Have you ever been asked the question in your networking groups or by your business associates “Let me know if there is ever anything I can do to help you in your business?”
How did you respond to that question? Society tends to allow us to put on our stiff upper lip and surround ourselves in armour and respond with – “Oh, don’t worry, I’m good”, or “Thanks, if anything comes up I’ll let you know”.
What about if you were able to respond with “Wow, thank you. That would be great and now that you mention it there are a few things that would help me….”
If you are not answering with the second style of response, then you are letting some great opportunities slip by if you aren’t prepared to accept help at the moment it is offered. Imagine giving though to the type of help that you may need and when it is offered being ready to respond by stating a specific need.
There are many ways your referral sources and network can help you promote yourself and your business and generate leads and referrals. Some are simple, cheap and quick; others are complex, costly and time-consuming.
Your job is to identify businesses and individuals who can provide specific kinds of help that you anticipate needing when problems arise or when you need to increase your visibility, your credibility or profitability.
If you have a good idea of what type of help you need then when you are asked the question you will be able to answer in the affirmative and match the person with the request, knowing that they can help you achieve it. And don’t forget – it makes people feel good when they know they are helping you!
At Asentiv we have identified 16 Relationship Builders to help motivate your network to refer you and make it easy for them to help you when asked.
I’d love to have a chat with you about what you are doing to ask for help and if there is perhaps areas you could improve on – particularly if you are bad at asking for help!
Give me a call or drop me an email on mikeh@asentiv.com and let’s catch up. How can I help you?