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We’re all familiar with the euphemism “four letter words.”  There seem to be a lot of those in our vocabulary.  But there are a small handful of three letter words that should be in your every day business repertoire.  I’d like to go over three of them with you now.

I have one client who runs a restaurant.  We were talking about increasing his business without having to spend a lot of money.  I told him it was easy, and told him about the first word.  He was doubtful – the word was so simple, so direct.  No trickery, no smoke and mirrors.  I didn’t even have the decency to charge him for the wisdom.  He said he’d think about it and get back to me.

A couple weeks later, my wife and I were in his restaurant for dinner when the owner came out to greet a couple of the tables.  He turned to approach one of the tables and saw me.  His face turned bright red.  He turned to face his customers.

“Is your dinner all right?  Anything you need?”

“Everything’s excellent,” they said.

“In that case. . .”  The owner cleared his throat.  “In that case, please join us again soon and consider bringing along some friends.”  The owner scurried off for the safety of his kitchen, while the couple resumed their conversation.

The restaurateur called me a few days later.  “It worked!” he yelled.  “That couple came in the next night, and brought two other couples with them.  One of those couples has already been back!”

The first word you need to internalize and use as a Recognized Expert is “ASK.”  People wonder why I spell it in all caps.  I used to tell them it stood for “Acquire Specialized Knowledge” or some such, but the real reason is this: it’s a damned important word!  In this case, the owner ASKed his patrons if they were happy with their experience at his establishment.  Then he ASKed them to return, and bring more business with them.  They did.

We all want to find the perfect client who buys often, and purchases high-profit-margin goods and services.  How do you find out what else they want to buy from us?  ASK.  No special tricks are needed.  Just call or email – or better, ask them in person.  “What can we offer you that we currently don’t?  What would make you refer us to your friends?”

ASKing is especially important when it comes to sales.  A lot of people are afraid to ask for the sale.  True, you may get denied, but then you can ASK follow-up questions to find out why.

On the heels of ASK comes our second word.  Once you get feedback to your question, you must ACT on that information in order to effect a change.  Even if the only ACT is to tell the person who made a suggestion that you considered their suggestion, but aren’t implementing it right now, you need to ACT.

Imagine you run a carpet cleaning business.  You ASK a client what you could offer them in addition to cleaning services.  “Well, how about some environmentally friendly cleaning products I can use between professional cleanings?”  Now you need to ACT on that suggestion, sourcing the best eco-friendly products and adding them to your sales presentation.

If you remember to ASK and ACT, you’re well on your way to becoming our third three letter word: a Recognized Expert PRO.