So many sales professionals work their tails off and do everything their customers ask, yet they don’t speak up and ask for the business! When you have a great product that truly helps the customer with solving their problems, then your customer needs to have your product, and they need to have it now! Why go another day without it? You need to ask them for the order.
You just reviewed the proposal with your customer and covered the bottom line. The conversation is winding down. Do you know what you should say next? “Bob, are we ready to get started and can we get this proposal signed today?” That is what you ask! Yet so many sales reps instead ask about next steps and settle on following up later in the week. Wrong!
The key to asking for the business and closing is having confidence and truly knowing that your customer should not delay, that they should not go another single day without buying your product. They are ready to move on it. You have worked hard with them and they are comfortable with your recommendation and proposal. Now it is time to ask for the partnership. When you know how much your product/solution can help your client, you should absolutely be asking them to move forward and to move forward now!
When you ask for the order, one of two things will usually happen: 1. They say “yes,” which is great! 2. They say “no,” and that is still great! Here is why this is great- when they tell you no, this is now your opportunity to understand what else might need to get done in order to move forward. And by asking these questions, you will have a clear understanding and agreement with the customer on what happens next. Now you know where your deal really stands. You can also accurately forecast it to your sales manager! Win-win!
So practice asking for the order. There is nothing awkward about it. You earned it. Don’t be shy. Remember, you have worked your tail off on the opportunity, and you know how well your product will benefit the client. They shouldn’t go any longer without it. Ask them if we can move forward, and close! They will be happy to get this off their plate and move on to other things. In the meantime, you can watch your sales explode because you know how to ask for the business instead of playing the “follow up” game.
-Happy Selling!