Ask, and you shall receive

“Ask, and you shall receive.” – Matthew 7:7… Most of us who grew up in Western countries – whether religious or not – will be familiar with that verse from the Bible, to the extent that it has now entered common usage as an expression

What many of us will be unfamiliar with, however, is its application in all sorts of different scenarios. Let me give you an example.

I was having coffee with another BNI member recently who I had contacted during of my normal sales process (because part of my business is copywriting and he is a web developer). At the time I was unaware that he was a BNI member.

His name is Barry Ekins of Webdzinz Winning Websites (and member of the BNI East Auckland Chapter), and he told me that he had set himself the goal of doing more eCommerce shopping sites.

“I don’t get an enormous amount of referrals out of BNI,” he said. “But BNI does have tremendous value for me in terms of advice, personal development, like-minded people and an opportunity to really focus on my business…” Not his exact words but a close approximation.

“I started asking for referrals to companies that need an eCommerce site, particularly retail stores that can sell as well online,” he said. “I don’t think any eCommerce referrals have come out of my BNI, but nevertheless we’ve had loads of eCommerce business come knocking anyway!”

I thought that was interesting. I think part of the “Ask and you shall receive” wisdom is also practical in its application because by verbalising a goal, we begin to subconsciously strive to achieve the very goal we are articulating – which for Barry, is more eCommerce sites.

Barry puts it this way: “I think its a case of verbalising a goal leads to a mind which is open to opportunities that might otherwise pass by undetected – in my view this is one of the main mechanisms that turns a goal into reality”.

My advice is that if you have a goal to secure a certain type of business, begin to ask for it during your 60 second and do so consistently for considerable time – I’d love to hear how it works for you.

From my Tuesday meeting I will begin to articulate that I want more retainer business from clients who need to outsource their marketing function, and of course I’ll let you know how it goes!

Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, writer and marketing consultant at Iron Road. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.