There are no definite fixed answers, and it is best to work with what students come up with. However, in case they get stuck, here are some probable responses:
- upturn in sales → better advertising and marketing, economy is picking up, product is becoming better known; decline in sales → product is becoming outdated, cheaper rival products have appeared
- solid client base / loyal customers → years of work building this up, good product, excellent after- sales service, good reps
- inundated / flooded → the result of advertising, celebrity endorsement, being picked up on by the media, etc.
- relocating / moving → usually a cost-cutting measure, but could be to be nearer manufacturing centre, nearer transportation links or where the main business is
- lay off → need to cut costs, business could be in financial trouble or could want to increase profits by cutting costs; employ → business is booming, expanding, demand is up so need more people
- floating / launching → need investment and this is one way to get it whilst retaining basic control of the firm
- pick up / get better soon → things need to improve through better advertising or improving product, business is in financial trouble, losing money, need to make major savings; maybe there’s a recession or products are outdated; end up going under → going out of business because sales aren’t improving; have to make serious cutbacks → have to make people redundant, reduce quality of goods, reduce salaries
- hanging in / surviving → company has maybe cut back a bit, cut down on lavish spending, salary cuts, diversifying range of products and services or sending business overseas where salaries and costs are less
- diversify → because core products are no longer as profitable as they once were; consolidate → no money to really expand or add new products so what there is now is good enough but needs updating to make it more saleable, build on what there is
- take staff on → business is doing really well, company is expanding, demand is up, more people needed; make staff redundant → company is in financial trouble so need to cut costs so fewer people needed
- downturn / drop in sales → product is perhaps becoming outdated, cheaper rival products have appeared
- terminating → maybe had a row with the Russian partner; feel treated unfairly, don’t trust them anymore; contract is impossible to fulfill; they’ve breached the contract, etc.; pitching → you want to win the contract as it’d be lucrative for you; need the contract in order to expand
