Grant Cardone's Success Blog http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/ Live Life Fully, Ethically & Without Effort en Copyright 2010 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:31:42 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss What makes a successful sales training program? Whether you're training for the UFC, a better golf score, the NFL, or developing the
skills of a professional sales team, the challenges are the same. The first thing
your training program must do is motivate and give hope to those being trained.
Many instructors don't motive they just educate -- MISTAKE! All organizations
committed to sales training provide a location, sales resources, and sales-
learning tools (equipment), and make them readily available and accessible.
Where's the training room? How often is it used? What materials are in the
facility? Are they easy to access?

Great training organizations make training mandatory, measure the training, and
even make it part of the employee agreement and contract. You think the NY
Giants don't make training mandatory? It's not an option for even the best players!
It's a requirement and part of the agreement to be on the team. Great leaders
know that most people left to their own choices are not disciplined enough to do
the things that will make them better! Great leaders/managers don't get frustrated
over people's lack of discipline. Instead, they provide disciplined environments.
Great organizations then measure everything that's valuable to them. Measuring
your training's effectiveness is vital, and we can do this today with our interactive
virtual technology and testing tool that allows us to engage the sales person and
get clarification every 3-5 minutes to measure understanding before moving
forward. Look at the results of an organization after JUST 30 DAYS of sales
meetings, sales training, testing, and sales solutions (see below).


]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/what_makes_a_successful_sales.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/what_makes_a_successful_sales.html Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:31:42 -0800 Giving Thanks Creates Abundance While people spend so much time thinking about everything
that's wrong in this world, I am reminded at this time to focus
on everyone and everything I can be thankful for:

* Each and every person in the military who risks their life
to keep this country safe.
* The honest police forces across the country who protect
us every day
* The courageous firefighters out there risking their lives
* The educators in our schools who not only teach but impart
inspiration unto their students.
* The caring and considerate nurses working overtime to
take care of the sick.
* Everyone contributing to keeping our cities lit, ensuring we
have clean, drinkable water, and making it possible to heat
and cool our homes.
* To everyone who makes our streets and highways functional.
* To our Founders who put freedom ahead of politics.
* To the many freedoms that are unique to this great nation.
* For my capability to cross state lines whenever I please
* For my right and freedom to practice the religion of my choosing
* For living and working in the greatest economy the world has
ever seen, where any individual can be rewarded for working
hard, possessing creativity, persistence and a tiny bit of luck.
* For my father who passed away when I was ten years old but
still taught me the value of hard work.
* For my mother who was one of my closest friends and whose
friendship and love I was able to receive for eighty-eight years.
* For my older brother who passed way at the age of twenty-five
but instilled in me the power of charisma.
* For my twin brother with whom I have enjoyed thousands of
experiences with.
* For my lovely wife who matches me perfectly and with whom I will
spend the rest of this lifetime.
* For my daughter who I cherish and will teach me more than I will be
able to teach her.
* For each and every person who has worked with me over the years

Last, but not least, for all of my loyal followers, students, and clients
who have and continue to use my services and support my hard work.

]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/giving_thanks_creates_abundanc.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/giving_thanks_creates_abundanc.html Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:30:02 -0800 How does a person commit? What I do is eliminate any and all options and devote myself to learning everything I can about the topic. I become a fanatic, 100% absorbed, all in, a Super Freak! I stop questioning and get in all the way. I discontinue looking at other options.

Committing is as simple as picking a place to park your car. Find a spot, pull in and get out of the car. You don't keep looking for another space in which to park. COMMIT AND BE DONE WITH IT. Committing is when you make a firm decision, you quit wondering, and then you follow your commitment through with actions.

Once you've fully committed to a partner in life, its good advice to quit looking for new partners. You take what you have and make everything you can out of it. Can you find someone prettier, smarter, and happier? Probably, but that's not committing. Committing means you are in all the way, you are done looking and you make the person you have committed to the prettiest, the smartest and the happiest. I would rather commit to the wrong thing all the way than commit to the right thing halfway.
Commit and be done with it!

Whenever I commit myself to any line of action, I get immediate results. When I'm not committed all the way, I find results are delayed or non-existent. If I'm committed 100% to the customer before me, I get results. But when I'm with one customer and thinking about another customer or wishing I had a better customer, I'm unable to make the best of what I have. Commit and commit all the way.

I decided one day (after years of being mediocre), that sales was not the problem, I was. At that moment, I devoted myself to learning everything there was to know about sales.
My goal was to stand head and shoulders above others in my field and to no longer be compared with them. I decided to become a professional and be different than the "typical," average, mediocre salesperson. That's the moment when everything changed for me, and it changed immediately and magically. Right away my energy changed, my dress changed, my actions and habits started changing, my language changed and my results changed. Immediately, my pastures became green and my potential exploded. It was almost spiritual! No it was spiritual. It was so dramatic --and that is the magic of commitment.

If you want to be successful at anything then guess what...you need to commit 100%, no a ¼, 1/3, ½, but go all the way baby.

I rather to commit to the wrong thing all the way, than commit to the right thing ½ way.

]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/how_does_a_person_commit.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/how_does_a_person_commit.html Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:29:07 -0800 VIDEO: Some things never age I just came across a video we shot about
18 months ago, and it looks like it's more
relevant today than the day I shot it.

While this is my strategy of the week
it should be your strategy for life.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.

How do you feel it holds up knowing it was
shot nearly 2 years ago?


]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/video_some_things_never_age.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/12/video_some_things_never_age.html Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:27:23 -0800 McNeese to honor Cardone, Raftery

The McNeese Alumni Association will present its two most prestigious awards during halftime ceremonies at the McNeese State vs. Texas State football game Saturday, Nov 13.

Grant T. Cardone, an international sales expert, motivational speaker and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best selling author, is the recipient of the 2010 McNeese Alumni Distinguished Alumnus Award. This is the highest award presented by the association and it recognizes graduates who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field of endeavor on a national or international level. He received his accounting degree from McNeese in 1981.

With more than two decades of research, Cardone has developed a unique, common sense approach to sales that is practical and solution-oriented. He is a regular contributor on Fox News and an established writer for Business Week and The Huffington Post. Cardone's work has also been covered by CNBC, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and over 700 radio shows nationwide. He was recently featured in June on Joan River's Show, "How Did You Get So Rich," on TV Land channel.
Cardone, who lives in Los Angeles, Calif., has authored three books, has traveled the world presenting seminars, created three multimillion-dollar companies and is working on a virtual training site that is revolutionizing how organizations train, motivate and educate their people. His most recent book, "If You're Not First You're Last," premiered at No. 8 on the New York Best Seller List and No. 3 on the Wall Street Journal Best Seller List this summer.

Roy M. Raftery, president and CEO of Cameron State Bank, has been named recipient of the 2010 McNeese Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an alumnus who has given years of personal and professional service to the alumni association and to the university.
Raftery, who lives in Lake Charles, earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1965 at McNeese, and in 1973, he earned a degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Banking in bank operations.

]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/11/mcneese_to_honor_cardone.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/11/mcneese_to_honor_cardone.html Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:52:32 -0800 Steps to Buying a Car Made Fast and Easy!
Auto dealers know that there is no shortage of information to you as a customer and are now using documentation to replace long painful negotiations. Car dealers are replacing traditional automotive sales training with education on how the sales and management team create a customer positive buying experience using transparent documentation to make the purchase process easy and fast.  Auto dealers are no longer interested in a long drawn out processes anymore than the customer is.  Because of these changes it is no longer necessary to spend 3 weeks in research, shopping a 1/2 dozen dealerships and then countless hours in painful negotiations.

Automotive Sales Trainer Shows Buyers the 6 steps that will guarantee a great deal without wasting time:

1) Approach the auto dealer as a buyer.  Your best strategy when buying a car is to identify yourself as a buyer, not a shopper. Don't be defensive, present yourself an easy buyer to deal with. The customer that approaches a car dealer defensive and pushy tends to cause the dealership personal to respond the same way.

2) Price is not your greatest concern.  Let the sales person know that price is not your biggest concern but that the car is your main focus.  This will be music to the sales person and make them butter in your hands. Let them know that you know price is easy once the car is right. This is going to make the sales process quicker by reducing confrontation and later make getting your best terms even easier.

3) Determining right car for you.  Contrary to out date strategies the best way to determine the right unit is not online or on the phone but at the dealership.  A trick to make sure you are on the right vehicle is to look at the vehicles just above and just below what you think you want.  Any interest in either of the other two product choices means you are not yet on the perfect product for you.

4) Test drive the vehicle. Driving the vehicle will actually save you time negotiating and makes the dealership feel like they have done their job and provides them with more confidence in giving you their best price.  

5) Request computer documented proposal. Ask the dealership to present their offer to you electronically.  The most progressive, customer satisfaction-driven dealers today utilize technology to provide the buyer with computer-generated proposals. Full disclosure proposals will include price, trade figures, purchase and lease payments, down payments and interest rates all at one time.  Ask your dealer, "do you use electronic proposals to document your offer?"  Computer generated documentation avoid wasted time in the negotiations and unnecessary games.  Car dealers know that time is important to the 21st century buyer and is using technology to improve the buying experience.

6) Determining a fair price?  Franchised automotive dealers in the US operate on about the same net margins as a grocery store--(2% net margin - after all expenses).  Most transactions generate more money to state and local taxes than profits to the dealer.  For instance, the taxes in California are 8.75, so if the dealer has a gross mark up (before expenses) of 6% on a 20,000 car, they will have a gross profit of 1200 while the state will collect almost 1800. Keep in mind the State of California isn't even in the car business.  Based on the taxes collected use your own logic to make sense of what a fair price to offer the dealer is. Your dealer will love this logic and remove time and pain from the process.

It is outdated thinking that you have to shop 5 locations to get a good deal.  The next time you are ready to are ready to roll in something new just follow my steps; let your dealer know you are there to buy, be sure you are on the right car, ask that they present their proposal electronically.  Lastly let them know you have been trained how to buy a car from automotive sales trainer Grant Cardone and I guarantee you a great deal!

]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/how_to_buy_a_car_and_avoid_wasting_time.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/how_to_buy_a_car_and_avoid_wasting_time.html Sales Strategies Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:56:43 -0800 10 Reasons Sales People Fail
There is something you can do to counter these reasons and traits but the first thing is to know what the failing sales traits are. Before you or your company get involved in sales training, sales meetings, or improving your selling skills you must know these traits cold or they will plague your sales results. When hiring sales people you should also use this list to identify whether this person is cut out to be a sales person or at the very least to understand what type of sales training the applicant will need to be an excellent sales pro!

1) Hate being told no. I have yet to meet anyone that actually likes being told not but if you tend to have a highly emotional response to be being told no and it sticks with you for days, selling is probably not for you. The truth is planet earth is going to be difficult because you will be told no by lots of people in many ways and many times. It is the meaning that you place on the no that causes sales people to personalize the no. The sales skill of turning a no into yes is a learned skill that will allow to be successful at selling and successful in life.
 
2) Unwilling to ask for the order.  Believe it or not, this is the number one reason salespeople fail to close a sale. Sales people believe they ask for the order more than they actually do, and in fact, never even asked the first time, much less enough times. Probably trying to avoid rejection, no and failure or because the discipline of asking hasn't been developed yet. Many sales people that are unable to ask are operating under the false belief that if they are just nice sales people they will get the order. Only a very small percentage of the people will buy from you without you asking and most will only buy after you have asked for the sale five times. If you are unwilling to ask for the order you will only get the leftovers of those that are professionally trained to ask for the order.

3) Inability to selectively listen.  If you are one of those people that believe everything someone says to you is true, this profession will be a disaster for you. People will say many things to you that is almost meaningless, like; "I can't afford it", "we are on a budget", "we aren't buying today", "we are going to wait until", "we never buy at the first place", "I have to talk to my wife first", "I'll see you later today" and the likes. If you are so gullible that you must believe everything your client tells you and unwilling to understand that people can say something one second and completely change their beliefs the next., you won't cut it in sales. Selective listening is a trained skill of the professional sales person and there is the art of knowing when people are saying something meaningful and when what they are saying means nothing at all.
 
4) Unable to stay sold on your beliefs.   If you happen to be one of those personality types that is easily sold on another's story and unable to maintain your own beliefs, you will not be able to sell your own products because you are too busy being sold someone else's. Stuck in some kind of reverse boomerang universe where you intend to sell your ideas, products or services and then end up buying rather than selling. Another trait you are only stuck with if you refuse consistent and professional sales training.
 
5) Unable to ask questions.  If you hate asking questions and feel like asking questions is like getting 'too' personal or prying into someone's business, you will not make it in the field of sales or as a negotiator. "What is your income", "how long have you worked there", "who is the decision maker", "why can't you do this" are questions you will have to learn to asked. If you don't become comfortable with asking personal questions your fate in sales will be determined just by your unwillingness to ask questions.
 
6) Unwilling to get answers to questions.  I know some sales people that don't mind asking questions but never take the time to actually get an answer. It is a myth that the person asking questions controls the conversation. It is true that the person that gets answers to his/her questions controls the sale and the negotiations. Majorities of salespeople never actually get answers, and often answer questions themselves for the customer and never collect information. This can be accomplished and learned through proper sales drills to train the sales person to get answers.
 
7)Believe the price is key to the sale.  If you believe the lowest price is the reason people buy things then you should not consider sales and become a waiter in a restaurant. 99.9% of all products on this planet can be replaced by cheaper alternatives. Whether it is a purse, phone, TV, automobile, insurance, mortgage etc., someone, some where can sell it for less. Most of the things that are bought and sold are not necessary so if a person wanted the lowest price, the thing to do would be to not buy it at all. Price is actually a myth and not the reason people buy anything but if you believe the lowest price is the reason people buy things you should not be in sales. Check out my book Sell to Survive as I go over the remedy to this in detail.
 
8) You believe persistence and pressure is a bad thing.  If you are one of those people that became convinced by your parents, teacher and environment that getting your way is a bad thing then you should avoid all sales jobs, any job involving negotiating, debating, management and entrepreneurship. A diamond is only coal until the right amount of pressure is applied for the right amount of time. People will not separate from their money or make decisions without someone building value and then insisting on someone taking action. People that are not unable to use professional pressure and persistence are just an indication of a lack of sales training.
 
9) Think that selling is a negative thing.  Even a small dose of this thinking will kill your chances of making it in sales. Most sales people actually believe that what they are doing is wrong, unethical and because they believe that what they are doing is a bad thing they will fail at it. Great sales people are proud of their title and profession and know that nothing happens on this planet without sales people.
 
10) Unwilling to train and prepare.  If you are one of those people that thinks they are going to successfully sell just because of natural abilities and unwilling to train and prepare you will never become consistently great sales person. Even great salespeople over the life of his/her career will be plagued with competitive threats, industry changes, challenging economies and will find themselves at risk. To be a career great at anything you will have to make a commitment to sales training, sales seminars, sales books, daily sales tips, motivation and sales strategies.
   
All of these failing personality traits can be altered but only with consistent sales training, drilling, rehearsing and rehabilitation. This would include daily sales motivation, daily sales training, sales solutions close by during the day and then especially important sales rehabilitation after a failed sale to keep the sales person fresh. Our Virtual Sales Training web based platform provides sales people and sales managers with 24/7 access and has been proven to take ordinary people and turn them into sales pro's almost immediately. Sales training is the only solution to weak personality traits and making exceptional sales people.
]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/10_reasons_sales_people_fail.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/10_reasons_sales_people_fail.html Sales Strategies Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:53:32 -0800 Grass is Greener But it Still Has to be Mowed! Beware of those people who suggest to you that you have done enough or should take a rest.  These are the same people who lost everything taking breaks rather than adding wood to the fires of production.  Andy Grove of Intel was coined with saying, "Only the paranoid survive," and though I am not suggesting for you to be paranoid, I am saying that you stay committed to your goals and keep taking action with a feverish intensity.

Success is like a lawn or garden-- no matter how green it gets, or beautiful the flowers, it must still be tended to.  You have to keep mowing, trimming, edging, watering and planting. There is NO retreating for those who want to create success and keep it. Remember there are four possible actions in the handling of an increase in success: no action, retreat, normal levels or massive action, and 'doing nothing' IS one of your choices.  However, to discontinue doing the very things that got you traction is extremely foolish.  Rest is overrated and success is under valued! Rest later but continue to create success now for yourself, your family and your business.  It is  your ethical duty, obligation and responsibility to take actions that will create more and more levels of success.  Do not stop with just one victory, go in to win the war!

Say no to those who encourage you to back off, they are merely trying to justify their own lack of action and focus. Misery, as they say, loves company so beware of those who suggest you back off as they are really saying they want you to be miserable! The best way to get rid of competition, economic threats and uncertainty is to take massive actions. This can only be done by continuing to stack actions on top of new actions.  Most competition is self-inflicted and allowed by you because you back off. Never be reasonable with actions, you can never, never take enough!  There is no such thing as enough wood on your fire.  There is no such thing as too much action.

Knowledge is the fuel for more action. Those who KNOW what they are doing take more action than those who do not know.
]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/grass_is_greener_but_it_still_has_to_be_mowed.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/grass_is_greener_but_it_still_has_to_be_mowed.html Sales Strategies Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:38:41 -0800 Economy Won't Improve Until You Do!
Here is the deal: YOUR SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY IS NOT GOING TO IMPROVE UNTIL YOU IMPROVE.

Economic Advice
1) Quit waiting for good economic news.
2) Relearn how to create revenue through sales and sales skills .
3) Organizations must make serious commitment to sales training and sales effectiveness in a tough economy.  Real sales skills have been lost over a decade of a synthetic economy where companies neglected a commitment to sales training.
4) Do not wait for consumers, create them. Only individuals and businesses that insist on their people creating revenue opportunities will survive.
5) Build sales muscle through sales training now or you won't be ready to when things do improve.

The reality is most of the country doesn't know how to sell their products, make sense of value or justify to the public why this is a great time to buy. Except for a handful of professionals this is forgotten skill set. With the cheapest mortgage rates in my lifetime and housing prices, in some places, below construction cost, you would think that your local realtor would be pitching you, but they do not! Why?  After years of economic bliss and insufficient sales training , sales motivation, sales discipline and sales persistence the majority of real estate people are unable to produce revenue. And this same story applies to automobiles, furniture, appliances, investments, consumer goods, advertising, and I could go on and on. After decades of order taking, easy credit and an over-hyped economy businesses, individuals and entire industries have forgotten how to sell. If you are waiting for your sector to improve, jobs to come back or economic numbers to somehow magically improve you are in for a very painful 4 to 5 years.

The most valuable individuals and companies in this economy are those that are able to create and drive revenues by committing to sales training, sales motivation and sales skills.  You want the economy to get better is like thinking you are going to win the $64m lottery.  There will only be a few winners.  Your economy will not improve until you do!]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/economy_wont_improve_until_you_do.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/10/economy_wont_improve_until_you_do.html Sales Strategies Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:36:38 -0800 Video Strategy: Closing The Sale



Denver - September 9th
Charlotte - September 14th
Los Angeles - September 16th

This one day only event, SELL TO SURVIVE will provide attendees with the exact tools, actions and techniques to not only survive in this new market, but to thrive and prosper:

Learn the key actions to ensure you are among the winners in any economy

Learn how to stay motivated 24/7

Learn how to stay focused on solutions

Learn how to control any customer in any situation

Learn how to close anyone, anytime, in any situation

Learn how to create your own economy in order to become self dependent

Learn how to generate more money regardless of the conditions around you

The exact formula that will guarantee your success

The exact formula for determining how much action is necessary to hit your targets


For tickets or more information call: (800) 368-5771]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/09/video_strategy_closing_the_sale.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/09/video_strategy_closing_the_sale.html Videos Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:34:16 -0800 Video Strategy: Relevant Sales Questions ]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/08/video_strategy_relevant_sales_questions.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/08/video_strategy_relevant_sales_questions.html Videos Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:59:59 -0800 Video Strategy: Sales Mistakes When Asking Questions ]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/08/video_strategy_sales_mistakes_when_asking_questions.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/08/video_strategy_sales_mistakes_when_asking_questions.html Videos Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:46:17 -0800 Turning 'Disorders' into Success Footprint.pngAt about the age of 23 I had been labeled as troubled, compulsive, obsessive, attention-deficit prone to an addictive personality and some even suggested I had a disease. Trust me, I knew I was having problems, but had never considered any of them disorders or diseases.   I went for this hook, line and sinker, as I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what it was. It was clear that I wasn't living up to my potential and these labels seem to fit some of what was going on with me.

At the age of 25 I quit the drug thing and it was recommended that I get on prescription drugs to help me handle my "other" problems. Instead of more drugs I took all of the time, energy and misdirection I had been wasting and focused on my career. Almost immediately, I became the top producer where I worked. For the first time in my life I was winning and the more I won the more I wanted to win.  Literally the only difference was I took all my restless energy and focused it on one thing- learning my career and my financial stability.

I was working 12+ hour days, when others were working 8. Someone suggested that I had just replaced one addiction/obsession- disorder with another. I couldn't believe it. For the first time in my life I was doing well and was now being told that this too was a problem. Most of the people who I worked with couldn't keep up with my energy so they labeled me with a problem. Who had the problem- why was I getting labeled?  The same people that were saying something was wrong with me were either just plain lazy or simply didn't want for much. It hit me that this had been happening since childhood with people always finding something about me that was somehow wrong or bad or deficient.  Why aren't the labelers being labeled? Maybe they have the problem and need to be labeled with "under-performance disorder" or "settle for crumbs compulsion" or " gave up on the dream disease"?

I decided in that moment that I would no longer accept the labels of others and use all my energy even if it was a problem to focus on what I wanted. I started reading 2-3 books a week, listening to audio programs daily and learning from highly successful people. All the successful people talked about being 'all-in' on an idea, none of them talked about balance - they were all obsessed with an idea. It made me think, "Is the commitment to do something extraordinary so profound that in order for 'ordinary' people to make sense of the 'extraordinary' they label it something bad?"   Also all of these people had an interest in doing something very special as though they were going to leave their imprint or footprint on planet earth.

Once I made these same decisions I quickly reached the top 1% of all sales people in my industry and went on to build three successful businesses. To make things happen you need a lot of drive and an unwavering commitment to do so. In the last 18 months I have written three books (one of which became a NY Times Best Seller), written over 120 articles that have been posted around the world, created a virtual training product and a phone app and still able to make time for my family everyday.

Here are a few steps you may want to take today:

  1. Quit allowing people to label you- tell them to  !@#$- off.
  2. Take all your creative energy and focus on your purpose.
  3. Become obsessed with the concept of leaving a footprint on this planet.
Someone told me recently, "you have attention deficit", and I told him, "broham, just because you can't get my full attention don't make me wrong."  Today, I dare anyone to label my gifts a disease, dysfunction or a deficit. I was doing an interview in my home when I was asked, " are you obsessed with success?" I told them, "ABSOLUTELY! It is my ethical responsibility to create success - show me anyone that has done something exceptional who is not compulsive, obsessive and even addicted to manifesting his/her ideas."  If these traits are considered disabilities or disorders or problems, I want some more of them because it takes a lot of energy to leave your footprint on this planet!   

]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/disorders.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/disorders.html Sales Strategies Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:25:51 -0800 Video Strategy: Creating an Internet Presence (Part 2)


The next steps required the entrepreneurial think and actions where you will take every social media site available; Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Buzz and others and USE them to gather people that are interested in your products and services by building fans and followers. The way to do this is to give your audience information that they find valuable and useful. Social media is like creating a place for people to gather. People want to be entertained, feel good, be right, make good decisions, know things others don't, stay connected, make money, save money, hear the latest gossip, and be on the 'in'. For social media to work you have to be entrepreneurial, creative, engaging and entertaining. Understand the internet is about people not technology.

Now you are going to combine the social networking with Blogging, where you write information articles for like-minded websites that have similar interest and also launch as much informational video/visual content as you can on You Tube, Daily Motion, Veoh and the likes. Obscurity is your problem with the internet. This combination of active efforts will get you a footprint in the internet universe and the more creative, consistent and relentless you are the greater your presence will be and the more attention you will get.

After a just a six month push on the net using the actions above our followers increased 10x. About the same time I received a call from world class Wiley Publications who had discovered some of my blogs and offered me a book deal. That book, If You're Not First, You're Last, recently became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best Seller. Just weeks later, I got a call from a television production company in New York stating they had been looking for someone with my skill set for a television show and that they had found video of me on YouTube. We just finished shooting the teaser to pitch to the networks.

Anyone can get a presence once you understand these four things:


1) You can NOT delegate this activity.

2) It is way bigger than you imagine.

3) The Internet is about technology, it is about people.

4) No single effort or action will get you what you want. You will utilize all of them.

I recently heard a consultant state to a mutual client that he was evaluating Facebook. I thought to myself, 'you are dead and don't know it yet.' The client asked me what I thought and I told him, Facebook and YouTube have been the single best things that ever happened to my business. Facebook by itself has more users than the entire population of the United States and I would like to know them all.

After just a bit of work we are in better communication with our client base today than ever before and have now horizontally extended to individuals and companies both here in the USA and around the world. The feedback received from them is proving unbelievably valuable allowing my company to create new products and solutions that comes from the constant communication and feedback. At the beginning of the year we introduced an virtual online product that is screaming and about to release a new phone app for sales professionals, all as a result of this new internet presence.

This internet thing is much bigger than anyone understands and the biggest mistake people make is not to be on it and not USE it. Second mistake is not to have each of your people be an extension of your presence. The third biggest mistake is the incorrect estimation of effort required and how many different fronts you must attack. You ain't delegating this one unless you have someone in your organization that has more entrepreneurial juice than you do.]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/video_strategy_creating_an_internet_presence_part_2.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/video_strategy_creating_an_internet_presence_part_2.html Sales Strategies Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:23:40 -0800 Video Strategy: Creating an Internet Presence (Part 1)


The first thing to understand is the enormous and massive opportunity. Estimates suggest the internet will have just under 2billion unique visitors this year with 4.2billion unique internet addresses, housed in some 44+ million servers that consume 5% of the world's electricity. Amazing it comprises some 40 million gigabytes of information which only weighs 56 millionths of a gram. Some 90 trillion emails in 2009 of which 80% were spam come from some 235 billion different websites. The point of all these facts is that you must think in terms of a universe that is massive, yet weighs nothing. For a company or individual to create a presence in this vast universe and then maintain that presence it will take more than a fancy website, a techno-geek, a guru, a Facebook page, a tweet or two and a few video testimonials on YouTube.

I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on fancy websites only to find out that the moment they were live they were already dated and no one could find them. Then I spent hours in meetings with supposed SEO gurus who told me it would take me years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the presence I wanted.

First let's dispell some myths:

1) No one guru can create a presence for you.
2) You can not delegate this activity.
3) The internet is bigger than a department.
4) SEO, Social Networking, Blogging, Video do not stand alone as efforts.
5) It does not cost 100's of thousands of dollars.

Your internet presence initiative will require a massive effort of resources in order to create, maintain and sustain a presence that generates real clients and real money for your company. You will have to utilize all social media not one or the other-- FBook, MySpace, Flikr, LinkedIn, Buzz and whatever else is to come. Then you will be forced to blog and write articles for like minded sites, tweet and use video sites to disseminate, (not advertise) information that is useful, maybe even secret and then do it in a way that is entertaining. And close out these efforts by engaging traditional efforts like TV and radio to bring even more credibility and life to our efforts.

Part 2 will be out on Thursday, or you can Call 800-368-5771 and have it sent to you.
]]> http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/video_strategy_creating_an_internet_presence.html http://www.grantcardone.com/blog/2010/07/video_strategy_creating_an_internet_presence.html Videos Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:58:38 -0800