Ask for the Business Because Callers Convert 10x More

One sales skill makes a huge difference, so you better ask for the business!

2 min 30 sec read

If employees ask for the business, they are 10.4 times more likely to convert callers into customers.

For almost 20 years, Convirza has been tracking calls, close rates, and phone performance for companies throughout the United States and Canada. Our call analytics feature an “ask for the business” call metric indicator to emphasize the power of this sales skill.

Convert more callers into customers

As a marketer, your primary job is to generate leads. If you want those leads to convert into customers, then get your sales team and employees to always ask for the business. This significant phone skill is often underestimated. However, the results are without question lucrative.

We have recorded and analyzed phone calls for more than 16 years. After collecting data from millions of phone calls, it is evident what generates more sales and increases revenue. Asking for the business or asking for the sale is one key to successful phone calls. This fundamental sales skill absolutely closes sales and brings in more money.  

Time and time again, our data prove that asking for the business can make a big difference in whether or not a caller converts. Depending on the business, winning the customer could be any number of actions including setting an appointment, booking a service, or selling a product.  

Convirza call tracking analyzes what happens BEFORE the phone call. Our Conversation Analytics^® services know what happens ON the call.

Conversation Analytics^® services combine sophisticated speech recognition technology and thousands of proprietary algorithms to evaluate the content of phone calls. Our innovative software listens to the words and phrases spoken on the call and determines what happens during the call. The information is then organized these into metrics called ‘Indicators.’

In fact, we call one of the more important indicators “ask for the business.”  It is that essential to the success of phone calls.

How do we know asking for the business is so crucial?

Several years ago, Convirza conducted a massive research study with the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Dixie State University. The study analyzed tens of thousands of phone calls to determine which components of a call actually generated sales. In other words, we wanted to pinpoint which things statistically impacted sales and conversions.

The research indicated that when an agent asks for the sale, the caller is much more likely to convert to a customer. Asking for the business positively affects phone interactions.

These findings, plus over 40,000 hours of engineering and machine learning, created the industry’s first and only intelligent phone call behavior tool. Convirza users get unprecedented visibility into campaign performance. Conversions, lead quality, and sales skills are accurately identified. Plus, it reduces costs with automated analysis and no manual call scoring.

Five years later our software is smarter and more robust. Conversation Analytics^® services can literally tell whether or not an agent asked for the business. The service uncovers specific keywords and phrases that indicate if a business representative extended a sales invitation. You get a complete insight into call details.

Sales managers and CEOs can view company specific reports summarizing how many times agents ask their callers for the sale. Companies also can see how many calls converted. These reports support the importance of foundational sales and customer service skills.

Ask for the business language

There are more than 600 phrase combinations that Conversation Analytics^® services search for to confirm if someone asked for the business.

Here are a few of those combinations:

Can I help you get started?

Let’s schedule something.

Does morning or afternoon work better?

The goal is simple: Conversation Analytics^® services want to know if your employees asked for the business on the call.

If you want to know the same information, one of our phone consultants would love to show you how quickly and easily you can have in-depth call analytics.

Published on: Oct 10, 2017. Updated Dec 2019.