Recent Posts

Author Archive

How to Use Marketing Systems to Engage Customers

Marketing systems come in various forms. Having a structured approach to communicating with visitors to your websites or business  is essential to create confidence in your ability to get the job done. Choosing the correct marketing systems can be a difficult task but with the proper education and application you can succeed.

There are many marketing systems. One of the most useful marketing systems used  is the marketing wheel. The marketing wheel is used to convert prospects into customers.

The first part of the marketing wheel is developing prospects, these include ways of creating customer lists.  They can be obtained through your website or other social media means such as lists on Twitter and Facebook. When you have developed your list you must continually grow and communicate relevant information to them. This will take at least 4-7 engagements or even more before they are interested enough to buy your product or use your services.

The next stage of this marketing systems approach is making the marketing presentation. After your prospect has communicated their need for your product/service they may or may not purchase from you after you make your marketing presentation. If they don’t, you must continue to engage and follow up with them until they are ready to engage your services or buy your product.

By using these four marketing systems steps you will be successful in growing your business.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

How to Manufacture Deep Commitment

Deep CommitmentOne of the biggest problems that I see these days for people that are trying to achieve something big, is that they don’t necessarily have a deep commitment to achieving it.

I’ve always found that if you don’t have deep commitment it’s always good to have a way to manufacture it. And while that may seem difficult to do, it’s not when you understand the formula.

Here’s something I learned from one of the most influential speakers in North America, Brian Klemmer.

The formula is essentially two things, number one; make a promise and number two; put yourself at risk. When it comes to making a promise however don’t make it to yourself, you generally know how that works out.

What I’d like you to do instead is make a promise to someone who’ll be impacted by your failure. These are people who could count on you if you were delivering. A loved one, a colleague, a charity, or a group of people who you’d really love to empower but don’t have the financial wherewithal.

When you make that promise to somebody else you become essentially committed on a much deeper level than if you promise yourself. It activates within you a strong desire to deliver.

Beyond that the most powerful way that I found to manufacture deep commitment is to make a contract with the universe. That contract includes setting a clear goal which is risky, measurable and has a limitation. When you reach that limitation look back and measure your results.

When measuring your results if you come up short you’ve essentially failed. You got at least 4000% further than you would’ve if you’ve never made the contract in the first place but you still failed.

Many of you will not want to do this. Because it seems like trying to motivate yourself through fear. But sometimes fear can be a powerful motivator to get you live up to your promises. The thing that you put yourself or risk for are things that you do not want to do.

For example; you could cut your neighbor’s lawn for a month. You could take your competition out for lunch. You could donate $200 to the political party that you hate. Whatever it is you choose make sure it is something that you do not want to do.

Based on personal experience I can tell you that this system works extremely well. I have many examples in my life of sitting down and making these contracts not only with people who will be impacted by my failure but contracts with the universe. It works. And the only reason it won’t work is your better idea.

For more information about how to manufacture deep commitment and other strategies to create your life by design rather than by default click here for the art of deliberate creation.

Paul Tobey
CEO, Training Business Pros

 

 

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Franchise Opportunity Canada, which should you choose?

Franchise Opportunity Canada – Which One Should You Choose?

Have you heard about the accountant that bought his first Wendy’s franchise
with no money down? Now he owns several. Smart guy.

Or how about the guy that started his first Williams Coffee Shop out of
Brantford? Now he’s franchised several. Look into this one, it may be
a good one.

Or how about Got Junk? This was the little company that could, and it’s still
growing in leaps and bounds.

You’ve heard the success stories. But you’ve also heard others who have been
scammed by someone selling you a Franchise Opportunity that
ended up in dismal failures.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to do your due diligence, but the first step
is to investigate the types of opportunities that are right for you.

There are so many Franchise Opportunities Canada that are still worthy
and can make you money.

Join us at the Business Franchise & Investment Expo this weekend
in Toronto April 30 & May 1st at the Queen Elizabeth Building at the CNE.
It’s free admission and when your register online and use the promotional
code <Profit>, your entry will be FREE!

If you currently own a business, or you are thinking of starting a new business,
this tradeshow offers a wide-array of businesses to choose from, everything
from owning your own franchise, to getting free legal advice.

If you need franchise financing in Canada, the guy to talk to is Stan Prokop
at 7th Park Financial.  Tell him you heard his name from me, and you’ll
get his attention I promise.

If owning a franchise Canada is too rich for your pocket right now, but you
would really like to build residual income, I like what Mark Rosenfield has to offer, and you
may want to check it out.

If you are thinking of real-estate as an opportunity, one of the best
real-estate trainer’s in Canada is Navtaj Chandhoke and they’ll be at the show
this weekend, so check them out.

I, Paul Tobey, CEO of TrainingBusinessPros.Com will be there, and I’ll be

at the Business Franchise Investment Expo on Saturday at 1:30 PM training on Social Media Marketing.

Not sure if this pertains to you? Let me tell you, in today’s internet driven
world, you can’t live without it! It’s a vital training.

Click here to claim your free tickets to the Business Franchise & Investment Expo…
Business Franchise & Investment Expo this weekend
in Toronto April 30 & May 1st at the Queen Elizabeth Building at the CNE.
It’s free admission and when your register online and use the promotional
code <Profit>, your entry will be FREE!

You never know. You may find the franchise opportunity Canada that you’ve been waiting for!

Remember to visit our booth or be part of the training

Saturday April 30th at 1:30 PM training on Social Media Marketing.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Tradeshow Marketing Tips for Paul Tobey Graduates!

Tradeshow Marketing Tips for Paul Tobey Graduates- Would you like
a free booth space? It doesn`t get more attractive then this!

Sometimes I get a hot lead I could pass on to my graduates.
As a special note to you, Teus May 3rd,2011 there is a
Canadian Networker Conference in Mississauga for the
Peel, York and Toronto Networkers.

I bought two booths. But I just heard they have
a handful of booth spaces available.

They are GIVING away booth space, if you will commit
to participating in the Fall show as well.
I believe it will be $175.00 to participate in the fall show,
and you will not have to pay that until they invoice you
sometime in the summer.

If you are looking to practice your tradeshow skills,
this may be a good entry point.
However, this is only available to my GRADUATES!

Therefore, please tell them you are a TrainingBusinessPros alumni
and referred by Paul Tobey.

To jump on this rare opportunity
Call 647-284-7601 and ask for Ms. Randi Goodman

PS.  The free booth space comes with a table and chairs
if you need it, AND electricity AND the internet service.

PPS. I believe it’s a new tradeshow, and they are looking
to build their brand, exhibitors and audience, hence the
deal.  Make these relationships early to keep your costs
low.  And, tip # 3, if you are planning to participate
in the fall show, don’t forget to ask for the speaking
spot! (That’s where the big opportunity exists!)

Paul Tobey
CEO, Training Business Pros
416-229-4710
1-877-790-PROS
Toronto, CanadaFollow me on Twitter and Facebook

Follow me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter
del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Review; Dragon Speech Recognition Software – 874 Words in Under 5 Minutes.

Dragon Speech Recognition Software

Dragon Speech Recognition Software

This blog post is 874 words and it took less than 5 minutes to create. Now that’s worth exploring, don’t you think?

As a technology minded person I am constantly on the lookout for software that increases productivity and saves time. Imagine my excitement when I downloaded and started using Dragon speech recognition software.

Because much of what I do involves the creation of content, I was really looking forward to the speech to text experience. However, I was somewhat hesitant because this type of software has received some pretty bad reviews in the past. Most of these reviews were due to accuracy problems.

However Dragon Speech is claiming a 99% accuracy rate. That alone got me excited. And so I couldn’t wait to download software and put it to the test. And I must say, I am totally impressed.

The Customer Experience

downloading and installing Dragon speech software from the Dragon NaturallySpeaking website is a fairly easy process and went off without a hitch.

One of the first things that you have to do once you install the software, is do various tests to ensure the quality of your recording equipment. Dragon speech actually comes with its own Bluetooth microphone. But any USB headset will work equally as well if not better.

I personally use a $50 USB headset and after the initial Dragon speech tests, which only took a few minutes, I moved on to the training portion of the setup process.

Training involves reading a passage from a book. There are several books in the Dragon speech database and you simply choose the one you wish, I chose Alice in Wonderland. By reading a passage from Alice in Wonderland the software literally trains itself to recognize your tone, speed, volume, pitch, and even accent.

After about 5 min. of reading the software prompts you that your finished and then it configures the software to work.

I think this is the most important aspect of the software because it’s the training that ensures its accuracy. In fact the software will not allow you to use it without training it first.

Overall Benefits

there are multiple benefits to Dragon speech recognition software. I shall endeavour  to write them in point form;

1.       There are a number of embedded commands that you can use to open files, save documents, switch from document to document and program to program.

2.       Formatting is also advanced, and there are several formatting functions that you can carry out such as bold, italicize, font size etc.

3.       You can also move around your document quite easily by speaking various cursor functions.

4.       You can also zoom in and zoom out of documents.

5.       Spell checking is also an important feature. There are many voice commands for using spell check.

6.       You can also carry out various search functions on the computer by saying the word search and inserting what exactly it is you’re looking for in terms of its keyword phrase.

7.       There are also various help functions with Dragon speech, and it’s fairly easy to learn all aspects, or at least the important ones.

8.       Perhaps one of the most important functions of Dragon speech is the ability to create custom commands. For example if you have a command that is not included in its standard commands you could simply train the software to remember that specific command. And it would carry out the command based on its training either by following your movements with the mouse and keyboard or simply inserting blocks of text.

9.       The installation process as I mentioned before is fairly easy and you will be up and running quickly and having a ton of fun doing it.

Choosing the Right Version

there are several different versions of Dragon speech software, from basic to advanced. I am personally using Dragon professional. However, I have found that the standard version 11 is a tremendous value and will do pretty much everything that you would have to do in a small business.

Cons

While the software is powerful it also uses plenty of computer RAM space. I would recommend that you use it with an up-to-date computer and run at least two gigs of RAM.

Well simple commands are fairly easy, some of the more advanced commands will take some memory on your part. Switching back and forth between the Dragon speech help area and your programs is a bit cumbersome but you’ll get used to it.

The professional versions of this software are in my opinion a bit overpriced but like anything that is worthwhile you will have to invest.

Pros

The software is very intuitive and a joy to use. It is highly accurate and does help you increase productivity and cuts down on the amount of time that you need to create lengthy documents. There is no one I know that can type as fast as you can speak, in the matter how fast you speak the software will keep up with a tremendous amount of accuracy.

Conclusions

Get this software, it will change your business life, save you a ton of time, and totally increase the amount of content that you create.

Click here to purchase from the Dragon Speech online store

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Brian Klemmer Memorial 1950 – 2011

Brian-Klemmer-MemorialA  Brian Klemmer Memorial – From Personal Experience.

It was his 61st birthday just a few days ago. Birthday wishes were flying around the social media universe.  Then, only a few days later, out of no where,  rumors were flying he died in a plane accident. I found the news in my inbox.

Stunned and in disbelief, I Googled “plane crash” over hundred different ways to confirm if this was true. A few phone calls later, it became more real.

As the news was sinking in, on April 8th an official press release was issued. Sadly, it was confirmed.  His untimely death was real, however it was the result a torn carotid artery. He made it to the hospital. He was on his way to get airlifted to another. On the way to surgery, his body gave way. The news of this unexpected loss shocked his followers from Pentaluma California, to Australia, Canada and around the globe.

Message boards, blogs, and social media sites lit up like wild fire filled with the expression of sadness, grief and inspiring messages to those who loved him. Some of his graduates, deeply committed to his teachings, continued to deliver Brian’s inspirational quotes, to remind those grieving, what Brian taught.  Some chose to mourn silently.

Mourners were now connecting with others of like mind, to share in their grief and send their respects to the family, friends and fellow graduates.   Not yet certain of the plans for the funeral, we all sit waiting, thinking, praying, grieving, and remembering a really special and quality guy.

I met Brian a couple of years ago when an affiliate thought we should take time to meet.  She had tried several times to set up a meeting, but it never made it to the top of my ‘deeply committed’ list.  I didn’t really know why I was meeting him, or why she felt it was important for us to connect.  However, out of respect for her, I made time to meet Brian at a restaurant (Moxie’s) near the Toronto airport.  I had no idea who he was.

I soon found myself sitting across the table from a man named Brian and all I knew is that we were both trainers and public speakers.  The only difference apparent on the surface of the conversation was that he specializing in personal development and my company specialized in internet marketing and social media.

Within minutes, I discovered he’d been doing this a lot longer then I and in a few more minutes, it was clear he was the mentor and I was the student.  I really knew nothing about this man, but clearly, he was a master and there a reason I was there to meet him.  Though neither of us knew what “the opportunity” of our meeting was, Brian made certain we would explore it further.

Just last night, I just read a press release by Bob Harrison from Hawaii where he said that Brian Klemmer was one of the greatest “possibility thinkers” he had ever met. Even in that first meeting I could sense the exact same thing,

I really don’t know how it unfolded but, he invited my wife Nancy and I to a Champion’s celebration in California.  We were not students of his work, nor were we graduates. But somehow he put us right in the middle of his circle of Samurai.  We felt privileged, though we still had no idea about this significance or about the reach of his work, etc.  What we read on the internet only offered nuggets of what his work was all about. Not until the other attendees shared their stories of gratitude around the table, did Nancy and I understand that this man had changed all of their lives in a deep and meaningful way. During that visit, we had dinner with part of his team, including one of his lead trainers Sona, his son Kelly, his lovely wife Roma and we also met his CEO at the time; Bob.

Our relationship continued and Brian asked me to return to California to train his executive team on internet marketing.  With Brian at the helm of his company it was obvious that everyone there was deeply committed to learning everything about internet marketing.

I introduced  all the possibilities, probabilities and secrets that were the strengths in growing my training company 300% a year in a recession.  Their team quickly adopted a few choice strategies and put an accountability plan in motion.  It was amazing to see.  What was apparent to Nancy and I was the fire in his son Kelly’s eyes.  It was the same spark I had when I first thought of being a concert pianist.  Kelly, had clarity on how he was going to contribute, and we knew their was an internet marketing guru about to be born.

It was obvious to me (whether Brian knew it then, I don’t know), but Kelly was going to become the head of the internet marketing initiative, even though Brian wanted him to be in charge of booking the corporate speaking engagements.  I actually remember hearing Brian coaching Kelly to focus on the bookings.

As I observed their web presence grow, it wasn’t long before we saw Kelly’s deep commitment at work, and the keyword phrase “leadership training” made it to #1 on the Google search engine.  Amazing.  I continued to follow Kelly on Facebook to witness some great stuff.  I was impressed.

Brian’s generosity quickly expanded into my world, as he opened his Rolodex and opened the US market to me.  Along the way I met other Samurai’s, kind folks like  Dwight and Sue Havener, Dr. MacNamara, and more who enjoyed years of memories with Brian and Sona and crew.

Brian was good at reaching out. He actually called and offered me a video testimonial for the work that I had done for his company.  “Whatever you need Paul,” he’d say.  He would continue to coach me, and offer advice on how to grow my training company.  He wasn’t afraid of sharing his secrets.  And when one of his trainers asked Brian “aren’t we competitors?” Brian quickly pointed out, that was lack thinking. Abundance thinking means there is enough for everybody.

He came back to Toronto frequently, at one point we had an opportunity to train side-by-side.  The first day, his close was much stronger then mine. Over lunch, he gave me a few pointers, and the next day, mine was much stronger than his.

I met him again most recently three weeks ago when he was in Toronto.  Brian did focus on opportunities and looking back, I recognize all of our encounters  were always productive and this one was no different.

Again, he offered to open up his Rolodex to me. There is someone he wanted me to meet in Hawaii.  He mentioned again the video testimonial that he wanted to do for me, what would I like to see in it? We also talked about a couple of other initiatives and like Bob Harrison said, “he was a possibility thinker.”

But there was something that especially stood out to me about this meeting. It was his immense energy. I came home and told my wife Nancy he was vibrating like a huge magnet.  He personally told me that his business was almost 200% stronger than it was the previous year and he thanked me for my help in that.  I knew Kelly had a big hand in delivering, putting the action into motion and getting a result. Brian seemed unstoppable, untouchable, a master, a guru, a leader and a friend. I walked away from that meeting almost feeling a little envy that his current path seemed effortless.  When I confessed it to Nancy, she just smiled, and reminded me that it was my lesson of the day.

Brian was more than a friend, he wanted everyone to succeed, and he held nothing back. It’s the basic principal behind his very existence. He once asked me how he could help me get to Carnegie Hall.  You see, even though I had built a successful training company, he kept his eye on my blessings and playing jazz piano, he knew, was one of my heart’s true desires.  He never forgot what men/women were built of, and he weaved his thread through my fabric.

Brian was many things to many people. What I admired about him, and what should be said, was that first and foremost, he was  a master trainer. One of the best.  He truly was “in service of”, and perhaps that was how a small training facility became a multi-million dollar training company.

I was curious when he told me he had a 500 year plan. When I think about the ripple effect of his life, I think of a man who picked up the biggest stone on the shore and threw it in the water.  The stone was filled with his trust, his faith, his love, his generosity and the ripples spread blessings into my life and into in the lives of thousands of men, women, and children. He was generous man who took time to extend himself in generous ways.  His 500 year plan was in motion before it ever came to his consciousness.  He threw that stone in the water many years ago. He chose.

With that said, it is perhaps time I take the time to play the piano again.

With great respect, love and gratitude, to my friend and mentor, my heartfelt thanks for your friendship, and gifts you brought into our lives. Rest in Peace my friend. And may the ripples of change last more than 500 years.

Brian Klemmer’s Unexpected Death Shocks the Training World

1950-2011

It was his 61st birthday just a few days ago and birthday wishes were flying around on his social media accounts. Then all of a sudden a few short hours after his death, rumours were flying he died in a plane accident.

I quickly googled “plane crash” over hundred different ways to confirm if this was true.

Then finally, on April 8th, an official press release was issued, Sadly, it was confirmed. His untimely death was the result a torn carotid artery. He was on his way to surgery. The news shocked his followers from Pentaluma California, to Australia, Canada and around the globe.

Message boards, blogs, and social media sites lit up like wild fire filled with the expression of sadness, grief and inspiring messages to those who loved him. Some of his graduates, deeply committed to his teachings, continued to deliver Brian’s inspirational quotes, to remind those grieving, what Brian taught.

Mourners were now connecting with others of like mind, to share in their grief and send their respects to the family, friends and fellow graduates.

I met Brian a couple of years ago when an affiliate thought we should take time to meet. She had tried several times to set up a meeting, but it never made it to the top of my ‘deeply committed’ list. I didn’t really know why I was meeting him, or why she felt it was important for us to connect. However, out of respect for her, I made time to meet Brian at a restaurant near the airport.

I was sitting across the table with a man named Brian and all I knew is that we were both trainer’s and public speaker’s. The only difference apparent on the surface of the conversation was that he specializing in personal development and my company specialized in internet marketing and social media.

Within minutes, I discovered he’d been doing this a lot longer then I had, and within 5 minutes of our first meeting, it was clear he was the mentor, and I was the student. I really knew nothing about this man, but clearly, he was a master, and there a reason I was there to meet him. Though neither of us knew what “the opportunity” of our meeting was, Brian made certain we would explore this further.

I just read a press release by Bob Harrison in Hawaii where he said that Brian Klemmer was one of the greatest possibility thinkers he had ever met. Even in that first meeting I could feel the same thing,

I really don’t know how it happened, but he invited my wife Nancy and I to a Champion’s celebration in California. We were not students of his work, nor were we graduates. But somehow he put us right in the middle of his circle of samurai’s. We felt privileged, though, we still had no idea about this significance or about the reach of his work, etc. What we read on the internet only offered nuggets of what his work was all about. Not until the other attendees shared their stories of gratitude around the table, did Nancy and I understand that this man had changed all of their lives in a deep and meaningful way. During that visit, we had dinner with part of his team, including Sona, his son Kelly, his lovely wife Roma and met his CEO Bob.

Our relationship continued and I returned to California to train his executive team on internet marketing. With Brian always at the helm of his company it was obvious that everyone there was deeply committed to learning everything about internet marketing,

I introduced all the possibilities, probabilities and secrets that were growing my training company 300% a year in a recession. Their team quickly put an accountability plan in motion. It was amazing to see. What was apparent to Nancy and I, was the fire in his son Kelly’s eyes. It was the same spark I had when I first thought of being a concert pianist. Kelly, had clarity on how he was going to contribute, and we knew their was an internet marketing guru about to be born.

It was obvious to me whether Brian you are not that Kelly was going to become the head of the internet marketing initiative, even though Brian wanted him to be in charge of booking the corporate speaking engagements. I actually remember hearing Brian coaching Kelly to focus on the bookings.

As I observed their web presence grow, it wasn’t long before we saw Kelly’s deep commitment at work, and the keyword phrase “leadership training” made it to #1 on the google search engine. Amazing,

Bryans generosity quickly expanded into my world, as he opened his rolodex and opened the US market to me. That year, I personally trained in 10 different states, and this mostly due to Brian. Along the way I met other influential people like Dwight and Sue Havener who also helped out a lot but it was Brian who made those connections.

He actually called and offered me a video testimonial for the work that I had done for his company. “Whatever you need Paul” he’d say. He would continue to coach me, and offer advice on how to grow my training company. He wasn’t afraid of sharing his secrets. And when one of his trainers’s asked Brian ‘aren’t we competitors?’ Brian quickly pointed out, that was lack thinking. Abundance thinking means there is enough for everybody.

He came back to Toronto frequently, at one point we had an opportunity to train side-by-side. The first day, his close was much stronger then mine. Over lunch, he gave me a few pointers, and the next day, mine was much stronger then his. He held nothing back, and he knew his work was well done.

I met him again most recently three weeks ago when he was in Toronto. Our meetings were always productive before and this one was no different.

Again, he offered to open up his rolodex to me. There is someone he wanted me to meet in Hawaii. He mentioned again the video testimonial that he wanted to do for me, what would I like to see in it? We also talked about a couple of other initiatives and like Bob Harrison said, “he was a possibility thinker.”

But there was something different about this meeting. It was his energy. He personally told me that his business was almost 200% stronger than it was the previous year and he thanked me for my help in that. He seemed unstoppable, untouchable, a master, a guru, a leader and a friend. I walked away from that meeting almost envious of his effortless current path.

Brian was more than a friend, he wanted everyone to succeed, and he held nothing back. It’s the basic principal behind his very existence. He once asked me how he can help me get to Carnegie Hall. You see, even though I had built a successful training company, he kept his eye on my blessings, and playing jazz piano was once my heart’s true desires. He never forgot what men/women were built of, and he weaved his thread through my fabric.

Brian was many things to many people. What I admired about him, and what should be said, was that first and foremost, he a master trainer. He truly was “in service of”, and perhaps that was how a small training facility became a multi-million dollar training company.

I was curious when he told me he had a 500 year plan. When I think about the ripple effect of his life, I think of a man who picked up the biggest stone on the shore and threw it in the water. The stone was filled with his trust, his faith, his love, his generosity and the ripples spread blessings into my life and into in the lives of thousands of men, women, and children. He was generous man who took time to extend hi

Brian Klemmer’s Unexpected Death Shocks the Training World

1950-2011

It was his 61st birthday just a few days ago and birthday wishes were flying around on his social media accounts.  Then all of a sudden a few short hours after his death, rumours were flying he died in a plane accident.

I quickly googled “plane crash” over hundred different ways to confirm if this was true.

Then finally, on April 8th, an official press release was issued, Sadly, it was confirmed.  His untimely death was the result a torn carotid artery. He was on his way to surgery. The news shocked his followers from Pentaluma California, to Australia, Canada and around the globe.

Message boards, blogs, and social media sites lit up like wild fire filled with the expression of sadness, grief and inspiring messages to those who loved him. Some of his graduates, deeply committed to his teachings, continued to deliver Brian’s inspirational quotes, to remind those grieving, what Brian taught.

Mourners were now connecting with others of like mind, to share in their grief and send their respects to the family, friends and fellow graduates.

I met Brian a couple of years ago when an affiliate thought we should take time to meet.  She had tried several times to set up a meeting, but it never made it to the top of my ‘deeply committed’ list.  I didn’t really know why I was meeting him, or why she felt it was important for us to connect.  However, out of respect for her, I made time to meet Brian at a restaurant near the airport.

I was sitting across the table with a man named Brian and all I knew is that we were both trainer’s and public speaker’s.  The only difference apparent on the surface of the conversation was that he specializing in personal development and my company specialized in internet marketing and social media.

Within minutes, I discovered he’d been doing this a lot longer then I had, and within 5 minutes of our first meeting, it was clear he was the mentor, and I was the student.  I really knew nothing about this man, but clearly, he was a master, and there a reason I was there to meet him.  Though neither of us knew what “the opportunity” of our meeting was, Brian made certain we would explore this further.

I just read a press release by Bob Harrison in Hawaii where he said that Brian Klemmer was one of the greatest possibility thinkers he had ever met. Even in that first meeting I could feel the same thing,

I really don’t know how it happened, but he invited my wife Nancy and I to a Champion’s celebration in California.  We were not students of his work, nor were we graduates. But somehow he put us right in the middle of his circle of samurai’s.  We felt privileged, though, we still had no idea about this significance or about the reach of his work, etc.  What we read on the internet only offered nuggets of what his work was all about. Not until the other attendees shared their stories of gratitude around the table, did Nancy and I understand that this man had changed all of their lives in a deep and meaningful way. During that visit, we had dinner with part of his team, including Sona, his son Kelly, his lovely wife Roma and met his CEO Bob.

Our relationship continued and I returned to California to train his executive team on internet marketing.  With Brian always at the helm of his company it was obvious that everyone there was deeply committed to learning everything about internet marketing,

I introduced  all the possibilities, probabilities and secrets that were growing my training company 300% a year in a recession.  Their team quickly put an accountability plan in motion.  It was amazing to see.  What was apparent to Nancy and I, was the fire in his son Kelly’s eyes.  It was the same spark I had when I first thought of being a concert pianist.  Kelly, had clarity on how he was going to contribute, and we knew their was an internet marketing guru about to be born.

It was obvious to me whether Brian you are not that Kelly was going to become the head of the internet marketing initiative, even though Brian wanted him to be in charge of booking the corporate speaking engagements.  I actually remember hearing Brian coaching Kelly to focus on the bookings.

As I observed their web presence grow, it wasn’t long before we saw Kelly’s deep commitment at work, and the keyword phrase “leadership training” made it to #1 on the google search engine.  Amazing,

Bryans generosity quickly expanded into my world, as he opened his rolodex and opened the US market to me.  That year, I personally trained in 10 different states, and this mostly due to Brian. Along the way I met other influential people like  Dwight and Sue Havener who also helped out a lot but it was Brian who made those connections.

He actually called and offered me a video testimonial for the work that I had done for his company.  “Whatever you need Paul” he’d say.  He would continue to coach me, and offer advice on how to grow my training company.  He wasn’t afraid of sharing his secrets.  And when one of his trainers’s asked Brian ‘aren’t we competitors?’ Brian quickly pointed out, that was lack thinking. Abundance thinking means there is enough for everybody.

He came back to Toronto frequently, at one point we had an opportunity to train side-by-side.  The first day, his close was much stronger then mine. Over lunch, he gave me a few pointers, and the next day, mine was much stronger then his.  He held nothing back, and he knew his work was well done.

I met him again most recently three weeks ago when he was in Toronto.  Our meetings were always productive before and this one was no different.

Again, he offered to open up his rolodex to me. There is someone he wanted me to meet in Hawaii.  He mentioned again the video testimonial that he wanted to do for me, what would I like to see in it? We also talked about a couple of other initiatives and like Bob Harrison said, “he was a possibility thinker.”

But there was something different about this meeting. It was his energy. He personally told me that his business was almost 200% stronger than it was the previous year and he thanked me for my help in that. He seemed unstoppable, untouchable, a master, a guru, a leader and a friend. I walked away from that meeting almost envious of his effortless current path.

Brian was more than a friend, he wanted everyone to succeed, and he held nothing back. It’s the basic principal behind his very existence. He once asked me how he can help me get to Carnegie Hall.  You see, even though I had built a successful training company, he kept his eye on my blessings, and playing jazz piano was once my heart’s true desires.  He never forgot what men/women were built of, and he weaved his thread through my fabric.

Brian was many things to many people. What I admired about him, and what should be said, was that first and foremost, he a master trainer. He truly was “in service of”, and perhaps that was how a small training facility became a multi-million dollar training company.

I was curious when he told me he had a 500 year plan. When I think about the ripple effect of his life, I think of a man who picked up the biggest stone on the shore and threw it in the water.  The stone was filled with his trust, his faith, his love, his generosity and the ripples spread blessings into my life and into in the lives of thousands of men, women, and children. He was generous man who took time to extend himself in generous ways.  His 500 year plan was in motion before it ever came to his consciousness.  He threw that stone in the water many years ago. He chose.

With that said, it is perhaps time I play the piano again.

With great respect, love and gratitude, to my friend and mentor, my heartfelt thanks for your friendship, and gifts you brought into our lives. Rest in Peace my friend. And may the ripples of change last more than 500 years.

mself in generous ways. His 500 year plan was in motion before it ever came to his consciousness. He threw that stone in the water many years ago. He chose.

With that said, it is perhaps time I play the piano again.

With great respect, love and gratitude, to my friend and mentor, my heartfelt thanks for your friendship, and gifts you brought into our lives. Rest in Peace my friend. And may the ripples of change last more than 500 years.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Jazz Pianists Wanted for Cruise Ship

Jazz Pianist Wanted for Cruise Ship.

In my life BG (Before Google), I was a career jazz pianist.  In the early years of my career I worked on board cruise lines as a pianist/conductor/leader/ whatever role they needed me to play.

It was great pay at the time, and the gigs had its fringe benefits.  I worked for Pro Ship for years, and they did a great job.  I highly recommend them.  Thus, if you are looking to experience that type of thing in your career as a jazz pianist, then you might wish to look into this.

Things to be prepared for:

  • you must be a good team player,
  • not mind taking orders,
  • you must be capable of dealing with drama pretty well (let it drip off your shoulder),
  • you must have a great number of tunes in your repetoir,
  • you must read music very well,
  • be very well presented (groomed),
  • and be passport ready.
  • If you are fluent in jazz, blues, pop, and standards, you will have no problem on these type of gigs.

This type of gig is better suited for single entertainers, who don’t have lots of commitments back home.  If you are a generally nice person, easy going, relaxed, and not bloated in ego, this gig is generally very fun.

Be ready for the mandatory ship drills.  You have no choice, and they are a bit of a pain.  However, it’s a small “have to” on your way to your “want to’s”.  I toured much of the world, and have accumulated some of the best memories of my life. So go ahead… read below, Have fun. If you get the gig, let me know!

*************************************************

Hi Paul,

I hope this email find you well. My name is Carl Girard and I’m the new
Piano recruiter here at Proship Entertainment.

I’m a bass player that have over 15 years of experiences on ships. I
worked most of the cruise lines out there like Princess, Royal
Caribbean, Holland America, Regent Seven Sea Cruises,etc.

I need good pianists, do you have any students who are looking for work.

Looking forward to hear from you soon!

Carl


Carl Girard,
Entertainment Recruiter
Proship Entertainment Inc
980 Saint Antoine West
Montreal, QC Canada H3C 1A8
cgirard@proship.com
+1 (514) 485 8823   ext 240
+1 (888) 477 6744 ext 240
+1 (514) 485 2675 Fax

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

The Best Advertising for Small Business

Are you wondering what is the Best Advertising Medium for Small Business?

If you are a small business owner, you are probably looking for instant gratification in the form of sales. You need cash flow now. So, which medium would support the “right now” sale?

As CEO of Training Business Pros, I wanted to embark on new ways to generate leads.  I knew it would take some trial and error tests, but I found the test fascinating, in the way that I could afford to test a few advertising mediums that we never used before.

You see, we’ve built this company strictly by utilizing internet marketing up to 2011.  In January, we decided to test market a few new things.

  • We tested Direct Mail in Oakville and Mississauga.
  • We tested Radio Advertising “The Business Minute” on 91.1 Jazz FM Radio
  • We tested new ad campaigns on Kijiji
  • We tested new ad campaigns on Facebook
  • We tested new ad campaigns on Linkedin

And the most exciting thing we tested was Text Marketing.

You’re probably interested in our metrics and sales conversions. All of the above measured less Immediate results then our traditional forms of advertising which includes:

1. email marketing

2. search engine optimization

I’m glad to share with you some observations to help you make better informed decisions about what the best advertising for small business may be.

Direct Mail Campaign

The first thing we did this year was test out direct mail through a coupon book issue.  It went to over 120 thousand homes in a targeted area that we felt represented our demographic (high end).

The cost for the direct mail campaign was over 4K. We had very low conversions, with less then 0.1% taking advantage of our call to action which was pretty strong (so we thought).

Conclusion: either it was the wrong ad in the wrong publication, or our ad sucked.  Either way, it generated 5 warm leads and 3 purchases.

Radio Advertising

This is a costly venture, approx 4-5K a month.  We deeply committed to this, knowing that repetition is key, and that it would take a few weeks to really measure the effects.

Lessons we learned: Our first ad, the call to action involved “text marketing”. You had to text the word “training” to 54500 in order to get a free video training on Social Media.  We discovered the first week only 5 people did this.  The interesting thing, is that people were calling the radio station to get our telephone number.  In other words, the demographic of the radio station didn’t know how to use their cell phones and text.  So, week 2, we changed the call to action and the ad – and simplified “The Business Minute” sending people to “trainingbusinesspros.com.

Still, 2 more calls came into the station and one email asking for the tel number. So week #3, we changed the ad again, and included the tel number and now its currently rotating with a call to action to the website. We dropped the text targeting thing.

Here’s the stats so far:  We are getting random emails and phone calls from people saying “hey we heard your ad”. We are getting a few responses into our seminars.

However, what we didn’t count on, is that the ad is actually helping us solidify our brand and our position in the market place.  We are thinking of this as a long-term strategy.  It’s a branding tool.  It doesn’t generate us an immediate Return on Investment.  It certainly doesn’t have the same instant satisfaction of “email marketing”

Text Targeting

We’ve been testing this a few ways.  I love it. It’s the way of the future, and it’s going to be powerful.  However, we tested a couple of little things to test the demographic of TrainingBusinessPros.Com.  A few things about our demographic.

In a live course of 100 people, I asked people to text “Training” to 54500.  Only 16 people did this successfully.  Interesting yes?

In our direct mail campaign, and radio campaign, we saw that multiple people attempted this multiple times.  In other words, they are quite new to this, and not sure HOW to do this.

So, we decided, that text targeting is great for folks under 40. Over 40, some are still quite unsure how to use their mobile phones to their full ability.

Watch us though, we’ll be doing some cool things with text targeting.  It’ll be more powerful then email marketing. In fact, the stats are staggering. More people will read their phone text within seconds, vs. that it will take up to 2 days for someone to open their email.  If you are into instant conversions, and instant traffic, stay tuned to text marketing.

Ads on Kijiji

What a nice surprise! Highly targeted, good conversion.  Generated instant sign-ups and incoming calls. Love it.

Ads on Facebook

It has traction, but not as good as Kijiji. Not for me anyway.  I’ll keep you posted.

Ads on Linkedin

Highly targeted, but expensive.  I’m testing this now. Will keep you posted.

Email Marketing

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it as often as I can until I’m totally converted to Text Marketing.

The money is in the list, and I love email marketing! It works. It generates amazing results and literally has made me over a million dollars.

Email marketing is a powerful tool in the right hands.  Look, it takes some talent to write the copy so that it helps people take an action.

But until we move to 100% mobile marketing, this is still the best way to go.

Search Engine Optimization

I’m an SEO guy first and foremost.  I really believe that Google is King.  Really, I do. I can’t imagine the force majeur it will be in 100 years from now.

I also strongly believe that Video content is very important, and that this is a powerful way to deliver value and good content.  Social Media is a great thing, but I’m still an SEO believer.  One must do SEO. Period.

If you are a small business, and you haven’t learned how to do keyword research yet, what can I tell you. You are going to fall behind.  It’s a must, just as in death and taxes.

TV Advertising

We are looking into it, and will let you know when we could measure metrics.

Social Media

Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc…

It takes deep commitment to deploy and manage your Social Media Strategy.  Why? Because your investment is in time.  If you can’t do it yourself, you still better learn how to manage it, or some “social media expert” will charge you for stuff you don’t perhaps need.  So, you are probably wondering does social media even work? Yes. It does.  As an SEO guy, I use it to drip market backlinks.  Not just any kind of backlink.  So, I have a strategy. Others use it to create their online reputation, others use it to build and foster relationships, and others use to build lists and influence their prospects.  Any way you cut it, you’ve got to think of it as a marketing funnel and learn how and when to convert that warm lead into a sale.  Again, if you don’t know what I’m talking about here, go to trainingbusinesspros.com and download my Social Media Video for $5.00.  I’m only charging you for the use of my bandwidth.  The information is fantastic, and will set you up on the right track.  So go again, go to =>http://www.trainingbusinesspros.com/5buckvideo/ and take the time to digest what the training is.  You’ll enjoy it, I promise. It offers tons of value.

The Best Advertising for Small Business, in my opinion, is Search Engine Optimization. For most businesses, it is the cheapest, most cost-effect way to market yourself. But, don’t jump into this without doing your keyword research.  Do you want to learn how to do this quickly? Connect to me on Linkedin. Once I accept you as a connection, you scroll down to the bottom of my Linkedin Page, and you can receive a free $197.00 training on Keyword Research.  Personally, I think it’s one of the best training videos out there on keyword research. And its yours for free once we connect. Go ahead, just click here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paultobey10

This has been fun.

But if you are into the “right now” I need cash flow instantly,  the Best Advertising for Small Business may be ads on Linkedin, Facebook and Kijiji.  You can try local search. You can also try PPC on Google (but this takes practice, and can bleed your bank account if you don’t have conversion strategies in place).

Paul Tobey

PS. Check it out. It’s low risk, and tons and tons of value: So go again, go to…

=> http://www.trainingbusinesspros.com/5buckvideo/

PS. Also, consider a WordPress blog to update your users via blog posts. Great way to communicate value.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

The Benefits of Walking

embedded by Embedded Video

Most people can walk, however most people don’t. Whatever the reasons are, I can tell you from experience that more people should take up walking. Here are six benefits of walking and why you should go for a good long walk.

1. The number one objection that you will hear from people is that they don’t have time for walking. How do you find an hour out of your day to take a walk? Well all I can say is that I’m actually a pretty busy guy.

I run a busy business but  I still manage to find time to walk. When? For me it’s early morning. Sometime between 6am-7am. I get up, put on the appropriate clothing, and head out the door.

The amount of time that takes to prepare for a walk is under five minutes. I have a quick bite or a banana on the way out the door, this will save you quite a bit of time. Walk a half an hour in one direction, walk a half an hour in the other direction. If you can’t find time in the morning, do it during one of your favourite television shows that you can record and watch at another time.

2. It’s a great weight loss program. A lot of people think that walking doesn’t expend a lot of energy, when in fact it is one of the most efficient ways to lose weight.

All you have to do is walk one and half times your normal walking pace to begin with, eventually ramping that up to two times you’re average walking pace. When you do this, you will speed up your heart rate, and keep it at a consistent rate for the duration for the hour.

How much weight can you lose? Based on my experience and of course my metabolism may be a little different than yours; if you walk five hours a week, you can lose as much as ten pounds every two weeks, naturally, while gaining strength at the same time.

3. I think the biggest benefit to walking is; time out from the world. Many people suffer from stress, worry, anxiety, concern, frustration and even anger. A good walk gives you time out from life, time away from the things that are bothering you.

It’s like mediation, a rhythmic meditation. All you need to have is a direction, breathe and keep pace.

4. Many people believe that running or jogging is more effective than the benefits of walking. I’m not going to disagree with that, but I am going to tell you that running and jogging takes a significant amount of energy and becomes a task which unless your addicted to running, usually doesn’t last very long because the mind sees it as a strenuous exercise, where as walking doesn’t seem that hard.

5. During your walk, multitask a little bit. Think about some of the things you want to do, to accomplish, to succeed at. Very often, during my walks, I think about some of the things I want to do; taking a little digital recorder and thinking out loud.

Then when I get a moment, I transcribe those thoughts and either put them in a document or into my website or even into a book. As a matter of fact, I just wrote a book recently, called suggestology, while walking. This blog post was written while walking.

6. When you get used to it and it becomes part of your habit (it usually takes seventeen to ninety days to make walking a habit), you can begin to realize that a lot can be accomplished during that time.

Yes, I wrote a book, but I also once wrote nine symphonies while walking, in my music career. I once walked across Spain on the famous Camino de Santiago, walking an average of twenty-five kilometers a day for a month and a half.

That my dear friends is a lot of time to think and gather ideas. When I would arrive at my destination for the day, I would take the time to either transcribe the ideas in my head or the ideas that were recorded along the way and I would put them into my little portable laptop and I also had a little two octave keyboard that I would make the music with and put it also into the computer.

I trust that you’re starting to see some of the real benefits of walking, and are ready to give it a try. I would however like it when you do go for a walk, that you find some place that you can either be alone and not among noise and civilization.

Find a trail near your house; you probably won’t have to go that far. Walk around your local school yard if you have to, but find someplace to be alone. What you are going to find is; eventually you’ll look forward to your walk and the benefits of walking, and you’ll make it the focus of your day, rather than an inconvenience.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon

Notice to Companies in Oakville

Oakville CompaniesOakville companies are responding to the ever-increasing demands of marketing in a competitive environment by seeking out higher-level marketing training.

One such marketing course that is consistently ranking well is Paul Tobey’s Marketing and Mastery course presented by Training Business Pros.

In this two-day intensive training course you will learn how to leverage the power of the Internet, social media, presentation marketing and tradeshow marketing into your overall marketing plan to increase the amount of business that you have and the amount of prospects that you create.

One of the most valuable aspects of the course is learning how to build a targeted mailing list of subscribers and use advanced e-mail marketing techniques to convert those subscribers into new business.

Paul Tobey is considered by many to be one of the big rising stars in the North American marketing scene. His new book entitled “Suggestology” is not only a popular subject among past participants in his course but a new methodology which will ultimately aid you in the conversion process.

Suggestology is the art of planting the seeds of trust within 5 min. and growing it for a lifetime. Once business owners understand this concept they will be able to build long-term trust, credibility and respect with their current clients and prospective clients.

Here are some of the things that you will learn in this course,

  • Why it is important to focus exactly on a goal that incorporates a significant risk has a measurable result  and a specific time limitation.
  • How to use the art of hypnotic copywriting and suggestology to engage visitors to your website and get them to stay long enough so that you can educate them on the value of your products and services.
  • How to use a powerful template that will bring you a massive increase in your sales conversions not only online but off-line as well.
  • How to grow your mailing list, manage that list using automation and ultimately convert those prospects into sales.
  • How to use an extremely powerful template to present your products and services to prospective clients whether that’s one, two, 20 or 200 people at a time. It’s not what you present but how you presented that matters.
  • What are the four main pillars of Internet marketing and how you can use them to increase your bottom line.
  • Social media marketing concepts, not from another consultant but from someone who actually makes money directly from social media strategies.

Companies in Oakville will ultimately benefit from these strategies, not only because of the extremely powerful nature of these 21st-century concepts but, mainly because most businesses and companies in Oakville are not aware of most of these concepts.

That means that if you were the one in your niche industry that incorporates these strategies in a big way then you will outpace your competition by a mile.

I highly encourage you to register for your next free three-hour introductory marketing and mastery seminar.

The next event for companies in Oakville will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn just off Winston Churchill Boulevard and the QEW January 20 from 1 PM to 4 PM.

Companies in Oakville are highly encouraged to register here for the next course January 20. There is always limited seating.

del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Yahoo Buzz StumbleUpon
Top 6 Most Popular Piano Sheet Music Pieces Free
First Name
City
E-Mail