Sometimes it’s the simplest actions we take that deliver the most amazing results. One of these actions is – to Ask.
As an entrepreneur, small business owner or employee in an organization– asking is powerful. So, why don’t more people do it, more often? Fear, and more specifically, fear in 5 forms
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Rejection
- Fear of Appearing Foolish
- Fear of Appearing Greedy or Selfish
- Fear of Criticism (don’t want to make waves or rock the boat…)
We don’t ask because one or more of these fears is clandestinely playing havoc within our mind, and with what we believe is possible. We unconsciously and unintendedly feed the fear creature, and what’s worse, because we literally feed it through rumination or passive behavior (that is, doing nothing differently to stop it), we set ourselves up for failure, or at the very least, limitation: A self-filling prophecy. It does not have to be that way.
Check point: Have you ever experienced any of these situations?
- You make what you believe is a great sales presentation, but don’t make the specific ask for the business
- You’ve written an article that you believe represents important marketing initiative to grow your business, but you are afraid to ask an editor to publish it
- You want advice on how to grow your business and there is a person in your community who is a national expert, but you are afraid that you are not worthy of her time, so you don’t ask
- You missed a deadline to submit a paper for a presentation and instead of calling and asking if the deadline could be extended or if there are other venues you can present in, you let it go and don’t ask.
What is the outcome that each of the above people achieved (and each is a real example from our interviews and research on self-sabotaging behavior)? If you said nothing, you are right. They achieved nothing: no sale, no article published, no advice received, no presentation given and no repute gained. What did they start with – nothing; what did they end with – nothing.
The Power of Asking is simple: No ask equals no option(s). Why would you not embrace such a great opportunity?
Stay tuned for Thursday’s Quick Tips where we will provide some ideas to help you overcome the challenges of asking and increase your chance of getting a yes when you do.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
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