Are You Hesitant To Ask For Business Advice?

The number one reason why marketers are hesitant to ask for business advice is the fear of appearing newbie. But the fact is, everyone’s a newbie at something.

It’s true!

No matter who you are, or how long you’ve been at it, there are things you still don’t know. And some of them could be basic things you just never took the time to learn.

Even some of the most powerful marketers, business people with MBAs, and the wealthiest on or offline seek advice from time to time.

So why should you be hesitant to ask for business advice?

Sometimes, when we’re faced with the “next move,” it’s easy to get lost in the details. Often, a pair of fresh eyes can sort through things and pinpoint problems we could be stuck on far quicker than if we try to do it ourselves.

It happens all the time. Problems come up in a business plan, but because we’ve been slaving over it for so long, we can’t see “the forest for the trees.” So a clean perspective can certainly do the trick.

Other times we may just not realize there’s a solution, and someone else can lead us in the right direction to find it if we simply ask.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed over!

Oh sure, you may be hesitant to ask for business advice, because what you don’t know might make you look stupid.

But on the other hand, you don’t have to come off from a position of ignorance when you ask for advice either.

If you don’t know something, you could phrase your inquiry from an intelligent standpoint.

After all, if you realize there’s something you don’t know, then a situation must have come up where it would make sense to know about it, correct?

Then center your questions around the situation rather than coming out and admitting you don’t know the part you’re stuck on.

Use hypotheticals.

For example . . .

You could say, “I’m building this system, and I think I have all the elements included.” List your components, and then ask, “am I missing anything?”

Naturally you’d leave out the parts you don’t know how to implement, so you’ll get answers including it.

Then you can follow up from and intelligent position with, “how should I incorporate it to work best with everything else?”

For all intents and purposes, your advice givers will assume you’ve only forgotten to include that which you know nothing about, and will explain how to implement it into your plan. You’ll get your answer without revealing your ignorance about it.

Of course every inquiry will be different and perhaps more complex, but hopefully you get the idea.

Just remember, nobody knows everything about business.

We all have gaps in our knowledge base, and none of us would get anywhere if we were all hesitant to ask for business advice. Learning is an ongoing process that never ends, and asking is a big part of learning.