would be a better chance of winning the lottery
Let me introduce you to "Dave's Rule of Wrong". A friend had a friend thathad been trying for 20 years to get Permanent Residency status but, due to INSpaperwork snafus and red tape, had been frustrated in hisefforts.The e-mail came just yesterday. It sounds pretty unlikely, doesn't it? You'd thinkthere would be a better chance of winning the lottery thanfixing a government paperwork problem with an e-mail shotout into the universe! Why bother even asking?Guess what? A member of my motorcycle club works for theINS, in the same office where the problem has been! Whatare the odds?There is a very important lesson in all of this, and here itis: if you want something, no matter how unlikely it mayseem, ya gotta ask!
My friend could have easily thoughtthat it was ridiculous to send out such a message because ofthe overwhelming odds against getting results.For one thing, it reminds us to ask for the order, thesingle most common reason that sales are lost; we don't askthem to buy from us! Ya gotta ask! Do you know of anyopportunities to partner with someone but haven't askedbecause "they wouldn't be interested"? Ya gotta ask! Haveyou spotted that perfect new salesperson but haven'tapproached them because they seem happy in their currentjob? Ya gotta ask!Why don't we ask these things? Here are some reasons:assumption (we think we already know the answer), fear ofappearing foolish or stupid, fear of rejection, and we justdon't think of it!What can we do about this?
First we have to adopt a new wayof thinking, and then we have to get into the habit ofthinking that way. Simple yetpowerful, you can use this tool to determine whether askingis a good idea. Ironically, the "Rule of Wrong" involvesasking 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 helpfor her friend and been wrong (not gotten any help), or tonot ask for the help and been wrong (in this case, someoneDID know someone that could help; had she not asked, shewould have been wrong because of the missed opportunity)?
It's pretty clear that there is no harm in asking andgetting no results, but harm in not asking and missing anopportunity. But she didit anyway. The issue is not whether he qualifies; the issueis the paperwork.Can PTFE Water Tape you imagine being that frustrated for that long?Neither could my friend, so she sent an email to everyone inher address book asking if anyone knew anyone that couldhelp.Which would be better, to ask for the sale and be wrong or to not ask for the sale and be wrong (theywould've said 'yes' and you missed a sale)?Got the idea?Sorry, I had to ask! . Ya gotta ask!How does this affect your business? There are a millionways; here are just a few.
