Stand Out In a Favorable Way - Get Business

Great Tool To Stand Out in a Favorable Way---

And Get Business!

By Terry Brock

It’s a mad dash out there! Have you noticed how congested the freeways of business are these days? Whew! Worse than rush hour in a busy city, everyone is packing the business information transom with mail, phone calls, TV ads, newspaper ads (whoops—can I say that in a newspaper???), radio commercials, etc. Oh, and did I mention way too much e-mail? Yikes!

So, how can you stand out in a favorable way to your prospects and customers so that they want to hear from you? You are in a non-stop battle to gain attention from those that are important to you. You have to come up with creative, innovative ways to break through that clutter, in a favorable way. Yes, favorable is the key word. Lots of people can stand out and be obnoxious. You want to attract attention so that people want to do business with you rather than with your competitor or, with some other competing activity.

There are lots of ways to do that and I’ve written about them before here. Today I want to share with you a tool that I’ve discovered recently that can help you break through the clutter to get favorable attention. Not only that, it is a time-saver. .

The tool I’m talking about is Visual Communicator from Serious Magic (www.seriousmagic.com). This is a communication tool that lets you create custom videos that are stunning in quality, to say the least. The quality of video that you create rivals that which you’d see on a local TV broadcast.

So, how can that help you, oh busy and time-limited salesperson (and aren’t we all in sales?) who has precious time to become a computer geek, let alone a video producer? Strange you would ask because I’m here to help you.

I started working with Visual Communicator a few weeks ago. Now I’m producing videos that communicate my message without having to hire a studio, expensive video crew, etc. I use this to send out custom e-mail video messages that look professional. This tool can give you the ability to stand out, in a favorable way, above the competition.

You can bring in JPG images, pictures of new products, clients using your product or service and more. You can bring in other video that you’ve shot on your camcorder to illustrate how your service stands ahead of the competition. You can use Visual Communicator to deliver a message to a group of people either on line, on CD, DVD or even the old VHS tape! Think about the value of sending out a creative, different message to your customers and prospects that makes them want to click and watch what you’ve got to say.

It is way too easy to simply hit the delete key today. Your message can be lost quickly. You want to create a message that communicates value to others. Video is a medium that lets you do that.

Visual Communicator goes way beyond traditional video on the computer. It even comes with a green screen. The company includes the green plastic sheet that you can put behind you so it can transpose pictures and video from other scenes. You can be in your office in Des Moines in the winter and have the beaches of Florida behind you with palm trees swaying in the breeze. You can “be” in the midst of all the action while actually safely in your home. Hey, if Hollywood can create this environment, why not you?

Yes, it will take some work to learn how to use it. It took me a few hours of fiddling with it, experimenting and even making a couple of quick calls to the very helpful tech support center at Serious Magic. However, the package was fairly straight forward once I learned its style. Think what it was like when you first used MS Word on your computer. Now, it is easy for you. Video is the same. Once you master the procedures (a few hours invested) you’ll be light years ahead of the competition!

One of the features that is particularly nice is the built-in teleprompter. You can take your message from, say, MS Word, and have it positioned to scroll as you read it looking into the camera. Then as you read the text, bring in JPG pictures and titles to have your own customized sales presentation.

But you can do more than that. If you manage others, think about how much of your valuable time is consumed training and showing new hires how to do a specific office task. With the help of Visual Communicator, you can carefully take the time to create just the right way to do that task---once. Then you post that video on your website, or copy it to CD, and let each new hire watch the video on their own, while you get involved in money-making activities. This is leveraging technology the best way.

Serious Magic offers a few levels of involvement for the package. You can start at one level and move up to others as your needs dictate. You can start for less than $300 and have a package that helps generate sales and makes you more productive.

You can see an example that I created at: http://terrysstuff.com/dell/index.htm and experience what is possible.

To stand out in a favorable way today, you have to be creative and different in a compelling way. Video done professionally is a tool that helps in that process. Visit the Serious Magic website and watch the examples they provide. Download the demo version to try it yourself. For today’s serious salesperson, entrepreneur and manager, this is a tool I strongly recommend exploring.

Visual Communicator, Serious Magic, Inc. www.seriousmagic.com, Priced from $289.95.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.

Strategy Amidst Change

Developing Strategy in the Age of

Constant Technological Change

By Terry L. Brock

Let’s suppose you’re an entrepreneur. The year is 1860. You see how long it takes to get information from the East to the West. With the possibility of a War Between the States emerging, fast access to information is more critical than ever.

So, you come up with a system to send information using riders that will ride a horse as fast as possible for a short distance (usually between 10 and 20 miles). Then with new, fresh horses along the way, you expect to complete your journey from St. Joseph, Missouri to San Francisco, California, a distance of over 1,800 miles, in about 10 days.

Let’s suppose that you, in 1860, as a horse delivery company entrepreneur wanted to become more efficient. You would hire consultants. Now you can imagine the consultants of the day, trained in horse-knowledge and horse matters. They would, of course, recommend that you get faster horses. They might recommend better hay for the horses. They might have recommendations to put your drivers on a diet so they would be lighter, thus making the trips faster. After all, you’re paying these drivers the priestly sum of $25 per week!

However, all that information from the “efficiency experts” of that day would mean nothing.

If you’ve studied your American history you know that such a company did exist and was called the Pony Express. What most people don’t know is that the Pony Express lasted for only 18 months. It was displaced by new technology. That technology was called the telegraph, perfected by Samuel Morse who also invented Morse Code. Well, actually the telegraph came about in 1843 but didn’t emerge strongly till the War Between the States.

So what does that mean to us in the 21^st Century and what does it have to do with strategy? In a word, plenty!

Being more efficient is not always the answer. Entrepreneurs have to take a strategic view of what is most important. Sometimes just getting more efficient won’t solve the problem. You have to catapult your thinking into a totally new dimension. You have to see things as you’ve never seen them before.

To develop a strategy in our day requires several steps. Among these include:

1. Realize things change. We can’t hold onto the “good old days” no matter how cozy they seemed to be.

2. Realize things are changing at an accelerated pace. To borrow from a calculus example, we are increasing at an increasing rate. Get used to it. We can fight it or learn how to turn that into our advantage.

3. Embrace learning. In Miami, Florida today, even minimum wage truck drivers are required to have three important skills, 1) Fluency in English, 2) Fluency in Spanish, and 3) Fluency in Computers. That industry requires the driver to be aware of computers, how to use them and not be afraid of them. This is for a job that starts at minimum wage and increases to $7.50 to $8.00 per hour. Check your local paper and notice how many jobs are available that don’t require a knowledge of computers. Not many!

4. Create very flexible strategic plans. The old days of Soviet-style 5-year plans went out with the Soviet Union. Long range planning today requires general concepts and “True North” principles as taught by Stephen Covey. Embrace the sound principles that have lasted for centuries and will be here for centuries. Embrace discipline, learning, kindness, loyalty, honesty, integrity and other sound principles. However, don’t be locked into any given technology because it can and will change; probably faster than you think or want it to!

5. Re-evaluate your plans every six months. This is the typical lifespan for computer products today. Since September, 1997 we have abolished Moore’s Law which held that computer speed doubles every 18 months. Since September, 1997, we have seen it doubling at a rate of every nine months! This calls for a constant re-evaluation of what you produce, how you do it, what markets you now serve and which ones you should embrace for the future and even who your competitors are. The banking industry sat smugly for years in the old way of doing things. Now we are seeing a revolution as more and more banks embrace Internet banking, PC-based banking and a full deluge of new technologies to better serve their customers. The auto industry is also being shaken as customers choose to select their new cars over the Internet and avoid the car dealership hassle, too often associated with buying a new car. Employees are viewing themselves as free agents. No longer do we see people working all their careers with one company. Instead they view each company as a stepping stone to the next one. Skill-building, relationships, flexible work schedules and especially how much fun they can have are all factors as important as or more important than the paycheck in choosing and staying with a particular job.

In short, our world is continuing to change at a rapid pace. There are enormous profits and benefits awaiting those prepared. Those unprepared will be sorely disappointed and longing for “the good old days” when things were different.

There is always change. That is the way of nature. Whether you’ve living in 1860 with the Pony Express or today with the Internet, be flexible and adapt quickly. That way you won’t wind up in horse mess, but instead will telegraph a message of success to all who meet you and deal with you.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.

Terry Brock, Marketing Coach, Professional Speaker 

iPod Your Business To Increase Sales

How To Get More Business?

Hint: iPod Your Business

By Terry L. Brock

GM is having all kinds of problems in the car business these days. So are many other car companies. And we won’t even talk about how bad it is for the airlines today.

Yet, in the midst of these industries and specific companies doing so poorly, Yahoo! reported profits had doubled on soaring web advertising revenues. Google reported recently a profit nearly six times higher than a year earlier. Even old-timer Dell (“old” by Internet standards) saw profits rise by 28%.

So, what’s the difference between some companies doing very well and others sucking wind? Of course, no single explanation accounts for everything but one factor looms larger than life.

In the cold, hard world of business we are taught about numbers, sales forecasts, cash flow, and a bunch of other logical, real-world stuff. This is the key to success in business, right?

Nope. Not by a long shot.

It is not in the logic and cold-hard reality where you win customers. It is in their emotional link and buy-in to you, your business and how you make them feel. Each of the companies that are doing well play on the emotional appeal of having customers feel like they belong to a community. Those companies where there is a loss either in real financial dollars or in customer loyalty (and there is a link!), can usually be attributed to customer detachment and lack of involvement.

A good case in point is the soaring success of Apple’s iPod. These little rascals are so popular now that they are hot items with thieves who are targeting them. An iPod, just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, is a portable music playing device that Apple has touched and turned into a serious profit-generating machine for shareholders.

From the iPod success has emerged a whole category of support products that enhance the iPod experience. In this support category you find cases, external speakers, batteries and more. Customers feel emotionally involved and connected. Apple’s profits benefit from this increased loyalty.

So what does this mean for your business? How can you be more like a Google, a Yahoo! or a Dell and less like a GM, an American Airlines, a United or others? Well, you have to think about the total customer experience---from the customer’s point of view.

We’ve raved about discounter Southwest Airlines for years. Rather than site yet another story about how Southwest is beating the socks off the competition, just think about the emotional experience on a typical Southwest flight vs. one with one of the larger carriers. Those that can connect with the customer in a favorable emotional way, win the day. Yes, price is always important but Southwest is winning now even when price is equalized because of other carriers matching its low fares.

This is not rocket science. They didn’t really drill this stuff into our heads in business school in Quantitative Analysis class. You can’t run it through multiple regression models.

It is human nature, pure and simple. Logic will make people think but it is the emotional involvement ---in a favorable way---that makes customers buy and keeps them coming back again and again.

And here’s a practical, specific way to do it. Call your customers. See them face to face. This becomes a real competitive advantage in an age with e-mail overkill. And then connect with them emotionally in a regular, pleasant manner.

One technology that can help with that is the fast-emerging podcasting. Modeled after Apple’s iPod, a podcast is your own radio broadcast on the Net. Once you have the specifics down, you can send a pleasant audio message to customers, employees and others easily and quickly. Make the message relevant and beneficial to them, not just about you and what you’re doing.

Customer Service is a part of this. Paul Stewart and Janelle Barlow discuss this in their recent book, Branded Customer Service. They talk about companies that have made a difference in the bottom line by involving customer emotionally. Great reading for a serious entrepreneur who wants to gain a strong competitive advantage using kindness to customer!

Today, you have enormous opportunities to get ahead. Leverage the technology to serve customers more. It will keep customers connected and boost the bottom line!

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.

Try e-mail on your blog

One of the great new features of Blogging is using e-mail to update what
you have. You can send an e-mail and it will automatically update your
Blog. That is what I'm doing now. Give it a try and you'll be amazed
at what can happen.

Terry

Terry L. Brock
President & CEO
Achievement Systems, Inc.
Regular Columnist for Biz Journals since 1995
Read recent articles at:
http://www.bizjournals.com/extraedge/consultants/succeeding_today/

terry@terrybrock.com, www.terrybrock.com
7550 Hinson St. Suite 15-C, Penthouse
Orlando, FL 32819 USA
407-363-0505
Skype Address: MarketerTerryB

"It's NOT about E-Commerce (the Electronics); It's about R-Commerce (the
Relationships) (SM)

Get free information on how to build your business and increase sales at

http://www.terrybrock.com/yoursuccessnow.htm

Success requires a lot of things in life. Here's an article I wrote recently about Steve Fosset who pioneered with his solo flight around the world. He is a remarkable man. Think about how you can use the same types of technologies and build your life and your business.

I look forward to any comments you might have at terry@terrybrock.com. Hope you have a marvelous day!

Smart Persistence: Lessons for Your Life and Business from Steve Fossett

By Terry L. Brock

Running your business and managing your life require skills, proper planning and lots of determination and perseverance. Steve Fossett, the 60 year old businessman, former stockbroker and explorer just demonstrated many of the characteristics that you and I can build into our lives and business in order to succeed. Fossett demonstrates what I refer to as “Smart Persistence.” Think and plan intelligently and keep going in spite of hardships.

I woke up this morning thinking about what this great man, the Lindbergh of our time, did and how we can apply those principles to our businesses. Here are some lessons I gain that I wanted to share with you today:

1. Get the Right Skills. Steve Fossett didn’t start with a round-the-world solo flight. He built into it by swimming the English Channel, succeeding in setting several balloon racing firsts and did a lot of flying. Get the skills and education you need. Motivation alone, although vitally important, won’t cut the mustard. Pay the price in terms of time, money and effort to get the skills you need for your business and life success. Fossett did and continues to do it. We have to do this as small businesspeople.

2. Suck It Up When You Fall In 1997 Steve Fossett was attempting to be the first round-the-world solo balloonist. He crash-landed in Russia. The next year he was hit by storms at 29,000 ft over the Northern Coast of Australia and crashed. Ouch! “That was the closest I came to dying,” he was heard to say. He had to be rescued after that attempt. I don’t know exactly what challenges you’re going to face, but I promise you that you are going to face them. Some might not be life-threatening like Mr. Fossett, but they can seem insurmountable just the same. Don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes and keep going with a dogged determination.

3. Age Doesn’t Count. Steve Fossett completed his 100 record-breaking performances and he is a kid of 60 today. As Lowell Catlett says, “60 is the new 30!” Today we know more than ever about how to be physically strong, what foods to eat, how to exercise properly and how to sustain strong energy, no matter what your age. Check with your health care practitioner and get a program that works for you. Then don’t be easy on yourself. Make your training tough. I love the way former Navy SEAL Captain Richard Marcinko describes it: “The more you sweat in training, the less you’ll bleed in battle.” Go out there and sweat like crazy in your own training! Make your mental study tough. Push yourself to the limit and don’t baby yourself. And by the way, Fossett completed his solo plane flight in 67 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds. He took several 1-3 minute naps but kept going. Try that at age 60---or any age!

4. Use the Right Technology. Fossett’s jet, the GlobalFlyer, was specially built for this mission. He hired the best he could find. He patterned it after legendary greats like Burt Rutan, who co-piloted a single-engine plane around the world. You have to use the right technology for your business. If you’re often mobile, look into the right handheld computer, wireless connection system and “do-it-from-anywhere” kind of marketing system. Get the right tools to make your journey.

5. Get the Right Team. Steve Fossett had people like Virgin Airlines President and CEO Richard Branson, himself quite an adventurer, financially backing him and cheering him on. Branson actually flew the chaser plane as Fossett left North America. Fossett also had lots of supporters including his wife who greeted him upon arrival . Build the right team around you. Even a solo pilot can’t do it by himself.

6. Avoid the High Rent Districts. You don’t have to have big, elaborate facilities to succeed. Fossett launched his GlobalFlyer from “Where is that?” Salina, Kansas--- not exactly the hub of the known Universe! However, he knew they had a 12,000 foot runway and wouldn’t be encumbered by all the hassles of a larger city. As you build your business, keep costs lean. Focus on providing serious value to your customers. Don’t try to impress others by borrowing to buy fancy furniture, big offices, etc., etc. These unnecessary trappings don’t really impress others; they only temporarily feed your ego. Pour your time, money and effort into making the lives of others better through your products and services. That will impress them and they will give your bottom line something to impress your banker and accountant.

7. Never Give Up. While Steve Fossett was near Honolulu his GlobalFlyer unexpectedly and mysteriously lost over one ton of fuel. Yea, this is serious. There were some who recommended that he ditch it and try another time. However, Fossett wisely examined the situation, knew he had the largest stretch of over-water flying on the planet ahead of him and said, “Let’s go for it!” He could have given up but he pressed on in spite of the admonition of well-wishers. After 67 hours, 2 minutes and 38 seconds, he successfully landed back in Salina, Kansas and achieved yet another world record. Sometimes in the midst of your big year, something dramatic will happen. You’ll get advice to throw in the towel. Use your judgment, be skilled and prepared and press on regardless. This is “Smart Persistence.” This is that indomitable spirit that keeps pressing on. Yeah, it’s called motivation and we all need it regularly. Pointy-headed elitists can scoff at motivation--- but it works and science shows us how great achievements are made by motivation.

As entrepreneurs and salespeople, our hats are off to you, Steve Fossett. Thank you for teaching us about life and encouraging us, through your actions, not just words, how to make it happen.

And now, what are you going to do next?

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.

Leverage Technology To Increase Service

by Terry Brock

(Note to editors: NaturallySpeaking is treated as one word with no space)

The power of technology is not just that it helps us to do things faster. Sure it is nice that we can use Microsoft Word to type faster and churn out documents faster than with the old typewriters. But the real power of using a word processing software package is the ability to accomplish tasks that we couldn’t do before, like making quick changes, using a built-in spell checker, a built-in thesaurus and many more which you’ve discovered.

I find it exhilarating when I discover a new technology or an old technology than I can use in a new way. One of these that I recently discovered is the new version of Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking, Version 8. This is a software package that has been around for quite a while and is the undisputed leader in speech-to-text processing. It holds the position as the most dominant package available for consumers to take spoken word speech and turn it into text on your computer screen.

In fact, as I can put this article together, I’m actually speaking it and not touching a computer keyboard. It is almost like something from an episode of Star Trek when I watch the words appear on the screen as I speak. You’ve probably read before about the beauty of using words and speech in order to type. If you’re not a good typist then this is particularly helpful. However, I want to look at some new options for you as a business owner and entrepreneur that will help you in propelling your services to your clients even farther using a package like Dragon Systems NaturallySpeaking.

One of the real-world tasks that we face regularly in business is phone calls. Often, I found I want to keep a record of what was said on a given phone call. Of course, a recording can be done, and the technology exists to record the conversation, but the biggest difficulty with that is going back and listening in real-time to a recorded phone conversation. It takes much more time than reading a transcript. And of course, you want to be in full legal compliance with state laws regarding recording conversations over the phone by notifying the other party that the conversation is being recorded.

However, I found it very helpful to use NaturallySpeaking to transcribe my side of the conversation as I speak so that I can keep track of what was said, and commitments that were made. It’s much easier to have a written record of conversations that I would conduct by using NaturallySpeaking than to try and write things down. I find I can speak much faster than I can write.

However, one of the best areas for a small business person, like yourself, is to use NaturallySpeaking to increase your knowledge. Like me, you probably read a lot of magazines and books. We know that this is critical to stay competitive in today’s environment. I have found that it’s very useful to read areas I’d underline or highlight into NaturallySpeaking. I have found that if something is worth underlining it is worth recording. So what I have done is go through various books that I like to read, and as I find something that’s particularly good where I would underline or put stars ---I transcribe it with NaturallySpeaking. I now record these “best of the best” passages and have my own summary of a particular book. This is then transcribed in Microsoft Word, and I have reference to it for the future very quickly.

There’s also another benefit. In addition to reading we can retain more as we hear the words we speak. This helps those ideas from the written page to permeate our brains deeper by hearing something and reading it. You’re more likely to remember it and to utilize it. What better way to make new ideas yours than to put them in action and to really benefit from good thoughts? Plus, you have the benefit of retaining the essence of the book in an easy to access method, like Microsoft Word.

Know the program is not perfect. Notice how it inserted the word “K N O W” instead of the word “N O.” Yes, you will have to touch the keyboard for some corrections. I find that I operate well typing and thinking as I’ve used this method for years. However, think how many mistakes you make while typing. If you’re willing to accept the 98% to 99% accuracy of NaturallySpeaking you’ll be fine. Always use a spell checker, and always check what you write. However, you just can’t beat it for taking thoughts from your head and quickly getting them down on to a word processor.

If you are a busy salesperson or small-business person you need to look into Naturally Speaking version 8. The program is the best that I have ever seen and works incredibly well for putting together thoughts, ideas, and leveraging wordprocessing tasks. Now than I have the program and am using it, a wide variety of possibilities are open for me in writing, in organizing my thoughts and in retaining good information I’ve read from magazines and books.

Every once in a while a new technology comes along, that gives you the ability to leverage what you’re doing and go far beyond where you are. This is one of them. Get more done faster with a tool like Naturally Speaking.

(Dragon Systems Naturally Speaking, $199.00, www.scansoft.com 1-800-654-1187)

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.

Brock’s Blogging For Business

By Terry L. Brock

Have you heard it? There is a roaring that is growing stronger daily and it holds some great potential for your business. It is growing so fast that you can’t ignore it and could be left behind if you miss it.

I’m talking about the storm of Blogging that is taking the Internet and business by storm. I’ve written before about Blogging in these columns but now the noise in the marketplace is building to a very high volume. And that means increased revenue for you and your business if you capitalize on it.

Also, the benefits are to you as a consumer of information. You want to get quality information quickly and easily without a bunch of spam and unwanted time wasters. Spam has pervaded the Internet and caused serious problems when it is accompanied by viruses. However, with Blogs and their new cousins podcasting and RSS (more on that later) you eliminate 100% of the spam and get only the information you want.

Here is a quick primer for you, as a busy salesperson or business owner. Blogs are short for web logs. They are a special form of web pages that contain largely text and content about specific topics. There are millions of them out there---many are worthless. However, the free market has a way to seeing through all the clutter. Those Blogs that are content-rich and provide value will last. Those that are merely someone’s drivel about what they did that day will not be read. People will gravitate towards those authors and Blogs that consistently provide relevance and value.

A close cousin to Blogs is the new technology of RSS. This stands for “Real Simple Syndication” and it is a welcome relief if you are swamped with too much e-mail. I’m using RSS now as a consumer to read those stories from several sources that are valuable to me. If I don’t want to read something, no problem! I don’t go to it. But RSS technology encapsulates the best websites and “feeds” that I want to read. I determine what I want and can unsubscribe at any time. There is no spam and no chance of ugly viruses coming through.

Tied closely to RSS is an even newer technology called podcasting. Although it is friendly for Apple’s successful iPod, you don’t have to have an iPod to benefit from podcasting. You only need the ability to play the audio MP3 files that are available on the Net. With podcasting in place on your computer (easy to set up) you can listen to audio from your favorite radio stations, news sources, friends and more. In sum, anyone can become a radio station. Your business could provide useful tips on how to best utilize your services or the products you have. You don’t have to be a computer genius to create this. Instead, you need to master some basic technology, much like you mastered word processing software and e-mail at some point.

Note: Watch what is developing with podcasting. Right now it is largely limited to audio. There are already some areas where video is coming through and this is the major breakthrough. Video is now being used in “Vlogging” or video Blogging. By using Vlogging as a tool, your business can demonstrate new uses for old products, show demos of new products and do a lot more. This is a cost-effective way to reach customers and make your business stand out from the competition. Video is the next big thing with podcasting. More to come on this one.

Recently I did a teleseminar on Blogging and how a small business can use it. You can listen to the seminar and see a lot of resources at: http://www.terrybrock.com/BlogTeleSeminar.htm to get answers to Blogs and what they can do for you. Check this out (it is free for you) and let me know if you have any questions.

Blogging for your small business is a great tool. You want to provide consistent quality information in a way that people will come back over and over. You can use this tool to get information out quickly. If you can type, you can Blog. You don’t have to know a bunch of elaborate computer coding (like HTML, PHP, ASP, etc.). All you have to know is how to use an Internet browser and click on a “Publish” button. And here’s a real nice feature---you can get a Blog for free. Check out the teleseminar (above) to learn about how you can get a Blog for free in a few minutes.

Once you have a Blog, you can add audio to it with any touchtone phone---including your cell phone. Also, referenced in the teleseminar, you can create audio on the Net if you only know how to use a cell phone and punch in a phone number, and a password. The technology has become that simple to use.

So, here’s your assignment: Learn what a Blog is and begin one to experiment. Since it is free, your only cost will be a few minutes of your time. Then after you’ve discovered that, think about how you can help your customers and potential customers to gain more by hearing from you via text and audio messages. Think about how video Blogging (Vlogs) can help you reach more people and take your message to the next level.

Don’t be left behind on this one. That roaring sound is getting stronger and those that control the sound will reap the benefits fro the future. Embrace Blogging today and be ready for the good tomorrow.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission. Permission granted to Biz Journals to use in regular publications.