Dialogue 对话
A. Thanks for joining me today, Chad. As you already know, I’ve been
considering diversifying our product. I have a few ideas and I was hoping you
could give me your input.
谢谢你今天过来，Chad。你已经知道了，我一直在想让我们的产品更多样化。我
有些点子，也想你能给出一些想法。
B. Well, you already know my stance on product diversification. Nevertheless,
I’ll listen with an open mind.
嗯，你已经知道我对产品多样化的立场了。无论如何，我会虚心听取你的想法的。
A. Ok, I believe our market shares can grow if we expand our product portfolio
to air conditioners. Our products have matured and we’ve reached a point of
saturation. Growth has slowed and the best solution I can think of is
diversification.
好的，我觉得如果我们扩大我们空调的的产品组合，我们的市场份额会增加。我们
的产品已经成熟并达到了瓶颈状态，增速放缓，我能想到的最好的解决方法是让产
品多样化。
B. Well, I understand your logic behind wanting to diversify our portfolio, but I
don’t understand why there is a necessity for it. Our company has developed
expertise in making heaters and our revenue is steady. Our high-quality
customer service, products and maintenance/repair service keep our customer
numbers stable.
嗯，我理解你想要让产品多样化背后的逻辑，但是我不理解其必要性。我们公司在
制造取暖器方面是行家，而且我们的销售额一直很稳定。我们高品质的客户服务、
产品保修服务都让我们的顾客数量非常稳定。
A. That’s why it’ll work. All our potential clients already buy our fall/winter
product and they’re highly satisfied. We have the potential to cross sell to our
own pool of clients. I don’t believe our risks are very high; the products aren’t
entirely unrelated. Our company won't have a viable future if it doesn’t
diversify. We already have to compete with companies that have merged to sell
ACs and heaters.
这就是为什么这个会成功。我们所有的潜在客户都购买了我们秋冬季的产品，他们
都非常满意。我们有潜在的机会可以卖产品给这些客户。我们觉得我们的风险很大
；产品并不是毫不相关的。如果我们不实行产品多样化的话公司的未来堪忧。我们
已经在和其他销售空调和取暖器的公司竞争了。
B. How would we even go about doing this?
那我们要怎么才能和他们竞争呢？
A. We have two options. We could either start an air conditioning business
from scratch or merge with an existing company. I have a few friends at Billings
Air Conditioning who have expressed interest in merging with us. If we merge
with them, there are many possibilities for fruitful synergy.
我们有两个选择。我们要么可以从头开始建立空调业务，要么和一家现有的公司合
并。我在比林斯空调公司有几个朋友有兴趣和我们合并。如果我们和他们合并的话
，成功的合作指日可待。
B. Well, a merger will definitely have some issues, but so will establishing the
business from scratch. We’ll definitely need a lot of help and support from our
management team.
合并的话肯定会产生问题，但是从头单干的话也会有问题。我们肯定需要管理团队
的大量帮助。
A. That’s exactly what I am afraid of. Our management team had lots of trouble
at the beginning and now they’ve finally reached a point where they can
collaborate. I think a merger might complicate matters. Dealing with a new
management staff from another company will definitely have its issues.
这就是我担心的问题。我们的管理团队一开始就有很多问题，现在他们好不容易可
以协调合作了。我觉得合并的话会把事情复杂化。和另一家公司的新的管理层员工
合作会有问题。
B. Well, you certainly make a valid point.Then we can consider starting it from
scratch. We can take our time with it, since there is no rush. And work with our
own people.
嗯，你说的很有道理。那我们可以考虑从头单干。我么可以慢慢来，没必要着急。
和我们自己的员工一起干。
A. That’s something I’d consider over a merger.
这是我不选择合并的原因。
关键词汇
diversification daɪˌvɜːsɪfɪ'keɪʃn 多样化
product portfolio ˈprɑdəkt pɔrtˈfoʊliːˌoʊ 产品组合
market shares ˈmɑrkət ʃer 市场份额
point of saturation pɔɪnt əv ˌsætʃə'reɪʃn 饱和点
pool of clients puːl əv klaɪnts 一大群客户
viable 'vaɪəbl 切实可行的
cross sell krɔːs sel 交叉销售
synergy 'sɪnərdʒi 协同，配合
from scratch frʌm skrætʃ 从头开始
collaborate kə'læbəreɪt 协作
merger ˈmərdʒər 合并
补充词汇
acquisition ˌækwɪ'zɪʃn (公司)收购
conglomerate kən'ɡlɑːmərət 使聚结
product line 'prɑːdəkt laɪn 生产线
launching launching 开发
brand extension brænd ɪk'stenʃn 品牌延伸
Expansion
diversification (diversification)
The company decided to implement the diversification strategy.
公司决定施行多样化策略。
Their company was doing well, so they decided to diversify.
他们公司做的不错，所以他们决定要多样化。
The diversification strategy didn’t work so well for the company.
多样化策略对这个公司不太管用。
product portfolio (product portfolio)
This is our product portfolio; we plan to expand it next fall.
这是我们的产品组合，我们计划明年秋天要扩展。
Can I take a look at your company’s product portfolio?
我能看一下贵公司的产品组合吗？
Our product portfolio isn’t very diverse; we only sell our clients one product.
我们的产品组合并不是很多样化；我们只卖给客户一种产品。
cross sell (cross sell)
They were able to cross sell their new product.
他们可以交叉销售他们的新产品。
Cross selling is the most effective method of marketing.
交叉销售是市场营销中最有效的方法。
If cross selling is done well, it means significant profits for the company.
如果交叉销售做得好，能给公司带来大量利润。
collaborate (collaborate)
Collaborate with both divisions and have a proposal in by Monday.
和两个部门共同协作，周一之前把提议交上来。
They collaborated to close the deal.
他们共同协作完成的交易。
He collaborated with his subordinates to get the project done.
他和下属协作完成了项目。
synergy (synergy)
The synergy that came from the merger brought in lots of profits.
公司合并之后的协作带来了许多利润。
I believe the synergy between our companies will be numerous.
我相信我们两家公司之间会有很多协作的机会。
The merger of the two companies brought no synergies.
两家公司的合并并没有带来什么协作。
Grammar
Using Nevertheless（无论如何）
Nevertheless means "in spite of" and it's a formal, conjunctive adverb. It's normally placed at the beginning of a sentence when contrasting two ideas. Here's the example from the dialogue:...you already know my stance on product diversification. Nevertheless, I'll listen with an open mind.
Nevertheless意思是"无论如何，不管怎么说"，比较正式，一般做连接副词。通常位于句首连接两个想法。例："...you already know my stance on product diversification. Nevertheless, I'll listen with an open mind."（...你已经知道我对产品多样化的立场了。无论如何，我会虚心听取你的想法的。）
例句:
Her date was a bit childish. Nevertheless, she had a good time.
她的约会对象有点幼稚。但不管怎么说，她过的很开心。
He was running behind on his deadlines. Nevertheless, he finished on time.
他比计划的晚了一些，但不管怎么说，他还是按时完成了。
The trip was long and exhausting. Nevertheless, they had a great time.
旅途又长又累，但不管怎么说，他们玩的很愉快。
Exercises
Culture
当你的公司决定要讲产品多样化了之后，你还需要决定切实可行的多样化的策略。让我们看看一下公司的成败事例，看看什么样的多样化策略才能成功吧！
星巴克最开始的时候只卖咖啡，后来渐渐的开始卖一些食物和其他饮料，并获得了成功。在20世纪90年代，麦当劳试着在他们的食物菜单中加入披萨，但不幸的是，他们失败了。也许产品多样化的关键是坚持你最在行的，不要把手伸得太长？
Practice