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Complacency—Your WORST Enemy!
March 18, 2010
Hi All:
I know the above title is a bit unusual but it true to a major degree. I know that in my business 2009 was considerably slower than usual due to the recession. Many people don’t want to admit it but I must be honest,my business was like most—down by a double digit percentage due to the economic downturn. Now what, you may be asking, has all this to do with the above title and reason for this post? Just this: Due to not being as busy as I’m used to I found myself getting complacent and not trying as hard to get clients in my business. Subconciously I was thinking, “What’s the use…”. WRONG THINKING!
When I got my bearings and realized what I was doing and how I was thinking, I got into action. Action: the foundational key for all success! Many business owners think that when the economy goes south they need to pull back on marketing (translated: spend less money on advertising), and just wait it out. Nothing could be further from the truth. You need to redouble your efforts and put MORE money and time into your marketing efforts and your business in general. Case in point, one of my friends who is also an entertainer and speaker didn’t see his business taper off at all in ‘09. His secret? No secret at all according to him: he just did more of what he always did marketing-wise.
Despite what the press and media in general are saying, things are slowly turning around. Just don’t fall into the trap waiting for business conditions to become perfect. Perfect never happens. Stay the course and keep your marketing up and you’ll see a difference in your bottom line.
Until next time,
Tim Piccirillo
www.corporatespeakerforyou.com
Accept the Challenge!
June 3, 2009
Hi All:
I was talking with my business mentor yesterday and he said something that hit me right between the eyes. He said, “You can’t wait for things to happen, you have to MAKE things happen”. He is also a speaker and information marketer and, since the speaking industry has slowed due to the recession, he is getting proactive in finding other income streams. He’s going to be doing some public seminars as well as working on a book project.
This got my creative juices flowing as well. It is no secret that most industries have been affected by the economic slowdown. So now the challenge is to come up with creative ways to generate income if you are self-employed. I realized that I can no longer rest on my laurels and wait for “business as usual”. I, like my mentor, have to get to work and think about other ways to bring value to the marketplace in exchange for money. And there’s the rub: bringing VALUE!. Since a recession occurs when money stops circulating and since most people are holding on fast and tight to their money, not just any old product or service will do. The key is that whatever you are selling must have tremendous value for the buyer in order to get them to part with their hard-earned.
So, I have some work ahead of me starting with a list of the skills I have and the value they will bring to my customers. I better get to it, time’s a wastin’….
Til Next Time,
Tim
www.corporatespeakerforyou.com
The Power of Testimonials….
May 20, 2009
I recently coached an aspiring speaker and told her about the power of third-party testimonials. It’s a no-brainer in direct marketing circles that these testimonials will sell your product or service infinitely better than your copy or what YOU say about it. But here’s the real secret: use tons and tons of them. The more testimonials, the better.
What other people say about you and your product/service holds much more weight than you writing tons of copy trying to convince your prospect to buy. When they read how great what you’re selling is by other people who simply rave about it, it lends more credibility to the product/service. In the prospect’s mind they’re thinking, “hmm, must be good if John Doe used it and said it was great…” And again, use as many of these endorsements as possible. My website is full of them on every page and I make sure I only use the ones that are glowing and enthusiastic, for the most part.
How do you get testimonials? Simply ask for them. Most people who use whatever it is you are selling will say something nice about it if you ask them. I ask for a letter after every talk I give. Some send them to me and some get too busy and don’t but I always ask anyway. The ones that do take the time to send them to me are almost always “keepers”–glowing references that help me sell more.
The whole point is to use testimonials as much and as often as you can in EVERY marketing campaign. It can truly make the difference between selling a little and selling a LOT!
Until next time,
Tim
www.corporatespeakerforyou.com
The Problem of Being a “Victim”
May 9, 2009
Hi All:
It’s been a while since I posted but I felt inspired to write a blog post concerning this topic of being a “victim”. Some of you may know that I have Tourette’s Syndrome (although I’m virtually symptom-free at this point) and that in my speeches I tell my story of growing up with a severe case of it. Although I begin almost every speech with my story I DO NOT relive my personal history when I tell it.
I learned a long time ago that I am NOT my Tourette’s. Yes, I do have the neurological disorder called Tourette’s but I am NOT the Tourette’s itself. Now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with all this. It’s no secret that I have a distinctive bias against the media. They seem to get a perverse pleasure out of being the bearers of bad news. If you buy into their fear mentality this recession will truly scare the wits out of you. My point is this: you may not be at fault for what has happened to you in this down economy (e.g. being laid off, nearing foreclosure, etc.) but you should definitely take RESPONSIBILITY for your circumstances. It is in taking responsibility that will determine whether you will become a hostage to life and it’s pitfalls or whether you choose to take the bull by the horns and get into action to change those circumstances. You have more power than you think!
When you take responsibility for your situation there is a shift that naturally occurs inside you. It’s as if a little voice is saying, “Okay, things are bad, that’s for sure. Now, what can I do about it?” The next step is to get quiet or meditate and let the answers come. Yep, they’re inside of you, make no mistake about that. You just need to call upon them to reveal the solutions. If you’re struggling, I have compassion for you. Make no mistake about that. But you do have the power to do something about it. Now, go out and get off your “buts”.
Until next time,
Tim
www.corporatespeakerforyou.com
Whatever it Takes…..
April 2, 2009
Hi All:
This posting is a little different than my usual pontificating. If you have recently lost your job due to the economy this could be the most important blog posting you’ll ever read. The county in Pennsylvania where I live currently has the highest unemployment rate in the state. The main industry here is powdered metal which is used in the manufacture of car parts and various other metal parts in a variety of products. The problem with this situation is that many people who have been laid off or had their jobs permanently terminated have no skills to get other work. Or do they?
Let’s face it: most people don’t think outside the box. Meaning, they don’t look at the larger picture, particularly of the myriad skills they have and what they are capable of. Thomas Edison said, “If you knew what you were capable of, you would literally astound yourself!”. What I mean is, if you lost your job, you need to really see where your other skills lie and if you can make money with them. I know a number of my friends who worked in factories and were avid outdoorsmen. They can be the only ones catching fish in a fishing hole with 20 other people beside them elbow to elbow. Why couldn’t they transfer that knowlege by teaching other folks the secret to catching fish and charging them for it? How about a good hunter doing the same thing? Or maybe starting a tour service to take neophyte hunters into the wild and showing them not only the various wildlife there but how to effectively hunt them?
My point is, that just about everyone has skills and talents that are an untapped resource for making money. Your job: to find out what they are and exploit them. Once you discover what skill or talent you can teach and transfer to others your main job is….drum roll please…..marketing it! So, if you have lost your job or in danger of losing it, start thinking today what you have to offer people. Many people will pay good money to learn it.
Until next time,
Tim Piccirillo
Nothing Can Take the Place of Persistence!
March 11, 2009
Hi All:
With the economic downturn in full swing and the pundits forecasting more gloom and doom and saying this thing is gonna get worse before it gets better, we need to remember those that came before us in the Great Depression of the 30’s. Granted, some threw in the towel and literally gave up-both figuratively and literally- but the vast majority tightened their belts and “rode out the storm”.
The key point here is not to get stressed out and give up. As a country, we have been through worse than this. As Warren Buffet points out in a recent issue of Newsweek, ” Our country has faced far worse travails. In the 20th century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 21 percent prime rate in 1980’s and the Great Depression of the 1930’s…”
I have found in my own life that, individually, people are far bigger than their problems and collectively, we can surmount virtually ANY difficulty together. The key is to not go it alone. Teamwork and interdependence are crucial in any adversity. Reach out for help. Ask for what you want and need. In my speeches I do a whole piece on the importance of asking for what you want. I’m a middle-aged man and have found that I still can’t get through this life alone. I need help on a regular basis.
Now, don’t get the impression I’m looking at this whole situation through rose-colored glasses. I’m not. I fully realize that some people are having their houses foreclosed and don’t know what they are going to do to feed their families. I truly understand the seriousness of this recession. It’s ugly and it’s heartbreaking. It’s tough on all of us, some more than others. But we WILL get through this. And we WILL come out stronger because of it. Don’t be afraid to lean on people to get through it–emotionally, physically and financially. But above all: DON’T GIVE UP!
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones’ Legacy
January 15, 2009
Hi All:
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, he was one of the top motivational speakers in the world. Charlie passed on a couple of months ago and will be sadly missed. I remember in the early 90’s when I was starting out in the speaking industry I went to Charlie for advice. I said, “Charlie, I want to be a really great speaker”. I’ll never forget what he said (without missing a beat, I might add), “Don’t try so hard”. I never really knew what he meant until a few years ago when I had a health crisis and realized that being a speaker was only a PART of my life, not my whole life!
But, believe it or not, that’s not the most important thing I learned from Charlie. He wrote a book called “Life is Tremendous” and at the beginning he stated that he could tell where a person would be 5 years from now by two things: the people you hang around with and the books you read. How true this is.
If you spend your time with unambitious and unsuccessful people you will soon adopt their mindset. You wil find yourself just “getting by” and not stretching yourself. This has been proven in countless studies. We tend to assimilate with the people we’re around. We tend to adopt their attitudes and ways of thinking and this is done virtually unconsciously! If you want to be successful stick with the winners. Stay close to people who are, as I call it, maxing out their potential. People who have goals and want to make their lives better
The second part of the equation is the books you read. It’s sad, but very few people read consistently in the general population. I read some statistics from the American Booksellers Association a few years ago and the number of people in the U.S. that haven’t read a book in the last five years was staggering! I’m of the opinion that if you’re not moving forward, you’re going backward. And one of the ways to move forward is continuous learning and that happens by reading. Do you realize that if you read an hour a day in your chosen field for only 2 years you would be a bona fide expert in that field? Don’t be under the assumption that because you don’t have a formal education you can’t be successful. I’ve heard it said that a formal education will make you a living but self-education will make you a fortune. This is done by reading.
So Charlie’s gone but certainly not forgotten. The lessons that he taught me in the brief time I met him will endure the rest of my life. I sincerely hope you use his lessons also.
Until next time,
Tim
www.timpic.com
The One Thing You Must Have To Be Successful…
September 28, 2008
Hi All,
I recently did two different speaker showcases in two different cities. A speaker showcase is normally presented by a speaker’s bureau who assembles as many meeting planners as possible into a room and then several speakers do a short speech to “showcase” what they can do. I spent quite a bit of money to be included in this particular showcase and the logistics were incredibly difficult. The two different venues were back to back and literally 5 hours away from each other. In other words, I had to sit through an eight-hour day then drive 5 hours, get a little sleep and then do another showcase. On top of that I had another 6 1/2 hour drive after the second one to get home!
Now, you may be wondering what the point is to all this? Why would I put myself through all of this just to get more paid talks? Why would I shell out a LOT of money in the hopes that MAYBE I might get some additional work out of it? The answer is one word: PASSION! I truly love the speaking business and am PASSIONATE about it!
It’s not enough to just be good at what you do or even be great at what you do. If you don’t have a passion for your business you’re never going to max out your potential. All great business people, entertainers, athletes, etc. had a passion for what they were doing. I’ve said for years that if I were rich, I’d still be doing what I’m doing. I truly love what I do and would literally shrivel up and die if I couldn’t do it. Maybe that sounds extreme but that’s how passionate I am about my message. Any greatness that was achieved by anyone was done with passion.
Are you passionate about what you do? Or are you doing it because it’s a job or because you need to make a living? You won’t attain the level of success you could ultimately achieve without passion for what your doing. I’ve seen speakers who were mediocre but who moved the audience incredibly just because of their level of passion. You could just tell they believed in their message and “walked their talk”.
If you’re not passionate about the business you’re in you have two choices: either get into another business that you CAN be passionate about or change the way you think about your current business and how you can become passionate about it.
As Tony Robbins always says, “Live with passion!!!”
Until next time,
Tim
