One of the easiest and fastest ways to boost your business is revealed in an ancient proverb: Ask and you shall receive. You’ve probably heard this phrase countless times in your lifetime, but how many times have you put this fundamental truth into practice recently? When was the last time you asked for a written endorsement from a client or colleague? How about feedback from your customers? Or the opportunity to renegotiate something that just doesn’t work for you?
The simple act of asking is critical to success. Yet many people don’t do it because for some reason, people falsely believe that asking implies weakness and sets one up for potential rejection.
Here are seven asking strategies you can implement in your business (and in life) to boost your business:
Ask for Information
You can never have too much information. In fact, the higher up you go, the more you need to know. For example, to win potential new clients, you first need to understand their current challenges, what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do it. Only then can you proceed to demonstrate the advantages of your unique product or service.
Ask questions starting with the words who, why, what, where, when and how to obtain the information you need. Only when you truly understand and appreciate a prospect’s needs can you offer a solution.
Ask for Business
It’s shocking, but true: more than 60 percent of the time salespeople never ask for the order after giving a complete presentation about the benefits of their product or service. If you fall into this trap, beware: it’s a habit that could put you out of business quickly. Always ask a closing question to secure the business. Don’t waffle or talk around it—or worse, wait for your prospect to ask you. There are numerous ways to ask, “Would you like to give it a try?” Find the phrasing that feels most comfortable to you and ask.
Ask for Written Endorsements
It can be difficult to ask for endorsements if you don’t like tooting your own horn, but well-written, results-oriented testimonials from highly respected people are powerful for future sales. They solidify the quality of your product or service and leverage you as a person who has integrity, is trustworthy and gets the job done on time.
The best time to ask is right after you have provided excellent service, gone the extra mile to help out, or in any other way made your customer really happy. Simply ask if your customer would be willing to give you a testimonial about the value of your product or service, plus any other helpful comments.
Ask for Top-Quality Referrals
Just about everyone in business knows the importance of referrals. It’s the easiest, least expensive way of ensuring your growth and success in the marketplace. Your core clients will gladly give you referrals because you treat them so well. So why not ask all of them for referrals? It’s a habit that will dramatically increase your income. Like any other habit, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Ask for More Business
It’s easier to sell your existing clients more products and services than to go looking for new customers. Look for other products or services you can provide your customers. Another approach is to devise a system that tells you when your clients will need to re-order your products – or to simply ask your customers when you should contact them to reorder.
Ask for Feedback
This is an important component of asking that is often overlooked. How do you really know if your product or service is meeting your customers’ needs? Ask them, “How are we doing? What can we do to improve our service to you? Please share what you like or don’t like about our products.” Set up regular customer surveys that ask good questions and tough questions. It’s a powerful way to fine-tune your business.
Ask to Renegotiate
Regular business activities include negotiation and often re-negotiation. Many business professionals get stuck because they lack negotiation skills, yet this is simply another form of asking that can save a lot of time and money. All sorts of contracts can be renegotiated in your personal life, too, such as changing your credit card terms and rate. As long as you negotiate ethically and in the spirit of win-win, you can enjoy a lot of flexibility. Nothing is ever cast in stone. It’s only in stone if you don’t speak up!
To your Success,
