Sometimes you would think asking costs millions of dollars the way people avoid it, doing everything BUT asking for what they need to grow their business – be it support, referrals or even the sale!
Timid entrepreneurs do almost anything EXCEPT ask. You overspend on marketing that distances yourselves from the results. You hire a sales team to do the asking for you. You hope and pray that customers will magically find you and tell their friends.
Asking doesn’t cost a million dollars. It doesn’t even cost a cent. Asking is absolutely free (it’s sometimes just all the other stuff that leads up to the asking that costs money, but that’s a different story altogether).
So why don’t we do more of it? Why don’t we turn to the people around us who already know, like and trust us and want to see us succeed? Why don’t we get over our egos and simply ask for what we need to get to the next level?
It has nothing to do with the person you are asking and everything to do with you. It has to do with the fear of rejection, judgment, or awkwardness. It has to do with the inner critic who tells you that you aren’t worth it.
Tell your inner critic to Shut Up Already and start asking!
5 Ways to Start Asking for What You Need
#1: Help Others FIRST – Asking is a lot easier when you help others. Call it the Karmic balance or self-confidence, but it feels better asking for help when you know you have freely helped those around you.
#2: Offer Reciprocal Support – Nothing wrong with the good old fashioned “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”. Surround yourself with likeminded people and establish a reciprocal support network where you each help each other out. Referral networks and master minds are two examples of this type of arrangement, but it can apply to anything.
#3: Share Your BIG Vision – One of the reasons non-profits are truly gifted at asking (besides a serious lack of funding) is that they truly believe in what they do. They are able to share their vision of how what they are doing will make our world a better place. Share your big vision with the people around you and enlist their support in achieving it.
#4: Shift Your Thinking – Stop thinking about what you are doing as asking and start thinking of it as sharing your gift with the world. This especially applies to asking for referrals or asking a potential customer to choose you. It’s amazing how zealously we will promote for others and not for ourselves!
#5: Simply Ask – Take a deep breath and ask. Your job isn’t to determine the outcomes – it’s just to ask the question. Ask for exactly what you need because if you do, you may get a yes, but if you don’t, you are guaranteed to get a no!
8 Comments
Hi Carla, I do plan to do a lot of asking this 2012. I’ve bee too “timid” this 2011.
Hey, Carla, thanks for reminding us of such a simple yet powerful principle that many (as you mentioned) are sometimes scared to do. I can relate to it in the social media marketing arena as well – if you’re constantly giving great info, advice, and tips, why not ask for a sale? You’ve earned it! Business is the same way, I think the best tip you offered was to share your vision. Vision are infectious and people won’t have a choice but to join or give once they “catch the bug!”
I’m guilty for not doing the asking too and indeed its powerful.
I guess the fear of getting “rejected” fears me sometimes plus the not knowing “how to ask” is also another problem for me personally.Gonna ASK ASK ASK this year. 🙂
thanks
So true of me! Working on this more this year. Thanks for the 5 steps.
Just take that plunge…trust me, you won’t regret it! You won’t always get the answer you want, but sometimes you will and that makes it all worth it.
Yes, it’s such a simple, but difficult step to take! Thanks for commenting!
Woo-HOO…I love it: ASK, ASK, ASK!
I’m going to hold you to it! The key to knowing how to ask is simply to start asking. You may bumble your way through it a time or two, but like anything, you’ll get your stride and it will become second nature!
Awesome!