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10 Must-Know Business English Phrases for Sales
- Erin West
- Feb 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 16
Welcome to the Business English Phrases Quiz!
Today’s Focus:
Choosing the correct noun to describe a trend in sales.
Today’s Challenge:
Imagine you're in a team meeting discussing quarterly results. Sales have dipped slightly, and your manager summarizes the situation with this sentence:
We’re seeing a _____ in sales this quarter.
A) slowdown
B) shutdown
C) showdown
D) fallback
Pick the best answer and test your Business English Vocabulary skills!
Did you get it right?
SLOWDOWN
noun
a decrease in speed, activity, or progress
The company is experiencing a slowdown in sales this quarter.
There was a slowdown in hiring after the budget cuts.
The economy is facing a slowdown due to inflation.
SHUTDOWN
noun
the closing or stopping of a business, service, or system
The factory faced a temporary shutdown due to supply chain issues.
The government announced a shutdown of non-essential services.
A power shutdown in the area caused delays in production.
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SHOWDOWN
noun
a final confrontation or decisive battle
The two teams are preparing for a showdown in the championship.
The meeting turned into a showdown between the manager and employees.
The debate became a political showdown between the candidates.
FALLBACK
noun
an alternative plan or option in case of failure
We need a fallback plan in case the deal doesn’t go through.
If the software update fails, we have a fallback version ready.
He used his savings as a fallback when he lost his job.
That's right! The correct answer is A) slowdown.
Learn More Business English Phrases for Sales - New Quiz Below
If you work in sales or want to feel more confident speaking with clients in English, it’s important to know the right phrases. In this article, you’ll learn 10 useful Business English phrases that sales professionals often use.
Take a quick look at the phrases, then give the quiz a try!
IDENTIFY CUSTOMER NEEDS
to understand what the client needs
Before offering a solution, we need to identify the customer’s real needs.
Identifying customer needs is the first step in any sales conversation.
Good salespeople ask questions to help identify customer needs.
HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS
to clearly show the good things about a product or service
In your presentation, make sure to highlight the main benefits for the customer.
We’re not just selling features—we need to highlight the benefits clearly.
She did a great job highlighting the benefits during the product demo.
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DRAW UP A PROPOSAL
to write a plan or offer for a client or project
We drew up a proposal and sent it to the client on Monday.
Can your team draw up a proposal outlining the next steps?
We drew up a proposal based on their feedback from last week.
TAILOR THE OFFER
to change the offer so it matches what the customer wants
We can tailor the offer to fit your budget and timeline.
We usually tailor the offer based on what features the client values most.
We tailored the offer so they only pay for what they’ll actually use.
MARK DOWN PRODUCTS
to lower the price of products
They marked down the laptops to attract more customers.
The store marked down all summer clothes at the end of the season.
They marked down the headphones because the new version just came out.
Several products were marked down for the holiday sale.
PITCH A PRODUCT
to try to sell or present a product to someone
She pitched the new software to a big client this morning.
We need a cleaner way to pitch this product—it’s too technical right now.
They pitched the product as a faster, easier way to manage projects.
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RUN A PROMOTION
to organize and offer a special deal, discount, or limited-time offer to increase sales
We're running a promotion this week — 20% off all services.
Most stores run promotions before the holidays to boost sales.
We usually run promotions at the end of each quarter.
UPSELL A CUSTOMER
to try to persuade the customer to buy a more expensive product or add more things
They upsold the customer by offering extra services.
He upsold the customer by suggesting the premium plan with extra support.
We usually try to upsell accessories when someone buys a phone.
FINALIZE THE DEAL
to finish and officially agree on a sale or contract
We’re just waiting for their signature to finalize the deal.
We hope to finalize the deal by the end of the week.
Legal is reviewing the contract—we can’t finalize the deal until they’re done.
SEE A SLOWDOWN IN SALES
to notice that sales are decreasing or growing more slowly
We’re starting to see a slowdown in sales across all regions.
They saw a slowdown in sales after raising prices.
Some stores saw a slowdown in sales due to the economic downturn.
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Take the Quiz to Test Your Understanding of Common Business English Sales Phrases
Choose A) or B) for each sentence. Then click Check Answers to see how you did!
QUIZ WITH ANSWERS
1.
Due to inflation, many companies are starting to see a slowdown in sales this quarter.
B) see a slowdown in sales
2.
After the client shared their concerns, we agreed to draw up a proposal with a revised price and timeline.
A) draw up a proposal
3.
To attract new buyers this weekend, we’ve decided to run a promotion with a limited-time discount.
B) run a promotion
4.
The first step in our discovery call is to identify customer needs so we know what to focus on.
B) identify customer needs
5.
The rep managed to upsell a customer by offering the upgraded version with extra features.
B) upsell a customer
6.
We’re hoping to finalize the deal before Friday so we can move on to the next phase.
B) finalize the deal
7.
The sales team is meeting a new client today to pitch a product and show how it can save them time.
B) pitch a product
8.
They asked for a lower-cost version, so we offered to tailor the offer based on their feedback
A) tailor the offer
9.
To clear space in the warehouse, we decided to mark down products by 30%.
B) mark down products
10.
During your demo, make sure to highlight the benefits that solve their biggest problems.
A) highlight the benefits
Business English Phrases Quiz
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