BEP 171 – Meeting with a Vendor (Part 2)

This is the second of a three-part Business English Pod series about meeting with a vendor¹ to discuss a proposal.

As we discussed last time, meeting with a vendor to discuss a proposal is partly about getting information and partly about negotiating a good deal. You need to use your soft skills to come out of the meeting feeling positive about the vendor and confident that you are getting as much as possible at the best price.
In the last episode, we focussed on getting information through different types of questions. In this lesson, we’ll look at how to express concern about cost, how to introduce a topic with tact², and how to show hesitation³ in a negotiation⁴. We’ll also cover asking hypothetical questions and approximating numbers.

Let’s rejoin Steve, who is hoping to hire someone to run language training, and Karen, whose company has bid on the project.

Listening Questions

1. What are the advantages of a blended course?
2. What is Steve’s primary concern in this part of the meeting?
3. What can be done if the client isn’t satisfied with the blended delivery?

1 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

2 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

3 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。