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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: , ,

Make’em Laugh

July 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I work with a graphic artist that prepares my customer’s logo and info for imprint on promotional items. I have worked with graphic artists for over 25 years and in general they are not extroverted type people. Friendly sometimes but rarely extremely outgoing.

Kay has been working with me just over a year now and she makes jewelery she sells online as well. Recently she decided to help some friends with their business. Her job is to approach tourists at area hotels near Disneyland and persuade them to attend a 2-hour presentation about time shares.

She puts in about 6 hours a day, 5 days a week and contacts 100-150 people per week. Her goal is to get 4 people to attend the presentation per week. When less than 4 attend she is paid for her hours but when 4 or more show she is paid a commission. Commission pays waaaaaaaaay better,

In only 2 of the past 7 weeks she has earned a commission.  So I inquired as to what she was doing on her approach, what does she say?  She’s got the rapport building part figured out but she’s at a loss for setting the hook.  She needs a Power Statement so the prospect will open their mouth and take the hook.

In her approach she mentions that they will walk away with $100 cash in exchange for their 2 hours of time.

After a few more questions I wrote her a Power Statement that had her ROTFLHAO. If you can make them laugh, they’ll buy. I further instructed her to deliver this Power Statement for one week and she would see a marked improvement in her results ensuring an earned commission.

 

Kay’s Power Statement

“If I could show you a completely legal way to earn $100 for just 2 hours of your time without removing your clothes, would you be interested?”

 

$50 an hour equates to $100,000 a year in a job. Most of the people she’ll contact don’t make that kind of money on their job so the offer is tempting.  “…without removing your clothes,”  makes’em laugh and think about the offer.

“…, would you be interested?’ is a question that weeds out the dead wood. If they’re not interested she can move on to the next prospect. It’s a numbers game and the more people she contacts the better her chances of earning a commission. She should politely thank them for their time and excuse herself.

Filed Under: Networking, Sales 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:

New and Seldom Used

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The word tweet was just added to Websters Dictionary. With the onslaught of social media (there’s that buzz word again) and the Internet new words, idioms and phrases are added to our language faster than Hollywood gossip.  Blog, just saying that word makes my stomach wheezy.

On the other end of the spectrum are words, idioms and phrases seldom used or exercised in this changing world.  One phrase that specifically comes to mind is “Thank you”. Because I haven’t forgotten how to express it my “Thank you” has ever increasing value and yours can too.

Surprisingly you can now tweet your “Thank you” which I did just the other day.  On Wednesday I attended a regional trade show for my industry. The show floor opened at 10 AM and I finally left just after 5 PM, closing. I love going to events like this because

  • I get to meet my suppliers face to face
  • Inspect new product offering
  • Meet with peers
  • Attend educational sessions

I had collected 15 business cards and when I returned to my PC that evening I sent an Ace of Sales branded email out to those 15 people. Yes, that’s a plug for Ace of Sales. It’s vital that I mention Ace of Sales because that branded email (like the one you got from me yesterday) reminds people what you look like and of your business card.  It’s what they saw at the trade show. I also sent a tweet out.  My email read:

Dear (First Name),
How special do you feel? You're one of fifteen that I met today. I wonder how many people I would have met had I been an extrovert?
It's still too early to tell why our paths crossed today but I'm already reaping the rewards. 
Meeting you today gave me a great "tweet" to send out tonight:
If I can give you back 10% of what you've given me today you'll feel overwhelmed with gratitude.
Let's make a difference,
John Prusa, CAS

Within an hour an email was sent back to me from the president of a company that supplies product. He had come from New Jersey for four days and his email said this:

Hi John,
It was very nice receiving your email.  Rarely do people write to tell you when you have made a positive impact in their outlook.  I hope we can help each other be successful.  I do appreciate your note to me, very nice.
Thanks, T.R.H.

Most of you know me well enough that I shared that story not to say that I am great but to drive home this point: Take a few minutes to say thank you and you’ll be dropping sunshine into the lives of the people you meet. Not everyone will write back but everyone that reads your words will feel the gratitude.

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

Save and Continue

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When people ask me what sort of content Promote U has I tell them I write about stuff that I observe and notice in the world and people around me.  That doesn’t sound very glamorous does it?

Possibly the same stuff has happened to you or it will. Unless you write it down or share it with others, you’re the only one that learns a lesson

You’ve heard the phrase, “Experience is the best teacher.” That’s not necessarily true as someone else’s experience can be invaluable.

The reason I write each week is to share with you my experiences and from that I hope to give you:

-          Insight

-          Understanding

-          A different viewpoint

-          An edge.

Remarkably my readers compliment me on the content but then most of them have had some time to get accustomed to my writing. I’m often curious what the first time reader thinks and if they’ll come back for the next issue.

Some weeks the main story content is obvious to me and other weeks it’s not. Either way I never worry about what I’m going to write. Something always presents itself that can help others.

While compiling the different sections of Promote U this week I had issue #227 nearly complete. I just had to write the main article before I could relax that evening.  Up until this point I had about three hours invested in the issue.  Three hours of:

-          Think

-          Create

-          Write

-          Proofread

-          Rewrite

-          Proofread

-          Rethink, etc.

Shazamm!  My PC was struck by a bolt of thunderous lightening. The page on the screen changed and my three hours of work vanished in the cloud, somewhere.  I clicked the return arrow but alas it was gone. Three hours of creative genius and inspiration gone with a click in the Google search window.

If only I had saved the document along the way. What now? The only thought that entered my mind was laughter, loud contagious laughter.  Too bad there was no one around to question my sanity.

In that moment I realized that I had two choices:

1.  Whine, mope, cry, tell myself how stupid I am, pout and feel sorry for myself.
2.  Smile, laugh, realize how truly funny it was and continue.

 

We all have circumstances (crap that happens to us), sometimes good and sometimes not.  My point is this: We all have circumstances we generally can’t control but we do have attitudes we can control.

It’s easy to have a good attitude when things are going your way. The true test is how you respond to adversity.

As a result I have learned to save and continue while creating my documents.

Your attitude is a choice, pick a good one. It will serve you well.

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

Listening or Defending?

June 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you listen to your customers or defend yourself?  We listen when we put an effort to understand something.

If you listen you let the customer speak and then ask clarifying questions to extract more information from them:

  • Tell me more about that…..
  • Can you be a bit more specific?
  • Give me an example.
  • How long has that been a problem?
  • What have you tried to do about that?
  • And that worked?
  • How much do you suppose that has cost you?
  • How do you feel about that?

None of these are in defense of you, they are all about the customer and their problem.  When you defend yourself you ask things like:

  • What do you mean we didn’t…..?
  • Why would you say such a thing about us?
  • But I told you before we began that…….
  • How can that be?
  • When we do this we must do that and it’s final.
  • But…..

Can you see the difference? As a customer you want to be listened to. The rest of the story…..

As a vendor it doesn’t matter if you own the company or work for a company people don’t take kindly to criticism. That’s probably because we think we are all doing the best we can and how dare someone say otherwise.

A customer voicing their bad experience to you or a person telling were you went wrong or a parent reprimanding a child are all opportunities for growth. There’s a plaque on my wall that says:

What to do with failure:
  • Receive it as from the hand of God.
  • Learn all you can from it.  Failures are to grow by.
  • Forget it and press towards your goal.
Failure is FORCED GROWTH.

I’ve learned that the majority of us begin our day with expectations of greatness in what we do, we are always trying our best and sometimes it just isn’t.  When that best isn’t what others think is the best we could have done God sends them back into our world to present us with an opportunity to grow.

If you are listening and asking questions to clarify you are growing.  If you are defending yourself you are stagnant. Webster defines stagnant as not advancing or developing. Stagnation precedes death, which could be the death of your business or a relationship. Defending leads to annihilation that leads to adios, bye-bye, so long and auf wiedersehen.

To listen leads to prosperity. The choice is yours. Listening is a skill and skills are learned.

Defending is a reaction, a natural response, it’s an instinctive characteristic that must be suppressed if you want growth.

Remember to: Listen, Acknowledge, Clarify & Respond. You can do that when you:

1. Stop talking
2. Imagine their viewpoint
3. Look, act and be interested
4. Observe non-verbal behavior
5.  Listen between the lines
6.  Speak only affirmatively
7.  Rephrase and reflect what they have said
8.  Take a vow of silence

 

 

 

 

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

A Voice for Radio Beats a Face for Radio on Any Given Day.

June 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Branded Email

Just after I sent out last week’s e-zine I got feedback from Andy Horner, a new friend.  Andy’s feedback reads:

John, You are TOTALLY kicking butt with your emails and e-zines. I’m loving it.
I feel like I’m in the Prusa School of How to Do It! – Andy

At this point I have known Andy Horner just two months. We first met when I attended Jeffrey Gitomer’s sales presentation in Irvine, CA. When we met Andy told me I had a voice for radio whereas everyone else tells me I have a loud voice. At gatherings I am often asked by my host to make announcements.

Andy Horner is the Chief Architect of Ace of Sales an email branding system.  A what?

An email branding system makes my emails look professional because they include my image (smiling), my contact info, my logo, the color of my logo and buttons to click on for my:

  • Website
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • You Tube

In other words my emails kick butt according to Andy. The Rest of the Story…………

I’ve had maybe 15-minutes of face to face time with Andy since we met and we have never talked on the phone. I consider his feedback a great compliment and I earned it through emails, Ace of Sales emails.

If I can earn compliments like that with emails then the investment of $20 per month is paying dividends already.  I’m also getting positive feedback from my clients about my new emails and I’m earning orders from my clients too!

Ace of Sales allows me to exercise my creativity in an email message by including but not limited to:

  • Pictures (photos)
  • Frames
  • Borders
  • Text
  • Font
  • Color
  • Links

Does this sound like a sale’s pitch?  It is, but then nothing gets past you.  When I get excited about a:

  • Person
  • Product
  • Place
  • Idea

I tend to share or give it to others, you included.  Remember the root meaning of the word sell?   Give

If an email branding system can help me make friends or sales, then I’m all for it.  If it can help me then it may help you.  I probably have more fun with Ace of Sales than the law allows but they haven’t caught me yet.

Within 5 days of using Ace of Sales I became an affiliate so that I could share it with you and earn a profit. Oh! There’s that dirty word “profit”.  It ain’t a dirty word to me but it is to those that don’t know how to earn one.  Everything you buy has profit built into it.  Wouldn’t you rather see your money go to someone you know, like and trust?

My reply to Andy:

I resemble those remarks, thank you. The school you speak of is

“How I Did It and It May Work For You”.       John

Quote #4
A voice for radio beats a face for radio on any given day. John Prusa, 2011

 

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Networking, Sales, Social Media

I’ve never let my accomplishments stifle my desire to make a difference. John Prusa, 2011

June 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Recently I decided to post a profile on LinkedIn. As I began to complete the profile I realized something about myself and decided to write a personal quote about it.

I have a Word Doc that is slowly being filled with personal quotes, this one is number three.  Let me share my story and express to you what this means.

I try to be as transparent as possible for everyone so when completing the profile’s request for my education I listed my last school attended, Willowbrook High School.  I graduated 575 of 675 students in my class with a GPA of 1.56.

I could have lived my life allowing that GPA to define my abilities and efforts but I didn’t.  I can say with complete honesty that when I left high school I didn’t know what a GPA was. Without that knowledge I wasn’t hampered by what I couldn’t do.

I may not have been a model academic student in a classroom environment but I’d like to think I was always teachable. I enjoy learning more so outside the classroom.

You might be surprised to know that my career included nearly 20 years of classroom instruction as an aircraft systems instructor. It began with 5 years in the Marines and then 14 years in commercial aviation.

I’ve taught in classrooms, on aircraft, under aircraft, in aircraft and more.  My career allowed me to travel the world and meet people of many cultures.  I’ve been blessed to be hosted by the friendliest people.

Throughout my life I have been an avid fund raiser, having raised money for:

  • Boys and Girls Club
  • Naval Relief Society
  • Junior Diabetes Research Foundation
  • Willowbrook High School Veterans Memorial Garden
  • Therapeutic Riding center of Huntington Beach
  • American Legion Post 133, Veterans in the Classroom
  • Huntington Clinic Duck-a-thon

I never kept a record of how much I raised but a fair estimate would have to be in excess of $50,000. I know my efforts have made a difference in the lives of others, a difference for good.

The point I’m making is to not let your past dictate your future. Some say the past is a good indicator of the  future but I don’t agree.  I believe your future is your choice.

So if you have a friend, son or daughter that’s in high school and they have a less than admirable GPA, get excited for them. Tell them you are excited about their future and the endless possibilities that await them.  Whatever you do don’t hammer home the GPA.

I never worked for a company that asked me what my GPA was, it wasn’t important.  What was important was “Could I deliver when it mattered?”.

Whatever your accomplishments are don’t let them limit the possibilities of what you can accomplish. What you can do is limitless.  Allow yourself to excel.

Filed Under: Attitude, Education, Featured Articles, Sales
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