Asking for Action

So you've been tasked with the responsibility to ask a customer or potential customer for an action or an agreement. Sounds simple, right? But what if I were to change the wording: “so you've been tasked with the responsibility to close a sale or satisfy a difficult customer.” Wow. Perception is everything. Many people who are asked to sell may have started in a service environment. Their deft handling of people leads management to believe that they can put their skills to even better use by doing certain simple sales activities. It may involve proactively selling additional items during an inbound service call. It could be that outbound calls to smaller accounts must now be made.

Inside sales provides an invaluable tool and asset to companies.  It allows firms to reach accounts quickly and cost effectively. It can give a field staff a great in-house resource. But it does require that the inside rep step out of their comfort zone. Many people are happy to be in reactive positions such as inbound customer service, but often the best service involves asking for an action. Providing solutions or offering alternative actions can often be the most responsible thing we can do.

This requires that change in perception. Although most people in sales are upright and use techniques that help match people’s needs to solutions, many people persist in thinking that selling is a dishonorable activity to take part in. They feel uncomfortable asking for actions.

Well, here’s the beauty about asking for actions, you can always walk it back.  There is never anything wrong in making a suggestion that done politely and with respect. The point is to ask in the first place.  Certainly a lot more goes on in the conversation and there are lots of ways to help people be more amenable to your suggestions. It’s not unlike persuading your friends to see a certain movie.  There’s nothing pushy or aggressive about that, at least not if you value your friends…and I’d hope you wouldn't want to treat customers with any less respect than you would friends.