Why don't sales people ask for the sale?

Since this is one of the most basic principles of sales I'd say two things (well, really one thing): inexperience and fear as the result of being inexperienced. The inexperienced will concentrate so much on the presentation and think that the sale will somehow just 'happen'. It's like the hunter that tracks an animal for days then freezes up when it's time to take the kill shot. (Not that I'm a hunter, just a good analogy). Salespeople who operate from a stance of fear will not ask for the sale for fear of being rejected, which again, is one of the basic principles of sales, constant rejection.

An experienced salesperson will have the experience to know that the sale doesn't just 'happen' and therefore has no fear of being rejected. In fact the experienced salesperson knows that each time he gets a 'no' he is getting closer to a yes...hence he looks forward to the no, it gives him a chance to use his skill to close the deal and get the yes. As Yoda once said, (In sales) "There is no try, there is only do". A wise manager of mine once made a comment that stuck with me for the past 25 years: "The sale doesn't start until you get the first no."

Hi Laurie! A main reason is that “closing” too often is portrayed and conducted as a separate and distinct activity or “phase” of the sale, rather than as a natural and flowing next-step within the seller-buyer dialogue.

Indeed, the “ABC” mantra … Always Be Closing … still reigns at some companies and in the directives of some sales managers. We still see job ads seeking “killer closer.” And there are full-day training courses on “closing techniques.”

No wonder, then, that some sales people get “spooked” by what appears a daunting and uncomfortable transition from Mr/Ms Nice Guy to a cold-hearted remover of money from customers wallets.

The best way to encourage vibrant, integrated, effective closing is to train and practice purposeful sales communication. That way, when the circumstances and time are right, the reps can simply ask, “Shall we make this happen? OK to proceed?”

Hi Laurie, Zig Ziglar said it best, ““We miss 100 percent of the sales we don’t ask for.” Closing and asking for the sale are integral to the selling process. Whether due to inexperience, lack of training, or lack of preparation and planning, the bottom-line is the sales person who fails to ask for the sale has not built the relationship properly and prepared the prospective customer to do business. Asking for the order should be the easiest part of the sales process, and validation that a ‘win-win’ relationship has been established with the prospective buyer.

I'll agree with some and not all of Mr. Williams' response. Inexperience is often the case, as in "they simply didn't know they had to ask". I've seen that too many times. See NextStage Principle #19 (http://www.nextstagevolution.com/principles.cfm#19).
What I'll disagree with is the "getting past the no" philosophy". It's true that most people don't know how to say "No" clearly. It's also true that many salespeople I've met don't understand a clear "No" when they hear it.
But the end all and be all of not asking for the sale is due to salespeople not knowing their prospect or taking the time to create a relationship that survives the sale or lack thereof. The best and most successful salespeople I've known graciously took the "No", then irregularly (it showed the prospect wasn't on some kind of scheduled "ping" list) sent an "I saw this, thought you might be interested".
Even if what they sent had nothing to do with their product/service/offering, they were showing an interest in the prospect's business. Eventually they got sales and referrals.
Nicely done, that.

Agreed with the point that people don't know how to say no any more...in fact they will not only not give you a simple 'no' but they will out and out lie to you by saying yes, then cancel the signing appointment like little girls. This is the number 1 topic of conversation amongst my peers today and it's even true at the C level. This total lack of respect for salespeople (and business in general) is inexcusable.

I will also say that time, not knowledge or anything else, is the most valuable asset anybody in sales has today...and we can not afford to waste time on non-buyers...period! I wasn't leaning toward that stance at all when I make the point of getting past 'no' , unless it is an emphatic NO! Then it's time to drop that prospect like a hot rock. This leads to another issue though, knowing when (and how) to 'negotiate the no' and when to decide that the payoff isn't worth the cost basis in time or post-sale management. I'm not against follow-up either...but I only actively deal with current buyers, prospects that are ready to make the deal NOW, not three months from now...my time is more valuable than that. Those folks I give my card and tell them to call me when their ready...if not, not....next!

Mr. Williams and Mr. Carrabis both, in my opinion offer valid reasons why a sales person will not ask for a sale. I've always leaned toward the idea that they were afraid they would be rejected, which might indicate that they were unsure of their product and presentation of that product to the prospect.

But even beyond the simplistic answer of fear of rejection and insufficient product knowledge I believe the real reason is so many "sales" people don't know when to stop talking about the product, the weather, their new car or their golf score and ask for the sale...

Years ago, I worked for a sales manager who had a sign on his office wall that read: "Samson slew ten thousand Phillistines with the jawbone of an ass. Every day, at least that many sales are killed with the same weapon!"

Finally, I think that way too many "sales" people are order takers and NOT sales people at all.

Mr. Brown, you said: "The best way to encourage vibrant, integrated, effective closing is to train and practice purposeful sales communication."

I say: "Amen!"

I also believe that selling is a craft and like any craft it has to be "learned" and continuously honed.

Fear. Most people are often not confident about the product or service they are providing and once we lose our focus in these areas, we have already lost any opportunity. Our confidence speaks of everything, no one wants to interact with people who are uncertain about themselves or what they are offering, if we are confident about what we are offering then we should be confident enough to ask if they are interested or not in a product or service that can affect certain areas of their lives.

Time is such an incredible and valuable community that needs to be used wisely, which means we can save a whole lot of it knowing exactly where we stand with others than contemplating if an opportunity exist there or not. In my opinion, fear depletes us from acquiring anything, faith and confidence in who we are and what we have to offer attract great opportunities.

The reasons Kelley described at the beginning are ones I've heard as well. I'll wager that most of them result more from poor timing in asking for the order, rather than poor execution.

Knowing when to ask for the order is hugely important. For the gold standard on how to ask, I often refer people to Ron Popeil's pitch for the Veg-o-matic. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGo7W_mbWCE). He was so effective at closing that the event in his pitch was coined a term, "the turn."

In the three-minute, fifty second video, he first mentions price at about 2:45, and sincerely and firmly asks for the order at the end. What he's doing conversationally applies as much to B2B as B2C. It's worth watching, studying, and learning from his patter. I don't care whether you're selling kitchen appliances or cloud computing solutions--there are many things worth emulating from his approach.