Are you asking for the Sale?
Most freelance writers are not “natural sales people.” Early in my writing career, I continually made the same mistake of never asking for the sale. Instead, I sat back and hoped for the best. While this worked out many times, there were surely situations in which I missed the boat.
Once you have a conversation with a potential client – via phone, email, or in person – you are in position to follow-up with a variation of this question: are you ready to move forward with this project?
At first, you may be intimidated and not want to ask for the sale. However, this will become second nature after you do so a few times.
Here are several tips that will make this easier on you:
1. Be confident at all times. The worst thing that could happen is the other party saying they need more time to think about it. In this case, you can wait a few weeks (approximately) to see if the person gets back to you. If they don’t, it is time for a follow-up.
2. Ask for the sale while explaining some of the benefits of moving forward immediately. For example, you could say: Are you ready to move forward with this project so that you have the material ready by the end of the week? In this case, you are doing two things: asking for the sale and adding another benefit. When adding a benefit, try to include something that will intrigue the client – this information should be based on your initial/past conversations.
3. Don’t come across as a used car salesman. The last thing you want to do is use high pressure tactics in an attempt to receive the contract on the spot. Hearing no does not mean the deal is dead – it just means the deal is being put off for now. You should respect this.
When you get into the habit of asking for the sale, the number of jobs that you close is sure to increase.
