Tag Ask

If You Want it Then Ask

Steve Keating 2 Comments

My mom was as special a person as you could ever meet. She was an amazingly compassionate woman who would go way out of her way to help just about anyone. Whatever caring nature I have surely came from her.

What my mom wouldn’t do was ask….for anything. She would however hint. She was world class at hinting about what she wanted. Throughout her life she never had a drivers license. If she needed, or wanted to go somewhere she would never ask…but she would drop some rather straightforward hints.

When I received my license I became an instant target of her hints. She would say “it sure would be nice if someone would drive me to the mall.” Of course at first I would jump at the chance but after a while I must admit it got kinda old. 

I asked her on more than one occasion why she just didn’t ask for a ride and she would always answer that she didn’t want to be a bother. (It would have been impossible for her to be a bother but I guess she didn’t get that)

Later in life I learned there were a lot of people like my mom in that regard, they don’t want to be a bother either and they also think “asking” is a bother. Most unfortunately some of these people are salespeople. 

Imagine a salesperson thinking it’s a bother to ask a prospect for the order. Those salespeople are greatly limiting their success. 

Here is a simply sales fact: salespeople who have earned the right to ask for the order tend to get what they ask for. Even if they have earned the right to ask for the order if they don’t ask they most often don’t get the order either.

If you’re the type of salesperson who just asks for the order without earning the right to do so then I’d agree, you are a bother to your prospects. But if you’ve done your homework by asking the right questions to determine whether your product or service benefits the customer, and you’ve determined that it does, then by all means ASK. Ask because you have earned the right and asking for the order is the logical conclusion to a professional sales presentation. 

Your prospects almost certainly expect you to ask. In fact the research shows many of them are just waiting for you to ask so they can say yes. All you need to do to get that yes is ask but if you don’t ask then the yes often never comes. 

I don’t know why prospects behave that way but I know I too behave that way when I’m the prospect. All I would need to say yes is the simple nudge of an order asking question. Without the question my hesitation remains.

One final point, when asking for an order don’t beat around the bush. “What do you think” is not an order asking question and neither is “well let me know what you decide.” 

If you’ve earned the right to ask for the order and you’re certain that your product or service will solve a prospect’s problem or provide a benefit they are looking for then ask. Ask by saying something like “may I have your order” or “may I have your business.” Just like that, straight out!

It is the way true sales professionals do it.

Did You Ask?

Steve Keating 3 Comments

Salespeople get what they ask for! If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said that I would probably be writing this from a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. That salespeople get what they ask for isn’t always true but it’s true far more often than it is not. 

Salespeople who consistently ask for the order will nearly double or even triple their closing percentages. Just by asking for the order!

Early in my sales career I discovered that an incredibly high percentage of sales calls ended without the sales person ever really asking for the  order. One day upon returning to the office from a sales call my sales manager asked me “if I asked?” I answered “did I ask what?” He said, “did you ask for the order?” 

My answer was of course I did, I always did. So he asks me how I asked, what words did I actually use to ask for the order. When I hesitated a bit he knew he had me. When I said I asked the customer “what do you think?” he just smiled and said that next time I should really ask. 

I learned through the years that questions like “what do you think” and “how does it sound” are not order asking questions. They are flimsy substitutes that salespeople use when they don’t have the confidence required to ask a real order asking question. 

A real order asking question is one that requires a yes or no answer. They are closed-ended questions that leave no doubt as to the intentions of the prospect, they will either be doing business with you or not. 

Good salespeople always ask for the order. Great salespeople know when to ask. 

Great salespeople earn the right to ask for the order by working with their prospect to determine how and IF their product or service will actually help the customer. They ask a ton of focused questions that help their prospect see the fit between the product and their situation. 

When the salesperson has helped the customer see the benefits of their product and how it will help them, then they have earned the right to ask for the order and ask is what they do. 

They ask by saying something like “may I have your business?” They ask directly. They wait for a yes or no before they say anything else. They get the order.

Even if you’re only a good salesperson and aren’t sure what questions to ask, even if you’re not 100% knowledgeable about your product or service, always asking for the order will increase your sales. 

If you don’t believe me then prove me wrong by asking, it’s the only way you’ll ever know for sure.