How to ask for business easier and more fantabulously!

If you’re out there and you have to ask for business, then this blog is for you. When it comes to asking for business, do you ever think … ?

“I don’t want to appear pushy.”
“I don’t want to be rejected.”
“I don’t want to admit … my fear holds me back.”

If you do, don’t sit and hold your breath waiting for the phone to ring, because it won’t and you’ll succumb to your worst fears. Take these first three steps to overcome it:

• Figure out what you’re doing.
• Identify what you want to get from this business – for example, how many clients do you need to pay your bills?
• Come up with five questions you want to know from your prospective clients.

If you’re having trouble with the second bullet, I have a performance plan that takes everything you are doing, monetizes it and makes it visual. Every month, you can do a check mark of everything you’re done. This will show you where you’re being too passive and get you into the mode of knowing exactly how many people you need to talk to this month. And it’ll highlight how much time you’re spending doing non-income producing activities. I can help you break all this down by how many hours are in a day.

How to ask for business the right way:

1. Know the clients you want: Not everybody may need your services, but they may know others who do.
2. Benefits: Communicate the value of what you do.
3. Commitment: Demonstrate a commitment to and a belief in your product/service.
4. Simplify: Learn what works for your business — present, get presentation, follow up, get the sale — it’s all about getting the business.
5. Present: demonstrate your product/service in a way that is so fantabulous that your prospects will want to contact you.
6. Qualify: Need + Solution = Potential Sales— if there’s no need, then there’s no potential sale.
7. Golden rule: Help others by offering your expertise to get what you want.
8. Network, network, network — if nobody knows who you are and what you do, they can’t refer you.
9. Collaboration: Create a collaborative team or network.
10. Follow up, follow up, follow up.

Non-verbal ways to ask for business … more ideas

• Bring signup sheet for business assessment.
• Include a tagline in your email signature and a personal message. Remember to include name, title, company, website and phone.
• Include a meaningful quote after your email signature.
• Leverage social media such as Linked-In, Meetup and Twitter.
• Spend an hour a week referring people you’ve met.

When to ask for business

In my business, I typically ask for a business assessment immediately, because it’s free and from there, I move on to the next assessment. My daytimer or calendar or signup sheet is always handy. Heidi does something similar, because she’ll do a free skin care assessment and then work from there. Peter has a more challenging sales cycle, with at least 8-10 touches before business is closed, but when you’re producing radio shows, it’s important to gauge a client’s commitment level. Think about the best way that you can qualify your prospects, and if there isn’t a good fit, put that contact into a file that you can refer to if you come across someone who may be a better match for them.

Are you still scared to ask for the business?

Instead of shoving your business onto your potential client, ask this question: what kinds of clients or customers are you looking for? And sometimes it’s easier to pitch someone else’s business.

Asking for business – my approach

I have a very upfront approach, and I’m confident in what I do because I’m helping people. I believe in what I do, and I’ve seen the results firsthand. On the other hand, my amazing stylist Heidi has a different approach, which works very well for her, and as she said, it took some time for people to feel comfortable that she’s in the Arbonne business for the long haul. The approach varies for my wonderful producer Peter also. He can get up there and says this is what I do and who I am and I’m available for hire, but because of the product he sells, qualification takes longer. The three of us are all confident in different ways, and we support each other. A good referral is worth so much.

Now, multi-channel marketers have different challenges, and they must work hard to tie all their products together. If people can’t keep up with what you’re doing this week, it gets confusing, so be very clear about the messages you’re giving. You can be successful at whatever you do, but you must overcome your fears and get out there. And remember …

• Know who you are, what you’re selling and the benefits it provides.
• Believe in yourself, your product or service and your company.

And, last but not least, and learn this well people … don’t make it harder than it needs to be. I’d like make it clear that I think you can have anything you want in this world, if you have a good strategy and a plan to achieve it. Take your services and integrate them into a package that you can sell. Look at all the ways you can do business, and learn what services are available to you and use them. My coaching will tell you to go with your gut and your heart, but it will also get you the plan and strategy you need to succeed.

Remember to tune in to next week’s show on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, the day before turkey day, at 12 noon MT on www.nowlive.com. Join us!

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