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 following up with prospects.
Business development is all about the art of conversation.
A smile, some chit-chat and a few good questions should be able to tell you if someone's worth following up with.
And when you do follow up, you'll need to take your conversation skills to the next level.
When you're following up with a prospect.
You'll likely start with some small talk, but pretty soon you'll have to steer the conversation toward business.
More specifically, you might ask leading questions to get the prospect to talk about their challenges.
From there, you can set up solutions and connect these solutions to their goals.
If they have doubts along the way, you'll need to address them.
And if you're successful, you should be able to arrange a follow-up meeting.
In today's dialogue we'll hear Nick, who works in business development for an HR consulting company.
He's talking on the phone with Andrea, the HR manager for a manufacturing company.
Nick met Andrea at a conference and now he's trying to find out more about Andrea's potential as a customer.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What does Nick say he wants to understand about HR departments?
2.
What does Nick say engagement surveys can help with?
3.
What doubts does Nick ask Andrea to explain in more detail?
Yeah, super busy.
Thanks for asking.
You know, work, family, all that.
Right.
Work-life balance.
The holy grail.
I'm sure you hear that a lot.
Oh, yeah.
We've had to look for ways to accommodate that.
I mean, family issues.
Comes up a lot.
And on the HR side of things, that can be challenging?
Definitely.
The world is changing.
So are people's expectations.
And shift work can be hard on families.
For sure.
People's expectations have changed a lot.
And I'm always interested to see how HR departments are keeping up with that or how they are assessing that.
Well, in our case, we try to keep the lines of communication open, make sure people feel supported and feel like they can come to us with problems.
Right, right.
And, you know, that's one place where engagement surveys can help.
Makes everyone feel you're listening to them and gives you a really in-depth understanding of what drives them.
Yeah, you know, I looked at those examples you sent over.
Thanks, by the way.
Interesting stuff.
Some of it a bit, I don't know, abstract.
Abstract, huh?
How do you mean exactly?
Well, we're a pretty blue-collar outfit.
Some of those engagement drivers like clarity of purpose, for example.
I'm not sure how questions like that would resonate with our employees.
Ah, I know exactly what you mean.
Yeah, that's summary data.
It's described a bit academically, but the actual survey questions are much friendlier, direct.
I see.
But that's a great point.
I should have sent you some example surveys along with the engagement reports.
I think you'll see what I mean.
You know what?
My colleague Sandra is in your neck of the woods this week.
I could have her drop by with some more stuff to look at.
Alright.
Not sure if I'll be in the office, but she can always leave them with reception.
Okay.
I'll have her email you once we're done here, just in case you want to arrange a time if you've got any questions or something.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Nick used to follow up with his prospect.
Yeah, super busy.
Thanks for asking.
You know, work, family, all that.
Right.
Work-life balance.
The holy grail.
I'm sure you hear that a lot.
At the start of the conversation, Nick and Andrea are talking about work-life balance, which is how we find the right balance of time between our jobs and our personal life.
Nick could continue with this kind of personal conversation, but he really wants to steer the conversation toward work and HR.
That's why he says, I'm sure you hear that a lot.
Nick means that this is not just an interesting personal topic, but is a concern for any HR manager.
Oh, yeah.
We've had to look for ways to accommodate that.
I mean, family issues.
Comes up a lot.
And on the HR side of things, that can be challenging?
Clearly, family issues are important to Andrea and her work.
At this point she hasn't said much about what exactly she has to deal with, but Nick's job is to find out and to slowly convince Andrea that they might need the help of Nick's company.
For this reason, he asks whether accommodating family issues can be challenging.
This is a leading question.
Nick already knows that this can be challenging, but if he can get Andrea to say that he is one step closer to convincing her that her company needs help,
Let's run through some more ways of asking leading questions.
So, do you ever find yourself wishing you had a bit more help?
Yes, it can be very difficult to handle everything on your own, can't it?
Is this the first time you've had this problem, or does it happen regularly?
It sure is hard to find good IT support these days, isn't it?
How does Andrea respond to Nick's leading question?
Definitely.
The world is changing.
So are people's expectations.
And shift work can be hard on families.
For sure.
People's expectations have changed a lot.
And I'm always interested to see how HR departments are keeping up with that or how they are assessing that.
When someone identifies challenges in their company or work, as Andrea has done, you have an opportunity.
Problems require solutions.
And Nick wants to set up the kind of solution that his company can offer.
To do this.
He starts by agreeing with Andrea and then mentions his interest in how HR departments are assessing or evaluating people's expectations.
Why is he interested in this?
Because it's exactly the work his company does.
So Nick is setting up the solution he has to offer.
How else can we set up a solution when talking to a prospective customer?
Let's practice some more examples.
You know, there are some ways around that particular problem.
Well, we've been looking very closely at these kinds of issues.
We've been hearing about this from clients for a few years now.
With an investment that size you just can't take risks on the insurance side.
Nick said he's interested in how companies assess employee expectations.
Let's hear about Andrea's approach.
Well, in our case, we try to keep the lines of communication open, make sure people feel supported and feel like they can come to us with problems.
Andrea has clearly stated her approach and goals regarding managing employee expectations.
So what is Nick's next move?
Right, right.
And, you know, that's one place where engagement surveys can help.
Makes everyone feel you're listening to them.
And gives you a really in-depth understanding of what drives them.
Nick is responding directly to Andrea's stated goals.
She values open communication.
And Nick presents engagement surveys as a way of doing that.
Engagement is emotional commitment or interest in your work.
Nick's company is in the business of assessing engagement, and Nick talks about the benefits of his company's services that he believes match Andrea's goals.
Let's try some more ways of connecting solutions with a prospect's goals.
Notice how each example starts with mentioning a concern and then suggesting a solution.
If you're looking to cut costs, this might be exactly what you need.
Speaking of user friendly, we've got a super easy setup process.
Yeah, selection is important.
Have you looked at our catalog?
Security is definitely an issue, which is why we've developed our IronGate service.
Now, if you heard BEP325, our previous lesson with Nick and Andrea, you might remember that Nick promised to send Andrea some examples of his company's work.
Let's hear what she thinks about these examples.
Yeah, you know, I looked at those examples you sent over.
Thanks, by the way.
Interesting stuff.
Some of it a bit, I don't know, abstract.
Abstract, huh?
How do you mean exactly?
Andrea really doesn't sound sure about the benefits of what Nick sent her.
She feels they were quite abstract, or not practical.
In a situation like this, when a prospect has doubts about what you have to offer, you should ask more questions.
It could be that the prospect doesn't understand something, or you might be able to convince them otherwise.
To find out more, Nick expresses interest in Andrea's doubts, and he asked her to explain further.
Let's practice some more examples of asking questions in order to understand a prospect's doubts.
I'm just curious here.
Is it a matter of cost?
It's hard to make the switch, huh?
What is it you think might be too difficult to adjust to?
Is it the employees that you're worried about with a possible change?
So, what did Andrea mean when she said the examples were a bit too abstract?
Let's listen.
Well, we're a pretty blue collar outfit.
Some of those engagement drivers, like clarity of purpose, for example.
I'm not sure how questions like that would resonate with our employees.
Ah, I know exactly what you mean.
Yeah, that's summary data.
It's described a bit academically, but the actual survey questions are much friendlier, direct.
I see.
As you can hear, asking about doubts gave Nick a chance to explain.
Andrea is concerned about the academic language in the report and Nick tells her that the survey questions are much easier to understand.
If he hadn't asked, he wouldn't have been able to address her concerns.
Now let's hear Nick's final step in this follow-up call.
But that's a great point.
I should have sent you some example surveys along with the engagement reports.
I think you'll see what I mean.
You know what?
My colleague Sandra is in your neck of the woods this week.
I could have her drop by with some more stuff to look at.
Andrea's doubts are not only a chance to explain, but also a chance to arrange another follow-up.
Nick offers to have a colleague drop by or visit Andrea's office with more example material for her to look at.
An in-person follow-up is a great chance to move the sales process forward.
How else can we arrange an in-person follow-up?
Let's try some more examples.
How about I come by your office sometime next week when I'm in town?
If you like, we could grab a coffee tomorrow sometime and talk a bit more.
Is there a time that would work for one of our people to come over and show you some samples?
Why don't we sit down and look through this in person?
Let's listen to the end of Nick and Andrea's conversation.
Alright.
Not sure if I'll be in the office, but she can always leave them with reception.
Okay.
I'll have her email you once we're done here, just in case you want to arrange a time if you've got any questions or something.
Nick has effectively steered the conversation from Andrea's goals to possible solutions and ended by arranging an in-person follow-up.
From here, it will be a salesperson's job to make a sale.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work in business development for a large IT company.
You are talking with a potential customer about your premium support services.
You'll hear a cue from the customer.
Then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
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.
Yeah, reliable internet service is so important these days.
Start by asking whether problems with their service slow everyone down.
Answer.
For sure.
So, do problems with your service slow everyone down?
You bet they do.
Employees and customers both complain.
Answer.
Right.
We've been talking with a lot of companies about this.
Well, I'm guessing they're all like us.
We just want fast, reliable service.
Next, agree and say that your premium support package is designed exactly for that.
Answer.
Indeed, and our premium support package is designed for exactly that.
Yeah, well, I'm not so sure that premium support is really even possible.
Now ask why she thinks that is not possible.
Answer.
Is that right?
So why don't you think that's not possible? because nobody can actually guarantee same-day service.
Finally, say that you can come in today to explain your response guarantee.
Well, if you like, I could come in today and explain our response guarantee.
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 the words replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear... You can say...
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
After a year of research, I have an understanding of the problem.
Answer.
After a year of research, I have an in-depth understanding of the problem.
Answer.
Many business owners have difficulty finding the right work-life balance.
The factory provides jobs for many blue... workers in the area.
Answer.
The factory provides jobs for many blue-collar workers in the area.
When you get to the office, please check in at the... desk.
Answer.
When you get to the office, please check in at the reception desk.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the third in our series on business development.
We've learned how to ask leading questions, set up solutions and connect those solutions to a prospect's goals.
We've also looked at how to clarify doubts and arrange a follow-up meeting.
Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
