Dialogue

Read the following conversation and do the tasks that follow.

Tony King is a ‘rep’ – a salesman – for a firm that manufactures electrical goods. He calls on Alan Jacobs to show him something he believes will interest him.

Tony: Tony King. Nice to meet you.

Alan: You too.

Tony: What I’ve come in to speak to you about is a new product that we are bringing on the market.

Alan: Yes?

Tony: We think it is going to fill the gap in the market for dimmer switches. I’ll show you a sample. It just plugs into the top of a lamp or a bedside unit, no wiring required to dim your light, you see.

Alan: I’ve had one before that, it was a screw in one.

Tony: But…Wouldn’t you have to wire in on that one in?

Alan: Yes, you wired it in.

Tony: Now this is different in that respect. This one we have designed as a plug-in, because we felt that there were people, maybe elderly people, or those who are a bit nervous with electricity when it comes to wiring in. This one, they can take it home, plug into their bedside lamp and then they’ve got an instant dimmer.

Alan: Yes.

Tony: It’s ideal for watching television.

Alan: It just seems a bit…

Tony: Yes, a bit stiff. You’ll find that the one’s that are coming off the line will be a lot better than that. That is what we would call a prototype.

Alan: Yes.

Tony: I’ve also got another prototype. This is that it looks like. You know, it’s just to hang it on the stand, where passers-by can spot it. I mean it’s quite colourful, at a glance you can see what it is. On the other side you’ve got very simple instructions, with a little drawing, of just how it plugs into a unit. You know, whatever they want to use it in, there it is: straightforward dim.

Ex. 1. Look at the terms in the left-hand column. Match each one with its correct definition in the right-hand column.

Ex. 2. While preparing for this meeting Alan has made up a check list of points to be answered. Read the extract again and complete as many answers as possible.

Ex. 3. Read the extract again. This time write down the expressions Tony and Alan actually used when they did the following:

1. Tony greeted Alan for the first time.

2. Tony explained his reason for coming to see Alan and said he wanted to show him a product that has not been available before.

3. Alan pointed out a specific difference between this product and the earlier one.

4. Tony said that the object they were looking at was one made for testing the design.

Ex. 4. Look at the record cards for these sales representatives. They all work for the same company and are responsible for very similar districts. Say which you think is the best rep and why?

Name: Ret Spankings Earnings: 10,600 Travel Expenses: 4,800 Entertainment Expenses: 800 Sales: 65,700

Name: Sue Collins Earnings: 10,700 Travel Expenses: 4,180 Entertainment Expenses: 1,400 Sales: 69,500

Name: Gary Knowles Earnings: 11,200 Travel Expenses: 4,520 Entertainment Expenses: 2,700 Sales: 73,400

Word List

travel and entertainment expenses– командировочные и представительские расходы (транспортные расходы, затраты на питание, проживание сотрудников и т.п., а также расходы по организации развлекательных мероприятий для клиентов (напр., в случае командировки в качестве торгового представителя и т.п.); данные затраты могут вычитаться при определении налоговой базы);

sales – объем продаж.

Ex. 5. Read the conversation again and reproduce it with another student in class.

Ex. 6. You are a sales representative. Describe your new product. Use the ideas from the conversation.