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Rick Saldan is an excellent
inspirational speaker who tailored the seminar to the needs of the
individual students being instructed. This office thanks the Mayors Office
of Information Services for having such a vendor.
Timothy K. Lynch
Office of Fleet Management
City of Philadelphia
Rick has a magical approach that provides a clear and
concise message specifically designed to the needs of his
audience. Rick will provide all the motivational magic you
will ever need, propelling your organization to the next
level of greater success.
Thomas Mulhern
Frontier Communications
Rick Saldan is a compelling and absorbing motivational speaker and
magician.I have been to five of his
Motivational Magic presentations and it is amazing how he keeps our
college audiences on the edge of their seats.
A highly entertaining performer with great comedy flair. Rich content to
increase students' productivity, peak performance and motivation. If you
need an outstanding motivational speaker for colleges, Rick is definitely
one of the world's greatest speakers and magicians!
Dr. Rob Gilbert, Sport Psychologist,
Montclair State University
Rick Saldan has the wit, wisdom and sorcery of a wizard. He
has a dynamic personality, and all will enjoy his
captivating stories, comedy and magic!
Dennis Slaughter
Credit Suisse First Boston
Rick Saldan delivers a first-class show! A pro in every
sense of the word. Funny, unique, entertaining and polished.
Brian Letscher, Actor
Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, Cold Case, Law & Order and The Mentalist.
Rick Saldan is a wonderful combination of master magician, comic
improviser and first class speaker. The audience loved his program, which
was music to our ears. If you love celebrity motivational speakers such as
Tom Hopkins, Dale Carnegie and Zig Ziglar, then you'll love Rick!
Dottie Burman, President
Burtley Productions, Inc.
Rick Saldan
is an incredibly talented performer and motivational speaker with great insight. He shares many powerful
motivational messages that will enhance your life for the better!
Jack Murray, President
Dream Illusions
Rick is one of the best inspirational speakers on
the scene today. Funny, fun loving and highly energetic. If you want to
make your next event into an extraordinary one, then invite professional
speaker Rick Saldan and his amazing Motivational Magic.
Andres Lara, President
Inspiration Times Magazine
SHOOT FOR SUCCESS BY AIMING TO PLEASE Author: Rick Beneteau
Many a great teacher has professed the pearl of wisdom that when one chooses to focus on helping others to attain satisfaction and achieve success, they in turn enjoy ultimate success.
Consider this from the Bible: "Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries."
I was too young to really understand this wisdom when I bought my first business - a failing drycleaning shop - during the peak of the early 80's recession when interest rates of over 20% made many a loan shark shy(lock). But what instincts I did possess guided me to the realization that if I made it my mission to hire the best people and work with them in a harmonious fashion to produce the best product in my trading area, I would in turn bring success for everyone.
I paid my people more than any competitor. I wrote a sales manual with the direct input of my employees and had meetings "away" from the sweatshop at my home. Enjoyed regular dinners in nice restaurants with my store managers. In reality, I became friends with my staff and made them call me by my first name rather than the cold and stoic "Mr. Beneteau", like my competitors did. Generous bonuses were given to the truly deserving. I tried my hardest to make a true team by asking for their opinions and advice on every critical issue. And I'll tell you what, I got great ideas from them!
The beauty was, they all thought like our customers did! And what a way to approach customer service in a business where in reality, the drycleaner was the last in a long line of services customers didn't want to have to spend their hard-earned income on.
And what about my customers?
Well, the employee sales training reflected my employee's ideas. It all boiled down to "treating" customers like family. And since my staff had a lot of input into the manual and our procedures, they took the job of training new employees very seriously. So, they took possession of the training ritual, which became "Customers are King".
On the production side, I had all the bases covered - experienced and (now) well-paid staff, good machinery, the best supplies, slick packaging, upgraded stores and of course, top-notch public relations.
Complaints? Of course we had them. But my eager staff was trained to turn every complaint into "an opportunity". The opportunity to make every unhappy person a loyal, lifetime customer. A customer who would in turn tell everyone they knew that their drycleaner bought them a brand new suit just a week after losing their seven year-old suit. Competitors told me I was a "sucker". My heart told me this was the way!
Word-of-mouth became my number one form of advertising.
I was young and wet behind the hearing organ when I made these choices. But the epilogue has it that I did "clean up" in my town. In one of the most difficult and complicated businesses to run, I simply parlayed my early beliefs, which gratefully were the ones I still carry with me, into a successful multi-store business with happy customers, employees and a pretty darn good bottom line.
And you know what else? After having sold this business from "underneath" my wonderful employees nine years ago, they threw me the most wonderful and unforgettable "retirement" party. I was only thirty-six. Their best-wishes cards still bring tears to my eyes and their gifts, a gold neck chain and bracelet I wear to this day. I still get phone calls, Christmas cards and letters from some of them. I'm forever running into my former customers who almost without exception, in some fashion, say to me "I wish you were still in business".
Thing is, I AM still in business, albeit in cyber-space. And I'm doing very well thank you. I still hold dear, and know that those same values that I started with almost twenty years ago, are responsible for what I have achieved today on the Internet.
Folks, if there is only one thing that I will ever write that has any kind of impact on you, let it be this:
