ASK for the sale

That's a basic rule of sales, if not THE basic rule. You can do your whole presentation perfectly, but if you don't then ask for their business, chances are good that you won't get it.

Eclectic Cleric has me thinking about this and other business rules and how they relate to doing church. EC has a post today asking why can't we be as good at greeting visitors as a bookstore?

My situation that I'm thinking about concerns pledges and our "already" members. As I've mentioned before, we've got Money Trouble, right here in a River City, with a capital T that rhymes with P and that stands for Pledge.

Just a few years ago, we were all focused on the same plan, and we had the highest average pledge in the entire district. Now, we have one of the lowest.

So, we had a meeting this past weekend to talk about what we need to do. Now, all of it can't come from pledges, and we're working on that. But we have a culture now where supporting your church financially isn't seen as necessary. None of us have too much money, but face it, most of us (including yours truly) could give more.

So, the presentation was made. Motivation was raised. Spirits were high. And then ...

They didn't ask for the sale.

I know it's hard. How nice it would be to say, "So if you want to give more, the forms are here ..." and have everyone rush the table. It didn't happen.

Any successful salesperson will tell you ... you can have the greatest presentation in the world, but if you don't ask for the sale, you're not doing sales.

ASK FOR THE SALE.