دانستن سلیقه ی مردم

Putting the feelers out

Narrator

Bye bye Mr Socrates. He’s flying back to America leaving Tip Top Trading’s London team trying to work out how best to focus their business on the European market.

Paul

Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to go to the airport with Mr Socrates to see him off. We had a good chat in the taxi and he said some very positive things.

Denise

Oh yes. Like what?

Paul

Err, well… well, how nice English beer is.

Tom

Yeah but what about the European marketing strategy – what are we going to do about that?

Paul

Well, Anna is supposed to lead on that, I’m taking a more biscuitorial control over it.

Anna

A what?

Tom

It means you do all the work while he eats all the biscuits!

Paul

Do you mind Tom. Now, what I’m thinking is we put the feelers out – do some cold calling, see what people are buying at the moment.

Anna

Cold calling? But I like to be warm when I’m on the phone.

Denise

No Anna. Cold calling is when you call prospective clients when they’re not expecting you to, to ask them something or to sell them something. I’m very good at calling people.

Tom

Yeah, usually the hair dresser! So Paul, where do we begin, who do we call first?

Paul

Track down some potential clients in Europe, see what they’re buying now, see what they want in the future. Make them think it’s our laser-curved fruit they want!

Denise

But keep your calls brief, international calls are very expensive.

Narrator

OK Anna, it’s time to cold call. What are you going to say?

Anna

I don’t know.

Narrator

Find someone to call, then be pleasant and polite. When you call, ask to speak to the person who deals with buying or purchasing. And then ask that person if they could spare a few minutes of their time.

Anna

OK. Here goes. (Looking through a telephone directory) Let’s have a look… fruit growers, fruit pickers, fruit traders… Fruit Traders International… (Dials number) 0-0-4-3-9-8-4-5-5-4-4.

Trader

Bonjour?

Anna

(surprised) Ah, erm, oh….

Narrator

Don’t be surprised! You’ve called a company in France, they speak French. Just ask if it’s OK to speak English.

Anna

Oh hello. Is it possible to speak to you in English?

Trader

Oui… yes.

Anna

Great. Are you the person who purchases plastic fruit for your company?

Trader

I am. How can I help you?

Anna

Yes, can you spare a few minutes of your time? I want to sell you some laser-curved fruit.

Trader

What?!

Narrator

That’s a bit direct Anna. Slow down and tell them your name and why you’re calling. Find out something about them. Maybe say “I’d like to tell you about our great new laser-curved fruit”. Ask them “How much plastic fruit do you buy?” and at the end of the call say “thank you for your time. We hope to hear from you soon.” Give it a go Anna.

Anna

OK. Erm… hello my name is Anna. How are you today?

Trader

Good thank you.

Anna

That’s good. I’d like to tell you about our great new laser-curved fruit.

Trader

Oh yes.

Anna

Our company is called Tip Top Trading and we are the UK’s number 1 plastic fruit manufacturer – and well, we’re so proud of our fruit that we’ve decided to let the rest of Europe enjoy it too.

Narrator

Very good Anna!

Anna

We make our fruit using laser-curved technology. In fact we’ve just launched our best product ever, the Imperial Lemon – it looks so real you want to squeeze it.

Trader

Hmm, lemons, interesting.

Narrator

Anna’s got the hang of this – she’s on fire – I mean, she’s doing really well. Her cold calling technique has really warmed up. She’s pitched the products now she needs to sell.

Anna

…so thank you for your time. I hope you may consider us when you next purchase some plastic fruit.

Trader

We will certainly consider your company.

Anna

Well we hope to hear from you soon. Goodbye (puts phone down). Tom, Tom, how are you getting on?

Tom

(On phone/angry) …well if that’s what you think then you can shove your kumquats… hello? Hello? (Slams phone down) Anna

What’s wrong?

Tom

They’ve hung up on me. Really! He said the plastic fruit industry is in meltdown. But Anna, if I don’t get any contracts soon I’ll be fired.

Anna

Well, this calls for teamwork Tom – tomorrow, Tuesday, we’re going to tackle this task – together!

Narrator

Hooray for Anna. Now she’s sounding like a leader. And she’s mastered cold calling by using some simple phrases, like these: My name is Anna. Can you spare a few minutes of your time?

I’d like to tell you about our great new laser-curved fruit How much plastic fruit do you buy?

Thank you for your time. We hope to hear from you soon.

Phone rings

Denise

Anna. There’s a call for you, from someone in France, they want to talk to you about lemons.

Narrator

Sounds promising. Find out what happens next time on English at Work. Bye.