ASKING FOR VOTES…the political arena is pretty simple. A candidate starts by getting nominated, follows this by "meeting the people", and then asks everyone they talk to for their vote. If they talk to enough people, if they ask for enough votes, and their message is powerful… they get elected! You wouldn't expect to enter an election as a candidate and not ask for votes, would you? Obviously, the resulting failure would be very predictable. The Sales Business is much like getting elected…there are 3 steps: #1. You meet people, #2. You offer your services #3. You ask for their business. If you ask enough times you "get elected"… meaning you get their Business and you make the Sale.
Here is your ACTION STEP… in Sales, "getting elected" is all about Asking for Business. The problem is that many Salespeople want to "get elected" but they don't ask for the vote's! This is foolish. Here are some of their excuses:
1. "They know I'm in the business, they'll send referrals to me when the opportunity comes up".
2. "I don't want to seem "pushy". Asking for business is "pushy".
3. "The opportunity just didn't seem to present itself when we were talking".
4. "I just didn't know what to say… it felt awkward".
If you're going to be in the Sales Business and you want to "get elected"… you must get past any resistance that you feel to asking for votes/business. If you don't, you risk the following… your potential Customer walks away from the conversation and says to themselves, "He/she is supposed to be a Salesperson… I would never buy from them/refer them, they never even asked me for my business!". To finish the metaphor… get on the campaign trail, Ask Everyone You Meet for Votes, get elected every day! NO Excuses.