Thank you, sir, may I have another?

ffOW many calls do we make to lT.set an order? Count all the ptorp-".t calls we make to find the account, calls to contact the buyer, calls to earn the buyer's trust. Once we have earned the buyer's trust, we will still have to compete for his or her business-more calls.

The point is that we make a heck of a lot of calls before we receive our "yes." This being the case, it is absolutely necessary that we capitalize on that "yes."

How? By asking for more business. We make many calls to get our customers to the point where:

Their minds are open Their heans ur. op"n. & Their P.O. books are open. d

It is essential that we ask for more business-right after getting business.

Thanks and Assurance

We first thank our customer for the order just given and assure them they have made a wise purchase. "John, this is a great deal, make sure you don't give it away, this is a money maker." (When I first started selling lumber, they told me, "As soon as the customer gives you the order, hang up! Don't talk them out of the order or let them change their mind." This is an adversarial approach to sales. It will not produce partnership relationships. It does not inspire trust-it does the opposite.)

Double Up

Asking for more business after closing can be as simple as, "John, thanks for the order. This is a great deal. The price is excellent, the tally meets our needs, and it's prompt, so your last bundle should go out just as this truck is rolling in. This truck takes care of our immediate needs. Let's put on another one for three weeks out."

The timing of this second offer is crucial. We don't want to appear unappreciative, and we don't want to rush. But it is necessary and effective to continue to sell our customers (right) after getting business. Our customer's personality will dictate the timing. Are we talking to a person who likes to talk and interact? Then the follow-up sales question should be done after thanking them for the order and some small talk.

By James Olsen

always to the point? In this case, we must get right to it. Right after the order, we ask for more business.

"Sam, thanks for this one. You made a heck of a deal on this. I have three more, so do you want me to just use 453, 454 and 456 on those?"

Losing Orders

We all lose orders from time to time. Most sellers mishandle these losses. Right after losing the order, we have a couple of approaches that will work:

"Susan, would you buy another at that price?"

"John, how far out does that put you? Let's put another one on for then."

"Pete, I appreciate this order. This will work great for us. What are your plans for the weekend, etc....? By the way, before we hang up, I think we should put on another truck. The market looks very strong. We've got a couple left and then we'll have to go back in and pay market levels. We can hold the second truck for three weeks. Do you want me to use the next number in sequence?"

Are we talkine to someone who is

More importantly, our attitude after losing orders is vital to our ongoing (sales) relationship with our customers and our own (delicate) sales psyche. If, when we lose orders, we act like losers, our customers will think of us as losers. More importantly, our own (delicate) psyche will be affected not only with rftis customer and this order,bu with other customers and other orders. One of my favorites after a no from a customer is: "Let's not call it no. John. let's call it we'll do business in the future." This usually produces a wry smile from my future customer and makes me feel like I have a small victory that will carry me into my next sales call.

Asking for business right after getting it (or losing it) is a winning strategy for us as salespeople.

- James Olsen, Reality Sales Training, specializes in sales training for the lumber industry. Reach him at james@realitysalestraining.com or (503 ) 544-3572.