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 how to follow up with potential partners.
Everyone knows that business is a competitive world, sometimes brutally competitive.
But it's not all dog-eat-dog, as they say.
Good business people know that one of the keys to success is collaboration.
You find other people and businesses that are doing great things and you cooperate so that you both benefit.
In fact, forging good partnerships is an important aspect of business development, and every partnership begins with a conversation, or a few conversations, I should say.
Once you've identified someone as a potential partner, you'll want to follow up by phone or in person.
And that conversation might involve asking about the person's work activities before steering the conversation towards your own field of work and what your company is doing.
From there, you can carefully move toward the idea of working together.
You might even propose a small joint effort to get the partnership going.
In today's dialogue, we'll hear Nick, a business development executive with Quest HR.
Nick is talking to Ian, who works with a management consulting firm.
The two met at a conference and Nick quickly identified Ian's company as a potential partner.
Now Nick is trying to figure out how they might be able to work together.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, what does Nick say his company believes is the secret to success?
2.
What does Nick suggest Ian do if he's interested in the work of Nick's company?
3.
What joint effort does Nick propose at the end of the conversation?
Yeah, it's been a good year so far.
And what about you?
You mentioned something in Rotterdam.
How's that going?
Moving along.
We have some folks on the ground there now, so making progress.
Spending most of my time these days with some new clients in Belgium.
Healthcare stuff.
Ah, interesting.
Lots of growth in that sector.
Aging population and all that.
So, what kind of issues are you guys looking at?
Human resources stuff?
Yeah, as you say, it's growing at a fair clip.
And with that comes staffing pains.
Big skills gap issue.
That's part of what we're working with them on.
Yeah, it's hard these days.
Super competitive for good employees.
And lots of bad hiring decisions, unfortunately.
We like to say that responsible recruiting is the secret to success.
Responsible recruiting, huh?
What exactly is that about?
Well, basically, it's values-based recruiting.
I mean, sure, you've got to look for people with the right skills, but it's more than that.
All the skills in the world don't matter if the person isn't a good cultural fit too.
Yeah, definitely.
We actually talk about that a bit. though not in those terms.
It's true that companies rush to fill positions too quickly.
For sure.
You know, if you're interested in seeing what we're doing on that front, give us a call.
Our work might dovetail nicely with some of what you're doing.
Okay, I'll give it a look.
Maybe send me some more info?
Could be useful for this white paper I'm writing up.
Will do.
And listen, I do a lot of white papers myself.
I've got one that includes some ideas about skill gaps.
I'll send it over if you like.
Yeah, please do.
And you know, we've been looking at some of those issues in the health sector too.
Maybe we should try doing a joint paper sometime.
Could be an idea.
Send me what you've got already.
I'll have a look and we'll go from there.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Nick used to follow up with his prospect.
Yeah, it's been a good year so far.
And what about you?
You mentioned something in Rotterdam.
How's that going?
Conversations usually begin with small talk.
Small talk can be about personal topics, like family and travel.
But too much personal talk is awkward.
You need to move quickly toward discussing work.
And you should be careful not to go on too long about your own work.
You want a potential partner to know you're interested in what they are doing.
So you ask questions about their activities.
Notice that Nick mentions Ian's work in Rotterdam, which Ian brought up in their first conversation.
It's always good to remember these details, because they can give you a starting point for a new discussion.
Let's try some more ways of asking about a potential partner's work activities.
So what's keeping you busy these days?
Working on anything interesting?
How's that project in Osaka working out for you?
Did you guys get that big contract with FinTech?
Now let's hear what Ian has to say about his work in Rotterdam.
Moving along.
We have some folks on the ground there now, so making progress.
Spending most of my time these days with some new clients in Belgium.
Healthcare stuff.
Ian's response is fairly general.
He doesn't give a whole lot of specifics about his work in Rotterdam or their new client in Belgium.
This is a chance for Nick to ask for a bit more information.
But you'll notice that he asks about one field of work in particular.
Ah, interesting.
Lots of growth in that sector.
Aging population and all that.
So what kind of issues are you guys looking at?
Human resources stuff?
Nick starts by showing Ian that he has some knowledge about the healthcare sector or business field.
He then asks about the issues they're dealing with, and he specifically mentions human resources.
That's Nick's field after all.
By steering the conversation to his field, Nick will have the chance to talk about his company and to see if there is potential for a partnership.
What are some other ways we can steer the conversation toward our own field?
Let's run through some more examples.
Yeah, that's something we see in the software business too.
So, I'm curious.
Does this create problems for your online business as well?
Are you looking at any new training initiatives as well?
I imagine growing the company means investing in new equipment.
So is Ian dealing with HR issues?
Yeah.
As you say, it's growing at a fair clip.
And with that comes staffing pains.
Big skills gap issue.
That's part of what we're working with them on.
Yeah, it's hard these days.
Super competitive for good employees.
And lots of bad hiring decisions, unfortunately.
We like to say that responsible recruiting is the secret to success.
Ian's company is certainly dealing with HR issues.
More specifically, they're seeing staffing pains and a skills gap.
Basically, they're helping a company that has difficulty finding enough suitable employees.
Nick now has the opportunity to connect the conversation to his company's work.
He starts by agreeing and restating Ian's own ideas.
He then brings up his company's approach to the problems Ian has described.
He calls their approach responsible recruiting, though he doesn't really explain what it means.
Let's practice connecting the conversation to your company's work with a few more examples.
Well, we've done some work on that too, mostly on the finance side of things.
Yeah, digital marketing has become pretty much all we do now.
Right.
Well, our approach to that is what we call total training.
Mentioning an idea without explaining it is an invitation for further conversation, as we can hear.
Responsible recruiting, huh?
What exactly is that about?
Well basically, it's values-based recruiting.
I mean sure, you've got to look for people with the right skills, but it's more than that.
All the skills in the world don't matter if the person isn't a good cultural fit too.
Yeah definitely, we actually talk about that a bit, though not in those terms.
It's true that companies rush to fill positions too quickly.
Nick is happy to discuss his company's approach, which is about values-based recruiting.
He says it's about more than just skills, and that employees must fit the workplace culture as well.
Notice that Ian fully agrees with Nick's ideas, and this sets the stage for Nick's next move.
Let's listen.
For sure.
You know, if you're interested in seeing what we're doing on that front, give us a call.
Our work might dovetail nicely with some of what you're doing.
Since Ian has agreed with the approach taken by Nick's company, Nick can make a gentle pitch.
That is, he can bring up the possibility of working together.
He's not too forceful or direct about it.
He just says that if Ian is interested, he should call them.
And he emphasizes how their work might dovetail or match Ian's work.
How else can you make a gentle pitch to a potential partner?
Let's try some more examples.
It would be interesting to look at some possible areas for collaboration.
We have some great engineers who could provide more insight on that.
If you ever need support on the design side, you should just let me know.
We're very open to possibilities if you think what we're doing might be helpful.
So how does Ian respond to Nick's suggestion of a possible partnership?
Okay, I'll give it a look.
Maybe send me some more info?
Could be useful for this white paper I'm writing up.
Will do.
And listen, I do a lot of white papers myself.
I've got one that includes some ideas about skill gaps.
I'll send it over if you like.
Ian mentions that Nick's information might be useful for a white paper, which is an informative report on a complex issue prepared by a business or government.
Nick immediately offers to send some more information that might be helpful.
Remember, partnerships are two-way streets and the best way to build a relationship is not to ask for something but to offer something.
That builds goodwill.
The idea of a white paper gives Nick another idea.
Let's listen.
Yeah, please do.
And you know, we've been looking at some of those issues in the health sector too.
Maybe we should try doing a joint paper sometime.
Sometimes a strong partnership starts with a small project.
Doing a white paper together or jointly would be a good way to test out how they work together.
And it might give Nick a chance to show Ian what their company has to offer in a partnership.
So if a conversation with a potential partner is going well and you seem to have something to offer each other, try proposing a small joint effort.
Let's practice some more ways of doing this.
You know, we could team up on a presentation at this conference next month.
Maybe we should put together a little package to pitch to these guys.
Would you be interested in doing some of this research together?
We could look at combining our efforts on this one.
How does Ian respond to Nick's suggestion of a joint whitepaper?
Could be an idea.
Send me what you've got already.
I'll have a look and we'll go from there.
It sounds like Ian is open to the idea of working together.
Of course, Nick couldn't have proposed something like this at the start of the conversation.
He had to build the relationship first and draw a connection between the two companies' work.
Now he's in a good position to test out this new relationship and see if it has even greater potential to blossom into a partnership.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you work in business development for a marketing company that focuses on branding and design.
You're talking with a manager from a public relations firm about a possible partnership.
You'll hear a cue from the manager.
Then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response, will guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example.
Answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Well, it sounds like you guys have been doing some interesting work.
Start by confirming, then ask what his company has been working on lately.
Answer.
We sure have.
And so what have you been working on lately?
A lot of big political campaigns actually.
Quite a new area for us.
Now ask whether that involves a lot of branding and design work.
Answer.
Interesting.
And does that involve a lot of branding and design work?
Yeah, a fair amount.
Every candidate needs a strong personal brand.
Next, say you've seen in your own work how important personal branding is.
Answer.
Yes, I've seen it in my work too.
Personal branding is really important.
Right.
Everything has to be consistent and to connect with the right audience.
Agree.
And say that he might be interested in seeing some of your work for political clients.
Answer.
Definitely.
And maybe you'd be interested in seeing our work for political clients.
Yeah, sure.
I'd love to see what you're doing.
Finally, suggest that he join you for a conference presentation next week.
Great!
And how about joining me for a conference presentation next week?
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...
In my opinion, the secret to... is hard work.
You can say... In my opinion, the secret to success is hard work.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
The world of industrial design is changing at a fair...
Answer.
The world of industrial design is changing at a fair clip.
Answer.
Henry is smart, but I'm not sure he's a good cultural fit for us.
Basically, but I wouldn't explain it in exactly those... Answer.
Basically, but I wouldn't explain it in exactly those terms.
We have about a dozen technicians on the... in Texas.
We have about a dozen technicians on the ground in Texas.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the fourth in our series on business development.
We've learned how to ask about someone's work activities and steer the conversation to your own field.
We've also looked at connecting the discussion to your company's work, making a gentle pitch and proposing a joint effort.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
