More, but different

A New Year, on the calendar at least, but what about in your life? Personally, I decided to get a jump on 2006 and on December 26th which was a holiday day off, I went to work to do some clean-up of my office. 5 hours later, (without interruptions), I laid the ground work for success in my work and balancing work with family and everything else. There is more, but instead I want to share with you an e-mail that you can get free, like I do. The Link goes to his website. Here goes:

GET YOUR SELLING CAREER SHIPSHAPE, Part Three
By Joe Bonura

In this issue:
--> The Last Sail: Persistence
--> The Storms of Life
--> The Past Does Not Always Equal The Future
--> Alligators Can Bite
--> The Right Approach
--> Where Is The Power?
--> Mind-Map Your Way To Success
--> Make Calls, Make More Calls, Make Many More Calls
--> Cell Phone To The Rescue
--> Just In Time
--> All Is Well That Ends Well
--> Ride Out The Storm

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SET SAIL FOR A GREAT FUTURE

When I visited with a friend, I noticed a picture on his
wall, entitled, 'Salesmanship.' It was a drawing of an
old sailing ship with each sail labeled with the traits
of a great sales person. I was so impressed that I noted
each of the traits, and I review them frequently to see
if I am still on course.

I have shared these traits with you in two previous editions
of my e-zine, and now we come to the last trait.
=========================

THE LAST SAIL: PERSISTENCE

The last sail of the Salesmanship illustration was
labeled Persistence. I am always amazed at how life
often mimics selling, and the same skills that I apply
every day of my life in selling, I applied to save the
lives of my Mother and Dad. In each step of the story
below, I will share the Selling Principles that helped
us sail to safety.

=========================

THE STORMS OF LIFE

On vacation in Boston, Massachusetts, my wife Carol and
I were focused on kicking back and having a relaxing and
historically educational experience. The TV networks
reported that a hurricane was headed for the Gulf Coast.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Pay attention to what is going on in
the world and in your community.

=========================

THE PAST DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL THE FUTURE

We were not concerned because we had heard that report
many times over the years; however, our concern changed
when the weather channel predicted that Katrina was
headed directly for New Orleans. Suddenly, the entire
focus of our vacation changed. When I called my sister
Linda in New Orleans to check on the family, she
informed me that Mom and Dad had to be evacuated from
the senior living community where they were living. My
mother is 83, and my dad is 87 years old. Mom was
receiving hospice care, and she was bedridden, so she
could not be moved without a special ambulance. With
all the chaos throughout the city, the ambulance service
was not responding to my brother-in-law Walter's calls.
Walter and Linda had to consider their evacuation plans,
as well.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Expect the unexpected.

=========================

ALLIGATORS CAN BITE

I took over the task of evacuating Mom and Dad, and I
called the ambulance service. After many attempts, I
spoke with a very busy dispatcher who understandably
acted as if she did not have time to speak with me. My
first question was framed to recognize her dilemma and
to show genuine empathy, 'It sounds like you are up to
your ears in alligators. I don't think that I would like
to be in your position, and I appreciate your taking my
call.' She commented, 'Thanks for noticing.' I quickly
explained the situation with my Mom and Dad.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: It usually takes more than one dial
to make a contact.

=========================

THE RIGHT APPROACH

She responded, 'I'm sure that you can understand, Mr.
Bonura, that we are doing everything we can to get to
everyone in need, and I can assure you that we will make
every effort to pick up your Mom and Dad as soon as
possible.' Understanding her situation, I said, 'I can
hear by the tone of your voice that you will do just
that. I want to thank you in advance for your help in
treating my Mom as if she were your own mother.' Within
two hours, they picked up Mom and Dad and evacuated
them to East Jefferson Hospital.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: How you approach the receptionist
will determine the receptionist's approach to you.

=========================

WHERE IS THE POWER?

The usual routine after hurricane evacuation was to sit
out the storm, wait a few days until things settle down,
and then head home. Not this time. Three days later,
my parents were still on the sixth floor of the East
Jefferson Hospital. The hospital was on auxiliary
power, and there were total blackouts every few hours in
order to conserve power. The first floor of the
hospital was flooded, communications were down, and food
was rationed because supplies were not being delivered.
We did not know all of this at the time, but after
hearing the news reports, I knew that we had to do
something to get them out of the hospital to safer
ground.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Nothing in sales is ever routine.

=>=>====================
========================
ORDER YOUR COPY OF JOE BONURA'S NEW BOOK
'Throw the Rabbit—The Ultimate Approach to
Three-Dimensional Selling' at (if link is not clickable,
please copy and paste into your Address bar):
http://www.bonura.com/
========================
=>=>====================

MIND-MAP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS

At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, in the lobby of the Boston
Marriott Hotel, I was mind-mapping to come up with a
plan of action. One thing was certain: my parents
could not evacuate in a land vehicle; they needed a
helicopter. I could not reach them personally, and they
could not get out on their own. So I prayed for a
helicopter. At 7:00 a.m., I received a phone call from my
oldest son Joe, and he told me that he was in contact
with a family friend Tom Eifler who had flown down from
Louisville to New Orleans to help in the rescue
operations. Tom wanted to help us in any way. My son
told him the situation, and Tom promised to do
everything in his power to rescue my parents from their
dilemma.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.

=========================

MAKE CALLS, MAKE MORE CALLS, MAKE MANY MORE CALLS

So that I could coordinate the rescue attempt, I called
Tom, and after many busy signals and failed attempts, I
was able to speak with him. Tom required the GPS
coordinates of the hospital, so I obtained them for him,
but when he flew the helicopter over the hospital, he
was waved off. They would not clear him to land because
they thought he was possibly bringing someone in to an
already stretched system. We had to contact the hospital
in some way to let them know we were returning on
Saturday, because it was the last window of opportunity
for Tom to make the rescue.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: If you do not succeed at first, try
again, and again, and again.

=========================

CELL PHONE TO THE RESCUE

I prayed that we could at least get in touch with my Dad
so that he could let the hospital know what was going
on. The next day, just hours before the last rescue
attempt, I received a phone call from my youngest son
Nick, who informed me that my Dad had called out on a
cell phone borrowed from a nurse who was visiting the
hospital. She had a different area code, and her cell
phone was working. I immediately called my Dad and told
him to be on the roof in two hours with my Mother.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Never give up hope. Just when you
are ready to give up, the answer will come.

=========================

JUST IN TIME

Two hours later, the helicopter rescued them from the
roof of East Jefferson Hospital. As the nurse put my
Mother in the helicopter, she told Tom that my Mother
would not have lasted another day.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: The life of your career may depend on
your persistence.

=========================

ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

My parents were evacuated to Gonzales, Louisiana, where
Hospice of Baton Rouge gave them a place to stay until
we arranged for them to come to Louisville in an air
ambulance.

They now live here in Louisville, Kentucky at beautiful
Eden Terrace. My Mother has stabilized, and my Dad is
so grateful that he thinks he has gone to heaven.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: Every storm cloud has a silver lining.

=========================

RIDE OUT THE STORM

When hurricanes come, the captain must be prepared to
ride out the storm. In selling, it is the same way.
When times are bad, just keep on keeping on, and
eventually, the situation will turn to your benefit.
You will drown only when you stop sailing.

SELLING PRINCIPLE: In selling, as in sailing, there will
always be storms. To weather the storms, remember to
just keep trying. When you hit a dead end, turn around
and find another route. Success belongs to those who
are persistent.


=========================
=========================

Suggestion:

Print this article, three-hole punch it, and keep it
in a binder for a motivational 'pick-me-up' when you
need it!

=========================

VISIT JOE BONURA'S WEBSITE at (if link is not
clickable, please copy and paste into your Address
bar): http://www.bonura.com/ for free articles and
information on how Joe can help you grow your
business and your career.

=========================

SHARE this e-zine with a friend: (if link is not
clickable, please copy and paste into your Address
bar):
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/tellafriend.asp?MerchantID=53064

=========================

REPRINT info: Joe Bonura would be pleased for you to
reprint the article Text free of charge (non
exclusively), but asks that you Include his name and
contact information:

Joe Bonura Business Development Group, Inc.
http://www.bonura.com/
12931 W US Highway 42
Prospect, Kentucky 40059
(800) 444-3340 toll free
(502) 292-2814 phone
sales@bonura.com

=========================

ABOUT JOE BONURA

His background is unique. Joe owned and operated a
highly successful advertising agency for 18 years.
During that time, he found his advertising campaigns
were more effective when he educated his clients in
the areas of sales and service. He conducted training
seminars for his clients as added value. Word spread
that Joe was a quality speaker, and more and more
people asked him to speak. The demand became so high
that he sold the agency to three of his associates
to start his own speaking and consulting company,
Bonura Business Development Group, Inc.

Joe is past President of the Kentucky Speakers
Association and a Certified Speaking Professional
(CSP), a prestigious designation earned by only 8% of
the 3,600 member National Speakers Association. Joe
presently serves on the board of directors of NSA.

He is author of the audio learning systems 'Three-
Dimensional Selling(TM)' and 'Turning Customer
Satisfaction Into Customer Excitement!(TM).' He is
author of the book 'Throw the Rabbit-The Ultimate
Approach to Three-Dimensional Selling.'

TO ENGAGE JOE BONURA FOR A TRAINING SEMINAR AT YOUR
COMPANY, VISIT: http://www.bonura.com/ (if link is
not clickable, please copy and paste into your
Address Bar).

============================================

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