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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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BEP 227 – Telephoning: Making Sales Calls in English (1)

Business English, Sales English, Telephone English /

English Sales Call

In this Business English lesson, we take a look at making sales calls.

Many people hate making sales calls in English. They pick up the telephone and instantly feel a pit in their stomach. They might be afraid of rejection. Or they might know that most people hate receiving sales calls. But fear not! When you pick up the telephone, you’ve got an opportunity. If you approach it positively, you’ll have more positive results.

You start with a list of leads. This might just be names and numbers. They might be people you’ve met at a networking event or a trade show. Now it’s time to work those leads. In the first call, you’re not going to give them a hard sell or a pitch. You can save the real selling for a face to face meeting. And that’s your short-term goal: getting someone to agree to sit down with you.

You’re not the first person who has ever called someone to arrange a meeting. And there are some tried and true techniques that you can rely on. Today, we focus on the first part of a sales call. We’ll look at using a friendly professional greeting, showing respect for time, and referencing other clients. We’ll also look at both asking about a client’s needs and summarizing those needs.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Kate, a salesperson with a company called Thompson Medical. She’s calling Tina, who works at a dental office. Kate’s company sells “autoclaves.” An autoclave is a machine that sterilizes, or cleans, tools and equipment. It’s an important piece of equipment in any medical office.

Listening Questions

1. Why do you think Kate mentions that Tina must be very busy?
2. What does Kate say about another clinic that she visited?
3. What are the basic problems that Tina’s office has with their current system?

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BEP 215 – Telephone English: Keeping in Touch (2)

Business English, Socializing, Telephone English /

BEP 215 - Telephone English - Keeping in Touch 2

In this Business English Pod lesson, we continue to look at language for keeping in touch with colleagues and customers by telephone.

Good business is built on good relationships. And good relationships are built on good communication. Of all the tools we use for communicating over long distances, the telephone is one of the best. We can listen and respond to the other person immediately. We can hear the other person’s voice and emotions. And we can use our own voice to convey feeling.

But talking on the phone isn’t always easy. It can be hard to set the right tone and strike a good balance between work and personal issues. There are certain techniques you can learn to help you do just that. In this lesson, we’ll hear several.

Today we’ll cover how to lower the formality in a conversation, show interest in where someone else is located, and keep the conversation going. We’ll also learn how to offer personal information and transition to work issues using a topic that has already been introduced.

We will hear Susan, the shipping broker from our last episode. She is calling from Amsterdam to a customer named Paul. Paul is an expat working in Santos, Brazil. Susan and Paul are chatting about personal matters a bit before getting down to business.

Listening Questions

1. What does Paul say about the weather?
2. What does Susan say about Venice?
3. Which word or topic that Chris mentions does Susan use to transition to work matters?

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BEP 214 – Telephone English: Keeping in Touch (1)

Business English, Socializing, Telephone English /

BEP 214 - Telephone English - Keeping in Touch 1

In this Business English Pod lesson, we look at how to keep in touch with your colleagues and customers over the telephone.

Can you imagine doing your work without your phone? It’s a regular part of most people’s work day. Talking to people is a big part business. And the talking that we do is not always about work. Whether it’s with a client, customer, or colleague, the conversations we have on the phone usually have a social element as well.

There’s a very good reason for this. Good business relies on good relationships. And if you can connect with someone on a personal level, your work will be easier and smoother. And when that someone doesn’t work in the same office, that connection will often happen on the phone. It doesn’t matter if they are across the street or across the globe.

So what are the skills you need to keep in touch by phone? Well today, we’ll look at several important techniques, including cutting to work issues, asking someone about past and personal issues, and personalizing our sign-offs, or goodbyes.

In the dialog we’ll hear Susan, a shipping broker in Amsterdam, talking with Chris, a colleague in the UK. Susan and Chris used to work in the same office together, but now they’re in different countries and have to keep in touch by phone. Let’s listen in and see how they get along.

Listening Questions

1. What is the purpose of Susan’s call?
2. What past issue does Susan ask Chris about?
3. What does Susan invite Chris to do?

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BEP 199 – Telephone English: Controlling the Call (2)

Business English, Communication, Customer Service, Telephone English /

In this Business English lesson, we’ll continue our look at language and techniques for controlling a telephone call in English.

If you’re like most people, talking on the telephone is a basic part of work life. We talk with colleagues, customers, potential clients, suppliers, company reps – the list goes on and on. In fact, the telephone has become even more important as we spend less time at our desks and more time dealing with people remotely.

As you surely know, talking on the telephone is not always easy. We can’t use the same techniques that we might use when talking to someone face-to-face. We need to learn a new set of skills. It is these skills that we are looking at in this series about controlling the call. If you learn to do this well, you’ll end each conversation with a sense of achievement and purpose.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Chris and Nick. Chris is calling Nick to inform him about some price changes and to arrange a meeting. As you will hear, the caller carefully controls the conversation and gets the outcome she wants.

Listening Questions

1. What reason does Chris give for the change in prices?
2. When will the price changes take effect?
3. Why does Chris want to meet with Nick?

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BEP 198 – Telephone English: Controlling the Call (1)

Business English, Communication, Customer Service, Telephone English /

In this Business English lesson, we’re going to look at language and skills for controlling a telephone call in english.

The telephone has become an essential part of doing business, and not just for customer service representatives and receptionists. No matter what type of work you do, chances are that you spend a part of every day talking on the phone. It might be a simple information exchange or a high stakes negotiation. But even though we all talk on the phone, we don’t all do it with the same success. But there are skills and techniques you can learn to become more effective.

One of the most important telephone skills is controlling the call. You need to be able to take the conversation where you want it to go. This can be difficult when the other person has a lot to say. But you can learn to direct the conversation and keep it focused.

In this lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Mary and Oliver. Oliver works in customer service for an Internet service provider, and Mary is calling about a problem she’s having with her Internet connection. We’ll hear Oliver carefully control the conversation and guide it to a logical conclusion.

Listening Questions

1. What is the customer’s problem?
2. What information does Oliver want from the customer?
3. What options does Oliver give the customer?

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Skills 360 – Telephone English Tips (Part 2)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Customer Service, Telephone English /

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast.

Communicating effectively on the phone is an essential skill. And whether you’re talking to a client, a colleague, a supplier, your boss, or a bicycle courier, you need to make sure your purpose and the information is clear. Last week, we focused on your telephone attitude. Today, we’ll look at ways you can make sure information is flowing smoothly and that you are guiding the conversation.

Discussion Questions

1. How much planning do you usually do before an important telephone call?
2. What do you usually do when you don’t understand what someone is trying to say on the telephone?
3. What information do you normally include when you leave a message for someone?

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Skills 360 – Telephone English Tips (Part 1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Customer Service, Telephone English /

Welcome back to the Skills 360 podcast.

Today, we’re going to take a look at an activity we do every day: talking on the telephone. We’ll look at how to start the call off on the right note by using a positive attitude, smiling over the phone, being polite, and speaking clearly.

Discussion Questions

1. How do you usually answer the telephone at work?
2. What do you think a good telephone attitude involves?
3. What do you think it is okay to speak informally on the telephone?

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Business English for Telephoning eBook

Announcements, Business English e-Books, Telephone English /

Business English for Telephoning eBook This is a preview of our new e-Book for working on the telephone in English:
Business English for Telephoning

Business English Pod e-Books enable you to learn on the go with MP3 audio lessons and the detailed PDF study guides, including a full transcript of each lesson. As with all our e-Books, Business English for Telephoning includes over 100 online quizzes, exercises and flashcards designed to help you practice and learn all the language covered in the course.

Click the launch button below to start the online quizzes for Unit 501 – Answering a Call

All BEP e-Books are free for Premium Members or you can purchase the e-book separately by clicking the button below:

BEP 69 B – Telephoning: Taking a Message in English

A2, Business English, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

Welcome back to Business English Pod. This is the second part of our look at answering the phone and taking a message. In this lesson, we’ll focus on taking a message.

Today’s lesson is also featured in our new eBook: Business English for Telephoning. This eBook covers essential language for many different types of business calls, including dealing with customers and complaints, making arrangements and checking on orders.

In our last lesson (BEP 69 A – Answering a Call), we looked at answering a call effectively. We heard an example of poor telephone skills and started in on a dialog that demonstrated good telephone skills. Today, we’re going to continue with that dialog and look at how to take a message. Have you ever missed a telephone message? Or have you received a message that didn’t contain the necessary information? If so, then you understand how important it is not just to take a message, but to do it right.

We’ll look at ways to ask someone to leave a message, information that should be included in a message, and how to offer help. You will also learn how to acknowledge, check back and confirm information that a caller gives you.

Now, let’s rejoin Mark, who works for a company called Trivesco. He is calling a shipping company, Daneline, hoping to speak with someone named Sylvie Petersen. Sylvie is not there, so Mark has to leave a message with Amy, the receptionist.

Listening Questions

1. How does the tone of Amy’s voice sound?
2. What information does Mark include in his message?
3. How does Amy make sure she has Mark’s phone number correct?

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