Frank Speaking Live

Monday, November 10, 2008

Product Review - Video Blogging for Profits by Frank Furness

As you know, I love what is happening on the internet with blogs and video.

Imagine the combination of blogging together with videos. Well, there are some people that have become online celebrities with millions of fans and this EBook shares exactly how you can do the same.

A few well known personalities and musicians like Oprah Winfrey and even the Queen of England have started their own video blogs.

This eBook is designed to teach novice bloggers how to successfully start their own popular, extremely profitable, video blog.

The book will tell you how to set up your own video blog using popular blogging platforms. It will also tell you many ways to profit from your new video blog and how to effectively market it. This eBook provides you with detailed information and many resources that will save you a great deal of time and energy that would have been spent in research along with time and error.

The contents cover:
Chapter 1 – What is Video Blogging
Chapter 2 – Why You Should Start a Video Blog
Chapter 3 – How to Start a Video Blog
Chapter 4 – Profit from Your Vlog
Chapter 5 – Promoting Your Blog
Chapter 6 – Things to Remember

The best part,
you can download the EBook immediately for only $7 – that’s a price of a cup of coffee at a good hotel in London. Get it now!

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email
frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com

Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at
http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Technology Tips – Great Website Links by Frank Furness

I am passionate about technology and keep discovering incredible sites. I have just registered www.greatwebsitelinks.com in by the beginning of next year the site will be launched with links to the best sites on the web.

Here are just a few that will be featured:

Video Sites

Revver
http://revver.com
Revver automatically adds adverts to any video post, netting you 50% of the commission

Blinkx
http://blinkx.com
This video search engine indexes more than 26 million hours of online viewing material


Howcast
www.howcast.com
Learn to do something new with a visit to this site. It has stacks of ‘how to’ guides

Also, remember to download the ‘Video Resources List’

Music

Shoutcast
www.shoutcast.com
A massive collection of streaming radio stations covering every genre of music. I love this site and use it all the time to listen to music while I work

SKY.FM
www.sky.fm
Home to 35 streaming radio channels including Smooth Jazz and the best of the 80s

Live 365
www.live365.com
Lets you listen to thousands of radio stations from around the world

Photos

Flickr
www.flickr.com
The biggest and best photo sharing site on the net. Also offers great tools

Photosynth
http://photosynth.net
Turn your photos into 3D panoramas

Morguefile
www.morguefile.com
A huge collection of royalty free images that you can use for anything

As a bonus to the technology section this month my good friend Derek Gehl has decided to take a stand...
He's exposing the TRUTH behind search engine marketing.
Derek has created a free training video to show you his "Simple 3-Step Formula" that will help you attract FLOODS of eager buyers with a top search ranking.

Click here to watch the video.

More next issue of the newsletter...

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries.

His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email
frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com


Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/

Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at
http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Managing your business through challenging times by Frank Furness

Right now most businesses and individuals are faced with challenging times. Every Television station, radio station and newspaper is reporting on the doom and gloom (how is it that they rarely report good news) and the more people hear it, the more they believe it.

The good news is that everyone has a choice. Here are my strategies to manage your business through challenging times

Cutting or apportioning costs - is there anywhere where costs can be cut that will have little detrimental effect on the business. Now is the time to take a good look at the balance sheet and staff and see who and what is giving the company the best returns and who and what are not, and then making some difficult but effective decisions.

Culling time wasters – we all know the Pareto principle, that 80% of your profits come from 20% of your clients. Every organisation has those wonderful 20% of clients who are great to deal with, always pay on time and will stay loyal through challenging times. These clients are pure gold! How well do you look after them and how many referrals do you ask for from them?

Here is an effective exercise – write down the names of your top ten clients and then write down ten things you know about each of these clients. Get everyone at your company to do the same thing and you might be surprised at how little they know about your top clients. How do they like to be communicated with (email, phone or face to face), how often do they like to be contacted, what are their prime motivators in doing business with you, who are their top clients (and plenty more).

This is the time to really take care of these top clients, make them feel special and let them know that you appreciate their business.

Next you have your 60% of clients who will stay with you if you look after them, but could just as easily move somewhere else if they feel neglected. Right now is the time to keep in touch and ensure that all your staff really takes care of these ‘steady eddy’ clients.

Eight percent of your problems, headaches and unpaid accounts will come from your bottom 20% of your clients. They will give you eighty percent of your hassles.

Do you have a client that when you see a message from them or an email, you immediately tense up because you know it is going to be bad news. Now is the time to rid yourself of these clients and concentrate on your top twenty who will easily replace the business with no headaches and you will sleep easier.

The best decision I ever made was to stop working with two organisations that had given me a fair amount of work over the years, but more stress and hassles than you can imagine. Every time they booked me for a talk or training it would be a huge fee negotiation and then having to wait to get paid. I easily replaced them with clients that I enjoy working with.

Develop a 10 touch plan – how many times a year do you stay in contact with your clients, remember out of sight is out of mind. If you are not visible, your competition will be!
The easiest way is to have an effective newsletter or ezine. Take a look at Constant contact and read my blog article on how to develop an effective newsletter.

Sharpen your sales skills – right now is the time you should be sharpening the skills of all your sales people. This is not the time to cut costs on sales training, but rather the time to invest in your sales people and make sure that their skills are sharp and they will be bringing in the sales that will see you through the challenging times.

Sharpen their skills in every area: prospecting and finding new business, telesales, developing rapport, asking effective questions, finding and presenting creative and valuable solutions and closing and overcoming objections.

Now is the perfect time for a ‘back to basics’ course and of course this is where I can assist, so please give me a call on 44 (0) 1923 248200 for training, coaching, mentoring or to speak at your conference. Take a look at some of my latest testimonials.

Also, take a look at my 15 CD ‘Sales Strategies for Small Business and SME’s’ course.

Upsell and cross sell – McDonalds are masters of this. By asking one simple question – ‘do you want to go large’ they upsell most of their customers. Are you doing the same with your customers?

Do they know all the products or services you have to offer and are all your sales people up selling? In the next issue I will be writing an article on cross and up selling.

Increase your marketing efforts – this is the time you cannot sit back and wait for the clients to call. You need to up your marketing efforts dramatically. Here are some ideas you can use:
Create an awareness of your company:
• Sponsor a local sports team
• Sponsor local industry awards – donate a trophy for the best new business in your area with your local chamber of commerce. When the award is given, you will get great free publicity and be featured in your local newspapers
Let people know exactly what you do
• Create brochures or marketing materials that are client focused and not ‘you’ focused.
• See your website as a sales and marketing vehicle. Ensure you have the right sales copy, your website is search engine optimised and you know the exact statistics of your traffic. If you need assistance in this area, please contact me for consulting that will have your website driving traffic and sales.
• Newsletter – let your clients know exactly what you do in your newsletter
• Provide ‘subject matter’ expert articles in clients trade press.
Let your clients know that you can do it better than your competition
• Speaking as subject matter experts at industry conferences
• Speaking at individual client conferences and meetings

Taking action
More face to face meetings and pitches than ever before with well qualified prospects.

Set Goals and stay motivated – now is the time more than ever to set your goals and stay motivated. Avoid all the negative press and people and reward yourself for your achievements. Take a look at 'It's all About YOU'

Opt out of the recession – we all have a choice, mine is to opt out of the recession and concentrate on areas of my business that are profitable.






Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries.

His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com/

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com

Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/
Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm



Public Speaking in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by Frank Furness



Scotland

Moving north, you will experience the warmth and friendliness of the Scots. When you think of Scotland you can picture a burly Scot in his kilt playing the bagpipes and I’m sure you must have tasted the world’s best single malt whisky, which is produced here. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful and elegant cities in Europe. Visit Edinburgh Castle and once again tempt your palate at one of the many restaurants on the Royal Mile. Plan your visit to coincide with the Edinburgh Festival and enjoy endless entertainment and parties.

Glasgow is the home of the famous comedian, Billy Connolly and also has numerous conferences and speaking assignments.

On the west coast near Ben Nevis, which is one of the highest mountains in Britain, you will find the picturesque town of Fort William. Take the steam train ride to Mallaig and see some of the most beautiful and rugged countryside. Not far from there, stay over at Drumnadrochit and take a boat ride on the Loch Ness in search of Nessie, the famous Loch Ness Monster.

Aberdeen, the Granite City is on the east coast of Scotland with its oil companies and a base for North Sea exploration, also has many speaking opportunities. Remember to bring your raincoats and warm clothing, as it’s cold and wet.

Wales

If you have a speaking engagement in Wales, it will most probably be in Cardiff, the capital. Visit the wonderful little villages in Wales and experience the wonderful Welsh hospitality. It takes a while to become accustomed to their “singing” accent and it’s one of the most difficult languages I’ve come across, but don’t despair, all signs are in Welsh but in English too.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland your speaking assignment will most probably be in Belfast, which is a divided city. On one of my visits there, I asked the taxi driver to take me on a tour to the two infamous streets, Shankhill Road and Falls Road and when I wanted him to stop to enable me to take a photograph, he thought I was crazy. Stay in the most bombed hotel in the world and visit the docks where the Titanic was built but most of all enjoy the warmth and friendliness of the people.

Republic of Ireland

Southern Ireland has the biggest party town in Europe, which is of course Dublin. With very little unemployment in Dublin, speaking opportunities are in abundance. The audiences are wonderful and appreciative with a keen sense of humour.

They love stories and are some of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard. Enjoy the “craick” which is slang for partying and enjoying yourself. Travel south to Limerick and Cork for the beauty that Ireland is renowned for. One of my favourite experiences is travelling through the small villages and stopping off at the pubs.

You will soon forget the cold and wet outside as you enter the warmth of the pub, created by a large fire in the corner fireplace, and listen to a musician quietly playing Irish music while you sip at your whiskey, wonderful! Also ensure you visit the famous pub “Dirty Nellie’s”.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally.
He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email
frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/

Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at
http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Your Hidden Sales Force by Frank Furness

The economy is affecting so many businesses right now and this is the time to be pro-active and get back to basics.

This is also the time to focus on sales and finding new business and clients.


Having worked in 48 countries with numerous organisations and individuals I have discovered that just about every company has three sales forces:
The traditional sales force
The unrecognised sales force
The unseen sales force


The traditional sales force – this is what we all know, these are the people in our organisations out there prospecting for new business, conducting meetings with prospective and existing clients and bringing in the business. Now is the time to ensure that their sales skills are sharp and that they are focusing on results.


The unrecognised sales force – this is everyone that works for your company that is not involved in direct sales, but has contact with your clients and prospective clients. These are your account clerks, truck drivers, technicians, essentially everyone that works for you. It is traditionally known as customer services, but it is much more than that.


I worked with a company in Pennsylvania where I was booked to do a one day sales seminar. When I arrived, there was an audience of about 200 people and when I mentioned to the CEO that he had a huge sales force, he said this was not the case. Only 25% of the audience were sales people, the rest were chemists, truck drivers, clerks and maintenance workers. He said that he wanted everyone to know that they were relationship managers and sales people. If a truck driver was rude when making a delivery, he could lose his biggest client.

So with your organisation, is everyone sales focused, have you provided them with the right sales training as well as ongoing skills and customer service training? Without constant training and motivation, your company will soon be lagging behind the competition.


Remember, I can help with your organisations sales and technology training and consultancy.


The unseen sales force – These are the people looking for the products or services that you offer on the internet. If your website does not show up in the first page of a search or if your sales copy on your site is weak, you will be losing a ton of business to the competition.


Try this exercise: put yourself in the position of a prospective client and write down all the keywords or phrases you think they would type into a Google search if they were looking for your products or services. Now take these words and type them into Google and see who comes up on the first page. If you are not there, you will see your competitors who will be taking the business away from you.


If you are in a very competitive area, you can try paid advertising (pay per click) which will get you to the top of the searches, but this will cost you a fortune if you don’t know what you are doing. Once again, this is an area where I can help with training or consulting services.

My 60 websites are bringing in a steady income stream and I have found a ‘whiz’ who is a specialist in Google Adwords that almost guarantees me top placings for some of my sites. Drop me an email at frank@frankfurness.com and I’ll put you in touch with him if you are interested.
So, this is the time right now to evaluate your three sales forces and optimise them all for effectiveness.


Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 42 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’


For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/


Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at
http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

November Ezine - Beautiful Boston


It’s time again for the quarterly newsletter. I have just returned from a three week speaking tour of the USA which I really enjoyed. It was my fourth trip there this year and this time everything there revolved around the elections.

I spoke in Rochester, New York, Albany, Boston, Washington, New Jersey, Hartford and Philadelphia.

One city I really looked forward to was Boston and found it to be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever worked in. I had heard so much about New England in the fall, and it really is wonderful. If you are planning your next vacation, this is the place to visit.

Boston itself has so much history and sights, as well as some of the best shopping at the Faneuill hall area. The venue where I spoke was at the Bentley and Rolls Royce dealership and I was picked up at my hotel and driven to the venue in the top of the range Bentley. I was speaking for a CEO Organisation and after the talk members were invited to take the cars for test drives. I must admit that the Bentley convertible is the total dream car. Take a look at the video and the photos.







I also had the opportunity to spend four days at Provincetown which I had never heard of. It is right on the tip of Cape Cod and to me was a throwback to the hippie era. There are numerous art galleries and great restaurants (no fast food places like Starbucks and McDonalds).

I also took a trip from there to go whale watching and was fortunate enough to see plenty, one right next to the boat. Take a look at the photos.

Philadelphia was interesting. I spoke in Hartford in the evening and then had to rush off to travel to Philadelphia where I was speaking first thing the next morning. I arrived after midnight and had just fallen into a deep sleep when I was awoken with sirens and a speaker in the room telling me to evacuate as the hotel was on fire. I stumbled down the 10 flights of stairs (thankfully I was not on the 30th floor) with all the other guests and we stood around for an hour in the cold while the fire department did their thing. I finally got back to my room and had just fallen asleep when the same happened again, so with very little sleep I arrived at the venue the next morning.

Fortunately everything went well and straight after the talk I made my way back to New York for my flight back to London.
I love what I do; every day is a new challenge.

I have at last launched my huge Internet marketing package on the web. I have sold hundreds of this valuable software and EBook package at events where I have spoken and have now opened it to the general public. Take a look at http://www.internetsolutionspackage.com/ and if you are serious about making money while you sleep, this is a must!

Also remember to take a look at this month’s product review on Video Blogging as well as download your free gift at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/WebsiteTools.zip

Here is another great bonus for you; this is a truly incredible resource! You can now get access to 117 hours of downloadable audio interviews, marketing lessons and transcripts from some of the GREATEST marketing minds ever! Take a look at http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/audioclips.htm

As a bonus to the technology section this month my good friend Derek Gehl has decided to take a stand... He's exposing the TRUTH behind search engine marketing. Derek has created a free training video to show you his "Simple 3-Step Formula" that will help you attract FLOODS of eager buyers with a top search ranking.

Take a look at his free video.

This is also a great time to spoil yourself or your clients to a business card scanner for Christmas. Take a look at the special promotion.

Frank Furness CSP CFP is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. His publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. He is the author of ‘Walking with Tigers - Success Secrets of Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com or telephone+ 44 (0) 1923 248200. http://www.frankfurness.com/

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com

Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/

Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm