The Ask

Chapter 6How to Keep Your Ask on Track

At this point, I have shared with you every tip, technique, and occasional trick to use if you have some time to make your ask and if you have more time to do so. I sense by now that you need to know what happens if everything we set into play does not work out as we planned. Well, not every ask goes smoothly, but I'm here to tell you that most asks—yes most—can get back on track. I've had the vantage point to see how anyone can get their ask back on track regardless of the answer. I'm not suggesting you will get what you want every time, but I am stating with certainty that, regardless of the initial response to your ask, you can get it back on track, at least for another consideration. And that, my friends, can be real money in the bank and, even lead to ultimate personal satisfaction.

So in this chapter we are going to discuss whether your ask was really an ask. We'll focus on taking asking U-turns when you hear the word “no” as well as five ways to turn a bad ask into a win. Are you ready? Let's do this!

Was Your Ask Really an ASK?

The first step is to go back with complete honesty and dissect the words you used when you asked. It is one thing to prepare in your head as we saw in Chapter 5, “Prepare the Conversation.” That is the polar opposite of writing down the preparation. My suggestion is that when you make your ask, memorize as best you can the exact words you used. I've done this numerous times; to my surprise I thought I had ...