Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 448, Making Business Contacts.
This is English as a Second Language podcast number 448.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Go there to download a learning guide for this episode, an 8-10 page guide we have for all of our current episodes.
That contains the vocabulary definitions, new sample sentences using the vocabulary, additional explanations, cultural notes and a complete transcript of everything we say on this episode.
This episode is called Making Business Contacts.
It is a dialogue between Fan and Montel.
And they're going to use a lot of vocabulary that would be used in the business world when you are talking about people that you want to work with or do work with.
Let's get started.
Hi Montel, thanks for agreeing to meet with me.
It's my pleasure.
Since I'm new here, I was hoping you might be willing to give me some pointers on how to get new clients.
To be honest, I've never been on this side of the fence before and I'm a little out of my comfort zone.
Oh, sure.
Getting clients is a bit of an art, but the key is building relationships.
Most of my clients come to me through networking.
I get referrals from people who know me and know my track record.
Really?
I was thinking that I needed to send out some direct mail or do some cold calling.
You may need to do that to start.
But if I were you, I'd also spend time making connections in the business community.
Go where you think business prospects may be.
To woo new clients you need to meet them first.
How do I find out where they'll be?
Again, you make contacts.
You've made the first step today by getting in touch with me.
I'm going to a reception tonight, and it will be a who's who of the business community.
Do you want to go?
Really?
You'd let me tag along?
Sure, but there's a quid pro quo.
In the future, if you get invited to something like this, you invite me to go along.
That's more than fair.
I think I just got my first lesson in making business connections.
Our dialogue begins with Fan saying to Montel, Hi Montel, thanks for agreeing to meet with me.
Montel says, it's my pleasure, which is something that you say when...
Someone thanks you for doing something.
You can say, you're welcome.
But here, because both people probably want to meet, Montel says, it's my pleasure.
Fan says.
Since I'm new here, I was hoping you might be willing to give me some pointers on how to get new clients or customers.
A pointer, in this case, means an idea or a suggestion for a way to do something.
We might also call it a tip.
Can you give me some pointers on how to work the television, how to operate the television set?
I don't understand these buttons.
Fan says.
To be honest, I've never been on this side of the fence before and I'm a little out of my comfort zone.
This side of the fence means in a certain position or situation.
That side of the fence would be in another or opposing situation.
So perhaps Fan was not working in this part of the company and is now having to do something she didn't have to do before.
She says she's a little out of her comfort zone.
To be out of your comfort zone means that you are in a situation that you are uncomfortable with or are unfamiliar with, usually because it's new to you.
Montel says, oh, sure, meaning yes.
I'm glad to give you as much help as I can.
Getting clients is a bit of an art.
To say something is a bit, B-I-T, of something means it's a little bit of this thing.
In this case, it's a little bit or somewhat of an art, meaning you have to know how to do it.
It's not a science.
It's not scientific.
It doesn't follow certain rules, right?
You have to be creative in order to do it.
Montel says the key is building relationships.
Fan says, what do you mean?
Montel replies, most of my clients come to me through networking.
To network means to meet and talk to other people, usually in your area of business, your profession.
You give each other your telephone number, email address address, perhaps what we would call your contact information.
And these are people you can call later and and perhaps get business from.
So Montel is recommending that Fan do some networking.
Montel says, I get referrals from people who know me and know my track record.
A referral is a recommendation of one person to another.
It's someone saying that this person is good for what you want.
For example, if I am going to paint my house and I really should paint my house.
I would perhaps ask my neighbor who had his house painted last month what painter or which painting company he used?
I would get a referral from him.
He would recommend someone to me.
Track record means your past success or work. perhaps failure.
If you have a good track record, that means that you've had many successes.
You've been very successful.
If you have a poor track record, that means that you haven't been very successful.
Here, Montel means his good track record.
Fan says, really?
Direct mail and cold calling are two ways that salespeople try to get new customers.
Direct mail is when you send a letter or a brochure, some sort of information, to people, and usually you get their names from a list of people who are in your profession or in your kind of business.
This is mail that goes to their office, sometimes even to their home, and you are trying to get people to respond to you.
It's a type of advertisement.
Cold calling is to call someone up on the telephone who isn't expecting your call, usually someone you have never talked to before.
So you call them and you try to get their business.
To do something cold means to do it without any preparation.
In this case, it means that you don't know the person before you call them and they're not expecting you to call.
It can be very difficult because most people don't want to talk to a salesperson, so you have to be very persistent, meaning you have to continue calling and calling as many people as possible for it to be successful.
Montel says that you may need to do that.
That is, direct mail and cold calling to start at the beginning.
But if I were you, I'd also spend time making connections in the business community.
A connection here means a relationship, getting to know someone else, usually in a business or professional situation.
Montel says, is a person who might be interested in doing business with you, someone who we would call a potential client or customer.
One of your future customers, you hope.
Montel says, means to try to get someone to do something for you by being very nice to that person, by understanding who that person is and what they want.
So a young man might woo a beautiful young girl, try to get her to go out on a date with him.
Fan says, how do I know where they'll be?
Meaning, how do I know where my prospects will be?
By the way, prospect has a couple of different meanings in English.
Just take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Montel answers Fan's question by saying, again, you make contacts.
A contact is someone that you know in a business or professional way.
Montel says, you've made the first step today.
By getting in touch with me.
To get in touch with someone means to contact someone, to call them or to email them.
Montel says, I'm going to a reception tonight and it will be a who's who of the business community.
Do you want to go?
A reception is a small party where people get together to drink, to eat.
It's often something that is done before or after another large event, a speech or a conference, for example.
Montel is asking Fan if she wants to go with him to this reception because it will be a who's who of the business community.
The expression who's who, W-H-O apostrophe S, W-H-O, is...
The group of people who are most important or most active in a particular area.
So if you go to a podcasting conference or convention, you would find the who's who of the podcasting world there, the most important people.
Fan says, really?
You'd let me tag along?
To tag along means to go to an event with someone, not necessarily because you were invited.
So if your brother is going out on a date and you say, can I tag along?
He'll probably say no.
To tag along means to go with someone even though you weren't invited yourself.
Montel says, sure, but there's a quid pro quo.
Quid Q-U-I-D pro quo.
Q-U-O is a Latin expression, meaning I will do something for you, if you do something for me.
It's an exchange of favors, if you will.
Something you do for something that someone else does for you.
Montel says in the future, if you get invited to something like this, a reception, you invite me to go along.
So I will let you come to my reception, but in the future you have to let me go to one of your receptions.
Fan says, that's more than fair, meaning that's very reasonable.
I think I just got my first lesson in making business connections.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
It's my pleasure.
Since I'm new here, I was hoping you might be willing to give me some pointers on how to get new clients.
To be honest, I've never been on this side of the fence before and I'm a little out of my comfort zone.
Oh sure, I'm glad to give you as much help as I can.
Getting clients is a bit of an art, but the key is building relationships.
What do you mean?
Most of my clients come to me through networking.
I get referrals from people who know me and know my track record.
Really?
I was thinking that I needed to send out some direct mail or do some cold calling.
You may need to do that to start, but if I were you, I'd also spend time making connections in the business community.
Go where you think business prospects may be.
To woo new clients you need to meet them first.
How do I find out where they'll be?
Again, you make contacts.
You've made the first step today by getting in touch with me.
I'm going to a reception tonight, and it will be a who's who of the business community.
Do you want to go?
Really?
You'd let me tag along?
Sure, but there's a quid pro quo.
In the future, if you get invited to something like this, you invite me to go along.
That's more than fair.
I think I just got my first lesson in making business connections.
The script for this episode was written by someone who needs no pointers in writing scripts, someone who is never out of their comfort zone, Dr Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
