Have you ever known anyone who refused to ask for help? Or perhaps you struggle at asking for help, whether personally or professionally. It's not an uncommon trait for many people, but learning to ask for help can open the door to important conversations.
One of my clients made a cold call visit to a prospect who then directed him to someone in another division and gave him directions to that office. The directions were detailed, yet still a little vague: it's one street down, it's the third building on the street, and there's no signage on the building. He was told to ask for Mike.
So my client heads over to the third building with no signage and walks in. He waits up front briefly, but no one comes to greet him. So he steps down the hall a couple offices until he finds someone in an office.
"Hi, are you Mike?" my client asked.
"No, there's no Mike here," the employee replied.
"Oh, well, I guess I have the wrong building. I was told to come over here and talk to Mike. Any chance you know if he might be in a neighboring office?"
The employee of the company then offered up that his business had only been in that location for two weeks, so he wasn't yet familiar with surrounding offices. He then asked what my client did, and my client responded with a brief overview of the services he offered.
Then the employee stood up, shook his hand, said he was sorry he didn't know which office Mike might be in, but that he might know another company who could use my client's services.
Now, there are probably plenty of salespeople who have ended up in the wrong building, and perhaps even some who have pretended they ended up in the wrong building. And certainly not all of them have referrals to show for it.
But think about this: by asking a simple question, my client opened up the opportunity for conversation. How different might the interaction have been if, upon realizing he was in the wrong place, he had simply said thanks and left. Or, alternately, if he had jumped right into introducing himself and explaining the services he offered and why he was looking for Mike.
Chances are the outcome would have been very different. Jumping straight into the beginnings of a sales pitch might've shut down the conversation immediately. But by asking a question and admitting the need for help, it opened up a conversation.
I would guess that if someone says, "I don't know who I should talk to, can you help?" with good tonality, that 99% of the time, that person is going to try and help you. They might even respond with, "Well, I'm not sure I can help, but I'll try. What do you do? What do you need to find someone for?"
Next time you found yourself in an unexpected place or unsure of where to go next, try asking for help and see what conversations come of it.
