Consulting Alliance to Hold Speed Networking Event

The Consulting Alliance will hold a lunch meeting on Friday, July 8, 2011 from 11:30 A.M. to 2 P.M. at Wolferts Roost Country Club, 120 Van Rensselaer Blvd., Menands, NY. The cost is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Guests and prospective members are invited to attend.  Reservations are required and can be made by calling (518) 434-0489 or by emailing info@consultingalliance.org.

The program "Speed Networking for New Connections" features Peter Coombs, principal of FRONTLINE Training. Coombs will lead a fun, energetic speed-networking program during which participants will meet and present themselves to one another in order to expand business connections.

Peter Coombs brings over 35 years of sales, management and training experience to his role as principal of FRONTLINE Training. Since founding his company in 1987, Coombs has worked closely with service companies, manufacturers, utilities, government agencies and retail and wholesale organizations. His clients have included Ford Motor Company, Transamerica, PepsiCo, MapInfo, Godiva Chocolatier and numerous New York State agencies. He has successfully designed and delivered a wide range of skill-based training programs for managers, sales and customer service personnel. He has trained throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to his training work, Coombs has served as a business coach to individuals, focusing on sales, time management, communication and presentation skills.

The Consulting Alliance is a non-profit association of the Capital Region's leading independent consultants. A key resource of expertise to businesses and organizations in the Capital Region and worldwide, the Consulting Alliance helps its members build upon their successes through an array of skills development, resource sharing and networking opportunities, while working together to maintain the standards and reputation of the consulting profession. The organization's Web site is located at www.consultingalliance.org.

Don't Think Companies Need Trade Show Stands? Skyline Publishes White Paper On Trade Show Value

Skyline Exhibits, a company known for its dynamic trade show displays, recently published a white paper outlining the value exhibitors and attendees alike can get out of attending a trade show. The 24-page white paper, titled 'The Value of Trade Shows,' was produced in partnership with Expo Magazine.

The results were uncovered from extensive surveys of over 500 trade show exhibitors and attendees. The study found that exhibitors and attendees both find significant value in trade shows and that they expect to find value in trade show exhibits for years to come. The research found that:
•   Exhibitors plan to increase their budget by nearly 10% to attend more events in 2011.
•   Over 60% of exhibitors rate conventions as extremely or very valuable.
•   Over 90% of exhibitors think that trade shows will remain critical to their company's marketing plans in the next five years.
•   Around 90% of attendees find trade shows an essential part of product sourcing, comparing products and meeting suppliers.
•   Over 70% of attendees think trade shows are extremely or very valuable.
•   Attendees plan to increase their travel budgets by over 4% for 2011.
•   Nearly 60% of attendees make a major purchase within three months of an event. 

"Our new white paper is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about trade shows and how to make the most out of their trade show exhibits. The exhibitors we surveyed told us how they were increasing their trade show participation, why trade shows are important to their business and how they are exhibiting better at trade shows than ever before. The attendees we surveyed told us how they use trade shows to find products, but most importantly, they told us exactly how exhibitors could capture their attention. It's important information that can mean the difference between a triumphant or unsuccessful show," said Michael Thimmesch of Skyline Exhibits (http://www.skyline.com).

Skyline Exhibits is known for designing trade show stands that help companies stand out among others at a convention. The company has a number of different trade show booth designs and a network of over 1500 employees who can provide worldwide service and support. Skyline Exhibits realizes that a trade show exhibit can be a major purchase for any business and offers rental exhibits at a number of its Skyline Regional Service Centers.

Anyone interested in learning more about white paper's findings can request the document at http://www.skyline.com/request/the-value-of-trade-shows.

Co-Communications Garners Six Big W Awards

Co-Communications, Inc., a full-service marketing communications firm, was recognized with six Big W awards by the Ad Club of Westchester, during its annual gala at Abigail Kirsch at the Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown, NY on June 8, 2011.

Co-Communications received Ad Club of Westchester (ACW) awards in the PR category for the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, Westchester Library System, The GYM in Armonk, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester and Food Bank for Westchester.

Co-Communications picked up four gold ACW awards for The Guiding Eyes for the Blind (33rd Annual Golf Classic), The GYM in Armonk (Breast Cancer Awareness campaign), Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester (Ongoing campaign), and Food Bank for Westchester (Ongoing campaign).  Silver awards were garnered for the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (Ongoing campaign) and Westchester Library System (13th annual African-American Writers & Readers Literary Tea).

This is the second consecutive year that Co-Communications Guiding Eyes for the Blind campaign received recognition. The firm’s 2010 Guiding Eyes campaign received ACW’s “Best of Show.”  The campaign generated more than 300 media results (print, broadcast, online), reaching an audience of over 30 million. Major media included CBS Sunday Morning, ABC, NBC, Sports Net New York, New York Post, The Journal News, USA Today and The Today Show.

“It is an honor to be recognized by our peers for the work we have developed on behalf of all of our clients,” said Stacey Cohen, President, Co-Communications. “Once again this year we find ourselves in good company with a number of other remarkable marketing communications firms in Westchester and Connecticut and feel honored to receive these awards.”

Awarded annually, the Ad Club of Westchester’s Big W awards recognize outstanding advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns throughout Westchester County, New York, New York City and Fairfield County, Connecticut.

A Live Chat Service Provider Launches Blog on Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rate

WebGreeter.com, a Chicago basedlive chat service provider and a subsidiary of LiveAdmins LLC, has launched a weblog to help individuals and businesses looking to increase their website’s conversion rate. The new blog is aimed at providing expert opinion and useful tips on customer support services, online support services and increasing the marketing return on investment.

Announcing the launch of the new live support services blog (http://www.webgreeter.com/blog), LiveAdmins CEO, Frank Azhar said“Many of our live chat service customers have been seeking advice from our customer support experts on how to engage their website visitors effectively to enhance their conversion rate and get more sales and leads. We have gained extensive experience in helping individuals and businesses over the last decade and we wanted to share our knowledge with others. Therefore, we decided to launch a blog where we could share our own experiences and provide a platform for other industry experts to come and share their knowledge with our visitors.”

As more businesses realize the importance of inbound marketing, most modern businesses are becoming publishers. By offering free and helpful advice, business organizations have a better chance of gaining trust of their existing as well as potential customers. According to a recent research, 45% digital marketers and entrepreneurs believed their biggest marketing challenge was to enhance their website’s conversion rate. “WebGreeter.com’s blog is aimed at such an audience,” Frank reiterated.

LiveAdmins LLC (http://www.liveadmins.com/) has been providing live chat and live support services to individuals and businesses looking to proactively engage their website visitors and add a human touch to their online shopping experience for the last 9 years around the world. They have a global presence, with offices in the US, Philippines, and South Asia. WebGreeter.com specializes in providing live help services to the website visitors of lawyers, auto dealers, real estate, colleges, education and ecommerce websites in multiple languages including English and French.

To find more about WebGreeter.com live chat support services (http://www.webgreeter.com/servicest.aspx) visit webgreeter.com.

Westchester Receives Top Honors for ‘Intellectual Capital’ Marketing Campaign from NYS EDC

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development took top honors for its groundbreaking “Intellectual Capital” marketing campaign at the New York State Economic Development Council’s (NYSEDC) annual meeting held May 26 in Cooperstown.
  
The County Office of Economic Development won the top prize in its class for each of the three categories in which it was entered, including Best Development Brochure, Best Printed Advertising Material and Best Website. The annual awards recognize achievements in business marketing among the state's leading economic development organizations.

Under the leadership of Laurence P. Gottlieb, the County’s Director of Economic Development, the Westchester County Office of Economic Development initiated an innovative branding campaign last fall that is focused on Westchester’s highly skilled and educated workforce.

At the center of the branding platform is the trademarked slogan “Westchester County – New York’s Intellectual Capital.” The print ads feature elements of people’s everyday lives – a picket fence, a coffee cup, and someone’s own hand – adorned with complex mathematical, chemical and engineering formulas. In the ad featuring the coffee cup, the headline reads “In Westchester, brilliance happens all the time.” The marketing campaign was created and implemented by Thompson & Bender, a full service public relations and advertising agency in Briarcliff Manor.

“We are very proud and honored to have received this prestigious award and statewide recognition for our marketing and branding campaign. The campaign has clearly positioned Westchester County as ‘New York’s Intellectural Capital‘ and plays to our strengths in today’s hot growth sectors of biotech, finance, health care, information technology and green technologies,” said Mr. Gottlieb.

“Economic development remains a cornerstone of my administration, so these awards – judged by our peers from across the state – reaffirm that Westchester is taking a bold, aggressive approach to retaining and attracting businesses to the county,” stated Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino. “Congratulations to Economic Development Director Larry Gottlieb, and the creative agency Thompson & Bender, for a job well done.”

Summer 2011 Special - Free SharePoint 2010 consulting to customize SharePoint

Award winning SharePoint 2010 consulting firm ConvergePoint (http://www.convergepoint.com), announces the summer 2011 special free no obligation SharePoint consulting session aimed solely at organizations looking to develop SharePoint 2010 intranets, customize SharePoint portals and & SharePoint extranets to address specific business needs.

Summer 2011 is finally here. The free SharePoint consulting session is specially designed for organizations to talk with expert SharePoint consultants to determine how best to customize SharePoint & InfoPath. ConvergePoint SharePoint consultants are experts in Microsoft Office SharePoint™ 2010 and InfoPath™ 2010 technologies. Our customers have leveraged our extensive experience in developing SharePoint workflow & SharePoint web part enabled business collaboration tools that allow for creating, gathering, sharing and approval of information across the organization.

Businesses looking to develop highly efficient collaborative Microsoft SharePoint Portals and Microsoft SharePoint Intranets for their business users, customers and vendors are strongly recommended to consider the special summer offer from experienced SharePoint consultants at Converge Point.

Founded in 2002, New York headquartered  ConvergePoint partners with organizations to perform SharePoint related business process analysis, plan SharePoint migration strategies, install SharePoint servers, architect SharePoint site structures, customize SharePoint to confirm to marketing & branding guidelines, develop business SharePoint business applications and deploy SharePoint to business users in a cost effective manner.

California ETEC Receives Presidential "E" Award for Export Service

California ETEC was awarded the Presidential “E” Award for Export Service by U.S.  Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at the Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. on May 16th, 2011.  The “E” Awards are the highest recognition any U.S. entity may receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

The recruitment of international students to California and U.S. campuses has been our exclusive focus the past 5 years, and we are honored to receive the “ E” Award, said Mark Matsumoto, President and CEO.   Since 2006,  California ETEC has provided a platform for US education and training providers to recruit international students and delivery education programs throughout Asia.  California ETEC provides an array of free and cost-effective services for education providers to expand their international student recruitment or develop new international linkages. 

The export of education services generates more than $19 billion dollars in exports for the U.S.  and contributes nearly $ 3 billion dollars to local economy in California.   Moreover, revenues from international student tuition and overseas program delivery are increasingly counted upon to make up for shortfalls in public and private education funding in the United States. 

“Exports are a key driver of America’s economic recovery,” said Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.  “President Obama’s National Export Initiative(NEI), which aims to double U.S. exports by 2015 in support of several million American jobs, is a robust, forward-looking trade agenda with an emphasis on domestic job growth.  California ETEC is being honored for making significant contributions toward fulfilling that agenda. “

A business client of the Department’s U.S. Commercial Service,  California ETEC has benefitted from business matchmaking services to greatly expand its export sales.   California ETEC demonstrated a substantial increase in the volume of exports over a four-year period,  a major criteria for the award.

Contact-  California ETEC
                  Mark Matsumoto
                  mark@studycalifornia.org
                  www.studycalifornia.org

Microsoft and FMT Consultants, LLC Team Up For Dynamics CRM 2011 San Diego Launch Event

FMT Consultants, LLC is pleased to announce that it is teaming up with Microsoft to host a live, in-person Launch Event for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 at the Microsoft San Diego offices in La Jolla (UTC) on Wednesday, March 16, 2011.

“As a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner since its initial release, back in 2003, we are excited to see Microsoft continue to make such strong strides in the CRM marketplace,” says Kevin De Pree, Executive Vice President for FMT Consultants. “This release clearly puts them ahead of the competition in both the quality of the product as well as the anticipated return on investment, especially at this low price point.”

With this latest release, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 has positioned itself as the market leader in Customer Relationship Management software. Dynamics CRM 2011 delivers a familiar user experience, intuitive business intelligence and an unprecedented ease of communications between systems.

Sales Force Automation

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 allows salespeople to optimize their sales efforts by utilizing the familiar Microsoft Outlook and Office tools that they already use. Embedded Microsoft Office capabilities allow for better lead and opportunity management, real-time insight into pipeline and analytics, and a mobile interface for those salespeople on the go.

Customer Service

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is a robust and flexible service solution that allows employees to interface with customers using familiar Microsoft Office functionality. Customer service professionals will experience improved Case and Contract Management, better resolution time with a built in knowledge base and insightful, actionable analytics.

Marketing

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, every touch point becomes a marketing opportunity. With this latest release you can easily segment your contacts into different marketing lists, send emails directly from CRM and track responses. Now you can easily measure your marketing success and have real-time analytics around numerous campaign indicators.

xRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 becomes a truly “Extended CRM” package with customizable entities. You are no longer restricted to a “Customer” Relationship Management software package and can truly experience the full capabilities of xRM. With either prebuilt add-on functionality or a fully customized solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is tailored to be YOUR system. Stop working for your software and start having your software work for you.

According to Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, “Sales professionals are at the heart of almost every successful business. Microsoft Dynamics CRM redefines productivity by offering an industry-leading product that is fully embracing the cloud. The things that make Microsoft Dynamics CRM an industry leader include giving sales professionals a familiar user experience, enabling greater collaboration, streamlining of processes and access to real-time data so they can improve their customers’ experiences and effectively compete in the market.”

For a limited time you can sign up for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for only $34 per user per month for the first year! As an added incentive, current Salesforce.com and Oracle users can receive $200 cash for each user transitioned over to Dynamics CRM Online!

Both promotions expire June 30, 2011.

Come join Microsoft and FMT Consultants at our joint launch event to:

•   See live product demonstrations.
•   Learn the difference between online and on-premise versions.
•   Understand the ease of integration between Dynamics CRM and various accounting and ERP packages, including Microsoft Dynamics GP.
•   Find out what the upgrade/migration/installation processes look like.
•   Hear real-life testimonials from actual FMT customers.
•   Have the chance to speak to Certified CRM and business solutions consultants and ask them the tough questions.
•   Get signed up today!


Date: Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Time: 9-11am
Location: Microsoft Office, San Diego
Registration Page: http://www.fmtconsultants.com/CRM2011LiveLaunch


About FMT Consultants

FMT Consultants, LLC is Microsoft’s leading Southern California provider of integrated business solutions and information technology services. Since 1995, its experienced team of consultants has leveraged the Microsoft technology platform, including Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics CRM, SharePoint, Exchange, Office and Microsoft SQL, to provide companies with innovative solutions to their most challenging issues.

As an award winning Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, FMT works with companies to architect and deliver high-quality, affordable technology solutions that help them run their businesses better. FMT’s expertise includes analyzing, designing, implementing, developing and integrating multiple software and hardware systems, as necessary, to optimize clientele’s business processes and achieve their goals. In addition to doing project-based work, FMT provides support services for numerous clients in a variety of industries in order to assist them with their ongoing, day-to-day solution needs.

FMT serves its clients nationwide with a regional focus on Southern California including San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange Counties.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that help businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.



For more information:
Mathew Holden
FMT Consultants, LLC
760.930.6400
mholden@FMTConsultants.com
FMT Consultants, LLC:
http://www.fmtconsultants.com

Extreme Marketing Solution:New Blogging eCourse Reveals How Anyone Can Make a Blog in 7 Proven Steps

MonetizationMagic.com has officially put the marketing industry on notice: Marketing to your key prospects while you’re servicing your current customers is now faster, easier and more affordable than ever before.

As Joan Pounds added, “Our new 7-Day eCourse has gone the internet marketing industry one better. Where most companies in this market spend thousands on advertising with little return our FREE 7-Day eCourse provides a proven platform upon which to build 10 or more streams of income.”

MonetizationMagic.com has identified several key steps most important to cost-effective internet marketing when it comes to advertising your product or service:

•   Accurately defining if your niche or passion is profitable
•   Utilizing automated marketing systems creating satisfied customers
•   Identifying prospective products to introduce to your product line

These marketing steps are just part of an entire blog focused marketing training solution.  

The complete step-by-step solution is fully documented in a new special eCourse, 7-Day Blogging eCourse.  The eCourse is available for immediate registration at www.MonetizationMagic.com/classes and to help as many people as possible, this valuable eCourse is available now for free.

For media inquiries, to arrange for an interview or an expert quote, please contact Joan Pounds at (719)201-9849.

www.MonetizationMagic.com

Website Marketing Systems Complimentary Training Open Instantly

Website marketing systems. COMPLIMENTARY training in MOWG, MOWG WordPress edition, and TFAN is open instantly.

What is MOWG? Pronounced "Mo-Jee", it stands for 'Mass Optimized Website Generation'. It turns average webpages into Yahoo! indexed MEGAWebsites. Watch as the mass optimized website generation system creates thousands of search engine optimized webpages in minutes. Enroll today for the tutorials and practice the system for NO COST - watch this video: http://www.easy24hourincome.com/website-marketing-solutions.html

What is TFAN? It means 'The Final Answer, Now'. Learn the technique that interests thousands of targeted possible patrons 24 hours a day. Presenting products and services can be trouble-free with the TFAN system as it was developed to help sellers with selling their products to huge amounts of a relevant audience. No cost training and free entrance to the system for 21 days. This is an invitation. Click to get started instantly - see how it works: http://website-marketing-solutions.com/affiliate/redir.php?id=136_1

"When it comes to your website marketing systems, you need to keep up with the technologies, developments, and systems that your competitors enjoy in order to gain a higher ranking than you. If you are approaching your website marketing systems by exercising a previous solution, it's time to forget what you are struggling with and re-learn a new-found method."

Realize a new ability in MOWG, TFAN, or both, and get the utmost indexing with your website marketing systems. Get started instantly - watch this video: http://www.Easy24HourIncome.com/website-marketing-solutions.html

Hailey Glassman Speaks Out

Hailey Glassman, known for dating Jon Gosselin, and a media personality, stepped forward and voiced her support for Face2Facebook Live, a seminar being held on June 22 in Philadelphia at Dave & Busters, Inc.

Hailey Glassman has battled past the tabloid critiques and media criticisms to appear in upcoming movies and commercials.
Face2Facebook Live will feature a session titled “Getting to know Social Media Marketing,” and “Getting to know the NEW Privacy Settings for Facebook,” which will deal with some of the bullying tactics that take place on Facebook.

Glassman’s reasons for praising the seminar were evident in her comments:

“I was an ordinary college student until I met Jon Gosselin then I became a tabloid name. No one ever cared to check to see if stories were false!”

“The kids today,” continued Glassman, “are advanced in technology but must contend with school and cyber bullies. There is no escape.”

“Children today must be properly educated.”

For interview opportunities with Hailey Glassman, contact Eclectic Media Productions at: (813) 960-8412; (813) 389-0801; or info@mediaproductions.tv

The attendees for Face2Facebook live will listen to key speakers and mingle with celebrities such as:

Stephanie Ovadia - star of the upcoming reality show "The Adventures of OctoLawyer”, Attorney to  the Stars, known for such high profile cases as Lindsay Lohan's $100 million lawsuit against E*Trade for its infamous "Milkaholic baby" commercial   ("Milkawhat?!") and for defending Jon Gosselin's ex, Hailey Glassman.

Eric Nies - appeared on the first ever Reality Show, MTV’s Real World New York in 1992 and set a TV benchmark as he hosted the world’s most watched dance program, “MTV’s The Grind,” which was viewed in over 90 million homes around the world. He has worked feverishly to heighten awareness for Pediatric AIDS, cancer research, and childhood obesity and in 2009, Nies re-emerged into the world of television on VH1’s new reality show “Confessions of a Teen Idol.”

John Edmonds Kozma - produced music videos, crafting clips for such artists as DEL, Spymob and rapper Lil B before receiving film credits for “Communication Breakdown,” “The Enduro at Erzberg,” “Travis Pastrana's Baja Diaries,” “Giant Maximus,” “Kentucky Rhapsody,” “One Night With You,” “The Teacher,” and “Hallows.” (Founder of Bang Productions)

Kathryn Rose - co-founder of Supreme Social Media. Before taking the helm at Supreme Social Media, Kathryn developed the world’s first mobile auto-responder, MobiReply, a cutting edge mobile marketing product. She is a Certified Social Media Trainer.

Jodi Ritzen - Founder of Face2Facebook project

Host - Daniel Morroni, owner of Morroni Fino Toccare custom clothier.

Bernie Parent - Former Philadelphia Flyer All Time Great and NHL Hall of Fame inductee will be signing autographs.

THE PURPOSE:

Attendees will learn how they can get closer to creating new opportunities, build a larger audience, increase their traffic, and raise their online visibility in a session titled ***Getting to know Social Media Marketing***.

The seminar patrons will be taught how to protect themselves and their children from the more than 400 million strangers they may encounter in ***Getting to know the NEW Privacy Settings for Facebook***.

The other objective of the seminar is to raise money for a beautiful woman named Dorothy Sikora, a mother of two and a talented musician.
She suffers from breast cancer. The event contributions will help Dorothy with the cost of the treatments that are saving her life.

To learn more about Face2facebook LIVE, please visit: http://face2fblive.com/

WHAT: Face2facebook LIVE Seminar
WHEN: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
WHERE: Dave & Busters, Inc., 325 N. Columbus Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19106
TICKETS: Adults: $20 - Under age 18 free

MORE INFO: http://face2fblive.com/ or 813-960-8412

Philly Entertainment Group will be entertaining the entire night with a DJ, prizes and giveaways. Dave and Busters appetizers will be served for the entire evening.

Bang Productions is represented by Eclectic Media Productions PR Firm and their website is at http://mediaproductions.tv

Custom Facebook Tabs Now Available at the New Social Media Idea Gallery

Visual Alliance Media is pleased to announce the launch of its Social Media Idea Gallery – a Facebook Page designed with small and medium sized businesses in mind.  

At the Social Media Idea Gallery, accessible at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Social-Media-Idea-Galle ..., visitors can view and purchase three different template designs for custom tabs on Facebook Pages, starting at $199.  Additionally, they can view various truly “custom” options for tabs as well as explore examples of custom tab work completed by the Visual Alliance Media team.

“On many occasions, we have been approached by business owners who have basically said ‘anyone can have a Facebook Page.  How can I differentiate mine so that it stands out among my competition?’” says J. Anthony, spokesperson for Visual Alliance Media.  “Until the release of our Social Media Idea Gallery, our response to them included the suggestion to create a custom tab using FBML, HTML and CSS or to engage a company like Visual Alliance Media to do it for them.  Without the template designs, however, the cost started much higher than $199.”

Visual Alliance Media also provides its social media marketing services (including the low cost template-based custom tabs) in a white label fashion to other social media marketing professionals, enabling them to provide a new service to their clients (under their brand) and to create a new revenue stream for themselves without having to invest time and money into learning to code in FBML, HTML and CSS.

Visit the Social Media Idea Gallery at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Social-Media-Idea-Galle ....  Be sure to “Like” it to be kept up to date on new product offerings as well as to receive periodic tips and tricks to help with your social media marketing activities.

5LINX Finally Launches in Canada

Hundreds of excited Canadians showed up for the 5LINX Canada pre-launch events in both Montreal and Toronto and the corporate office has been collecting applications ever since.

The events were held May 29 (Montreal) and 30 (Toronto) and were headlined by Jason Guck, co-founder and executive vice president of 5LINX® Enterprises, as well as PSVPs Andre Maronian and Sunny and King Pinyin.

"Canada is a market full of people just waiting for the type of opportunity provided by 5LINX®," said Jason Guck. "We have strong leaders forming large organizations right now. With the team in Canada working with the corporate staff in Rochester combined with the growth potential of Canadian VoIP, I firmly believe that 5LINX Canada will be a huge success for us."

Right now, new 5LINX Canada representatives are enrolling representatives and building their organizations in preparation for the July 24 official launch. At that time, reps will be able to obtain customers.

"That is when we expect the business to really explode," said Guck. "Once potential customers see the CU-3000 and our VoIP plans, the excitement level will be even higher. This is going to be a very exciting summer. One that could change the face of 5LINX® forever."

Location of the official launch is to be determined. Keep checking www.5LINX.com for more information.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a 5LINX Canada representative, please contact National Expansion Leader, Trevor James at trevor.james@agmgonline.com or 678-522-9915.

Web Design Tips To Apply That Are Extremely Valuable

When considering the various components that go into creating a good site, you realize how complicated web design is. The ultimate goal of a site design is to both be appealing to traffic while also ranking high on search engine pages. On the other hand, even if you positively influence the search engines, if your site is too unattractive and visitors don't want to stay on it, you haven't done much. The "bounce rate" of people who come to your website and leave immediately is mainly owed to the aesthetic appeal of your site. To achieve excellent results over the long term, it is critical that you emphasize good site design. Some websites do very poorly in sales, yet they achieve great rankings in the SERPs. This article will be exploring the various tips that you can use when working with web designing.

A good web design tip to remember is to always keep it simple and to stay away from clutter. A good example of this is http://beardandmustachetrimmer.org with a clean layout and easy navigation. Yes, it's fun to try out all the neat Photoshop effects or use flash based animation, but keeping it simple without all that hustle and bustle will pay off when it comes to the long term. Your site visitors will simply be put off by the design that is confusing and cluttered. You can instead create an appealing webpage design by organizing the information on your page so that your visitors easily find what they are looking for. It's not right if text overpowers the visual, and vice versa, so make sure you have a good balance between the two. You won't want to forget to optimize all images so that your site loads as quickly as possible.

Another thing that you need to keep in mind is navigation. Good web design and smooth navigation should always go together. People should be able to visit your site and easily find what they want. Don't force your visitors to click a bunch of links or scroll to the bottom of the page, etc. Instead, you'll want to offer a clear cut road map on how you've structured your site so that they can easily move around. Some people may find your site through the search engines, so keep in mind that not every visitor comes to your site through your home page. Therefore, it's important to have the page's title, and links on the top or bottom leading to the important pages of the site, such as the home page, contact page, about page, etc.

Never program any music to begin playing immediately with out visitor control. When the visitors come to your site and hear any kind of music blasting out, they will simply move on to the next one. You also need to be careful with automatic talking heads, or audio welcome messages. You should give them the needed control to turn on/off the music if they want.

All in all, website design isn't difficult once you know what you're doing.

Just keep in mind that the more effort you put into designing your site, the better your success will be in the long run.

Categories of investors in Real estate investing

Investments in properties are considered as one of the most lucrative investments. Money invested in properties or land will surely reap you huge amount of profits than expected if kept for longer years. Various options of investments are available within this. One can invest in land, plots, residential properties, commercial properties, residential flats and even in built-up areas. But before going for any real-estate investing you must have a basic idea of what the investment actually is.

For info : http://www.realestatemillionairecode.com/

Investments in real estate varies a lot one can invest their hard earned money in a lump-sum or else you can even make your investments in installments or loan based. Some investors believe an investment made in lump-sum is not of a good choice when compared with the installment based investments, whereas some investors object with this statement. They perceive that real estate investing through installments is a step for making loss or will not be able to gain high profits from the investments. While there are some categories of investors who assume that by whatever means you invest in properties the ultimate objective of investment should be for longer terms so that you will be able to achieve higher profits which is not possible in the short term of investment.

When Opportunity Strikes: http://www.realestatemillionairecode.com/jeff-adams/when ...

The perception and objective of each investor varies. Every investor is having his/ her own reasons to support their statement. In the first category of investors who invests in lump-sum their perception is correct with the logic of no need of paying any extra money to the third person (i.e.) interest rates paid to the bank. Thus they can enjoy their whole profits whenever they feel to sell.

In the second category of investors they state that if a real estate investing is done through installments it is much beneficial. Here they have applied the logic that it is of sure that we have to sell property in longer term. But will happen if the development takes place all of sudden and your possession in property is got cancelled then you have to bear huge loss. Thus here you can be saved with the third party who will take the responsibility of selling the property and take his money which is remaining and will return back the amount to you which is surplus. And thus the left over is the profit which you have earned by paying in installments. And in other case if the development is positive (i.e.) which is not taking place where your land or property has been placed, however it is taking place in within the square kilometers then it is a positive sign for you and for your land to reap huge profits for all.

In the last category of investors they have supported their statement stating, it does not matters by what means you have made your investments in real estate investing your objective of the investments should be to make profits which is possible only in longer term. Here development is least concerned for them.

Advanced Training Group and Social Networking in Action

Social Networking is making the business world smaller whilst making each business target a larger client base and audience. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Flikr are allowing clients to window shop more for the products and services that they require and for the business owners it’s indirectly buying client loyalty.

From a networking perspective with Distressed Invest Property being based in Europe, while Advanced Training Group based in Bangkok, Thailand, it proves that social networking and conducting business globally to be easier than ever. A point that is not lost on both companies.

Distressed Invest are property specialists focussing on international properties that need selling quickly and for a price under the market value.  For example, clients may have defaulted on their mortgage payments and the bank has foreclosed the mortgage. This leaves the bank with a problem as they still are owed the money and they now have a bank of properties they have no experience of selling.

Ken Thorkildsen, of Advanced Training Group, has been advising and consulting with Distressed Invest on how best to use and market with social networking. “Distressed Invest usually market to their clients with email and telephone call. You just need to check your emails every day to see the amount of junk and spam that is being sent to us all every day via email which means that the proper business emails you send can often not get read or indeed may end up in the junk mail folder.”

“One to one telephone consultations will definitely build up a relationship with clients and indeed advising clients that all calls will be followed up by an email is always to be recommended.” Ken goes on, “Social Networking will now allow Distressed Invest Property to give clients up to the minute news and information on products and properties without the need to keep inundating the client with telephone calls and emails. It also gives clients the opportunity to browse of “window shop” the services and also to make comment etc on Distressed Invest and for other clients to browse these comments. Facebook for example has 462m users worldwide and will grow into an excellent shop window for Distressed Invest.”

“The AT Group, in addition, believe that Twitter will also be an excellent marketing tool for Distressed Invest. Twitter is non offensive in that it is a simple couple of lines of marketing to each client directing them to updates etc at the blog they have started.” Ken concludes, “I wouldn’t say it is a new direction for Distressed Invest, however it is an additional approach to their already professional and successful business model and AT Group look forward to helping and watching the business grow and the success that will grow with it. This ultimately is the mission for Advanced Training Group and their clients.”

Matthew Moore, founder of Distressed Invest adds, “I have been involved in marketing and real estate for many years and I feel that that the external expertise and new approach from AT Group will definitely help grow Distressed Invest. The amount of networking contacts we all have through our many years of business it makes sense to move our marketing into this direction. With AT Group behind the majority of the marketing, it will allow me and my team to focus directly on servicing our clients. I am very pleased and indeed very excited about the way forward.”

Distressed Invest can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/DistressedInvestProperty
http://www.twitter.com/DistInvProperty
http://www.gainmaker.com/property.html


Advanced Training Group can be found at:
On Facebook @ Advanced Training Group
http://www.ATGroup.org
http://www.twitter.com/advtraininggrp

Twitter Your Way To The Top

Jessica Swanson, Founder and President of Shoestring Marketing, Inc., and recently named one of Forbes 30 Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter, is offering a complimentary Twitter webinar on Thursday, April 29 at 7:00 pm CST. Small business owners, on a shoestring marketing budget, will discover how to tap into the power of Twitter to generate hundreds of new leads, increase their visibility and explode their income.

You can sign up at: http://www.ShoestringWebinar.com

Jessica Swanson says that, “I want to assure you that Twitter is one of the quickest and most effective ways to bring extra exposure to your business. In fact, Twitter is taking the world by storm, and for good reason. Twitter gets big results for small business owners, if they understand how to tap into its power.

This Free Shoestring Marketing Webinar Will Cover:

1) How to Set up Your Twitter Profile. Learn how to set-up your Twitter account, profile and background for optimal results. This includes the basics of signing up for a Twitter account through advanced strategies such as designing your own unique Twitter background that ensures that your brand remains consistent.

2) How To Build a Responsive Twitter Following. Discover dozens of ways to attract Twitter followers from your specific target market. You will learn how to begin generating a list of prospective clients and customers in your industry who will be responsive to what you have to offer.

3) Top Twitter Mistakes. Uncover the top five Twitter mistakes that most small business owners make regarding Twitter. Unfortunately, these mistakes often hurt small business brands and can even lead to Twitter shutting down their account.

4) Best Twitter Tools.  Learn about the best automated Twitter tools and applications available to the small business owner today. Find out about automated follow applications, local search tools, post-later software, cell-phone applications, group tools and desktop management tools.

5) Your Twitter Marketing Plan.  Discover a simple three-step formula for generating traffic, leads and sales from Twitter. Learn exactly how to implement a simple Twitter plan of action into your daily marketing efforts.

6) Twitter Time-Management.  Find out how to generate impressive results on Twitter in just 15-minutes a day. Most small business owners spend too much time on Twitter with inferior results; learn how to combine personal Twitter interaction with powerful Twitter automation tools.

Swanson adds, “If you are looking for a dynamic, no-cost marketing strategy to boost your small business, than you need to tap into Twitter. Unfortunately, Twitter is a tool that most small business owners fail to implement properly. However, once they bring Twitter into their daily marketing plan, they find that their business grows leaps and bounds, without the large marketing budget.”

Join Jessica Swanson on Thursday, April 29 at 7:00 for her Free Shoestring Marketing Webinar, “Twitter Your Way To The Top” at http://www.ShoestringWebinar.com

Portable Pop Up Displays Prices Dropped

In good news for trade show exhibitors, some of the most popular U.S. manufactured portable pop up display kits have dropped from an average price of $4000 to around $1200-$2200 with fabric panels and from $6000 to under $2400 with mural panels. The result is that there are more portable pop ups being sold right now than ever before.

-> Check the prices of portable popup displays made in the U.S. - http://www.popandexhibits.com/page/page/1005742.htm

Portable pop up displays were designed before the first Reagan administration and for much of the 1980's and 90's this simple design served as a primary source of income for some of the largest exhibit manufacturers in the industry.

When the popup display was first introduced, it was the very first alternative for buyers to expensive custom exhibits. It opened the door of trade show exhibiting up to many start up businesses to attend trade shows because of their affordability. As the years passed, many other portable exhibiting systems were introduced to compete with pop up exhibits or to augment a display line.

In an industry that takes pride on being on the so called 'cutting edge' both in terms of marketing know-how and innovation, many waited for a next generation portable display to replace the pop up. While there have been some innovative new trade show display systems brought to market over the past two years, demand for the portable pop up displays remains very strong.

What happened to cause the dramatic fall in price? In a word - cheap imports. Downward price pressure from Asia has forced U.S. Manufacturers to reduce wholesale prices. Manufacturing margins that had been unusually high are now more in line with the actual cost of materials and labor. In addition, assembly line production methods for the industry have improved.

After three decades, why the continued popularity of this portable display? When you stop and think about it, some design stands up well to the test of time. The displays are affordable, easy to set-up, and relatively inexpensive to transport.

-> Check out portable popup displays made in the U.S. - http://www.popandexhibits.com/page/page/1005742.htm

P.O.P. Exhibits Inc. clients:

U.S. Homeland Security
U. S. Navy
U.S. Army
U.S. Interior Department
Smithsonian Institute
Canadian Government

Amazon.com
Alaska Air
AOL
British Airways
Motorola
Pepsi

Police Departments
State Governments
City Governments

Companies in:

Australia
Brazil
Britain
Canada
Europe
Guam
Japan
India
Spain

Grayling appoints global Industry Sector Heads

Grayling, the global Public Relations, Public Affairs, Investor Relations and Events consultancy announces the appointment of its six industry sector heads, with the aim to further develop its in-depth knowledge and understanding of each market it operates in, on a local and global level.  
Michael Murphy, CEO Grayling said: “In order to be effective as a global consultancy we need to operate with an international mindset reflecting the way that many large companies and organisations work. We conducted detailed research among a wide range of stakeholders and clients and many of them emphasised the importance of having experts in specific fields. These new roles will sit alongside our existing geographic structure.”
The newly appointed industry sector heads are:
Energy, Environment and Industry - Russell Patten. (Based in Brussels) Russell has specialised expertise in EU policies relating to the environmental, energy, transport, as well as agricultural, food and drinks policies. A British national, Russell’s career in Brussels spans 20 years, encompassing a wide range of corporations, trade associations and European Institutions. He was secretary-general of the European Express Association from 1994 to 2003, is currently Secretary-General of Transfrigoroute International and was President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium from 2005 to 2007. He is currently Vice President of the EU Committee of the Chamber. He is a professor at the College of Europe, ISMAPP and the University of Kent. Russell is also the CEO of Grayling in Belgium.  

Healthcare and Pharmaceutical - Stephen Lock. (Based equally in Moscow and Istanbul) Stephen joined Grayling in 2004 and currently runs Grayling’s businesses in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and our three offices in Central Asia. Stephen has over 18 years Public Relations consulting experience, especially in crisis PR, and 14 years in international public affairs and government relations management. At the start of his career, as a litigation PR practitioner, he worked on a number of 'class action' cases involving the pharmaceutical sector.  More recently, he has advised over a dozen healthcare and pharmaceutical firms on issues ranging from market access and state funding; foreign direct investment and localised manufacturing; drug licensing and disease awareness and patient advocacy. This includes running a 17-country integrated publics relations and public affairs campaign on Hepatitis C across Central & Eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries.

Financial & Professional Services - Ilka Schwarz. (Based in Frankfurt) Ilka has worked in the communications industry for 17 years in both agency and in-house positions and specialises in corporate and marketing communications for the financial industry. Before joining Grayling, Ilka worked at Kohtes Klewes (now Ketchum Pleon), in the business development department of a German banking group and as a financial journalist. Ilka is currently Managing Director of Grayling Germany.

Technology, Media & Telecoms - Christine Boehlke. (Based in San Francisco) CEO of Grayling Connecting Point, our specialist Technology and Media Telecomms business, Christine has helped pioneer categories such as digital and Internet video, Internet shopping and entertainment, online fraud protection, virtual conferencing, mobile and wireless computing and customer relationship management. She has spearheaded corporate, branding and product programmes for global leaders such as Cisco, Dolby, Hitachi, Lego, Logitec, Symantec, Sybase and Tetris. Chris has more than 30 years experience in corporate positioning, branding, marketing and crisis management, and her integrated marketing expertise helps clients build revenue along with image and reputation.

Consumer Brands - Loretta Tobin. (Based in London) With over 20 years' experience in consumer marketing and public relations, Loretta is also the CEO of Grayling UK. During her 16 years with Grayling she has led campaigns for The National Lottery, Land Rover and Coca-Cola and prior to Grayling her.  Consumer brand experience has encompassed Typhoo, MGF, Comet, npower, BUPA, Showerlux and a number of media sector clients. Loretta has been with the consultancy since 1994 and regularly champions the need for brands to get local to really engage with consumers and change their behaviour.

Government & Public Sector - David Beightol. (Based in Washington) David is the Chief Development Officer for Grayling sister company Dutko Worldwide as well as Managing Director for Dutko Government Markets.  Prior to joining Dutko, he was Director of Government Affairs for the large multinational Johnson Controls, Inc., Senior Associate/Partner at International Business Resources, Inc. and from 1991 to 1992 served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1992, President Bush appointed David Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on the Los Angeles Recovery. From 1987 to 1991 he served as Director of Wisconsin Governor Tommy G Thompson’s Washington, DC office. Mr. Beightol began his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives, first in the office of Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) followed by the Science, Space and Technology Committee.  In addition to his duties with Dutko Worldwide, David currently serves on the Republican Governors Association Finance Committee. David is also a member of Governor Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential National Finance team and serves as an advisor to both the Maryland Initiative of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the Texas Rangers and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Contact:
Name: James Acheson-Gray, International MD, Grayling
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7932 1850
Email: james.achesongray@grayling.com

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10603837-grayling-appoints-global-industry-sector-heads.html

Real Estate Investing And Your Personal Goals

The term Real estate is associated with and also includes lands, buildings, plots, farm lands and any ground where the investment can be made. There is also an inclusion of leasehold, real property and stock-in-trade which is concerned with the business.  
In today's market, real estate investment is the business which offers more financial profits with less risk factor and this business is well thought-out to be the best option for investment.

For past few years Real estate investing is becoming popular among the investors and it is also considered as one of the most common investment vehicle. It has lot of opportunity to grow and increase the profits.

Few tips on how to go for real estate investing and gain profits:

1. Cash flow: Here the investor purchases the property and turn out to be its owner. At the time of going further for any deals see to that your payment and the expenses incurred is not exceeding your income which you will receive, and it advisable not to have any direct deals with the tenants.

For more : http://www.realestatemillionairecode.com/

2. Buying and selling of the property:  as a business tactics first buy the property for the lesser price and sell the same property by increasing the actual price of the property (i.e.) selling price of the property should be high than the buying price. If suppose it happens that you have bought the real estate property which needs some improvements and cost has to be incurred for its service. If so, then while the time of selling include all the cost incurred during the time of its improvement. The holding costs will be inclusion of utilities, taxes, mortgage payments and other normal maintenance cost.

3. Private lending: it is one of the best options for real estate investing. This is one of the best methods in real estate investment. By holding trust, you can charge more interest has your money is been cosseted by the property.

Financing in an artistic way: An investment in Real estate is not like a business of retail store. Once the investment has been made it is essential to identify what are the goals and objectives that have to be fulfilled. Make a decision whether you are willing to give your house for rent for enjoying the annuity or you are willing to flip the asset for making more short-term profits. For a long term investment it is better to have fixed mortgages as it helps in forecasting of cash flow. Ensure that you are leveraging all the benefits of tax by means of depreciation and expenses incurred.

There are various benefits in real estate investing you can arrange the money for investment from the financial institutions by keeping the property under their possession. You can earn income by renting out your property. As the year passes the term property appreciation applies (i.e.) the value of the asset keeps rising as the year passes.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10589023-real-estate-investing-and-your-personal-goals.html