November 23rd Monday Marketing Minutes

November 23rd Monday Marketing Minutes

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The third episode of Monday Marketing Minutes™ was broadcast live via YouTube using Google+ Hangouts On Air.

Here’s a summary of the tips and advice that were included in this episode. You can click on the image above to watch the replay on YouTube at your convenience. And if you have marketing questions you’d like answered you can always send them to me at jon@jonturino.com for inclusion in a future episode of Monday Marketing Minutes.
Slide3The tips presented during the November 23rd, 2015, episode have to do with measuring your marketing. If you can’t measure something it is virtually impossible to improve it so measuring and monitoring are part of the cohesive and comprehensive marketing plan mentioned in the November 16th episode.

There are a great many tools available to you on your website and social media platforms, like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and LinkedIn Statistics and they will work best if you plan your landing pages to take advantage of them.

The idea is to monitor your statistics to see what is working the best and use that information to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t work. It’s not rocket science but it can make a huge difference in the level of success that your marketing campaigns achieve.

Slide4The advice presented during this episode dealt with considering the use of the Power of Free as a marketing strategy or tactic. You can use free things to build interest, build credibility and awareness and even to increase the size of your audience.

Think about it. The bakery that provides free samples sells a lot more muffins or cupcakes or pies or cakes than the one down the street that doesn’t offer them. Free trials are a great way to get people “hooked” on your product so that they will later convert to a version for which you get paid. The same goes for so-called “basic” accounts that give you some, but not all, of the full feature set of the product. These things work and they don’t have to cost a lot of money.

Today’s episode was the first broadcast to include a guest presenter — Mr. Leon Henry from WebStep in the U.K. Leon is a marketing and social media consultant who helps his clients similarly to what I do for mine.

Slide7We also had three questions from an audience member, Nana Bellerud, on the topic of business networking and those were addressed during the audience question portion of the program.

You can watch the replay of the complete broadcast here. Enjoy and please do remember to send me your questions for future episodes of Monday Marketing Minutes. You’ll find links to all past and future episodes HERE.

Hangout on Air Guest Invitation 825x400 CroppedAnd, as always, please do contact me if you’d like help with your marketing plans, strategies, and tactics. I’d love to be of service to you in building your business through better marketing.

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November 16th Monday Marketing Minutes

November 16th Monday Marketing Minutes

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The second episode of Monday Marketing Minutes™ was broadcast live via YouTube using Google+ Hangouts On Air.

Here’s a summary of the tips and advice that were included in this episode. You can click on the image above to watch the replay on YouTube at your convenience. And if you have marketing questions you’d like answered you can always send them to me at jon@jonturino.com for inclusion in a future episode of Monday Marketing Minutes.

Slide2The tips presented during the November 16th, 2015, episode had to do with understanding that marketing is a process and not an event. Your marketing strategy and tactics need to be well planned in advance of the execution of your plan.

The plan itself must be cohesive if it is to be maximally successful. That means that all of the underlying strategies, tactics, messages and media selection must tie together and have a common look and feel. This applies as well to online marketing via social media and the design of websites and landing pages. The plan must also be comprehensive, covering all the bases in terms of media and messaging.

I also spoke about remembering that marketing involves everyone in the company from corporate management to customer service personnel — including every employee — and not just the marketing department.

Slide3The advice presented during this episode dealt with remembering WHY people buy: based on emotions and supported by logic. The emotions can fall into many categories, including being fed or driven by necessity, need, want, desire or ego. So when the messages are crafted they need to trigger the buying impulses based on the emotions you think will be strongest for your product or service.

I used some slides from my Probiotic Marketing™ presentation/infographic to illustrate these points. People buy things — or do anything else for that matter —  based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Thus, you need to craft your message to match the level of need — physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and the self-actualization levels — if you are to be successful. The three slides that followed in the broadcast were used to illustrate these points.

You can watch the replay of the complete broadcast here. Enjoy and please do remember to send me your questions for future episodes of Monday Marketing Minutes. You’ll find links to all past and future episodes HERE.

Hangout on Air Guest Invitation 1000x485And, as always, please do contact me if you’d like help with your marketing plans, strategies, and tactics. I’d love to be of service to you in building your business through better marketing.

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November 9th Monday Marketing Minutes

November 9th Monday Marketing Minutes

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The first episode of Monday Marketing Minutes™ was broadcast live via YouTube using Google+ Hangouts On Air.

Here’s a summary of the tips and advice that were included in this episode. You can click on the image above to watch the replay on YouTube at your convenience. And if you have marketing questions you’d like answered you can always send them to jon@jonturino.com for inclusion in a future episode of Monday Marketing Minutes.

Slide2The tips presented during the November 9th, 2015, episode had to do with analyzing your current customer base so that you can find out who your best customers are and why they are your best customers. With this information in hand, you can then craft a strategy to find more customers like them from other sources.

Knowing who your best customers are, what they are buying and, perhaps most importantly, why they are buying is critical to identifying places to locate additional members of your most successful target markets, crafting messages that will resonate with those prospects the way your current messaging is working with your current top customers and using the right media for reaching new audiences containing prospects who best fit your target customer profile.

Slide3The advice presented during this episode dealt with the message development step in crafting the most effective messages — messages that not only appeal to the logic the customer uses to justify purchasing what you are selling but also to the emotions — the belly — that trigger the buying impulse. Both elements must usually be present to motivate an immediate purchase.

It’s also critical to understand WHY people buy things in order to craft the right message for them. Eliminating a problem or alleviating pain is often a good strategy, depending on the product or service being offered. Other good inducements include reducing fear of loss, desire for gain, the need for comfort and convenience, the satisfaction of emotional needs and the creation of a better lifestyle or life condition.

You can watch the replay of the complete broadcast here. Enjoy and please do remember to send me your questions for future episodes of Monday Marketing Minutes. You’ll find links to all past and future episodes HERE.

Hangout on Air Guest Invitation 1000x485

And, as always, please do contact me if you’d like help with your marketing plans, strategies, and tactics. I’d love to be of service to you in building your business through better marketing.

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What Can I Do For You?

What Can I Do For You?

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How can I help you? How may I be of service? What might you need that would make your life easier, more productive, more profitable or more fun? What keeps you awake at night?

These are the kinds of open-ended questions that are designed to get to the root cause of a person’s needs, wants and desires so that you can help them — either personally, professionally or with your business product or service.

Years ago, when I was selling pianos and electronic organs in my father’s music store I learned the value of open-ended questions. If, for example, you ask someone “Can I help you?” there are multiple possible answers other than the “Yes” that you are looking for. “No,” “Not now,” and “I’m fine” come to mind.

Not very conducive to furthering the conversation — or the sales process. And if you can’t “sell” someone you can’t help them. I am a believer in what is often called education based marketing. That means that I promote the idea that you provide enough up-front valuable information to your prospective clients or customers to establish yourself as a “trusted advisor” so that WHEN they need what you offer that they choose you.

My work in helping my clients identify their true target markets, crafting messages that will resonate with the people in those markets and selecting the right media for delivering those messages led me to develop an infographic call “Probiotic Marketing.” The name came from watching a TV commercial for yogurt of all things, but the idea is to get to the guts of the client. Yes, it’s a play on words, but hopefully one that will be remembered. And the “gist” of the method is illustrated in the three drawings below.

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The idea is to map your messages about your product or service to the right levels in the hierarchy of needs and to craft those messages using words that will resonate with the emotional (e.g., gut level) level of the prospective buyer. Pretty simple. But not always easy.

When you think about your marketing it might be useful to consider how asking the right questions can help you learn to map your messages to your markets.

I hope you found this information helpful and I welcome your feedback.

A Choice Between Two Things vs. Two Choices

A Choice Between Two Things vs. Two Choices

Pardon me, but I get really ticked when I hear someone misuse “choice” and “choices.” Capital One comes to mind immediately because the ads are so pervasive. Samuel Jackson is always telling you that you have “two choices” when he really means that you have A CHOICE between two things!

Two choices means two separate sets of decisions, each with two or more options. YOU HAVE A CHOICE between the credit card he is hawking and some other brand of credit card. You DON’T HAVE TWO CHOICES!

If you wanted to have two choices you might need to choose, number one, whether or not to have a credit card at all and two, whether or not to have the credit card brand he’s selling. That’s two choices.

If you were buying a piano from me, I would tell you that you had A CHOICE between walnut or mahogany, not two choices. If you were buying a piano from me, I would tell you that you had A CHOICE of delivery dates — Tuesday or Thursday.

If I want to give you TWO CHOICES I’d tell you that you had two choices — one regarding the finish — walnut or mahogany — and one regarding the delivery date — Tuesday or Thursday.

Now you have A CHOICE. You can choose to ignore this post or you can comment on it. That is your choice. You actually have more than one choice here. If I give you TWO CHOICES your first choice involves whether or not to ignore it or to comment on it and your second choice involves whether you comment positively or negatively.

Got it? Thanks for reading. I hope you choose to comment!

 

Your APATHY Is Killing Your Future!

Warning! This post is not politically correct!

Apathy Image

Hey, you! Yes, you! Listen up! I’m talking to you! Pay attention!

Your future depends on it! Don’t make me take you by the shoulders and shake you to get you to listen to me! READ THIS and act upon it!

If you don’t, you are part of the problem I am talking about in this post. So goodbye. Don’t complain to me or to anyone else about your lot in life if you are too apathetic to read this post and act upon it. You deserve what you get. What other people deign to give you.

Are you happy with the way things are going in your life, your job, your city, county, state and country? If you can answer “yes” to that question I would really like to meet you and find out how you have achieved such peace, success, happiness, prosperity and nirvana.

If not, what are you doing about it?

I think that many of the so-called “leaders” in this country have gone nuts. They send people to foreign countries to die. Then they refuse to take care of them when they come home wounded and damaged. What are you — yes you, personally — doing about it? My guess is nothing. Because you are apathetic.

Our “leaders” have this country spending huge amounts of money on weapons — many of them unnecessary and unwanted. Half of those amounts could wipe out hunger and poverty in this country in a day! What are you — yes you, personally — doing to make that happen? My guess is nothing. Because you are more interested in how you might get some of that money than in the larger picture. You’re not apathetic when it comes to getting some for yourself, are you? But your apathy sure comes into play when someone you don’t know is affected.

We send money to our “enemies” so that they can buy weapons from us to start wars with our “friends” who also buy weapons from us. Then we lament such terrible losses of life. Bullshit, I say! Stop the hypocrisy! Stand up and say “enough!”

But are you doing that? You don’t know these people tens of thousands of miles away who’ve been killing each other for thousands of years and are, frankly, never going to stop. They breed, preach and practice hate, for heaven sake. They always have and they always will!

Why are we sending them money for weapons without building a wall around them? Then they can kill each others to their heart’s content. And, hopefully, there won’t be enough of them left to hurt the rest of us. When was the last time you stood up and loudly told our “leaders” that enough is enough? My guess is that most of you answer that question with “never.” You’re just plain too apathetic.

Maybe you’re just too enthralled and engaged with the latest high-tech gadgets, or the fanciest cars, or the newest fads to worry about tomorrow. Or your fellow human beings. If that’s you, enjoy it while you can. Because your apathy is eventually going to kill that lifestyle. And your future.

Or maybe, like many of us, you’re just very busy urgently trying to scratch out a living in this crazy world to make time to do the important things that will benefit us all in the long term. I can empathize with that, even while I’m ranting about all this other stuff. But it doesn’t mean you get to be apathetic when it comes to the political, economic and environmental issues that are going to affect your children and their children. We need to pay attention to both the urgent and the important, no matter how difficult that is!

We have people in positions of power in the federal and state governments who are just plain nutso (a non-politically correct term for out of their “f-ing” minds)! They are convinced that making sure that we are all armed with automatic weapons will lower the rate of deaths by bullets. In Colorado, for crying out loud, you can be made to pay for damages to the gun and ammunition sellers if you sue them because one of their customer’s guns or bullets killed your kids!

The governor of Texas thinks that the federal government is getting ready to invade the state and then sell it to Mexico — or China? What kind of people elected this kind of idiot? Crazy people. What kind of people can get rid of this kind of idiot? Sane people. But the sane people are totally apathetic! So they don’t vote these kinds of fools out of office. They simply suffer and complain. And a lot of good that does. And this kook wants to run for the office of the President of the United States! Maybe we should send them overland in big boats to China as the former Governor or Alaska once suggested.

Don’t even get me started on women’s rights! Some of “our” people in the US Congress and the Senate don’t believe that women should have the right to methods to prevent pregnancy. Nor to abort unwanted pregnancies — even those caused by rape. Some of these people actually think that there is such a thing as “legitimate” rape! Where do these people come from and why are they still in positions of power? Because we — and I include myself — have been too apathetic to throw the bastards out!

They pay for Viagra so that men can screw women for hours on end, whether the women want it or not. But they don’t want to pay for birth control. And they don’t want to pay for care for the illegitimate children that result from these kinds of activities. They don’t have a clue that their own votes as supposed representatives of “the people” are so screwed up as to classify them as psychopaths! But have we gotten rid of them? Nope.

APATHY IS KILLING OUR FUTURE!

We have got to put a stop to the craziness! We have got to begin to speak the truth again — political correctness be damned! We have got to reject bullshit in the media when it is clearly biased bullshit! We have got to reject religious zealots who pervert the preachings of their “Gods” to justify hate and genocide! We have got to stop letting people who wish to live in America continue to bad-mouth it and try to destroy it. We have got to get our leaders to stop giving money to these fanatics.

Standing up, saying “enough is enough,” voting out the crazies and the greedy and the pocket liners — and their corporate backers — may mean some short-term pain. But it will certainly lead to some long-term gain! If WE — YOU and ME — stand up and force the needed changes to happen. If we can find a way to overcome our apathy.

We have got to stop people in Congress from betraying the Social Security contract with the American people. This contract IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT! We who have worked all our lives, and who continue to work — voluntarily or out of necessity — have paid, and continue to pay, billions of payroll dollars into this fund so that we will have something to support us when we are forced to retire. SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT and the irresponsible misogynists current in power need to be made to understand that or they need to be removed from their offices.

THERE ARE SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS! This country was built on creating and implementing solutions that increased productivity and prosperity. We’ve done it before and we can do it again. If we can get rid of the impediments — many of our current “leaders.” But voter turnout is at all time lows. Why? Because we are simply apathetic! Or too burdened but what these “leaders” have done to us to have the time, energy and money to stand up to them and say “NO MORE!”

The 1% have the money and the power to keep these people in power. They own our elected representatives. They own our economy. They own us! If you’ve never listened to George Carlin, may he rest in peace, you should do so now. Unless you don’t care. Unless you think someone else should or will solve these problems. But if you don’t do it, who will? Nobody.

AND YOUR APATHY WILL KILL YOUR FUTURE!

On a personal level, are you saving enough money to support yourself when you are too old to work? Or when you are forced out? Or when you are replaced? The time to start taking care of that issue is now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month and not next year. NOW! Because I don’t think that we’re going to find a cure for apathy anytime soon. And that means that we had all better start looking out for ourselves. No one else will, especially those who run our country and our economy. The vast majority of these people are only out for themselves.

Do you have enough life insurance to support your loved ones if you get hit by a bus — or a beer truck — tomorrow? If not, you should probably rectify that situation. And not tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. NOW! Because safety nets from our government are going to continue to disappear.

Do you have disability insurance to replace your income if you are injured or become seriously ill for a long time? I don’t mean group disability from your company, which may pay for injury but not for sickness and will maybe pay for 60% that will be taxed so that you are forced to live on 40% of your normal take-home pay. I mean disability insurance coverage to fill that 60% gap that YOU OWN!

Have I got your attention yet? I really don’t mean to be a “the sky is falling” kind of guy. But at my age — 68, by the way — I’ve seen way too much and, according to my spouse, spent way too much time yelling at the television when I hear about what is going on. I don’t consider myself a conspiracy nut, but I sure do wonder what is happening behind the scenes when our attention is directed to the trumped-up crisis or disaster of the day.

I know, there are many who will say that we can’t do anything about that. Why should we try? As individuals, is it true that we don’t have the resources or the power to fix things? Is the system too big and destined grind us down? Does that mean that we just shouldn’t try? I don’t think that it has to be this way! I believe we can make things better. It will take work but it can be done. To believe otherwise is to surrender. To become totally apathetic.

So I say it this one last time in conclusion: YOUR APATHY WILL KILL YOUR FUTURE! Please don’t let that happen. I have decided to fight in every way that I can and I hope I can inspire you to do the same. Let’s not let the bastards grind us down. Let’s register to vote. Let’s vote! Let’s expose the crazies for who they are and get rid of them. Let’s insist that our leaders work for us and not just for themselves. Let’s insist that they honor the commitments this country has made to us — and especially to the members of our armed services who defend us.

Let us seize each day by doing at least one small thing to make the world a better place. Because if I don’t do it nobody else will. And that goes for you, too.

Make A Difference

Make A Difference

Do you know of a non-profit organization that could use some monetary help?

Would you like to find ways to achieve things that you never thought possible?

You can do both of these things right now and throughout 2015.

Feb Charities

Each week this year I will be donating 33% of all royalties I receive from sales of my new book Inspiration Now! to charities suggested by people just like you. One charity per week. For the entire year.

All you need do is buy a copy of Inspiration Now!, something you’ll thank yourself for doing as soon as you’ve read it and begun to apply your new learnings to your personal and professional aspirations.

I was inspired to embark on this donation campaign by a combination of people and events that really got me thinking about “giving back” and “paying forward.”  Great buzz phrases, of course, for things we should all already be doing to help our less-fortunate brethren and to encourage others to do likewise.

You can make a difference in the lives of a great many people and organizations by simply buying Inspiration Now! for yourself. And maybe for your friends and colleagues since the book makes a wonderful gift. Amazon will keep track of the dollars and I’ll do the rest. For the rest of this year.

Will you make a difference? You may never know who you will help, or whose lives may be changed for the better thanks to your generosity, but chances are you will be helping someone local since those are the groups I’m looking for. Qualified 501(c)3 groups that provide services to our neighbors, our friends, and our loved ones.

I hope that Inspiration Now! makes a difference in the lives of all who read it. I wrote it to encourage people to strive to achieve their most desired dreams and goals and to help others do the same. For we each have the power to make a difference — to make things better in this world. To stop the violence, hurt, deprivation, mediocrity, and many, many other ills that negatively impact each and every one of us. If we become inspired to do so. If we act upon that inspiration. If we use the power that we have for good and to help each other.

Will you make a difference?

Thank you.

My New Book for You – Inspiration Now!

My New Book for You – Inspiration Now!

I spent the month of December, 2014, working on a labor of love in the form of my newest book, Inspiration Now!

Inspiration Now! helps its readers define and implement their dreams and desires for personal and professional happiness and success. It explains the process of visualizing and planning to achieve results no matter what the goal. It talks about time and life management issues and explains how to develop practical, workable goals, strategies and tactics for achieving these objectives.

Filled with engaging stories from the author’s own personal experiences, the book illustrates the importance of practicing to gain the skills a person needs to succeed, provides hints for maximizing personal performance and talks about the importance of celebrating successes. Central to the book’s theme is the description of how to use visual image formation to make the reality you’d like to live actually happen.

It is in itself an inspiring book that will help the reader realize the “magic” provided by the advice and empower him or her to achieve whatever it is that they desire.

Here’s what some of the early reviewers had to say about Inspiration Now!

“LOVED the book!! “Inspiration Now!” is a must read for all who are interested in success, happiness, and making a difference in the world. This book has become my newest addition of books to read over and over again, along with other greats like “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Very inspirational and thoughtful, the book is easy to read; Jon’s use of stories based on his own experiences make’s it quite entertaining.” — Becky Tengwall, Co-Founder, I Take The Lead

“I have always been honored to call Jon Turino a friend and mentor. His book should inspire all of us to follow our ‘Why.’ Thank you, Jon for the ‘kick in the rear.’” – JimTeasley, SendOutCards

“This book has helped me surge forward with my goals and my dreams. Thank you, Jon, for putting your words of wisdom and encouragement in this powerhouse of a book. This will be a ‘go to’ book when we stumble across our doubts, fears and uncertainties.” – Judith Lind, Portland, OR

“Whether you are building your own future or helping others with theirs, this book is a valuable tool for creating a vision that is authentic, powerful and meaningful.” –Stephanie Austin, CircleUpNetworking.com

“Does the world really need another motivational guide? Absolutely! Because for those of us who seek personal and professional growth, the simple daily habit of reading books just like this can be tremendously powerful. Jon Turino skillfully picks up the torch carried by the likes of Bob Proctor and Earl Nightingale before him, sharing lessons from his own achievements and providing tools and structure for his readers to discover and act on their own inspirations.” – David Baer, BaerOnMarketing.com

Inspiration Now! is available from Amazon.com athttps://www.createspace.com/5124589

You’ll find more inspiration per page in this book than anything you’ve read before. You’ll love the little, boxed bits of advice that appear throughout and you’ll experience a lifetime of wisdom condensed into a wonderfully easy-to-read book! This is an absolute gem of a book. A must read for sure! Click Here to order your copy now!

P.S.: Please SHARE this with those you know who could use a little Inspiration Now!

 

Conquering Your Fears – Excerpt from Inspiration Now!

Conquering Your Fears – Excerpt from Inspiration Now!

We need to work on conquering our fears. Dale Carnegie once said, “If you want to conquer your fears, don’t sit at home and think about them. Go out and get busy!” We’re talking again here about that bias for action I mentioned previously. It’s never too late to begin the process of becoming what you might become, or might have been if you had taken a different path, or might still become if you start on that path anew.

Let’s look at fears for a moment. Here’s a list of the most prevalent ones:

  1. Fear of flying
  2. Fear of public speaking
  3. Fear of heights
  4. Fear of the dark
  5. Fear of intimacy
  6. Fear of death
  7. Fear of failure
  8. Fear of rejection
  9. Fear of spiders
  10. Fear of commitment

My guess is that your list, if you are honest with yourself, will pretty well match, or at least include, most of the items on this list. I know mine does. Look where death comes in on the list – at number six! After five other fears that are completely non-lethal!

In my younger days, I loved flying. Never had an issue with it. Loved it. It was a great way to get to see new places and interact with new cultures. Plus in my younger days they had such things as non-stop flights, upgrade seats that actually existed. Plus food and drink during flights, free baggage handling (which was important to me when I had to carry three cartons full of seminar binders with me) and – critically important – a seat big enough so that your butt didn’t get numb in the first thirty minutes.

Fear of public speaking, on the other hand, was my number one. One of my mentors recognized that fear in me and was determined to eliminate it on the belief – correctly, it turns out – that if I was going to reach my full potential I had to become an accomplished professional public speaker. So he found a Call for Papers for a large upcoming trade conference called NEPCON – the National Electronic Packaging Convention – and helped me submit a proposal for a paper.

I did this only to make him happy, secure in the knowledge that my meager topic would never have a chance of garnering a spot in a very prestigious technical program. Ha! A month later I received an Authors Kit and a schedule for when the paper had to be print-ready and the slides had to be on hand for the presentation. Talk about panic!

I had help, though. There were writers at Xerox Data Systems where I worked and that department’s job was to help engineers like me put our ideas into words that others could understand. And there were some great graphics folks to make the slides I would use for the actual presentation (as this was pre-PowerPoint since the PC had yet to be invented.) My paper was entitled “Computer-Aided Troubleshooting on Automatic Module Testers.”

So I had slides and thought I was ready to go. Until my mentor told me that it was time to practice the presentation. All of a sudden this once purely technical project was taking on a very real life of its own. And in two weeks I was going to stand up in front of 300+ people to give my 20-minute talk.

We did the first run-throughs with small groups of people I knew. Then we did them with larger groups, including the design engineers who looked down on us manufacturing test engineers with disdain. But they weren’t the real public and I didn’t really put my heart and soul into the practice sessions. I was nervous. I stumbled. But I really didn’t think that it mattered much.

Presentation day duly arrived and I drove from Manhattan Beach (CA), where I lived, to the Anaheim Convention Center. After losing my breakfast between the house and the car, I finally got to my destination, grabbed my slides and headed for the rooms where the presentations were to be given. After throwing up again between the car and the building, I arrived to find that the conference program had an error in it. People were coming to hear me give a 20-minute talk entitled “Computer-Aided Troubleshooting on Atomic Module Testers.” Then they videotaped me and made me watch it and I almost died. There was no way I was going to look that bad in front of 300+ strangers. I’d rather die first. So I started to practice in earnest. And after several sessions with dozens of people I had stopped stumbling and was a far less nervous presenter. I was determined to do myself and my company proud.

So here I am on my maiden public speaking voyage with a whole lot of people waiting breathlessly for me, a 20-something in a short sleeved shirt and a narrow tie, to expound something atomic, not something automatic.

I learned then the value of humor in opening a presentation and in asking for audience participation in the form of answering a question right at the beginning of a talk. And I somehow got through my twenty minutes and even fielded a couple of questions before gratefully making my escape.

It turns out that there were several people from Corporate in the audience that day and the feedback they provided to my boss (mentor) was extraordinarily positive. They said that I had diffused the error in the program effectively and with humor, that I clearly know my material and that I had indeed been a credit to the organization.

But I don’t throw up anymore in parking lots on my way to giving them. What changed?I still get nervous before a talk. But not so as to be paralyzed by it. And I hope I never lose that little bit of nervousness that sets me up to do my best – every time.

This post is taken from Chapter 5 of my new book “Inspiration Now!” It is available athttps://www.createspace.com/5124589. Order your copy now.

 

A Story About A Book circa 1978 – From Inspiration Now!

A Story About A Book circa 1978

I wrote a 77-page book over a single weekend in 1978. I decided to self-publish it. This was long before print-on-demand and e-books for those of you who may not be old enough to remember when you took a typed – not word processed – manuscript to your local printer and had him make your first print run. And you went to VeloBind to get covers and binding strips and even punching and binding machines.

I wrote a 77-page book over a single weekend in 1978. I decided to self-publish it. This was long before print-on-demand and e-books for those of you who may not be old enough to remember when you took a typed – not word processed – manuscript to your local printer and had him make your first print run. And you went to VeloBind to get covers and binding strips and even punching and binding machines.

I had the book printed on very nice paper and the hard cover was a walnut veneer with gold printing. Very good looking and conveying very high quality. The book was titled “Design for Testability” and I priced it at $95. That’s $95 in 1978 dollars, which today would be roughly $347. For a 77-page book in 8-1/2” x 11” format.

Everyone said that I was crazy to ever expect to sell any of these books. But I was convinced based on experience that there was a knowledge vacuum on this topic that I could fill. So I bought a full-page ad in Electronics Test magazine for $1,800 (which today would cost $6,500).

And I sold a few books. About half as many as needed to pay for the ad. But I ran the ad again the following month and sold 3 times as many books as I needed to pay for the ad. I was now on the way to profitability, even with a $10 ($36.50) cost of goods sold. And sales kept increasing.

God, it was fun to get the mail every day. Orders with checks attached. Names of book buyers who obviously had a significant problem to get their companies to spend that amount of money for a book. Going to the garage to punch, bind and put the covers on those books was a labor of love.

Not six months after that first book was sold I was in the seminar business teaching design for testability to all of the major electronics manufacturers in the United States. My little book had become “The Bible” of design for testability. And it remained that way for over ten years.

Why do I tell you this story? Only to point out that what I’m about to say to you in this book is not fiction. Nor is it wishful thinking. It is a compendium of thoughts, beliefs, and processes that are proven to work. Because they have worked for me and, properly applied, they will work for you.

This story comes from Chapter 1 of “Inspiration Now!” It is available at https://www.createspace.com/5124589. Order your copy now.