Warm-up
Sales & Persuasion
Sales & Persuasion
After this lesson you'll be able to...
- Use key sales vocabulary
- Ask questions to find out what a customer needs
- Choose the right intensifier for gradable and ungradable adjectives
- Handle objections and close a deal politely
Get to know each other (3 minutes)
- Have you ever sold something, formally or informally? What?
- What makes you trust a salesperson? What makes you stop trusting one?
- Do you like being called by a salesperson? Why or why not?
- What is the best product you have ever bought because of a good pitch?
Say it out loud
Practise a polite opening for a cold call. → Good morning, my name is Taras and I'm calling from Brightline. Do you have two minutes?
Fact worth knowing
Vocabulary
Sales vocabulary
Useful sales phrases
| What are you currently using? | Чим ви наразі користуєтеся? |
| What matters most to you? | Що для вас найважливіше? |
| I completely understand your concern. | Я цілком розумію ваше занепокоєння. |
| What if we offered you a free trial? | А що, якби ми запропонували пробний період? |
| Would you like to move forward? | Чи хотіли б ви рухатися далі? |
| Let me send you a quote today. | Дозвольте надіслати вам пропозицію сьогодні. |
| That's a fair point, but… | Це слушно, але… |
| Can I count on your order by Friday? | Чи можу я розраховувати на ваше замовлення до п'ятниці? |
Try out the new words
Say how you would answer an objection about price. → I understand your concern about the price, but …
Say what you would offer a hesitant customer. → What if we offered you a free trial / a discount?
Which word is it?
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct word
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English. Several answers are possible.
Grammar
Intensifiers: gradable and ungradable adjectives
| Gradable adjectives | can be more or less: good, expensive, tired, important, cold. Use very, really, extremely, quite, fairly, rather, a bit, too: very expensive, extremely important, a bit cold. |
| Ungradable adjectives | already extreme or absolute: excellent, fantastic, perfect, impossible, freezing, exhausted, delighted, brilliant, huge. Use absolutely, completely, totally, really: absolutely fantastic, completely impossible. NOT "very fantastic". |
| really | works with both: really good, really excellent. |
| quite | quite good = moderately good (fairly), but quite perfect / quite impossible = completely. With gradable adjectives quite is weaker than very. |
| too / enough | too = more than is good: too expensive for us. enough follows an adjective: good enough, not big enough. (NOT "enough good") |
| Sales English | Customers trust honest, precise language. It's really reliable sounds better than It's the most absolutely amazing product in the world. |
| Careful! | NOT "very excellent", NOT "absolutely good" (good is gradable: very good), NOT "enough good". Fairly and rather are less common in speech than quite. |
Gradable or ungradable?
Choose the correct intensifier
Complete with the correct word
Which is wrong?
Correcting mistakes
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Say it about your own work
Describe a product or service you know with two intensifiers (one gradable, one ungradable adjective). → It's very … and absolutely …
Reading
Read: a sales call
Taras (seller): "Good morning, Mrs Kravets. My name is Taras, and I'm calling from Brightline. I know you're busy, so I'll be brief. What are you currently using to track your orders?"
Mrs Kravets: "A spreadsheet. It's quite slow, and mistakes happen."
Taras: "That's very common. What matters most to you — speed or price?" — Mrs Kravets: "Speed. Our biggest problem is that we lose orders." — Taras: "Our system is really fast and extremely easy to use. Most customers say it's absolutely brilliant for small teams. Would a short demo help?"
Mrs Kravets: "Maybe. But your product is too expensive for us." — Taras: "I completely understand your concern. What if we offered you a free 30-day trial and a 10% discount for a one-year contract?" — Mrs Kravets: "That sounds fair. But I need to talk to my director." — Taras: "Of course. Can I send you a quote today and call you on Thursday?" — Mrs Kravets: "Yes, that's fine."
True or false?
Mrs Kravets uses a special system now.
Her biggest problem is price.
Taras says the system is difficult to use.
Mrs Kravets says the product is too expensive.
Taras offers a free trial and a discount.
Mrs Kravets agrees to buy immediately.
Answer the questions
What questions does Taras ask at the beginning?
What is Mrs Kravets' main problem?
How does Taras handle the price objection?
How does the call end?
Find the intensifiers
Write the word (or phrase) from the text.
Fill in from the text
Why is this a good call?
Your own opinion
- Would you buy from Taras? Why or why not?
- What would you say if you were Mrs Kravets' director?
- What other objections might customers give?
Practice
Picture the sale
Open → Ask → Present → Handle objections → Close. Keep the customer talking, and always agree the next step.
Match the phrase to its function
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Fill in the missing phrase
Answer the objection
Write a polite, helpful answer. Several answers are possible.
Translate into English
Write each sentence in English. Several answers are possible.
A sales fact
Speaking — Close the Sale
How to use this section
Your tutor plays a prospect. React in real time — open the call, ask about needs, present benefits, answer objections and agree a next step. Use intensifiers carefully: honest, precise language is more persuasive than exaggeration.
Opening a cold call
Task: open a cold call in 20 seconds: who you are, why you call, and a request for two minutes.
Starter: "Good morning, my name is … and I'm calling from …. I know you're busy, so I'll be brief. Do you have two minutes?"
Finding out what the customer needs
Task: ask four questions to find out what the prospect is using and what matters most.
Starter: "What are you currently using? What works well? What is the biggest problem? What matters most to you?"
Presenting benefits
Task: present your product (real or invented) using one feature and one benefit, with two intensifiers.
Starter: "It's really fast, which means you never lose an order. Most customers say it's absolutely brilliant for small teams."
Handling a price objection
Prospect: "That's too expensive for us."
Starter: "I completely understand your concern. What if we offered you a free 30-day trial and a 10% discount for a one-year contract?"
Handling "I need to think about it"
Prospect: "I'll think about it."
Starter: "Of course. What questions can I answer now to help you decide? Can I send you a quote today and call you on Thursday?"
Closing the deal
Task: both sides are close to agreement. Summarise and close.
Starter: "So, to confirm: 200 units, a 10% discount and delivery by the 15th. Would you like to move forward?"
Upselling politely
Task: suggest an extra to a customer who has agreed to buy.
Starter: "Many of our customers also choose the premium support plan. It's quite small — just 20 euros a month — and it saves a lot of time. Would that help you?"
Full sales call — no stopping
Run a full sales call with your tutor: opening, questions, presentation, one price objection, one "I need to think" and a close — entirely in English.
Let's talk — reflection
- Which intensifiers did you use? Were they right for gradable and ungradable adjectives?
- Was it difficult to accept an objection without arguing?
- What will you do differently in your next real sales call?
Cool down
Now I can...
- Use key sales vocabulary
- Ask questions to find out what a customer needs
- Choose the right intensifier for gradable and ungradable adjectives
- Handle objections and close a deal politely
Quick self-check
Why can we not say "very fantastic"?
What is the correct position of "enough" with an adjective?
What do you say after an objection before you answer it?
One more thing before you go
Tell your tutor one product you could sell easily, and why. → I could sell … because it's really …
Homework
- Do the exercises below and press Check in each one. Green = correct. Red shows what was expected.
- Do the writing and speaking tasks and tick them when they are done.
- Write your name and press Copy my result, then send the text to your tutor.
Words to remember
| a prospect | потенційний клієнт |
| a lead | контакт потенційного клієнта |
| a cold call | холодний дзвінок |
| a pitch | презентація пропозиції |
| an objection | заперечення клієнта |
| to close a deal | укласти угоду |
| a quote | комерційна пропозиція (ціна) |
| a discount | знижка |
| a bulk order | оптове замовлення |
| a free trial | безкоштовний пробний період |
| a testimonial | відгук клієнта |
| after-sales service | післяпродажне обслуговування |
| to upsell | продати дорожчу версію чи додатки |
| a sales target | план продажів |
| a commission | комісійні |
| a pipeline | воронка продажів |
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct intensifier
Open the brackets
Correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English. Several answers are possible.
Write it yourself
Write a short sales dialogue (8–10 lines) between a salesperson and a customer who thinks the product is too expensive. Use at least four intensifiers and one objection.
Practise out loud
Role-play your dialogue aloud (both parts). Check that you used the right intensifier for each adjective.
Read aloud
Read the sales call from the Reading section aloud twice, playing both parts.
- 8.7 I wrote a sales dialogue (8–10 lines)
- 8.8 I role-played my dialogue aloud
- 8.9 I read the sales call aloud twice