When thinking about the reason a sale fails, we might believe it doesn’t pan out because we didn’t prospect correctly, provide the right information, or overcome objections succinctly enough.
But 73 percent of the time, the reason a sale doesn’t happen is because somebody simply just doesn’t ask for it.
Today, I’m going to cover 10 ways to ask for the sale so all the hard work you put into the rest of your process actually pays off.
You probably already know me as the Orangetheory Fitness guy, so naturally, the examples I give in the remainder of this blog will be catered towards the fitness industry.
The first type of close we’re going to cover is something I like to call The Transitional Statement.
So in our business, we start by saying, “Our membership is a simple process. All I need to start that process is…”
What we need from them might be a copy of their photo ID, their first and last name, or their phone number — but that’s not what’s important here. The biggest thing is that you’re transitioning them from talking about your products and services to actually starting the process of getting your prospect involved with them.
Next comes The Recommendation.
A lot of times, salespeople get hung up on what to say or how to ask. A simple workaround is to take your hand, place it over your chest — you know, using all that great body language to show emotion and indicate it’s coming from the heart — and all you say is, “May I make a recommendation? Based on what you just told me, I believe this is what you’re looking for.”
Simple and to the point, but you’ll be surprised how far a little genuine human connection and emotion can get you in the sales world. Another great thing about this is you’re showing your potential customers that you actually listened to what they had to say, and you actually care.
This third one is called The Invitation. As a business owner or salesperson, you’ve had a certain number of people buy your product and service, so the first step is to figure out what that number is.
Next, you say, “We’ve had [that number of] people sign up for our program, and I’d like you to become [the next number].” This helps cultivate an aura of inclusivity and community around your brand, and also helps you be viewed as a trusted source because you have real statistics to back up your words.
The big idea here is you’re inviting that person to be the next one to get a taste of all the success and benefits the rest of your members or clients already have.
People love to buy, but hate to be sold to. So The Alternative Choice close is a great way to ask them for the sale without asking them a yes or no question.
More likely than not, you have several pricing tiers or packages you offer your customers. This type of close is as simple as asking, “Which one of these options is the best for you? The premier, the elite, or the basic program?”
Remember: You don’t want to ask them if they simply want the product or service, because then they might say no, and your conversation will end. You want to ask them which they prefer so they have to choose (in essence, saying yes) to one of the options — or at least keep the conversation going.
For the next option, all you have to do is ask them this: “When have you ever been this close?”
The person you’re talking to has probably spent hours if not days or weeks thinking about purchasing your products or services. This question is to show them how close they are to actually achieving their goals in the purchasing of said product or service. By showing them how near they are to their dreams, you can nudge them closer to agreeing to the sale.
The Three Questions close is a process in which you ask three questions that all have “yes” or something positive as the answer.
In our business, we say, “Are you interested in your health? Yes, that’s great. Well, are you interested in taking care of your health? Wonderful. Now, if you were to start to take better care of your health, when do you think would be the best time to get started?”
More likely than not, the answer to that last question will be “Yesterday.” Or at least “Soon.”
All you’ll have to do is replace the word health with something related to one of your products or services, and the rest will all fall into place.
This next one is what we call The Agenda close.
The agenda close is where you set up a series of events or tasks that need to be completed in order to get that person started.
So in our business, what we might say is, “The first thing we want to do is take care of the paperwork. Then we’re going to go ahead and process the payment. We give every member a heart-rate monitor, so the third thing we want to do is get you one. And if you have any friends and family you want to invite to come work out with you, feel free to bring them in. Finally, we’ll get you set up with your new VIP starter kit and send you on your way.”
What you’re really doing here is building a list of tasks for that person to complete. In essence, you’re opening up their mind to the first, the second, and the third thing that it takes in order to move forward.
Number eight is always a good one to pull out if you have any type of money-back guarantee or trial period. Essentially, all you have to do is remind people that they don’t have to make their final decision today.
They can come in, try it out, give it a taste, and take a week or 30 days or whatever time period to mull it all over before they decide. It’s vital that your potential customers don’t feel like they’re being backed into the corner by agreeing to the sale, and reminding them that they have time to make their final decision will help mitigate that.
I got this one from the movie Boiler Room, in which Ben Affleck said, “You got to try to find a way to get to yes.”
You’ve got to find ways to get people in agreement with you. When I do this, I focus on highlighting the list of values, benefits, and results they’ll receive that help weigh the scale in my favor.
In my business, I say, “I’m providing you with a program that gives you more life, a fresh start, a new beginning, a way to plan, and a way to hit your goals. As a matter of fact, I’m going to give you accelerated results at a fraction of the cost.”
This is often referred to as “piling on”. People are always weighing this imaginary scale in their mind. On one hand, they’re coming up with all the reasons about why they should do something, and on the other, all the reasons why they shouldn’t. By piling on all the benefits about your products and services, you can show them clearly which way they should skew the scale.
The last one is a little bit tongue in cheek. It might work for you; it might not.
All you have to say is, “There are seven days in a week, Mrs. Jones, and ‘Someday’ is not one of them.”
People love to put things off. They procrastinate, and they let things pile up on the plate of tomorrow. In times like these, I remind them that the hardest decision they made was coming in today. I say, “And you already made that decision. So let’s get you started today, because someday isn’t a day.”
I hope you found some value in ways you can go about asking for the sale, and best of luck experimenting with them in your own sales processes. And remember: if someone says no to a sale, that’s okay. All you have to do is remind them that you’ll always be there for them if they change their minds.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. For more advice on how to get your mind, your business, and your life in shape, don’t forget to tune into my podcast every Tuesday.