You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on socializing 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.
In fact, visiting with clients often sounds like a chat between friends.
We might talk about sports, about family, about travel, or about mutual friends.
Of course, 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 a secret to the client visit.
You might find yourself starting out by introducing some interesting piece of news.
At some point you might 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.
And finally, you might want to make a social invitation and move the relationship building out of the office.
In today's dialogue we'll hear Marcus, 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 Marcus chatting with Jose, his main client contact, and Tricia, another manager.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What news does Marcus deliver to Jose?
2.
What does Marcus say about his company's competitor?
3.
What does Marcus offer to do next Friday?
Well, hey, what's up Marcus?
What brings you down this neck of the woods?
Well, had to get out of the office.
What, Drew getting you down?
Nah.
Well, maybe.
Anyways, I've got some good news.
Double good, in fact.
Oh, yeah?
Not an invite to your Christmas party.
No, would I do that to a friend?
You know the thing I was telling you about?
Uh, yeah?
Well, came through.
Scored four seats, 30-yard line.
Raiders?
No other.
3 p.m. kickoff, 17th, like two weeks on Sunday.
Sweet.
So what's the plan?
You coming too?
Nah, can't.
Got little Jenny's recital.
What?
On a Sunday?
Well, no, Monday.
But promised Rachel I'd help out with rehearsals.
Okay, well, good brownie points then.
Yeah, never hurts, right?
And hey listen, I wanted to ask you guys have been running those Macron 900s for what like six months now?
How are they working out for you?
Pretty good so far.
Glad we went for those over the 800s, though.
Heard some horror stories about the drives in them.
Hey guys, did I hear Raiders tickets?
What?
How did... Those were for the whole team, right Marcus?
Yes.
Um, yeah.
I'm sure Jose's gonna spread the love.
But of course.
So, what?
Will you split them even?
Not if Ahmed and Leon want to go.
Oh, man.
Hanging at a Raiders game with a couple of nerds?
Not gonna happen.
Well, it's not up to you, is it?
I'm pretty sure Leon at least would be into that.
But hey, that reminds me, Marcus.
I saw Felipe from West Tech swing by yesterday.
Think he was heading up to see Chad.
Really?
I thought West Tech were persona non grata after those dud raid controllers.
Yeah, should have been.
But you know Chad, he's a pushover.
Anyway, thought I'd give you a heads up.
Yeah, no, thanks.
We'll have to do a little sniffing around.
Right.
Well, gotta check these POs for Turnbridge.
You guys ready for next week?
Next week?
Really?
Thought it was gonna be next month.
Eh, have to check with Felix.
But yeah, no biggie.
I know that stuff's already in the warehouse, so I can pull it whenever you need.
Okay, cool.
That's the way we like it.
So look, I'll swing by next Friday with the tickets and if you guys want to have a drink after it's on me.
Nice one, but we'll have to see how Turnbridge goes.
Give me a shout Wednesday and should know what's up by then.
You're actually buying, Marcus?
Then sure, I'm game.
Got nothing on for Friday.
I could have told you that.
Huh.
Yeah, well, I'll give you both a shot on Wednesday and we can take it from there.
Good stuff.
Catch you later, dude.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Marcus uses during his visit.
Well, hey, what's up, Marcus?
What brings you down this neck of the woods?
Well, I had to get out of the office.
What, Drew getting you down?
Nah.
Well, maybe.
Anyways, I've got some good news.
Double good, in fact.
As you can hear, Jose and Marcus are pretty friendly.
Jose uses the informal, what's up, to greet Marcus.
And he jokes about how Marcus' boss might be getting him down or bothering him.
It's pretty clear that Jose and Marcus have known each other for a while.
Marcus is excited to share some information with Jose.
He uses the word anyways to switch from the initial friendly joking to his good news.
When we deliver news, whether it's good or bad, we don't usually just blurt it out suddenly.
Instead, we introduce it.
As Marcus shows, sometimes that's as simple as saying, I've got some good news.
What are some other ways of introducing news?
Let's practice a few different examples.
So you'll never guess what happened last week.
I've got a bit of news that you might be interested in.
I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but it looks like... Did you hear about the latest development?
So what is Marcus's double good news?
Oh, yeah?
Not an invite to your Christmas party.
No, would I do that to a friend?
You know the thing I was telling you about?
Uh, yeah?
Well, came through.
Scored four seats, 30-yard line.
Raiders?
No other.
3 p.m. kickoff, 17th, like two weeks on Sunday.
Marcus says something came through, meaning he succeeded in getting something or, as he says, he scored something.
More specifically, he's talking about four tickets to an Oakland Raiders football game.
The 30-yard line refers to the part of the field where the seats are located, and the kickoff refers to the start of the game.
Of course, free tickets to sporting events can sure help build a good relationship.
Now let's hear how Marcus switches to a bit of business after some more friendly conversation about the football game.
Sweet.
So what's the plan?
You coming too?
Nah, can't.
Got little Jenny's recital coming.
What?
On a Sunday?
Well, no, Monday.
But promised Rachel I'd help out with rehearsals.
Okay, well, good brownie points then.
Yeah, never hurts, right?
And hey listen, I wanted to ask you guys have been running those Macron 900s for what like six months now?
How are they working out for you?
It turns out Marcus can't go to the football game himself because he's helping his daughter prepare for a recital or musical performance.
Jose seems to understand the demands of family and jokes about brownie points, which is a praise or recognition you get for doing something for your boss or spouse.
But Marcus is not there just to talk about sports and family.
He wants to know if his client is happy with their new servers.
So he changes the subject by saying and hey listen, before asking how the new servers are working out for them.
That's just a way of asking whether they're working well or not.
Client visits may sound like friendly conversations, but one of the underlying purposes is to gauge satisfaction.
In other words, is the client happy or not?
Let's run through some more ways of asking this.
How is everyone liking the new equipment?
So, are you guys happy with the new tech support line?
Just wanted to check up on those units we installed last month.
The new packaging looks pretty good, don't you think?
Now let's listen as Trisha comes over to chat.
Trisha is curious about the Raiders tickets, and you'll notice how they switch back to a very friendly style of conversation.
Hey guys, did I hear Raiders tickets?
What?
How did... Those were for the whole team, right Marcus?
Um, yeah.
I'm sure Jose's gonna spread the love.
But of course.
So, what, will you split them even?
Not if Ahmed and Leon want to go.
Oh, man.
Hanging at a Raiders game with a couple of nerds?
Not gonna happen.
Well, it's not up to you, is it?
I'm pretty sure Leon at least would be into that.
Trisha isn't going to let Jose keep the four tickets to himself.
And when he suggests splitting them even or sharing them equally, Tricia brings up a couple of other co-workers who might want to go.
Jose is not too excited about going to a football game with a couple of nerds or boring guys with poor social skills.
But as Tricia says, it's not up to Jose.
In other words, it's not his decision.
So they've been joking around about football tickets again, but now Tricia wants to switch back to work-related topics.
Let's hear how she does that.
But hey, that reminds me, Marcus.
I saw Felipe from West Tech swing by yesterday.
I think he was heading up to see Chad.
Really?
I thought West Tech were persona non grata after those dud raid controllers.
It sounds like someone from Marcus's competition.
A company called West Tech visited the office recently.
Why would Tricia share this information?
Well, it's a sign that she's got a good relationship with Marcus, but she's giving him some information that might be useful or, as she calls it later, a heads up.
Gossiping about other people or about other companies in the business is usually a sign of a good relationship, and Marcus is happy to talk about the competition.
He calls them persona non grata, meaning they're not liked or welcome because of some dud or unreliable equipment.
Gossiping about the competition is not only a part of friendly conversation.
It can also help you stay up to date with developments in the market.
Let's try a few more examples of gossiping about the competition.
Sounds like there's going to be a big change over at Norris Industries.
I heard that Dan from Empire Inc. has been losing some big customers.
That was quite the scene with fortune mining at the trade show last weekend, huh?
My sources tell me that Freshco is getting out of the grocery business.
Now let's get back to the dialogue.
Yeah, should have been.
But you know Chad, he's a pushover.
Anyway, thought I'd give you a heads up.
Yeah, no, thanks.
We'll have to do a little sniffing around.
Right.
Well, got to check these POs for Turnbridge.
You guys ready for next week?
Now Jose has introduced another bit of business.
He's talking about some purchase orders, or POs, and wants to know if Marcus is ready for next week.
But as you can hear, Marcus is a bit surprised.
Next week?
Really?
I thought it was going to be next month.
I have to check with Felix.
It seems that Marcus didn't realize the work was happening so soon and he can't say for sure whether they're ready.
He needs to check with a colleague named Felix.
It often happens that a client asks you for information you don't have, or they ask you to make a decision you can't make.
In this situation, it's necessary to promise to check back with the client later.
What are some other ways of doing this?
Let's practice a few more examples.
Let me check with Christina on the price and then I'll call you tomorrow.
I'm going to have to look over the original agreement and then we can follow up next week.
Good question.
I'll look that up when I get back to the office and give you a shout later.
Marcus has promised to check back, but he doesn't want to sound too unsure.
He needs to show confidence that his company can deliver.
Let's listen.
But yeah, no biggie.
I know that stuff's already in the warehouse, so I can pull it whenever you need.
Okay, cool.
That's the way we like it.
No biggie is an informal way of saying not a big issue.
Marcus assures Jose they can pull the products or get them out of the warehouse anytime.
And it's pretty clear that Jose is happy that Marcus is so helpful.
After all, it doesn't matter how friendly you are if you can't deliver on your business commitments.
Now that Marcus is taking care of business, he can switch back to the fun stuff.
So look, I'll swing by next Friday with the tickets and if you guys want to have a drink after it's on me.
If you swing by a place, you visit briefly or informally.
Any reason to swing by a client's office is a good one.
And not only is Marcus offering football tickets, but he's also offering to buy Jose and Tricia drinks after work on Friday.
As he says, drinks are on him.
Building a relationship with a client doesn't only happen in the office.
It also happens in restaurants, in bars, at events, and even at your home.
So let's try some more ways of making a social invitation to a client.
Listen, I wanted to ask if you and Tina would like to come for dinner sometime.
I'm meeting Ronnie at the railway pub later today.
Want to join us?
I've got an extra ticket to the hockey game on Saturday.
Interested?
Do you remember how friendly and informal the conversation between Jose and Marcus started?
Well, it finishes in the same friendly and informal way.
Nice one.
We'll have to see how Turnbridge goes.
Give me a shot Wednesday and should know what's up by then.
You're actually buying, Marcus?
Then sure, I'm game.
Got nothing on for Friday.
I could have told you that.
Yeah, well, I'll give you both a shot on Wednesday and we can take it from there.
Good stuff.
Catch you later, dude.
Tricia and Jose clearly have a good relationship.
Tricia says she's game or willing to join for drinks because she has nothing else in her schedule.
And Jose jokes that he already knew she had no plans, suggesting she has a boring life.
For Marcus, this kind of joking is a good sign that his clients are comfortable with him and they are close enough that Jose can say goodbye with a very friendly expression catch you later or see you later.
He even calls him dude, which is only really used among friends.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work as an account manager for a tech support company and you're stopping by a client's office.
You'll hear a cue from the client, then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Come on in.
It's been a while.
How you doing?
First, say you're great and then introduce the news that your company is moving its office.
Answer.
I'm doing great, thanks.
Not sure if you've heard, but we're moving office.
Oh, is that right?
Not too far away, I hope.
We like having you close.
Next say you're only moving a few blocks and then gauge satisfaction with the support they've been receiving.
Answer.
Nah, just a few blocks.
So you guys happy with the support you're getting?
Yeah, definitely.
But I am wondering about when our system upgrade is happening.
Now, say that you'll check with the software team and get back to the client about it.
Answer.
Let me check with the software team on that and I'll get back to you later.
Sounds good.
No rush, just want to be able to plan around it.
Now say you understand and ask the client if he'd like to have lunch with you.
Answer.
Yes, of course.
So, hey, would you like to have lunch with me?
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear... Don't worry.
If you can't come tonight, it's no...
You can say, After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
I've heard some real horror about those new Android phones.
Answer.
I've heard some real horror stories about those new Android phones.
Oh hi, Wayne.
What are you doing down in this neck of the... Answer.
Oh hi, Wayne.
What are you doing down in this neck of the woods?
Thanks for everything and please give me a next time you're in L.A.
Answer.
Thanks for everything and please give me a shout next time you're in L.A.
Well, it's been great to chat, Ryan, and I'll catch you.
Well, it's been great to chat, Ryan, and I'll catch you later.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series on business socializing.
We've learned how to introduce news, gauge client satisfaction, and gossip about the competition.
We've also looked at how to promise to check back on something and how to make a social invitation.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
