Selling and persuading

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Useful phrases for sellingVocabulary
7. 7Check your understandingReading comprehension
8. 8Listen: my most important saleListening comprehension
9. 9Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
10. 10What does it mean?Grammar exercise
11. 11Find the if and unless verbsGrammar exercise
12. 12The first conditional and unlessGrammar rule
13. 13Choose the right formGrammar exercise
14. 14A customer on the fenceGrammar exercise
15. 15Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
16. 16Say it like a salespersonSpeaking practice
17. 17Design your store, then sellSpeaking practice
18. 18Let's discussDiscussion
19. 19Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: offers and conditionsGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: a follow-up sales emailDiscussion

Words

• brick-and-mortar/ˌbrɪk ən ˈmɔːrtər/

  in a real building that customers can visit, not only online (a brick-and-mortar store)

• checkout/ˈtʃekaʊt/

  the place in a store where you pay, or the last step when you buy something online

• digital wallet/ˌdɪdʒɪtl ˈwɑːlɪt/

  an app that keeps your card details on your phone or watch, so that you can pay with it

• feature/ˈfiːtʃər/

  something that a product has or can do

• free trial/ˌfriː ˈtraɪəl/

  a short time when you can use a product or service without paying, to see if you like it

• pitch/pɪtʃ/

  a short talk that tries to persuade someone to buy something or to agree to an idea (a sales pitch; also a verb: pitch something to someone)

• persuade/pərˈsweɪd/

  to make someone agree to do or believe something by giving them good reasons

• objection/əbˈdʒekʃn/

  a reason that someone gives for not agreeing to something or not buying it

• on the fence/ˌɑːn ðə ˈfens/

  not sure what to decide (be on the fence about something)

• close a deal/ˌkloʊz ə ˈdiːl/

  to finish a sale or an agreement successfully, so that the customer agrees to buy (also: close a sale)

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about buying and selling.

1. Does your job involve selling anything: a product, a service or an idea? Who do you sell it to?
2. Think of the last time you bought something that you didn't plan to buy. What made you say yes?
3. What did you last buy for work or for your home? Did you buy it online or in a store?

Grammar rule

The first conditional and unless

If + present, will + verb

Use the first conditional for a real possibility in the future, and its result.

The condition (if / unless + present)	The result
If you order before noon,	we'll deliver it the same day.
If the meeting runs late,	I can call you at six instead.
If you don't like it,	you can return it for free.
Unless the printer breaks down again,	the brochures will be ready on Monday.
If you see any mistakes in the report,	tell me.

In the if part, use the present simple, even though it is about the future: If you order before noon… (not If you will order). In the result, use will / won't + verb, or can, might, or an instruction (Tell me…).

The if part can come first, with a comma, or second, with no comma: We'll deliver it the same day if you order before noon. For a rule or a fact that is always true, the result can be in the present too: If you pay by card, there is no fee.

unless = if … not

Unless the printer breaks down again, the brochures will be ready on Monday. = If the printer doesn't break down again, they will be ready. After unless, use a positive verb: not Unless you don't need it.

if or when?

Use when for something you are sure will happen: When I get back to the office, I'll send you the file. Use if when you are not sure: If I have time tomorrow, I'll call you.

The present in the if part is the rule for a condition about the future. Polite offers like "If you'd like, I can send you a demo" are a different use. In sales, if makes good offers and promises; unless can sound like pressure ("Unless you buy now…"), so use it carefully.