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Listen…the secret of great networkers

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

You know very little about the best networkers in the world and do you know why that is?  It’s because when you meet them they ask questions of you and they listen to you.

The best networkers know and are consciously aware they must listen to you in order to learn how they can best serve you.

Ten years ago when I began my business I didn’t know squat about networking. My ability to connect with people stemmed from my natural extrovert nature.

That nature was out of control as I often tell people that I am an “off the chart” extrovert. I struggle with each encounter to keep myself under control and to let the other person speak to me. It doesn’t always work that way.

God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. He wants us to listen more than we speak. Practice it this week.

Dale Carnegie said that when you encounter someone imagine there’s a sign hanging from their neck that reads, “Make me feel special.”

When you listen you set yourself apart as someone who cares about others.

Filed Under: Attitude, Featured Articles, Networking, Sales Tagged With: ,

Reflect On This!

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tis the season to say “Thank you.”

According to author Gary Chapman  there are five love languages:

  1. Quality Time
  2. Words of Affirmation
  3. Gifts
  4. Acts of Service
  5. Physical Touch

We all have a primary language and a secondary language. So there’s a 33% chance that by expressing your gratitude in any one of the five languages you’ll make that connection with the person you wish to say “Thank you.” to.

Remember What Your Mother Said?

Our moms taught us to say “Thank you.” OK, maybe not yours but everyone else’s did. Hey Buck-O it’s not too late for you to learn this invaluable lesson.

The most typical love language used to express gratitude is words of affirmation which can include:

  • A verbal “Thank you.”
  • A “Thank you.” email
  • A note card sent in the mail as in via the US Postal Service. Yes it’s corny, it’s old fashioned but it’s the most sincere form of “Thank you.” (Make sure you use blue ink.)

As we near Christmas Day you’ll be showered with reasons to say “Thank you.” Don’t blow it. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by to express your heartfelt gratitude.

Look at it this way. Someone thought enough of you to take money out of their pocket and purchase something for you. Sometimes it’s more thoughtful than you could ever imagine. Then they took time to wrap, send, present or mail your way. All that, deserves a simple “Thank you.”

That simple “Thank you.” can express just a bit of love that was missing from that person’s life. You have the power to change the world with your “Thank you.” of love. Will you use your powers?

Filed Under: Attitude, Featured Articles, Networking, Sales Tagged With: , ,

The Answer You Seek/I Remember You

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

How many times have you wondered why you seem to recall a song or poetic verse so easily? If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Why is this song stuck in my head?” Then this excerpt from author Roy Williams’ Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads will answer that question.

Doubt is what happens when the security guard of the rational, logical left brain isn’t sure whether to accept an idea or not. But unlike his left-brain counterpart, the right brain doesn’t make judgments at all.  He isn’t concerned in the least about plausibility; that’s the left brain’s job. So when your idea is rejected at the door of the left brain, just knock on Righty’s door. He’ll let anyone in. Once inside the mind, your idea can scoot over to the logical left on the waterslide of symbolic thought.

There are several ways this can be done. One of them is to use an anapest: “For the moon never beams/without bringing me dreams/of the beautiful Annabel Lee.” * An anapest is a rhythmic pattern of syllables composed of two light verses followed by a heavy third stress. (Anapests don’t have to rhyme, but they often do.) Since anapests are inherently musical, they enter directly into the nonjudgmental right brain, and upon crossing over to the left (via the dorsolateral prefrontal association area) they often become stuck in the phonological loop.

In other words, you can’t get them out of your head. Ever notice how much easier it is to recall phrases that have a lyrical beat?

*Edgar Allan Poe

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I Remember You

It’s the motto of a great networker, by remembering the names of the faces you meet it can propel you to greatness amongst the masses. There are numerous ways to assist you with that goal. What works for me may not work for you. I do know this: If people are important to you, you’ll discover your method to help you remember.

Glen, Francis, & Ottis

Glen Travis was born on born April 22, 1936 in Billstown, a tiny community in Pike County Arkansas, he is now 76. He was the seventh son of 12 children. His father was a sharecropper of Scottish descent. His Uncle Boo was an Austrian circus clown. He started playing guitar as a youth without learning to read music. He credits his uncle Boo for teaching him the guitar.

Francis Edward Ifield was born in Coundoun, Coventry, Warwickshire, England, on 30 November 1937, he’s 75 today. Frank moved with his Australian parents to Dural (31 miles) from Sydney, about 1946. It was a rural district and he listened to hillbilly music (now called country) while milking the cows. He learned how to yodel in imitation of country stars like Hank Snow.

Born in Tampa, Florida, as Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. on January 20, 1924, he’s now 89. Growing up, he liked the country music of Jimmie Rodgers and songs of Gene Autry, but he did not embark on a musical career of his own until the end of World War II, after he had served in the South Pacific with the United States Navy.  Even though he is right handed he plays guitar left handed. Why do you think that is?

I Remember You (1941 song)

Australian singer Frank Ifield recorded the song in a yodeling country-music style in 1962. Glen Campbell has a sweet rendition on YouTube with nearly 6,000 hits.  Ottis “Slim” Whitman introduced by Andy Kaufman has garnered nearly 138,000 hits.

Numerous people have recorded “I Remember You”, I’ve just narrowed it down to 3 plus one group. The Beatles recorded it in Hamburg, Germany during 1962. At the time the Beatles were in their apprenticeship phase. My opinion is they butchered a beautiful melody.

Just click on the artists name to have a listen to their version.  What’s your favorite?

Frank Ifield

Glen Campbell

Slim Whitman

The Beatles

You may be asking yourself why I wrote about this song. Frankly, Frank’s version was playing in my phonological loop when sat down to compose this month’s issue.

Nuff said.

 

Filed Under: Education, Featured Articles, Networking Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Pictures, Sounds and Numbers

September 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I believe in my heart that one thing God wants me to do while I am here is to serve you with information of value. I give you or lead you to information of value that assists you or helps you to serve others.

Even though we have five senses I believe we learn most from:

  • Pictures
  • Sound
  • Numbers (Statistics)

 

All advertising is designed to persuade you to act in a desired manner that is not limited to:

  • Purchasing
  • Traveling
  • Driving
  • Spending
  • Investing
  • Associating
  • Behaving
  • Tasting
  • Thinking
  • Empowering
  • Attending
  • Living
  • Dying
  • Etc.

 

PICTURES

Have you looked at Pinterest yet? It can be addicting, fascinating and boring. My best definition of Pinterest is a magazine on steroids. Black and white pictures, color photography and works of art. Images abound in categories and on boards. Images filled with ideas, projects, emotion, and all designed to stimulate thought and often prodding your imagination.

There’s a commercial on TV now advertising Verizon as being the best for 4G coverage.  Aren’t they all? In that commercial they use the bar graph you see here and the presenter says, “Based on this chart who would you choose?”

There’s no explanation of what values the chart displays. You are to assume that more is better and the answer is clearly Verizon and every one of the people agree, and with every agreement your brain registers a “yes” for that service. The focus group members all nod their heads and concur it’s a “no-brainer”. It’s implying that if you don’t jump on the Verizon wagon you’re some sort of idiot.

How many times will you watch that commercial before your brain tells you it’s time to purchase that service? What you haven’t seen it? Watch it now. WARNING: This commercial is intended to deceive, trick and mislead you. Aren’t they all?

SOUNDS

Can you hear me now? I’m speaking to you and expressing myself with words. Is there power in the spoken word? You bet there is and God proved it when an entire universe was spoken into existence with the words, “Let there be light.” Genesis 1:3

If God spoke worlds into existence and He created us in His likeness, then why can’t WE speak worlds into existence? We can and we do so in the minds of those around us, every time we describe an experience or tell a story.

Our voice is aural and written. That voice expresses our thoughts and our feelings. “I feel” and “I think” is a typical way to verbalize ourselves. I laugh (only to myself) when I hear someone say, “I don’t think……” and then they go ahead and tell me their thought, “the apples are ripe.” When in fact what they really mean is “I think the apples are not ripe.” How many of you are not thinking?

NUMBERS (STATISTICS)

Statistics lie. Not just some of them but all. Can I prove it? No, and that’s my point. Let’s say I have a coin and like every coin it has two sides, a heads and a tails. For this example the coin can never land on its edge, it will always land on one side or the other.

What percentage of the time when flipped into the air will the coin land on its head side or tail side? If you say 50% of the time, you’re wrong. The correct answer is 100% of the time as it always lands on one side or the other. (Read my words.)

What percentage of the time when flipped into the air will the coin land on its head side? Again you might say 50% of the time heads and 50% of the time tails. That to can be proved wrong when I take a coin and flip it three times and each time it lands on heads. Your 50% answer is then wrong, very incorrect, not right, you get a zero (0) on the test. Life can be difficult. Statistics lie, period.

WRAP UP

In a nutshell that’s the fine art of advertising: persuasiveness. It’s so slick you don’t see it coming and after it’s done you don’t know what’s happened in your head.  Advertising lies for the purpose of persuading you to act in a desired manner. They get your greenbacks and you get or at least you think you get whatever you believed to be true. Can I prove it? Nope.

 

 

Filed Under: Education, Featured Articles Tagged With: , , , ,

Do You See What I See?

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Branded Email

For those of us with eyesight we live in a visual world.  Our sense of sight is probably the biggest reason we have for much of what we do yet many of us take it for granted.

When you return from your vacation the first thing people normally ask is, “What did you see?” Can you imagine taking a trip and not going to see the local sights or meeting people? Why take the trip in the first place?

Sight is a vital part of our being in work and play. Sight even makes hearing take a back seat when we go to a concert. If sight wasn’t a priority to hearing we could have just bought the latest CD and listened to the same tunes.

Before the invention of the television people listened to the radio as a form of family entertainment. As they listened they would envision in their mind’s eye the drama being played out over the airwaves.

We think in pictures too. When the word “horse” is read or spoken you think of a picture of a horse.  As for myself I “see” a brown mare. What color was your steed?

Many people have a problem remembering other people’s names. However they don’t have a problem recalling peoples’ faces.  That’s because we think in pictures.

The Wax Museum

Years ago I was at a friend’s house for a Super Bowl party. I met a man there whose family owned two wax museums, one in San Francisco and the other in Buena Park. I’ve been to wax museums and could never understand why people were so drawn to them so I asked him why that was.

His response made a lot of sense when he explained that many of the foreign tourists that come to the Los Angeles area have a preconceived idea of what to expect based on the American movies they have seen.  They also expect to see movie stars and when they don’t they look for other avenues to satisfy that expectation. Thus the wax museum is a popular destination.

Emails

Rather than dull, boring, black on white emails, imagine email with a visual explosion of color and imagery.  An email that would display your logo and company colors, your image and your contact info. An email that info would include links to your social media sites and your company web site. That would be a powerful business tool.

That’s exactly what Ace of Sales offers.  I tell people that Ace of Sales is the best $20 per month investment in my business because it is.  With Ace of Sales my emails “work” for me, they connect me to the people I want to reach.  Ace of Sales emails “draw” a picture of what I want to convey.

Talk is cheap and since you’re a visual person you really need to see the possibilities that this tool offers. So here’s my offer. Try Ace of Sales for 30 days FREE. Simply use my promo code PRUSA. You’ll get 30 days to test drive it and I’ll throw in one FREE greeting card and one FREE post card. I suggest you send them to yourself so you can see first-hand what your clients will be getting.

Send me an Ace of Sales email after you’ve signed up for the 30 day FREE test drive and I’ll enter you name in the hat to win a $50 gift card. Entries must be submitted before Christmas Day 2011.

That’s my Christmas gift to you:

- 30 days of Ace of Sales ($20)

- FREE greeting card ($3)

- FREE postcard ($1)

- Chance to win $50 gift card

If Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL can top that offer let me know I want in on that deal.

Seeing is Believing

Wednesday I am sending you a “branded email” from my Ace of Sales account. Then on Thursday you’ll get an “email greeting” from my AOS account. Friday you’ll get a holiday “email greeting”.

 

Filed Under: Attitude, Education, Featured Articles, Networking, Sales, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Curbing Excusitus

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’m amazed at all the catalogs I still get in the mail despite the onslaught of Internet shopping. One of my favorites is Wireless because I get creative ideas by thumbing through the pages.

For just $20 they offered a golfer’s excuse t-shirt.  I’d once heard this definition of an excuse: “A reason stuffed with a lie.”  I liked that because it reminds me to change my thoughts towards a positive outcome

Of the golfer excuses none of them accepted responsibility for the results.  They placed blame on something else.  Another saying I’ve learned is that, “Losers place blame and leaders accept responsibility. “

So instead of accepting the losers lament (excuse) and it leading to an undesirable outcome (lousy golf game).  Why not change those excuses to reasons for positive change and thus improve your game?

Rather than saying, “My putter won’t hit straight.” You could say (out loud), “I need to practice my putting to improve my game.”

Rather than saying, “The greens need mowing.” ” You could say (out loud), “I need to practice on greens that haven’t been mowed.”

Rather than saying, “The club slipped.” ” You could say (out loud), “I need to wear my gloves and get new grips.”

Rather than saying, “The ball was in a divot.” ” You could say (out loud), “I love the challenge of my ball lying in a divot.”

By changing your output to a positive note you will in time improve your game while you improve you attitude.

Do you want to improve your sales, your performance or your network? Then adapt a positive attitude and accept responsibility for the desired outcome.

  • “People like meeting me.”
  • “I’m willing to prepare for my sales presentations.”
  • “I begin my day refreshed and ready to tackle assignments”
  • “I get to work early”
  • “I realize that reading improves my value in the market place.”

What is it that you know you could be doing to improve your game?

 

 

Filed Under: Attitude, Featured Articles, Sales Tagged With:

Post With Value Intent

November 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Remember that buzz word I mentioned a few months ago? Social media, well I’m getting into it. You might say I’m in the deep end of the pool but I know there’s so much more for me to learn and do.

I’ve read the book, Social Boom! By Jeffrey Gitomer twice now. That book was written to help the novice get a working knowledge of what’s available for FREE.

Between my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts I have connected with potential business. For example, by sending this message to an Executive VP of a local company I sat down with him at a Starbucks over coffee.

“Jeff we have 28 connections in common. We should sit down over a cup of coffee and compare notes.”

I’m Tweeting for business and I’ve learned to deliver value messages and not to deliver dribble about nonsense.  Serious business people read Twitter and the tweets you post.

I’ve got my LinkedIn account set up so that when I post a value message on it of less than 140 characters that message also gets Tweeted.  I’ve got my Twitter account set so that my tweets are also posted on my Facebook page. One post and three audiences, the more connections, friends and followers you have the more you get recognized as a person of value.

I read a tweet from a person I follow that caught my eye because she stated she was looking for an Executive Director position in Assisted Living.  A good portion of my network works in the senior care industry so I tried to remember if there were any openings I had heard of.  You see I’m always trying to connect (help) people with resources I’m aware of.

I took a look at her Twitter profile to see what value messages she may have tweeted in the past. What kind of person would I be helping?

There were several deficiencies on her profile. Her picture looked something like the one at the beginning of this story. Remember last week’s story about the sunglasses?  Only her first name was on her profile.  Her last name was hidden within her Twitter username.

These are the tweets she posted in the last year:

  • Put a real photo up!! Get a job or a hobby! You wish you had an inch of what Beth has. Get a life loser
  •  @AmazingBobP You are a mean and jealous fool with too much time on your hands.
  •  @SkipDoggy I love your tweets my husband is obsessed.
  • I hate pageant parents!! Fake teeth and nail. Feeding kids pixie sticks and calling it pageant crack to keep little babies awake!
  • Windy night in LA whacky weather here lately
  • My husband really has a handsome face. What a doll!!
  • I hate when I have a good hair day the only day of the week I never live the house
  • Can’t wait for my play date with Jenny. The kind of friend who asks where do we bury the body after you admit to murder.
  • TV is so addicting!!
  • Can’t sleep!! Thank God I can listen to Howard Stern on my I-phone
  • @Robertsucks You are terrible!
  • Kobe steak house
  • perez hilton
  • LEAVING WORK AND HEADING HOME AFTER A LONG WORK DAY

I don’t know about you but I’m not feeling any value in those messages.  What she doesn’t realize is that recruiters are now researching social media to find the best candidate for positions. If this person was applying for a job at your company, would you hire her?  I wouldn’t.

The real value with Twitter is not what you tweet but what gets retweeted. When you deliver a value message that people feel compelled to send it on again to their followers you get greater exposure. It’s like WOM (Word of Mouth) advertising.

The last retweeted tweet I posted was: When you are an example of good works credibility is poured upon you.@johnprusa

It’s not who you know but who knows you. What are people telling their friends that you said?

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE

September 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

In the Marine Corps there are words used, almost religiously, that represent characteristics sought out in Marines.  These characteristics are known as “The 14 Leadership Traits”. These traits are guidelines for Marines to follow in order to attain:

  • Leadership Responsibilities
  • Billets
  • Rank

The acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE is used when teaching young Marines of these dispositions:

  1. Judgment
  2. Justice
  3. Decisiveness
  4. Integrity
  5. Dependability
  6. Tact
  7. Initiative
  8. Endurance
  9. Bearing
  10. Unselfishness
  11. Courage
  12. Knowledge
  13. Loyalty
  14. Enthusiasm

Additionally, such traits are used to explain the necessity of respect for those of higher rank; for the Corps has endowed them with their rank because they have attained these qualities and are to be emulated.

DECISIVENESS is the ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear and forceful manner. I read an article that headlined: Decisiveness Generates Momentum. To improve your decisiveness practice being positive in your actions instead of acting half-heartedly or changing your mind on an issue.

“The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in long-drawn-out vacillation, and the
effect of decisiveness itself ‘makes things go’ and creates confidence.”
 – Anne O’Hare McCormick (1882-1954), First woman to win a Pulitzer prize for journalism

 

INTEGRITY means that you are honest and truthful in what you say or do. You put honesty, sense of duty, and sound moral principles above all else. Be absolutely honest and truthful at all times. Stand up for what you believe to be right.

 

Click here for one minute videos of DECISIVENESS & INTEGRITY.

Filed Under: Building Blocks, Featured Articles, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,

LEADERSHIP MARINE CORPS STYLE

September 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: Since last week’s issue I have heard from many of my readers expressing interest and excitement about this series on leadership.  Much of what you read is copied from existing documents. Why should I try and change something that works?

Forty years ago at this time I was deeply emerged in my Marine Corps boot camp experience and beginning my leadership journey.  Let’s journey together.

LEADERSHIP is the sum of those qualities of intellect, human understanding, and moral character that enables a person to inspire and to control a group of people successfully.

LEADERSHIP TRAITS or characteristics are those qualities of personality which are of greatest assistance in obtaining confidence, respect, obedience and loyal cooperation. There are 14 traits.

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES Developing these 11 leadership principles will help make you a better Marine. Together, they form a set of traits and values that define your character as a leader.

Adopting these principles guide your actions with your Marines and your unit, and provide direction throughout your career. The skills you learn now will stay with you long after you’ve finished training.

The principles are also an important tool for self-evaluation. As you progress, you can use them to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and seek self-improvement.

JUSTICE  is defined as the practice of being fair and consistent. A just person gives consideration to each side of a situation and bases rewards or punishments on merit. To improve yourself in this trait be honest with yourself about why you make a particular decision. Avoid favoritism. Try to be fair at all times and treat all things and people in an equal manner.

JUDGMENMT  is your ability to think about things clearly, calmly, and in an orderly fashion so that you can make good decisions. You can improve your judgment if you avoid making rash decisions. Approach problems with a common sense attitude.

VIDEO

This one link will take you to one-minute videos of all 14 traits. My recommendation is to view only the two traits you learn this week, in this way you won’t be confused about this week’s lesson.

Since this information as a whole is new to you I also recommend that you bookmark this page and make it a daily habit to review each of the two videos for this week.

Success in any endeavor is not built in a day, it’s built by daily habits. Do you want to learn something? Review it 5 or more times a week, make it a habit, plant and replant the info between your ears.

WARRIOR TRAITS. CITIZEN VALUES.

 

Filed Under: Attitude, Building Blocks, Education, Featured Articles, Leadership, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Foundations of Character

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My readers are business people in some way.   And if you’ve been in business or on planet earth for any length of time you’ve met people.  Each one of those people you met has character. Some have outstanding character and others do not, not yet.

Like everything else about us our character changes, it evolves and hopefully grows towards outstanding or favorable.  A simple definition according to Webster is:  one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.

Have you ever been exposed to a leadership training program of some sort? Do they offer Leadership 101 in universities? I consider myself fortunate to have been exposed to one of the finest leadership programs in the world by the United States Marine Corps.

While in boot camp (Parris Island, SC) the principles and traits of leadership were instilled within me. Currently the Marine Corps has some great short videos pertaining to leadership. Along with a short article that I write, you will also get a link to a video.

Am I trying to train you as Marines? No. But much of what I learned in the Marines I apply to my life today and so can you.

Beginning next week I will cover the 14 traits and 11 principles of leadership. You’ll watch videos that give the testimonies of Marines in and out of uniform.

The end of the year is just 15 weeks away at which time I will conclude this series.  Feel free to email me with your thoughts, comments or questions in the coming weeks.

Semper fidelis (Always faithful)
Marine Corps motto

Filed Under: Building Blocks, Education, Featured Articles, Leadership Tagged With: , ,
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