The critical step: asking for the business

(Before I even get into this story, I have to skip to the end because I’m just so excited: Congrats to my student Maggie who closed a client during a call for the first time ever. And then 15 minutes later, she did it again. Awesome job!!)

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So, if I’m being totally honest, I used to rush to get off the phone with prospects.

It’s not that I didn’t want to talk to them – I was great at the “getting to know you” part. It’s just that I couldn’t ask for the business.

Asking for the business takes three things:

1. Talking price
2. Gaining alignment on moving forward
3. Understanding your prospects’ process for making a decision

I felt uncomfortable doing that, so I’d defer. When I felt like it was the right time, I would say, “Well, why don’t I put together a proposal and we can go from there?” And they would always agree.

And just like that, I’d have a proposal to write, but WITHOUT knowing if we’re in the same ballpark budget-wise, and without knowing if they’re ready to say yes.

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When you don’t know how to ask for the business, it’s expensive for your business.

You waste time on proposals for prospects where it’s not even a good fit.

You get your hopes up for opportunities that you follow up with for months, when there’s no chance they’ll say yes.

And you lose opportunities that could have said yes on the phone, but you created an unnecessary delay.

I shudder to think about all the time I wasted on proposals, the prospects I kept following up with, and the clients I lost.

All because I couldn’t ask for the business.

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It took me years to figure out how to actually have these conversations.

How to talk price and not immediately back off by saying, “… but I’m happy to work within your budget.”

How to agree on the scope, so I didn’t waste hours writing proposals that went nowhere.

How to get someone to say yes on the phone, in a way that felt COMFORTABLE, not salesy.

But once I did, everything changed.

Once I figured out a way that worked, I started getting Yes’s. I stopped wasting time on proposals. I saw that through the sales process, I was actually building STRONGER client relationships, something I didn’t even think was possible.

And I started feeling really comfortable. I didn’t have to be a certain way, I could just be myself.

Now, I teach my SIGNED students this same method. So it makes me SO HAPPY when my students learn how to do it on their own, so THEY can sign clients in the first call.

Like my student Maggie, who got two new clients, saying yes on the phone, in the same day (in the same 15-minute span, actually!)

This is what’s possible when you learn how to have great sales conversations that feel good, not gross.

And it is possible for you.

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If this is something you’re struggling with in your business, there are three important things to start focusing on:

1. Learning how to talk price in the first conversation
2. Learning how to gain general agreement on moving forward
3. Understanding your prospects’ process for making a decision

And if you’d like to work with me to figure all this out in your business, schedule a 10-minute call and let’s talk.

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

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3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.