2011商务英语中级口语精讲班讲义第一讲57

1.      Advertising: the importance of stereotypes in advertising

2.      Sales: how to choose a new sales agent

3.      Sales: the importance of brand image in ensuring that products or services sell well

--Brand image can also help a firm establish its market niche. A good example to illustrate this would be the famous Rolls Royce.  As is widely known, they don’t sell it to everybody who is able to come up with the money.  First of all, they will check your background and make sure your social status, not the size of your wallet, fits in the prestigious and exclusive club of Rolls Royce owners.  In this way, they successfully made Royce Rolls a status symbol rather than just a tool of transportation.  This teaches us a lesson: you don’t use mass-oriented products to attract upscale clients.

4.      Sales: how to ensure that price levels for new products are set appropriately

5.      Sales: the importance of pricing a new product or service appropriately

--In the final analysis, prices for a new product must be set carefully, because it is also important to consider the competitors’ prices and the local average spending level or the purchasing power of your target group.  If your pricing is too out of touch with reality, your new products are unlikely to survive the keen competition.

6.      Sales: how to sell a product effectively in international markets

7.      Sales: the importance of selling products in international markets

8.      Marketing: how to ensure that agents maintain a high level of effectiveness when representing a company

9.      Marketing: the importance of ensuring a high level of performance by sales agents

10.  Marketing: how to sell products on the world wide web 

--Last but not least, to sell anything on the internet, we must also deal with the logistics.  Finding a suitable web address is only the first step.  Regular maintenance work is also required. Then the online product catalogue should be designed, preferably by professionals. Of course, we shouldn’t forget the most important thing – deciding on the payment methods, cheque, credit card, or bank transfer, as cash is out of the question on the web.