A Letter From the Editor of WedLock
* Part Two of A Two-Part Series*

A few weeks ago I blogged about how to make 2012 your Year of Fearless Asking.  After talking to folks about that post, I came to realize that a lot of what a lot of wedding pros are ‘scared’ of is…rejection!

Yes, at the end of the day, rejection is at the root of many of our business fears. Do any of these sound like you?

• “I don’t want to ask the bride for a great review…what if she says no!?”
• “I can’t ask another vendor to guest blog for me…what if they say no?”
• “I can’t ask my husband to watch the kids so I can attend a webinar or seminar…what if he says no?”

Take THAT, rejection!

To which I reply – yeah, so what IF?

What if they say no? What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll tell you one thing – whatever the worst outcome to any of the above scenarios is, the benefit of a possible YES greatly outweighs them.

So keep asking! Shove that reluctance aside and ask for what your business needs. Then watch the perks roll in.  Here are a few more ideas to get you going…

Wow, free webinars AND a chance to win an iPad2? Click the iPad above to save your seat at our blogging webinar right now!

Ask for Freebies:

A few weeks ago, while at a tradeshow, my smartphone was stolen. I was crushed and angry and, well, fearful of how much replacing it might cost me.

Then I thought…why not ask TMobile for a massive discount? I have been a loyal customer for almost ten years…surely they could help me out?

And help me out they did! One 10 minute phone call later, the Customer Appreciation department overnighted me a brand new (better!) smartphone for 25% of what they would normally charge. I saved hundreds of dollars…all because I thought to ask.

Keep this in mind next time you’re dealing with a big company. Don’t be afraid to ask for freebies or discounts that can help you keep your business costs down. The worst outcome is them saying no. The best? You saving cold hard cash!

Ask For Favors: Many times, you can easily trade something with another vendor. You can swap services, you can refer brides. You can scratch their back and they can scratch yours, so to speak.

But what if you have nothing to offer…but still need help? Ask anyway! I recently had a weekend business emergency and was panicked with how to juggle this urgent task while watching my four year old. It literally made me lose sleep. Then I thought – wait a minute, why wouldn’t I just ask Friend X if she can keep him for a few hours? I felt ‘guilty’ that I wasn’t able to watch her child any time soon in return, and so I had nothing to ‘barter’ with. But it turns out, she didn’t care and was so wonderful that she swooped over to my house and even picked him up and dropped him off.

This can happen with business associates too. If you need help setting up a booth or moving a piece of equipment, why not reach out to your wedding community? Clearly, you don’t want to abuse this, and you want to make it clear you can and will do the same for them in the future, but asking for a favor now and again can make the difference in your business. Or at the very least – in the level of STRESS you feel running your business!

*****

Now I’m going to ask something of  you.

And as much as it’s a favor to me…its also for YOU.

On January 31, I’ll be presenting a FREE two-hour blogging webinar.

How to do it better, easier, faster…and in more fun ways. And one of the things I’m going to cover is how to get other folks blogging FOR you. Yes, it’s called Guest Blogging and it’s one of the coolest ‘win wins’ in the industry.

So next time you’re short for blogging time or ideas, reach out and ask your fellow vendor if they want to guest blog for you. You win because you get free content on your blog. They win because they get increased exposure by getting in front of your readership. Everyone wins, all because you took the time to “make the ask!” Asking for what you need should be a regular part of your wedding marketing annual plan.

Try it! You’ll be surprised how much your business can grow in 2012…if only you’d ask!

Tell me, in the comments below, what YOU have trouble asking for.

Is it help? Time? Advice? Let the awesome WedLock community overcome those fears..!

And save your seat RIGHT NOW for our fabulous FREE January 31 blogging webinar!