Why Asking For Advice Must Come Before Asking For Help

This post is the result of chatting with a prospective client recently. She mentioned how she enjoyed our approach of giving advice before help.

She said while looking for a marketing service to engage, she encountered some service providers who were eager to help but not give strategic advice.

I believe that asking for advice before asking for help is far more important for small business owners as you have real challenges such as lack of time, limited internal resources, and the complexity of managing ongoing projects. While larger companies have room in their budget to play and lose, small businesses don’t.

Here’s how the typical “help” engagement starts: You thought you knew what your business needed. You hired a specialist company to create it for you. Then once it was complete and operating you discovered it wasn’t what you really needed. Then what you really discovered is you’re not as clear about your needs as you thought.

The solution is simple. Ask for advice before asking for help.

Hire a strategist or an advisor before you hire a specialist. A strategist will challenge your assumptions and create clarity on needs and priorities before everyone leaps into action.