Posts Tagged ‘michael Angelo Caruso’
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
Sales are the lifeblood of every organization. That’s why we need to work so hard to keep these people happy, trained, and looked after.
One popular way to keep sellers engaged is to send them a continuous stream of sales-related tips and strategies. Send only good, well-written stuff, not crap.
For example, you can send articles to your sales team once per week to get them into the habit of reading. To make sure they read the articles, tell them you’ll be asking them to give a highlight from each article at your sales meetings.
This little routine will do several things for your sales team. It reminds them:
1) You are looking out for them.
2) As long as you’re the one sending the articles, you may be smarter than them. 
3) That reading about sales is a good habit.
3) You expect them to read what they send you.
4) That talking about this stuff somehow makes it more useful.
Good article sources
There are many good sources for sales articles, including:
www.BNet.com
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_4_60/ai_106863366/?tag=col1;subcol
http://www.bnet.com/blog/smb-sales-advice/when-8220yes-8221-means-something-else-in-sales/158
www.JeffreyGitomer.com
http://www.businessknowhow.com/
http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/5tipstoinc.htm
Later, you can ask one of the salespeople to provide the weekly article for a month. Rotate the responsibility, so everyone keeps looking out for the team.
-Michael Angelo Caruso, Sales consultant, Royal Oak, Michigan
P.S. More info on my sales-related keynotes and presentations at http://www.michaelangelocaruso.com/events/seminars/how-to-give-killer-presentations-seminar/
Tags: bnet, jeffrey gitomer, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, reading, royal oak, sales articles, Selling
Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Success | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Orlando and other hot spots are in high season and spring break will be here before you know it.
The travel season generates lots of negative publicity about how bad the travel industry treats us.
Older folks wistfully comment about the “good old days” when airlines treated customers better and travel wasn’t such a hassle.
But, what if these are the good old days?
Objective research indicates that what we’re experiencing now are the best of times, at least when compared to how things used to be.
Flying, for example has never been easier or more affordable, according to a recent USA Today article by John Waggoner.
Although the airline industry has made many improvements through the years, the big change was when the government deregulated the industry in 1978, which opened up competition.
Here are the facts about how much better things are compared to the “good old days:”
- In 1978, fliers paid about 27.9 cents a mile; they pay an average of 12.1 cents for each mile flown today.
- Until the 1970′s seat assignments were not available in advance.
- Flight attendants may have worn white gloves back in the day, but it used to take 14 hours and multiple stops to fly from New York to Barcelona.
-The Air Transport Association reports that in the period from 1965-69, there were 39 accidents involving fatalities on scheduled commercial flights operated by U.S. airlines. In 2005-2009, there were six.
- Airports have become min-cities, filled with amenities such as high-end shopping, massage therapists, and cuisine from all over the world.
So why do we think things are getting worse?
Memory, the media, and something called “group think” play a role.
Our brains tend to accentuate the positive and gloss over the negative when reviewing old memories.
The media–and gossip–for that matter, thrive on bad news and the act of stirring things up. Now social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become a breeding ground for complaints rather than compliments.
Finally, people like to identify with other people who have problems. Misery loves company and all that.
Maybe things aren’t so bad for right now. Maybe we’re just that much more efficient at complaining.
What if these are the best of times?
________________________
Michael Angelo Caruso is a communication consultant and accomplished author based in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Tags: air transport association, air travel, best of times, communication consultant, facebook, good old days, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, royal oak, twitter, USA Today
Posted in Communication, Problem Solving, Social Media | No Comments »
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
Speaking is a lot like driving. We all think we’re good drivers, but there are a lot of dented cars on the road!
Here are 5 Cool Ideas for sharpening your next presentation, followed by a link to order my Present Like a Pro DVD:
1. It’s better to make mistakes when you’re alone.
I teach managers and salespeople how to be more effective. The fastest improvement occurs when clients adopt my motto: It’s better to screw up when you’re alone.
2. Practice the beginning of your talk more than any other part.
Your nervous system is most likely to be under siege at the beginning of your presentation. Practice the first part of your talk more than the middle or the end.
3. Call your own voice mail to record sections of your presentation.
Use this “poor man’s” recording technique to listen to yourself and make improvements.
4. PowerPoint often hurts more than it helps.
Stories are far more effective than bullet points because people tend to make buying decisions using the “emotional side” of the brain. Use stories to inspire, motivate, and get the audience involved. Develop a strong “signature story” and work it, baby.
5. Be specific with your time-sensitive call to action.
All good presentations end with a clear call to action. Don’t say “Please take this form back to your office and send it to me when you have time,” when you can say, “Please fill out this form before you leave the room. I’ll be at the door to collect it from you.”
Order the Present Like a Pro DVD now! It will be especially helpful to your leadership and sales team!
Place your order within 48 hours and I’ll immediately e-mail you a fantastic 30-page, companion e-book at no extra charge. Watch for it and download it quickly.
As with all my products and services, you’ll get much more than you pay for.
Speaking about speaking,
Michael Angelo Caruso, Keynote Speaker T 248-224-9667
P.S. You must order Present Like a Pro within 48 hours to receive the bonus 30-page e-book.
P.P.S. You’re welcome to publish these 5 Cool Ideas in your corporate newsletter, on your Web site and blog. Just send a quick message to Reprint@EdisonHouse.com.
www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com
The Fifth, 432 S. Washington, #1105 Royal Oak, MI 48067
Tags: call to action, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, powerpoint, Present Like a Pro, presentation, royal oak, Self improvement, Speaking
Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Entertainment, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Keynote, Leadership, Marketing, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Selling, Seminar, Speaking, Success, Training | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
The ability to make effective, persuasive presentations is almost an art form.
I often compare the art of presenting to a golf swing. Both activities have a lot going on–and a lot that can go wrong.
Here are a few speaking tips to take your speaking to another level:
1. Personally greet people before you begin speaking. You’ll be much more effective if you build rapport with individual audience members in advance of your talk. This is also a great way to settle your nerves, if you find yourself anxious prior to speaking.
2. Speak to the four different personality styles in your audience. Thinkers like to hear statistics, so give them facts and figures. Directors like you to get to the bottom line; be succinct for them. Relaters want you to identify with them, so tell stories. Socializers want to have fun and laugh, so don’t take yourself too seriously.
3. End the speech using the same words and phrases you used at the beginning of your talk. This technique is called “bookending” and it’s the hallmark of a professional speaker. Bookending helps you finish your talk with style and flair.
Thanks for your interest in self-improvement! If you’d like to become a better presenter, it’s better to watch video than read a book on the subject. Reading a book about speaking is like listening to the radio to learn how to dance.
That’s why I produced a DVD titled, Present Like a Pro, a 45-minute video that tells–and more importantly shows–my best speaking tips. As always, you’ll get much more than you pay for with my products. A 100% unconditional refund if you’re unhappy with this product for any reason.
Tags: bookending, dvd, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, nerves, personality styles, Present Like a Pro, presentation, Selling, Speaking
Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Entertainment, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Information products, Keynote, Leadership, Personal Development, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Selling, Speaking, Success | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
This is one of my 52 weekly sales tips, available at www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com. You’re welcome!
Tip #10: Make small talk big
You have a finite amount of time to spend with customers during personal visits. Try not to spend the first ten minutes of a thirty minute meeting on useless topics like weather, parking, last night’s ballgame, and so on.
If the customer mentions the weather, quickly acknowledge her and move on to more productive conversation.
Here are some small-talk topics that probably don’t speed up the sale:
- Weather
- Sports
- Politics
- Parking
- How busy you are
- How busy the customer is
Here’s a short list of things to discuss instead:
- How impressive your customer and her company is
- How popular your company is
- Get the prospect to fill out a credit application
- Find out more about her passions
- Ask about her family
- Get her opinion on an industry trend (stay away from negative trends)
A few seconds of small talk may be useful, but move toward purposeful conversation and your sales will improve. You can always talk about the ballgame after the customer places an order.
Sincerely,
Michael Angelo Caruso, creator of the Role Model Selling videos
P.S. I’d love to speak to your sales team. You can also send them to see me at an upcoming seminar. My speaking calendar is available at www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com
Tags: 52 weekly selling tips, michael Angelo Caruso, michaelangelocaruso.com, persuasion, Selling, selling tips
Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Growing Your Business, Marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Speaking, Success | No Comments »
Saturday, February 5th, 2011
I just interviewed Bill Pirtle, my new bff, on how to save money with credit card processing.
He’s my new best friend because he showed me how to save a bunch of money on my monthly credit card processing statement.
Let’s review: Bill Pirtle showed me how to save money on my MONTHLY statement, which I receive every 30 days, 12 MONTHS per year, EVERY YEAR that I own a business (the rest of my life). That’s a lotta green.
Consider that I sell over 75 information products and have people all over the country register for my live training events via credit card payment.
Bill first got my attention when he pointed out that I didn’t need to pay a $175 annual PCI fee. His company doesn’t charge anything for this!
Then I read his terrific book, Navigating Through the Risks of Credit Card Processing.
You can reach Bill Pirtle via most social media platforms and at 734-272-6177.
Here are some highlights from the interview, which will soon be available on audio CD through www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com.
Q: What is one of the biggest mistake business owners make when signing with a credit card processor?
A: When they focus on the rate alone.
Q: What’s wrong with focusing on the rate?
A: Many processing agents use a “teaser” rate to get you to sign while placing up to 40 other fee types into the contract. These fees include transaction fees, authorization fees, batch fees, AVS fees, statement fees, annual fees, PCI Fees and some are even adding something called an “IRS Reporting fee”.
Q: How can merchants tell if they need a review of their processing?
A: There are several signs including: unexplained fees and surcharges on most of your transactions.
Add all of your fees from each section of your statement divide total by net sales and then multiply by 100. This gives the effective rate, the percentage of your sales that you pay in fees. If fees higher than you thought you should be paying, you need a review.
Q: True or false, reductions in rate are always best way to save money?
A: False! Reviewing a contract is more than reviewing rates. It is to review the policies and procedures of processing credit cards. Finding cause of non-qualified transactions and correcting can reduce fees several times more than just changing rates.
Q: Besides rates, what is something business owners need to know?
A: There is no such thing as a free terminal. A “free” terminal will result in added fees somewhere in the contract.
Bill’s special offer
If you share your complicated, hard-to-read credit card processing statement with him, he will show you how to save money within 6 minutes. This valuable assessment normally costs $99, but it’s available to you at no charge if you mention my name to Bill when you call him at 734-272-6177.
Finally, I can heartily and enthusiastically recommend a credit card processing vendor!
-Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan
Tags: bill pirtle, credit card processing, info products, Internet marketing, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, pci, royal oak, Social Media
Posted in Communication, Customer Service, Growing Your Business, Information products, Internet marketing, Marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Success | No Comments »
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Cairo, Egpyt is a fascinating place right now. Actually, Cairo has always been an interesting place, especially for American tourists.
I visited Egypt in 2002 and remember being surprised at how passionate its citizens are about negotiating. I vividly remembering my interpreter haggling with an airport vendor about the price of a refrigerator magnet!
This reminds me of what’s happening in Cairo right now, as citizens struggle to make their voices heard. Passions are running very hot in Egypt, but when is persuasion perceived as aggression? Most world leaders are recommending peaceful negotiations, yet real change seems unlikely without even more drama.
Speaking of persuasion, here’s a fun story about something that happened when I got to ride a camel at the pyramids.
5 Cool Ideas for Being More Persuasive
(inspired by the free newsletter available at www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com)
There’s nothing like a trip to a foreign country to learn more about various communication techniques. During a trip to Egypt, I had the opportunity to ride a camel. My encounter with the camel’s keeper inspired me to create 5 Cool Ideas on how to increase your powers of persuasion.
1. Establish desirable expectation.
Remember that persuasion works best when you are communicating with someone who wants to be persuaded. Once I climbed aboard the camel, my guide led the beast about 50 feet. The guide then asked me if I was happy. I could not stop smiling so naturally, I told the man that I was very happy.
2. Use assertive behavior to escort the persuasion.
The camel steward’s objective was to receive a good size tip. He was correct in assuming that if I was happy with his services, that I would give him one. When I admitted that I was happy, he held out his hand and said, “Now would be a good time to show me your appreciation.”
3. Be persistent.
I gave the camel steward some Egyptian pounds and he immediately asked for more. Surprised with his bravado, yet still delighted with his services, I gave him more money. At this point, I had only been seated on the camel for about two minutes. The camel then continued his stroll
4. Make it a win/win.
Having received an extra tip, my Egyptian friend gave me lots of extra attention. He provided props for photographs and arranged some special poses. He even made the camel smile!
5. Gratitude is a great pacifier.
After the ride, my guide told me it was a pleasure being with me and to ask for him the next time I am going camel riding in Cairo. The man’s nice words helped minimize any ill effects of the persuasion and set the stage for future persuasion. He asked me for another tip, which I gladly provided since I always tip at the conclusion of good service. Gratitude takes the edge off of unwanted persuasion.
Tags: 5 Cool ideas, aggression, cairo, camel, egypt, michael Angelo Caruso, negotiation, persuasion
Posted in Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Success | No Comments »
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Here’s the story of how a random act of customer service completely backfired . . .
A while back, I released a DVD titled, Present Like a Pro (PLP). This video of my best presentation tips turned out much better than expected, thanks to quality vendors.
Present Like a Pro continues to sell at a brisk pace, especially at during my Present Like a Pro training sessions, such as the one I’m giving March 3 in Troy, Michigan.
Nonetheless, I was shocked at what happened during my product launch.
My launch concept was inspired by two marketing campaigns I had studied:
1) Russell Brunson’s “free plus shipping” technique and
2) The Hyatt Regency hotel chain, which at the time was offering “random acts of customer service” to guests.
The DVD was priced at $49, but I decided give it away to the first 1,000 people on my list who showed interest. This seemed like a fabulous idea, but I was truly shocked at what happened next!
Random act of customer service backfires!
My data base consists primarily of business executives, middle managers, salespeople, and entrepreneurs such as speaker and authors. I thought a $49 DVD offered free would kill. But, initially, it didn’t.
Here’s what happened.
A few people were paranoid about the free offer. An East Coast woman who has been on my list for YEARS, called to make sure the offer wasn’t a phishing scam. Noted.
A substantial number of people didn’t follow instructions, resulting in lots of back-end customer service support. In other words, the auto-processes we set up actually created work for my team and me. Oops! Noted.
Finally–and here’s the shocker–after receiving my offer of a free DVD valued at $49, a stunning number of people quit my list!
I couldn’t be more surprised! My “random act of kindness” was causing me to lose customers! Er . . .noted
I suppose some of these folks never give presentations. Perhaps some of them were not interested in self-improvement. Whatever the reason, my team and I went back to the drawing board to create — a second marketing campaign that we’re using to this day.
To date, the Present Like a Pro DVD has generated thousands of dollars in sales and since I continue to market the product to my distribution list, much of that money has come from people who turned down the free offer during the product launch! Noted.
Marketing lesson #153: When customers don’t recognize a good deal that you’ve offered, it’s your fault.
By the way, I haven’t given up on offering random acts of customer service. People on my “dist list” are frequent recipients. Sign up for my free 5 Cool Ideas newsletter today and collect hundreds of dollars in freebies every year!
-Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan
Tags: 5 Cool ideas, Hyatt Regency, michael Angelo Caruso, michigan, Present Like a Pro, random act of customer service, Russell Brunson, Travis Millward
Posted in Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Information products, Internet marketing, Marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Selling, Seminar, Success | 2 Comments »
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
When posting an article to your blog or creating other content for your company’s Internet presence, it’s best to do your own writing.
But, if your writing skills aren’t the best, you can also rework articles that have already been published. When doing so, make every effort to avoid two things:
1) Plagiarism, which is unethical. It’s just plain wrong to use claim credit for someone else’s work. This includes the despicable act of anonymously posting articles–as if the pieces wrote themselves!
2) Duplicate content. Google and other search engines notice when you post duplicate content and will penalize you with lower search rankings.
Here are some guidelines for reworking articles written by others.
Be sure to change the other writer’s article at least 70%. You can do this by rearranging the paragraphs and sentences and changing the order of the bullet points. Delete some of the material and maybe add a bit of your own. You can also incorporate content from two or three sources.
Perhaps the best way to go about reworking an article is to put the words in your own voice. For example, don’t keep words you would never use in conversation.
A second way to rewrite is to simply delete awkward phrasing, sentence fragments, convoluted sentences, and other nonsense. Most people tend to overwrite, so it will be easier to make your revised article shorter, just by
taking out the weakest parts.
Speaking of length, you only need about 500 words for a substantial blog post. I recently rewrote a cool article I found online, by using all the above techniques and busting the article into four blog posts.
When finished, include your favorite keywords in three places: the title, first paragraph and last paragraph before posting.
Be sure to add your contact information and attribution for the writer–you, if you followed these directions and when rewriting content.
-Michael Angelo Caruso
P.S. Learn how a soccer Mom named, Paula Parisot, now gets paid for blogging. Michael interviews her on the CD, Blogging for Profit.
More great Internet marketing info (mostly original articles!) at http://www.michaelangelocaruso.com/michael-angelo-caruso-blog/
Tags: blog, blogging, duplicate content, google, Internet, Internet marketing, michael Angelo Caruso, plaigarism, rewrite articles, rewriting articles
Posted in Blogging, Communication, Creativity, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Success, Weblogs, Writing and Publishing | No Comments »
Saturday, January 29th, 2011
Readers always write . . .
Here’s a great Linkedin question from a clever guy who’s figured out how to put his business phone number into his “Name” field. Very smart!
Michael,
Great presentation on Jan 14 in Macomb County!
Question: Even though Google doesn’t crawl LinkedIn, does a corporate website listed on a LinkedIn page still count toward adding external links to a site?
Dan Wolan, Director of Sales, Productions Plus – The Talent Shop
Dear Dan,
Hi, Dan and thanks for your kind compliment about my social media class.
Your personal LI page ranks on Google when you search your name and it will recognize your business page, as well.
However, Google does not crawl DEEP into Linkedin (LI) or, for that matter, Facebook.
Google, for example, may recognize the TITLE of the .pdf you post on Linkedin, but not the content.
Think of religion, as a metaphor. People believe in God, but not enough to go to church every Sunday. 
Class has ended, go in peace.
-Michael Angelo Caruso
P.S. Do you have a business page on Linkedin, yet?
Tags: dan wolan. linkedin business page, facebook, god, google, Internet marketing, linkedin, macomb county, michael Angelo Caruso, sales, Social Media
Posted in Career development, Communication, Entreprenuers, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Social Media, Success | No Comments »
