Posts Tagged ‘Edison House’

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There are two kinds of people in the world

Saturday, February 14th, 2009

It’s been said there are two types of people in the world:  those who are motivated by reward and those who focused on avoiding pain.

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud referred to this as the Pain/Pleasure Principle.  (Aristotle also talked about this concept, but it’s Greek to me.)

The Pain/Pleasure Principle can be very helpful in life, not only when it comes to dealing with others, but also when dealing with yourself.

Take the issue of self-motivation, for example.  If you are a person who looks forward to reward, you might tackle a project because of the good feeling you’ll have when finished.

If you fear negative consequence, however, you’ll probably approach the project in a much different way.  In this instance, you may be strongly motivated to avoid the fear of being embarrassed or penalized for not getting the project done on time.

Don’t worry; we need both types of people in the world.

When working with others, it can be helpful to know if they are more effectively motivated by pleasure or by pain.

Knowing about the two types of people in the world and what motivates others will do wonders to streamline communication and help you connect with others.

- Michael Angelo Caruso, Communications Consultant, Royal Oak, Michigan

P.S.  Which motivates you–the anticipation of pleasure or the avoidance of pain?

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Growing Your Business, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Self improvement | No Comments »

Learn to use FB, LI and Twitter for business at March 18 teleseminar

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Facebook If you're not using social media Web sites such as Facebook,

lLinked In and Twitter, you're missing out on the fun.  If you're

not using social media for your business and career, you're

missing out on profits.

 

Linkedin_logo If the slow economy has adversely affected your industry or

business, you cannot afford to miss opportunities.  The music

industry, the publishing industry and even the United States

Postal Service underestimated the power of the I'net.  Don't

make the same mistake. 

 

Twitter Attend my new teleseminar, Using Social Media to Amp Up

Your Business and Career, Wed., March 18 at 4:00 PM ET. 

 

Who should attend?

 

-  Business leaders

-  Customer service representatives

-  Entreprenuers

-  Sales people (especially salespeople)

-  Anyone who works with people

 

As always, you may attend the lively one-hour teleseminar

or own the 60-minute audio CD.   Both are packed with useful

info and either way, you'll add valuable tools to your skill set. 

I promise practical advice you can use forever.  Listen and 

learn:

    • Why you must get involved with social media now
    • Which of the hundreds of sites you should join
    • Time-saving tricks for adding, "tweeting" and recommending
    • Why in-direct marketing is the new direct marketing
    • How to monetize Facebook and LinkedIn
    • Easy and profitable ways to repurpose content 
    • Which LinkedIn feature has (hands down) the most power
    • How to quickly build a network without offending
    • The hidden Facebook feature that changes bank accounts
    • Easy referral selling through "social proof" 
    • How to increase sales using social media sites

Register   for the teleseminar, held Wednesday, March 18 from

                4:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET and benefit from live Q&A;

                invite your boss to attend; send an associate this

                invitation; be online during the call so I can show

                you some things

 or

 

Order      the 60-minute audio CD on the subject;

               listen whenever you'd like, as many times as

               you'd like; share with others

 

 

Michael Angelo Caruso, http://www.EdisonHouse.com

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Why someone else determines your paycheck

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Ninety-four years ago last month month, Henry Ford had a serious problem.

Employee turnover at his Ford Motor Company automobile manufacturing plants was close to 400%.  He was paying workers a merer $2.34 for nine hours of work.

Henry Ford In an effort to stem employee turnover and give Ford employees  enough money to buy the cars they made, Mr. Ford raised workers’ salaries to the unheard of sum of $5 a day.

Although this wage seems small by today’s standards, the offer was actually quite generous at the time.  The offer worked.  Over 10,000 people showed up at the company’s Highland Park, Michigan plant to apply for jobs.

The $5 per day offer set the tone for our compensation model today–the employer decides what a worker is worth, not the worker.  As a result, many employees begrudgingly accept the best pay they can find, even if the compensation is less than they expect and even if the job is not really to their liking.

Professional athletes and popular movie stars have been naming their price for some time.  But now, a growing number of workers are playing the same game–and winning big.

Consultants, professional speakers and other entrepreneurs determine their own compensation, in many scenarios.

One easy way to name your own price is by creating and selling an information product, such as an audio program or an e-book.

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Remember my dear Aunt Sally?

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

You’ve probably met my dear Aunt Sally.  Most likely, you met her when you were in high school.  You may not recall what she looks like, but this wise old woman offered a valuable lesson.

Don’t remember the lesson?  Let’s see if this example helps.

What’s 2 + 3 x 3?

If you said, “15,” you’re wrong.  The correct answer is “11.”

Fifteen is the answer you get by reading the equation from left to right, doing the addition part of the calculation before the multiplication as in 2 + 3 = 5, then 5 x 3 = 15.  But, if you do the multiplication first, the answer turns out to be completely different, as in 3 x 3 = 9, then 9 + 2 = 11.

Math isn’t a flexible discipline.  At least five centuries ago, some brilliant mathematicians formulated something called the “order of operations,” now known as PEMDAS or as many people refer to it– “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.”

PEMDAS stands for “Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction.”  If you got “15″ as your initial answer in the above exercise, it’s because you forgot you met my dear Aunt Sally.

The order of operations and other forms of Boolean logic, play a big role in the business world when it comes to search, Internet algorithms, and even creating an bulk e-mail campaign.

Don’t forget your relatives, especially, yours and my dear Aunt Sally!

What type of high school math do you find surprisingly helpful these days?

-Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan

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Posted in Communication, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Problem Solving | No Comments »

Would you spend $30 to make $30,000?

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Composed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana-

Telephone I want to remind you of a simple marketing tool that is super effective, yet, all but forgotten.  It's your telephone. 

Specifically, the ability to get multiple people on a telephone call is a virtual goldmine for you and your business. 

Almost every telephone can easily conference a third person into a call, but very few people think to do it and even fewer know how.  On my Motorola Razor cell phone, I just hit "Link" when I'm on the phone with one person and the third person calls in.  Simple!

When using a land line telephone with a switch hook, simply tap the button once to put the first party on hold.  This also generates a dial tone so you can connect to the third party.  When you hear the third person's voice, simply tap the switch hook again and everyone will be on the line. 

When you can get multiple people on a call, good things happen.  Introductions can be made, decisions will happen faster and other desirable dynamics will kick in. 

Many entreprenuers, myself included, are doing this now via conference calls, teleseminars and webinars.  Your phone company will charge a nominal fee for holding mini-conference calls.  Even teleseminars can be held for little to no money, if you are willing to tolerate some advertising on the call.  Voice Text is my preferred provider of bridge lines.  

Telephone talk 1208 crpd If I'm traveling, I can even hold the call from my hotel room, as pictured here. 

For example, I give monthly teleseminars on topics ranging from how to improve presentation skills to time management and selling.  When I invite the 15,000 people on my distribution list to attend a teleseminar, people not only sign up for the call, they purchase my information products and even hire me to speak. 

When this happens, an initial $30 investment for a conference call bridge line can easily convert into a $30,000 windfall.  Look into using phone calls to educate your customers and prospects on your company, your products and services. 

I can't think of a business that wouldn't benefit from this type of marketing.

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Opportunity favors the prepared; get your act together

Monday, January 19th, 2009
Be prepared

Be prepared

The twelve months known as 2008 have been an education for many people.

If we’ve learned anything recently, we should have learned simple two-word lesson, but some of us are still learning, including employees at the Detroit newspapers.

The Detroit News and Free Press papers just announced they will be the first major metropolitan newspaper in the country t not deliver its publication daily.  Slow to embrace the Internet, they’ve even been offering the paper at no charge, but people still don’t want it.

Unprepared for change, newspapers are not just trying to make a profit, they are fighting for their existence.  The newspaper industry’s troubles have been brewing for a while, but people in Michigan are blaming the economy and other issues.  That’s how we know that the two-word lesson still hasn’t taken root.

Of course, it’s not too late to learn (or re-learn) the lesson.  I teach this message for a living, so it breaks my heart goes out to anyone who still hasn’t taken action on this two-word lesson.

The two words are:  Be prepared.

This slogan has been around for a while.  Written by Robert Baden-Powell exactly 101 years ago, the phrase, “Be prepared,” was originally a simple lesson for the scouts.  Yet, “be prepared” is a haunting bit of advice for anyone who was caught cash-poor during the recession.

So, repeat after me . . . “Be prepared.”  One way to stay up to snuff is to be always learning.

If you or your team want to be more successful . . .
If you’ve been waiting for incentive to take action in your career . . .
If you want to be more prepared in 2009 and beyond . . .

Take advantage of the following offer.  There’s something for everyone:

Personal Improvement, 4 one-hour CDs, 4 30-page e-books, including:
- Coping With Stress
- Creating Success Habits
- Time Management
- Dealing With Difficult People

Leadership, 4 one-hour CDs, 4 30-page e-books, including:
- Getting People to Do Stuff
- Meetings That Motivate and Inspire
- How to Give Presentations
- Teaching Remarkable Customer Service

Sales, 4 one-hour CDs, 4 30-page e-books, including:
- Selling More, Better, Faster
- Negotiating for Fun and Profit
- Networking Like a Pro
- 22 Sales Closes That Work

Advanced Business Ownership, 4 one-hour CDs, 4 30-page e-books, including:
- Growing Your Business
- How to Create and Sell Info Products
- Becoming an Industry Expert
- How to Become a Speaker/Author

You can probably take the cost of most professional development materials as an income tax deduction.  (Check with your accountant to be sure.)  Don’t delay your success any longer.  Get prepared for 2009 and beyond.

Order the above materials today and . . . learn your lesson.

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Posted in Communication, Growing Your Business, Leadership, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Selling, Success, Training | 2 Comments »

Information products can be your bailout plan

Monday, January 12th, 2009

I hope I never have to count on someone else to bail me out.  I'm teaching people how to create information products to help others, provide supplementary income and put a personal bailout plan in place. 

Recording cropped In eleven years, I've produced over 75 information products and sell many of them at www.EdisonHouse.com.   A partial list of these includes:

1.   Hmmm . . . Little Ideas With BIG Results (booklet)

2.   Dear Michael Angelo

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Speakers Get a Lot of Feedback

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Professional speakers get tons of feedback.

MAC green purple speak 300 dpi crpd We may get formally evaluated more than almost any profession.  Conference chairpersons, meeting planners and Human Resource executives love to collect exit evaluations after every program.  This data is then analyzed and computed before it is shared with all concerned.

I recently spoke to 100 student leaders at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan.  The event was the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).  Organizers took a tip from me and included this question in the evaluation form:  What one word best describes this event?

The words included “amazing, educational, empowering, entertaining, exceptional, inspirational, life-changing, motivational, outstanding and  . . .

Phenominal.”

The event planners took “phenominal” to mean “phenomenal,” a complimentary evaluation, to be sure.

At a follow up meeting, where the speaker was evaluated, yet again, the event’s organizers had a good laugh as they jokingly referred to my paycheck as ”fee nominal.”

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Unsuccessful people always have advice

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Once upon a time, a President of a great country wasn’t doing too well.  His approval rating was very low and the public voted his party out of office.

This was big news because the President was a Republican and the Republicans had held that office for a long time.

The President-elect, a Democrat, visited the sitting President to begin the complicated transition process.  During the meeting, the unpopular and ineffective Republican President offered the President-elect advice and counsel.

Herbert Hoover Later, the President sent his successor a 10-page, handwritten letter.  Misspelling the President-elect’s name, the President urged the Democrat to “stay the course” with regard to the Republican agenda.

And that’s how Herbert Hoover handed off the United States Presidency to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.

Unsuccessful people often try to influence others.  People of moderate means frequently tell what they know about money management.

Overweight people are known to share diet tips.  And in my business, there are plenty of consultants charging big money for bad advice.

Unsuccessful people always have advice.  Some of this information is worthwhile, but misplaced influence can send you down the wrong path.

Be careful.  It’s a jungle out there.

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