better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Always Ask!

13 May 2018

Good business is about spotting opportunities and finding solutions for them. Maybe there is a gap in the market, or an exisiting customer asks us for a new product, or personal development opens up new avenues for us.

Dining out recently all I wanted for dessert was a bowl of iceream. Just a scoop, nothing fancy. It wasn’t on the menu so I asked if I could have it and the waitress said yes, no problem.

Then seeing that one scoop of vanilla in a bowl looked a bit lame she asked me if I’d like chocolate sprinkes to go with it. Yes please! Delicious!

At the end of the meal I commented that had it been on the menu I’d have happily ordered icecream and sprinkles and she agreed to add it when they next revise the menus.

My asking her and her asking me created a new product for them. It strikes me that some restaurants, in their quest to be hip or ‘modern’, can forget that after a rich meal some people (ie me) just want a simple dessert to finish with and are not interested in a pile of biscuity-fruity-creamy-saucy things stacked high on the back of a clipboard. (Whatever happened to good old plates and bowls?)

Asking requires confidence. We have to give ourselves permission to find our words, to speak up and to be heard.

I’ve found that asking for small things, such as icecream, is good practice for when I need to ask for something more substantial. Like a pay rise, or a new order, or to book a sales meeting.

It’s okay for us to get our needs met and to ask for what we want. Taking a deep breath first can help, as can writing it down and having the words in front of us means we can practice.

If top sports people and musicians practice then why can’t we ‘ordinary’ mortals in busines practice too?

Life and business is there to be grasped and as the saying goes…

‘If we don’t ask, the answer is always no!’

So then, this week what will you be asking for? I think we can all have icecream and chocolate sprinkles!

Next week: Living Our Brand