刘晓兰山东外贸职业学院,山东青岛266100
展销会英文推介的常见问题及对策分析
刘晓兰
山东外贸职业学院,山东青岛266100
[摘要]展销会是企业和公司展示其产品与服务的平台,是开发新客户、吸引潜在客户的好机会,外贸业务员能通过展销会开拓业务、拓展客源。做好英文推介,避免英文推介中出现的常见问题,恰当使用寒暄语,企业和产品介绍尽量短小精悍,一语中的,主动了解顾客需求,灵活提供解决方案,可以大大提升合作的机会。
[关键词]展销会;英文推介;寒暄语;企业和产品介绍;合作意向
(一)问题:寒暄语使用不恰当
寒暄语多在迎送客户和接待客户等几个环节中使用,经常出现的不恰当用语包括:“Hello,guys.”,“Sit down please.”,“Drink water .”,“Can you tell me…?”等。
(二)对策分析:注意细节,恰当使用
以上用语的字面含义分别是:你好,请坐,喝水,你能告诉我?虽然能表达出简单的含义,但是“Hello,guys.”是非正式的打招呼方式,常用于较熟悉的朋友之间,不适用于在展会上初次见面的客户。恰当的迎接客户的用语为:“Good morning/ good afternoon,sir,please have a look.”,“Nice to meet you. May I help you?”“Hello,please look around.”“Welcome!”等。“Sit down please.”多用在上级和下级之间,比如老师和学生之间,含有轻微的命令口吻,恰当的语气应该是“Have a seat,please.”“Drink water please”也含有轻微的命令口气,而且是典型的中式英语,恰当的用语应为“Enjoy yourself,please”“Help yourself,please”。另外,有些业务员在向客户咨询产品具体要求或参数的时候,总是使用“Can you tell me…?”,Can you在英语中强调的是一种能力,直接使用会导致语气生硬不得体,恰当的用语应为“Could you please tell me?”“Would you like to tell me more details about…?”“Would you like to attend our product show…?”在送走客户时,经常用到的是“I'm looking forward to your visit again.”“Thank you for your inquiry/coming.”“I'll check and give you reply as soon as possible.”
(一)问题:无特色、无重点、繁冗拖沓
目前,由于外贸企业缺乏对员工的英语系统培训,导致业务员在展会上不能灵活使用英文产品介绍,抓不住企业的特征和产品的特色,缺乏吸引力。以某制造企业为例:当客户表示对该企业不熟悉时,业务员说到:Our company was founded in 1999 in Qingdao,Shandong Province. Qingdao is a beautiful seaside city with an international port. Our company is located in the north of Qingdao. It takes 20minutes from the Qingdao airport to our company. Our development strategy is "technical enterprise,prudent management" based on the optimization of industrial structure,technological innovation and,sustainable and healthy development.这份介绍虽然详细,但没有把握好重点,没有突出企业的特色。同样,在介绍产品时,有些业务员也总是从详细介绍产品参数开始,没有突出强调产品的特色以及与其他同类产品的区别等。
(二)对策分析:短小精悍,一语中的
在介绍企业或公司情况时,应展现企业的特色,最终目的是激发海外客户对企业产品的兴趣,所以业务员应第一时间突出企业的主打产品、成功订单、大的合作伙伴即与大买家合作的成功案例、产品第三方验证等,使客户能快速明白企业的产品和定位,并初步建立起与该企业合作的信心。比如在上述案例中,业务员应首先用一句话概括企业的主要产品,客户分布或合作过的大买家等:
(1)We have supplied /manufactured…. for…years with high quality and competitive price.(2)We have rich experiences in cooperating with clients in European/American/ Asian market such as….(3)We specialize in …with customers in…and hope to cooperate with you. I believe we can help you find the right product.这些语句短小精悍,既能概括企业的基本信息又能迅速抓住客户的注意力,如果客户再继续询问企业的其他问题,业务员可以继续讲解,或直接询问客户的产品需求,将客户的注意力引导到产品上来。
同样在介绍产品时,如果业务员能使用简洁的句型和词汇快速突出产品的特征及有力竞争点,不但能给客户留下专业和细心的印象,还能帮助客户在众多产品中锁定适合自己的产品,这些都会增加与客户成功合作的机会。比如在上述案例中:(1)This product features is its smart memory system. It has enjoyed great popularity in American market.(2)This product is characterized by its smart memory system which enables customers to review their records any time they want.
(三)常用的介绍句型
为了提高合作成功率,业务员应在推介前熟练掌握短小精悍的句型和相关词汇,突出企业和产品的特点,以客户需求为导向,以产品特色为重点,留住客户,尽显专业。
常用句型总结如下:
1.We have supplied /manufactured…,for …years with…..
2.We specialize in…with customers in…and hope to cooperate with you.
3.Owing to…,our products have met with warm welcome and quick sale in most Asian / European markets / countries.
4.Our original design and advanced technology give us competitive edge over other produces /products.
5.This product features in….
6.…makes it special.
7.…is characterized by….
8.The advantage of this product is…
9.It has some special functions,such as ….
10.Our products have long enjoyed great fame for these years both at home and abroad.
11. It is well received in….
12.It is a hot seller in….
13. It satisfy the needs of….
14.It caters to the taste of customers in….等。
常用词汇总结如下:
Easy to operate;convenient to carry;good in material;fashionable in design;superb in workmanship;user -friendly;economical;reliable;stylish;the superior quality and reasonable price;new / original design
(一)问题:缺乏灵活性,用语不恰当
有些业务员在介绍完产品之后,倾向于立刻向客户询问有没有合作意向,比如:Are you interested in our product?Would you like to cooperate with us?等,反而会使自己处于被动的局面,如果客户直接说:Sorry.这等于关上了合作的大门。另外,有些客户提出价格问题时,业务员往往急于辩解道:Our product is very cheap.这样的用语是非常不恰当的。Cheap在英文中的含义为价格低廉,即廉价货,言外之意有质量较差的意思。因此,业务员应该慎重使用,在解释价格合理时,应利用reasonable / competitive price等词语较合适,并给予适当的解释,比如使用了优质的材料materials with high quality等。
(二)对策分析:主动了解顾客需求,灵活提供解决方案
在简单有力地突出介绍产品特点之后,业务员应该及时了解顾客的真正需求,比如:Could you please tell me what kind of product are you looking for?What kinds of products do you usually purchase?Could you please tell me what kind of consumers are you targeting at?等待并及时洞察客户对感兴趣产品的综合态度,了解到客户的需求或了解到客户的顾虑后,能够灵活地提出解决方案。这就需要业务员在展会开始之前做好功课,详细了解国际市场行情、企业合作伙伴的贸易订单和消费习惯,总结之前订单的成功经验,形成几套灵活的营销策略和推介方案,做到心中有数。在展会期间,能主动倾听客户的需求,及时提出为客户量身打造的方案,是业务员推介成功的关键一步,使客户觉得业务员专业且有合作的诚意,增加双方合作的几率,比如尺寸调整、换电池、改包装,按照客户的要求定制等等。常用的提建议的英文句型包括:
1.What about…/ How about…?
2. Would you like to…?
3.If we change/ add…,….
4.I suggest/recommend that we….
展销会期间,积极总结推介经验,锻炼语言能力,提高交际能力,一定能有效拓展业务,增加合作机会。
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责任编辑:王春艳刘文华
Common Problems and Solutions to English Promotion in Trade Fairs
LIU Xiao-lan
(Shandong Foreign Trade Vocational College,Qingdao,Shandong 266100)
[Abstract]Trade fairs offer a platform for companies to demonstrate their products or services and for salespersons to develop potential customers. Good English promotion plays an important role in enhancing cooperation at fairs. This paper aims to analyze the common problems in English promotion in terms of greetings,introductions of companies and products,and asking for cooperation intentions. At the end the author suggests some solutions to these problems.
[Key words]trade fairs;English promotion;greetings;introductions of companies and products;asking for cooperation intentions
[中图分类号]F713.83;H319.5
[文献标识码]A
[文章编号]2095-5537(2016)02-00032-03
[收稿日期]2016-01-06
[作者简介]刘晓兰(1983—),女,汉族,山东省淄博人,山东外贸职业学院讲师,硕士。研究方向:经贸英语。