Sales, Technology & Speaking Tips by Frank Furness

Christmas Gift - Business Card Scanner

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Do you want to spend hours correcting the mistakes from the scan, or do you want to get it done quickly and accurately?

Superior Business Card Scanner - No more hassles or frustration, scan in no time.... Is the thought of transferring all the contact information by hand daunting, but you don't want to just leave a rubber- band stack of cards moldering in a desk drawer?

When you try to find the one you need, it's never available? Well, PenPower WorldCard rescues you from the dilemma. WorldCard is a combination of a small business card scanner and very clever software that can read the information from your business cards and place it in a contact manager or export it directly to your e-mail software

It recognises 27 languages and is Windows 7 ready

Order between now and Christmas and receive £80 bonus software.

£120 all in..

Take a look - get it now

Productivity Centre - Updates

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:16:00 +0000

This month's updates for Productivity Centre subscribers include:

Video - how to download videos from YouTube and insert them into your PowerPoint presentations.

Audio - Secret strategies for finding niche markets and products that you can sell to with no experience and make money while you sleep

EBook - Health & Wealth Magnetism

More next month.....

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:20:00 +0000

Check this video out -- Article Marketing Secrets http://ping.fm/J5nEn

Twelve quick marketing tips to get more bookings

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Everywhere I travel in the world, businesses and individuals have felt the pinch with the downturn in the economy.

Many professional speakers have also seen a downturn in bookings with organisations cancelling and postponing their conferences.

Candice and I have just analysed our year and although our income over the past year has increased, our marketing efforts this year have doubled. Here are some of the strategies we have used, try them, they work.

Contact all your clients you have worked with over the past 5 years and send them your updated details and talks. This has resulted in bookings from clients that I had forgotten about, but not Candice (thank goodness I have someone that is great at detail and record keeping)

Produce a hard copy newsletter for bureaus you are listed with, just make sure they don’t forget you.

Buy an ‘opt in’ list of event planners and send them details of how you can enhance their events.

Have a Google alert for ‘call for speakers’ to see what may be suitable for you.

Update all your photos and marketing materials and send them to clients, potential clients and bureaus.

Have a page where potential bookers can find all your details quickly. I have been amazed at how many bookings have happened after someone has found my website and taken a good look through everything. Take a look at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/bureaus/

Start your own video channel and upload videos of you speaking at conferences. Take a look at www.youtube.com/salestips

Establish yourself as an expert by submitting articles and contributing to social networking sites like linked-in.

Search the internet for conferences and if they suit your talk, contact the organisers.

If all else fails, pick up the phone and cold call.

Use www.elance.com to build your international databases. I did this earlier this year and followed up with a short email which resulted in me being featured on Dubai FM and working with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Take your camera with you to every talk and get video testimonials, they are very powerful.

Take a look at http://www.frankfurnessresources.com/testimonialvideos/

On the other hand, if it didn’t go so well, keep the camera well hidden.

More tips in the next newsletter and my new book on ‘Marketing Strategies for Speakers and Trainers’ will be published next year.

Drop me an email if you want to be one of the first to know when it is released.

Also, you might want to take a look at my CD series or if you are a subscriber of the http://www.productivitycentre.com
or resources take a look at
http://www.frankfurness.com
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com
http://www.productivitycentre.com

Productivity Centre Updates

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:33:00 +0000

This month’s updates for Productivity Centre subscribers include:

Video – how to download videos from YouTube and insert them into your PowerPoint presentations.

Audio – Secret strategies for finding niche markets and products that you can sell to with no experience and make money while you sleep

EBooks – Health & Wealth Magnetism

More next month.....

How to Drive Traffic & Sales with Article Marketing

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Article marketing is one of my favourite ways of establishing my brand, building my subscriber list and driving sales. It is the most efficient low cost, no cost way to promote yourself or your business.

It is the quickest and most cost effective way to drive traffic to your website and blog. More than that, it allows you to have permanent links spread across the internet pointing back to your site.

Here are some of the rules to get the best from your articles:

Keywords – before you write, do some keyword research to optimise your article. There are some great free tools like https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com

Use your keyword in your headline, first and last paragraphs. The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site.

Headlines – use a compelling headline or title that will encourage your readers to take the time to read the article. I use a great tool http://www.headlinecreator.co.uk

Content - Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic as more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

Promotional Opportunities – maximise on the promotional opportunities. Part of the benefits of article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work.

I see articles as the perfect sales and promotional tool. By educating your readers, you establish yourself as an expert in your field and the business will follow.

Make it interesting - Use short paragraphs and make use of numbers or bullets as well as stories. The article must be client focussed and they must see value in reading it.

Conclusion – end with a conclusion summarising the article and remember to proofread and correct any mistakes.

Resource box – have a great resource box which includes your contact details and your website link. Take a look at my resource box at the end of this article.

Article life cycle – I follow a system with every article I write:

1 – The first place my article goes onto is my website. I want Google to find my article on my website before anywhere else on the internet

2 – Blog – the second place I put my article is on my blog. I normally make a quick video relating to the article, submit it to YouTube and insert the video in the middle of the blog. I then use http://pingomatic.com to share my blog with all the blog directories (free...)

3 – The third thing I do is to submit my articles to over 100 article directories using a piece of software http://www.articlesubmittingsoftware.com/ which makes the process of submitting quick and easy. I immediately have 100 links back to my website.

Alternatively you can manually submit your article to the directories. The top five are:
www.ezinearticles.com
www.articlebase.com
www.buzzle.com
www.goarticles.com
www.helium.com

4 – The fourth thing I do is submit my articles to the local press. In the past this has resulted in me having my own column in an international publication which was part of the Financial Times and distributed to 40 countries.

5 – The fifth thing I do is to find magazines where my article could be a good fit and submit them to the editor. This has resulted in my articles being published in numerous magazines all over the world. As I have said, the best form of low cost, no cost marketing.

6 – Promotion – my last step is to publicise the article to my subscriber list and through my various social media accounts. One easy website to do all of this quickly is www.ping.fm

Now it’s up to you, start spreading the message and watch the traffic and sales follow.

Frank Furness CSP CFP TOT is a professional speaker and author specialising in sales and technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com For resources take a look at
http://www.frankfurness.com
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com
http://www.productivitycentre.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.frankfurness.com/ Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

Newsletter Update

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Welcome to the latest newsletter and apologies it has taken so long since the last one. I have been travelling all over and at last had a chance to sit down and share some information.

It has been an interesting year and fascinating to see how different countries and cultures have adapted to the downturn in the economy.

After months of development work, the Productivity Centre www.productivitycenter.com is up and running and great value with over a thousand resources for growing your business and increasing your productivity. Please take a look at the website and download the flyer

Anyone signing up in the next 2 weeks will also get a copy of my Ebook ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’.

I am currently finishing another EBook ‘Internet Marketing for Newbie’s’ with great information and links to some of the best sites and free resources on the net. As soon as it is ready, it will be available for you for free.

I am also intending to do a shorter and more regular newsletter with marketing tips and videos in the New Year, so spending some time this month producing the videos.
Why not spoil yourself or your clients this festive season and buy a business card scanner.

All those cards that have been piling up for months could be potential business.

From now until Christmas there will be additional bonus software worth £80 for anyone investing in their card scanner on http://www.businesscardscanner.co.uk/

January is a good time for a sales 'kick-off', so please give me a call to come in and work with your team.

I will also be doing some international work, so if you see that I will be in your area, please contact me to arrange a presentation:

Singapore & Malaysia - Jan 24-30

Hong Kong - Feb 2-5

Iran - Feb 16-26

Dubai & Abu Dhabi - Feb 27-March 5

South Africa - March 10-16

Download all my presentations and take a look here for more details.

Have a wonderful festive season and may next year be a great one for you.

A little known website strategy to get more traffic

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Many people I speak to tell me they have a great website, but very little traffic. When I ask if they have done the most basic thing and submitted their website to the various search engines, most answer that they have not.

Here is a great strategy that very few people know about. DMOZ (also known as the Open Directory Project) is the grandfather of search engines and most search engines index use it for indexing websites.

So it is essential for you or your website administrator to submit your website to be indexed into DMOZ so that search engines can find additional information about the website.

This is how you do it:

1. Visit the DMOZ directory website.

2. Review the top-level categories and click on the most appropriate category to fit the website that you will be submitting.

3. Choose a subcategory which suits your website. These are located below the alphabet links in the top centre of the page. Since so many categories are extensive in size, there may be many subcategories from to choose from.

4. Continue to choose subcategories until you are at the lowest possible category. Although not always, it will generally be a small category with no more subcategory links at the top.

5. Click suggest URL which is the third link from the left in the gray bar of links at the top of the webpage.

6. Read the guidelines and rules thoroughly that are on the website submission page and ensure that the submission form is correctly completed.

7. Complete the submission information so that it is complete while following all of the submission guidelines. The category should already be filled in with the category that was chosen. Also, make sure to include your user verification and email address.

8. Read the Submission Agreement and once complete and you agree with it, press submit.

9. Wait for the website to be indexed. All of the website submissions for each category are reviewed by volunteers who spend their time to review the website submissions, so this can take up to 6 months.

Remember that all category editors (who are the users who review website submissions) are entirely volunteers. Some categories may be more thoroughly watched and reviewed than others.

Not all website submissions are accepted, regardless of how well the submission form is filled out. There are various reasons; the site may be illegal, pornographic or simply a one page sales pitch with no information. Remember, the internet was created to share information.

DMOZ has a website index for over seventy languages and is always adding new languages. If you own a website in another language, submit that as well.

There are millions of unreviewed website submissions presently - only submit your website once to avoid being penalised!

So don’t wait, get your site indexed straight away.

Frank Furness CSP CFP TOT is a professional speaker and author specialising in sales and technology.

He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com and for resources take a look at
http://www.frankfurness.com
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com
http://www.productivitycentre.com

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

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Product review of making money while you sleep - http://tinyurl.com/income4you

How to create Income on the internet

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Let's take a look at a product I have discovered that I am very exited about. As you know, I love creating income while I sleep and this product does just that for me.

The review is on a productcalled Multi Profit Websites, this is a combination product dreamed up by John Thornhill and Dave Nicholson and their development team. I must say from the off, this site was one of the most impressive sites I have ever come across in a long time. The shear usability sold it for me right away. Now how much do you think it would cost to get your own website built and maintained by a website support company? Not for what this site costs I can tell you! The price tag is very very small to what you would pay in comparison.

Anyway enough about the pricing of the site, lets get down to the business end of this site and what you can actually achieve with it. Now when you first upload the website to your webspace (with the help of the in-depth online videos I might add) you can immediately see in the personal website control panel that your options are extensive to say the least. The amount of customisable options is virtually limitless. You have the ability to add your own SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), choose your own passwords to login to the site, setup your eBay shop (if you have one) if not simply remove the option, you can affiliate any eBay product you wish from any eBay in the world, use Amazon, Clickbank, Pay Dot Com, or simply use your own content by using the easy edit HTML builder which is so simple to use.

There are a host of affiliate sites you can use if you want to too, these includes Amazon, Google, Clickbank, Pay Dot Com and eBay, so if you want to simply use your site to promote products you can. With MPW (Multi Profit Websites) versatility is key as there is very little you can’t do. For example, if your business is flowers you can use a custom banner and footer, add your payment buttons and you’re ready to go.

There are sections all over the site which you can edit as your own, add your own links and pages as you see fit. Like I said it so versatile you can do almost anything you like with the site. You could actually build as new site everyday with a different niche and have hundreds of sites online earning you an affiliate income of you don’t have an exact business, the guys provide you with a ton of fresh content articles to use as your own. They even have RSS feed to create content on your site so you don’t even have to write anything if you don’t want to.

This really is turn key at it’s best if you want it that way.

John and Dave have thought of everything for this site from the business user to the affiliate marketer, it can be used in any business environment from building a kitchen to building a subscriber base it’s that versatile.

This is hands down one of the greatest products I have in my collection and I know I will use it as a template from now and for a long time to come. If I ever need a website quick then I have it on tap and ready to go in 20 minutes.

Take a look at it now and let it start creating income while you sleep

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

How to download YouTube videos and insert them into PowerPoint presentations http://ping.fm/DwbK2

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Check this video out -- How to get sales on the internet http://ping.fm/6tqux

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Check this video out -- How to get great customer service http://ping.fm/tWinE

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Check this video out -- The Sales Cycle http://ping.fm/ecWHC

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

How to recruit top sales people: http://ping.fm/V2Emh

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Discover the different methods of sales prospecting. Check this video ohttp://ping.fm/A8TXD

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Check this video out -- Business Card Scanner - print & scan options http://ping.fm/B7llB

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Check this video out -- Business Card Scanner - how the scanner works http://ping.fm/0nxnQ

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Increase productivity with a Business Card Scanner : http://ping.fm/ptbzA

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Improve your selling skills | Sales Success Profile: http://ping.fm/i8OSc

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:31:00 +0000

ukspeakerTake a liik at Frank speaking live - http://tinyurl.com/frankspeaks

Doing Business in a Global Economy by Frank Furness

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:29:00 +0000

Having spoken in numerous countries within the past 12 years, I have seen some massive changes. The global economic crisis driven by the greed of banks has bankrupted so many companies and many others are just fighting for survival.

Interestingly, countries like Australia, that are more conservative have not been hit as hard. Dubai, the showpiece of the world has come tumbling down in its quest to be bigger and better on borrowed money. Just an hour away, the small and conservative emirate of Abu Dhabi is enjoying growth as it has not relied on other people’s money.

In my travels I see huge growth in countries like China and India. On a recent tour of Iran and Saudi Arabia, I also noticed massive growth, but the biggest noticeable factor was the number of young entrepreneurs that are now running successful businesses.

The other noticeable change is that the successful companies have been totally customer focussed. They are solution based organisations and sell value instead of products or services.

Many ‘order takers’ have been exposed and those individuals and companies that are actively providing great customer care as well as constantly looking for new business are the survivors.

The most successful sales people are those who have made the change to think and act like business people and have learned to communicate at all levels.

There are a number of other factors affecting the global economy:

Social – behaviours, tastes and lifestyles of the countries as well as their cultures. Buying patterns are influenced by changes in structure of population and consumer changes.
• Age
• Religion
• Culture
• Language
• Lifestyle patterns
• Body language

Legal - Awareness of consumer protection legislation, environmental legislation, health and safety and employment law.

Economic - This is a huge factor presently.
• State of economy will determine business factors
• Trends in business
• Demand of products or services
• Interest rates
• Wages
• Inflation
• Ability to pay
• Financial stability

Political - Again a big driver. When I spoke in Iran, there is a massive drive from the young entrepreneurs to expand their businesses globally, but this is marred by the political situation and regulations. Interestingly, a South African phone provider recognised an opportunity and is now the second biggest phone company in Iran. Other factors include:
• EU derivatives and regulations
• Spending power
• Government Policies
• Stability

Technology – My other business is an internet marketing company with 60 websites and in the past 10 years I have seen massive changes. The emergence of Social Networking is having a huge impact on business and providing global opportunities. Other advantages include:
• Huge volumes of information can be shared
• Cost reductions and improvements in service i.e. 24 hour call centres worldwide
• Competitive advantage – information is freely available
• Easier communication with customers anywhere in the world
• Buyer profiles changing – much younger and internet savvy
• Communication in different ways – audio, video, forums

What does this mean?

The global market has become more competitive. Similar products and pricing will result in organisations having to:
• Differentiate
• Sell value
• Create the ultimate customer experience
• Sell to customers the way they buy
• Move from sales to business people
• Teamwork at all levels - knowing everyone on the team and the competition
• Global teamwork and communication at all levels.
• Share ideas, best practice, resource and network
• Develop creative leadership
• Pro-actively seize opportunities
• Set goals and achieve success

Frank Furness CSP CFP TOT is a professional speaker and consultant specialising in sales & technology. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences globally.
For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com and for resources take a look at http://www.frankfurness.com/ and http://www.frankfurnessresources.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.frankfurness.com/

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

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:26:00 +0000

Check this video out -- Doing Business in a Global Economy http://tinyurl.com/krvnf7

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:16:00 +0000

How to Find New Clients and Business - cold calling: http://ping.fm/XSG6O

frankhfurness@hotmail.co.uk (Frank Furness) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Getting Referrals: http://ping.fm/rjdGY