Listening 1:

In this converstion, you will hear a business meeting between 2 native English speakers.
Mrs Jones Mr Lewis
……………….. (1) …………………….(2)
CEO ……………………(3)
The meeting is at Venus Systems’ New York office. Mr Lewis has a proposal for Venus
Systems.
CONVERSATION:
Mrs Jones: Good morning, Mr Lewis. Pleased to meet you. I’m Mrs Johns, CEO
of……………..(4). Please take a seat.

Mr Lewis: Good morning Mrs Johns, I’m pleased to meet you too. Thank you very much.

Mrs Jones: Did you find us ok?

Mr Lewis: Yes thank you. The map and ………………(5) you sent me were a big help.

Mrs Jones: That’s good to know. Did you have any trouble ………..……..(6) a
………………..(7)?

Mr Lewis: No, it was fine. By the way, I really your offices. What an ……….……….(8)
view.

Mrs Jones: Yes, I never get tired of that view. It’s one of the ………………(9) of working
on the 50th floor. Have you been to New York before?

Mr Lewis: No this is my first visit. It’s ……………..(10) how big everything is!

Mrs Jones: I know that you mean. I’ve lived here for 5 years and still ……………..(11)
very small.

Mr Lewis: Well thank you very much for ………………….(12) to meet me today.

Mrs Jones: You’re welcome. I have read the email you sent us. So you would like us to sell
your …………………(13) in the USA. Please tell me a bit more about your company.
Mr Lewis: ABC Solutions is a Bristis Software company, founded in …………(14). Our
head-office is in London and we have a second office in Manchester, in the north of
England.

Mrs Jones: So you have …………….(15) offices. How many …………….(16) do you have
in toal?

Mr Lewis: We currently have ………….(17) employees across both offices and we expect
that grow to 160 before the end of the year.

Mrs Jones: It sounds link you are growing very quickly. What …………..(18) are you
recruiting for?

Mr Lewis: Those new positions are in …………(19), ………………..(20) and tech support.

Mrs Jones: Tell me brieftly about your company’s products.

Mr Lewis: We develop and sell ……………..(21) software to small business. The product,
which is called ………………(22), tracks expenses, sends invoices, manages income,
generates balance and income statements and others reports.

Mrs Jones: And how can Venus Systems help?

Mr Lewis: We would like Venus Systems to sell our software in the USA. We understand
that you already sell networking …………(23) and …………….(24) to small businesses.
We believe your ……………..(25) would also be interested in our products.

Mrs Jones: I see you have done your research! It’s true that we have a lot of existing
……………..(26) who could be interested in some accouting software. I would like to
……………(27) another meeting with you, Mr Lewis, to discuss this more detail. In fact,
this will probably need several meetings. How long are you in New York for?

Mr Lewis: I’m here for at least a week, although I could extend my stay if necessary.

Mrs Jones: How about tommorrow morning at ………….(28)?

Mr Lewis: Yes, that’s fine for me. What would you like to …………….(29)?
Mrs Jones: I’d particularly like to discuss prices, payment terms, …………….(30) and
training.

Mr Lewis: That’s fine. I agree that we’ll probably need several ……………..(31) to discuss
all that.

Mrs Jones: Let’s have the first meeting tomorrow and then we can play it by ear after that.

Mr Lewis: Good idea. Well thank you very much for your time. Mrs Jones. I look forward to
seeing you tomorrow.

Mrs Jones: Well thank you for coming all the way from London. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Good-bye.

Mr Lewis: Good-bye.
 SECTION 2:

Mrs J: Good morning, Mr Lewis. It’s good to see you again. Please take …………………
(1).

Mr L: Hello again, Mrs Johns. Thanks a lot.

Mrs J: So tell me, how was your first everning in …………………(2)?

Mr L: I started with a walk in ………………..(3) and then I had ……………….(4) in a

Mexican reatuarant that I had read about in my ………………..(5). I wanted to go for
another walk after the meal but I was ……………………(6) so I had an early night.

Mrs J: Oh of course, you were probably ………………….(7) from jet lag. Are you feeling
better this morning?

Mr L: Yes, I slept like a log so I feel much better today

Mrs J: Well that’s good because we have quite a few things we need to ……………(8).
Shall we get down to business?

Mr L: Absulutely. Where would you like to start?

Mrs J: Let’s talk about the price of your …………………….(9). How much does it cost to
the customer?

Mr L: The software is sold as a yearly ……………….(10). The full cost to the customer is
………………(11) per year.

Mrs J: What is included in that price?

Mr L: The price includes ……………………….(12) for the software. So that means up to 5

users on the customer’s network can access the software.

Mrs J: What happens if the customers would like more than 5 licenses?

Mr L: Additional licenses can be ………………….(13) for $400 per license per year.
Mrs J: So for 10 licenses, a company would have to pay ………………..(14)? Is that right?
That’s quite a lot of money.

Mr L: Remember that this software is designed for ……………………………(15). It’s

unlikely that a small businesses would need more than 5 licenses for their accounting
software.

Mrs J: Hmmmm yes that’s true. Do you have any figures on that? What …………………
(16) of your existing customers use fewer than 5 licenses?

Mr L: I don’t have the excact figures with me but I estimate that ………………….(17) 90%
of our customers use fewer than 5 licenses.

Mrs J: Ah yes, well that makes sense. You said that the software is sold as a subscription. So
is that ………………….(18) a yearly fee?

Mr L: Yes, that’s correct. Unless the customer cancels the subscription, thay are charged
$2500 per year.

Mrs J: What happens if one of the users has ………………(19) with the software?

Mr L: They can contact our …………………………(20) team. They are available 24/7.

Mrs J: Let’s not discuss the ins and outs of the support today. Let’s save that for another
………………….(21). Let’s stick to the pricing discussion. Is tech support included in the
price or is it extra?

Mr L: …………………………(22) is included in the price, yes. Standard support is

provided by email only. Gold support on the other hand is provided
by………………………..(23).

Mrs J: And how much is gold support?

Mr L: ……………………….(24) per year per client.

Mrs J: Ok, so now that I understand the pricing for the customers, what is your business
………………………(25) for us?
Mr L: Well It’s quite simple. We can offer you a 30% commission on all your sales of our
products and services.

Mrs J: 30% Is that just for the first year or…

Mr L: No, no the 30% is a lifetime recurring commission on ALL revanue that you generate
for us. For example – Let’s assume you sell 5 licenses plus a ……………………(26)
contract to one of your customers. The customer would pay $2800 per year. 30% of 2800 is
……………………….(27). So we would pay you $840 per year until the customer cancels.

Mrs J: Oh I see. I like that fact that it’s a recurring commission

Mr L: Yes, It can become quite lucrative if the customer renews their subcription
…………………….(28).

Mrs J: Yes, I’m sure. Alright Mr Lewis. I am going to need some time to ……………..(29)
about this and to ……………….(30) it with my team later today. Perhaps we can meet up
again tommorrow to discuss this further?

Mr L: Yes, that is fine. Tommorrow, I’m available in the afternooon it that is conveinient for
you.

Mrs J: Shall we say tomorrow at 2 pm?

Mr L: That’s perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good-bye.

Mrs J: Good-bye.