Business English B1 - B2: Participating in meetings 1

Summary

Quartz Power Group, a UK-based energy company, is experiencing declining sales in its region. Managing Director Marcus meets with the Finance Director, Sales and Marketing Director David, and Customer Services Director Anna to review the figures and identify the cause of the downturn.

Main points

• Financial position: The Finance Director presents the sales figures and says cost-saving measures may be needed to meet the annual budget. Redundancies are raised as one possibility, but Marcus argues that the company needs a strong workforce.
• Products and competition: David says the company’s products are competitive and offers to present details of its current offers. The group considers whether competitors may be attracting customers with better deals.
• Customer issues: Anna reports a decline in customer numbers and an increase in cancellations of new contracts within the first 14 days. She suggests reviewing the customer-account process, from initial contact through after-sales care.
• Understanding the customer’s perspective: Marcus proposes conducting a customer survey. Anna suggests hiring an external researcher, rather than assigning an internal project team, to provide a neutral view of the company’s market position and customers’ opinions.
• Outcome: The group agrees in principle that it needs to understand the cause of the sales decline. David is asked to look for a market research company. The question of which department would pay is left for later.

Meeting-participation ideas

• Present information using prepared handouts.
• Invite colleagues to contribute by asking for comments or directing questions to specific people.
• Offer suggestions and respond to others’ proposals.
• Ask follow-up questions to clarify the reasons behind a problem.
• Acknowledge useful contributions and check whether others agree.
• Keep the discussion focused on identifying the cause and deciding on next steps.

Speakers and sources

• Introductory narrator: Provides the company and meeting context.
• Marcus: Managing Director and meeting chair.
• Finance Director: Presents the figures; the name is rendered inconsistently in the subtitles as “Meer” and “Maya.”
• David: Sales and Marketing Director.
• Anna: Customer Services Director.