People often say to me, “I am creating marketing material, meeting people and telling them about my business and I just don’t seem to be making sales. Do you have any suggestions?”
When I ask them, “do you specifically ask them to buy your product or service?” I quite often get a blank stare.
“Ask??” You mean I should ask?
Yes, this is a critical part of the sales process, and many people lose sales they would have won if they’d only asked for the sale or “closed.”
The fear is that the customer might say no. So what, the odds are you will get more no’s than yes’s. That’s simply how the ‘math’ works. Just consider the no’s as practice on your way to a yes.
Some of the most successful sales people say that a 10% conversion is good. That means 90% of potential customers were either not interested or were unable to purchase at this time for a variety of reasons. That’s 9 NO’s for 1 YES!
A ‘no’ doesn’t mean “never” or the end of your potential business relationship, it just means that they are not interested right now.
How many sales do you think you will get if you don’t ask. Not asking is considered the same as leaving money on the table. Sometimes it means, you just haven’t shown them a benefit or solution that meets their needs.
If you need to improve your closing skills, there are many books and training courses that can help. “The Aladdin Factor” by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen shows you how to ask for and get what you want in every area of your life and includes a formula for overcoming the 7 most common “asking fears”.
You can also ask your sales manager for additional support, training or coaching.
Sadly, the reality is, many people have an “asking” phobia and would rather avoid asking or wait for the customer to initiate the “ask.” Believe it or not, customers expect a good sales person to ASK … the customer often waits for the ‘ask’ and many times feels let down if you don’t.
It is important to remember that no matter what business you are in, you are always selling yourself, product and or service. If what you sell,
can improve your customer’s business and overall success; consider it your obligation to let them know that it exists.
Just remember, it’s your job to ask, customers expect it and no doesn’t mean never.