Avoir un tempérament commercial

English translation: to be commercially-minded; to be a natural saleman/woman

13:11 Aug 7, 2018
French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase: Avoir un tempérament commercial
Hi,

I need some help, I need to translate this expression in english:"avoir un tempérament commercial", in context of a job offer. The candidate needs to "avoir un tempérament commercial".

I tried "to have a commercial disposition", but I don't know if it's right. To me having a commercial temper, could not be the right one, and what about "having a business character"?

Well, I can't manage to find the right one by myself, so I'm asking for some help.

Thank you for your answers.
Isabelle HOSTE
France
Local time: 09:31
English translation:to be commercially-minded; to be a natural saleman/woman
Explanation:
Tons of possibilities depending on register. "Commercial" describes something to do with sales, generally, although "business" can be a good option, depending on context.

The term "tempérament" is a little unusual. It refers to a type of personality or characteristic. I think that is something important to bring out, whatever choice you make.

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-08-07 14:55:15 GMT)
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saleSman/woman
Selected response from:

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 09:31
Grading comment
Thank you so very much, your answer helped me a lot!!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6to be commercially-minded; to be a natural saleman/woman
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
3 +2business acumen
Ana Vozone
4 +1salesmanship
Tony M
4have a business temperament
Barbara Cochran, MFA
3have a business attitude/mindset
AllegroTrans
3Commercial temperament
S. Marcotte


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
tempérament commercial
business acumen


Explanation:
https://www.mightyrecruiter.com/recruiter-guide/hiring/why-c...

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/strong-general-business-acum...

Ana Vozone
Local time: 08:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you so very much!! Your answer was very helpful too!!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Could work, although it would help to know what kind of job this is: if it's a simple salesperson in retail, this might be a bit OTT. / OK, now we now it is just for a sales job, I think this is perhaps less suitable than for, say, an entrepreneur...
6 mins
  -> I think you are probably right, Tony ;)

agree  Jennifer White: Yes, or maybe "have a head for business"?
9 mins
  -> Thank you, Jennifer!

agree  philgoddard
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Phil!
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
have a business temperament


Explanation:
I think the literal works fine.

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Note added at 13 mins (2018-08-07 13:24:55 GMT)
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https://smallbusiness.chron.com/temperament-types-leadership...

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 04:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: I can't help feeling 'tempérament' is a faux ami here — surely it has more the sense of 'mentality', 'way of thinking'? / I'm not suggesting it isn't; simply that it is a different usage in THIS context.
3 mins
  -> Your comment is bogus, since this phrase is quite common in the business world.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
to be commercially-minded; to be a natural saleman/woman


Explanation:
Tons of possibilities depending on register. "Commercial" describes something to do with sales, generally, although "business" can be a good option, depending on context.

The term "tempérament" is a little unusual. It refers to a type of personality or characteristic. I think that is something important to bring out, whatever choice you make.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-08-07 14:55:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

saleSman/woman

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 09:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 119
Grading comment
Thank you so very much, your answer helped me a lot!!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: or just good business sense. apparently this is a job ad.
3 mins

agree  Tony M
10 mins

agree  David Hayes
4 hrs

agree  Kevin Oheix
6 hrs

agree  GILOU: parfait
16 hrs

agree  Carolina Bruil: Robin75
19 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
avoir un tempérament commercial
salesmanship


Explanation:
Now we have a bit more context, I think this is the kind of term that would probably be more likely to be used in an EN candidate profile.
Of course it is the wrong part of speech (FR is often constrained to add a verb that isn't always necessary in EN), so you'd have to work harder to fit it into the wider context, depending on the other items listed and how you've translated those.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2018-08-07 15:27:27 GMT)
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I think the use of the rather unusual term 'tempérament' here is something of a faux ami — a real trap to snare the unwary. Surely the FR term as used here has more the sense of 'mentality', 'way of thinking' than is normally associated with the EN word?
In other contexts, I can see that might be appropriate ('the right temperament to be a leader', etc.), but in the specific instance here, I don't think that really fits at all.

Tony M
France
Local time: 09:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 348

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Yes, an obvious term actually. Good 'un. I agree with your explanation of how to read and use "tempérament".
2 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot, Nikki!
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
have a business attitude/mindset


Explanation:
Essential here to see that it's something being asked for by an employer

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 115

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Yes, but for a post of salesperson, I don't really think 'business' is the appropriate term; remember in FR 'commerce' is 'selling things', and 'business' is 'entreprise'
2 hrs
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Commercial temperament


Explanation:
At the risk of sounding too cynical, "tempérament commercial" strikes me as a euphemism: "Must not be averse to high-pressure sales tactics". But whether or not I'm reading to deeply between the lines here, the English term "temperament" seems to carry the same connotation.

So why not take the direct route and go with "commercial temperament"?

S. Marcotte
Canada
Local time: 04:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: As I have said before, I believe there is a subtle but important difference in the way 'temperament' is used bwteen FR and EN; in addition, 'commercial' in EN doesn't have the same connotation of 'sales' it has in FR.
37 mins
  -> I agree with you for 'commercial' (too vague in English), but 'temperament' in a sales context implies doggedness in either language. And that's the implication that matters, I think.
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