Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson, the fourth in our series on financial English. In this lesson, we’ll focus on pitching a new opportunity to a client.
In certain ways, selling financial services is just like selling any other kind of product. You connect with people and you match your solution to their needs or desires. And, of course, you show how that solution is worth the money it costs. But with financial services, these activities are usually much higher stakes.
Working with other people’s money requires you to work on maintaining a strong relationship. It’s not a one-off purchase, but an ongoing transaction. You need to let them know how their investments are doing and show clients you understand them as people, including their concerns.
Then, when the time is right, you can pitch new opportunities. If you’re smart, you can set up a real win-win situation with your clients. If they earn more money, then you earn more money, and you both end up better off.
In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between Robert, an investment advisor, and his client Jessica. Robert wants to give Jessica an update on her current investments before introducing a new opportunity involving a hedge fund.
Listening Questions
1. What expression did Jessica use previously that Robert now brings back up in order to pitch her a new opportunity?
2. What does Robert say is the main benefit of a hedge fund?
3. How does Robert respond when Jessica expresses concerns that a hedge fund requires a big investment?
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