My stepdaughter, Linnea, gave me the perfect Christmas gift. It’s an apron used for cooking and it reads, “Your opinion is not part of my recipe.”
There are two types of cooks. One says, “I’d love your help preparing the meal.” The other one views additional people in the kitchen as trespassers and scorns their very existence.
Guess which one I am?
Unsolicited advice in the kitchen belongs only in cookbooks, cooking magazines, and cooking shows. Your idea for a recipe should be offered up only before the meal and only after a heavy portion of culinary complements to grease the skids.
Unsolicited advice in the workplace, however, could be your way into an account.
Imagine walking into a tradeshow and standing before a booth. A company representative walks over to you and asks if you require assistance. Her business card reads, “Marketing Director. You reply with a long string of suggestions for improving on their booth. Every single idea is a good one and either spot on or, at bare minimum, worth considering.
But the more you speak, the angrier this company rep gets. She worked very hard on this booth and who are you to criticize it?
Backup a few months…
Your attempts to make contact with that same company fell into the abyss. Call after call, email after email yields no response.
This is the time to offer that unsolicited advice.
Whether it’s a case study, a success story, or a White Paper called, “Five Ideas to Maximize Your Tradeshow ROI,” offering up ideas at this stage is a differentiator, sets you up as a subject matter expert, and increases your chances that the next phone call will be answered.
Got ideas? Keep them coming. Mail it. Email it. Drop it off. That’s a great way to get attention.
At my house for a meal? Pretend you are playing Pickleball and stay out of the kitchen.
