Are we losing sales because our team doesn’t ask for them?

It was 1:40am on a Saturday morning and the party we were at was starting to unwind.

It all happened in a garden marquee and the 90+ party-goers had had a good time. The decision had been made to close the bar, but one young guy was adamant that he needed “just one more triple vodka and coke”!!

For seven minutes I watched him trying to persuade the bar girl to pour him one more drink.

Clearly a little bit tipsy, he tried all sorts of lines to persuade her – some of them were very creative and very funny.

It reminded me of what Zig Ziglar (salesman and motivational speaker) taught me about not accepting the first or second or third ‘no’s’ when I know that ‘what I’ve got is what they need’.

As I recall, Ziglar paraphrased it as “I’ve got their new pots and pans in my car and they’ve got my money in their wallet and I’m not leaving ’til we’ve made the exchange.”

A bit old school and potentially a bit hard sell, but the principle remains completely valid.

In your business today there are at least a handful of prospects who you know need what you’ve got. You’ve spoken with them, met them, but they haven’t said ‘yes’.

Yet.

If a boost to your order book is what you really want this week then go back to them, get creative, and find out what it will take to ‘make the exchange.’

Only if it really matters to you of course…

Truth is, most businesses give up way too early. They readily accept the first ‘no’.

They don’t ask for enough sales – and your business is probably one of them.

The guy at the bar never did get his vodka – but boy did he try hard. Almost certainly much harder than you’ve tried lately!

It doesn’t need to be a hard sell. Just pick up the phone and have a conversation. Just like you’re calling a friend, see how your prospect is getting on. Ask them if they need help.