Sales: Intermediate Podcasts from ESL Pod

Update 2013-12-10: Added link to Quizlet and Listen and Write exercises for Podcast 750.

In our classes on Sales, we cover topics like sales vocabulary, retail, wholesale, modes of payment, discounts, e-commerce, trends etc. So here are some useful intermediate podcasts related to these topics.

ESL Pod

ESL Pod has lots of useful podcasts for intermediate & upper-intermediate learners. You can listen to the audio online or download it to play on your phone or MP3 player.
Usually the format is:

• a short conversation at a slow speed
  
• an explanation of the words, idioms & US culture related to the conversation
  
• the conversation spoken again, but at a normal speed for native English speakers
  

The audio is free but if you want to see the transcript of the explanation or other resources, you have to pay.

• ESL Podcast 224 – Holiday Promotions - A marketer for an online store (i.e. e-commerce, not a brick-and-mortar store) has to come up with a holiday promotion to increase retail sales in this sales cycle (a period time over which sales is measured) and capitalize on gift-giving at this time of year to make inroads into the gift-buying market. They can afford to slash prices, but she doesn't want to resort to gimmicks to attract today's computer-savvy consumers. And because they have a lot of inventory,  they don't have to worry about running out of stock.
  

• ESL Podcast 140 - Buying on the Internet - A consumer talks about the advantages of online shopping / e-commerce (like comparison shopping) and the process of purchasing on the internet: reading the product description, adding the product to your shopping cart (or basket) (example), seeing if it's in stock, choosing shipping options (example) (like standard shipping or expedited shipping), filling in your shipping address (example), completing the online billing procedure by filling in your billing address (example), credit card number and expiration date (example), then seeing the confirmation page (example) and the order tracking number (example).

1. Issuing Bank Logo - 2. EMV chip (only on "smart cards") - 3. Hologram - 4. Personal Account Number - 5. Card Brand Logo - 6. Expiration Date - 7. Card Holder Name - 8. Contactless Chip - SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

•  ESL Podcast 384 – Accepting Credit Cards - Two store managers discuss accepting a new mode of payment: credit cards. They talk about card features like the card number, the expiration date and the security code, the step of swiping the card's magnetic strip through the POS (point of sale) terminal in the register, the possibility of the issuing bank declining the card because the cardholder has already reached their credit limit, and the idea of a chargeback if the cardholder disputes a charge.

1. Magnetic Stripe - 2. Signature Strip - 3. Card Security Code - SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

• ESL Podcast 750 – After Christmas Sales - A couple talking about going to the after Christmas sales, when stores mark down their prices to clear their inventory, especially to get rid of seasonal items. When shops slash their prices, consumers take advantage of discounts, by purchasing large quantities of items that are on sale, stocking up on cheap goods. Nobody likes to miss out on a great deal. (Here "deal" = a bargain, low price for the buyer. The only dictionary page I could find with this meaning of "deal" is not possible to link to directly. Go here, then near top of page click "3) deal (noun)", then look at definition #3.)

Update 2013-12-10: I found some free online exercises related to this podcast:

• Quizlet - ESL Podcast 750 - After Christmas Sales - flash cards, spelling exercises and more to help you remember the vocabulary.
  
• Listen and Write - ESL Podcast 750 – After Christmas Sales - it plays a sentence, you listen and type the sentence. If you write it correctly, then it moves on to the next sentence. NOTE: do not type spaces, punctuation, apostrophes etc. Only type the letters.