Not all negotiations have a successful outcome. But to help you achieve the results you need, let’s practise some of the words and phrases you can use. First, listen to this dialogue between Harry, a sales rep(resentative)Handelsvertreter(in)sales rep and Lisa, a purchaserEinkäufer(in)purchaser. They are negotiating a logistics contract.
Scroll down for the transcript and an audio exercise.
Transcript: When a negotiation breaks down
Harry: Lisa, I’m really sorry, but I’ve reached my walk-away pointPunkt, an dem eine Verhandlung abgebrochen wirdwalk-away point. I just can’t give you the rates you want.
Lisa: We’ve been working together successfully for three years now. Surely, renewing the contract is in your best interest.
Harry: It is. But not at those reduced rates.
Lisa: Do you need a timeoutUnterbrechung, Pausetimeout to speak to anyone?
Harry: It wouldn’t help, I’m afraid. I’ve gone as far as I can for this size of contract.
Lisa: What if you were to talk to my boss? Would that help?
Harry: Only if he could widen the scopeUmfang, Spielraumscope of the contract.
Lisa: Our other distribution centreVertriebszentrumdistribution centres all have contracts with local logistics firms. But we’re thinking of expanding into the north next year.
Harry: We’re active there. Would that contract be similar to this one?
Lisa: Almost certainly.
Harry: Well, if you could guarantee that contract for your northern distribution centre, we could reconsider the whole pricing package.
Lisa: I can’t guarantee that today. I’d have to talk to the people involved.
Harry: That’s OK. We’ve come so far already. Neither of us wants to have to look for new business partners.
Lisa: If that doesn’t work, we could also look at the possibility of you providing just the warehousingLagerabwicklungwarehousing needs rather than the whole logistics package.
Harry: I hope it doesn’t come to that. But that would be better than no agreement at all.
Transcript: Exercise
In this exercise you will hear a sentence from the dialogue. I will then repeat a phrase from that sentence. In the pause, explain the meaning of the phrase in your own words. Then you will hear my explanation, which you can compare to yours. After that, you will hear the sentence again with a pause for you to repeat it. OK? Ready?
Harry: Lisa, I’m really sorry, but I’ve reached my walk-away point.
A walk-away point. What is that? A walk-away point is the time you have to leave the negotiation because your basic conditions have not been met.
Harry: Lisa, I’m really sorry, but I’ve reached my walk-away point.
Lisa: Surely renewing the contract is in your best interest.
To renew a contract. What does that mean? To renew a contract is to extend the agreement for a further period.
Lisa: Surely renewing the contract is in your best interest.
Lisa: Do you need a timeout to speak to anyone?
A timeout. What is that? A timeout is a break from an activity.
Lisa: Do you need a timeout to speak to anyone?
Harry: I’ve gone as far as I can for this size of contract.
To go as far as he can. What does Harry mean? To go as far as you can means to reach the limits of what you can do or offer.
Harry: I’ve gone as far as I can for this size of contract.
Harry: Only if he could widen the scope of the contract.
To widen the scope of something. What does that mean? To widen the scope of something is to make the range or coverage greater.
Harry: Only if he could widen the scope of the contract.
Lisa: Our other distribution centres all have contracts with local logistics firms.
Distribution centres. What are they? Distribution centres are product storage and shipping buildings.
Lisa: Our other distribution centres all have contracts with local logistics firms.
Lisa: But we’re thinking of expanding into the north next year.
To expand. What does that mean? To expand is to make something larger.
Lisa: But we’re thinking of expanding into the north next year.
Harry: Would that contract be similar to this one?
To be similar to. What is that? To be similar to is to be like something else but not exactly the same.
Harry: Would that contract be similar to this one?
Harry: Well, if you could guarantee that contract for your northern distribution centre, we could reconsider the whole pricing package.
To reconsider something. What does this mean? To reconsider something means to think about it again and try to decide whether it should be changed.
Harry: …we could reconsider the whole pricing package.
Lisa: I can’t guarantee that today.
To guarantee something. What is that? To guarantee something is to promise something will happen or be done.
Lisa: I can’t guarantee that today.
How did you get on? All these words and phrases are useful. Go back and learn any that you did not know. When a negotiation breaks down there is always something you can do. Lisa and Harry found different ways to keep the dialogue open and their business relationship intact. You can do the same.
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Dann nutzen Sie die Möglichkeit und stellen Sie sich Ihr optimales Abo ganz nach Ihren Wünschen zusammen.
