Asking for the Order

Have you seen the Xerox commercial where they’re sitting around a table topped with lots of folders and the boss is saying they will stay there until they come up with a solution to save money and someone asks about the stuff on the table? This is absurd. There is no solution offered. Just that the ‘stuff’ might cost millions. Can the company do without all that ‘stuff’? Probably not. So how does Xerox think that people will come running to them for a solution to save money? Simply put, the commercial left out the most important part of advertising – A CALL TO ACTION BY THE VIEWER OF THE AD. Simply adding a drop line like:
“Call your nearest Xerox office to see how we can save you money on your printing” – will make the TV commercial a complete presentation.

Some sales professionals call it ’the close’. One of the most difficult thing to teach a new salesperson is to ASK FOR THE ORDER. The new salesperson can sometimes make a decent presentation and then stops; thinking that the potential customer will automatically request to sign some contract. Many sales are lost because the sales presentation does not include asking for the order.

Every business has its own presentation. All anyone needs to do is say something like: So how does that sound? Or Does that fit your needs? And more directly, Can we sign you up? Just a few simple words to cap off a presentation and a sure way to increase your sales.

And that’s the way I see it…
Jay Clifford
JayClifford@att.net