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Speaker Services News, December 2004 http://www.speakerservices.com To leave list:see details below Content: Content: 1. A Note from the founder, Susan Levin 2. New & Renewing Speaker/Authors 3. Request for Info, Tips and Advice 4. Gift Suggestions 5. Article: Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders, Marcia Yudkin  A
Message from Susan LevinGreetings, How was your holiday? Mine was very active with lots of friends and family including Lena Tulse from Sweden. I saw two movies, walked on the beach, ate lots of food and resisted the temptation of going shopping. I did however shop on the Internet for shoes for my mom and that was quite easy andwonderful. The last bit of turkey has been eaten, the stream of guests are almost gone and I am back at my desk working. This week I have three networking holiday meetings and several breakfast and coffee dates planned. A quick reminder: Dave Barrett of AudioAcrobat and myself are offering a FREE teleclass Thursday, December 9, 5-6:30pm Pacific Standard Time. Dave will be sharing with us the many uses of AudioAcrobat. By the way it is so easy to use and it creates the html code for you so you can have streamingaudio on your website and or send audio postcards and more. See http://speakerservices.com/teleclasses to register and learn more. Can't make it? Sign up for 30 days for FREE and try it out http://speakerservices.audioacrobat.com. Enjoy the article by Marcia Yudkin on Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders. Until the next time. Susan Levin Speaker Services 310-822-4922 NEW & RENEWING SPEAKERS/AUTHORS - 12/04 Ann Convery S. Caifornia Business trainer/PR consultant provides cutting-edge communication tools that consistently out perform standard sales methods. Communication, Networking, Public Relations, Sales http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/100 Neal Frankle, CFP, Author, S. California Internationally renowned financial author, educator and planner reveals secrets your broker and even The Wall Street Journal won't tell you and shows how to grow your money safely, avoid catastrophic losses, and relax about investing for the rest of your life. Finance/Investment, Retirement, Senior Issues http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/145 Godfrey Harris, Author, S. California Public policy consultant enlightens audiences with his ideas on how to make word of mouth advertising effective, how to make weight control easy, and how to make our communities more civil. civil society. Business, Communities, Health Public Affairs http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/26 Jill Kirsh, S, California Hollywood's Guru of Hue shows how to brighten your prospects both personally and professionally by wearing colors that radiate confidence,set others at ease and telegraph success. Image, Self Esteem, Lifestyle http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/143 Dianne Legro, Author, S. California Speaker/Author/Broadway leading lady speaks and sings The Broadway Effect - a collection of fun, innovative communication and management skills that raised Starbucks' sales and can propel you to stellar success. Communication, Presentation Skills, Team Building http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/141 Hazel Palache S. California Condition your mind for success! International Business/Life Coach & Clinical Hypnotherapist, teaches audiences that the power of laughter, plus 4 simple tools, makes the Extraordinary possible every single day. Personal Development, Stress Management, Success, Women's Issues http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/79 Marcia Glenda Rosen, Author, Westhampton, NY; Nationwide Successful businesswoman, author, motivational speaker and founder of woman's business therapy programs trains women to survive and thrive in today's competitive and ever-changing business environment. Biblical Women, Spirituality, Women's Issues http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/144 Karen Sherman, Ph.D., Author, Greater NY Metro Area Psychologist and author presents The Art of Choices, an ongoing process that lifts you out of old, frozen reactions and shifts you from "auto-pilot" to making choices that create the life you want. Change, Inspirational, Success http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/140 Stu Taylor, Author, Lexington, MA, Nationwide Nationally syndicated radio talk show host shows how to jumpstart your career by spotting the trends and opportunities in the 21st century. Broadcasting/Media, Networking, Professional Development http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/139 TIPS & ADVICE Send your news, tips or advice to tips@speakerservices.com Humor resource -- Lamar Morgan (lamar@mchsi.com) MuseumOfHumor.com (http://www.museumofhumor.com) is a goldmine of fine funnies, especially for people who are called upon to give presentations -- live or online. The site divides humor into categories: quotes, anecdotes, definitions, one-liners, etc., and offers hundreds of links to each kind. A large list of links to offbeat news items offers additional amusing material that applies to a wide variety of subjects. _______________________ Free Listings for Black Authors/Publishers http://www.bapwd.com The Grace Company will publish the Black Authors and Published Writers Directory in February, Black History Month. Updated daily, free listings. _______________________ QUALITY BOOKS IS A DISTRIBUTOR TO LIBRARIES. They have sales reps that visit the libraries and bring back the orders. There are seven steps to selling books to libraries. QB is one of the most important. To get submission forms, contact Carolyn Olson, carolyn.olson@quality-books.com. For more information (the other six steps) on selling to libraries, see the Special Report Book Marketing: A New Approach at http://parapub.com/getpage.cfm?file=products.html _______________________ Stories Wanted Looking for ORIGINAL QUOTES by MEN for my forthcoming book, "Sparkle-Dudes" a companion to the already successful (5 printings in one year) Sparkle-Tudes Inspirations for Creating Sparkling Attitudes Quotes By & For Women Compiled by Sheryl Roush. Quotes need to be: Positive, inspirational, thought-provoking, reflective, philosophical,spiritual, and/or downright humorous. Reply to: Sheryl@SparklePresentations.com Deadline: January 10, 2005- release date: February 12, 2005 _______________________ Ladies: Men would like to know what qualities you value most in your spouse or boyfriend Please take our short survey to indicate the qualities in a man that are most important to you. We'll use your information to tell men (and women) what character traits are most important in a relationship. click: www.DoesYourManMeasureUp.com --Tom White, Book Marketing Solutions, LLC. _______________________ Have a great e-mail tale? Do you have a true story about use or misuse of e-mail at work? Have you received or sent a message that caused embarrassment or conflict? Do you have an amusing or cautionary story about e-mail frustrations or a success story about effective e-mail management? See www.EmailPainInTheNet.com Send stories to stories@EmailPainInTheNet.com -Patti Eyres, JD, CSP. _______________________ Anecdotes wanted for second book. Looking for successful stories about 65 and older folks who have found how to supplement their income by working. No ads, no scams, no money down before work was started. If included in our second book, your name will be included as part of your story. Please write to C. Mazza at info@seniorscanwork.com - C. Mazza, PhD, http://www.seniorscanwork.com/ _______________________ Check out Speaker Services Recommended Resources Photographers, web consulting, PR Leads, Audio Acrobat, Editors etc. http://speakerservices.com/resources _______________________ Speaker Services Best selling teleclass CD's 80 minutes each - High Paying Fee Engagements, Vickie Sullivan - Get Booked to Speak in Colleges, James Malinchak - Organize & Market Profitable Teleclasses, Susan Levin & Rob Schultz, includes a 35 page PDF workbook See full descriptions and how to order plus all of our products at http://speakerservices.com/products _______________________ Speaker Services Half Price AUDIO TAPE SALE All audio tapes 55 minutes from previous teleclasses. $9 each - Media Training for Speakers, Lance Webster - Easy Profits with Back of the Room Sales - Involve the Audience, Heidi Parr - Ready, Set, Close, Heidi Parr - Opening and Closings, Heidi Parr - Laughs Without Pain: Add Humor, Paul Seaburn - Speaking Engagements, Through the Back Door, Vickie Sullivan - Get Ready, Get Set, Get Booked, Jeannie Esposito - Successful Speaking, Susan Levin - Increase Profits E-Mail Newsletter, Joan Sotkin - E Books vs P Books, Dan Poynter - Marketing Magic, Sheryl Roush - Guerrilla Publicity, Jill Lublin For descriptions and ordering information: http://speakerservices.com/products _______________________ Gift Suggestions from Speaker Services for yourself, friends, family members or colleagues For descriptions and ordering information: http://speakerservices.com/products Market Yourself as a Speaker - Handbook, Susan Levin $25 Nuts and bolts of the lecture circuit. We Get Our Cue from You: The Communion Approach to Public Speaking, Presentation and Performance -- Study Guide , Jack Barnard $25 Overview of designing your presentations and branding techniques CDs/Audio Tapes All CD's 2 hours Market Yourself as a Speaker (2 CD's), Susan Levin $25 Soul of Speaking (2 CD's), Jack Barnard $25 Tools and techniques to learn how to connect and communicate your ideas effectively and deliver your presentations with confidence. Storytelling (2 CD's), Jack Barnard) $25 Spice up your presentations through storytelling. Mesmerize Your Audience (2 CDs), Jack Barnard) $25 About openings, closings, humor and involvement -- which is about energy, excitement and heart-felt emotion. Power Pack: Buy 2 books and 4 CD's for $125-savings of $25 _________________ ARTICLE Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders by Marcia Yudkin When your web site sells more than a dozen items, you may face a fierce challenge of helping shoppers find what they are looking for. You'll need to classify products into categories, but these will serve as obstacles and even deal killers if those categories do not match those in the heads of shoppers. I've seen again and again web sites using classifications that aren't known or understood by a portion of their customers. For instance, I once wanted to buy T-shirts and went to the site of a famous catalog company, where I found a category called "shirts." So far, so good. But then I had to choose between a category called "woven" or another called "knitted." There I got stumped. Are T-shirts woven or knitted? I was not sure. Another time I was searching for a Toyota car part, ready to buy it, but I could not find it on the Toyota parts web site unless I knew whether it was part of the drive train, an accessory, the exhaust system or something else. I hadn't a clue. In both these cases, the site wrongly assumed that shoppers understood their jargon, and set that up as a barrier to an online purchase. Let's suppose that you solve the jargon problem and someone finds what they are looking for. The next hurdle for shoppers concerns whether or not people can find answers to all the questions about availability, shipping charges, warranties and return policies that they could easily ask if shopping by phone or in person. In the last year, I would say that only 50% of the time when I'm shopping online I've had all of my pre-purchase questions answered by the web site. Among the multi-product sites I've toured as a reviewer, I don't remember a single one that answered enough questions for shoppers. Before your site launches, you can think up all the questions people might ask by imagining different kinds of shoppers - people from other countries, corporate buyers, gift givers, etc. - and what they'd need to know. Once your site's been up for a while, collect the questions that come in by email and phone. Gather the questions and answers in a Frequently Asked Questions page and make the FAQ accessible from every page of your site. Especially do not make people put items into their shopping cart and begin checking out in order to find out the shipping charges and refund policies! Another epidemic blunder is not revealing the address of the company behind the shopping site. Not only is this necessary to set at ease the mind of any shopper worried about recourse against no-show orders or faulty merchandise, it's important for some people to know where items are being shipped from. Ditto for your privacy policy. Are you going to be renting out your list of customer addresses and bombarding everyone who's bought from you with frequent emails? Online order forms range from easy to use and complete to baffling and aggravating. Submit yours to what I call "the grandmother test" - ask people who've never seen your site before to place an order and talk through the process out loud. Button your lips and listen. Note where they get stuck and fix your ordering procedures accordingly. Finally, do you have testimonials attesting to the quality and value of what you sell and the pleasures of doing business with you? That's the cherry on the sundae of a well-designed site from a company shoppers recommend and return to for more purchases! Marcia Yudkin marcia@yudkin.com is the author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books. A four-time Webby Awards judge and internationally famous marketing consultant, she critiques web sites and performs web site makeovers for clients. Learn more about her detailed critique sessions on five different kinds of web sites (including multi-product sites) at www.yudkin.com/websitequiz.htm . |
UPCOMING EVENTS 12/9 FREE Teleclass Produce & Publish Streaming Audios using AudioAcrobat. Dave Barrett & Susan Levin learn more 1/17 & 1/24 Teleclass Business of Speaking, Susan Levin learn more 1/31 Market Yourself as a Speaker, Susan Levin, Los Angees Workshop learn more 4/17 Video Demo Showcase in Los Angeles, 3 Camera Shoot learn more |
