ESL Podcast 448 – Making Business Contacts

（单词翻译）

Phan: Hi, Montel. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.

Montel: It’s my pleasure.

Phan: Since I’m new here, I was hoping you might be willing to give me some pointers on how to get new clients¹. To be honest, I’ve never been on this side of the fence before and I’m a little out of my comfort zone.

Montel: Oh, sure, I’m glad to give you as much help as I can. Getting clients is a bit of an art, but the key is building relationships.

Phan: What do you mean?

Montel: Most of my clients come to me through networking. I get referrals from people who know me and know my track record.

Phan: Really? I was thinking that I needed to send out some direct mail or do some cold calling.

Montel: You may need to do that to start, but if I were you, I’d also spend time making connections in the business community. Go where you think business prospects³ may be. To woo new clients, you need to meet them first.

Phan: How do I find out where they’ll be?

Montel: Again, you make contacts. You’ve made the first step today by getting in touch with me. I’m going to a reception tonight and it will be a who’s who of the business community. Do you want to go?

Phan: Really? You’d let me tag⁴ along?

Montel: Sure, but there’s a quid pro² quo. In the future, if you get invited to something like this, you invite me to go along.

Phan: That’s more than fair. I think I just got my first lesson in making business connections.


Script⁵ by Dr. Lucy Tse