Build Relationships and these Relationships will build your Business.

Face it, we all LOVE automatic systems, right? Automatic systems may get you signups but do they get you long-term affiliates, associates, distributors, customers, etc.? In other words, are these automatic systems converting into CA$H?

Maybe it’s time to go back to basics, not back to the Stone Age, simply back to when face-to-face communication made a difference.

Someone (a friend by FB’s standards but someone I had never spoken to) messaged me today via FB’s text chat box and immediately offered me the “best business opportunity” on the Net (his words, not mine). He took no time in getting to know me or to pre-qualify me for the opportunity and never even addressed me by my name. He was simply “pushing” his agenda and assumed I was looking for a business opportunity, which I am not. His goal was to sign me up. The finish line was more important to him than maneuvering the course.

I invited him to a live one-on-one, face-to-face webcam chat using a software program I created for my Facebook profile page. He accepted, went to my profile page and began communicating face-to-face with me. I showed him how I build relationships with Facebook friends to determine if we can actually help each other. Sometimes we can, sometimes we cannot. We had a casual one-on-one conversation and he understood I was not interested in a business opportunity, but he became very interested in the FB App we were using to communicate. So in some way, we did help each other.

Is relationship building important to your business? If you said yes then I want to give you a gift. I created a program that helps build relationships face-to-face. This program is NOT free. I have customers all around the world paying for and using my program that is helping them build relationships with their website visitors. I will give any of my FB friends a FB Application version of my program for FREE if they join my FB Group. The group is called, “Turn MLM Leads Into Customer And More.” The link to the group is http://tinyurl.com/m9k8u9 .

To learn more about this FB App simply go to http://tinyurl.com/dk8cwe but do not register. Go back to my group, register and I will be in touch. If you are not my FB friend then do so by going to http://www.facebook.com/rodneybrace

This offer will not last long. I will be paying for the bandwidth for each FREE account so I reserve the right to cancel this offer at any time.

Make time to build relationships and these relationships will build your business.

To your success.
Rodney Brace

Please, Please, Please Take My Money

A recent 2009 study showed that website visitors who use Live Chat software at shopping sites SPEND MORE MONEY. I will provide this report at a later time. A "live chat" was referred to as a one-on-one keyboard based conversation between a visitor and an online representative.

There are various chat programs out there, some free and some for pay. I will tell you why you need to be using the latest trend in online communication, simply keep reading.

Website visitors ranked LIVE chat as the number one preferred communication method for various reasons. Among them are:

1) difficulty in finding an item on a website
2) experiencing trouble at the checkout
3) wanting to know more about specials and sales
4) inquiring about guarantees and return policies

These are the main reasons. There were many other reasons for engaging a site representative via Live Chat but I am sure you see the value without having to hear all reasons.

It was also discovered that visitors who used Live Chat on a site were more likely to return and make further purchases. That should be music to your ears. You see, it is repeat sales that ensure the success of a business. You need your customers to return and purchase again. Giving them the ability to connect with you on your site can do that.

It was also discovered that Live Chat programs that could create proactive chats were welcomed by the visitors. A proactive chat is when the website representative is able to invite visitors to chat. 70% of visitors whose online purchases average $100 or more favored proactive chats.

But most compelling in the research is the fact that visitors who have experience with some sort of chat technology are more likely to spend more money. Remember, the study also showed that these visitors are more likely to return and purchase again. Repeat customers become loyal customers and you can't put a price on that.

So, what does all this have to do with your online marketing efforts? Well, maybe you should consider adding Live Chat to your website, engage your visitors and compare your own results, "before and after."

How do you know which Live Chat is right for you and your business? That's a great question. Pat yourself on the back for asking.

I have used Live Chat software, the kind referred to in the opening paragraph, as early as 2002, maybe 2001 so I have gained a lot of experience with this technology. It worked for my business but I wanted more and I thought my visitors/customers deserved more. You see, one-on-one keyboard chat conversations are simply too impersonal given the fast pace of Internet activity. So I created Web Site Communicator.

Web Site Communicator allows your website visitors to connect with you LIVE, face-to-face, using webcam technology. Web Site Communicator provides all the regular features of simple keyboard chat but gives the ability for true face-to-face chat using video and audio. It's like actually being there with you. Sound scarey, maybe even crazy? It's time we tear down those Internet borders and begin communicating belly-to-belly with our visitors/customers.

So, if keyboard chat software was so effective back in 2002 why switch to face-to-face communication? Wow... another great question. You are certainly on a role. Even the experts at CNN jumped on board with their own research. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported that face-to-face communication is exponentially better than text chat. Their study found that it could increase your communication by up to 60%. Don't take my word for it. Hear it for yourself by clicking here.

Consider this. I bought a new truck. I love my truck but the ride was rough. Should I trade it in for a new truck? Of course not. I talked to my mechanic and he suggested I "upgrade" my tires. I did and now my ride is much smoother. Same truck but better ride.

If your website relies on email submission forms or help desk ticket submissions so visitors can communicate with you, consider upgrading your website's communication abilities by adding Web Site Communicator. Same website but much better results.

You may be asking, "why pay for this service when you can use the "old school" keyboard chat programs that are available for free by some companies." Well, I always say you get what you pay for. Don't expect the same level of support from someone whose product you are using for free. Free simply doesn't pay the bills so companies providing free software don't always support them as companies whose products you purchase. But more importantly, your decision to use the right communication tool goes way beyond free vs paid. It's more about your image.

You only get one chance to make a first impression on your website visitors. How are they going to perceive you and your business if they see you shopped for the cheapest (free) communication solution to do business with them? Don't they deserve top notch support? You may be thinking this is not significant at all. I assure you, it is. You want to sell something to your website visitor, right? How are you going to convince them to buy from you when you shopped around for "free" tools to do business with them? Maybe they can get a similar product as you are selling, for free. They just need to shop around.

People often purchase products based on a salesperson's knowledge and recommendation. Using a high-end video chat program on your site will allow you to present your case to your visitor and even present the product with a demonstration. So, a small monthly investment in the right chat program can make the difference between a sale and simply another visitor statistic.

Let me offer you a 14 day $1 trial offer for Web Site Communicator and you be the judge. And now, we have just added a Facebook App that allows you to connect face-to-face with your Facebook friends at no additional cost. Simply go to http://www.websitecommunicator.com/1_dollar_trial.php

Have an awesome day.

Rodney Brace
Founder, Web Site Communicator

Happy Customer Guarantee

What does it mean to provide a Happy Customer Guarantee? Is it really necessary? Why do customers look for a guarantee? hmm.... interesting!

It's been my experience that people like to spend money but it's often difficult to get them to give up their money, especially when it comes to spending online. But it can be quite easy to get them to give up their money if you use the right tools.

How many websites have you gone to where the object is to get you to buy something? Maybe they offer all kinds of free stuff to sweeten the deal in hopes you will make that purchase. My philosophy has always been that if I have to provide a whole lot of free things to get you to buy my product then is there any value in my product to begin with? I think there's an easier way to get people to buy from you without convoluting the sale with all kinds of free stuff. The simple solution? Offer them YOU. Ok, before you think I'm trying to pimp you out, give me a chance to explain.

Sometimes, if a website visitor can speak directly to someone "behind" the website then they will gladly make a purchase. You see, people buy from people more quickly than they do from automated systems. So why not add YOU to your website and increase your sales?

My 10+ years of online marketing has taught me many things. Out of one of my lessons I decided to create a program that would let me stream my webcam video directly onto my website so I could connect with realtime visitors to make realtime sales. It is working wonderfully for me and for many, many online marketers. This program goes beyond the telephone. With the telephone it is simply conversation. With my program, Web Site Communicator, it's all about Face-To-Face marketing.

Research shows from a retailer's perspective, that online shoppers who have experience with live chat technology exhibit several desirable behaviors. Chatters, it seems, spend more money. Doesn't that sound like music to your ears? I'll spend more time on this topic in my next blog.

I want to give you my free report about Turning Visitors Into Customers. It's a short report based on my years of traditional business experience and how I brought that knowledge to my online business. There are certain things in traditional business that weren't possible in online business until I created Web Site Communicator. My free report explains the value of Face-To-Face communication and how you can now do face-to-face website marketing. This is exploding many people's businesses and I am sure it can help your business also. Simply visit http://www.rodneybrace.com/ to download the free report.

When you are LIVE on your website so visitors can see and hear you and talk to you face-to-face, that's often all the guarantee they need. They know where to go if/when they need to speak to you. This type of service is better than all the FREE things you can offer to sweeten the sale, don't you think?

Have an awesome day.

Rodney Brace

Belly-To-Belly Marketing For The Internet

Let me cut right to the chase....

Several years ago successful online marketers said you should add pre-recorded audio messages to your website because it had the potential to increase sales and signups.

It wasn't long after these same successful marketers were saying we should add pre-recorded video messages to our websites because this could exceed pre-recorded audio expectations.

They were right on both counts.

Recently, a well known and respected US research company, Forrester Research, reported online sales topped 200 billion dollars in 2006. They predicted CHAT software programs would greatly increase sales substantially in years to follow. They are right!

After a couple of years of research I predicted that regular online text chat software would be replaced with Face-To-Face technology. This technology would allow website visitors and website owners to do business using realtime audio and video via webcam LIVE on any website. I was right. So who am I? I am an entrepreneur who has watched the online communication evolution and, I am the Founder and developer of Web Site Communicator.

Many successful online marketers will tell you that relationship building is a cornerstone to the success of any business. Web Site Communicator is the ultimate relationship building tool. And, in a week or two we will launch a Facebook App allowing Facebookers to stream live webcam video onto their Facebook profile pages. This will put social marketing on steroids.

Old fashioned, belly-to-belly marketing worked! It worked, not because people met in hotel rooms or living rooms. It worked because it was FACE-TO-FACE. Web Site Communicator is belly-to-belly marketing for the Internet.

Yes, the Internet continues to evolve. You can grow with it or you can get left behind while your competition takes advantage of new technologies and programs to grow their businesses.

Take a look at what Web Site Communicator can do for your business.

Have a healthy, wealthy day!

Rodney Brace

2-Way Webcam On Your Facebook Profile Page

How many Networking friends do you have on Facebook? Would you like a better way to network with them - LIVE - on your Facebook profile page?

Websites like Twitter and Facebook have become phenomenons, taking on a life of their own. These mediums provide an instant audience unlike other programs on the Internet. These websites are no longer about staying connected with friends and families. While that continues, they have evolved into business networking platforms and very profitable ventures for many. And why not? It's population exceeds that of many countries.

Consider your number of Facebook friends and Twitter followers. How many of them do you know or have had the priviledge of speaking to? Recently I read one "friend's" Facebook wall post as saying, "I have 4,997 friends but only about 20 I can call up and chat with." hmmm... maybe Facebook should add a category called Prospects and allow us to move them from this column into our Friend's column when we feel we can truly call them friends. I'll leave that idea for another topic.

I think the days for buying leads for your business or buying traffic to your website will be going the way of the dinasaur. Mediums like Twitter and Facebook give you a live audience of prospects and often it just costs you your time. Sound like a "no brainer" to you?

So, let's get back to the number of "networking" friends you have on Facebook. After all, if they are not personal friends then it stands to reason your intent is to network with them for business and profitable reasons, correct? Ok, now that we've established that, what is your plan to network with them? Or, are you simply "winging" it and hoping people will become interested in your status updates, wall posts, video posts and so on. Maybe it's all an effort to create awareness of who you are in hopes it provides credibility for you. This may pave the way for you to start converting your social networking friends into business opportunity prospects or customers for your products. Sounds like a plan.

What if there was a BETTER way. Yes, a better way to network faster with your "social networking friends" and turn them into FRIENDS. It's time FACEBOOK got a facelift.

What makes a leader, a leader? There have been many books written on the subject so I am going to sum up many suggestions and simply say, "they set themselves apart." Now, let me ask you, "what are you doing to set yourself apart from the other 199,999,999 active Facebook users as of April 8, 2009?" Setting yourself apart will define you and create true followers and friends, not just numbers to boast about but, friends to be proud of.

There is something to be said about "old fashion" belly-to-belly marketing. This is where networkers met with prospects in church basements, hotel rooms, living rooms, etc. It was face-to-face marketing and it was definitely effective. The Internet has changed how we network. Now we use automated systems on websites allowing us to reach a larger audience but, it has taken away the face-to-face opportunity, until now.

A couple of years ago I developed a program that lets people stream 2-way webcam video right onto any page. The benefits of this far outweigh any excuse one can come up with so as to NOT take advantage of face-to-face marketing. Even CNN's medical experts and researchers agree. Simply search March's archived blogs on this page and see my report on CNN's medical research by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

On June 22nd we are releasing Web Site Communicator's Facebook App. This is truly going to put your Facebook social networking on steroids. But, it isn't for the faint at heart. It isn't for those who want everything for free. It's for serious networkers who appreciate investing into their business. That too, I believe is a serious quality of a leader.

Depending on the time of day you are reading this blog you may see me streaming LIVE webcam video onto this page. Simply scroll up and look in the column on the right. Not only can you see me but you can connect with me, in private, for a face-to-face chat session (provided you too have a webcam). Imagine adding this option to your Facebook profile page. Don't you think it will change the way you "social network" with all your Facebook friends? Of course it will.

Think about this: it isn' the more people get to know about you that will compel them to want to do business with you. It's the more people get to know you that will compel them to want to do business with you. Read that again to make sure you understand what I just said. Web Site Communicator is the ultimate tool to use so your web site visitor can get to know you as opposed to knowing about you. There is a difference.

For a sneak peak simply go to http://tinyurl.com/dk8cwe

I hope to SEE you on Facebook. Feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook. Simply go to http://www.facebook.com/rodneybrace

You may also follow me on Twitter and I will follow you back: http://twitter.com/rodneybrace

Have a healthy, wealthy networking week.

Rodney Brace

14 Second Countdown... Then What? CLICK!

With only 14 seconds to capture your website visitors' attention what are you doing to keep them on your site long enough to convert them into customers, signups, partners or whatever it is your website is designed to accomplish?

Many people will tell you traffic to your website is crucial to the success of your Internet business. Well, duh! You don't have to be a genious to figure that out and you certainly don't need so called "gurus" insulting your intelligence by preaching this to you. It's just common sense that any business needs traffic. So, let's assume you have traffic coming to your website.

There's lots of places on the Interent to learn about bringing traffic to your site so I am not going to waste time writing about something that many people have written about. What I want to share with you is a simple truth about turning your website visitors into customers (once you have the traffic) using face-to-face old fashion belly-to-belly marketing for the Internet. This is something that hasn't been written about until now. Why not? Well, to be honest, it wasn't possible until I developed my program.

You see, I am a "people-person." I love to mingle with people, get to know them and find out what makes them tick. This helps me understand their needs and provides me a base on which to formulate how I can best help prospective clients/customers. The more you know about your prospect the better a relationship you will forge. Relationship building is crucial for Internet success.

If you take a look to the right column on this page near the top chances are you may see me (depending what time of day) streaming live video from my webcam right onto this blog page. I use a program I developed that allows website visitors to connect with me instantly from any of my websites using two-way LIVE interactive audio and video. This has become the most powerful website relationship building tool I have ever seen.

By adding Web Site Communicator, above the fold of my website, visitors can instantly see that I am LIVE on my site and ready to take their credit card information. Ok, maybe they don't think that way but that is ultimately what it is about, isn't it? Aren't we all online to make money? Letting your visitors know you are open and ready for their business makes you a serious contendor and separates you from your competition. Oh, in case you don't know what I mean by "above the fold," it is simply the area visible without having to scroll down the page. This is the most important peice of real estate for your website.

People love to buy. Web Site Communicator helps them buy from you. Being LIVE on your website captures your website visitors' attention. Now you've given them a reason to stay longer on your website because they can engage you to get questions answered or to find the information they are looking for. So many more possibilities are now reality because visitors can talk to and see the person behind the website. Can you put a price on this? Your visitors may not feel like checking out your competition if they can get instant gratification from you site. We all like to be instantly satisfied, don't we?

Are your curious to learn more? Feel free to attend out next webinar event by clicking the webinar button in the right column. Come along for some free information and let me help people buy from you.

A Shift In Online Customer Relationship Building

Elliot Gold's Electronic TeleSpan
The authoritative source for teleconferencing news and analysis for more than a quarter-century.Taken from March 2, 2009 - Volume 29, Number 9

What if, when people "called" your Web Site, you answered? And, answered with voice, text or videoconferencing? Wouldn't this be the new "PBX"?
by Elliot M. Gold, Publisher.

Behind the scenes, I've been working on a theory that the entire phone and phone network paradigm is about to shift. While most folks have been focusing on single factors like VoIP, I've been looking at the whole landscape. Up unitil this week, I had identified two of the important legs of this paradigm.

(The first two legs have been edited out as they do not relate to Web Site Communicator.)

Last week, I found the third leg of my stool.

"I've been involved in network marketing and online businesses for 10 years, since 1999, before social networks, " said Rodney Brace, Founder of Top Dog Advantage Inc. "When you've got visitors to your web site you expect them to buy something or sign up for something. But it is very impersonal. I began to think about belly-to-belly communications and realized that was what was missing on the Internet."

Rodney fixed this with his own web site. When you go to it today, he "sees" you, and speaks to you. In fact, if you're one of the over 97% of desktops that has Adobe Flash, Rodney or his "operator" not only speaks to you, but appears on your screen from their web cam, and opens a screen to help you find things. If Rodney or the first Operator who greets you isn't the right person to help you, you will be transferred, live, to the person who can help you. Rodney does this with his new product called Web Site Communicator.

"Web Site Communicator allows people to connect with people behind the web site for audio, video or text communication," said Rodney. "It allows the web site owner to build relationships, add that personal communication, that belly-to-belly relationship."

Web Site Communicator, in its basic package, comes with support for three operators, 1) the Master Operator, 2) the Master Operator Assistant, and 3) the Operator. Depending on the web site visitor's needs, and the availability of the Operators, the visitor can be transferred to the correct Operator, who can be located anywhere in the world, connected by the Internet.

Technologically, it's all based on Flash, requires no download for visitors, and doesn't even require that visitors have a webcam. All the visitors have to have are speakers on their computers. If they have a built-in microphone, or have a headset nearby, great. If they happen to have a webcam, like 25% of all Skype users have on during their phone calls, they can have a videoconference, either point-to-point or multipoint, with folks at the company whose web site they called. And yes, the visitor, now caller, can turn off their web cam if they don't want the Operator to see or even hear them.

Top Dog Advantage Inc has Web Site Communicator customers mainly in the United States and Canada but have expanded into Australia, Africa, Tunisia, England, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries.

A pair of its customers are "credit repair" web sites, where visitors are attracted to find materials to help them repair their credit. With Web Site Communicator, visitors quickly find live Operators who, after a few questions, find solutions that their company provides, and that can be purchased by the visitor to repair their credit.

I guess it's "Click, call, solve, swipe," that last sound being that of a credit card going through the web site owner's machine.

Another Web Site Communicator customer is a teaching hospital, which, through TeleSurgies.com in Dubai, lets doctors from around the world watch surgeries being performed live over the Internet. The TeleSurgeries web site has an example you can view. Rodney told me that the TeleSurgeries.com is a more affordable solution to services like the Cisco TelePresence systems.

Another set of Web Site Communicator customers are motivational speakers. In these cases, the speakers have web sites that, when visitors come to learn about them, immediately connect them to live presenters, who hold virtual face-to-face motivational conversations with the web site visitor. One such site is run by an immigrant from Mexico, who, after migrating to the United States, had to painfully teach himself how to speak English, "one word at a time." "He's now using Web Site Communicator to communicate and train spanish speaking people," said Rodney.

Then, there's a pair of radio stations that are using Web Site Communicator via LiveVideoRadio.com for audio and video for their talk shows. They use split screen so others can see the talk show host, along with who's come in from the web site being interviewed by the host or participating as the co-host.

Here's a link to see the Web Site Communicator program being completely demonstrated.

Here's what I think.

This is the third leg (the first two legs have been omitted from this excerpt).

This is the new PBX!

I remember decades ago when I was an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we used Centrex to route our incoming calls. If a caller didn't know an engineer's direct phone number, a live operator picked up the call and transferred them, in voice.

After about a decade, I got moved to an off-site facility, where they had installed one of the first AT&T PBXs, later known as the ATT-IS PBX. (ATT-IS tells you how old I really am!)

While nobody knew how to use the PBX at first, I began learning the features, and soon, I was showing others how to do three-way calls, call forwarding, call waiting, caller-ID, and voicemail.
Takes my breath away, those PBX features.

What I think is that Web Site Communicator has the potential to convert web sites into the new PBX.

Not because it's virtual and caters to VoIP, but because it can handle all forms of inbound and outbound communications - voice, text, video; really, full collaboration - and, more importantly, because folks are now "calling" our web sites more than they're calling our phones.

Don't believe me?

I checked with my webmaster and with the heads of two of the industry's teleconferencing service and hardware suppliers. One told me, "we get about 3,500 visits to our web site each month. While we don't track inbound voice calls, our sales data shows that about half of our serious sales leads come from our web site, the other half through phone calls."

At TeleSpan, our statistics are almost the same.

Then, I checked with another provider of conference calls. They have seen consistent growth, year over year, for the past decade or more. Today, each month they get 230,000 web site visits, and only 1,400 inbound phone calls.

Sure, I've got a tiny sample, and I'm not factoring in e-mail sales requests, or call to sales people's cell phones.

But consider the following facts:
TeleGeography, which tracks international phone calls, recently issued a report called the Telegeography Report -- Executive Summary.

The report has some brilliant facts, such as the fact that switched (TDM / PSTN) phone traffic fell from 73% of global calls in 2007 to 69% in 2008 while VoIP traffic grew from 21% of global calls in 2007 to 23% of global calls in 2008 and Skype calls grew from 6% in 2007to 8% in 2008.

Further, TeleGeography reports that while both mobile subscribers and minutes have been growing annually at rates of 25% to 40% for minutes and about 25% for subscribers, for the past eight years they've tracked it (2001 to 2007), the annual growth rate of TDM (PSTN) traffic fell from growth of about 16% a year to about 5% a year, while the annual growth rate of TDM (PSTN) subscribers fell from about 9% a year to 0% a year.

More important, though, is the fact that the annual growth rate of TDM and VoIP calls have fallen in three of the past four years (2005 - 2008) to growth of about 11% after a decade of annual growth of between 15% and 20%.

Too many numbers to digest?

Digest this: According to the Wall Street Journal, a small hometown newspaper, Internet usage is now growing by 50% a year (WSJ, December 15, 2008, pp. B1, B4).

Have I convinced you that we're about to see a paradigm shift?

-------------------------

Copyright Notice:
2009 by TeleSpan Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. No portion of this interview is permitted to be copied to any other web site. Electronic TeleSpan is published as a bulletin 30 times a year for $377. Visit our web site for information and special features.

Elliot M. Gold, President, TeleSpan Publishing Corp.