Part Ⅰ Situational Dialogues
Situational Dialogue 1
Peter and Smith are discussing price in the office.
Peter：Good Morning！
Smith：Good Morning！
Peter：What are your quotations of the items listed in your catalogue？
Smith：Here’s the price list. But the prices are subject to our final confirmation.
Peter：Item No.254 seems to be the thing I want to have a try.
Smith：What’s the quantity you’re likely to take？
Peter：2，000 tons. It’s an attractive quantity，isn’t it？I hope you’ll quote us on your best terms.
Smith：How soon do you want the goods to be delivered？
Peter：Early September.
Smith：Just a minute. Now we offer your firm 2，000 tons of item No.254 at 150 US dollars per metric ton CIF New York，to be delivered in early September.
Peter：How long will you leave your offer open？
Smith：It’s valid for four days.
Practice 1
Task 1：Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.
Task 2：Simulated situational conversation.
Suppose you are a sales representative. You are making an offer of 6，000 sets of TV to your customer；try to use the expressions above.
Situational Dialogue 2
Peter is negotiating price with Smith in the office.
Peter：Good Morning.
Smith：Good Morning.
Peter：I’d like to get the ball rolling by talking about prices.
Smith：Shoot. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Peter：Your products are very good. But I’m a little worried about the prices you’re asking.
Smith：You think we will be asking for more？
Peter：That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I know your research costs are high，but what I’d like is a 25% discount.
Smith：That seems to be a little high. I don’t know how we can make a profit with those numbers.
Peter：We said we want 10，000 pcs over a three-month period. What if we plan orders for a year，with a guarantee？
Smith：If you can guarantee that on paper，I think we can discuss this further.
Practice 2
Task 1：Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.
Task 2：Simulated situational conversation.
Suppose you are a dealer for bicycles，try to negotiate your discount with the sales representative.
Situational Dialogue 3
Sam is in negotiation with Lee to settle the quotation over the phone.
Sam：Mr.Lee，I’ve talked to my general manager and he has agreed to increase the number to 5，000 pieces but we ask for a 25% quantity discount.
Lee：Thank you for your effort，but 25% is much more than we can offer to any of our customers.
Sam：If you take such a large quantity into account，you will find your prices are higher than we can get from elsewhere.
Lee：But you should take the quality into consideration. You know our products are of high quality and well-known all over the world.
Sam：The labor cost has decreased a lot recently，however. I think you can reduce the price accordingly.
Lee：But it’s beyond your reach. Well，in order to establish the business relations with you，we can grant you a special discount of another 5%.
Sam：A 15% discount？That doesn’t make a difference. You know we usually deal on a 25% quantity discount for such large orders. How about 20%？
Lee：It would be uneconomical for us to offer our products at the discount you suggest.
Sam：Your concession will set the ball rolling. Let us settle it at a total discount of 18%，if you agree.
Lee：I’m afraid 15% discount is already our best offer for 5，000 pieces.
Sam：In order to get the business，we are willing to make some concessions. 18% for 6，000 pieces.
Lee：Great. Let’s call it a deal. USD 1.56 per piece for 6，000 pieces PVC bottle.
Sam：OK. I hope we both can get something out of this.
Practice 3
Task 1：Listen to the dialogue and role-play it in pairs.
Task 2：Simulated situational conversation.
Suppose you are Mr.Green. You’re the manager of a jewelry design and manufacturing company. You want to book a booth for a jewelry exhibition. Try to bargain the price with sales representative of the exhibition service center.