礼节美语 Business Etiquette 234-Boosting-Sales-II

 　　公司副总裁Lisa找到销售部经理Frank，商量如何提高产品销量。

　　Lisa: What about our pricing? Are we competitive?

　　Frank: Actually, we are roughly 15% more expensive than our closest competitors. But it's going to be hard to cut costs any further, seeing as we are already operating on a very slim margin¹.

　　L: There're always ways to cut costs, we just have to think outside the box. Perhaps we should consider re-locating one of our factories to a more cost-efficient country.

　　F: We can also talk to our vendors² about where they place our products. Perhaps if they're placed in a more prominent location in stores, they'll catch the eye of more customers.

　　在价格方面，Frank说，他们的产品比竞争对手高出大约15%, 但要想进一步削减成本，恐怕很难，因为他们本来就没有多少利润，we're already operating on a very slim margin. Lisa说，要降低成本，一定有办法，必须 think outside the box 用创造性思维，比如考虑把工厂迁到成本更低廉的地方去。Frank说，也可以看看，销售商能否把产品放在商店里更显眼的地方，catch the eye of more customers.吸引更多顾客的注意。

　　L: Would it help if we offered a mega sale to clear out some of our inventory³? We might not make a lot of money, but we might gain some brand awareness⁴.

　　F: That's a great idea. Getting people talking about our brand would be a big boost.

　　L: Are we harnessing the power of social network websites?

　　F: What do you mean?

　　L: I mean like setting up a Facebook page or using Twitter. It's free to get online and set up an account. We might as well take advantage of these opportunities.

　　Lisa 建议清仓甩卖，增加 brand awareness 品牌知名度。此外也不能忽视社交网站的力量。We should harness the power of social network websites. harness is spelled h-a-r-n-e-s-s, harness 是驾驭的意思。Lisa说，公司可以在Facebook脸谱网和Twitter推特网上开帐户，免费利用这些网站做宣传。Lisa继续说，

　　L: Another idea is for us to reevaluate where we are spending our advertising⁵ dollar.

　　F: Right now, we break it down between all the major media outlets⁶. Television advertising gets 45% of our budget, 30% goes to print media, 20% goes to radio and 5% goes towards advertising online.

　　L: I think we should boost our online advertising. Online ads are cheap and they can reach a much wider audience.

　　F: All right, I'll ask the ad department to make the changes.

　　L: If we can implement⁷ these new ideas by the end of this quarter, we might be able to reverse our sales slide and put ourselves in position for a major rebound⁸ to come next year.

　　F: That would be great.

　　Lisa还主张在advertising dollar广告开支的分配上进行调整，增加互联网广告投入，因为在网上做广告不仅便宜，而且能 reach a much wider audience 能让更多的人看到。她说，如果能在这个季度结束前把这些措施落实的话，公司就可能reverse our sales slide扭转销售量下滑的趋势，为明年销量翻身做准备。

1 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

2 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。