Know before saying ‘no’

There is an old saying, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” or, “If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.” Many times these are associated with salespeople who stopped short of asking their prospect for the order or fail to ask for critical information or an immediate next step. However, these sayings hold true for all of us. For some, asking comes very naturally. We understand the consequences of not asking so we are always bold enough to speak up, knowing that fortune favors the bold. en there are others of us who have a deeply rooted fear of rejection so asking for something, anything requires us to summon our courage before breaking out into a cold sweat while meekly and nervously uttering out our question. ere is also something else at play here when it comes to hearing the word “no,” or being refused a request. Some people are so tired and burnt out that the word “no” has become their rst response to everything.

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN FRANKS Production Manager efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Even the simplest of asks or tasks is met with resistance. e smallest requests are seen as monumental hills to climb. e thinking is that the person making such a request clearly has no idea just how much work this is going to require or how di cult it will be. Saying “no” for some folks has become an art form, they can say “no” and still have the person who asked walk away feeling good. Others may subscribe to the philosophy of saying “no” to everything as fast as possible so others will stop asking them for anything. e rst word out of their mouth is literally always “no.”

Here’s the thing, sometimes we get so conditioned to saying “no” that it really has become our rst response instead of rst taking the time to learn more, so we know what it is that we are really saying “no” to or refusing to do. I do believe in saying “no” to more of the things we shouldn’t be doing so that we can say “yes” to more of the things we should or could be doing. However, not at the expense of missing an opportunity to get done what needs to get done.

SEE NORTON, P15

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