FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

Sales

Vocabulary

1. Match the sales literature (1-5) with the type of information it communicates (a-e).

1 company brochure a name, title and contact details

2 business card b product information including technical specific
3 catalogue c overview of company and products
4 leaflet d additional or new product information
5 price list e product or service prices

2. Rewrite the following sentences using the verb form of the underlined word and make any
necessary changes.

Example
We organized delivery of the goods for 15 September.
We delivered the goods on 15 September.

1 The negotiation went on late into the night.

We......................................................................................................................................
2 They sent an invoice before we received delivery.
They...................................................................................................................................
3 We agreed a discount of nearly 1 5%.
The price...........................................................................................................................
4 There was an exhibition of their products on the main stand.
They...................................................................................................................................
5 There will be a demonstration of the new product later today.
We......................................................................................................................................
6 Our customers showed a high level of satisfaction with our new model.
Our customers.................................................................................................................
7 We are going to send a replacement for the goods damaged in transit.
We......................................................................................................................................
8 Good sales people need to learn how to give priorities to their calls.
Good..................................................................................................................................

3. Complete the sentences with the words below.

close delay enquiry form leads placed prospects stand

1 We booked a small ........................ measuring 2 m x 2 m in the main exhibition hall.

2 There are a lot of........................which we need to follow up on.
3 Have you dealt with that sales........................we received this morning?
4 We need to identify who are the best........................- in other words who has got the most
sales potential.
5 Our main customer in Germany........................an order for 50,000 units.

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FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

6 Have you filled in the order........................? I need to send it off straight away.
7 We need to........................the sale before the end of the negotiation.
8 There was a ten-hour........................ in delivery.

4. learning tips

Keep a note of new vocabulary. Writing down the words will help you to activate them.
Always try to maximise the value of a new word, e.g. make sure you learn the opposites as
well. Write the opposite of these words.

0 effective …ineffective ... 4 confident .........................

1 efficient ......................... 5 patient .........................
2 successful ......................... 6 polite .........................
3 reliable ......................... 7 professional .........................

reading

Look at the statements below and the information about training courses. Which course (A, B,
C or D) does each statement 1-7 refer to? For each statement 1-7, mark one letter (A, B, C or
D), You will need to use some of these letters more than once.

1 This is an active course where other people give you their opinions on your performance.
2 This course deals with translating what a customer wants into actual sales.
3 You will be introduced to a system for processing customer information.
4 It helps sales people finalise the deal.
5 You will learn how to overcome customer excuses.
6 You need to understand yourself as well as understand your customers.
7 You will analyse the personalities of other members of your sales team.

A Closing the sale

This course focuses on the final and absolutely vital phase of the sales process. Do you have
difficulty getting the customer to sign on the dotted line? Do your monthly sales figures
disappoint you and your Sales Manager? If the answer is yes, this course is the one for you.
We will be looking at the transition from establishing the need to making the sale.

B Rapport building
Selling is 80% about relationships. The keys to success are self-knowledge and customer
knowledge. Starting with a 360-degree profile we will be building your understanding of your
own strengths and weaknesses. Then we will be looking at the strengths and weaknesses of
the rest of your team and focusing on the relationships. This will be the springboard to some
real learning as we simulate the sales relationship. A really insightful course which will lead
to greater understanding and skill.

C Customer management
A two day course which introduces you to a key resource - the CMT - the Customer
Management Tool. Based on the very successful CDB - an easy-to-use customer database -

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FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

the CMT is a powerful tool. It allows you to actively manage your customers and so maximise
sales. Sales action planning becomes transparent and a really effective way to manage
yourself and your team.

D Dealing with objections

An objection can kill the sale just at the moment you thought you had it all signed and sealed!
The customer hasn't got the budget, the competitor has a long-standing relationship, the price
is not flexible enough. Dealing with these sorts of objections is the real skill of selling.
Thisone-day workshop is based on role-plays and feedback. Our workshop leader - Pat Niven
- will take you through the key steps to dealing with objections and then give you the chance
to put your new-found skill into practice.

listening

You will hear three telephone conversations, all concerning one order. Write one or two words
or a number in the numbered spaces on the notes or e-mail below.

Conversation 1 (Questions 1-4)

Look at the notes below. You will hear a customer calling about an order.

Conversation 2 (Questions 5-8)

Look at the notes below. You will hear the return call from the supplier.

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FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

Conversation 3 (Questions 9-12)

Look at the e-mail below. You will hear the customer calling the supplier again.

language in use: the passive

Language in use: the passive

1. Change the e-mail below so that the verbs underlined are in the passive rather than the
active voice. The first one has been done for you.

We ordered 1.2 million pipe brackets. We expected delivery on Tuesday 12 June.

Unfortunately they delivered the brackets to the wrong location. They took them to the
Kharkov site rather than the port at Odessa. I made a mistake in filling in the original order
form. Kiev Supplies will pick up the brackets later today. They will transport them direct to
Odessa. They are going to charge us over 4,000 roubles.

1.2 million pipe brackets were

ordered....................................................................................... .................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
............................................................

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FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

2. Complete the sales report with the verbs in the list below. You will need to use the passive
and the active voice.

anticipate increase prepare run visit

distribute launch (x2) reach show withdraw

SALES REPORT

The ZX78 (1)........................two years ago. During the first few months, an extensive
marketing and sales campaign (2).........................TV ads (3)........................on all the main
channels and our sales force (4)........................all the major distributors. Three months after
the launch, monthly sales of 25,000 (5).........................The ZX78 (6)........................ through
major retail outlets such as KEYMART and SAFCO. In the second year, we
(7)........................a new version of the ZX - the ZXSO. We (8)........................sales by nearly
15%. The ZX78 (9)........................from production at the end of last year and a third
generation model (10)........................for launch later this year. So far this year sales have
reached their targets and we (11)........................faster growth in the second half of the year.

writing

1. Geoff Masters is a Customer Services Assistant at Truscotts, an electrical components

supplier. There have been problems with two of Truscotts deliveries. Use the information in
the table below to complete the e-mails from Geoff to the two customers.

DELIVERY LOG

Customer Ref No. Delivery Goods for Signature Comment

address delivery on delivery
H. Findale 200198 995 Londale 23 x VXE-222 Plant closed
connectors Left note
Terrys 200199 Mansion House 2 x TPH-16 Diana 1 x TPH-16 lamp damaged in
lamps Long transit.
Promised replacement next
day.

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FEAA – English Course Assistant Professor Adriana Lǎzǎrescu

fun and games

Match the type of salesperson (1-5) with the correct definition (a-e).
Which type of salesperson do you prefer?

1 The order taker

2 The hard seller
3 The soft seller
4 The friend
5 The problem solver

a He/She is absolutely focused on the sale – pushing for closure.

b He/She is principally interested in building a relationship, tying the customer to the
salesman and therefore the product.
c He/She shows concern and interest for the customer but also is informative about the
product.
d He/She places the product before the customer and expects it to sell itself.
e He/She shows interest in the customer but not personally. He/She aims to meet the needs of
the customer.

BEC Vantage, Masterclass

@ Oxford University Press 2003