It Doesn’t Hurt (Much) to Try
Have you ever had a great idea shot down? Ouch!
Today I had a great idea shot down. You see, we are having the windows replaced in our home. We wanted to replace all the windows, but discovered we didn’t have enough cash in the bank to cover replacing all the windows. So we made the decision to leave two windows until a later date.
But then I had an idea… okay… let me give you a little background information first…
I had visited the web site of the company we chose to work with and it was horrid. It looked like something a beginning student of HTML (the language of web sites) would toss together. The little bit of content on the site was poorly written and offered no real value to potential customers. Luckily for them, Gerry and I both knew people who had purchased this company’s windows and were extremely pleased with them.
So… my idea was to offer a web site for windows exchange.
My mind latched on to the idea and I started jotting down notes about what I would do to improve this web site. I gave thought to how much time it would take for me to create the site. I did some basic research to find out the name of the general manager (which is not listed on the current web site).
All I needed was the nerve to make the phone call.
I planned to do it on Monday afternoon when I woke up (no, I wasn’t being lazy… I had worked Sunday night!). But I got distracted and forgot.
Tuesday was spent doing other things: Cleaning house, baking, cooking dinner for friends, and stuff like that.
Today I received a call from our salesperson. I was in the middle of a coaching call and needed to call her back. Of course Jayme wasn’t available so I left a message. Then I did what for me is almost unthinkable…
I asked who the sales manager was. Yes… I knew the man’s name, but I didn’t know how to pronounce it. Now I knew. Then I asked if he was available.
He was and I spoke with him. I shared my idea and discovered that he’s already committed to working with someone else on his web site. I felt embarrassed and awkward. I didn’t know what to say except that laugh and say, “It never hurts to ask, right?”
I replayed the conversation over in my mind several times today. I wanted to kick myself for not asking if the person who was going to rework the web site was qualified in both the technical and marketing savvy sense. I kept thinking of all the great ideas I had for his site. Then it occurred to me that I could still share them with him.
So I typed up a 3-page letter and included the ten ideas I had. I put it in an envelope and will mail it to him tomorrow. I hope he takes some of my ideas to heart and stays focused on the marketing opportunities of his web site and not just technical flash. And of course, I hope that he’ll be dazzled by my ideas and add the two windows–at no charge–to my current order.
But even if he does nothing with my ideas… I did something with it (and them). I put myself out there today. I got “no” for an answer. I even enjoyed the rest of my day.
How much did it hurt to try? A little. It hurts the ego to be rejected.
How much would it have hurt if I didn’t try? A lot more! The lingering doubts and “what ifs” would have sapped my energy for days or weeks. I would have wondered if I’d missed out on a great opportunity to do more than get two free windows.
What do you need to try?
P.S. Yoda, the Jedi Master from Star Wars says this about trying: “Do or do not. There is no try.”
