The Conversational Construction of Sales

Returning to the Telephone for Services
By Christian Licoppe
English

In the context of mounting commercial pressure in telephone call centres, the practical problem facing (tele)sales persons is the exploitation of ongoing phone interactions in order to sell. The construction of a commercial frame is, in this case, largely a conversational accomplishment. Here the author identifies a sequential structure characteristic of the organization of “rebounds” based on pre-sequences. By comparing the way in which tele-operators try to move towards a commercial proposition for two types of access service (phone and TV), he shows their extreme sensitivity to the fact that tele-operators do or do not have information on the caller’s behaviour with respect to phone and TV use. Apart from a common conversational structure, different forms of “rebounds” do not have the same performative force in relation to the gradual establishment of a commercial situation ratified by both participants.

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