B2B B2C Newsletters - Internet Marketing SEO Online Advertising Web Branding

Guess What? Google is Your Home Page.

2008-08-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

You may not have noticed it, but a while back Google changed their Fav Icon from an uppercase "G" to a lower case "g". The Google Favorite Browser Icon is what is displayed in the tab area and the front of the address area of a browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari when browsing to a Google Branded website. I know there was an official response as to why Google changed and updated their Favorite Icon, but I have my branding thoughts too. Read more about the New Google Favicon.

This Fav Icon story segues into understanding your business website and online branding too.

Google is Your Website Home Page

Most people in the business world don't have a clue that their home page of their website is not really their home page at all. The home page of a website is Google.

Let me explain that statement and expand on the Google Home page premise for your website. Read more about Google is Your Website Home Page.

Get your business found in Google Search Engine results pages now. Start gaining new sales leads, new customers, and expanding your market reach online with Internet marketing services by Professional Web Services, Inc.

Why I Love My Google Gmail Email

2008-08-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

First off, Gmail is Ferrari Hot! And let me tell everyone up front that by having a Gmail account has made my life much easier, increased my productivity, helped me to be more organized, and faster on the road. One of the aspects about dealing with numerous customers in both B2B and B2C industries are in many cases the requirements to have an email address with the domain name I am working with at the time.

As a business representative for our clients, I need to sometimes make contact with various client related business interests, and having a email address with that customer's domain name is advantageous for representing the company to the third party. However, with so many email addresses to check on a regular basis, it becomes difficult to stay on top of all the communications items. This is where the Gmail email system comes in handy big time. What I do is forward my emails from all my other accounts into a central Gmail address location. This way, I don't have to go in and check my emails at all my other email addresses. But, you say, "I can forward my emails to any location that I want." Yes you may be able to do that, but Gmail offers a feature that also allows you to respond as though it is coming from the other email address. You can also send emails through POP SMTP from another email account or using the IMAP function, import old emails from other accounts and synchronize all emails with Outlook or other email programs running on multiple computers at the same time. Here are some of the various mail clients along with the instructions on how to configure them for Gmail. Sign up for a free Gmail account.

Apple Mail 3.0

Outlook Express

Outlook 2002

Outlook 2003 (see our animated demo)

Outlook 2007

Thunderbird 2.0

Windows Mail

Other

Read about more things you can do with Gmail.

Google Apps and Gmail For Any Business

Take the next step for your business organization with Google. Use the Gmail interface software engine via Google Apps for your domain name. One of the features that Google Apps has for any company is to use Google's Email servers to handle your daily email requirements for your company. There are two levels of service provided by Google. One is the free and provides over 7 GB (and counting) of email storage for each email account. The other is $50 per user per year and provides 25 GB of email storage for each account. Both the standard free edition and the paid premier edition come with full administrator control panels for a central IT person or even a non IT person to set up new accounts and control access to established accounts. Just like in the Gmail accounts online, users can access their accounts through the online control panel, IMAP, and POP SMTP email client settings.

I am convinced that Google Security for your Emails are better than any security at any company. Read the past article on Cloud Computing The Google Way to understand the reasoning behind my statement that Google is more secure than even your company. I know that may come as a very bold statement to some, but I encourage you to read the article and think about the economy of scale and understanding of their security measures in place, along with independent security audits that are conducted regularly.

The Gmail Email Overview

Gmail offers entire organizations and businesses personalized email addresses like jsmith@yourdomain.com. Gmail comes with helpful features to make email more useful, like award-winning spam and virus filtering, up to 25 GB of storage per account, powerful search to find messages as fast as you can search the web, and instant messaging built right in. The Gmail web application is accessible from anywhere, and you can even sign in from your mobile phone. Or if you prefer, you can access email from your favorite mail client like Outlook or Thunderbird using POP or IMAP at no additional cost.

Why switch to Gmail Google Apps for your domain name? There are many reasons to do it, but two of the top reasons in my book would be that the storage capacity is simply enormous, and you never have to throw any emails away. Remember, most companies are using their website servers also as their email servers. This means they are limited by how much data they can store online in the email portion before things have to get purged. Most companies provide their employees with significantly less email storage area, and what happens many times is their email boxes fill up and need to be emptied to make room for new emails. Other times, a main IT person or administrator is constantly going into the email accounts and purging past emails to make room for more. Whereas with Google Gmail Apps, users have a huge storage area which are unlikely to get filled up except by the super power huge file receivers of email information, and even then, I imagine that Google would just add more capacity for specific power hungry email users.

By-the-way, I am talking from first hand experience on both the free Gmail email available to anyone online and Google Apps for a domain name, with a private label email address using the Gmail email software to drive it. Using the Gmail Google Apps is like driving a Ferrari very very fast. And you know what? Others wish they had one too. Maybe someday.

Get your business found online fast. Don't let the competition pass you by on the Web. Internet marketing by Professional Web Services will get your business found in the search engine results. Search engine marketing for the 21st century.

Sales And Marketing For Online Success

2008-08-06T15:42:00.001-07:00

Investing in proper sales and marketing strategies online are keys to business success today. Read the rest of the story. What is the Secret to Sales and Marketing Success?

Don't sit on the online sidelines. Get your business discovered on the Internet today with Professional Web Services, Internet marketing services, and search engine marketing for ultimate sales on the Web.

Email Marketing Considerations For Your Business

2008-08-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking of sending a mass email marketing campaign to prospective clients? Well, this article is for you. Learn the ins and outs of what you need to do in order to comply with the legal requirements when setting up an email marketing campaign. This is important for your business today, especially as the world is becoming much more of an online commercial sphere for businesses, engineers, buyers, and consumers.

Summary of the main points of commercial email marketing are:

No misleading subject header information.
Must be identified as advertisements.
Must include a valid physical postal address for the sender.
Must include a conspicuous notice of a recipient's opportunity to decline further commercial messages from the sender and must remain valid for at least 30 days after a message is sent.
Opt-out requests must be honored within 10 business days. However, affirmative consent may be obtained to resume the sending of emails to recipients who previously opted out.
Quotes from Eric Sinrod, Attorney with Duane Morris, LLP in his article titled, "Commercial Email - Getting It Right"

Read more of this story at:
Understanding The CAN-SPAM Act For Commercial Email

Increase your online marketing exposure with Professional Web Services, Inc. professional Internet marketing services. Contact us today for a marketing analysis for your business. Start gaining new customers online now.

Cloud Computing The Google Way

2008-06-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, What A Google Day!

I got a chance to attend a really informative half day Google Innovation seminar held at the Santa Clara Marriott on Wednesday. The conference theme was how Google is innovating for businesses in the form of cloud computing applications and passing cost savings through some really wild changes for IT departments to save tons of time and money over traditional ways of finding, sharing, and the securing of all internal data, along with major improvements in the productivity of workers and huge cost savings to both big and small enterprise companies.

Cloud Computing comes from the cloud illustration of having various IT services and software applications residing in off site data centers. Typically the computing resources being accessed are owned and operated by third-party providers. Cloud computing is getting much more notoriety today as business are looking for ways to streamline costs and improve the productivity of their workers from those that work in small company environments and to large companies — with workers from many satellite locations around the world.

Wednesday's keynote address was delivered by Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise. He presented some great insights in to the economy of scale. One of the aspects that we have all seen in the past few years is the price on computer storage has decreased exponentially while at the same time the drive storage capacity has increased significantly. The price per gigabyte and the price per terabyte is just incredibly low and dropping everyday. Five years ago, very few outside of the computer industry had heard of a terabyte hard drive. Now, people can go over to Costco or Fry's and pick one up at lunch time for $200.00 or less. Imagine that!

Google has taken this economy of scale to new levels that no one else in the industry has ever imagined or implemented. When it comes to dreaming and dreaming big, Google is above the clouds on this one. For example, Dave pointed out in his keynote address, in one of the larger Marriott meeting rooms filled with IT and business personnel across all industry facets, of just how the economy of scale is taken advantage of by Google. Google discovered early on that one of the implementation aspects of all this Google Search power was the need for massive numbers of computer servers along with a massive supply of electrical power to run all the servers. Google is number five in the world for producing computer servers; of course they use all those computer servers produced for themselves. They have streamlined a flavor of Linux Open Source software that is custom to their own needs without the need for the various portions of the Linux code that is not used by them. With this approach, and their proprietary file structure that was hinted at, they claim that they can upgrade all of their server's operating system in a matter of hours across all of their data centers worldwide. Imagine that, simply executing some command at one location and updating their software everywhere.

While the economy of scale was impressive to think about just from the computer aspect, Dave also gave insights into what Google is doing on the renewable energy front and also being able to supply power at costs below those of coal fired electricity plants. Energy is really one of the greatest bottlenecks for this type of operation, and it makes sense for Google to devote financial resources into this area for business. Who knows what cool discoveries might come out of this division.

Dave proceeded to give the conference attendees an overview of everything related to Google Enterprise, Google Search Appliance, and Google Message Security that seemed to be well received by all those that were attending. Security was one of the main topics that was covered in depth. When it gets down to it, I believe that after hearing how security is structured at Google, both for storing of data, and for independent audits that are being performed within Google Corporate, they are on the forefront of providing the most secure data structure of any business out there, including any individual enterprise themselves.

I had the opportunity to sit up front with my brother and associate on my right side, and the Google opposition, Microsoft, Information Worker Solution Specialist sitting on my left. I'll be nice, I won't give his name here. I had to laugh at that one though, when he introduced himself to me prior to the keynote address he said, "Hello, I'm so and so and I'm the opposition here, of course with full disclosure. I need to be up front with that." I did see him taking lots of Google notes.

In the back of my mind, I thought, Microsoft could save a lot of money if they were to start using Google's Enterprise Solutions. But, there's not a snowball's chance in hell of ever seeing that happen. However, we had a little time before the meeting started that I shared with him of what my thoughts were for improvements to Microsoft Live Small Business email and other applications. I was nice, but I tell it like it is, and shared some inside application impressions and told him in no uncertain terms, that first impressions are what matter.

So, when it comes to apples and oranges, there really is no comparison. There are more things different then there are the same. I'm not going to go into comparisons here, but suffice it to say I was really impressed with Google's top notch approach to placing the customer first. Dave got to the point, when he stated, "the customer is one click away from using someone else for search." And, I truly believe that Google is not going to forget that anytime soon. When it comes to providing secure enterprise solutions, Google believes that if it doesn't make it easier and better for the client do, then it probably should not be implemented. Everything I saw from Google today was making things better, easier, faster, more efficient, more productive, improved cost savings for businesses, and cool too.

Of course there was much more in depth talks and live demonstrations, along with actual walk thorough visual applications and "Q & A" sessions for most of the Google Enterprise solutions. If you get a chance to attend one of these Google Innovation for Business seminar events held around the country, I suggest you take advantage of it. I have to say that, breakfast and lunch was great too!

By the way, Professional Web Services has tested and implemented many of the Google Enterprise solution applications across numerous types of businesses. If you need help in this area, we're just a short email click away. Contact us for all your professional Internet marketing needs too. Start getting more leads today. Get a fresh search engine friendly website design now.

Marketing And Advertising Tips

2008-06-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Social Bookmarks Internet Marketing 101 Maximizing Social Network Marketing

Online marketing comes in all shapes and sizes.

Internet marketing information on how to use social bookmarking for businesses today. Find out how you can help yourself in your own marketing efforts, for free.

The Web is a web of links that cross back and forth from all corners of the globe. Businesses need to think in terms of having an online global presence that is continually on an outreach ministries mentality.

The days of placing a website online and just sitting back, and thinking that since we have built it, they will come in the form of new customers, is long past.

Read more about Social Bookmarks Internet Marketing 101 Maximizing Social Network Marketing

Are Your Advertising Costs Getting Too High?

Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business. One problem that small business owners have always faced is the high cost of marketing. Most, however don't realize that there is an effective way to reduce the cost of your advertising while - at the same time - increasing its reach.

Advertising co-ops are nothing new. Usually they are a "perk" offered by major manufacturers to encourage retailers to promote their products. Because the retailer has direct access to customers that would want to buy certain products, it only makes sense that they should do joint advertising. You've seen it - McDonalds mentioning Coke in their commercials, Dell stating that you get a free Epson printer with purchase and so on.

Read more about Advertising Co-ops

The End Game

With Microsoft having withdrawn its bid for Yahoo!, Carl Ichan was quick to step in and try to place his own controlling board in charge of Yahoo at the next annual shareholders meeting.

Well, I am one to think that no matter what happens, most of the folks have not thought of the end game scenario. Microsoft certainly didn't think of the end game when Yahoo rebuffed Steve Ballmer's attempt to acquire Yahoo. After saying essentially that nothing was going to stop Microsoft from acquiring Yahoo, that is in effect what happened (at least for the time being).

With the dog's on it's tail, Yahoo!, with the help of Google, a long time acquaintance and friend are ready to work out a new advertising arrangement.

Read more about the end game and a bit about Google's corporate history

Contact Professional Web Services today for help with all your Internet marketing needs. Get your website found online.

Marketing B2B Really is About Emotions

2008-04-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

B2B Sales and Marketing Online

B2B and B2C sales and marketing are distinctly different for many reasons. One item that is important to understand from a marketing perspective is emotions. There can be conflicting buyer emotions when dealing with B2B as compared to that of B2C. B2B requires getting through both the personal as well as the business side of the emotional marketing coin.

Read why sales and marketing copywriting, that addresses both the business and personal issues, are important to take into account in order to complete the sales process.

Read more about: Writing Emotional B2B Sales Copy - What You Must Account For When Copywriting

Target your business to business audience with copywriting that works. Professional Web Services provides technical copywriting for a wide variety of industries.

Get your business website found online with a professional internet marketing service provider from Professional Web Services. We provide professional marketing communication that will compel your customers to buy. Not only do we provide B2C and B2B marketing expertise, but Professional Web Services customizes and designs professional websites too.

Improve Your Internet Experience

2008-04-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

Clippings Notes And Research Information

Marketing Notes

Gathering information online requires note taking. This is especially true when doing research for writing technical articles about specific topics and you need to make sure to get your facts straight. By-the-way, the don't forget marketing note about internet marketing services above is straight. It's just an optical marketing illusion.

I use Firefox quite extensively as my main research browser when it comes to anything related to the Internet. Mozilla Firefox has thousands of great software add-ons which users can add to the browser to include other specific useful tools. One of those tools is Clippings 3.0 Firefox and Thunderbird email client add-ons.

The cool thing about Firefox web browser is the cross platform capabilities for Firefox to work with Windows, Apple Mac users, and Linux operating systems. So, if you can do it on a PC, you can do it on a Mac too.

Read more about Clippings today at Jim's Jot Spot.

Note: Everyone from the sales and marketing staff, to the president of a company can make use of clippings for everything from note taking to email letter writing.

Do you need technical writing? Professional Web Services provides technical writing too, for a wide variety of technology fields. Contact Professional Web Services today for creative technical writing.

Free Software - Internet Shorts

2008-04-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a CNET Insider Secrets video with some great tips on free software that is available online. For everything from word processing, office software products, image editing, sound editing software, software for converting one video formate to another, CD and legal DVD ripping software, notepads, financial software, and 3D modeling software, and thousands more can all be found online for free.

Here's another online tip. Ever have your digital camera flash memory or compact memory card become corrupted with pictures that you can not download to your computer. Well, before giving up, try this first. Recover Corrupted Digital Pictures from Memory Cards: According To Jim Warholic

For more marketing tips be sure to sign up for the free newsletter.

Is Marketing Just Another Word For Advertising?

2008-04-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

In todays online market place, with the convergence of marketing and advertising Web 2.0 technologies that can be embedded directly in websites, it is getting exceedingly difficult to tell the difference between marketing and advertising. However, it is wise to understand the key differences between the two, especially as it relates to Internet marketing and your B2B or B2C business.

Marketing Myth #1 Marketing is Just Another Word for Advertising

Excellent article comparing marketing and advertising.

These words of wisdom can be applied to Internet marketing and Online advertising directly. If you are spending $300.00 or $3000.00 per month, or more, on Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click Ads and other online banner advertising, and not investing a single dime on your Internet marketing efforts, you are hurting your business in the long run. Building a quality website, with properly optimized content, and developing a marketing message that defines who you are, are strategic keys to Web success.

So, is marketing just another word for advertising?

Read more about this marketing myth.

Incorporate good marketing into your online advertising campaign budget to get the best of both worlds.

Professional Website Marketing Designs

2008-04-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

B2B and B2C marketing online requires marketing creativity to stand out from the crowd.

When it comes to website designs for B2B and B2C business, one size does not fit all. On the Internet final frontier, some like dark on light, others like light on dark designs. Some like blue and some like orange. Some like sharp corners and edges while others like wide circles, curves, and smooth flow style. No matter which style you like, there is a website style that inspires not only you or your business to really make an impact in your sphere of influence today, but also can inspire your customers too. Standout from the crowd. Read about the Desert Web Rider.

Professional Website Designs For Business Today
Over 5000 templates to choose from.

Invite your new internet visitors and customers to stay today. Learn more about becoming more interactive with your website readers, with Web 2.0 technologies that will keep them coming back.

Professional Web Services provides professional websites for business.

Improve Your Online Marketing Results

2008-03-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Do You Know Your Customers and Buyers Semantically on the Internet?

Are you talking their Internet semantic language?

This issue of the online marketing report looks at the world of search from an inner perspective that is quite interesting. It gives fascinating insights into the way we communicate, artificial intelligence (AI), Web publishing, how search engines index and catalog the vast Internet library, and how computer programs using complex algorithms are used in the evaluation of documents and web pages online. There are many golden nuggets of information to learn here, along with pertinent information on how to apply these marketing strategies for an improvement in your B2B or B2C business on the Web.

Creative Internet Marketing

When it comes to online marketing, a close working relationship is a must between those that take care of your website and the products or services you provide. Simply having a website online, with just a sprinkling of your keywords throughout the site, is not good enough to getting a business found in the search engine results pages. Most of all, quality content is required, and that content better stand on its own merits. Sure, you can publish, on your business website a list of things that you sell, but how is that going to hold up to the hundreds, or thousands, or even millions of websites that use those same keywords as yourself. [Read More]

Read the entire article about online marketing:

Online Marketing Means Knowing Your Customers Semantically

Get your business on the right Internet footing. Learn how Professional Web Services can help build you an information architecture that will improve your marketing, advertising, sales, and branding impacts on the Internet.

For results oriented Internet marketing services contact us now. Be sure to ask for a free marketing consultation and website evaluation today.

Marketing Strategies For Your Business

2008-02-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

Most every industry has a crowd of manufacturers, distributors, software providers, developers, and service providers all competing with one another in the market place.

Is your company standing out from the crowd?

With the latest acquisition talk from Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, in which he is proposing acquiring Yahoo! with a stock and cash buyout; one has to wonder if this merger/buyout acquisition deal would really help Microsoft that much in the search and online advertising market space.

If you are a Google Search user, how likely are you to switch to a new search engine provider? With nearly a 60 percent market share in December 2007 according to comScore Core Search Report, Google Search has shined through, with an outstanding track record that shows they have stood out from the crowd since their inception. When they were nothing more than a small startup, Google took the search engine world by storm, and turned out a better and faster product than any other search company had at the time. Google has strived to be the best, and has never been content with settling for mediocrity.

Many companies have taken the attitude that 80 percent is good enough if it can make them a profit. This is not how to operate your business. In essence, if you think you are such a big juggernaut in your particular business market place and the 80 percent attitude is your attitude, then that leaves 20 percent for any company to really take advantage of the situation, and develop a product or service that can take the world by storm. It doesn't take long before market share is changed from one company to the other.

How Do You as a Business Stand Out From the Crowd?

Differentiate and Dominate Keys to Successful Marketing

Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal the most powerful marketing strategy I have seen. I can say without hesitation that the most powerful marketing strategy has little to do with advertising, direct mail, web sites, referrals or blogs.

No, before any of those things will really have any impact on your business you've got to uncover and communicate a way in which your business is different from every other business that says they do what you do. You've got to get out of the commodity business. You've got to stake your claim on a simple idea or position in the mind of our prospective clients.

Here's what I mean. Read more about Differentiate and Dominate Keys to Successful Marketing

Jim said: Never settle for mediocrity. Life is about change, new growth, and making a difference in the lives around us. No matter what direction life takes us in our new thinking, always striving to do it to the best of our abilities is key to success. Actions speak louder than words. B2B, B2C, and C2C Internet Marketing Services, ethical SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Online Advertising Strategies, Website Branding Solutions with Professional Web Services, Inc. Business Solutions.

Marketing and Advertising for Today

2007-12-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Advertising Message or Sales Conversion Problem?

So now you are advertising your business, and are bringing in people but hardly any of them are becoming customers. What's the problem? Is it the advertising message, the targeted audience, or the sales conversion process?

Read the story at: My Advertising Spot

Getting Leads Almost Immediately

There is an advertising solution for your business that can start generating leads and sales almost immediately. The solution is to use Pay-per-click, PPC advertising. This form of advertising can be highly selective, and you only have to pay for the budget that you set forth.

Online Advertising

Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Search all have similar forms of online advertising programs that can be targeted to select groups of individuals based on various criteria.

Read the complete story at: My Advertising Spot.

Important to Consider Ethics in Online Advertising

Ethics, honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness in advertisements are a factor to driving sales, maintaining customer trust, and building brand loyalty. What is depicted in an Internet ad can help a brand, or if you are not careful, it can just as easily hurt a brand image. Sure, there might be short term gains in using unethical advertising techniques which distort or are blatantly misleading, but in the long run not following good ad ethics, a customer will remember, and if you are not the only game in town you may find yourself in another ballpark. So, do the right thing and follow good ethics in advertising and marketing.

Three Questions to Answer BEFORE You Spend One Cent on Advertising

1. Who is your target audience?
2. What does your target audience read, listen to, or watch?
3. What is your compelling benefit?

Read the rest of the story of why targeted advertising is the key to success at My Advertising Spot today.

Search Engine Exposure

Picture Courtesy of NBC - Deal or No Deal
Visit Sales and Marketing Today.

Is Your Website Exposed Online In The Search Engines?

From the standpoint of Internet marketing and online advertising, having a website with good Internet exposure is one of the key factors on being discovered for your keywords. If your company is not a household or well known Internet brand, or you wish to improve company brand recognition online, then this search advertising subject is for your business.

Online advertising comes in many shapes and sizes. In fact, one size does not fit all. Depending on the industry and whether a business is primarily B2B, Business to business or B2C, Business to consumer, will have a determining affect on how the majority of your advertising dollars are spent.

Every business has some sort of advertising budget..... Read more about search engine exposure at My Advertising Spot today.

Internet The Final Frontier

The Internet really is the final frontier.

The future of advertising has changed drastically with the addition of the Internet as a media outlet. This has had a profound affect on all other forms of advertising; from radio, television, newspapers, technical trade journals, direct marketing advertising, and even catalogs and sponsors.

Companies can have the power to make a difference in the world around them. Combining a dedication to hard work, excellence, and a never give up attitude for any company today; while taking advantage of the powerful Web 2.0 online tools can help propel a business in the 21st century.

Propel your company across the Internet final frontier with Internet marketing by Professional Web Services today.

Sales And Marketing Help For Your Business

2007-11-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly... How to Talk with Prospective Clients.
We recently went to a sales presentation that was very educational in some very unusual ways. It wasn't the information from the presentation that was educational. How the person made her sales presentation was the educational part. Her personality and style of asking questions didn't do much for attracting clients. It in fact was down right repulsive at times. Something someone more conscientious doesn't want anything to do with. Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly in some sales presentations.

Read more about Communication Strategies For Success

Sales Article Number Two

Deal or No Deal? How To Close Sales When Prospects Call

Deal Or No Deal

Small business owners know that the most important function of the telephone is to bring customers to you, begging for your service or product offering. So when the phone rings with a prospective customer on the other end, do you know how to transform an interested caller into a buying customer? Here are three phone sales tips to help you close more sales.

Read the rest of the story Deal or No Deal? How To Close Sales When Prospects Call

Last but not least in the Sales and Marketing Stories

How to Hire Great Sales People

Hire Smart: Three Great Interview Questions to Hire Great Sales Staff

For small business owners, good sales staff is absolutely critical; they can make or break your business. Unfortunately, salespeople are also the most difficult employees to retain, precisely because of their business value. When hiring a new salesperson, many employers fall into the trap of using industry experience alone as the key hiring factor. But if the candidate left your competitor, what makes you so sure he'll like it any better at your company?

Many hiring mistakes could be avoided at the interview stage. By asking the right interview questions and by observing the candidate's selling skills during the interview, you can hire the right salesperson the first time.

The following three interview questions can help you avoid sales staff turnover.

Read the details on How to Hire Great Sales People.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your staff, from Professional Web Services a professional Internet Marketing Company.

Read these stories at Sales and Marketing. www.salesandmarketing.ws

Domain Owners are Shanghai'd by China

2007-11-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Every business owner of a domain name in the world needs to be aware of the latest scam coming out of China and hitting the US and Australia.

Chinese Company Wants to Register our Domain Name

The US business owners are now being targeted with a very unethical form of domain name registration. This threat goes to the very core of a business's identity and involves threats to the online brand identities of companies being targeted. I suspect we will see more of this for every business on the Web.

Make sure you are aware of this and let others know what is going on.

If you do business in China, and wish to have a domain name registered with the .CN at the end of your name, any reputable Domain Registrar will register a domain name for you.

The Chinese are pulling a fast one. They are coming out with a sly story that tells a business that someone has registered a domain name with their company brand, trademark, or incorporated name with the .CN domain. For example, if a company had the domain name thisismytrademark.com, the other Chinese domain name would be thisismytrademark.cn or thisismytrademark.com.cn both of which have the Chinese .cn afterwards for the domain.

Now here comes the rest of the story. This domain registrar then proceeds to tell the story that they did checking on the domain name and before they will allow the other individual that was/is registering their "This is my Trademark" company name with the .cn, that This is my Trademark company can register it first (with them), because of the trade mark name.

Don't fall for it, but from a brand standpoint don't be asleep either. You need to constantly be vigilant and aggressively protect your business brand name online. So, before you believe the song and dance junk story from China, I suggest you read the following article for details about the .CN Chinese Domain Name Scams From China.

Read about protecting your Internet Domains and Intellectual Property, IP rights in China and around the world.

Be Careful with your Brand. Imagine if you saw your company name in the search engines with someone else from China using it on the Internet. What would you do?

Jim

Branding Matters

Marketing Tip For Business Websites

2007-09-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Information is King but you need to Engage the Customer

Before a customer becomes your customer on the web, it is important to understand that they have most likely found your website in one of several ways online. The various ways of being found online include: the search engines, links from other websites, links from directories, or any number of forms of online advertising.

Marketing and advertising is all about creating more sales for a business. Yes, it is true that the search engines look at the information on a website and can drive traffic to your B2B or B2C business website. The search algorithms also have hundreds of included variables for evaluating the search rankings for keyword searches related to the individual websites, and also include information pertaining to websites from other web locations on the Internet, but there is more than meets the eye for sales and marketing success.

Call to action and sales oriented copy are absolutely necessary today in order to engage a reader, and have that reader become a customer. In the world of both B2B and B2C, a visitor to a website is likely visiting the website because of an interest in the product or service your company provides. Traffic to websites today are driven by the search engines. The search engines provide a small snippet of information that is displayed whenever someone is searching for a keyword or keywords related to the websites results. This is the first step in a potential new customer becoming a bona fide customer. There is much more in the path to them actually becoming a customer.

Don't place roadblocks on the pathway. Not having sales oriented copy and call to action items is like placing a roadblock in front of a potential customer.

Read more about Sales Oriented Internet Marketing.

Contact us for Internet marketing success.

Google Offers Online Storage Increase for a Fee

2007-08-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

In an article at InformationWeek it was reported that Google is now offering (for a fee) an increase in the free online storage of email, pictures through Picasa Web Albums, and also some of the other online applications in the near future.

Google Brings Premium Pricing to Online Storage Options

Google on Thursday augmented the free storage it offers to users of its online services with the option to buy additional storage.

Users of Picasa Web Albums and Gmail, and soon Google Docs & Spreadsheets, can now choose from several expanded storage options: 6 Gbytes ($20 per year), 25 Gbytes ($75 per year), 100 Gbytes ($250 per year), or 250 Gbytes ($500 per year).

Read the whole story.

The article goes into some comparisons on the costs of other online storage choices.

While the storage for Google Gmail is nearly 3 GB and Picasa Web Albums is 1 Gbyte, most users will never use that.

What I think is lacking with the storage amount is the ability to use it for all types of file storage. If Google were to offer a backup solution that provides storage for all types of files, besides emails and photos, this would be an ideal solution for many individuals.

There are already quite a number of online storage solutions for backing up your data. Some even provide a means of having a virtual hard disk across a network of computers. These online storage programs allow you to sync in your virtual drive. For example, if you were to place a file in the virtual drive at one computer, it will automatically show up at the other. Likewise, if the file is removed on any of the computers, the file will also be removed across the whole network.

Google was rumored / confirmed to be working on a GDrive or the Platypus.

There are actually a few free experimental Gmail email drives. Here is an interesting article at the Wikipedia Gmail Drive.

So, I would like to see Google provide a true GDrive for the public. I think it would be a big hit.

Just my two cents worth.

Jim Warholic

PDF Documents For Your Business

2007-06-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

PDF File Formats Have Become The De Facto Standard For Document Viewing and Printing Today

Brochures, color pamphlets, sales literature, marketing materials, manuals, technical documents, and even website pages are being converted to PDF documents for B2B and B2C businesses around the globe.

While, companies could invest hundreds of dollars for a PDF converter, there are some great softwares available for free. Many of these PDF converters can function both on the Apple Mac as well as the Microsoft PC system.

Why would anyone need a PDF file instead of a Microsoft Word file? Let's say you have a customer on the other side of the globe that needs information about your product or service and you only have it available in a Microsoft Word format. This might sound like no big deal to you, the customer can just open it using their Microsoft Word program. However, this is a totally wrong assumption. You might be talking to an engineer or customer that does not readily have the Microsoft Word program or compatible version available to them on the networked computer at their facility. Do you really want to make it difficult for them to be able to open a 100 page manual in a Microsoft Word document? No way!

With a PDF document, it can be read online with Internet Explorer, Firefox, or just about any Web browser with the Acrobat Reader plug-in available from Adobe. Or download the PDF file online to the local computer for future reference. Most Web browsers are set up to be able to open PDF files directly in the browser window itself. Even, Apple Mac can read it using available programs. Adobe has a free stand alone Acrobat Reader program available for just about every type of operating system available. They have a version for Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux, and even for the Mobile version operating systems. It is also available in multiple languages.

Adobe has a number of patents covering the technology used in the creation of the Portable Document Format (PDF) Specification. In the interest of promoting the PDF format for information exchange, Adobe has made it so that anyone may create applications that read and write PDF files without having to pay royalties to Adobe Systems. Source Wikipedia

When it comes to creating and publishing technical documents, many companies are using Adobe Acrobat Professional in publishing and collaboration between engineers, planners, and designers on the various design specifications for a wide range of projects. A multitude of companies and fields are using Acrobat Professional; from computer engineering firms, mechanical engineering and design companies, to communications companies and their engineers designing and documenting fiber-optic plant records, infrastructures, and Circuit Layout Records for city wide documentation. Because of the ability for different engineers and technical people to be able to add comments and corrections to the documents, the designers can actively keep track of the various changes and comments for a particular project.

While most businesses may not need this type of power for the PDF documents, it is nice to know there are options available for free to convert all types of documents to PDF file format. Read about some of the Free PDF Converter Programs available for both converting and combining all Microsoft documents into PDF file format. These types of PDF writing programs function on both Microsoft and Apple Mac software operating systems. Note: Mac has the feature of being able to save as a PDF file from the print menu and even email it directly to someone or yourself.

So, make it easy for your sales and customer service departments to share the technical and marketing material to your customers in a PDF file format today. Note, the documents can be made available online or in a secure directory that has a user name and is password protected. This requires some webmaster work to create secure online directories.

Do you need help with your website? Professional Web Services can help organize your PDF files and make them available on the Internet the way you want. Additionally, PDF files can also be found in the search engine results pages if you want. The option is yours.

Contact Professional Web Services for a free SEO report for your business website today. Learn how we can help get your business website showing up online in the search engines.

Your Personal Branding Business

2007-05-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Developing A Business Brand Online

B2B and B2C companies need to take a concerted effort online to establish their brands in the market place.

Branding begins at all levels, from the logo to the words written on a website and the information released in the public market place. Branding efforts should never stop. Just like in sports, teams need to get better in order to compete at or above the level of their competitors, so to in the matters of establishing a good brand image in the minds of the consumer. Read more about why you need to keep on developing a business brand online.

Developing Your Personal Brand Online

There are some things that are important to note in the world of online personal brands.

No matter what happens in the news, your name will likely appear in some form or another online. If you have a common name, like Joe Smith, your name will likely be linked on many websites. On the other hand, if you have a unique name, then you will likely see your name on but a few websites, but the brand image on display might not be to your liking. I am not talking about a picture of yourself, (although that may also be not to your liking). Read more about developing your personal brand online.

One of the aspects of branding online is that both your personal brand and business brand are likely linked together in more ways than one. Using your brand image on both the personal side and the business side is likely to be two sides of the same coin. Use it to your advantage on the Web. Set your personal/business apart from the rest. Stand out from the crowd on the Internet.

Jim is my personal brand and Professional Web Services is our Internet business brand.

So What Happened To The B2B Exchanges?

2007-03-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

B2B Exchanges Dead Or Alive

By: James A. Warholic

The Talk Of The Town Was And Is, That B2B Exchanges Are Going To Change The Way Buyers And Sellers Get Hooked Up Online

There was talk by many experts in the B2B industry that these B2B exchanges would be the life blood of everything from buying and selling chemical products to machining and other fabrication services. Business-to-Business Exchanges were supposed to be an online eCommerce marketplace where buyers and sellers could get together and be a place were deals could be made. Buyers would be able to select suppliers based on pricing and delivery and save on costs. Sellers of products and services would be able to get their products and services seen by the greatest market penetration possible and ultimately increase their sales.

So, what went wrong and what happened to these business to business exchanges?

Here are a few quotes from the pro side of B2B Exchanges.

Why Suppliers Should Use B2B Exchanges

"By becoming a member of a B2B exchange you can benefit in both cost-saving and revenue increase - two primary requirements of productivity increase."

B2B Exchanges
B2B Exchanges - The Killer Application in the Business to Business Internet Revolution

The authors of this book claim that B2B Exchanges will quite literally be the next "killer application" on the Internet.

So, what has happened to all the B2B exchanges? Did they drop dead? Are they ready to come alive and be the next best thing to sliced bread? Or, are they already dead, before they ever really took off in the first place?

The other side of the coin with the B2B exchanges can be read in this article.

B2B exchanges dying off fast
Inherent problems, false assumptions speed demise of e-marketplace sites

"The dinosaurs got to rule the planet for 160 million years before they disappeared.

The mighty B2B exchanges got about two years."

I believe that B2B suppliers are of a much too competitive nature for B2B exchanges to work out the way those that are promoting the B2B exchanges would love to see it. The thought of it working is just too idealistic. Competition is on the selling side of the equation and not on the buying side. You can have hundreds of buyers with very few sellers that hooked up with the exchange in the first place. There is nothing keeping the buyer at the exchange. If a deal can be got outside the exchange, a buyer will always take the best deal possible. But, this isn't the only reason, or even the major reason why B2B exchanges will ultimately fail.

To really understand why exchanges are destined to fail we simply can look at the B2C side of the equation and see how that has played out with the AOL online access model. AOL thought they could roll along forever by adding new subscribers to their dedicated online portal. However, they found out that the consumer ditched their dial-up modems to get high speed Internet and quite literally turned off their dial-up connections. Also, try as they might, AOL could not stop people wondering off of their dedicated portal. Yahoo, is in much the same boat. Although Yahoo did not start off as a dial-up service, they created this Web portal for their regulars to go through. Yahoo has been scrambling of late, to get their regulars back to their portal. Well, now everyone is a portal. Everyone has access to a wealth of Information. Information without borders or boundaries. Millions of websites are being created with all types of information for consumers, businesses, and personal use. And, because of the information that is in diverse places, search engines got their start to catalog all that wealth of information. And here in lays the true for B2B exchanges.

Search Engines Are The B2B Exchanges Online

B2B exchanges have been with us ever since the first directory was put together. The Yellow Pages were the first mass produced exchanges to go out to the masses. Then Thomas Brothers with their annual list of suppliers came out in encyclopedia form. Then along comes the Internet with its light speed communication and information dissemination. And then we needed a system to get that information into the right hands. Online directories were started to help group these companies together. But that wasn't good enough.

Along Came The Search Spiders And Sat Down Beside Ours

They gobbled up all those keywords in our network of websites. All the major B2B and B2C companies in the world invited those search spiders to feast at their websites. They wanted them to pick up every particularly important word and words that would help push them up to the top of the search results for their industry. Then even the smaller B2B players realized they too could have equal footing to get their website discovered online. Competition was working at the max. Owners and presidents of corporations recognized the marketing impact that could be made using the search engines to capitalize on the fact that buyers and consumers all over the world were using the search engines to find the things that everyone wants.

The true B2B exchanges of the world can never be encapsulated. There are no bounds online. You can not stop information that wants to be free. Information that wants to be free does not mean that it is not going to cost you from the suppliers point of view. It does mean that the competitive marketplace will have suppliers that take advantage of everything they can on the Internet. This is very good for both the buyers and consumers and also for all the suppliers. But, make no mistake about it, there is a marketing cost involved.

Get your company found online. Professional Web Services provides the Internet marketing B2B business solutions.