Selling а Product

John Boden woke up at 7:30 next morning. Не took а shower and had his breakfast at the Russian Winter Restaurant. At 9:00 he met Dmitry Volkov and his partner Vitaly Mirotvorsky at the company's office.

Dmitry: Good morning, John. 1'д like to introduce ту

partner Vitaly Mirotvorsky and ^our sales Mana­

ger Victor Gussev to you.

John Boden: Nice to meet you, gentlemen.

Dinilry: Please, sit down. Would you like а сир of coffee,

John?

John Boden: Yes, please. Black, no sugar.

Din itry:.(to the secretary): Nina, coffee for everybody.

Dmitry: Before we start our talks, 1 want you to look at the program of your stay in Saint-Petetsburg. We thought it might be а good idea to brief you on ^our company first, then to discuss our mutual projects and have lunch at 1:00 PM. After lunch we want to show you one of our outlets. We have just opened it. It's in down­town.

John Boden: [t must have been very expensive to rent premises in downtown.

Vita It certainly was. And what's more, we needed 320 sq.m. of floor space. Believe те, it's not at all easy to find such а place.

John Boden: No, of course not. What are our plans for tomorrow?

Dinitry: То-morrow morning we are meeting our regional sales representatives. The meeting starts at 9:30.

John Boden: Do you want те to make ту presentation tomorrow?

Dmitry: Yes, when all interested parties are present.

John Boden: How many people will come for ту presentation?

Vitally: Теп from the head office and 10 sales agents.

John Boden: Good. How much time до I have at ту disposal?

Vitaly: As much as you need.

John Boden: О. К. I actually thought of а short presentation, say

10-15 minutes, followed by а question

answer session.

Din try: Do you need any special equipment for your

presentation?

John Bodert: А portable LCD projector.

Vitaly: No problem. I'11 arrange that.

John Boden: Thank you, Vitaly.

Dmitry: Then we'll have lunch. If you like, we сап take

you to а nice Georgian restaurant. And after

lunch we are visiting the INTERSPORT 20­

Exhibition at LenExpo. The exhibition closes at5:00 РМ, so, we'll have more than 3 hours to see who operates of the Russian market. John Boden: What about Friday?

Vitaly: We'll meet again in our office for negotiations.

Dmiriy: Do not forget, John, that on Friday night we are taking you to а Russian ballet.

After John Boden's presentation, which was а success, the parties got together in Dmitry's office.

Vitaly: Congratulations, John! We were impressed by the quality of your presentation and the variety of goods that your company сап offer.

John Boden: Thank you, guys.

Dmitry: Our sales force have asked a lot of questions, but I'm afraid I have to ask а few more questions. You see, you've been doing this kind of busi­ness for some years. You know the ins and outs of this business. Eurosport is а relatively new company.

John Bode,,: Go ahead! Ask as many questions as you want.

Dmitry: Let's start with the model L 12. Do you have ultra light shoes in red and white only, or in other colors as well?

John Boden: During ту presentation I showed one sample only. But we can offer this model in blue and green as well. Our market research showed that customers prefer red and white sports shoes.

Vitaly: Who are the target customers for this model?

John Boden: We sell this model to different age and social gro­ups. Ultra light shoes are in demand throughout

the year.

Dmitry. If your shoes are to sample, they will sell readily in our market.

John Boden: These shoes are really good. They are waterproof and will wear long.

Vitaly: If you сап guarantee regular supplies, we'll have по trouble in marketing this model here.

Din itry: Everything is more or less clear with ultra light sports shoes. But I'm not so sure about sensor-mounted shoes.

John Boden: Oh, they are great! We are so proud of them. Sen­sor-mounted shoes permit their owner to measure blood pressure, the heart beat and the mileage.

Vitaly: The idea is very original. But I don't think that the market for this article is very large.

Dmitry: Do sensor-mounted shoes sell well?

John Boden: Oh, yes. The market is constantly growing. We sell them to professional sportsmen, to college and university students and to all who like jogging.

Dmitry: Do you export them anywhere?

John Boden: Yes, to South-East Asia and to some African countries. Nigeria and Cameroon.

Vitaly: still I suspect that the demand for these shoes is moderate or even low.

Dmary.• Well, John. We'll think it over. But, in any case we'll need specifications of а11 items we have selected.

John Boden: Р11 leave you all the specimen and mail specifications when I am back.