If you work in sales or business development, a big part of your job is meeting new people in search of new customers. That might include cold-calling, where you phone someone at work or drop by their office. But often this kind of networking takes place at events, like conferences, forums, and pretty much anywhere else you have a lot of people in one place.
At these events, you don’t usually begin a conversation talking about business. 代替, you talk about the weather, or sports, or other non-work topics. This is where用英语进行社交and doing business in English are closely connected. You’ve got to break the ice socially before you introduce your company, the work that you do, and other clients. And then you’ve got to lead into talking about the customer’s needs and asking to follow up at a later time. The trick is doing this naturally.
在今天的对话中, 我们会听到尼克, 在一家人力资源咨询公司从事业务开发的人. Nick is at a dinner event during a big HR conference. He is seated at a table with Andria. Nick clearly demonstrates how anEnglish sales conversationworks, as he identifies Andria as a potential customer.
听力问题
1. How does Nick introduce his company? 2. What do Nick’s company and Andria’s company have in common? 3. What does Nick ask to identify a gap in Andria’s HR strategy?
欢迎回到Business English Pod，今天的课程 用英语进行社交with your clients on the phone.
There’s an old saying that you should never mix business and pleasure. 当然可以, it might not be a good idea to get too close to your customers and clients. But if you are all business, and you shy away from anything personal, you’ll seem cold. And people won’t connect with you.
最终, you have to find the right balance. You want to be personable, but not nosy. You want to be friendly, but not pushy. And you have to take your time. A conversation with a new customer will be naturally more formal than with an established one. That’s true not only in person, but on the phone as well.
在上一课中, we learned about paying a visit to a client’s office. 今天, we’ll look at checking in with a client by phone. 如你所见, we often make friendly conversation at the beginning of the call, and you might find yourself showing understanding of a client’s personal situation. But eventually you’ll want to switch from the personal to business. And once you’re talking business, you might mention personal connections, gauge needs, and discuss developments in your industry. This is all part of maintaining and building a relationship with your client.
在今天的对话中, we’ll rejoin Markus, an account manager for a company that sells servers. Markus is calling up a client named Jana. He wants to check in with her, find out how she’s doing, and see if she needs anything. And you’ll hear him strike a balance between business and personal issues.
听力问题
1. Jana mentions a personal issue at the start of the conversation. 它是什么? 2. When Markus switches from personal matters to business, what topic does he mention? 3. How does Markus ask Jana about their server needs?
欢迎回到Business English Pod，今天的课程 用英语进行社交with your clients.
Business is all about relationships. And the stronger your relationships are, especially with customers or clients, the more successful you’ll be. This is why we call up our customers or drop by their office. Sometimes we’ve got important business to take care of, but sometimes all we need to do is say hello and check in.
实际上, visiting with clients often sounds like a chat between friends. We might talk about sports, about family, about travel, or about mutual friends. 当然, it takes a while to get to this level with a customer. But once we’re there, our conversations are likely to be an interesting mix of the personal and professional.
Bouncing between these two modes naturally is the secret to the client visit. You might find yourself starting out by introducing some interesting piece of news. 在某一点, you may want to gauge the client’s satisfaction with your products or services. And the conversation may also turn naturally to gossiping about the competition. If a client needs a decision or information, you may have to promise to check back on it. 最后, you might want to make a social invitation, and move the relationship-building out of the office.
在今天的对话中, we’ll hear Markus, who works as an account manager for a company that sells computer servers. He is visiting the offices of one of his clients, a large Internet service provider. We’ll hear Markus chatting with Jose, his main client contact, and Tricia, another manager.
听力问题
1. What news does Markus deliver to Jose? 2. What does Markus say about his company’s competitor? 3. What does Markus offer to do next Friday?
