Randall Blaum's Blog

Gold Canyon Candles for Fall and the Holidays 2010

It's that time of year when we all begin to think about what to get people for the holidays and what we will get ourselves, too.  This year I am donating 10% of all my holiday season sales as an independent Gold Canyon Demonstrator to schools, teams, and groups.  Take a look at the photo album entitled, "Gold Canyon" to see just a few of the phenominal candles, diffusers and other accessories Gold Canyon is offering this holday season.

Gold Canyon candles are simply the world's finest candles and scents available and they have the strongest fragrance, guaranteed.  Each candle has exceptional quality and is today's standard for afforable luxury.  With over 600 products to choose from there is something for every taste, budget, and style.

There are many seasonal scents that will be gone in just a few weeks and of course there are dozens of your favorite scents, too - like:  Sugar Cookie, Cinnamon-Vanilla, and Pomegranate.  Add some yummy and happy to your home this holiday season.

Are you or your group looking for a way to raise funds this year?  Are you tired of selling "everything under the sun" and not seeing much benefit?  Please call me or email me and I'll share with you the great fundraising opportunity there is with Gold Canyon.  Easy-to-sell candles, especially now at holiday time, can generate hundreds or thousands of dollars for your group.

Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Band, Choir, Business Groups, Churches, Lodges, and other groups can all get the much needed revenue they need with just a bit of effort and enthusiasm.  My email is CandleRandall@Gmail.com.  Let me know what you need, and I'll do everything I can to make it happen for you and your group.

Right now I am offering a free gift for all orders over $25 including not-available-to-the-public votive candles and other candles, as well as complimentary services at a top notch hair and beauty salon.  Take care of yourself while you take care of others and your shopping list. 

Email me at CandleRandall@Gmail.com and I'll be glad to connect with you to set a time we can meet or chat over the phone.  Let me do the work and you sit back, relax, and enjoy your life!

Thank you and have the happiest of holidays-

Randall

 

 

San Diego Moving Jobs from Private Sector to Public Sector - Not a Good Thing

In 2009, the latest data available, 4 of the top 5 employers in San Diego were either the federal government, state government, or the military.  Only the University of San Diego broke the top 5 with the City of San Diego placing 6th.  What does this mean to private sector jobs?  Plenty.

In the San Diego region people that work for one of the top 15 employers are a federal, state, or city employee, work in the healthcare industry, are part of the university system, or work for the US Postal Service.  Anyone not already working in these industries, has to face the reality that the outlook for the remainder of 2010 and most of 2011 promises to be as difficult when it comes to finding a job, let alone a job they like or want.

When the economy returns to some semblance of normal there will only be a small increase in many employment categories because most economic sectors simply cannot recover fast enough to help the San Diego area rebound from the housing bust, huge unemployment, and a shrinking tax base.

With little hope on the horizon for private sector employment people are turning to the city, county, state, and federal governments for jobs. As of 2009 the top 20 employers in the San Diego region employed 230,301 people.  Of those employed people 112, 809, almost 50%, were employed by the different branches of the government or the Navy.  Another 58,260 were employed by universities or school districts, or about 25%.  That leaves just 25% of all other possible jobs in every sector available for people who wish to be employed.

No wonder people are turning to the government for help; there just are not enough well-paying private sector jobs to go around for people who want those jobs, including the more than 10% of the unemployed in the region.  Because people are reaching out for any job and the government is creating more government jobs than ever fewer private sector jobs are being created and this public sector growth cannot sustain itself.  At some point in time there will simply not be enough private sector companies and employees to sustain a viable economy.

The continued elimination of private sector jobs and the increasing base of public sector jobs will most likely have the deleterious effect on the community in the future because it is private industry and entrepreneurs that bring life and vitality to the community, not big government and certainly not big education.  Government and education are certainly needed, but rarely do you see true breakthroughs come from these sectors.

To keep our community growing we need to focus on creating more private sector businesses and jobs and support new enterprises.  We need to support the leading edge entrepreneurs and we need to look beyond the government dole to survive.

Banks Apply Pressure to Keep Fees Rolling In

The banks, who are never really in our corner, have figured out new ways to threaten, cajole, and intimidate us into paying more than we should.  The only way to beat them at their own gameis to vote with our dollars and stop using banks that lie, cheat, and steal. 

For many households trying to improve their finances, tossing out pitches from the bank has become almost automatic. But in recent weeks, Chase has been fanning special letters out to consumers with an offer that it urges them not to refuse.

via finance.yahoo.com

You Can See Randall Speak Live from Toronto on the Internet!!!

Hi Marketers,

Do I have Exciting News!

The Raymond Aaron Group will be broadcasting the entire Maximum Mind---Mega Wealth event being held this weekend LIVE on the internet...

As you know I will be speaking at the event along with many other very accomplished speakers and I urge you to tune-in to the webcast if you can't be at the event in person. (It's the next best thing)

Now there is a nominal charge of 9.95 to view the webcast but Raymond tells me this is just to cover off the costs of putting the ENTIRE event up on the web...and when you consider what your getting---three days of solid instruction about creating and developing a mindset that will virtually guarantee your success in whatever it is you send your mind to accomplishing---the decision to tune-in is really a no-brainer...

Get all the details here:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

And watch...  The entire event...if you can...  Or check-in from time-to-time throughout the weekend...

I am leaving in a few minutes to fly to Toronto so sign up now and you can see me tomorrow at 10:30am EST.  Get all the details here:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

I am yours in success,

Randall

Randall Blaum is Speaking in Toronto and You are Invited!

Hi Marketing Moguls!

I'm inviting you to join me in Toronto on February 27, 28 and March 1 at a very special event I'll be speaking at called "Maximum Mind--Mega Wealth".

Now this event is being put on by a good friend of mine, Raymond Aaron and it will be focusing on mastering what Raymond likes to call "Your Inner Game"...the mindset that you need to build FIRST to create the kind of personal, financial and spiritual success in your life that you want...

You see, according to Raymond, so many folks jump from one thing to another trying to "make it" without determining what their true passion really is...and as a result success--for them--becomes an endless chase...Yet, (as Raymond says) if you get the "mind stuff" right...like determining what you love to do, replacing old self-limiting beliefs with empowering ones and increasing your capacity to learn and communicate with others...your path to a life of abundance and joy becomes quite clear...and a whole lot easier...

So if the words above make sense to you...if they resonate and feel right...make plans to join me...

You can register and get all the details here:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

I am yours in success,

Randall

PS

Did I mention you can come for f.r.e.e.? Click the link below!

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

300 Words, One Hour, One Phone Call - How to get a Client in Three Steps

Good Saturday everyone,

The headline of this post is, “300 Words, One Hour, One Phone Call” and I have had many people already asking what in the heck that means and why I kept it a secret.  Calm down everyone, it’s only been a day since I even put that headline out into the universe and now it’s time to reveal the meaning.

First, since I have a lot of new subscribers I shall reiterate my mantra for this blog and that is… I tell you how I am doing what I am doing as I am doing it so you can see the thought process behind the marketing and then benefit from the process itself as you see the results of me and my team’s efforts.  So back to the headline…

Let me tell you a short story as context.  I have a good friend that called me several days ago (the one phone call) who told me about a company owned and operated by millionaires who do millionaire-level deals on an almost day-to-day basis.  She asked me what I thought they could do to increase the visibility in the marketplace for a new service they are launching and after that short conversation she and I met with the owners (the meeting).

During the meeting, which had the energy of a space shuttle lift off , we covered 100% of the ground as to what I do, what they do, and how we do it together in about 15 minutes.  This leads me to the words I used.  First, there is never a reason in my experience to lie or even bend the truth about what you do and how you do it.  If you have to bens the truth, then you are not true to yourself and you are not being truthful with the person you are speaking with.

As it happens (and I’ll introduce this company to you soon) what Marketing Experts International does matched 100% with the needs and wants of the client.  I spoke with passion about my own feelings (notice I did not say the word, facts) about how they could implement their strategies and how I knew that we were the team to bring them success.  I was able to say the words “I knew” because I had over 700 artifacts and bona fides I could show them if needed to prove what I was saying.

Bye the way, I walked into the meeting in killer casual clothes (Italian shoes, perfect jeans, handmade shirt, and a virtually-never-seen watch).  What am I telling you this?  Because in my research of the  people I was meeting it became clear that for the most part they were suit and tie people with a huge dash of flair, confidence, and charisma.  I gave up my suit and tie days long ago and while I still have the killer suits I buy each year for the most part they go unused.  I chose the clothes I wore specifically to meet the expectations of the suit people and to match the charisma of the team.  Worked like a charm.  If you do even a modicum of research before you meet with clients you can dress for that single occasion ad make your clothes market you while you are marketing to the client or audience.

But I digress.  There were many people in the office the day I went to meet the new team and while I was communicating with them, they were also in the middle of signing a huge deal.  Many people would be thrown a curve ball by not having a well-focused meeting, but if you can maintain control and still go with the flow, the people you are talking to can see that you are in their flow and can work with them. 

Okay, back to the words I used…  The entire group walked out of the conference room for a few minutes and when they came back I asked two clarifying questions.

1.     Did they want to be guided in this process, or did they want to do it “their way?”
2.    Did they think I was going to do the work?

This brought the whole room to a stop.  They answered they wanted to be guided and that they understood I was the creator and overseer, but that I was not going to do the day-to-day work.  This was a huge deal, because I am not an employee and if they thought otherwise, they had to know where I was coming from.

I then laid out in less than 30 seconds what the plan was, what the costs were and we agreed to move forward.  The next day I sent basically a one page outline of what we discussed and everyone said, “Yes” and we launched into getting things done that very afternoon. 

There it is from start to finish.  It took three days, one call, one meeting, 300 words, and we have a new client that has the plan, the money, the passion, and the right vector to take America by storm.  In the next few weeks I’ll share with you who these people are because they may be able to help you, too.

I am yours in success,
Randall

Testimonials - Why You Need Them

Good morning everyone!

For years we have talked about the importance of using testimonials from customers, clients, and associates to promote you and your business.  I received a testimonial from a client yesterday and I want to share it with you as a way to help you understand what a great testimonial reads like.

"Randall Blaum has the extraordinary ability to get to the heart of the matter very quickly. I was impressed with his valuable insights and the ease with which he communicates them. Randall's support has been invaluable throughout my career. I am sure that I would not have landed a television development deal without his guidance and support. I know I will continue to count on Randall as I maximize this latest opportunity. As a coach, Randall Blaum far exceeded my expectations. I am very glad to know him!"
-Ed Z

I do not share this with you to toot my horn, but to show you that in just a couple of sentences a third party can help hold you up to the world as someone that can help others.  This testimonial was not coached and I did not give Ed any particulars to write.  The number one thing I see that testimonials do is to give you the bona fides from an outside source that help to prove to others that you are what you say you are, and can do what you say you can do. 

You should be collecting as many testimonials as possible from people and business you have helped.  Here are some of the testimonials I use to market my company.  See how they flow and how you can acheive a great testimonial list for you, too. 

“Randall much thanks for the help today. You got everything done right the first time.”
Bruce Dern / Movie Star

“Randall, here’s to our great success with Act III. You’re great!”
William Shatner, Actor

"Your marketing methods and strategies are GREAT! Wow!  Every time I see your strategies in action I’m amazed.  Whether it’s getting thousands of people to pay to attend a special event or generating tens-of-thousands of dollars in free publicity and media, you not only get the job done, but you get it done with flying colors!  Randall, you are a class-act.  Thank you.”
Scott Carson, Senior Exhibitor Relations Coordinator - Universal Pictures

"Randall, your out-of-the-box strategies really, really work.  From top-notch charity events to bringing thousands of people to special events, you’ve shown us how to make money.  What you do what you do is simply amazing."  Lance E. Jones Senior Vice President/Corporate Development Klipsch Audio

"Randall you have incredible revenue-generating ideas!  Your passion and   expertise literally stands head and shoulders above anyone else.  Your marketing know-how and free publicity strategies always sell out the house (puts butts in seats) and makes maximum profits a reality for NEC.  Thank you, thank you, thank you." Kurt Schwenk, General Manager - NEC Solutions (America)

“Randall helps you become adept at partnering with the media and prospering as a result.  Whether you own a local retail store or run a global empire, Randall knows how to turn you into someone famous and an expert who people will spend money with.  He’s created extraordinary media campaigns for me.”
Janet Switzer- NY Times Best-Selling Co-Author “The Success Principles” and Author of the Best-Selling book, “Instant Income”

“I wanted to emphasize for everyone just how successful a campaign this was.  As a communications professional with nearly 20 years in the business, I have never seen a greater ROI.  We typically provide our clients a CPM in the $4-5 range, which in itself is extremely rare. But what this team pulled together is literally unprecedented.  To achieve a CPM of 80-cents is a miracle of the first order!!”
Rob Bailey
Rob Bailey Communications

"One of the first strategies Randall developed for me turned an $80 expenditure into $11,000 in just 30 days. After that I kept doubling my internet income every month and now I'm making more from my internet sales than I ever thought possible.

I'm glad I've sought Randall's easy-to-understand sales and marketing expertise... he's made me tons of money, has shown me how to reach my customers and retail partners with ease -- and he accomplishes it all with little or no cash outlays, spot-on perfect judgment and bullet-proof insight. I highly recommend Randall to you."
Bill Vaughn, President and Owner Earthcare Products

“Your dynamic delivery and extremely timely and pertinent material energized students who had been faltering with admittedly tough projects.  My follow-on conversations indicated a high-degree to which you struck a nerve and got new ideas flowing.  The real proof-of-concept came in their presentations to the clients, where those with the most impact on the client clearly followed your recipe.”
 Dr. Chick Fojtik, Professor of Marketing – The Graziadio School of Business and Management

"Randall, you are Absolutely Amazing! I implemented just one strategy in your Hollywood Marketing System and in less than 5 hours, 19,826 people have already read my press release and we estimated that 247 media outlets picked up my press release, including CBS, Dallas News, Google News, PR Newswire,  Yahoo!, and The National Hispanic Corporate Council...Thank You!"
Matt Bacak, The Powerful Promoter

So for today, I'd like you to take a moment and think about how many testimonials you have and then think about how many you can get from current or past customers or clients.  WHen that is done, see howmany ways you can use your testimonials to promote yourself and your company.

I am yours in success,
Randall

Randall Blaum's Quiz to Determine Your CSQ (Customer Service Quotient)

I ran this blog several months ago, but have received many requests to run it again and since the fist time it ran, I have hundreds of new readers, so it's a good time to get re-acquainted with your CSQ.

Determine Your CSQ (Customer Service Quotient)
We've all gone into stores, restaurants and other businesses only to wonder when customer service died and how come we did not get the memo.  The question is, then, do your customers know more about customer service than you do?  Think about it.  In an average week, businesses have hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of customers. Some of those customers will be first-time job holders, while others will have PhD’s, be presidents of companies (maybe your own!), directors of human resources, etc.  No matter what your customers do for a living, they all have one thing in common. They know good customer service when they get it, and you can bet they know when they don’t get good service.

The most important thing to remember about customer service and management training is that the principles to be applied are universal and identical, although the situations to which they apply are always different and changing. Nonetheless, the basic customer service principles that save you money, and make your customers more loyal are the foundation on which your service empire will continue to grow or flounder. The choice is yours.

The following excerpt is from one of my Customer Service Experiences I teach around the US and the world in my three-day Marketing Mogul Boot Camps. It can help you to see your business through your customer’s eyes instead of always relying on your own opinions and those of your upper management.

CUSTOMER SERVICE QUIZ:
Give yourself one point for each “yes” and zero points for each “no” response.

1. Is your advertising and marketing always correct in the newspaper, TV, radio, and on the internet?   Yes___  No___

2. Can all of your employees answer your guest’s questions, or know where to find the answers if they can't?  Yes___  No___

3. Is the parking lot always clean and well-lit?  Yes___   No___

4. Is all your in-store signage easy to read and understand?  Yes____ No____

5. Do your customers have to wait less than 5 minutes to “cash out”?  Yes___ No___

6. Do your cashiers always greet your guests with a genuine smile?  Yes___   No___

7. Is your store always neat, clean, and well-stocked?  Yes___ No___

8. Are your restrooms cleaned really well many times throughout the day?  Yes___  No___

9. Does your floor staff constantly “work the floor” to make sure that all guests are being served?  Yes___ No___

10. Do you ever ask your guests what they think about your staff and your service (surveys)?  Yes___ No___

Time to score yourself:
9-10 yes answers        Outstanding! You’re a customer service Pro!!
7-8 yes answers          Great job, keep up the good work
5-6 yes answers          Doing good, need a tune-up
4 yes answers             Trouble on the horizon – additional training needed
3 yes answers             Red Alert! Severe problems – customers may be going somewhere else
2 or less yes answers  Crisis situation – customers ARE going somewhere else

Customers have almost limitless choices when it comes to where they shop and where they chose to spend their money, online and off.  While this survey is geared for the real world application, ask yourself similar questions for your customer's online experience.  Customers are much more concerned about where they spend their time and money, especially in today’s economy than ever before.

With literally thousands of shopping opportunities available to consumers today, you must provide a higher level of service.  More importantly, people deserve to be treated well with dignity and respect and great service and they’ll reward you for your super service by not only spending money with you, but they’ll tell their friends about your store, your service and you will capture a larger share of the market faster than you thought possible.

When customers go shopping they expect to be treated well and to have an enjoyable time.  If they like your products, but your store is dirty and your staff is rude, do you really think they’ll continue to come back?  Think about it. Would you want to continue to shop a company that didn’t care about you – that treated you only as a scan bar with a price tag? If you answered yes, call me. I’ll recommend a good psychiatrist.

You must pay attention to the service you provide your current customers, or I guarantee you’ll lose those customers.  One way to reduce the chance of your ever losing a customer is to ensure that your managers, assistants, supervisors and front line staff understand the importance of providing great service. Don’t just settle for the IDEA of customer service, grumble about it behind closed doors, and get caught in the blame game. Instead, DO something about it, and you’ll create happy, loyal customers for life.

DyVal (Dynamic Value) is critical to the customer service equation.  When you deliver a service level that is so much higher than the expectation (and this can be done on very little money) the customer will grow to appreciate your service and your store so they will continue coming back. 

In parting remember this... Customer service while important is really dead.  Yes, there I said it. Customer service is dead.  But, and that's with a huge capital "B," what is very much alive and driving today's economy is customer APPRECIATION.  No one in their right minds ever leaves a person or company they appreciate. 

This will shock many of you, but in my experience it is true.  Even customers who are satisfied defect from businesses they say they love.  However, in my research I have found when a customer knows they are appreciated and they, in turn, appreciate the business, the customer tends to stay with that business for years.

Be well and I am yours in success,

Randall
p.s. I'll blog in the near future the quiz on internet customer service!

Getting from THERE to Here...

Hi Marketers,

A mentor of mine once told me that you canNOT get THERE from HERE, but you can HERE from THERE.  Look at the sentence carefully.  It reads the way I wanted it to read.  What it means is it is easier to get to where you already are from where you want to be.  Still a bit confused? 

Try this...  Remember when you were growing up and you had to do those maze games, like having to help the chef find his meatballs?

Here's a sample of a child's menu I created for a restaurant several years ago to illustrate the point.  When working through a maze like this, it is almost always easier to find the chef starting at the meatballs, not finding the meatballs, starting at the chef.

Our brains are wired a certain way and starting from, "THERE," the place you where you want to be, is just easier than starting from, "HERE," where you already are.  That way you know what you want to achieve and can set a plan into action to achieve it.  

That's exactly what Michael Phelps did to win 8 gold medals in the Olympics.  He revealed in a television interview, that he tried to do the same thing in Athens four years ago but, "Fell a bit short."  So he set his THERE for Beijing and he got "there" with the help of his teammates, coaches, family and friends.

We are all in the right place at the right time if we all get our "there" in place and work back through the maze of our life to our current "here."  You see Michael Phelps did that.  He said he wanted 8 gold medals in Beijing and then he worked backward from his "there" to see what he had to do to make that a reality. 

Where is your there?  What do you need to do to get there to here?  Think about it for a moment.  If you could predict with certainty that you could get to your "there" what would it take do that? 

Just this past week I served as the facilitator of another of my "There Experiences" which is a one-day intensive workshop that not only gets people to see and understand where their "there" is, but how to get to you  there with a line-up of products and services, as well as a set of language tools to help sell their products and services.  

I am amazed at how crazy and passionate people get, once they know what their "there" is and can then chart a direct path to where they are.  If you have ever driven somewhere and you didn't know how to get there, you would ask for directions, use a map, or use your GPS, right?  Why not do the same thing with your business?

Today, I ask each of you to think about your, "there."  Do you want more money, a new piano, less bills?  Once you determine what your "threw" is, how do you get to where you are now?  If you would like some help with this, please send me your thoughts and questions and I'll do my best to answer all of them.  I would like to help you get Here from your There.

I am yours in success,
Randall

5 Tips for turning national publicity into your own local gold mine

National Publicity in Your Local Market

Once you start being interviewed especially on radio, since you can do radio interviews on any station in the country from the comfort of your living room, your name will start to appear on the radar of the regional and national press.  So the question is, should you do national media and how do your turn this into more free publicity in your local market?

As the old saying goes any publicity is good publicity, unless it’s an obituary. Therefore, any national publicity you receive can only help you get more publicity in your local market. The sample here is just one piece of regional exposure that we used to create hundreds of local articles and electronic media exposures, which led to thousands of internet exposures.

If you are an infopreneur, or are able to do business country or worldwide, go after as much national publicity as possible.  It will elevate you to expert status faster than you thought possible which will translate into more visibility for your business.

If you only do business in a local market, and national exposure won’t necessarily lead to direct sales or awareness of you and your business unless someone in your local market happens upon the national story, there’s still benefit to be gained. The 5 tips for turning national publicity into a local gold mine are:

Randall's Goldmine Tip #1
If you do a regional or national print interview, get reprints made of the article and pass them around to your clients.  You may also use these reprints to entice prospects because you will be seen as an expert due to the national coverage.  It’s also a way for you to tell everyone about your accomplishments.  If your interview was on the radio or TV, get a local media clip service to get you copies of the interview and send them out.

Randall's Goldmine Tip #2
Once you get national exposure (an any exposure for that matter) You can cite "as seen in (or on)" in all of your advertising, e-mail signatures, and point-of-purchase marketing. "As seen in Time magazine" or even “As seen on News Channel 8” can give you tremendous credibility and set you apart from your competition in a big way.

Randall's Goldmine Tip #3
National publicity leads to more national interviews on TV, radio and so on and this can be followed up by even more free publicity; it starts feeding on itself. If it doesn't automatically come as a result of the original publication, you can generate press releases talking about your press releases. For example: "XYZ Co., a local company, was recently featured in the national business publication Fortune magazine. Mr. Smith is available for interviews, on-air appearances and visits."

Randall's Goldmine Tip #4
National publicity can give you an air of celebrity status in your market. This will truly separate you from your competition. Rarely are there two celebrities in the same market from the same business. There is only room for one, and it might as well be you.

Randall's Goldmine Tip #5
National interviews can be taped and distributed to clients and prospects. These can be offered for sale or as a free incentive to get people to contact you or to send in for more information. These leads can then be followed up with sales calls and closed for eventual sales.

These are just a few ways national publicity can aid your business in your local market. In some cases, it may even give a local business the impetus to consider taking the business to a more national level or at least investigate the feasibility of a regional business.

You should be using multiple strategies that work well together, offer results and raise awareness for you and your company.  These strategies are a great place to start and will bring you great notoriety and increased revenues if you create a good public relations strategy, write killer press releases and follow up with the media.

I am yours in success,
Randall