This is me asking

I recently caught up with an old client for the first time in over a year, and they mentioned in passing that they’d used our work together to land a major partnership. We’re talking a seven-figure, national campaign partnership. They mentioned it like it was just another update, and I nearly fell off my chair.

When I asked them how long they’d had it confirmed, they said three months. I was STOKED for them, but also couldn’t believe they hadn’t told me: I’d have thrown them a party! I asked why they didn’t say and they, without missing a beat, went ‘I guess because you didn’t ask.’

And you know what? That’s… fair enough.

One of the things we talk about a lot at Fireside is the importance of actually asking for what you want. An introduction, a partnership, an extension. We teach people that hinting isn’t enough: you have to ask.

It’s only by asking that we know some of our client results from the last few months, including:

* 1 in every 3 new business emails getting a reply, leading to a much higher first meeting rate for a health charity

* a major, longstanding marketing partnership finally converting to unrestricted funding for an environmental organisation

* a wildlife organisation finally managing to get their board to open their contact books, leading to a prospect converting to a cash partner in just 3 months: a record for the charity.

But we’re still not in the habit of asking everyone we interact with: the people who come to our training, read our newsletter or see us at a conference. So this is me asking.

Have you got great results in the last year? We’d love to hear about them - whether you think there was any Fireside magic to it or not!

We can’t wait to hear from you - and we’ll share whatever we hear in various stages of anonymity in our next blog.

PS: If you’ve not got results because you’re stuck not sure where to start, hit reply with that too - we’re keen to help as much as we can.