A famous man once said, “The biggest thing the world has done to adopt the principles of Jesus but refuse His lordship while Christians adopt His Lordship but refuse His principles.”

However, if you can apply these same principles with spiritual understanding that God gives you…, you too, can prosper in your business. Today, we delve in to one of these timeless secrets; “The Power of Asking.”

The gift called “asking” has been around for a long, long time. One of life’s fundamental truths states, “Ask and you shall receive.” Kids are masters at using this gift, but we adults seem to have lost our ability to ask. We come up with all sorts of excuses and reasons to avoid any possibility of rejection.

Yet the world responds to those who ask. If you are not moving closer to what you want, you probably aren’t doing enough asking. Here are seven asking strategies you can implement in your business (and in life) to boost your results:

1. Ask for Information. To win potential new clients, you first need to know what their current challenges are, what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do it. Only then can you proceed to demonstrate the advantages of your unique product or service. Ask questions starting with the words who, why, what, where, when and how to obtain the information you need. Only when you truly understand and appreciate a prospect’s needs can you offer a solution.

2. Ask for Business. Here’s an amazing statistic: after giving a complete presentation about the benefits of their product or service, more than 60 percent of the time salespeople never ask for the order! That’s a bad habit, and one that could ultimately put you out of business. Always ask a closing question to secure the business. Don’t waffle or talk around it—or worse, wait for your prospect to ask you. No doubt you have heard of many good ways to ask the question, “Would you like to give it a try?” The point is, ask.

3. Ask for Written Endorsements. You can increase prospects of immediate future sales by this simple step: asking for testimonials from highly respected people you have worked with. It’s a vote of confidence. They solidify the quality of your product or service and position you as a serious business person, one worth doing business with. When is the best time to ask? Right after you have provided excellent service, and there is a smile on their face!

4. Ask for Top-Quality Referrals. Just about everyone in business knows the importance of referrals. It’s the easiest, least expensive way of ensuring your growth and success in the marketplace.

5. Ask for More Business. Explore new concepts, ideas that would boost your existing customer’s line of business. Offer a free sample if possible. Add research. Implement a formula for knowing when your customers will require more of your products. The simplest way is to ask your customers when you should contact them to reorder.

6. Ask to Renegotiate. Regular business activities include negotiation. Negotiation skills are vital, they save you time and money. They are important for contracts, almost all contracts can be renegotiated with some leverage. You only need to put yourself in the shoes of your client and find out how they think and what they really want. That’s important. Nothing is ever cast in stone.

7. Ask for Feedback. This is an important component of asking that is often overlooked, because subconsciously we don’t want any opportunity to be criticized. But criticism provides you much needed honest feedback for your improvement. Ask them, “How are we doing? What can we do to improve our service to you? It’s better to know what you are doing that works than to continue doing something wrong simply because you were afraid to ask. It’s amazing how you will save yourself money using this step alone!

About The Author David Makuyu is the director of Kipawa Music, a media advertising agency, involved in media buying, music production, radio and TV commercials, and event management.

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