LESSON 41: HOW TO RESPOND TO AN APPLICATION FOR AGENCY?--怎样回复代理申请？

CONTENTS

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS 常用语

II. SAMPLE 范文

III. TIPS 掌握写作要领

IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS 精通常用词组和句型

V. UPGRADING YOUR ENGLISH 英语升级

VI. GOODIES & GIFTS 实用小礼物

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
常用语

1. How to start your letter?

Thank you for your letter of July 15.

Thank you for your letter in reply to our advertisement in Business Review.

We were pleased to learn that you were interested in the _______________[product] we produce.

We have carefully considered your proposal.

2. How to say that the terms are acceptable to you?

Your suggestion to submit accounts and to make payments monthly is quite satisfactory.

We are willing to allow you commission at ___% calculated on gross profits.

Yes, we can send you a representative selection of our most popular lines.

3. How to say that the terms are not acceptable?

Although we are interested in your proposition, the __% commission you quoted is higher than we usually pay.

We do not expect to pay more than __% commission on net invoice values.

4. How to offer your own terms?

We normally offer a __% trade discount off net list prices and a further __% quantity discount for sales above $________.

Our terms of payment are 60 d/s bills, documents against acceptance if the customer can provide references.

If you were willing to accept this rate we would sign a one-year contract to be effective as from July 1, 1998.

5. How to end your letter?

We hope you will find a ready sale for our products.

We can assure you that the volume of business would make it worth accepting our offer.

Once again, thank you for writing to us, and please contact us if you have any more inquiries.



II. SAMPLE
范文

Sample 1.

Dear __________:

Thank you for your letter of _________[date] in which you proposed to act as our buying agent in _________[country/area].

It is true that we are looking for an agent to represent us in __________[country/area], and we think that most of the terms quoted in your draft contract are acceptable. However, the ___ per cent commission you quoted on c.i.f. invoice values is too high, and we cannot accept it. We usually pay commission not more than ___ per cent on net invoice values. If you accept this rate, we will sign a one-year contract with you.

Thanks again for your proposal. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,



____________[name]
____________[title]



Sample 2.

Dear __________:

Thank you for your letter of July 15 in which you inquired whether we could offer you a sole agency to retail our products.

The prospect of selling our products in your country is certainly very attractive. But I regret to tell you that we don't use sole agencies in overseas trade. We usually rely on retailers buying our products on their own account and selling them at market prices in their country. We offer a ___% discount off net list prices and a further __% discount for sales above $________.

Our terms of payment are bills drawn at ___ days, documents against acceptance if the customer can provide references.

Please contact us if you think our terms can be considered.

Sincerely yours,



____________[name]
____________[title]



III. TIPS
掌握写作要领

1. Thank the person who sent the proposal for being interested in selling your product.
2. Tell him whether you accept his proposal.
3. Explain if you think the proposal is not acceptable or if you have reservations about some of the terms he proposed.
4. Specify your terms.
5. Make arrangements for further discussion or contact if necessary.



IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS
精通常用词组和句型

1. Click on the word or phrase that fits the sentence:

  1. We are quite sure that our product is far superior in quality ______ any other brands of the same price level.
    (A) than
    (B) to
    (C) as
    (D) of

  2. We are prepared to grant you a special discount of 5% ______ condition that the quantity ordered is not less than 100 units.
    (A) in
    (B) for
    (C) on
    (D) with

  3. Our terms of payment are 60 d/s bills, documents ______ acceptance if the customer can provide references.
    (A) for
    (B) against
    (C) with
    (D) of

  4. ______ promotion is concerned, you will be pleased to hear that we have arranged for an extensive campaign which begins in November.
    (A) As much as
    (B) As good as
    (C) As soon as
    (D) As far as

  5. We are sending our dealers in East Asia brochures and posters, and this will be followed ______ by television advertising.
    (A) up
    (B) on
    (C) in
    (D) behind

  6. We will execute your order promptly _______ your instruction.
    (A) in accordance to
    (B) with accordance to
    (C) in accordance with
    (D) in according to

  7. We agree to the amendments to our quotation ______ requested in your letter of May 5.
    (A) to be
    (B) like
    (C) when
    (D) as

  8. _______ your counteroffer, we regret that we can't accept it.
    (A) As regards
    (B) In regards to
    (C) With regards
    (D) In regards

  9. However, the payment terms ______ you suggest is unacceptable to us.
    (A) like
    (B) as
    (C) while
    (D) as of

  10. As you are our good customer, we think we may concede ______ the price your proposed provided you give us an order for 100 units at the least.
    (A) with
    (B) at
    (C) in
    (D) to




2. Fill in the blanks with words chosen from the list below. Add capitalization when necessary (2):

like, Instead of, sells, restrictive, on, competitive, usually, sale, tapped, both, than, Nevertheless

1) Because of its good quality, attractive design and reasonable price, this electronic cooker (1) well in our country and we think it will have a good (2) in your area.

2) We accept that you can get (3) rates in freight and insurance. (4) , we do not envisage paying more (5) three per cent commission on net invoice values.

3) China, (6) Thailand, has also experienced a great increase in motorbike sales.

4) We agree that there is a vast market to be (7) for handheld computers.

5) (8) using sole agencies anywhere in the world, we rely on merchants buying our products (9) their own account.

6) We (10) don't use sole agencies because we have found them rather (11) (12) for ourselves and our customers.



V. UPGRADING YOUR ENGLISH
英语升级

Here is a simple exercise that helps you practice with authentic "online" English:

  1. Just as broken lights and dingy walls may make shoppers think twice about plunking down their money, broken icons and dead-end navigation tools make online shoppers reluctant to give an e-commerce Web site their credit card number.
    The phrase "plunking down their money" means:
    (A) invest their money
    (B) waste their money
    (C) lose their money
    (D) spend their money

  2. MCG Capital offers your company flexible financing. With the range of products available from MCG Capital, you will be able to tailor financing solutions to meet your company's individual needs.
    The phrase "tailor financing solutions" means:
    (A) modify financing solutions to cut your company's expenses
    (B) work out financing solutions that suit your company's particular needs
    (C) work out all the financing details that your company needs
    (D) modify financing solutions to satisfy your company leader

  3. We have offered our suppliers a variety of proposals in which both sides might prosper, but our contributions were either tabled or ignored.
    The word "table" means:
    (A) place the proposals on a table without even reading them
    (B) leave the proposals to be dealt with in the future
    (C) place the proposals on a table to be carefully studied
    (D) leave the proposals as not worth considering

  4. A decade age, Europe was a technology write-off. Now, hundreds of startup companies have emerged and venture capital is flowing.
    The phrase "was a technology write-off" means:
    (A) was not able to pay debts generated by hi-tech industry
    (B) was not investing enough money in technology
    (C) was given up as hopeless in technological innovation
    (D) was making little profits from technological development

  5. The government kept force-feeding the state-supported manufacturers and squashing upstarts with regulations and taxes.
    The phrase "force-feed" means:
    (A) financially support less competitive companies
    (B) force companies to accept regulations and taxes
    (C) interfere in those companies' internal affairs
    (D) restrict their right to choose their suppliers

  6. Entrepreneurial British professors were minting money with biotech, software, and drug startups.
    The phrase "were minting money" means:
    (A) getting a lot of financial support
    (B) investing heavily
    (C) spending a lot of money
    (D) making handsome profits

  7. With GSM (global system for mobile communications), Europeans may call the shots for the next generation of cell phones.
    The phrase "call the shots" means:
    (A) be on the cutting edge of technological development
    (B) become very aggressive in competing against others
    (C) be in a dominant position, able to give orders and make decisions
    (D) actively promote a new generation of cell phones

  8. When User's Bill of Rights, a proposal calling for more user-friendly operating systems, was published, some software developers took exception to the proposal.
    The phrase "took exception to the proposal" means:
    (A) paid special attention to the proposal
    (B) were angry about or offended by the proposal
    (C) considered the proposal as something exceptional
    (D) paid little attention to the proposal

  9. A number of developers took the author to task for saying computers should be as easy to use as toasters.
    The phrase "took the author to task" means:
    (A) strongly disapproved the author's remarks
    (B) strongly supported the author's remarks
    (C) demanded an explanation from the author
    (D) wanted the author to provide more information

  10. Ten years after the PC war, the Windows system we are using today barely approaches the Macintosh in terms of ease of use.
    The phrase "barely approaches" means:
    (A) lags far behind
    (B) doesn't approach
    (C) nearly surpasses
    (D) almost doesn't approach



VI. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
GOODIES & GIFTS （实惠小礼物）

New Words, New Meanings

ecotourism: n. ecological + tourism; environmental tourism, nature travel.
生态旅游

Example:
He wrote an ecotourism travel guide.
Of the $8 billion spent by foreign tourists in this country, ecotourism accounts for 5%.

eco-friendly: adj.
不损坏生态环境的

Example:
She was the lead investor in the eco-friendly resort on the Gulf of Mexico.

ecopurist: n. 绝对的生态主义者

Example:
The hotel group will have trouble winning over skeptical ecopurists, despite its effort to build eco-friendly hotels and promote the area's untouched surroundings.