Ya Gotta Ask!

The e-mail came just yesterday. A friend had a friend that
had been trying for 20 years (that's not a typo: TWENTY
years!) to get Permanent Residency status but, due to INS
paperwork snafus and red tape, had been frustrated in his
efforts. The issue is not whether he qualifies; the issue
is the paperwork.

Can you imagine being that frustrated for that long?
Neither could my friend, so she sent an email to everyone in
her address book asking if anyone knew anyone that could
help. It sounds pretty unlikely, doesn't it? You'd think
there would be a better chance of winning the lottery than
fixing a government paperwork problem with an e-mail shot
out into the universe! Why bother even asking?

Guess what? A member of my motorcycle club works for the
INS, in the same office where the problem has been! What
are the odds??

There is a very important lesson in all of this, and here it
is: if you want something, no matter how unlikely it may
seem, ya gotta ask! My friend could have easily thought
that it was ridiculous to send out such a message because of
the overwhelming odds against getting results. But she did
it anyway. Ya gotta ask!

How does this affect your business? There are a million
ways; here are just a few.

For one thing, it reminds us to ask for the order, the
single most common reason that sales are lost; we don't ask
them to buy from us! Ya gotta ask! Do you know of any
opportunities to partner with someone but haven't asked
because "they wouldn't be interested"? Ya gotta ask! Have
you spotted that perfect new salesperson but haven't
approached them because they seem happy in their current
job? Ya gotta ask!

Why don't we ask these things? Here are some reasons:
assumption (we think we already know the answer), fear of
appearing foolish or stupid, fear of rejection, and we just
don't think of it!

What can we do about this? First we have to adopt a new way
of thinking, and then we have to get into the habit of
thinking that way.

Let me introduce you to "Dave's Rule of Wrong". Simple yet
powerful, you can use this tool to determine whether asking
is a good idea. Ironically, the "Rule of Wrong" involves
asking yourself a question! "Which would be better? To
'ask' and be wrong or to 'not ask' and be wrong?"

Which would have been better? For my friend to ask for help
for her friend and been wrong (not gotten any help), or to
not ask for the help and been wrong (in this case, someone
DID know someone that could help; had she not asked, she
would have been wrong because of the missed opportunity)?

It's pretty clear that there is no harm in asking and
getting no results, but harm in not asking and missing an
opportunity.

Which would be better, to ask for the sale and be wrong (get
a 'no') or to not ask for the sale and be wrong (they
would've said 'yes' and you missed a sale)?

Got the idea?

Sorry, I had to ask!