商务礼节美语第186期:Boosting Sales 激励销售(上)

　　公司副总裁Lisa找到销售部经理Frank.
Lisa: Frank, we just got our sales figures in and the numbers are very disappointing. What's going on here?
Frank: I haven't actually seen the new figures. How far have we fallen?
L: We were in sixth place at the beginning of the year and we've now slipped to the eleventh! That's a considerable drop.
F: Wow, that's really bad news. Maybe we should brainstorm¹ some ideas for a radical² reinvention of our sales and marketing³ plan.
L: Yeah, let's do that right now. What do you think the problem is?
公司副总裁Lisa找到销售部经理Frank, 因为最新销售数字很令人失望，年初的时候还排名第六，we've now slipped to the eleventh. 如今已经滑落到了第11位，下跌幅度很大，That's a considerable drop. Frank听了这个坏消息，觉得应该 brainstorm some ideas，to brainstorm 是头脑风暴，集思广益的意思，看看怎样彻底调整一下公司的销售和市场规划。Lisa建议，择日不如撞日，说谈就谈，问Frank觉得问题出在哪里。
F: Well, it seems our competitors have managed to carve a niche⁴ in the market. They are now perceived as more "cool" or trendy than we are. Perhaps we should consider getting some celebrity⁵ endorsements⁶.
L: You mean like a rock star or a famous sports figure?
F: Yeah, that might help. The person has to be seen as kind of a rebel so we can associate our brand with individuality.
L: That's not a bad idea. I'll talk to the Board of Directors about that.
F: I'd also suggest we reevaluate our packaging. Right now the box we sell our product in seems a little drab and colorless.
Frank说，公司的竞争对手 carved a niche in the market 在市场中找到了属于自己的一块地方，niche is spelled n-i-c-h-e, niche 是缝隙的意思，动词 carve 是雕刻，划出的意思。Frank说，现在消费者都觉得公司竞争对手的产品更时尚，因此不妨找两个名人，给公司做产品代言，get some celebrity endorsements, 但选择的名人一定要带有反叛色彩，让用户觉得我们的产品有个性化，individuality. Frank 还建议，眼下的产品包装有些呆板，a little drab, 可以考虑变化一下。Lisa说：
L: Yes, we could redesign our packaging. But on the other hand, there is a recent trend to move away from excessive packaging. You know...to help save the environment.
F: That's another way we could go. We could reduce our packaging, and then advertise our environmentally-friendly business policies. Being "green" is definitely cool these days. Perhaps environmentally-friendly packaging would appeal to a younger customer demographic.
Lisa说，如今的趋势是放弃过度包装，实现包装简单化，因为这样做有利环保 environmentally-friendly. Frank觉得Lisa说得有道理，公司在包装上可以走环保路线，用环保的新思维来吸引年轻客户群，appeal to 是吸引的意思，demographic is spelled d-e-m-o-g-r-a-p-h-i-c, demographic 在这里指的是消费人群中的一部分。

1 brainstorm   

vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策

参考例句：

• The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。
• We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

5 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

6 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网