Tag Asking for the Order

Ask For The Order

Steve Keating 7 Comments

I had a salesperson who worked for me years ago who was outstanding at building relationships with prospects. She had a way of genuinely connecting with people that built instant trust and credibility. 

 

She valued her relationships with her prospects above all else. Even above asking them to buy something from her. She couldn’t bring herself to ask for the order. She honestly felt it could damage the relationship if the prospect saw her as a salesperson. 

 

She didn’t work for me very long. I had a requirement that my salespeople made certain that all prospects knew full well that they were there to sell them something.

 

I understand it can be uncomfortable to ask people for their money. However, too many salespeople put their proposals and presentations out there and wait. Very often they end up walking away with no sale.

 

If a prospect doesn’t quickly see the value of the salesperson’s products and jump right in to buy the sales opportunity may be lost.

 

Asking for the order is a vital part of the sales process. It is the logical conclusion to a professional sales presentation. Prospects expect to be asked.

 

Researchers asked people who were not persuaded to buy why they didn’t go ahead with whatever it was they were offered. Interestingly enough, the most common answer was that they were never asked. In some cases, they were convinced of the value of the offering and would have gone ahead, but nothing happened. The salespeople didn’t ask them to make a commitment or to part with their money, so they didn’t.

 

Don’t ever let the fact that you didn’t ask someone to make a buying decision be the reason a buyer doesn’t move forward. It can be as simple as saying, “How would you like to handle the investment for this?” Practice saying it in a business-like manner. It works fine when delivered with confidence.

 

Knowing when to ask, however, is every bit as important as doing it. Sometimes salespeople wait so long to ask for the sale that the right time to ask passes them by. To get past this timing challenge, use trial closes to take a prospect’s buying temperature.

 

You do this by simply putting the word “if” in front of your usual order asking questions. For instance, “IF you were to go ahead with this how would you handle the investment for the purchase?”

 

It’s designed to take the temperature of the sale. If the prospect is warm enough, you would move to asking your final order asking question about delivery date, paperwork, etc.


Asking for the order doesn’t always work, but this much is certain; it works a whole lot better than not asking. So 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.