第六节：商务谈判高手之路
—— 买卖过招第一回！

【疯狂星级】
★ ★★★ 四星级•大学四六级•国际商务级
【Kim’s Note】As the date for China’s WTO entry draws near, the ability to negotiate in English becomes more important. This is an excellent example of real-world negotiating. The language used in real business transactions is not always the same as the language you find in business and management textbooks. Real negotiations include a certain amount of joking and humor. We are the only source of authentic, spoken, business negotiation English!
【疯狂简介】
James White是一位美国的医疗器械经销商，此次是Stone Lee第一回与他交手。就在短短几分钟的交谈中，Stone即感到这位美国佬粗犷的外表下，藏着狡黠如脱兔的心思——他肯定是沙场老将，自己绝不可掉以轻心。双方第一回合过招如下：

谈判现场：
James: I’d like to get the ball rolling by talking about prices.
我想就从价钱方面开始谈吧！

Stone: Shoot. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
洗耳恭听！我很乐意答复任何问题。

James: Your products are very good. But I’m a little worried about the prices you’re asking.
贵公司的产品很出色；但对于你们开的价码，我觉得有点困难。

Stone: You think we should be asking for more? (laughs)
你是觉得我们应该把价格开高点？（笑）

James: (chuckles) That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I know your research costs are high, but what I’d like is a 20% discount.
（莞尔）我不是这个意思。我知道你们投入很高的研究经费，但是，我想要的是八折。

Stone: That seems to be a little high, Mr. White. I don’t know how we make a profit with those numbers.
怀特先生，这个折扣似乎多了点。这样的价格，我真是怀疑我们公司怎么能有利润可赚！

James: Please, Stone, call me James. (pause) Well, if we promise future business, volume sales, that will slash your costs for making the “Heating Pad”, right?
石头，请叫我占姆士好了。（稍停）这样吧！若我们答应以后继续和你们合作，而且是大笔的生意，就可以使你们大幅度降低“热疗垫”的制造成本，对不对？
【Kim’s Note】Asking someone to call you by your first name is a tactic used to show there is a personal relationship. The timing of this move is very important!

Stone: Yes, but it’s hard to see how you can place such large orders. How could you turn over so many? (pause) We’d need a guarantee of future business, not just a promise.
嗯！不过，我实在看不出来您怎能下这么大笔的定单？！贵公司如何销售这么多的货呢？（略停）我们要的可是继续做生意的保证，而不是随口答应就算数的哦！

James: We said we wanted 1000 pieces over a six-month period. What if we place order for twelve months, with a guarantee?
我们说过半年内订货1000件。如果现在我们保证一年内都会跟你们订货，你意下如何？

Stone: If you can guarantee that on paper, I think we can discuss this further.
如果你们能以书面做保证，我想我们可以再详谈下去。
【Kim’s Note】Business in America is done by speaking first then quickly writing up a contract to finalize the agreement. Americans don’t believe what they hear because they know it is hard to back up what someone says, but what is written is much more binding. Notice how Stone presses the man to write a contract for what they discussed.

【额外成就感】
get the ball rolling 开始
* We can get the ball rolling on this deal by talking to the company’s vice-president.
（关于这笔生意，我们可以先找这家公司的副总裁来谈。）
* We have a great idea to invest in Western China, we just need someone to get the ball rolling.
（我们有一项在中国西部投资的好计划，我们正需要人来实施这个项目。）

shoot 有话直说；洗耳恭听
* If you think you have a better idea, shoot.
（如果你觉得还有比这更好的意见，请尽管直说吧！）
* I’m looking for a new plan, if anyone has one, shoot.
（我正在寻求一个新方案，如果谁有什么好主意，请尽管说！）

make a profit 赚钱；获利 = turn a profit
* I don’t see how his company can make a profit; his marketing costs are too high.
（我不认为他的公司有办法赚到钱，他的营销成本太大了）
* I’m not in business for charity. I want this company to make a profit.
（我不是从事慈善事业，我想我的公司赚钱。）
* The number one goal of a company is to make a profit.
（公司的头号目标就是盈利。）

volume sales 大量销售；大笔交易
* We only do business in volume sales, so we can offer lower prices than other companies.
（我们只做大笔交易的生意，所以才有办法把价格压得比别家公司低。）
* We do much higher volume sales than our competitors.
（跟对手相比，我们的交易额要大得多。）

slash (one’s) cost 大幅度降低成本
* We’ve decided to slash our costs by making the products in Guangzhou instead of Hong Kong.
（我们决定将生产基地从香港移到广州，以求大幅度降低制造成本。）
* Hiring talent fresh out of college is one way to slash personnel costs.
（雇佣大学应届毕业人才是大幅度降低人工成本的一种方法。）

turn over 做……总额的生意
* We need to turn over these spring fashions by May.
（我们得在五月前卖完这些春装。）
* Our company has a problem with inventory turn over.
（我们公司在存货的销售上有些困难。）