You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Jennifer, and I'll be your host for this podcast on dealing with sales calls.
We've looked before at how to set up an appointment on the phone with someone you already know.
But what about if you haven't met the person or established a relationship with them yet?
In today's podcast, we'll be looking at how to make contact with prospective clients, and on the opposite end of the line, we'll examine language you can use to politely decline a request for information or a meeting.
We've already met Mario from Viva Fashions in previous episodes.
Now Mario wants to meet with the head buyer for a chain of American stores owned by DeBorg Brands, but at this point he doesn't even know the buyer's name.
Mario is going to cold call the company and see if he can reach the buyer.
First, he needs a name, and then he needs to try to speak to the buyer to make an appointment.
As you listen, try to answer these questions.
1.
What techniques does Mario use to get information from Joan?
2.
Why do you think Joan agrees to help Mario?
Good morning.
De Borg Brands.
This is Joan.
How may I help you?
Good morning, Joan.
I'm calling from Viva in Italy and I was wondering if you could help me by answering a quick question.
Sure.
How can I help you?
Well, we're updating our records, and I just need the name of your head buyer.
Could you help me out with that?
I could transfer you to that department if you'd like.
No, no, that's not necessary.
This is a long-distance call, and I don't want to bother anyone.
I just need the name for our records.
Just a moment, please.
Okay, here it is.
William Parker is the new director of merchandising.
They're in charge of buying.
Perfecto.
Oh, and could you tell me his extension number or direct line?
Uh, his assistant, Miss Vacateer, is at extension 5839.
Thank you so much, Joan.
Ciao.
Thank you for calling.
Let's review a few points in the call between Mario and Joan.
You'll notice that Joan offers to transfer Mario to the buying department, but he stops her.
This is because he thinks he can get the name he's looking for from Joan and doesn't want to risk talking to another, less helpful person.
By saying I need the name for our records, Mario implies that he's merely gathering information to enter into a computer.
If he made it clear he was a salesman, Joan might not help him.
After getting the name, Mario then asks for the buyer's phone number, hoping that Joan will continue to be helpful.
Perhaps realising that she may have gone too far already.
Joan gives him the name of the buyer's assistant instead.
Oh, and could you tell me his extension number or direct line?
His assistant, Miss Vacateer, is at extension 5839.
Joan could have been even more direct with Mario and refused to provide any information.
What else can we say to politely decline a request for contact information?
Let's listen to a few more examples.
I'm afraid that information is confidential.
We're happy to receive enquiries through the website, but I'm afraid we can't give out personal details over the phone.
I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose that information.
Having been successful with Joan, Mario must now try to get past the buyer's assistant or gatekeeper, in order to schedule an appointment with Mr Parker himself.
Often a secretary or executive assistant is known as a gatekeeper, because they guard and restrict access to the boss.
We'll listen to that conversation in a moment, but first here are some more listening questions to consider.
The answers will be posted in a few days on our website, www.businessenglishpod.com.
1.
In the second dialogue.
Why do you think Mario keeps saying thank you instead of please after making a request?
2.
What language does Mario use when stating the reason for his call and why?
3.
Throughout the conversation, Mario uses informal language to minimize his request.
Can you spot a few examples?
Good morning, Mr. Parker's office.
This is Barbara.
How may I help you?
Hello, Barbara.
This is Mario from Viva Fashions.
Is Bill in the office?
Uh, yes he is.
Great.
May I speak to him?
Thank you.
Can I ask what it's about?
Yes.
We're expanding into the American market and I wanted to give him the opportunity to get exclusivity in the Midwest region.
If you could just tell him I'm on the line.
Thank you.
I see.
He's a little busy at the moment.
Do you have a brochure you could send?
Well, as it happens, I'll be in town on Wednesday, the 14th, and I was wondering if I could pop in for a quick visit.
I'd just like to drop off a couple of samples from the collection Bill is interested in.
The 14th, you say?
Well, he has several meetings already scheduled for that day.
No problem.
I'll just need 15 minutes of his time, Max.
Can you squeeze me in at 10.30?
Well, that might be all right.
Let me just... Great.
The name again is Mario Palma from Viva Fashions.
I'll include my business card with the information I'm sending you today.
I look forward to meeting you both at 10.30 on the 14th.
Okay.
Bye now.
There are several interesting things happening in this call.
Mario's tone is very different when talking to Barbara from the way it was when talking to Joan.
He is more dominant and even aggressive, and this is communicated in his language.
Let's listen back to a couple of examples.
Mario sounds like he expects to be obeyed, whereas with Joan in the first conversation he sounded less confident and more in need of help.
The second technique Mario employs is to use softening language such as I was wondering if and just.
To say I was wondering if makes a request less strong.
Listen to the difference in these examples.
Could I speak to Miss Jones?
I was wondering if I could speak to Miss Jones.
Would tomorrow be a good time to meet?
I was wondering if tomorrow would be a good time to meet.
Mario also uses the word just a great deal.
Just is an adverb that means only in this context and again serves to make a request seem less direct.
We insert just between a modal verb such as could or may and the main verb in the sentence.
For example, If you could just tell him I'm on the line.
Let's stop for a moment and practice this technique.
Listen to the following sentences, then repeat each sentence, adding the word just instead of the beep.
Ready?
Let's give it a try.
Could I make a suggestion?
Could I talk to her for a moment?
Could I
How does Barbara, the gatekeeper, defend against Mario's persistence?
I see.
He's a little busy at the moment.
Do you have a brochure you could send?
Barbara's obviously used to this type of call and deploys a common technique used to dismiss meeting requests from salespeople.
Asking the salesperson to send a brochure is one excuse.
What else can we say to avoid agreeing to a meeting?
Our purchasing department handles all new vendors.
Would you like their email address?
That sounds interesting, but we have no need for this type of service at the moment.
We're okay at the moment, but if you could give me your number, I'll call you back if the situation changes.
I'll be happy to pass a message to Ms.
Clinton.
Could I have your contact number?
Notice that in several of these examples we ask the caller to provide their contact details so we can call them back.
While this is likely just an excuse to get rid of the caller, it serves a useful purpose by denying the salesperson another reason to call and keep bothering you.
Back in the dialogue, Mario persists with his request.
Well, as it happens, I'll be in town on Wednesday, the 14th, and I was wondering if I could pop in for a quick visit.
I'd just like to drop off a couple of samples from the collection Bill is interested in.
The 14th, you say?
Well, he has several meetings already scheduled for that day.
No problem.
I'll just need 15 minutes of his time, Max.
Can you squeeze me in at 10.30?
Mario is using a couple more techniques here to put Barbara at ease and make her more receptive to his request for a meeting.
He uses lots of slang in his call to Barbara, such as pop in, 15 minutes, max, and squeeze me in.
This very informal language implies that Barbara is his friend rather than a stranger, and Mario hopes she will relax and give her new friend the appointment with her boss.
Mario begins many of his sentences with words like great, and certainly to imply that he agrees with Barbara, before he quickly moves to his next topic.
These words also give the impression that the two people have decided on something.
Well, that might be all right.
Let me just... Great.
The name again is Mario Palma from Viva Fashions.
By using the modal verb might.
Barbara has only signalled tentative agreement, but Mario locks the appointment in by saying great and immediately changing the subject.
Once again, Mario is the dominant person in the conversation.
Let's practice some other examples that could be used to get past the gatekeeper.
Mr. Mauer and I went to university together, and I just wanted to say hi.
Ms.
O'Neill and I met at the trade show in Las Vegas and I just wanted to let her know about a new product we've released.
I'm following up on my email I sent last week.
I'm in town next week and Tony said to drop by if I was in the neighborhood.
Just tell him Bill Lewis is on the line.
He knows who I am.
There's one last point worth highlighting about Mario's phone technique.
Throughout the conversation with Barbara, Mario's voice goes down at the end of his sentences, not up.
This is because raising one's tone at the end of a sentence implies a question, whereas lowering it implies a statement or even a command.
Before we go, let's practice using some of the vocabulary we introduced in this lesson.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a verb replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear, I'll be in town next week.
Do you mind if I in and say hello?
You can say, I'll be in town next week.
Do you mind if I pop in and say hello?
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Sorry to you, but i was wondering if i could borrow your phone for a quick call answer.
Sorry to bother you, but i was wondering if i could borrow your phone for a quick call we have for this item in brazil Answer.
We have exclusivity for this item in Brazil.
Could you tell me his extension number or line?
Answer.
Could you tell me his extension number or direct line?
We're our records, so I'd like to confirm his telephone number.
Answer.
We're updating our records, so I'd like to confirm his telephone number.
Thanks for listening and see you next time.