the business owner and the export client

The situation

Joseph runs a coir and natural-fibre products business near Kochi that his father started. The factory employs around forty people. For years most of the export work went through an agent in Chennai, and Joseph rarely spoke to buyers directly.

Then a garden-products retailer in the Netherlands contacted him directly. They wanted samples, a price list, and a monthly call with their buying manager, Annelies, and sometimes her director. It was the opportunity Joseph had wanted for a decade: no agent, better margins, a long-term relationship.

He was also nervous. In his words at the Trial Class: "On the factory floor I can explain anything. On the call with Annelies, I agree to everything she says, and afterwards I realise I agreed to things I can't do."

What was getting in the way (observed in sessions)

The coach started with a role-play: the first five minutes of a buyer call, then a question about price. Several patterns showed up quickly.

• Pace mismatch. Joseph spoke fast when nervous, and his sentences ran together. Annelies, as the coach played her, spoke slowly and paused often, and Joseph rushed to fill her pauses.
• Small talk freeze. When asked "How's the weather in Kerala?" he answered in one word and moved straight to business, which can feel abrupt to some European buyers.
• The automatic yes. Asked whether he could ship in three weeks, he said "Yes, yes, no problem" before checking. In a real call, this would later become a problem.
• Price as an apology. When stating prices, his voice dropped and he added "but we can adjust" before the buyer had said anything.
• No written follow-up. Agreements stayed spoken, so the two sides sometimes remembered them differently.

None of this was about his English vocabulary, which was more than enough. It was about pace, structure, confidence on price and the habits of cross-border business.

The coaching approach, session by session

Session 1: the map

• A full simulated buyer call, recorded, followed by a conversation about what Joseph wanted from the relationship.
• One primary aim agreed: lead the call calmly, never agree to something unchecked, and state prices as facts.
• Mission: list five things he knew about the Dutch buyer's business, and two questions he could ask about it.

Sessions 2 and 3: pace and the first five minutes

• Slowing down. Reading his own product descriptions aloud at a deliberate pace, with a pause after every key number (size, price, lead time).
• Matching the other person's rhythm. Letting a pause sit for a second before replying, instead of jumping in.
• Small talk that opens doors. Joseph built three easy openers that came from his own life: the monsoon and what it does to fibre drying, a recent harvest, a question about spring in the Netherlands and the garden season. Small talk stopped being a test and became a way to show the buyer the real business.

"It's been raining all week here, which slows down drying, so we've moved some production indoors. How is the season looking on your side? I imagine spring orders are starting."

Sessions 4 and 5: the pause before yes

• A line to buy time. The coach played Annelies asking for faster shipping, bigger volumes and a new colour. Joseph practised one response until it became automatic:

"That's a good question. Let me check with production and confirm by tomorrow, so I give you a date I'm sure of."

• Saying no while keeping the door open: "Three weeks isn't possible for this volume. Five weeks is. If you need part of it sooner, we could ship the first 2,000 units in three weeks and the rest after."
• This was where most of the change happened. Joseph described the old automatic yes as "being polite". The coach reframed it: in many European business cultures, a careful "let me check" reads as more reliable than a quick yes.

Sessions 6 and 7: price and negotiation

• Stating price as a fact. Number, what it includes, one reason, then stop.

"Our price for the 40-centimetre basket is 3.85 euros per unit, ex-works Kochi, for orders over 5,000. That includes the natural dye and the treated finish."

• The silence after the number. Practising waiting, which felt uncomfortable at first.
• Trading instead of conceding. When the coach, as the director, pushed for 10 percent off, Joseph practised: "We could look at 5 percent if the order moves to 8,000 units, or if we agree a twelve-month contract."
• Handling directness. The coach explained that some Dutch business culture is very direct, as researcher Erin Meyer describes in her work on cultural differences. "This price is too high" is often a starting point, not an insult.

Sessions 8 and 9: follow-ups and the director's call

• The summary at the end of every call. "So we've agreed: samples by the 12th, 5 percent off for 8,000 units, and I'll confirm the shipping date on Monday."
• The same-day email. Turning that spoken summary into three lines in writing, sent within the hour.
• Leading the bigger call. Preparing a two-minute introduction of the business for the director: the family story, the factory, why natural fibre, and what reliable supply looks like. The coach played the director with tough questions about capacity and certification.

Sessions 10 and onward: real calls

• Joseph brought notes from each real buyer call. Every session began with "What happened on the call?" and worked on one moment: a question he did not expect, a price he gave too quickly, a pause that went well.

What changed, in his words (composite reflection)

The reflection below is written in the style of what business owners in this situation commonly tell their coaches. It is not a quote from one person.

"The biggest change was 'let me check and confirm by tomorrow'. I used to say yes to everything because I thought that was respectful. Now I see that a date I can actually keep is more respectful.

"Small talk was easier once I stopped trying to sound like someone else. Annelies likes hearing about the monsoon and the drying sheds. It's my real life.

"Saying the price and then keeping quiet was the hardest part. I still want to fill the silence. But I've noticed the buyer usually just asks a question, and the conversation carries on.

"And the email after every call. That alone stopped two misunderstandings."

What the reflection does not claim: that the account grew, or by how much. Export relationships depend on product, price, logistics and timing as much as conversation. What coaching can change is whether a capable business owner sounds as reliable on the call as his factory is on the floor.

Lessons anyone can use

1. Slow down on numbers. Price, quantity and dates deserve a pause after each one.
2. Prepare small talk from your own life. Real details are more interesting than the weather alone, and they build trust.
3. Never say yes before you have checked. "Let me confirm by tomorrow" protects the relationship.
4. State your price as a fact. Number, scope, one reason, then silence.
5. Trade, do not simply concede. "If you..., then we..." keeps the deal balanced.
6. Summarise aloud and in writing. The same-day email turns a good call into a clear agreement.

Published by The Full Stop, the journal of Brightside English. Composite case study; no real learner, business or buyer is represented. Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach. Corrections: see our editorial standard.