Any experienced sales person knows that they have to “ask for the sale”. But for those of us who are not in sales, this concept is a little bit harder to practice. Marketing tends to be the softer-spoken partner in the dynamic duo of sales and marketing. But the job of a marketer is providing information, building relationships, and ultimately asking for the sale, in their own way.
The Marketer’s Role in “Asking for the Sale”:
1. Ask for action
2. Ask for a recommendation
3. Ask for a referral
However, it’s not just marketers who need to ask for the sale. Too many businesses lose thousands of dollars in sales and profitable growth each and every month because of one simple mistake.
Not everyone in the business asks the customer to buy.
In a selling situation, customers want two things: solutions to problems and the assurance they are making the right buying decision. If you have the solution and you've extinguished any doubts, your customer may still walk away without further action—because you've failed to ask them for the sale. Most people prefer to be guided through a sale. They want to know what action to take and when to take it--and, most customers won’t reveal that fact.
If you want to save time and make more money, then you need to practice telling people what to do. Communicate with brief, clear and direct language. Beating around the bush, or issuing confused instructions, and lengthy explanations will fail to give you the desired result.
When business people fail to ask for the sale, tell customers what the next step is, or ask if they are ready to order—the sale is lost. Even though the desired result (sale or action) may take place without this step, asking it every time eliminates the "what if" question. What could the results have been? How much more would they have bought? How will this loss affect future results?
So, no matter if you are a marketer or some other business professional, make sure you ask for the sale and watch your business grow.
By Karen Nerison, Marketing Director, Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce
