partof producing and deliveing goodsor
servicesto o customer.tf the two departments don'tcooperate wel in
the process, the company wil lose money. lt's as simple as that. EdwardMcCoy,ManagingDirector
!n our compony,thepeoptein the salesandpurchosingdepartmentsare
expertsin variousmarketsand theyall try to stayon top of developmentsThey.
negotiateaboutquatity,deliverytimeand,mostimportantly,aboutpriceSln. ta
our company,welearnfromeachAtherthroughregularmeetingslt. works.
. Describethe cooperation betweenthe sales and purchasingdepartments in your company.
. How often do you liaise with people in other departments?Which departments do you deal
. with? What could be the benefits of close cooperation between purchasing,sales,
production, and other departments in a company? lrs New contacts
The sentences below were overheard at a trade fair. Work with a partner to decide whether
the speakers work in purchasing or sales. Write P or 5 (or both) in the box.
a Couldyou tel us about the payment options? :.....]
b Would you ptease,giveme some backgroundaboutyour compahy?
c You'[[find alt our brochureson the table over there.
d How much does this cost if we order 5oo?
eAre there any other questions we need to talk about? 'ttt'
f,,, Woutd you need ,ny ;laitiooat featuresl
g Doesyour sub-contractor also have a stand here? ,. ..'.. ...:. . . 1;:.. ,
, h Whenfoutd we arrangea presentationof our productsfor you? ' :,
,i Whatguaranteesdo you provide? i Letmegiveyou mycard.
Now discuss these questions with your partner.
r What is your experienceof trade fairs?
z Do you think trade fairs are good for business?Why,or why not?
3 What other possibitities are there for establishing new contacts or finding new products?
Donald Adams, a sales rep at Aircraft fftaintenance Inc. in Liverpool, has iust finished a
presentation of his company'sproducts at Ifte ltointenance, Repair ond Overhoul @RO)
Services and Products trade fair in Brussels. Listen to this conversation with a potential
customer, Brigitte Dupont of Air South, Brussets, and say whether the fol owing sentences are true p or false f,.
r Donald has met Brigitte before.
z Brigitte thinks that Donald'scompany has some interesting products.
3 Donaldwil catl Brigitte after the fair is over. l,4 -\-2 liewcontacts : UE ,: a2
Listen again to the conversation. Complete the sentences for how: 7 r Brigitte introduces herself. . BrigitteDupont.
z Brigitte says that the presentation was important for her. Wel ,I found it very . ... yours was definitely
Donald asks about Brigitte'sjob. CanI ask Brigitte says what her job is. l'm
Donald asks Brigitte about her interest in his company.
Do you think that our MROservices
Donald asks about setting up a meeting.
Wel ,if you have time next week,
7 Donald asks for Brigitte'sbusinesscard. your card? 8 Donald offers Brigitte a catalogue. ln the meontime,
Generally,the less direct you say something in English,the more polite it sounds. Using the structures
and language below wilt make you appear friendlier, especialtyto native speakersof English. Asking indirect questions Using would/could
Whatcompany ore you with? + Con I osk which
Look at our new catalogue. + Wouldyou like companyyou are with? to look at our new catalogue?
Giveme your card. + Could you give me
I will come to your office next week. + I your card?
could come to your office next week.
Youhove an office here, right? )
Are you interested in meeting after the fair?
Doesn'tyour company hove an office hereT
-> Wouldyou be interested in meeting after the foir?
3 Make the fol owing sentences more polite. r What'syour name? z What business are you in?
3 | want to meet you next week. 4 Wait until I get my diary.
5 Give me your contact information.
5 You work at HT Electronics,right?
7 Do you want to meet later to discuss the details?
8 Put your name on our mailing tist. uxrr2 nms l15 4
tatch the sentenceson the left with the responseson the right 7
Could we meet next week?Say,Wednesday? a No, not at al . Hereit is. 2
I'llsendyou those details. When do
b Yes,good idea. When could you @meb you need them exactly? my office? Would you mind giving me your
c Yes,of course.That'sfine. How about rr-m? business card?
d OK, but l'monly in the office in the 'B4 moming Canyou cal before noon?
Could we meet after the fair to discuss this in more detail?
e I real y need them by Tuesdayif possiHe.
l'llprepare our offer and email it to you f
That'sgreat. I look forward to getting iL by next Friday.
l'lltalk to the head of my department and ring you tomorrow. Greetingsandintrod:uctions Movingonto business Goodmorning/afternoon.
Howdid you likethe presentation? Hel o.Mynameis ... Whatdo youthink of ...? Pleasecal me...
Haveyoufoundanythingof interest? May/CanI introducemyselP Whatline of businessareyou in? you(too). giveyou/Here's (business) Nice/Pleasedto meet Letme my card. Arrangingto fol ow-up
Wouldit berpossibhto set up/arrange/fixa meeting?
CouldI caltyou in the"nextfiv,days/cometo seeyou?
PerhapsIcouldsendyousomeinformation.
Woutdyou be interestedin meetingafterthe fair is over? Couldyousendmeyourpricelists?
l'll sendyouan email/giveyou a cal nextweek.
5 Workwlth a partner to practisemeetlngsomeoneat a trade falr for the ftrst time. First look at
the phrasesabw€, then fol ow the flow chart or makea dialogueto flt your own situation. P=purchaser " S€il -2 16 -rt \e", contacts
et6 Two businessmen are having lunch in a prib at the annual trade fair if RO Servicesond Products
in Brussels. listen to this excerpt from their conversation and tick p ttre topics they talk about. Brussels , beer the weather politics sports i ntercultural differences work music their accommodation
Listen again and tick the sentences you hear.
1 a lt reminds me very much of England. b lt makes me think of England.
2 a lt's certainlyan interesting place to have a fair.
b I think it's a niceplace to have a fair, don'tyou? 3 a Do you tike footbatl?
b Are you interested in footbatt?
4 a I see trade fairs as a place to get to know people ...
b For me, trade fairs are more about getting to know people...
5 a May lask if you already have some information about my company?
b Let me tel you a bit about my company.
6 a Now, let me buy you another beer.
b Now, tel me, what'syour favourite Betgianbeer? SMALL TAIK
In many parts of the wortd, small talk is an
You can keep the conversationgoing by asking
essential part of business. lt is seen as an
a follow-up question of your own. Also, instead
important'tool'toget to know your business
of just answering questions with yes or no,
partner and to establish rapport, which can be
giving detailed answers can often lead to other
the key to a good business relationship. Here questions and comments.
are some ways to start a conversation:
Are you interested in any particular sport?
ls this your first time hereI in
-Yes, I'm reallyinto snowboarding. How Belgium? What do you think of about you?
Brusselslthe fair? Are you interested in Haveyou been to Liverpool? footbal lfilmslwinter sports? The weather here has just been
- Yes,I've beenthere many times. I real y like the atmosphere,and the people are fantasticI horrible. friendly.
When you are ready to move on to business,you can use a sentencestarting with so or
right to signaI the changeof subject.
So, you are looking for suppliers?
Right, shall we get down to business? UNIT2 New contacts | 17
7 Put the words in the right order to make smal -talk questions, and then match them to the responses (a-f).
r What think fair trade so you far the do of ?
2 you Have to been Wimbledon ever ? :
3 stay Are to whole you the planning week ? - ,
4 Chicago the at weather in the is moment How ? ,-.-
5 Do in countries fairs are different you think l
other ? 6 Brussels you took to a chance Have had around ? l
a Unfortunately not. I have to leave on Wednesday.
b Yes,l've been twicenow. | love the atmospherethere, and I'm a bigtennis fan.
c Not much better than here actual y. Maybe a little colder, so I'm happyto be away.
d I'm real yenjoying it. But l'm afraid l'l onlybe able to see half the stands before I leavetomorrow!
e Not yet, unfortunately. I'm hoping tohave some time after the fair is over. f
Wel , I think maybethe stands in Englandare a little more entertaining.
How can the speakers keep the conversation going? tlatch these fol ow-up questions with the exchanges above.
A And what's the weatherlike in Madrid now? B l
What about you? How long are you staying? C
Haveyou ever been to a trade fair in England? ._:.
D 0h, you'releaving so soon. Where are you off to? i--:
E What about you? Are you interested in any particular sport? F ;
You know Brusselswel[. Canyou recommendsome things for me to see? j'-l I
Lookatthese smal -tatkquestions and thinkofresponsesto keeptheconversationgoing. lsn't London Do you visit trade great for going to fairs ol over the theatre? ;" Europe? 4 t Doyou like -'* J'-{' Haveyou *t"a_ this style of ever been ski ng architecture? I in America? -s ?'
9 Discuss these questions about smatl talk with a partner.
r Do you know any other smal -talk phrases?Which ones do you find most useful to
get conversationsgoing in a businesscontext?
z What smal -talk questions do you usual y ask on the telephone?How are they different from the ones you ask face-to-face?
3 Haveyou been in a situation where you had to make small talk with a
native speaker of Engtish? What was easy or difficult? Shareyour experienceswith the group. 1a Newcontacts -\-2
10 Lookat the checklist belowto help you pieparefor a conversationat the www.buslness.org
trade fair. Workwith a partner. Usethe information in your PartnerFile to do the role-play.
7 Ae me mb e r to greel y o u r Pa rlne r'inglu Aing *L exchanqlnq namet' olifr"' '. W" ,^ol +oli'to'o'-"p , , ,----^-r--
3 F\ove ontobusinets'You coulA atklor in{ormation Partner? -lE
,r"ro'"A ol so^e tlaqe lo answer qutslionS
abovt you rtel a nA ab o u'tv o v r co m?a ny'
j Arrono" lht n"'l <,onlo"tl -""lino' PartnerA File z, p.6o '7Say qooAb|e' Partner B File z, p.6z tl
After meetingagainat the trade fair, Brendanfrom Aircraft taintenance Inc. and
Rainerfrom low CostFtights International are now backat their offices and needto
exchangesome information.Completethe email wlth wordsfrom the box. o ippl,sri3fgd I
i Subject: Additional information about our products and services Attachment: products.pdf
tmeeting you last week at the pub in Brussels and I very much
2 our conversation at your stand. You will find the
.3information about our products and services thal you a to this email, as promised. 5
to visit you soon and present our special package offer for VIP aircrafts. Could I
.6a meeting at your premises in Bremen?
7 a meeting and if you need any additional ,rr-2 \:,ir ::-:ac-s | 1!l
i There are fewer conventionswith emails than with letters, but here are a few points to remembe!'- Opening sentence
This shoutd always start with a capital letter. The first sentenceis usually a bit of small talk, refurs
to a previous messageor meeting, or explains why you are writing.
Hope you had a nice weekend.lHow are things going?
It was nice to meet you at the conferencelast week.
I'mwriting to telllask you about ...I I iust wanted to get in touch to ... Salutations and closes more formal
DearMF Mrs, Ms RegardslSincerely Dear Bob Best wishesl Kind reoards : HellolHi Bob Allthe bestlBest i teast formal (no salutation*) (iust first name or initials*)
: (* usuattyjust with col eaguesand especial y during long email exchanges) 12
Brendan and Rainer have exchanged emails to arange to meet, but the paragraphs have
been mixed up. Sort the paragraphs a-g into the correct emails below. a
Thank you very much for the invitation and the opportunity to meet. I would like to confirm
the meeting for 3 Aprit at 11a.m. Let me suggest that I bring our specialist who could add
more details both to the presentation and the discussion afterwards. b
Woutd 3 Apritat 11a.m. at our offices be convenient for you? From: Rainer Noack
c We would be very happy to invite you to ro: BrendanJohnson
our office in Bremen,and would be
Sublect: Re: Additional information about our products and services
interested in a oresentation for four of us DearBrendan,
(my boss, two col eaguesof mine, and 1 l-l
mysetf). I suggest about an hour and a z 1-_1 hal with Iunch to fol ow 3 i-l
d I look forward to seeing you in Bremen. . E 4 From: Brendan Johnson
e Thank you for your hetp. Looking forward Ll To: Rainer Noack Bestwishes, to seeing you on Subject: Our presentaf,o- 3 April. Rainer f
I would also like to take the opportunity DearRainer,
to find out more about your specific 5
needs and wishes. Would you mind 6
answeringthe fol owing questions to help us with our 7 preparation? Kindregarcs-
o What number of aircraft are you interested in? Brendan
r At which locations willyou require these services?
. Wittyou also be interested in regular overhauls?
g lt was good to meet you and I also enioyed your visit to our stand. Thank yo- aiso fo'ihe file
you sent with your recent emaih it was exactly the information I needed.We wouid rire to
hear more about your MROservices for VIP aircrafts specifical y. t -lN- 2 New contacts 73
xow find phrasesin the two emal son page19 to comptetethe gapsbelow.
Introduction/Referringto previousmeetingor message
Regardingour conversationof 3 January,... Requestinginformation
Could you send me some details about...
Making or confirming an appointment How about Thursdayat 4 p.m? Concluding
Pleasefeelfree to contact me again. t4
UseRainer'sand Brendan'snoteswriteto emails to other peoplethey met at the trade fair.
Try to use phrases from thls unit. Brendan 1 Evwailn laila 1 Eynail to Moffta Ktstalas at klandJets' Santosfro rmEuraftights, W\LLshe be tw vurtherw wetk' Qoodto yt4t&tl4c; it Un" GervnanYntxt she tradefair. Catalagur, i^t i*" tW saLd?Caw ow ttc way.k her wutther corvl?to. Pre'se'nt better ww? prodwts, maYbe 'fWusohY dtexvuovtt 7 ErvtaLLto Kersnw 2 Eynait ta tvlLhaet Jvl*etlPrWhat. dLdshe O'Brww.Verygood t6nk af tho tradefair? stqnd. plqte send I'LLbe iw tho Qraz area brach,ve and price saow.CawvJearrarye a li.str. 2 hnnrs Will he ever be rweet*g? SaY ir+ Eremen2 We uulo( visit or+5 oi toSePte'vnber? the.Irkh puh. UNIT2 Newcontacts | 21
Mari ke Veenstrais Headof Salesat lT International,a companybasedin the
Netherlands. Shehas glven an Intervlewfor the company'sin-housemagazineDo.you agreewith the tips she gives? I NTERVI EW
services I need to think from their perspective,
their market- In that way I can offer them not
only a product. but a benefit - hopeful y the
exactbenefit the-rare looking for. The main task
of a salespersonis to 'bu1-'timefrom your client
in order to find out about the benefit or benefits
thel'erpectOften- that requiresasking the right questions
The third strategic question is: hou'can I that I hare'made an impact'? Here
I need to satch m! counterpart s reactions - what
they say,rtat their bodrr languagesa,vs and
sometimesevenx'hatthey do not sa1..There is
always a moment when the bulers make the
mental decision to buy. Of course they don't say
this out loud. But there are lots of subtle hints, Q
like when a client says 'we'for the fust time or Marijke, you havebeenin
salesfora long time, if I may say sa ll/hat
when he talks about the future. Once I know that
areyour tipsfor peoplejust stailing out?
the client has said'yes', I need to make fewer
concessionsAgain,. it is the same principle real y:
A: I havefour tips. First of al , the focus for any
understand your clients'needs, interestsand the
successfulsalespersonis building relationships benefit they are seeking.
with clients. If I can relate to them as people
Finally, I would expect any successful
- and not just as clients - I have a better
salespersonto look for a 'point of contact' or
understanding of how they think, what is
an internal ally in the client organization.
important for them and how they like to make
That should be a person who will think of 'me'
their decisions.Smal talk is an important tool
when the company needsa solution, a person
for doing this. I ask my clients what they do on
who prefers to work with me, rather than my
vacation, what kind of hobbiesthey haveand I
competitors. The basisfor that kind of contact
try to remembertheir birthdays or other details
is trust. Tiust in the quality of services and that are important to them.
goods,trust in our offers and promises.Clients
This is directly linked to my secondpoint: I
compare what they expect with what they get.
haveto be seento be at my clients' side,to be able
Trust increaseswhen that comparison is
to solve their problems with my products and
positive. And that is positive for us! I IT INTERNATIONAL @
. How many'personal things'doyou know about your clients or
the suppliers you work with? What 'smal -talk'questionsdo you normal y ask/do
they normal y ask you? Which questions are most effective for establishing a good working relationship?
. How do you think you can find a firm 'pointof contact' inyour clients'organization?
r What are your tips for being successfulin your line of work?