Ten Sacks and a Deal: Buying, Selling and the Music of the Voice – Running a Business (Senior 3 English) | Ganzaa

Running a Business

Lessons

Senior 3 · English

Running a Business

5 lessons

Lesson 2 of 5

Ten Sacks and a Deal: Buying, Selling and the Music of the Voice

25 min

Let's begin

A trader's words can say "yes" while the voice says "not at all". In buying and selling, how you say something carries as much meaning as what you say. You will listen to a baker and a flour wholesaler bargaining over a large order, practise the language of buying, selling and complaining, and learn how English speakers use a rising or a falling voice to show surprise, certainty, doubt and emphasis.

Before you listen

Where in your area do people bargain over prices, and where do they not?
If you buy ten of something instead of one, what might you ask the seller for?

Important

Listening script: Ten Sacks, for two readers

Only the two readers open the script; everyone else listens with books closed. About two and a half minutes. Sandrine is the baker from lesson 1; the wholesaler and all prices are imagined.

Open the script (readers only)Open the script (readers only)

MR KAYITARE: Good morning, Madam Sandrine! The usual? Two sacks of wheat flour?

SANDRINE: Good morning. Not today. I'd like ten sacks.

MR KAYITARE: Ten! Business is good, then.

SANDRINE: It's growing. A second school has asked us for bread. So, what's your price for ten?

MR KAYITARE: Twenty-eight thousand a sack, as always.

SANDRINE: Twenty-eight? For ten sacks? Surely you can give me a discount.

MR KAYITARE: Flour has gone up again, you know … All right. Twenty-seven thousand five hundred.

SANDRINE: The shop at the roundabout offered me twenty-seven thousand.

MR KAYITARE: Did they really? Their flour comes from the same mill as mine. Fine: twenty-seven thousand, if you pay everything today in cash.

SANDRINE: I can pay half today and half at the end of the month, when the schools pay me.

MR KAYITARE: Half now, half on the thirtieth. You drive a hard bargain.

SANDRINE: And can you deliver to the bakery?

MR KAYITARE: Delivery is free for ten sacks or more. Tomorrow morning, before seven.

SANDRINE: Then we have a deal. But I'll open the sacks when they arrive. Last time one was damp.

MR KAYITARE: That wasn't my fault! The rain came through the roof of the truck. If any sack is damaged, I'll replace it. You have my word.

SANDRINE: Your word, and a receipt, please.

MR KAYITARE: Of course. Ten sacks at twenty-seven thousand: two hundred and seventy thousand francs. Half today, so one hundred and thirty-five thousand.

First listening

What does Sandrine buy, and how much of it?
Why does she need more than usual?

Second listening: complete the deal

Point	Detail
first price per sack	…
second price per sack	…
final price per sack	…
payment	…
delivery	…
if a sack is damaged	…

Third listening: between the lines

Why does Sandrine mention the shop at the roundabout? Does Mr Kayitare believe her?
What does "You drive a hard bargain" tell you about how Mr Kayitare feels?
Sandrine says "Your word, and a receipt, please." What does this show about her?
How much does Sandrine save on the whole order, compared with the first price?

Show answersHide answers

Wheat flour: ten sacks.
A second school has asked her bakery for bread.
Table: 28,000 francs; 27,500 francs; 27,000 francs; half today (135,000 francs) and half on the thirtieth; free delivery tomorrow before seven; he will replace it.
She uses a competitor's lower price to push his price down. He is doubtful ("Did they really?") and points out that the flour is the same, but he still lowers his price, so he does not want to lose her.
He accepts her terms but admits that she is a tough, skilful negotiator; he is a little unhappy but respects her.
She is polite but careful: she trusts him, yet she wants written proof in case there is a problem, as she learned in lesson 1.
1,000 francs per sack × 10 sacks = 10,000 francs: she pays 270,000 instead of 280,000.

Definition

discount (n): an amount taken off the usual price. A discount for ten sacks.

bargain (v): to discuss a price until buyer and seller agree. As a noun, a bargain is something bought cheaply. To drive a hard bargain is to bargain firmly and win good terms.

refund (n and v): money given back to a customer, for example for faulty goods. An exchange gives the customer another item instead.

intonation (n): the rise and fall of the voice in speech, which shows the speaker's meaning and feelings.

Speaking: buying and selling

Purpose	Buyer	Seller
Asking and giving the price	How much is this? · What's your best price for ten?	It's 2,500 francs each. · For ten, I can do 2,300.
Bargaining	That's a bit expensive. Could you go down a little? · Would you take 2,000?	I'm afraid I can't go lower than 2,300. · Let's meet in the middle: 2,200.
Agreeing	All right, it's a deal. · I'll take it.	Done! · You won't regret it.
Refusing politely	Thank you, but I'll think about it.	I'm sorry, I can't sell on credit.
Complaining	I bought this here on Monday, and it has stopped working. Here is the receipt.	I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like a refund or an exchange?

Role cards. Work in pairs. Prepare for two minutes, then act it out.

A. At a market. The buyer wants six avocados for a family party and has 1,500 francs. The seller asks 300 francs each.
B. At a phone shop. The customer's new charger stopped working after two days. The customer has the receipt and wants a refund; the seller prefers to exchange it.
C. At a stationery wholesaler. The treasurer of the school Debate Club wants 50 exercise books and needs a discount and an invoice.
D. At a kiosk. A neighbour asks to take sugar on credit "until Friday". The seller refuses politely and suggests something else.

Worked example

Planning a bargain in three moves (role card A)

Work out your limit: 6 avocados × 300 francs = 1,800 francs, but you have 1,500, so you need 50 francs off each: 1,500 ÷ 6 = 250 francs.
Open lower than your limit, politely: "Six avocados at 300 is a bit expensive. Would you take 1,200 for all six?"
Meet in the middle, with a reason: Seller: "1,600." Buyer: "I'm buying six, and I'll come back next week. 1,500, and it's a deal." The reason gives the seller something in return for the discount.

Sounds: rising and falling intonation

In English the voice moves most on the stressed syllable of the last important word. The direction of that movement tells the listener what you mean.

Tune	Meaning	From the script or the role-plays
Falling ↘	a statement, a fact, a wh-question, certainty, an order	That's my final ↘price. · What's your ↘price for ten?
Rising ↗	a yes/no question, surprise, disbelief, checking	Twenty-↗eight? For ↗ten sacks? · Did they ↗really?
Fall-rise ↘↗	doubt, a polite "but", a warning, something left unsaid	It's a ↘↗good price … (but not good enough).

Emotion. The same word changes meaning with its tune: Really? ↗ (surprised, interested) and Really. ↘ (bored or annoyed). Ten! ↘ with a high start sounds pleased and impressed.

Emphasis. Put the strongest stress and the biggest pitch change on the word that corrects or contrasts: I said TEN sacks, not two. · I asked for a REFUND, not an exchange.

Tip

Hum it first. Hum the sentence without words: "mm-mm-MM ↗". If your hum goes up or down in the right place, the words will follow.

Warning

A flat voice on "Thank you" or "Sorry" can sound rude or bored, even when the words are polite. Let the voice fall clearly from a high start.
Don't raise your voice at the end of every statement: it makes facts sound like questions and makes you sound unsure in an interview or a pitch.
Bargain politely. Laughing at a seller's price, or lying about another shop's price, damages trust: Sandrine's whole business depends on it.

Negotiating, episode 30 of English at Work, from BBC Learning English (about 5 minutes). Write down two phrases the characters use to push for a better deal, and say each one with a falling and then a rising tune. Which sounds firmer?

✦

Practice

Match each phrase with its purpose (asking the price, bargaining, agreeing, complaining): (a) Would you take 2,000? (b) It's a deal. (c) It stopped working after two days. (d) What's your best price?
Complete with discount, refund, receipt, bargain: (a) The shoes were broken, so the shop gave me a ___. (b) I always ___ at the market. (c) She got a ___ because she bought twenty. (d) Keep the ___ in case there is a problem.
Mark the tune (↘, ↗ or ↘↗): (a) How much are the tomatoes? (b) Do you sell on credit? (c) Five thousand? For that? (d) It's a nice phone … (e) That's my final offer.
Underline the word you would stress to correct the mistake: (a) I asked for TWO kilos, not five. Now rewrite: (b) "You gave me sugar; I asked for salt." (c) "The receipt says Monday, but I paid on Tuesday."
Read Really? in two ways, once surprised and once annoyed, and explain the difference to a partner.
Role card D: write the seller's polite refusal in three sentences, with a reason and an alternative.
Was Sandrine right to mention a competitor's price? Write five sentences weighing the benefit against the risk to her relationship with Mr Kayitare.

Show answersHide answers

(a) bargaining; (b) agreeing; (c) complaining; (d) asking the price.
(a) refund; (b) bargain; (c) discount; (d) receipt.
(a) ↘ (wh-question); (b) ↗ (yes/no); (c) ↗ (surprise or disbelief); (d) ↘↗ (there is a "but"); (e) ↘ (certainty).
(a) TWO; (b) "You gave me SUGAR; I asked for SALT." (c) "The receipt says MONDAY, but I paid on TUESDAY."
Surprised: a rise from low to high. Annoyed: a short fall, often from a lower start.
Sample: "I'm sorry, but I can't sell on credit any more. Too many people forgot to pay, and I nearly lost the shop. I can keep the sugar for you until Friday if you like."
Open answer. A good answer sees the benefit (a lower price) and the risks (if the claim were untrue, or if he felt pressured, the relationship could suffer), and reaches a judgement.

Sources and credits

Script "Ten Sacks" (imagined speakers and prices), listening tasks, phrase table, role cards, worked example, intonation diagram and table, and practice: written by Ganzaa.
Video: Negotiating, English at Work episode 30, BBC Learning English, embedded from YouTube, not copied.

Written by Ganzaa.

1Before you listen

2First listening

3Second listening: complete the deal

4Third listening: between the lines

5Speaking: buying and selling

6Sounds: rising and falling intonation