与海外客户做产品演示Walking an Overseas Client Through Your Tool
Today's task: In a thirty-minute demo with an overseas client, walk her through what your tool does today, say clearly what it does not do yet, and still keep the deal moving — in English.
The Setup
Where
Wednesday afternoon, in your home studio. You are sharing your screen. The call is thirty minutes long, and twenty minutes are already gone.
Who
You build a small AI image tool on your own. Maya runs a design studio overseas with eight people on her team. She and her team have used your free plan for two weeks.
At stake
Maya wants a team plan for eight people for one year. That is real money for you. But the three things her team needs are not all in your tool today. If you say yes to everything, she will find out next week.
Mood
Maya is quick and specific. She asks about her team's real workflow, not about features in general. Twice she says, "our whole process depends on this."
Scene Hint
你共享着屏幕，产品界面就摊在对面眼前，鼠标停在那个还没做完的按钮旁边。耳机里能听到 Maya 那边有人在敲键盘，她一边说一边切自己的窗口给你看他们的文件夹结构。她的问题一个比一个具体，而你已经能感觉到，其中有一件事你现在还交不出来。这一课要练的，就是在不吹牛的前提下，把"现在有什么、现在没有什么、眼下能怎么办"三件事讲清楚。
Dialogue
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Maya
Thanks for making time. We have used your free plan with the whole team for two weeks now, eight people. Before we talk about the team plan, can I show you how we work?
谢谢你抽时间。我们整个团队用你的免费版已经两周了，八个人。在我们谈团队版之前，我先给你看看我们是怎么工作的，可以吗？
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You
Please do. That helps me narrow it down — I want to see the two or three steps your team does most often, not the whole process.
你说。这样我比较好把范围缩小——我想看你们团队最常做的那两三个步骤，不是整个流程。
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Maya
Okay. First, we run about fifty images at a time for one client. Second, everything has to go into our Figma files. Third, each client should see only their own folder.
好。第一，我们为一个客户一次要跑大约五十张图。第二，所有东西都必须进我们的 Figma 文件。第三，每个客户只能看到自己的那个文件夹。
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You
Got it. Let me walk you through what the tool does today. Batch runs are in — I can show you fifty images in one go. Client folders are in too. Let me show you both.
明白了。我带你过一遍这个工具现在能做什么。批量处理是有的——我可以一次跑五十张图给你看。客户文件夹也有。两个都给你看。
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Maya
Good. Now the Figma part — that is the one our whole process depends on. Do you connect to Figma directly?
好。那 Figma 这部分——我们整个流程就靠这个。你们能直接连到 Figma 吗？
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You
As of now, no — and I would rather tell you that on this call than next month. The export is clean, but it is still a download and an upload.
就目前而言，还不能——而且我宁愿在这通电话里就告诉你，而不是下个月。导出是干净的，但现在还是要下载一次、再上传一次。
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Maya
That is a problem. If it stays manual, my team will not use it. That could be a deal-breaker for us this year.
那就有问题。如果一直要手动，我团队就不会用。那对我们今年来说可能就是个过不去的坎。
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You
I hear you. Can I narrow it down a little? Is the Figma link needed on day one? Or is it enough if the export is clean and your team can drag it in?
我明白。我能不能把范围再收窄一点？Figma 直连是第一天就必须有吗？还是只要导出干净、你团队能直接拖进去就够？
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Maya
Day one would be better. But if the export lands in the right format, we can live with it for a while.
第一天就有当然更好。但如果导出格式对，我们暂时也能接受。
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You
Then here is what I can do. For now, I will set the export to match your Figma setup, so it is one drag, not ten clicks. And I will put the Figma link on the roadmap — but I am not going to promise you a date today.
那我能做的是这样。眼下我把导出调成匹配你们 Figma 的格式，那样就是拖一下，不是点十次。Figma 直连我会放进开发计划——但我今天不会给你一个日期。
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Maya
That is fair. Let me double-check the export with my design lead tonight. I will come back to you tomorrow with a yes or a no.
这样合理。我今晚跟我们设计负责人核对一下导出。明天给你一个明确的答复，行还是不行。
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You
Perfect. I will send you a short note today, with the export settings and a screen recording of the batch run. If anything in your workflow changes, tell me — I would rather hear it early.
好。我今天会给你发一封简短说明，包含导出设置和批量处理的录屏。你那边流程如果有变化，告诉我——我更愿意早点知道。
5 个重点表达
walk you through /wɔːk juː θruː/
核心含义：带着你一步一步看一遍、过一遍。
本课作用：演示时用这句话开头，等于告诉对方"我按顺序讲，你跟着看"，而不是把屏幕丢给对方自己摸索。它把"演示"这个动作说出口，也让后面的节奏由你控制。
记忆提示：（联想）walk 是走——你带着对方"走"过一遍，不是站在旁边看他走。后面直接接被讲的东西：walk you through the tool / the numbers。
换情境例句："Let me walk you through this invoice in two minutes, so you can see exactly what you are paying for."（我用两分钟带你过一遍这张账单，你就能看清每一笔付的是什么。——换成跟客户解释账单的场景，被带着过一遍的东西从产品变成账单。）
as of now /əz əv ˈnaʊ/
核心含义：就目前而言、截止到此刻。
本课作用：说自己的产品做不到某件事时，用这三个字把话说成一个"当下的状态"，而不是"永远没有"。它比直接说 no 更准确，也比含糊地说 maybe 更诚实。
记忆提示：（联想）把它当成一个时间戳：话里带着"截至今天"这个记号。后面通常接一句现状，再接一句"变了我会告诉你"。
换情境例句："As of now, we only ship to three countries — I will tell you the day that changes."（就目前而言，我们只发三个国家；哪天变了我会告诉你。——换成跨境发货场景，说明的是配送范围而不是产品功能。）
on the roadmap /ɑːn ðə ˈroʊdmæp/
核心含义：在开发计划里、被列进后续要做的清单。
本课作用：对方问"什么时候有"时，用这句话表示"我记下了、会做"，同时不承诺日期。注意分寸：说它是诚实，说它是"下周就上"就是吹牛。
记忆提示：（联想）roadmap 是路线图——它说明方向，不说明几点到。所以这句话天然不带日期，需要日期时要另外明说。
换情境例句："Bulk editing is on the roadmap for next quarter, but I will not sell it to you as if it is ready."（批量编辑在下一季度的计划里，但我不会把它当成已经做好的东西卖给你。——换成软件销售场景，谈的是将来的功能，而不是集成方式。）
narrow it down /ˈnæroʊ ɪt daʊn/
核心含义：把范围收窄、把大问题缩成小问题。
本课作用：对方一口气提了三件事时用它，把"全都要"收成一个二选一的问题。这样你才知道哪一条是真的卡点，而不是被三条一起压住。（本课为复习表达：此前在用户支持场景出现过，这里换了场景与例句。）
记忆提示：（联想）narrow 是"变窄"——像把一条宽路收成一条车道，只留一条能走的。常搭：Can I narrow it down a little?
换情境例句："There are six things on your list — let me narrow it down: which two actually block you this week?"（你列了六件事——我把它收窄一下：这周真正卡住你的是哪两件？——换成项目排期场景，收窄的对象从产品需求变成待办清单。）
double-check /ˌdʌbl ˈtʃek/
核心含义：再核对一遍。
本课作用：由对方说出来，是她给自己的决定留一道程序——她要先跟团队核对，才给答复。听懂这句，你就知道今天这通电话不会有最终答案，不用急着逼单。（本课为复习表达：此前在直播前核对场景出现过，这里换了场景与例句。）
记忆提示：（联想）double 是"两遍"——不是"怀疑你"，而是"我要再看一次"。所以它是中性词，不含指责。
换情境例句："Let me double-check the delivery address before we ship — it is cheaper than sending it twice."（发货前我核对一下收货地址——总比寄两次便宜。——换成物流发货场景，核对对象从导出文件变成收货地址。）
实用句型（来自本课对话）
My Turn
Situation: The demo is over, but Maya's partner Jonas joins for the last two minutes. Their team keeps every client project in Notion, and Jonas asks about that side of the workflow. You still have not promised Maya a date for the Figma link.
They say: "One more thing — can your tool push the finished images straight into our Notion database? Every client project of ours lives there."
Your turn: Answer Jonas. Find out what he really needs first, say honestly where the tool stands today, and give him one thing that works right now. Say it out loud first. (You can start with: "Can I narrow it down a little? —")