Hybra Bluetooth ORB: Captain Kirk – Eat Your Heart Out!
MUST HAVE!!! I want an O.R.B. NOW!!!
My friend Phil Robertson, owner of Common Sense Consulting (Phil@PJRobertson.com), turned me on to this company whose new bluetooth product captivated him at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Phil has great taste, as this product won the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010 Best of Innovation winner in the wireless handsets accessories category.
If you believe in synchronicities, this story won’t surprise you. Phil heard from a friend today, Trish, who lives in Michigan. She asked him some questions about marketing. So, what was she up to? She works for this incredible company that is manufacturing the Bluetooth ORB – or “Orbital Ring Bluetooth,” pictured above. Yes…this is the exact same product that had Phil drooling last month.
Imagine this scene: I’m out to lunch with an important client. The ring on my finger actually starts to ring. I can view an “EInk” display that tells me who’s calling. I slip the ring off my finger and with a slight twist, the ring opens to an “S” shape and I set it on my ear and start talking. Okay – I admit I’m the one who said never talk on the phone during a business lunch….but C’mon!!! This is wild!!! What a conversation piece! I would love to get a call while at a networking event!
So – want to know more? According to the company’s site at www.Hybratech.com, here are some key details on the ORB:
The ORB with Digital Read Out - MUST HAVE NOW!!
- Harnesses bone conducting technology from NXT Sound to deliver high-quality sound without the discomfort of placing a device inside the ear.
- Delivers Class 2 Bluetooth (~30-ft range) in multiple ring sizes.
- Offers vibratory alerts of incoming calls and messages.
- The base model features an E Ink display that shows caller ID, text messages and calendar reminders.
- The deluxe edition features a FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen for full-color display of caller ID, text messages and calendar reminders.
Hybra plans to start selling its first base model ORBs in early 2010, at a suggested retail price of $129 USD. (I’ll wait until I get MINE before telling them they are CRAZY! That is a DEAL!!!)
A deluxe edition is planned for launch later in 2010, at a suggested retail price of $175 USD. Limited edition models featuring decorative gemstones, to be priced based on the value of the gemstones, will also follow. Oh – this goes well beyond WANT – this is entering NEED!!! One of these gems with gemstones is better than Botox to put a happy glaze on your face!
Voice activation? Gemstones? Chic as all get out? Fitted to your finger? RING, RING, RING! I swear, I may start having myself paged. Kudos to Hybra – it’s about time someone invented something from the ground up. This Bluetooth device is innovative, chic, sexy, and will decimate the competition. We are used to paying $100 and up for a great Bluetooth product. Seriously, what’s a few more dollars?
I want one in EVERY color to match my wardrobe. But I’ll start with the silver. Holy smoke – what an era we live in! Do the toys get any better than this? Wii, GPS, smartphones, iPads…there is so much help to be had! The only thing I can’t figure out is why I’m STILL blogging at 9PM! Time for dinner. It’s a shame, though – I could go on about these ORBS for hours!!!
Thanks, Phil…you not only know marketing – but you know an amazing product when you see it! How exciting!
Is Breakfast the New Lunch?
Coffee & Muffins: Faster & More Affordable than Lunch
Is breakfast the new lunch? ABSOLUTELY!
As “The Queen of the Business Lunch,” I ought to know; I personally hosted more than 3,000 client lunches while I was an advertising account executive and saw my sales increase by more than 2,000%. As many of you know, my tips and techniques for building business over meals was chronicled in my award-winning book, “The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2″ which is currently in twelve languages. There is nothing as effective as breaking bread for getting to know a client, to learn more about their business, understand their needs, and find better ways to help them achieve their goals. Something magical happens when you are in a social setting, sharing food. But budgets have been busted, expense accounts annihilated, and time to savor sandwiches and conversation is at a premium!
I am recommending breakfast meetings as an effective way to break bread in this “new economy”!
There have been so many changes in business over the past few years that even though a business lunch would still be ideal, many professionals just don’t have the time for it anymore. Working mothers can’t spare an hour and a half out of their day since they have to pick up their kids at five o’clock. And executives with billable hours – like attorneys – have always had a hard time getting away for any length of time during the work day.
Getting a lot done over coffee
Meeting someone for coffee or breakfast at eight o’clock in the morning is a wonderful way to accomplish your relationship-building goals while saving time and money. It’s not apparent that you may be suggesting breakfast as a way of saving on your expense account. Instead, it will simply seem like a more efficient way to get together.
The pace of business has picked up incredibly over the past few years. Today people just don’t have time for long, languishing lunches. The 3-martini business lunch of the late ’60’s and early ’70’s – where lunch rolled right on into happy hour – is long gone. But most of us used to be able to get away long enough for a decent lunch.
In today’s business environment, however, people just have too much work to do. If the professionals with whom you do business still have time for lunch, I urge you to seize those precious hours in the middle of the day to take those clients out. The mid-day hours can become the most productive time of your day. But for those who either don’t have time themselves or whose clients don’t have any time to spare, breakfast done right can help you to achieve your traditional business lunch goals.
Traditional lunchtime goals are primarily about building relationships – and trust me….something absolutely magical happens over a meal. People let their guard down and they open up. You’ll discover information about their business that you would never learn in an office setting. And the more you know, the better you will be able to help your clients achieve their goals…and that is really what it’s all about. People prefer to do business with people they like, and there is no better way to get to know someone than by sharing a meal with them. And if you don’t have time or the budget for a high-end lunch, then breakfast is the next best way to build relationships.
I recommend meeting at a Starbucks or neighborhood coffee shop for morning meetings. Meeting over lattes and muffins doesn’t just help you to save a bundle on meals, but it also assures that you’ll get that quality “face time” that is essential to business success. It’s a lot like working out. A lot can happen during your day to sabotage a planned after-work visit to the gym. Your friends might want to meet for happy hour or you might end up having to work late. Anyone who works out regularly will tell you that getting their workout done and out of the way first thing in the morning is the best way to succeed.
Scheduling breakfast meetings can have the same advantage; by getting together with clients before their regular day begins, you have little chance of things coming up that might interfere or cause them to reschedule. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you can drop the ball on connecting with clients. Networking breakfasts are also an outstanding way to get in front of many people at once. Mornings have never been better for building profitable, productive business relationships.”
What do you think? Have you tried substituting breakfast meetings for long lunch meetings? Are you saving a bundle? And have you been able to accomplish the same goals?
Build Better Business Relationships to Reach 2010 Goals!
If you’re wondering how you’re going to reach your 2010 goals, I recommend working on your relationship-building skills. My original “Claim to Fame” was that I had personally hosted more than 3,000 client lunches and I saw my sales increase by more than 2,000%! That’s really a conservative estimate.
It’s critically important that you first understand the IMPORTANCE of building relationships for business, then you need to understand the best ways to DO this. I want to help you reach your goals, so I will be sharing tips and techniques in this blog to help you understand the “why” and accomplish the “how.”
Loving Lunch with Wally "Famous Amos"
Famous Amos, the cookie man, said, “Picture everyone with M.M.F.S. on their forehead…. it stands for: Make Me Feel Special.” Think about how different your day would be if you did that with everyone you meet today – making the most of your quality Face 2 Face time. You would start to feel a positive energy coming back to you. People would start to go out of their way to help you achieve your goals simply because they love how they feel when they are with you. Making others feel SPECIAL is the most important key to building solid, productive relationships.
Try it for just today – make everyone you talk to – in person, e-mail, or on the phone, feel as if they are the most important person in the world….because they really are.
Helping MBA Students and Professionals Improve Presentations
Last week I spoke at the National Association of Women MBAs conference in Anaheim, California. I delivered two presentations – one was on my signature topic, The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2, and the other was called Speak & Write Like a Pro.
Lisa Waters was in my session and offered this testimonial. She was there with Rachel Magario, who I’m delighted to have as a new coaching client! Lisa and Rachel were just two of the impressive group of attendees! My faith in our future is boosted whenever I present to such intelligent, ambitious, and friendly audiences. Thanks to EVERYONE who was there. This event was incredibly well organized, thanks to the tireless effort of Delma Esparza.
In The Art of the Business Lunch, I shared my secrets and tips for building productive business relationships by introducing a social aspect. Breaking bread brings dough! What about when a job interview takes place over a business lunch? Why would an employer want to meet with you in a social setting? I had the answers and the women ate them up! I shared the importance of creating quality face time and helped the women to become Business Relationship Experts!
In my session on Speak & Write Like a Pro, I shared the fundamentals of delivering outstanding presentations – written and verbal. Using “Action” verbs helps to add impact to your sentences, as does eliminating the words “thing” and “stuff.” The audience laughed when I acted out, “I have a thing tonight….” A THING? Really? A dinner? A networking event? a date? We KNOW what we are going to do – so why not be specific about it. What the heck is a “THING” anyway? 
When delivering PPT presentations, try to use photos instead of text whenever possible. Sure, you have to know your material, but you can cheat by using notes – if you use “presenter’s view.” All details, numbers, charts, etc., can go on handouts. No one is going to remember a lot of numbers! Keep your presentations compelling and entertaining.
What a great experience I had with the women of NAWMBA! I hope to work with these women in the future. Many of the attendees invited me to come to their universities to speak. That’s the greatest compliment ever!
Speaking: NAWMBA! National Association of Women MBAs
I will be speaking at NAWMBA's Conference
Where, oh where, have my blogs disappeared to? They have taken a back seat the past week as I have been BUSY preparing for two killer presentations at Friday’s (10/30) NAWMBA conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.
I’ll be presenting at 12PM on The Art of the Business Lunch and at 2:45PM on How to Speak & Write Like a Pro. Great information for ANYONE in ANY BUSINESS! Andy Ebon, the Wedding Marketing Authority, gave me a copy of Garr Reynold’s book, PRESENTATION ZEN, and walked me thru one of his own PPTs about a year ago. If your PPTs are filled with text and bullet points, then click over to Amazon immediately and order a copy of Garr’s book. BANISH BULLET POINTS 4Ever!
Discover the secrets of a Business Lunch done right!
And – if you are in the LA/Orange County area, please stop by the Disneyland Hotel tomorrow to see my presentations. They will TRANSFORM the way you build business relationships, you will discover what can be accomplished with a GREAT CLIENT LUNCH -and how it differs from the old “Power Lunch” of the ’60’s and ’70’s, AND you’ll discover how this motivational speaker walks the talk! Hope to see you there!
Special Offer & Thanks to The Wedding Marketing Authority
Andy Ebon may be the Wedding Marketing Authority, but he knows more about blogging and internet marketing for ANY business than average internet marketing guy. I know – because he just completed the new www.RobinJay.com site you’re looking at. Beautiful, isn’t it?
Andy Ebon
If you came here by way of Andy’s site, send me a comment or an e-mail and I’ll send you a FREE e-book you’re sure to love! Andy has taught me nearly everything I know about blogging; now, I just need to find the time to DO IT! (I often feel as if I’m fighting a NIKE ad; I KNOW I should JUST DO IT -followed by a SWOOSH! – but sometimes finding the time to dash off a blog can be challenging…. as any blogger will tell you!)
Andy may know a lot about blogging and internet marketing, but I know a lot about building business relationships – RELATIONSHIP MARKETING! Yet, how Andy and I became friends is a lesson in itself.
We were at a local National Speakers Association event. Andy approached me during the morning break and asked if I would sit next to him at lunch. I have to confess, I have NEVER had anyone do that before (well, at least not for purely professional reasons, that is!) I asked him if there was anything in particular he needed to discuss, to which he replied, “I just want to get to know you better.” I was so impressed that OF COURSE I sat next to him!
A week or two later, Andy was speaking on blogging at the Las Vegas Convention Services Association meeting. I attended with some friends and associates and was delighted when he accessed my blog to use as a demonstration. Thankfully, while I wasn’t as savvy a blogger as I am now – thanks to Andy’s help – I was managing SOMEWHAT to hold my own with my blog. In other words, it wasn’t exactly an embarrassing moment.
Then, Andy did what he does best. He recommended what I SHOULD be doing to improve my blog. We met later and he gave me my first lesson in blogging and the rest – as they say – is HISTORY!
Today, I have Andy’s headshot featured in my PowerPoint on BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS and share this anecdote. I encourage my audience members to invite networking event guests to join them at their table; it’s a great way to get to know someone.
If you have an opportunity to attend one of Andy’s presentations, GO! I watched him get a STANDING OVATION from 850 Wedding Industry Experts last month at the Wedding Merchants Business Association event in Las Vegas. Go see what all the fuss is about. Thanks again for the VERY cool website, Andy.