Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Donald Trump To Tee Off at Manhattan Golf Classic
“When I was 21 it was a very good year,” sang Sinatra over the pouring and crashing sound of water cascading down the brown rock-sided wall behind the blue Manhattan Golf Classic banner. About 15 minutes later, Donald Trump’s cheek reflected short flashes of light, shot from the camera firing squad behind me, as he shook hands with Steve Feuerstein, The Arena Corp.’s President, Ken Podziba, the New York City Sports Commissioner, Hank Haney, Dean of ESPN Golf Schools and Tiger Woods’ Coach, and Tony Bair, Publisher of Golf Digest.
“It was important after 400 years to bring professional golf to New York,” announced Feuerstein today at a press conference for the Manhattan Golf Classic that will be held on Governor’s Island on October 22, 2006.
Donald Trump will team up with golf’s legendary Tom Watson in a battle of the sexes skins game vs. Annika Sorenstam, Golf Digest’s number 1 female golfer, and Natalie Gulbis, golf’s new poster girl.
“I will see you on Sunday where I will make a jerk out of myself,” said Trump, forecasting his performance. “I’ll play Tom’s Ball as much as possible.”
Haney, who will be holding a VIP corporate golf clinic, advised Trump to take his time. “Help out,” continued Haney. “You might make an important hole.”
Each team will compete in a 18-hole contest that has to conclude at 3:45 pm, so Trump can fly to Chicago where he will speak to 61,000 attendees of the Learning Annex Real Estate Wealth Expo. If the game continues passed 3:45 pm, Feuerstein joked that Imperial Jets, the official private jet charter of the Manhattan Golf Classic, will fly the 61,000 attendees to Governor’s Island to hear Trump speak.
I doubt the $2 M in advertising invested in the Manhattan Golf Classic would be enough to cover the private jet charter for 61,000 from Chicago to New York.
Monday, June 19, 2006
The Million-Dollar Book Review
Michael Coles, CEO Caribou Coffee
Minneapolis, Minnesota; June 15, 2006
Robert Kiyosaki's advice, in his Rich Dad books, that urged the reader to learn how to sell has brought me here to promote the Donald Trump Think Big Expo. I read about half of the books he recommends on the back flap of Rich Dad Poor Dad, and the selling lesson is the most powerful. I have been selling products and services for most of my late-teenage and adult life, and I had to read that advice about three times for it to really sink in. I sold because selling was all I could do fairly well for money, not because I wanted or had to do it to build wealth. I thought that when the time came, I could hire somebody to do it for me. But how could I persuade someone to sell for me if I can't prospect an effective salesperson - because I was never one myself - and convince the sales person to buy the idea of selling for me with their time?
Here in New York, a basketball tournament is held at Rutger's Park where professionals like Allen Iverson play with mortal street basketball players. Some street basketball players outplay professionals in these tournaments. The only difference between them is that the professionals sold themselves. Professionals go to school and get good grades to qualify for scholarships where they are better recognized by the NBA. Most pros know how to communicate professionaly. I know would-be pros that still street ball that would cut class, smoke weed and probably still hold their own in Madison Sqaure Garden. They didn't sell themselves though. Earl "the Goat" Manigault was recognized by HBO and millions of New York basketball players to be the best basketball player of all time holding court against the likes of Kareem Abdul Jabar. But kids want be like Mike. Globally, who do you think would be better recognized as the greatest: Michael Jordan or Earl "the Goat" Manigault?
I took Jeffrey Gitomer's advice, and I tried anything but cold-calling - web marketing. With little effort I was able to sell the most tickets on my team. This feat doesn't translate into million dollar success yet, but it proves that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
One man I spoke with while I was promoting the expo told me he never read anything on financial self-help, nor attended a success or financial seminar. I told him the Think Big Expo would not make him a millionaire only he could. He had to take the initiative, attend the expo, learn whatever he can by watching what Donald Trump and company was doing and execute it his way - in the way that worked for him because he LOVED it! Then his job would be to keep learning what worked from other successful people through books, seminars, the web, or other information channels and apply it HIS way!
According to the Star Tribune, real estate investing expert, James Walsh, took the stage after George Foreman during the Donald Trump Think Big Expo when hundreds of people started to leave. "The thing that's funny about all of you leaving is that I'm actually going to show you how to make money," Smith shouted. "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Some of you may not be ready because you need to go get a wiener in the back of the room. Beware: you are what you eat."
Reportedly, most of the people leaving returned to their seats after Walsh's statement. I learned from a sales book that this is a sales technique that is referred to something along the lines of a reverse qualification; you incite a person to listen to you by implying that they may not qualify - you challenge them. In a Learning Annex course on sales the instructor illustrated this by telling the prospect, "I don't know if it (your product or service) will work for you."
Did James Walsh teach this technique by telling the audience how it's done? Walsh did it and people returned to their seats. Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Can this be one of James Walsh's real key to success?
What has got this headliner on my TV, my newspaper, my computer telling me he is the man and will help me be like him? As you listen, read, and watch don't take anything for face value. Become Colombo and question like a 4 year old. Everything that person tells you he or she did is not everything. Take the information, try it, modify it to what works for you and use it - if it works. Otherwise try something else. It's like having a meeting with your marketing team and collaborating with different ideas until you perfect your plan soundly.
I can't just read million-dollar books. I have got to want it, and show that I want it using the lessons that work and trashing what doesn't work for me. Donald Trump made $1.5 million just by speaking at the Think Big Expo. Would that strategy work for me right now? Absolutely not. I have to got to make my mark and move the world such as he has to put myself in that $1.5 million position. There is no way I could do that just by attending the Donald Trump Think Big Expo, but I could just do what I love, as Donald Trump stresses, and market myself on the web until that $1.5 million check is pay to the order of Neal Rodriguez.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Review of Jeffrey Gitomer Interview
My favorite part was when Jeffrey Gitomer illustrated how I could approach my toughest sales lead promoting expo event tickets, and what he thought was the least effective sales approach. The Jeffrey Gitomer Think Big Interview Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 gave me more questions I should ask sales leads to better position them to buy. Jeffrey Gitomer's examples goes along the lines of sales training expert opinion I've learned before, but he showed me how I should exactly ask these questions to sales leads; I'm going to try some of Jeffrey Gitomer's sales training, and I'll post on how it turns out. Listen to the Jeffrey Gitomer Think Big Interview Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 and comment on what you think.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Jeffrey Gitomer Think Big Interview Pt. 2
Jeffrey Gitomer Think Big Interview Pt 1
Friday, June 09, 2006
Over 10,000 Registered to the Donald Trump Think Big Seminar!
Harry Javer, Chief Operations Officer, made an announcement the day before yesterday on the Donald Trump Think Big Expo next week: "We're expecting 10,000 people. We have more than that registered already."
At the time of this post, there are over 11,000 attendees registered. There is still almost a week left, so there are thousands of registrations to come. The day before the seminar there is a big rush of last minute attendees placing orders too. In Atlanta, it was too late to place orders through the office on the weekend of the event. People were calling on Saturday and Sunday, on their way to the event, expecting to register with us and gain admittance once they arrived. Tickets were already sold out on our part, and the only chance they had was purchasing tickets outside or at the door, if possible.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Donald Trump on Thinking Big
I could definitely reflect on what Donald Trump says that 99% of your day is repetitive work and that 1% reveals opportunity. I have seen this opportunity when you notice where you see your company not doing something that customers are dying for. I have seen where a large number of customers are requesting something at a high volume but their requests fall on deaf ears and thats when a new company fills that need and makes headlines. Identify and correct that failure in your organization's system, and you will see what I'm writing about.