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Ray
Pelletier, CSP, founder and president of The Pelletier Group, is an
internationally known author, business speaker, motivator and team builder.
He has personally performed the definitive research on attitude, change,
and team development in a study encompassing ten years of in-depth research
of over thirty different profit centers for one of America's largest
companies. After cross-referencing this data with more than 300 businesses
and 30 sports teams, The Pelletier Group has developed winning strategies
that will help your business, sports team, or you as an individual,
not only to succeed -- but to excel!
With
a magical personal dynamism and persuasiveness that has been termed
"electrifying," Ray has been invited to speak before a long list of
major corporations and sports teams, helping people to develop winning
attitudes and to deal with change.
Ray
is a "CSP" (Certified Speaking Professional), as well as a CPAE (Speaker
Hall Of Fame Award), the two highest accreditations given to a public
speaker by the National Speakers Association. |
| GS: |
How
did you get started in your current line of work? |
| RP: |
In
1972, as a sales representative for Met Life, I attended a sales-training
meeting where the principal speaker was Joe Gondolfo. I was so impressed
by how a salesperson could sell to a large audience - and what a great
experience he was having - that I immediately knew I wanted to do the
same thing. I'd had experience on the platform as a magician, but the
real message inside of me was to sell to salespeople - as Gondolfo was
doing. And my every instinct was to do it full-time. Having subsequent
opportunities to speak on occasion and test the waters, I finally committed
to full-time professional speaking in 1979. |
| GS: |
What
were the 3 biggest obstacles you had to overcome? |
| RP: |
1.
Money. Money. Money. I was undercapitalized. I could barely support
my family. Yet I knew I had to make a 100% commitment to full-time speaking.
Between credit cards and what little money I made as a speaker, I managed
to pull through, but those were very hard times financially.
2.
Being unknown. Nobody knew who Ray Pelletier was and marketing was a
nightmare. I didn't know about NSA and the terrific advice they would
have gladly offered me. I thought I was the Lone Ranger. The only good
thing I can say about doing everything solo - and surviving it - is
that it is an incredible, real-world business learning experience.
3.
Learning to be good at speaking - analyzing every success and failure,
being objective and dead-honest with myself, and absolutely refusing
to be disillusioned. |
| GS: |
The
famous book As a Man Thinketh by James Allen tells us when we "Conquer
doubt and fear.we conquer failure." Let me ask you.What is the biggest
thing you do to help you conquer doubt and fear? |
| RP: |
I
can say truthfully that throughout my speaking career, I've seldom experienced
doubt and fear. That's not negative overconfidence. It's simply a healthy,
positive confidence that I have it in me to succeed with any audience.
So, it's up to me, not to circumstance, and if I fail occasionally,
I know it's my fault and that I'll learn from it and do better the next
time. I never allow myself to doubt that. The one point I'll add is
that it is extremely helpful to my confidence to research and thoroughly
know the mindsets of my audience. |
| GS: |
What
2 books have influenced you the most? Why? |
| RP: |
a)
The Bible, because it's the cornerstone of who I am and what I believe,
although I know there are many times when my life falls far short of
the standards I profess. b) "The Greatest Salesman in the World", by
Og Mandino. This is simply the greatest work on success I have ever
read, and if one reads the book and practices what it teaches, it is,
like the Bible, transformational. |
| GS: |
What
is your greatest Bill Gove story you could share with our readers? |
| RP: |
That
Bill Gove believed in me when I didn't believe in me. As a novice speaker,
I had met Bill once or twice at the Florida Speakers Association, but
I didn't know him beyond that. He was famous for coaching small groups
of fledgling speakers at weekend retreats, and I tried desperately to
save enough money to attend one of these workshops, signing up a few
weeks in advance. When the date came, I had zero funds and had to cancel
- but he told me to come anyway. I thought I would be in with a group,
but he arranged for it to be one-on-one. He had seen something in me
he believed in. He paid for the hotel room. He paid for the food. He
paid for everything. Nothing that ever happened to me in those early
years of struggle affected me as much as Bill Gove's generosity of spirit
and belief in me. It was, without qualification, the turning point in
my speaker's career. Not only was his advice critically important to
me, but I could imagine no higher calling than to be like that extraordinarily
decent and caring man.
I
don't hesitate to say that as a result of that weekend, I'm now in the
Hall of Fame and I'm respected by my peers and viewed by some as I view
Bill Gove. And I'm not ashamed to say that when I tell this story to
others it is often accompanied, at some point, with tears. |
| GS: |
You
have already made your first million. What advice can you give the rest
of us who may still be looking to make our first million? |
| RP: |
Inspect
your heart and instincts and natural talents and motivations to be certain
you have a cause, a vision and a mission to influence audiences in ways
that will help them better fulfill their lives. Be very aware of the
responsibilities and privileges of the platform. Start with those things,
commit honestly to yourself and honorably to your audiences and you
have the fundamental building blocks to success. Expect hard work and
setbacks, but commit yourself to overcoming them, convinced in your
heart that you will win in the end. Speak from solid, real-life experiences,
compassion and understanding; never underestimate the value of researching
the feelings of your audience, never fear to seek help from those who
willingly offer it, such as NSA, and always, always, strive to make
your programs not only highly informative, but also exciting and entertaining.
Keep in mind I've made a million in the speaking business, but remember,
it's not what you make, it's what you keep. So make sure you manage
your funds wisely. |
| GS: |
How
importantly would you rank mental toughness and the ability to communicate
as it relates to your success and why? |
| RP: |
It's
critically important because of the ups and downs of the business. In
one year, you might not have even one open date on your calendar, while
in the next year you may have open weeks or even an open month - a situation
when the fear monkey can jump into your life and you might think you've
lost what you had. It's during those doubting phases that your self-control
to stay focused and confident is your savior. I have yet to meet any
speaker I like and admire who hasn't faced such situations and struggled
with their calendar. And the reason I admire them is because the moment
doubt tries to creep into their minds, their confidence and commitment
rushes in more powerfully, reminding them of their successes and that
they will positively be successful again. |
| GS: |
If
you had to start over again.what would you NOT do again? |
| RP: |
I
wouldn't have waited so long to write a book. I wouldn't have been so
reluctant to create more products. I wouldn't have placed so much reliance
on marketing materials in place of personal selling. A telephone call,
a meeting, any face-to-face or one-on-one opportunity to sell Ray Pelletier
is infinitely more productive, I've found, than a ton of marketing materials.
One exception to that rule has been my book, Permission to Win. That's
been a fantastic marketing tool since day one. But why? It's because
PTW enables strangers to virtually sit down with me for a couple of
hours (or days) and listen directly to who I am and what I do. Sure,
it takes loads of time to make telephone calls or visit prospects, but
there's no substitute for hearing and understanding a prospect's reasons
not to use me - and then immediately applying that knowledge to convince
him otherwise. You can't accomplish this with folders or press kits.
They can play a support role. But the real selling is done through personal
contact. |
| GS: |
What
is the reason most people don't achieve their major goals and dreams? |
| RP: |
Because
they haven't defined what their goals and dreams really are - nor have
they built a vision and strategy to accomplish them. They haven't studied
themselves in depth and done for themselves what they try to do for
their clients.
My
experience has been that those who fall far short of achievement aren't
very coachable. They're likely to resist seeking advice and applying
it. I believe that none of us is as smart as all of us, and I have no
trouble whatever being humble and asking for guidance from others with
demonstrated expertise in their field.
Another factor bearing on success is that speakers, especially, have
to truly love people. They'll be spending their lives with their noses
in other people's psyches and it isn't respected by them unless the
speaker's concern and caring are genuinely evident. It all gets back
to knowing thyself - honestly - and building vision and mission based
on that self-understanding. But, as the Bible says, none of it works
without love for others. |
| GS: |
Who
were your role models/mentors, and what is it that you saw in them? |
| RP: |
Bill
Gove, as expressed earlier, and for the surpassing reasons given - plus
many, many more that would fill a truly wondrous book. Naomi Rhode -
her genuine love for the Lord, her family and the platform. She exemplifies
what a true leader is and I thank her for teaching me the privilege
of the platform.
Rosita
Perez, for her heart, the simplicity of her message and her desire to
connect - her traits and character in all of these areas being so supreme
that they are never far from my mind and have many times encouraged
me in difficult times and bolstered my certainty of eventual victory.
An impressive lady, Rosita.
Nido
Qubein, who was the first to tell me I was a communicator, not just
a speaker, and he gave me permission to become a consultant. I greatly
admire Nido, not only for his unlimited good sense and practical advice,
but also for the strong spiritual direction in his life; it transmits
itself to his business life and I have immense respect for his ethics
and integrity. It is all natural and sincere, never pious, and, on all
fronts, he is among the most real and inspiring leaders I have known.
There are others. But these three stand out. As you can see, I have
indeed been blessed in many ways. |
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Contact
Info.:
The
Pelletier Group
P.O. Box 5411
Miami Lakes, FL 33014
Toll Free: 1 (800) 662-4625
E-mail: Ray@RayPelletier.com |
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