Business English Pod / Sales English / Page 6

BEP 245 – Product Presentation in English (1)

Business English, Presentation in English, Sales English /

Product Presentation English

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on giving a product presentation in English.

Okay, so imagine your company has just launched a brand new product, or a new and improved version of an existing one. Now it’s time to get the word out and show the world what this new product is all about. And how do we do that? Well, nothing beats a great product presentation. You can go to the customer directly and show off the item, talk about its features, and demonstrate how it works.

So how can we make sure our product presentations are effective? How can we talk to our customers in ways they understand? Fortunately, there are several key techniques you can learn to deliver a great product presentation. In this lesson, we’ll cover many of these techniques, including presenting the current situation, relating features to audience needs, and giving an overview of features. We’ll also look at how to call attention to something on-screen and deal with technical issues, which can mess up any well-planned presentation.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Jenny, who’s at a trade conference representing her company, ProBooks. They’ve just launched a new upgrade called ProBooks Fusion, and Jenny’s explaining what it’s all about to an audience of existing customers.

Listening Questions

1. What is the key concept behind the most recent ProBooks upgrade?
2. What feature of the software does Jenny want to demonstrate?
3. What is Jenny’s solution to the technical problem?

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VV 35 – English for Sales Management (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Video, Sales English /
YouTube video

In this Business English Vocabulary lesson, we’ll look at vocabulary and collocations related to sales management. A sales force is made up of sales reps who try to identify leads with potential customers called prospects. A sales rep must qualify these prospects as they move down the sales funnel. At the end of the funnel, a rep hopes to close a sale, or make a deal.

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BEP 234 – English for Conferences 2: Hosting a Social Event

Business English, Sales English, Socializing /

English Conference Party Socialize

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on hosting social events at a company conference.

Conferences and other corporate events are about much more than just speakers and workshops. They’re a chance for people to network, to socialize, and to have some fun. Every good host knows this. And every good host works hard to make sure that people are enjoying themselves.

If you think about it, hosts actually have a pretty tough job. They have to organize activities and people while maintaining a smile. They have to solve frustrating problems with a positive attitude. It’s a tricky balance, but there are techniques you can learn to help you get that balance right.

Today we’ll learn a few useful techniques that will help you to be a good host. We’ll learn to ask people about needs, elicit feedback on the event, and make yourself available for help. We’ll also learn to keep conversations going and connect people.

In the dialog, we’ll revisit a company’s regional HR conference. The host is Amy, VP of HR at the company’s Chicago office. She’s organizing people during the evening conference event. We’ll hear Amy talking with two of the participants: Tom and Hanna.

Listening Questions

1. What topic does Amy invite more detail from Tom about?
2. How do Tom and Hanna meet?
3. What does Amy encourage Tom and Hanna to do at the end of the dialog?

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BEP 228 – Telephoning: Making Sales Calls in English (2)

Business English, Sales English, Telephone English /

Sales Call English

Welcome back to Business English Pod for the second part of our lesson on making sales calls.

Being successful in sales begins with getting your foot in the door. If you can sit down with someone in their workplace and show your product, or talk about your service, you’re more than halfway to making a sale. But if you don’t get the chance to sit down face to face, making the sale will be a lot harder.

There’s lots of advice out there about making cold calls in English. But usually you’ve got more to work with than just a phone number. A good lead might be someone you’ve talked to at an event, or someone you’ve been referred to by another customer or friend. So, you’ve got a name and number and perhaps a previous conversation or mutual acquaintance.

You call the person, you use your best professional greeting, you make a connection and you try to get them to talk about their company and their needs. Now comes the hard part. You need to make the next step and actually ask them to agree to meet with you. Today we’ll learn some great techniques that will help you get to that point. We’ll start with showing the value of your product or company, then we’ll cover asking for a meeting, dealing with a refusal, emphasizing the need to meet, and expressing gratitude.

In the dialog, we will hear the second part of a telephone conversation between Kate and Tina. Kate is a salesperson with a company called Thompson Medical. And Tina works at a dental office. Kate’s company sells machines called “autoclaves,” which are used to sterilize tools in medical clinics.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Kate mention ‘flexibility in the setup’?
2. How does Kate respond when Tina says that it’s hard to schedule a meeting?
3. What does Kate offer to do if Tina agrees to sit down and talk?

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