You did icebreaking with the customer, you qualified the customer, you found the best product to suit the customer's needs, you gave the customer the benefits of the product, you did a trial close, and you overcame objections so you're done right? No, now comes the most important part of the transaction and that is closing the sale.



This may be hard to believe but the number one reason why most salespeople loose the customer is because they never ask the customer to buy! Can you imagine spending all this time with the customer, finding out all their needs and finding them the right product then not ask them if they are ready to buy?

At one retailer I worked for, there was a person who was supposed to be the electronics expert of the store. He would get into conversations with his customer, often spending an hour or more with them but the customer would end up walking out the door. When asked if he asked for the sale the usual response was "he was just looking". The longer he spent with the customer the less likely he was to make a sale.

So what's the worse that could happen, the customer will say no and you move on. But if you do not ask the question then you have wasted yours and the customer's time.

Ask for the sale.

The Sales and Sales Management Blog has more on selling.