I wrote an article for Rental Management Magazine that has gone live online.  The article is called, "See You On the Web:  Uploading Video Can Build Your Rental Business"

The power and effectiveness of web video is undeniable.  Whether shopping for toasters or pick up trucks online, buyers are 50% more likely to buy and buy from you if you have video explaining a product and demonstrating value. 

It doesn't take a marketing budget increase of $50k to shoot one commercial either.  We've been using "guerrilla video" tactics for over a year now to increase visibility and Internet findability.   If you don't think this is important now, you will.

Give us a call if you need guidance.  Or, visit our sister company www.createWOWmedia.com to see how they're helping small and medium sized companies WOW new customers and leave the competition scratching their collective head.

Our team has decided to limit membership in the RentalMetrics ILE to current members as we've become increasingly engulfed in projects.  If you're still interested in joining us, feel free to sign up for our free trial membership and we'll let you know when we open the ILE back up.  We want to keep flow of information up and provide new content weekly and we just can't do it with the projects we're involved with.  We plan to reopen membership and up the flow of new content in the Spring of 2009 after we've had a chance to hire additional research engineers and rental technologists.  This is the only fair thing we can do at this stage and we appreciate your continued support.

The back story
As more and more people experienced the multimedia content we produced in the ILE and the robust software platform we built to house it, inquiries came flying in from:

1. Business coaches wanting to use our software and multimedia talents to propel their business to the next level, increase their exposure globally, and create an online business that allowed them to share their brains and strategies with the world...from the comfort of their own home.
2. Consultants who were tired of traveling 150 days per year and being maxed out on income...wanting to have their seminars and sessions video taped and edited into online seminars delivered to anyone with a credit card.
3. Small businesses who wanted to offer higher value to their clients through educational programs and additional paid programs that create a recurring revenue stream, a community of loyal followers, and a platform to expand their business with no additional physical space.
4. Local companies that understand the power of video online who wanted us to create multimedia marketing materials, company intro videos, video blog posts, and custom audio for them.

The net result of those inquiries was the formation of createWOWmedia.

createWOWmedia is doing just that, creating wow for clients through the innovative deployment of video, audio, imagery, and voice over to amplify small and medium business brands.

So RentalMetrics and createWOWmedia are partnered at the hip and share many resources to deliver multimedia services to your rental business today.

In this grill, we lighten up a bit.  Hey even we RedMeat craving carnivores need a little digestion help now and again.  Digest this video and take some tips on not "overcooking" your staff.

In this episode, we get to gnaw on some serious RedMeat.  We're talking about continued investment in training and throwing around meat metaphors galore.  Your mouth will water. 

When I wrote "Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said _________________" I didn't realize how universally the book could be applied across industries. 

Of course since RentalMetrics is focused on the Construction and Equipment Rental sectors, early feedback there was very positive.   Today Construction News has put out the news to the world that the book is still available at NO CHARGE. 

The book is a brief journey into what you might expect a salesperson to say when trying to separate your business from hard earned profits.  "Confessions" goes onto to provide the counter punch so you can ensure that expectations are clear and reality is the number one item on the agenda.

If you'd like the book you can find a download link to the right in the sidebar or simply enter your name and email in the boxes below and you'll receive it almost immediately.  If you have any questions or comments about the book, please let us know.

Image via Wikipedia

Whatever your opinion on "big farming" pushing small firms into obscurity...know this.  Today's large farming operation is very advanced.  This piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel written by Rick Barrett discusses some of the advances that have really produced incredible yields from the same areas. 

"It's apparent how successful technology is in farming today, as we are producing more every year with fewer farmers," said Tamara Kass, director of agricultural products for DTN.

For example, in 1997 the national average corn yield per acre was 128 bushels. Seven years later it was up to 160 bushels. And milk production has increased 18% per cow over the last 10 years.

Click through to the article and read the cool tidbits in the right sidebar!  Here's a hit, I bet you didn't know that they can identify weeds via infrared now did you!  Click it!

We're cooking up a serious side dish today with some French flair that would make the perfect accompaniment to a huge hunk of bovine goodness (ie STEAK!).  So bring it on, click play, and prepare for a treat.

I'm impressed at the use of video for an online commercial for Cresco Equipment Rental.  This nice article appeared in the WSJ online on the 11th of August.  The piece talks about how businesses are leveraging video to get their messages out without the glitz and glamor of a "TV type production" that blows the marketing budget for the year in one little video shoot.

These programs offer "small businesses a way to capture their target audience...on a larger scale and at a cheaper price," says Josh Martin, a vice president and director of emerging media for New York-based ID Media, a member of Interpublic Group of Cos. "Video commercials offer a compelling way to engage consumers."

Take a look for yourself.  We agree that using what we call "good enough" production values are key to rising above the chaff...without breaking the bank.  We live by mantra as witnessed by our "Get to know us" in the upper right sidebar and through our 60 Second Grill series. 

The folks over at FleetOwner have just announced that they're using Twitter to spread news and information on the sector. Their Twitter page can be found at http://twitter.com/fleetowner

If you are wondering what the heck Twitter is, just consider it a "micro blogging - social networking" platform that more and more business are using to connect.  Sure there's a bunch of "I just ate a burrito" posts out there, but there is a great purpose at work here and filtering through the noise is doable.

Since RentalMetrics is nearer to the bleeding edge of technology and social media connectivity as it applies to the heavy equipment rental/construction sectors...we are happy to be joined by another convert!

Here's a quote found on RER's website.

LoJack introduces a new comprehensive solution for fleet managers that layers asset management capabilities on top of the company’s stolen vehicle recovery system. LoCate + LoJack features the company’s easy-to-use and straightforward asset management system, which is based on GPS technology.

Leveraging an already interested audience with a technology that is desired by nearly everyone in the business is smart.  I would have like to have seen this YEARS ago but hey, things take time.