Intermediate Business English: Increasing Profits Proposal

Warm-up | Business English Idioms

Listen and Repeat.

Vocabulary Meaning & Example Sentence

a safe bet Something that is likely to happen or to be successful

It is a safe bet that the current CEO will not sell the company
because it is still profitable.

a long shot An attempt or guess that is not likely to be successful

It is a long shot to get a pay raise now during this crisis.

a win-win situation A situation that is good for everyone who is involved

This is a win-win situation with perks for both employer and the
customers.

an uphill battle Something that is difficult to do and requires a lot of

effort
In our current situation, it will be an uphill battle to close the deals
with our investors.

a zero-sum game A situation in which whatever is gained by one side is lost

by the other
The stock market is now a zero-sum game, they gain but we
unfortunately have to lose.
Intermediate Business English: Increasing Profits Proposal

Comprehension Practice | Dialogue

Exchange dialogues with your teacher.

Scene: Frank is negotiating a proposal on how to increase their company’s profits in the midst of
crisis.

Frank: If we are all here, let’s get started. First of all, I’d like you to please join me in
welcoming Mr. Robert Thompson, our Marketing Manager to discuss with us
about the decreasing profits of our company.

Mr. Robert: Thank you for having me. I’m looking forward to today’s alignment.

Frank: Let’s get down to business.

We’re here today to discuss our company’s decreasing profits in the last two
years. If you have questions on the marketing reports that I have distributed,
let’s hear it.

James: It is a safe bet that the current CEO will not sell the company because even
we are in the midst of crisis, it is still profitable but we have to come up
with the eye-catchy advertisement that will promote our company’s
products through different online platforms.

Frank: Well, I guess that’s a good idea but how about getting more investors instead
of coming up with new advertisement?

James: In our current situation, it will be an uphill battle to close deals with the
prospective investors without improving our advertisement.

Mr. Robert: I agree with James’ idea. It might be a long shot for us to come up with the
eye-catchy advertisement, but when we put much efforts into it, we can
launch it before the year ends.

Frank: Also, by retargeting the advertisements we are able to target our market
better and spend less. Hence, it will be a win-win situation for our company.
Thanks, James for sharing your ideas.

Mr. Robert: Are you sure that it will be a win-win situation or just a zero-sum game?

Frank: Yes, it will be a win-win situation for our company because when our profits
increase, our current investors will be satisfied and will not leave us to find
a better company.

James: That sounds like a good idea! We still have six more months to try and execute
this plan.
Intermediate Business English: Increasing Profits Proposal

Comprehension Questions

1. What is the proposal of James to their Marketing Manager?

2. What happened to their company in the last two years?

3. What did you understand about the win-win situation that Frank discussed?

Role-Playing Activity
Work with your teacher. Use as many as Business English Idioms that you can.

Topic: The company’s sales are decreasing for the past four months.

a safe bet a long shot

a win-win situation an uphill battle
a zero-sum game

Free-talking Questions

1. Do you always suggest ideas or recommendations during your company’s meetings?

2. How good are you at negotiating?

3. Can you talk about what a typical day at your current job is like?

4. Have you ever been promoted because of your smartness in suggesting recommendations?