My apologies to John, Paul, George, and Ringo for appropriating your title, but it is true! I might add that we thrive with a little help from our friends. All business tends to be very territorial and insular. Machismo takes over, and we all feel that we are invincible and can handle anything that comes along. It is almost human nature not to ask for help, and that is something that needs to change.
There are times we need to ask for help. Here are two examples that come to mind.
Way back when I had several branches to my retail-facing agency. I booked a speculative group. I had hoped to sell 50 cabins. Well, it snowballed on me, and before I knew it I had 800 under deposit and no clue how to handle a group of that size. Sure, I could have muddled through and pulled it off, likely with a lot of flubs and mistakes. But I called my BDM he held my hand all the way through, and it was a stellar success. I asked for help.
A neighboring agency had a solid corporate base that wanted his agency to handle their meetings, which he did not handle. If anyone does meetings and incentives, you know this is a different breed of travel. He called me since I had some agents who were strong in meetings and incentives, and we developed a program where I would handle the meetings and incentives, and he would handle the corporate travel. He took a 5% override on my business, and I kept my hands off his clients. Everyone won and earned some more business. He asked for help.
Most people are more than happy to help if asked. Of course, they are not going to give away the farm or clue you into the recipe for Coca-Cola; but if they can help, they will. There is a wealth of help available on TRO. Every supplier and destination has oodles of help.
But also look beyond travel. Look to your local chamber of commerce. Our local economic development office offers a free 6-week boot camp on running a business. It is open to minorities only, and upon completion, you get a $5000 grant to use to help your business grow. There are plenty of resources around if you just look. Do you have a SCORE chapter in your area? These retired executives have seen most of it before and are a treasure trove of advice and information.
Don’t be macho and thump your chest. Be proactive and use the resources available to improve your business and your customer retention. Ask for help!
