All I had to do was go...
It Never Hurts To Ask!
Quick post today about a BIG lesson I’m learning hands-on right now.
Here’s the background story:
We’re in the middle of a product launch right now and so we’re talking to a lot of “promotional partners” and trying to convince them to promote for our new product.
The best scenario for us is if they promote at least once or twice during or “pre-launch buzz building” and then do another few promotions AFTER we launch…
The problem is that some of our BIG promoters are VERY busy people. They have tons of projects on their plate and even more promotional committments.
So, time is scarce, I feel lucky enough just having them AGREE to promote, much less how MANY promotions they’ll do.
But, the bottom line is that we will have a much bigger success IF they pre-promote.
Just yesterday I had an e-mail from one of these partners (one of the biggest ones in our industry) and he had agreed earlier to promote our product. He sent me an email flat out asking me:
What day do you want me to promote?
Now, I sat back and thought about what to say? From the phrasing of the question, he seemed to be making it clear that I had ONE day and ONE promotion to get out of it - what day did I feel I could get the MOST out of it?
I was a bit dissapointed because I really wanted him to do more than one promotion. However, I was afraid that if I asked for that, I’d offend him or sound greedy.
But, before I replied with my assumption in mind, I figured that I really had nothing to lose. I had to PUSH here. I had to get the HUSTLE into this!
So, my response flat out asked him to do a pre-promotion and post-promotion. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous.
This morning, I woke up and received a message from him asking me for some promotional material to send his way…
Wait…did he just agree to do it?! I think so!
A small example, but an iron clad one for sure. Had I “assumed” something and not asked, I would be stuck with just one promotion. However, since I just got over my “fear” and asked him, I’m now getting exactly what I wanted!
The worst thing that can happen when you ask is that they say “no.” Big deal, you’ve been hearing no your entire life! But, even if there is a .1% chance that they’ll say yes, GO FOR IT!
( By the way, I DID have another promotional partner flat out say no. So what? I’m still alive and he’s still promoting on launch day. I lost NOTHING, only had something to gain. )
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Tags: gettng what you want, just ask
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
It’s interesting that many people tend to base their self image on how others view them.
When we develop a strong, positive image of self… 9 times out of 10, that is exactly what others will see. And when you truly begin to believe it, it won’t matter to you even if they don’t see it!
We communicate much more with our language and our behavior than we realize.
You responded like a person who expects/deserves two promotions… that doesn’t guarantee you’ll always get it… but you will definitely get it more often than those who are too frightened to ask!
How many other places can we apply this in life?
keep smiling,
ben
[Reply]
Fighter reply on October 4, 2008 4:32 am:
Ben,
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Confidence is 98% of everything!
Fighter
[Reply]