English for Sales and Client Service

Introduction

English for Sales and Client Service is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards the specialisation of customer service. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.

Граматика

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use the present perfect tense to describe situations requiring a link between the present and the past.
  • Use the passive form to create a more polite and indirect tone.
  • Use modal verbs to talk about the functions of requests, offers and permission.
  • Correctly use adverbs to describe events happening over time.
  • Use adverbs to describe the manner in which an action is taken.
  • Compare adjectives and adverbs using comparative and superlative forms.
  • Use indirect questions to increase formality and politeness of speech.
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.

Речник

By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 200 expressions used in customer service.

Skills

By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and customer service contexts.

Unit Summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to Sales and Client Service
  • Grammar: Adverbs of manner
  • Речник: Key vocabulary and phrases used in the customer service industry
  • Четене: Principles of Sales and Client Service
  • Слушане: A lecture on customer service
  • Писане: A day in the life
  • Говорене: Call centre challenges
  • Pronunciation: Hot and Heart + connected speech

Module 2

  • Building Rapport with Clients
  • Grammar: Adverbs of time
  • Речник: Polite greetings, small talk, and active listening skills
  • Четене: Getting that connection
  • Слушане: A dialogue dealing with a customer problem
  • Писане: Small talk is a big issue!
  • Говорене: Connections
  • Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech

Module 3

  • Understanding Customer Needs and Enquiries
  • Grammar: Comparatives and superlatives
  • Речник: Clarifying questions, paraphrasing, and summarising client concerns
  • Четене: What does the client need?
  • Слушане: A dialogue with a mixed-up order
  • Писане: Dealing with the public
  • Говорене: The client is not a hot potato!
  • Pronunciation: Heart and Hat + connected speech

Module 4

  • Presenting Products and Services Effectively
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Речник: Describing features, benefits, and comparisons with other options
  • Четене: Effectively Describing Product Features and Benefits
  • Слушане: A dialogue highlighting a product’s key features
  • Писане: Presenting your product
  • Говорене: Selling the impossible!
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 5

  • Handling Complaints and Difficult Situations
  • Grammar: Indirect questions
  • Речник: Diplomatic language, empathy, and problem-solving techniques
  • Четене: Complaints: a professional approach
  • Слушане: Dealing with a complaint
  • Писане: Handling complaints
  • Говорене: Born to deal with angry clients
  • Pronunciation: Fine and Vine + connected speech

Module 6

  • Closing the Sale and Upselling
  • Grammar: Passive voice
  • Речник: Persuasive language, offering add-ons or upgrades, and finalising transactions
  • Четене: Mastering the Art of Closing the Sale and Upselling
  • Слушане: A lecture on the science of closing a sale
  • Писане: How to upsell like a pro
  • Говорене: Unnecessary upgrades
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • The Importance of Providing After-sales Support
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Речник: Following up, addressing additional concerns, and fostering long-term relationships
  • Четене: The Importance of Providing After-sales Support
  • Слушане: Two colleagues discuss after-sales service
  • Писане: After-sales service: a waste of money?
  • Говорене: When too much is just too much!
  • Pronunciation: Cat and Cut + connected speech

Module 8

  • Professional Communication in a Multicultural Environment
  • Grammar: Requests, offers and permission
  • Речник: Cultural sensitivity, email etiquette, and phone call best practices
  • Четене: Multicultural Communication issues
  • Слушане: A lecture on cultural sensitivity
  • Писане: Cultural differences
  • Говорене: Email disasters
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for Sales and Client Service course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.