Rick Frishman’s Blog

Whether you’re pitching yourself in an interview or your service or product in a sales presentation, you need to be speaking to the person who can say yes. That person will inevitably have someone guarding her door and phone line. Your mission, if you choose to be successful, is to circumvent that gatekeeper.

WHAT IT MEANS: Getting past the gatekeeper is what separates the sales superstars from the rest of the pack. It takes resourcefulness, it takes persistence, and it takes a willingness to try different tactics. What works at one company may not work at another; indeed, what worked on Monday may not work on Thursday! First and foremost, you need to do the research to determine exactly whom you need to talk to at the specific company you’re targeting. Then you need to get through his or her gate.

ACTION PLAN: Here are some tips for getting past the gatekeeper:
When you call the office, treat the gatekeeper with the same respect that you would treat the potential partner. This will make them warm up to you. Sound important but courteous, for example, “Hello there, please put me through to Joe Smith.”
If you happen to know someone who knows your key decision maker, ask for permission to use his or her name. When the gatekeeper asks what your call is regarding, you can say, “His good friend Norm First asked me to call him.”
Adopt the gatekeeper. In other words, develop a relationship with him or her. Do this by engaging in a conversation whenever you call. Developing a relationship with the gatekeeper comes in handy when you’ve been unable to reach your potential partner because he or she is often out of the office.
Send a letter first. In the letter, ask the potential partner to expect your call on a certain date. This way, you can say, “He’s expecting my call” when the gatekeeper asks what your call is regarding. Another approach is to e-mail your potential partner to check if he or she has received your letter, and then ask for the best time to call him or her. In this instance, it’s likely that your potential partner will let their gatekeeper know that your phone call is expected.
If voice mail is the gatekeeper, it’s best to send in a letter first, and then follow up by leaving a voice mail message. However, if you choose not to send a letter first, then simply introduce yourself and the purpose of your call. Keep it brief, but try to pique your listener’s interest. What can you say that would make him or her curious enough to return your call or e-mail you?

EVEN BETTER: Go where—or when—the gatekeeper ain’t! Call executives during off-hours—between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning and after 5:00 in the evening. Trade shows are also a good place to gain “face time” with senior managers with less restricted access.

come to Author101University Oct 28-31 to learn from 20 teachers

http://www.author101university.com

Believe it or not, with practice, following up gets easier; it even gets to be routine and second nature. As you become more proficient, you’ll find that important contacts respect professionalism and prefer to deal with professionals because they know that they can usually rely upon professionals. So when you follow up in a well-planned, disciplined and timely fashion, important contacts might be more willing to deal with you.

Benefits from following up also spill over to other facets of your life. They teach you patience, understanding and diplomacy. They give you a better idea how to plan, position yourself, wait your turn and seize opportunities. Following up isn’t just persistence, although you must be persistent, it’s being considerate, respectful and wise. It’s treating people as you wish to be treated – - – just like networking.

On occasions, you’ll get lucky. Everybody will ask you to lunch, invite you to their club and introduce you to their A List members. On these lucky streaks, nothing will go wrong and you will be the toast of the town, the “flavor of the month,” the person most in demand, with whom everyone wants to be associated. Treat those times with reverence, appreciate your good fortune and realize that they’re probably just a temporary phenomena – - – special, fleeting moments.

When you’re on top, leverage your success by treating everyone well. Share your success by being magnanimous. Be kind, understanding, gracious and generous. Help whoever needs help – - – whether or not they ask, look for opportunities to help. Apply your good fortune, your moment in the sun, to give generously to others.

You must develop the ability to delegate the right task to the right person in the right way. It’s almost impossible to grow your business without it—because there’s only so much time in a day and you can increase your workload only so much.

EVEN BETTER: After the project has been completed, review the process with your delegatee. Taking this extra step allows all the people involved in the task to identify what they would repeat, modify, or change the next time around. It also lets you determine what was learned, how well the person handled the challenge, and how comfortable/competent that person might be at taking on additional responsibilities.

come to Author101University Oct 29-31 in Vegas

http://www.author101university.com

There are times—perhaps more than a few—when you will feel frustrated, burned out, and downright trapped by the way things are going at work. Fortunately, most of those feelings will pass, or at least subside—but when they don’t, it may be time to move on.

WHAT IT MEANS: Gone are the days of lifetime employment with one company. Downsizing, outsourcing, and the general turbulence of today’s global economy have changed all that. It’s the Age of the Free Agent—and it means that there is no chain trapping you to your desk. Obviously, deciding to quit your current job is not something that you should do casually or impulsively, but if your day-to-day work experience has just become flat-out miserable, with no relief in sight, you’re not doing yourself any favor by staying there.

ACTION PLAN: Always have an exit strategy. Keep your resume current and your cover letter sparkling even when times are good—because you never know. Put the word out through your network that you’re looking, and gear up for an active and aggressive job search. Let your dissatisfaction motivate you toward extracting yourself from your current “career prison” ASAP. After all, in the final analysis, all jobs are temporary—and when it comes to leaving a job (or boss) you despise, change is good.

EVEN BETTER: Determine whether it’s possible to improve your job situation by trying to confront the problem—or whether it’s possible for you to engineer your own attitude adjustment. If your pain stems from a specific situation, perhaps that situation can be resolved. If it’s a whole laundry list of horrors, it’s probably time for you to plan an expeditious retreat—but walk away professionally, with a smile, a handshake, and no burned bridges. In any case, don’t lose sight of the fact that insofar as working at any job goes, you do have a choice.

Would you like to be a guest on a top national TV show
like Oprah, Good Morning America, Today Show or Fox
News Channel?

Of course you would because there are few faster ways
to instantly reach millions of people and boost your
sales than getting big-time TV publicity.
In the publishing world, it’s no secret the right

national TV appearance can catapult a book to the

top of the Bestseller List.
Curious to know how YOU might get on national TV
Find out on a free 90-minute telephone seminar on
Thursday, July 29th on which you’ll hear a former
Oprah guest booker and others interviewed by
Steve Harrison about….
“The Three Big Secrets for
Getting Booked as a Guest
on Top National TV Shows”

Together they’ll teach you things unknown to 95% of all
publicity-seekers.
To register for this call — which is free except for
your normal long distance charges — go here now:
http://www.tvpublicityteleseminar.com/?10065
In the interest of full disclosure, you should
know I’m a compensated affiliate for Steve’s
programs.

On the call, you’ll learn things like:

* How to increase your odds of getting on Oprah, Fox
News, CNN, Today Show and other top shows.

* Understanding the mindset of national TV producers
and what gets them to book you as a guest.

* The strategy a husband-and-wife team used to land a
7-minute segment on the Today Show.

* What you should send TV producers (and what you shouldn’t).
* An important lesson from one author who got on Oprah
and saw sales soar as a result

* The most important question you must be able to
answer to land a TV appearance

* The biggest mistakes to avoid when pitching TV
producers (including ones that could get you black-
balled forever!).

* Case histories of four authors and entrepreneurs
and the strategies they used to get on top TV shows.

Again, to register go here now:

http://www.tvpublicityteleseminar.com/?10065

Once registered, you’ll receive all the details back
within five minutes.

Who knows … maybe we’ll be seeing you on national TV
very soon!

==========================
TELESEMINAR with Daniel Hall- replay
===========================
My friend Daniel Hall and I hosted a webinar event
last Thursday entitled:

“19 Innovative Ways To Build Your Business With A Self- Published Book”
We had hundreds of people on- but if you missed it… here you go!

Replay link is below
http://www.realfastbook.com/rickreplay.html

Did you know that properly using (and writing) a book can help
explode the success of your overall business regardless of the
business you’re in.

http://www.realfastbook.com/rickreplay.html

Sometimes we are all tempted to coast—to give a project a perfunctory, halfhearted effort. And even though you may have the best excuses in the world for not giving something your best effort, the quality of your work tends to speak loud and clear for itself.

WHAT IT MEANS: Don’t phone it in! Case in point: An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said. “My gift to you.”
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building, then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we’d do it much differently. But we cannot go back. Build wisely!

ACTION PLAN: Often, “coasting” at work is related to stress, fatigue, or a negative attitude. Don’t let any of those factors prevent you from delivering your level best. Part of being professional is being consistent regardless of your feelings or physical or emotional state, so be aware when your commitment to doing a good job starts to dip. It may be better to take a break or make an attitude adjustment and get it done a little later than to do work that reflects poorly on you. If your work were a painting, would you be willing to sign it?

EVEN BETTER: Make yourself more resilient to the blahs by keeping yourself physically and mentally fit. Eat well and get the rest you need. Have a life outside of work and strive for balance. While it’s only human to have an off day or two, you don’t want to make a habit of it—and healthier habits are a great safeguard.

During our research for our book Networking Magic, people repeatedly explained that they were not good networkers because they couldn’t remember the names of people they met. Successful networkers also revealed that they constantly struggle to remember names. Since most of them had some loose memory system, most of which didn’t always work, so we turned to an expert.

Public speaker and marketing consultant Ken Glickman suffered from a faulty memory for names so he created a system that has trained him to remember well over 100 first names. Glickman concentrates on first names, which he feels is sufficient for networking meetings and events. However, he is clear that his system is a short-term approach. So don’t expect it to work when you come across someone out-of-context who you met briefly at a conference last year.

According to Glickman, “Most people don’t remember names because they don’t really listen in the first place. However, they do remember people they like and admire because they pay attention to them.”
“Everyone’s favorite word is their own name. So if you want to make others feel important and good about themselves, call them by name.” Glickman explains. “You can’t make them feel special if you don’t remember their name. And if you pretend that you know someone’s name, you’re usually going to get caught and no longer seen credible. People infer that if you’re lying about that, what else are you untruthful about?”
To address his inability to remember names, Glickman developed a three-step technique that forced him to concentrate and listen. By mastering Glickman’s system, you can teach yourself to remember those you meet. You can also avoid embarrassing moments when you can’t recall the name of someone you just met. Improving your memory for names should help you network better and more confidently.

When Glickman meets someone new, he:
1.      Deliberately shakes his/her hand and repeats his/her first name several times during their initial conversation.

For example, he might say, “Joe, it’s nice to meet you. Where are your from Joe? And how long will you be here Joe?” Or, he will introduce Joe to someone else and say, “Joe this is Harry. Harry, Joe is here for the meeting.”
2.      As soon as he/she walks away, but within 10 to 15 seconds, Glickman visualizes the person’s face in his mind and repeats his/her name.
3.      About 30 seconds later, Glickman looks around the room for that person and when he spots him/her, has says his/her name.

Glickman’s process requires you to listen, focus and connect the names and faces in your mind. The more you do it, the better you get.

When Glickman forgets peoples’ names, he goes right up to them and states, “I’ve been having trouble remembering names,” and he asks them their names. Glickman believes that when you admit not knowing their names, you can create a mental block and the quickest way to clear that block is to immediately ask.

Similarly, when you meet someone and can’t remember his/her name, don’t bluff or pretend. Promptly say, “I remember your face and I enjoyed our conversation so much last time, but I’m sorry I’m having trouble with names and I can’t remember your name.” Provide whatever context you can to show that you only forgot their name, not them. Then when they tell you their name, repeat it during the remainder of your conversation.

Rules to the PR Game

The term “public relations” consists of two words, “public” and “relations.” Relations with the public are publicists’ inventories. Relationships are the most valuable assets in publicists’ portfolios. The most valuable relationships are those with the media because they in turn produce relationships with the greater public.
And by media we mean both the traditional media—print and television news reporters—as well as the new media—bloggers, podcasters, and social networkers.

Generally, you won’t see immediate results because these types of relationships must be nurtured. It’s a slow, deliberate process like erecting a brick wall: firmly and precisely placing, aligning, adjusting and mortaring one brick at a time, row after row, until the wall is completed.
However, unlike a brick wall, your relationship with the media is never complete—you must always continue building.
The Rules
You can’t win the publicity game if you don’t know the rules. Only fools play high-stakes poker without knowing whether a flush beats a straight. Yet that’s precisely what you’re doing when you don’t know the rules that govern relationships with the media.
Since the media holds all the cards, they make the rules. If you want to play at their table, you have to adhere to their rules. Ironically, there are only three rules and they’re alarmingly simple:
1.    You are a resource for the media.
2.    It’s never personal. It’s always about the story and its impact.
3.    The media can always change its mind, but you can’t. At any time, it can revise, cut, postpone or even kill a story it agreed to run.

By adhering to their rules, the media will consider you a professional, someone they can rely on and with whom they’ll do business.

YOU NEED A MAILING LIST –
Mailing lists are hybrids that are a combination of electronic publications and Internet communities. They’re easy to use and ideal for beginners. Basically, mailing lists are interactive discussion groups in which members send emails on subjects of mutual interest that are circulated to the other list members. Some lists moderate or screen messages while others distribute messages unscreened.
You can build your network by contributing to mailing lists or starting your own. If you start your own mailing list, it can be purely commercial. You can freely send press releases and distribute information or promotional materials. Mailing lists can operate as separate networks or to solidify your contacts with business associates: employees, customers/clients, suppliers, retailers and the media. Plus, they enable list members to communicate directly with one another.
When you start a mailing list, you set the rules and chart the direction of the list. The interactive nature of mailing lists causes them to operate more like discussion groups. As with discussion groups, the tone, direction and nature of mailing lists can shift with the addition and deletion of members, internal and external developments and time.
Sites listing mailing lists are at:
• Do List—http://www.dolist.net

• Discussion Lists—http://www:discussionlists.com

• Point Arrow—http://www.pointarrow.com

• Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists–http://www.paml.net

• Tile.Net–http://www.tile.net

• Topica–http://www.liszt.com

• Web Scout Lists—http://www.webscoutlists.com

more tips at http://www.rickfrishman.com