谈判英语一日通03-03

Chapter 15

Dream Chips or Give Away Chips 虚张声势的谈判筹码

Dialog 1 Disk 3-3

The two dialogs below show how to handle the dream chip tactic¹. A Taiwanese could find him or herself on either side of the sale, so I did it both ways, one as the buyer and one as the seller. In both cases, Bob is the American. In the first dialog, Jane tried to sell DVD players to Bob.

Bob: It's good to meet you, Jane. Is this your first visit to the States?

Jane: It's nice to meet you too, Bob. No, I've been here a few times in the past.

Bob: Oh, really, on business or pleasure?

Jane: Both.

Bob: Great, so you know your way around then.

But if there's anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable, don't hesitate to ask.

Jane: Thank you, Bob, I will. That's very kind of you.

Bob: No problem. Now, shall we get down to business?

Jane: Please.

Bob: I think we can handle this pretty quickly.

We've studied the market pretty closely and I think we can make you a very attractive offer.

We're prepared to give you $12.42 per unit delivered to L.A. That's U.S. dollars of course.

Jane: That's a lot less than we were expecting.

It's not even close to what we were talking about over the phone.

Bob: I know, but there's nothing I can do, Jane.

My hands are tied. The Koreans are dumping tons of DVD players on the market, and we have to compete.

Jane: But still, if we take that price, my company won't even be able to pay for my trip here.

The discussion continued for another hour, but Bob never budged(改变意见), and showed no signs of weakening. When Jane was sure Bob was going to hang tough at $12.42, she played her trump² card.

Jane: Bob, we've been here for over two hours and you paint a very bleak³ picture of business here in the U.S.

I guess you really are serious about your $12.42 offer.

Bob: I wish I could offer you more, Jane, but I just can't.

If pay more than that, they'll just sit in my warehouse⁴.

Jane: We can't afford to sell for that, not if we want to stay in business, so I really don't see where there's anything to be gained by continuing this negotiation⁵.

Let's say goodbye and part, friend.

Bob: Oh! Well, I don't think things are at a stand still.

Tell me what your bottom line is. What do you need to get per unit?

Jane: Well, we can shave a little off the price we discussed over the phone.

1 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。