You are the owner of an export import business and your clients are spread far and wide globally. You need to communicate with them the status of a shipment. Foreign clients can be remote and if one is not confident about his English speaking skills, this can get complicated. Since English is the global medium of communication, foreign clients expect that you use only English as the business language.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Time difference

Contact your clients based on their time and not yours. Look on the internet for a global watch to check their business hours. In case you are not sure, ask them by saying "May I know what time is it at your place?"

2. Respect privacy

Foreigners value their privacy. They don't like to be disturbed after office  hours. Remote clients like to differentiate between their work and personal life and prefer not to mix it. You can confirm whether it's the right time by asking, "I hope this is a good time to speak to you" or "Hope I have not interrupted you in something important?"

Sample Conversation:

Situation: You have dispatched a shipment of mobiles to South Africa and need to make sure the shipment reached on time and in good condition.

You: "Hello Mr. Xavier, I am Rajat calling from Durga Impex, India."

Client: "Oh, Hi Mr. Rajat."

You: "I was not sure about your local time, so sorry to disturb if it is your non-working hours. May I know what time is it over there?"

Client: "Oh that's okay. Its 10.00 am here. We open our office at 9.00 am."

You: "Oh. That's great. I hope I didn't interrupt you in something important?"

Client: "I have a meeting in 15 mins, but now am free."

You: " I had dispatched a shipment of 1,000 mobiles to your office a week earlier. I want to know whether they reached in time and in good condition."

Client: "That's so nice of you to call. Yes, they reached here in time and were in proper condition. Thank you for making arrangements so quickly. We appreciate your service quality."

You: "Customer satisfaction is our motto. Thanks for confirming. Have a great day."

The above conversation shows how to communicate with a foreign client with a professional approach. Your English speaking skills will help you highlight the sophistication of your business. Speak with confidence with the help of an online English tutor.

About eAgeTutor:

eAgeTutor.com is a premier online English learning institute. eAge's world class faculty and ace communication experts, from around the globe, help you to improve in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. In this age of effective and advance communication technology, online spoken English programs are the most effective and convenient way to learn English.

For further information on our online English speaking courses or to experience the wonders of the virtual classroom, fix a demonstration session with our tutor.

- By Monika Agarwal

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