7Listen to Dialogue No 1 between two speakers and answer the questions below. Then listen again and check your answers.

1. What are the speakers discussing?

2. What promotional tools is George going to use?

3. What kind of promotional activities does Maryann offer?

4. According to George is it easy to choose the right pro­motional tool?

5. Why did George refuse to use free samples in the pro­motional campaign?

8* Complete the dialogue using the words from the box. There are two words which you don't need to use.

promotional methods, general public, promotion, dis­played, promotional gimmick, free samples, launching, point-of-sale, merchandising, consumers, promotional budget, buy, sales, opportunity, distributed

NELLY: I need your advice. What kind of____(1)____would you suggest for increasing the sales of our new product?

PETER: Well, you see all depends on the type of good your are going to promote. Many products are _____(2)_____at exhibition open to the _____(3)_____, e.g. The Ideal Home Exhibition and the annual Motor Show. In large department stores demonstrations are arranged by cos­metics manufacturers.

NELLY: Yes, I know, but to my my mind sampling is more popular. Sometimes_____(4)______ are delivered door or through a particular magazine.

PETER: That's the way for_____(5) hair products, washing powders/liquids and fabric softeners. The idea is that once_____(6)_____have tried a small sachet sample of the product, they will go and_____(7)_____the larger size bot­tle or packet at the shop.

NELLY: Aren't there any other ways of promoting _____(8)_____of a product or service?

PETER: Why not. Some companies use contests, lotteries and games. All these give an_____(9)_____for some marketers (consumers, dealers and salespeople) to win something. NELLY: This is hard to believe but some consumers have even started to become competition addicts because the prizes are very attractive. To my mind this is just ______(10)_____ . I prefer old-fashioned _____(11)_____ such as promotional discount.

PETER: You know, speaking about old-fashioned promotion­al methods why not try coupons or trading marks. These coupons can be______(12)______by mail, inserted in news­papers and magazines, or even placed on a product, as for example on a jar of instant coffee. NELLY: But we are not selling coffee, we are going to pro­mote new hair spray and our____(13)_______is limited and I am trying to cut down expenses.

PETER: In this case you should use direct mail. 'Cheap and cheerful' as the saying goes.

9* Before you listen to Dialogue No 2 match the expressions in the left column with their translation in the right one.

1. born

2. to convince 3.1, for one,

4. to reward

5. it goes without saying

6. freedom of action

7. challenge

8. to form an opinion

9. self-respect

10. company representative

11. ancient occupation

12. to give up

a. свобода действий

b. сдаться, уступить

c. убеждать, уверять

d. прирожденный

e. древняя профессия

f. представитель компании

g. создавать мнение

h. само собой разумеется

i. сложная задача, проблема

j. что касается меня, лично я

k. вознаграждать

l. чувство собственного до­стоинства

9. Dialogue No 2

Richard and Sara are discussing personal selling.

RICHARD: Do you know that there is a traditional point of view that salespeople are born, not made.

SARA: Nonsense, I am convinced that good selling can be developed by proper training and experience.

RICHARD: May be you are right but some firms, however, prefer to let a person "prove" himself or herself in the field first, before going through the time and expense nec­essary to give intensive training.

SARA: I, for one, would welcome the chance to prove myself and to know that my good efforts are quickly recognized and rewarded.

RICHARD: It goes without saying that selling jobs are rewarding because in few other types of work can the fruits of one's efforts be so clearly revealed as in direct sales.

SARA: Not only because of that. I like this job because it gives freedom of action. Many sales positions require people who can work effectively on their own with minimum supervision. To my mind, the freedom of selling offers both a comfort and a challenge.

RICHARD: It depends. On the one hand, the freedom of sell­ing is an advantage but on the other hand, it is a signifi­cant responsibility because a salesperson is the major and often the sole contact that a customer has with a company, and by his or her actions, people will form high or low opinion of the company.

SARA: If you ask me, responsibility is not a disadvantage, it gives the salesperson an additional self-respect being the company representative. The sales force can also be proud because selling as a form of personal communica­tion between a salesperson and a customer is an ancient occupation. Trading companies and salesmen were pres­ent in Mesopotamia in 2500 B.C. and Phoenician sales­men sailed the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf from 1500 to 1200 B.C.

RICHARD: I give up!