- •Contents
- •I. Selling
- •IV. Read the text again and answer the following questions.
- •§1 Quick, §2 path, §3 probable, §5 persuade, §7 discouraging.
- •If you fail to follow up an initial contact …………
- •If you are going to do the selling and it has not been your job previously it is vital ……….
- •If the goods are going to be late …………
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Commerce
- •§1Unprocessed, §2substitute, §3empower, §4obtain, include; §7consist; amount
- •6. Banks assist commerce by providing businessmen ………….. .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Consumer Goods
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Pricing And Sales
- •VI. Find the equivalents of these Russian words and phrases in the text.
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Pricing strategies:
- •How to Set a Price
- •II. Read and decide whether these statements are true (t) or false (f).
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •§2 Computation, §3 cost, §5 purchaser, §7 maintain, §5 resources
- •5. Some people use the level of costs as a way of……… .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Modern-day Retailing
- •§1 Intend, §2 supply, §3 range, §5 realize, §6 equipment.
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Wholesale Trade
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •§1 A person who buys in bulk, §1 luggage compartment, §2 multiple store, §3dispenser, §3 tradesman, §3 producer, §4 storehouse, §5 assortment of goods
- •2. Firms engaged in large-scale retail trade is large enough …………………. .
- •3. The wholesalers reduce the number of parcels ……………………… .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Credit Sales
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •1. In order to encourage retailers to………… a wholesaler may offer a cash discount.
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •§1 Preparations, §2 mediators, §3 at the same time, §4 relations, §7 peculiarity,
- •§8 Decrease
- •Intermediaries (stockbrokers) who transact business …………… .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •The Role of the Market
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •§2 Domestic; use §3 work §5 offer; temporary; senior managers §6 shortage
- •2. The low hamburger price was a good way to satisfy your appetite………. .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Marketing and Promotion
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Trade Restrictions
- •III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
- •§1 Newborn, §2 restricted, §3 obligatory, §4 precise, §5 free from
- •If an industry is just starting up (when it is called an infant industry) the government may help it because ………….. .
- •If tariffs only apply to certain goods of certain countries, …………. .
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •Sales Jobs
- •§1 Main, §3 profitable, §3 to increase, §3 to underline, §4 to debate
- •Vocabulary Focus
- •XI.Paraphrase the following phrases in italics using the expressions from ex. X.
- •References
How to Set a Price
Starting up
Discuss the following questions:
The price of the product consists of different elements. Can you name them?
What does the price mean for a seller and for a buyer?
How do prices influence sales?
What do prices of goods show?
Does the price reflect the quality of the goods? In what way?
Reading
Go through the following vocabulary notes to avoid difficulties in understanding.
-
notion – opinion, belief
fixing price (n.) - set price
reduce (v.) - decrease
straightforward (adj.) - direct
fraught - filled or charged; attended
drawback (n.) - disadvantage
product mix - product assortment
negotiation (n.) - talks
II. Read and decide whether these statements are true (t) or false (f).
There are four ways to increase your profit: you can reduce your costs, you can sell more, you can change your product mix or you can increase your assets.
The company should set the price first of all on the basis of the level of costs.
For the seller the price means at least a minimum of his profit and for the buyer - the sum of money he can afford for the product.
Calculation is considered to be the best way of setting the price.
III. Now read the text and check your answers to the statements from ex. II.
There are four ways you can increase your profits. You can cut your costs, you can sell more, you can change your product mix or you can increase your prices. Clearly your aim should be to set your prices - initially at the level which gives you your highest profits possible. Needless to say as with everything else to do with your business it is easier said than done. There is no clear-cut or agreed method of establishing a price for your product or service.
Some people use the level of costs as a way of fixing a price. This may seem a fair straightforward calculation, but it has drawbacks. For example, if your costs are very low, does it automatically mean that your prices should be low too? And even working out the cost of your product can be fraught with possible errors.
Other people argue that the price should be set by what the market can bear. But there are no quick and simple calculations which can tell you what this should be. Instead you have to establish the price by looking at the market you are in and the particular part of it your product appeals to. How does your product rate against others competing products in the same marketplace? There are also different strategies you can adopt depending on whether your product is a new or an old one. Often overriding all your plans can be the effect your competitors' pricing policy has on you.
It is probably more realistic to think in terms of a range of prices. The lowest price you should consider setting will be fixed by the cost. On the whole, you should not go below the price; if you have to, it would be better not to be in business at all. There are a couple of exceptions, of course, where temporarily it may make sense. The highest price will be the highest the market can bear without sales disappearing altogether. Between the two will be the price which will give the highest possible profits.
The right price for any business does not exist as a theoretical calculation. The only price which is right is the price which both the buyer will pay and the seller will accept. It is all down to negotiation. This may bear no relation to the prices calculated as a result of the value of the assets or the earnings potential which the business gives you. The first step is to reject all notions about need value. The second step is to throw out of the window all notions that the price given in the agent's details, for example, is the price you will have to pay. Negotiation is everything.
However, you should enter any negotiation with two prices in mind. If you are the buyer, the lower price will be the price you use to open the negotiations; the higher price is the maximum you will be willing to pay. You should not start negotiating unless you have a clear idea of this maximum price. If you are the seller, the lower price is the minimum you will accept for the business and the higher price, the one you adopt initially.
Nevertheless it is vital to have used a number of methods of arriving at a price. These can give you establishing lower and upper prices. You must have а point to work from. The accountant who is advising you should carry out these calculations for you, but you should know the basis for the figures.
Text Comprehension
Answer these questions using the active vocabulary of the text.
1. What are the ways of increasing your profits?
2. Is there any clear-cut method of establishing a price?
3. What are the drawbacks of a straightforward calculation?
4. What are the ways of setting the price?
5. Why should not you go below the lowest price?
6. What is the only price which is 'right'?
7. Is negotiation important?
8. How should you enter any negotiation?
9. What is the difference between the lower price and the higher price?
10. Are there any methods of arriving at a price?
Read the text and find the synonyms of the following words.