I was speaking with a customer of mine today when it hit me. People don’t always ask for the sale in their sales conversation. 

She was talking about the people that are on her team. Her goal is to help them succeed in their business. She wanted me to review her closing outline and find anything I thought was missing.  

And when I read it, it immediately jumped out at me. I realized that this is what most people miss, especially as business owners. 

Listen to Podcast Episode 005 below or keep reading the blog.

The Awkwardness in Asking

When we’re asking people to pay us, it’s awkward. I don’t think it has to be. I think we make it weird and uncomfortable. 

What I told her was we just need to get over ourselves. We are not so significant that asking this person for money is somehow going to make them feel uncomfortable, not like me, or… blah, blah, blah. 

I call it stinkin’ thinkin’ because it’s whatever my brain tells me that isn’t helping me progress. Our brain tells us those things, and that’s why we get all awkward. 

I remember hearing somebody speak about the importance of confidence when it comes to asking for a sale.  

It’s like our prospects can hear it coming. Because our tone changes immediately, our facial expressions change. Our whole aura changes when we know we have to go in and ask for the sale. 

Do You Ask for the Sale?

The most significant missing piece is we forget to ask for the sale.

Before you start thinking:

• When is the proper time to ask? 
• What’s the best way to ask? 
• What’s the best closing question? 

What matters most is to pop the question. Get the awkwardness out and practice, practice, practice. 

 I know what you are thinking. We get to the end of our sales conversation and hope the person says, 

• “Yeah, so where do I sign up,” 
• “Hey, where can I send you this money,” 
• “Hey, do you want my credit card number?” 

I’ve perfected the art over a couple of decades to where I do have people ask me that. And you want to get to that point, but that will take practice. Unfortunately, you won’t get to that point right away. 

Right now, you just need to close more sales. And the best thing that you could do is simply ask your prospect for the sale. 

When to Ask for the Sale?  

In your sales conversations, you should be looking for buying signals so that you know your prospect is ready to be asked for the sale. 

Look for these buying signals: 

• They’re not closing the door in your face.
• They haven’t hung up on you.
• You aren’t being told to shut up. 
• They are still engaged in the conversation.

Confidence is Essential When Asking for the Sale

You have explained everything about your service or product that you are selling and how it works. Were you confident?   

Confidence is essential in the sales conversation. People buy from people that are confident in what they’re selling. 

If you get all wishy-washy and your confidence goes down the tube when you’re asking for money, people start thinking.

• “Oh man, this might not be a good thing.” 
• “Like, why are they acting all weird?” 

An Example of a Confident Closing Question 

After you’ve covered all the expectations and cost, you are ready to say:

 “Oh, it sounds like a perfect fit for you. “Did you want to use a Visa or MasterCard to get started to lock in your spot on June 3rd?” 

How to Ask for the Sale in Network Marketing? 

The person I was speaking to today is in network marketing. So it’s a little bit different. The prospect is not actually giving her money. But it was brilliant the way she handled it. 

She still asked, “Do you want to use a Visa or MasterCard?” Then she went on the computer and set up the customer’s account herself. She just puts in all the information like she is the customer. 

Genius! 

 Because there’s nothing worse than going, “Oh, did you want to sign up?” “Yeah, I want to sign up.” 

“Great, here’s the website, and we’ll talk to you soon.” 

And then the order doesn’t come in. 

• You’re messaging. 
• You’re calling.
• No response. 

Does that sound familiar? 

The excitement has died down, and when they finally get back to you, the conversation goes something like this:

Prospect: “Oh yeah. I totally forgot about that.” 

You: “Oh, no worries. “Here’s the website address again.” 

Guess what? 

They’re going to forget again. The prospect will put it off. Take control of the situation, and your results like my client did in network marketing. She closed the sale, and you can too. 

If you want to see more examples, check out my Overcoming Objections in Sales with Tie Down Questions blog post. 

Ask for the Sale With Confidence But Expect a No

There are different techniques of knowing when to ask and asking for the sale using different closing questions. These techniques will help give you the confidence to get a yes. 

But at the same time, expect a no. Most of the time, you will get a no. When you expect a no, it won’t deflate your energy. This is the time you will need your strength to keep the conversation going. 

Don’t Just Take No for an Answer

You went over all this information about your product. Your prospect totally bought it. Then when you ask the closing question, they drop the, “No, not right now.”

When you get the “no,” hold your confidence. Expect that no, but play it off a little bit. You want to act a bit shocked. 

People naturally say no. It is an instinct. You should expect it to happen. Keep your confidence and find out what their hesitations.  

Dig deeper into why they said no with questions. You could say, “Oh, really? “Why not, what’s goin’ on?” 

It will feel more like a conversation between two people that have a relationship. There’s a concerned tone in your voice. And they’re more apt to let their defenses down and explain to you why they said no. 

Overcoming Objections

Then, have your strategy for overcoming the objection, whatever that objection is. 

Check out my Overcoming Objections in Sales with Tie Down Questions blog for how to overcome objections. The strategy is key to stopping them from listing objection after objection every time you speak with them. 

Then you will reclose. And remember, you might still get another no. Don’t take no for an answer. 

Sometimes you have to repeat it all over again, changing up a few things. In my sales course, I talk about a time where I had to overcome objections 16 times with one person. 

Yes, it was awkward, uncomfortable, and crazy. But I got a yes.

No, I’m not saying you need to go that extreme every single time. You have to know your audience, obviously. And you’ll hear when your prospect gets frustrated. 

When they get frustrated, you know it’s time to stop. But you might have to do it a few times until you get that yes. 

Just Do It

Will you put this into practice? Share your thoughts below in the comments. Remember, don’t worry about how people are going to feel. Don’t be afraid of how people are going to look at you. 

Practice, so you don’t feel awkward and build your confidence. You have to do a lot of asks. 

If you need to get ten sales this week, make sure you go out and ask 100 people. How do you ask 100 people? Engage with 100 people by commenting on their posts, picking up the phone and calling them, messaging them on social media or text, and building relationships.