Everyone knows that one person that has the “it” factor. They hustle, they convince, and they close. And whether they’re raising a round for their startup or making a sale, perfecting the art of the ask is the closer’s surest path to success. So, what do we know about the art of the ask?

Close More Sales Through the Art of the Ask

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Be intentional. Spend plenty of time thinking about your audience’s pain points and structure your conversation around that. Form each chunk of your pitch so that the next segment or point is the next logical step. The first 80% of your pitch should lead naturally to the ask. Establish a chain of logic to do this, one that your audience can follow step by step. If you’re asking them to purchase a product, walk them through a use case. Your ask is the punchline, so build to it.

Don’t Beat Around the Bush

Draw out the simple equation for success in your venture, and show them exactly where and how they can be a part of it. For fund raisers: if you don’t begin your pitch by telling the audience precisely what you’re asking for, then you should at least give them a good idea of what your ask will be. And your ask slide should have three easy to read points:

• What you’re asking for
• What you’ll do with it, and by when
• Projected outcome

Prove it

While entrepreneurs might thrive in uncertainty, buyers don’t. Ever. Before you make your ask, you’ll need to demonstrate the value (track record, energy, core values, external validators like clients/other investors/team) your audience seeks. This helps establish credibility–and creditability is fundamental to the ask.

Similarly, build credibility with your audience by appealing to their intellect. People like their intelligence to be respected. So, while you may need to do some education in your pitch, be sure to discuss ROI, the marketplace you’re playing in, and the probability of success your audience can expect.

To really be able to prove it, you’ll also need to know exactly what you need. That’s what you’ll ask for–that, or 20-30% more (for negotiating). This is debated, but both are reasonable strategies.

Drama Isn’t a Bad Thing

Appeal to your audience’s emotions. People require data to qualify their decisions, but they respond emotionally to stories. You already know that emotion (pain points) drives most buying decisions, so be sure your pitch is focused in on those emotions.

In order to really understand how to appeal to your audience’s emotions, it’s a good idea to spend plenty of time creating buyer personas for your audience before entering the conversation. If you haven’t created them before, you really should learn more about buyer and user personas.

And when you can appeal to your audience’s nobler motives (Dale Carnegie nailed it) while solving their pain points, your ask will feel like a no-brainer.

Shut Up

Ask and then shut up. Don’t fill space with more babble because it feels awkward. Some people call this the silent close.

React with clear next steps if they say yes. Don’t act surprised, don’t waver, don’t give them any reason to second guess. Communicate REALLY well. And, regardless if they say no, don’t fail with a “second ask.”