PromoGram From The ASI Show San Diego

Tony Robbins: Lead With Vision Or Don't Lead
Inspirational leader Tony Robbins offered a motivational keynote speech this morning to a packed room at ASI San Diego. His message: don't let outside circumstances impact your decisions and business success. "Sure, you could use the economy as an excuse," he said. "But how does that help you?"

Robbins offered attendees his three mandates of leadership to prove his point that good leaders have a concrete plan and vision. "Good leaders see things as they really are, not worse or better but as they truly are," he said, in laying out his first mandate of good leadership. Second, Robbins told the audience that they have to be able to imagine their situation as better than it is if they want to improve it. "You have to be realistic about current circumstances," he said, "but if you don't have a vision and absolute clarity about how it looks when it gets better, then you'll never get there."

In his third trait of great leaders, Robbins told the audience simply to make it happen. "Once you have that vision and can see what better looks like, then you need a clear path to get to that vision. Don't let anything get in the way."

We caught up with attendees after Robbins' speech to find out what they learned from the motivational guru. Click here to watch the interviews.

ASI Show Update Day Two
The exhibit hall at ASI San Diego opened yesterday morning, and Counselor's cameras were there. Check out this second installment of ASI Show Update to get complete coverage of the events in San Diego this week.

In this edition, we talk to the special guest of the On The Hot Seat With Tim Andrews session, interview distributors as the trade show floor opened with great fanfare, and speak with attendees during the Welcome to San Diego reception.

Mark Jenkins Goes On The Hot Seat
Yesterday morning's keynote featured an interview between ASI President and CEO Tim Andrews and Mark Jenkins from supplier firm Pioneer Balloon Co. (asi/78200). Covering a variety of topics that ranged from product safety and the eco-friendliness of balloons to his outlook for the industry in 2010, Jenkins provided the morning audience with a solid view of not only his company's business but the industry overall. "I'm starting to see growth," he said. "It may be slow at first, but I'm feeling pretty confident about the industry this year."

Cool Apparel On Display
Looking for the latest in apparel to offer your clients? Our editors scoured the trade show floor in San Diego to find the hottest fashions and most interesting apparel items available in the market today. Check out this video to see the products.

Power Prospecting
David Blaise, of Top Secrets of Promotional Products Sales fame, presented his top secrets for powerful prospecting at another power session held yesterday in San Diego. He says you should be actively targeting these and more demographics proactively: Those you've always wanted to sell to, but haven't; those from industries that have historically done well; and those who participate in recurring events.

"Continuously prospect your existing clients, implement a referral system and always warm call before you cold call," Blaise says. "Go after the hot leads first. A hot lead is like a hot cup of coffee; it's not going to get any better because of neglect."