If You Don't Ask, The Answer's Always "NO"!
I was in my 30’s when my parents divorced. It wasn’t a shock. And it was very civil.
Over the next few months I saw my dad letting himself go. He wasn’t taking care of his teeth; wasn’t getting his hair cut; and sometimes he wore shirts out in public that were dirty. It was like he'd given up.
He needed something to look forward to…
He decided to specialize in farms and acreages. Made perfect sense since he was a retired farmer.
He would stop by farms and rekindle friendships or build new ones. He knew which farmers were older and would probably be selling in the net few years.
He was very busy – and happy – with what he was doing. He KNEW that it would pay off.
But when one farmer he’d been talking to listed with someone else, dad was hurt. He took it personally.
A month later, another farmer did the same thing.
I asked my dad if he’d had the conversation with these farmers to see if they were considering selling, and if so, when, etc.
My dad looked at me in indignation like I had just grown 2 heads!
“No! I never once mentioned selling – I didn’t want them to think I was some sleezy realtor!”
Since my dad personally knew these people, I can only assume that since my dad didn’t ask, the farmers thought he wasn’t interested in listing their properties.
It’s so easy to get caught up in “building relationships” and staying in the “friend” zone that we don’t take a moment and actually ASK if the person is interested…
Or we're afraid to ask...
Or we just assume that since we've connected with them, they will automatically reach out to us when they want or need what we offer.
When we DO ask, we learn what the person is thinking, what are they struggling with, and gain clues on what to share so we are hitting their pain points and helping them to see we have the solution.
This leaves no doubt in their mind that we are interested in helping them...
Remember, if we don’t ask, the answer is always NO.
If you're struggling to know how to transition from being a "friend" to a business-related conversation in direct messages or emails, I would love to help you with the words that make the transition seamless and not salesy or pushy.
Set up a complimentary 30-minute strategy call to see how this would work and if it makes sense for YOUR business.
No pressure. No obligation. No pitch-slapping. I promise! 🙂