Have You Asked For The Business?

If you have never seen the movie GlenGarry Glen Ross, then I highly recommend it.

One of the key scenes is early in the movie. Alec Baldwin plays the role of the sales trainer, Blake, from downtown. He has been sent from the parent company, Mitch and Murray. His job is to deliver a sales pep talk to the salesmen played by Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon and Ed Harris.

Mid-way into his rant, he lays down the law saying, “A-B-C; Always, Be, Closing.  A man doesn’t walk on the lot unless he wants to buy. Your job is to sell him.”

A prospect doesn’t inquire, a client doesn’t request information, a customer doesn’t sign up unless he wants to buy. Your job is to sell them.

The Purpose of Marketing

The purpose of all of your marketing and sales efforts should be to move the sales process to a conclusion which ideally is a purchase. Your prospect or client will either buy something now, buy something later or in a worse case never buy.

You may think that the purpose of marketing is building a brand. Establishing your reputation. Positioning yourself in the marketplace. While those are all marketing tactics, the net result of all of your efforts should be to drive a sale.

If you research the dot.com era of the early 2000’s, this was the great flaw. Those companies focused on branding, reputation and positioning, and they lacked one crucial thing, sales.

Your list is worth its weight in gold. Direct marketers understand that their in-house list of previous buyers is the most valuable list that they have.

If someone has bought from you before and you have established a relationship with them, keep them on your list. They have already made the most important decision, the decision to buy from you.

What Business Schools Fail To Teach

It took me a long time to realize that the most important business skill is not taught in business school. There are courses on finance, on marketing, on operations. I have yet to find a course on selling and salesmanship.

Yet that, is where the rubber meets the road. No sales? No revenue, no income, no profit.

While the world economy is contracting, it is contracting really for one and only one reason, lack of sales. There are many factors leading to lack of sales, such as reduced credit, customers and clients going out of business, etc. Yet the fact remains, no sales, no business, out of business.

You can look at what happened to Chrysler Corporation and General Motors in early 2009. Their lack of sales is the primary element that is driving them into bankruptcy.

Marketing Drives Sales

Master marketer, Jay Abraham states that marketing is the last key area of innovation and growth to deliver outrageous profits. Costs have been cut, financial models have been developed, yet marketing in many ways has yet to come of age in many enterprises.

It is not about pretty pictures. It is about making money and delivering profit.

All the benefits, bonuses, promotions, specifics, stories and more is designed to do one thing, get your customer to purchase.

Yet all of these things may still ultimately fail if you do not ask for the business. Whether in print, via an email campaign, or face to face, there is nothing wrong with asking your prospect or client for the business.

As the marketer you want to be in the driver’s seat. You are the one analysing the market, developing relationships, and using benefits, value propositions and unique selling propositions to sell your story. Your job is to develop new business and help close the deal. You always aim to keep the process moving forward in support of the desired conclusion.

Remember, a prospect or client can say no, a thousand times, but it only takes one yes to drive revenue.

You might think that you don’t want to offend your prospect, but unless you are willing to ask for the business, your prospect may think that all you wanted to do was share information.

You can ask more than once.

Times change, situations change, people change. You may be thinking that I asked and they said no to our offer. Well, have you tried a different offer? Have you asked your prospect what was it about your offer that they didn’t like? Have you asked them if you could improve their offer?

Remember, although they did not choose you today, you don’t know what may have changed if you don’t ask.

Perhaps your prospect is expanding? Perhaps their current vendor has gone bankrupt. Perhaps they are looking for a back-up supplier.

What to do if you get the order.

Congratulations! Your marketing has paid off and the prospect or client wants to buy. This is not the time to relax. This is actually the most crucial part of the process.

You do not want to stick your foot in your mouth and kill the deal. What you do want to do is support your client’s decision. You can consider complimenting them on making a wise choice, confirm the order and discuss next steps. Then, get out.

You should be very wary of overselling. You can potential upsell your new client into a larger or premium offering, or perhaps cross-sell them some adjacent offers. You should not push however as this is the most delicate point.

What is important is that you have a clear process and plan for following-up with them. Although things have tipped in your favor, you never know when they may tip back in the other direction.

Your marketing now shifts from moving toward a transaction to sustaining and building momentum. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill, you have to keep it going.

You should let your client know what to expect and when to expect it. Establish clear next steps and follow-up.

Thank your client for their order and keep your commitments.

Key Takeaways

1. Ask for the order.
2. Don’t oversell and lose the business.
3. Follow-up.

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