Brad Slavin » Business Resources

Google Announces +1

Brad Slavin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 05:39:08 +0000

I wrote last time about Google Offers and today they have finally released it to the public. Floyd’s Coffee Shop in Portland is the first official Google offers location. As I was writing this the number of remaining went down from 425 to 395 in about 20 minutes…so congratulations to both of you.

Now I wanted to give you a few more updates from the big brains at Google that happened in May 2011. On the heels of Google Offers, Google has just announced another service called Google Wallet. This is their take on the next generation of smart phones with contactless smart card technology (sort of like the old Mobil gas station speed pass) that will make.

Basically you will wave your phone over an in store credit card reader and without using your credit card, you can make a credit card purchase. While Google is not the first to have this technology, they are the first to link it all together. They are linking payments with coupons and offers, online and offline redemption and location based promotions. These major retailers have already signed on to the service.

Not only will you be able to pay for your purchase but MOST importantly coupons and other special offers will be displayed on your phone and you will earn points for making purchases at Google affiliated retailers. Think about it, coupons and special offers based on your cell phone location linked to Google Places, and Google Offers. Who knows, maybe they will send you a coupon to Starbucks just before you step into your local coffee shops. In this play, the options are limitless and they have extended the coupon seamlessly from the computer to the phone.

They have also announced a line of laptops that are cloud based and you basically pay for them on a monthly basis called Chromebooks. Pricing will be about $28 per user for business and $20 per user for educational institutions per month.

There is another brand spanking new Google Service…. it is called Google +1 (pronouced as Plus One). It will be very similar to the Facebook Like button but instead up voting on Facebook you will be interacting with Google +1 everywhere on the web and it will keep track of your votes and display them to your friends. Getting started with the service as a website owner will be easy – you will simply insert some small code into your website and once installed people will be able to give you site an upvote or a “+1″ Think of it like a verb – I just +1′d that site or that product.

Google is positioning +1 as a recommendation system, where you can give you stamp of approval or up vote for a website. This information will be shared with your other friends to help make it easier for them to find relevant info on the search engine. Think of it as a way to share a tip or suggestion, rather than sending an email or a link to the product, service page. It is your annotation that your friends can use to see your input on a certain link.

Pretty soon you will be able to +1 everything from Coffee Makers, to attorneys, to restaurant links and even other websites in the search results. And once it is officially launched you will be able to go to the Google +1 Webmaster Central interface and get a +1 button for your site.

One of the prerequisites to using the new +1 service will be a public Google profile, you can claim yours at https://profiles.google.com/and this is where my interpretation comes in.

If Google is really trying to take some of the thunder from Facebook by suggesting that users +1 rather than clicking the like button then build a social network already…don’t just provide the features of a social networking site like chat (google chat), Photo Sharing (picassa), email (gmail), your contacts (google Contacts) get off your butts and actually build a competitive social networking site.

Locella – Frank Kern, Jordan Belfort – What Happened Here?

Brad Slavin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:15:17 +0000

Did the marketing brilliance of Frank Kern and the sales mastery of Jordan Belfort strike out with their joint venture Locella.com?

One of the best parts of living in San Diego other than the weather which goes without saying is the HUGE and very viable Internet marketing community that thrives in the Southern California climate. For those of you who are not familiar with the ranks of the Internet marketing elite in San Diego we have Mike Koenig (personal hero) from Traffic Geyser and his new social media marketing machine , Frank Kern, Trey Smith, and not sure where Jason Moffatt is these days but San Diego was his home. These and others understand that the San Diego lifestyle works perfectly for our Internet marketing business – the benefit of living close to these guys is the ability to go to the events and to network with other people who are are at the top of their game….that was a long ramble but anyways living in SD also gave me the opportunity to walk by the Locella building on my way to the bank.

Full disclosure here – I’ve been a big fan of Frank Kern for a number of years I went through his Mass Control, Mass Control 2.0, and List Control with my Four Hour Work Week Meetup group. My girlfriend thinks that given the chance I would name my first born child male or female to – “Frank Kern”.

At the List Control event I was introduced to Jordan Belford, the “Wolf of Wall Street”. This guy was absolutely amazing his presentation style, commanded the stage and his ability to convince people to move in a certain direction really inspired me. Two words – absolutely brilliant. Jeff and I have changed our business because of what we have learned from him. Authentic excellence.

Needless to say there was an opportunity to sign up for coaching with Belfort and I snapped that up in a heartbeat and I subsequently attended live event in Los Angeles. But I digress, one of the things that I learned at List Control was that Jordan, Frank and Trey were forming a local Internet marketing company Locella.

What a blow to the kidneys that was…to hear that the top guys in the Internet marketing space were now going to be competing with me directly, ouch. I checked out their website and through some competitive intelligence discovered that they were going to be providing Pay-Per-Click management and basic SEO to plumbers and auto repair body shops.

I even called the office and got pitched on their program. Initially I panicked about having an Internet g-ds like Frank Kern and sales guru Jordan Belford not only in my physical backyard but also directly compete with me my industry. Heck I was so scared of Locella that I ran my own SEO campaign to outrank locella for the words “locella internet marketing” and I when I last checked I was number two right below their BBB listing. No joke I was scared of what was to come.

Frank Kern is a role model for me and THE (I mean THE reason that I am in Internet maketing today) and when he entered into my space and was going to be competing directly against the local business I asked myself if it was time to reconsider my approach that had been working so well for local business marketing? (thank you Mike Koenig for that little bid of inspiration) Was it time to move onto something less competitive? Well that though lasted all of 30 seconds

Do you know what it is like to see legends enter into your niche with more firepower and brainpower – it is the stuff of nightmares. But the reality is that past success does not ensure future success…

The Locella offices are just down the street from my bank so I started to walk by their offices and do some strategic investigations which led to some online research and I figured out what I needed to do to get pitched by one of their salespeople and using what I learned from NLP and Jordan I deconstructed the sales pitch “they were using the straight-line” in an effort to figure out precisely what they were offering. I never got to the quote stage but from what I heard and the 10 page sales letter that I read some things just did not add up for me.

At the core it seemed like installing a

wordpress website for a client,
with a tracking phone number and
point some PPC traffic to the site for lead generation.

Seems pretty simple but I think that their price point was about $800 and I am not quite sure how much was going to the PPC budget and how much was directed towards the company but I figured that at the price of those clicks there was going to be fulfillment problem – someone was going to get screwed here. There did not seem to be enough margin to create a sustainable business and way to much client interactions for Frank and Trey to worry about. I think there was a dream of future valuations for the business – but honestly I did not see why it was worth their and Jordan’s time.

My assumption was that Jordan trained the team and that Frank and Trey were the Internet lead gen brains behind the operation. This part is speculation but I figured that they might have had the service fulfilled with a national brand like ReachLocal but at 30% of the PPC spend going to ReachLocal there was really no margin for Locella to be in the business and for the CLIENTS TO GET WHAT THEY WERE PAYING FOR. Was there integrity in this model to begin with? Sure you have a great sales engine but who the heck was going to fulfill it…

So when my business partner Jeff and I did the math on what it would take to appropriately manage somebody’s PPC spend and knowing how much PPC costs in the plumbing space is on a PPC basis – it seems to us that either they were charging too little for the service, they were not delivering on what they promised or they were doing some other lead generation techniques other than just pure PPC because there is NO way to get a high volume of PPC leads for a plumber and make enough profit by charging $800-$1700 a month all inclusive for PPC bid management and Internet marketing….even with a 30% conversion rate on clicks to calls – just no way!

So Jeff and I went on our merry way and just assumed that we had a well financed competitor with more sales peoples, and more cache then we would ever have and we got down to minding our own business.

Fast forward 5 months and a few weeks ago I went to La Jolla and walked by the Locella offices to see how they had grown and to my surprise they had moved out! I mean this place was stripped bare…I then went to locella.com and instead of a full blown website it was just their logo and a contact us telephone number. Called the number and it looks like the businesses shut down completely – it was a typical “please leave a message and we will call you right back” message but something just did not feel right.

I am not quite sure what’s happening but I’ve also noticed that Frank has picked up his pace he is offering consulting services at FrankKernSuccess.com and it looks like Jordan is in South Africa and Australia continuing to do what they’re doing so I am not sure what is going on.

I sent Jordan an email on facebook asking about Locella but from the outside it looks like the Jordan Belfort – Frank Kern – Trey Smith Internet marketing machine known as Locella has crumbled to the ground.

The major lesson that I learned here is trust your gut and worry about keeping your clients happy and not spending time copying your competitors – because they don’t always get it right.

Standing Desk Experiment

Brad Slavin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:34:19 +0000

Using a standing desk to supercharge your life. You may not be familiar with the concept of a standing desk, but they have been around for hundreds of years. Some of the greatest thinkers of our time have expounded their benefits. After hearing Eben Pagan talk about his standing desk I had to give it a try.

My standing desk design is a modification of the Amazon.com door desk concept but with longer legs! Attached is a video outlining the benefits of a standing desk and some pictures of the construction, ergonomics and the configuration of a standing desk.

We now use these exclusively at the office and they have been a huge boost to productivity and to mental clarity.

[FLOWPLAYER=http://wh-streaming.s3.amazonaws.com/door_desk.flv,500,425]

I hope you find this helpful.

No related posts.

Linkedin – It’s Like a Network in the Dessert…

Brad Slavin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:45:04 +0000

A while ago I posted about linkedin, and I just saw this video today.

It pretty much sums up how most people feel about the site. It has gotten to be a wasteland of connections with almost everyone looking for a free handout or recommendation.

Microsoft Store Video Front Page on Engadget

Brad Slavin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:02:47 +0000

I woke up this morning and my cell phone was vibrating, I thought that it was a server that had gone down and these were the inbound emails…but alas it was just the deluge of emails from Youtube about my Microsoft Store video.

Link back to the Engadget posting – http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/microsoft-store-employees-break-out-in-dance-video/

Well back to the grind, feel free to poke around.
I just hope that Microsoft has a sense of humor. Some of those comments are scathing.

Initial Meeting Confirmation Email

Brad Slavin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:41:33 +0000

sales training San Diego

(Name:)

Thank you for your time on the phone today.

To confirm, we are meeting on (day of week), (day) at (time) for (minutes).

The purpose of the meeting it (state concisely the purpose of the meeting).

I would like to accomplish the following objectives:

At the end of the meeting we should have exchanged enough information to be able to determine if it makes sense for us to continue our dialogue, and, if so, to decide what are next step should be. If it is apparent that there is not a fit, we can close the file.

If these objectives are not consistent with your expectations, please let me know.

I look forward to seeing you on (date and time)

This simple format for writing a followup email for a meeting will go along way in establishing trust and credibility with your clients.

Local Bank Win Out Over Mega Banks in San Diego

Brad Slavin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:01:47 +0000

The Background Story – My Quest for a local bank in San Diego

About a year ago I opened an additional business account at Regents Bank in San Diego after checking with the bigger national banks in town. I spent about two weeks talking to a number of reps at the big box banks and they all had amazing features, online everything, account access anywhere, free this, free that and for a while I was tempted to just move my business to them. There was a guy at Wells Fargo that had me convinced that joining their institution would be the perfect fit for my business and that if I ever needed anything, a car loan, a business loan, a credit card, a merchant account, heck even a toaster…that Wells would take care of me.

I signed the paperwork and then called Jeffrey Wilber at Regents bank. I have known Jeff for about 5 years now, he sees me when I come into the bank every few weeks and we have had lunch a few times. I only had one question for him, really I was about to switch banks and I asked him, why I should stay with their small local bank.

His answer, the commitment that Regents Bank has not only to their customers but also to their employees. The people at the bank had been there a long time, they know the business and more importantly they know their customers. I thought about the glitz and glamour at Wells and I called the rep and asked him how long has been with the bank and what is goals were. He said about 11 months and he hoped to move to their private banking side, he told me that there would always be someone to take care of my account and not to worry there would be someone to take his place.

I called Jeff, and opened my additional account at Regents Bank and have been really happy ever since.

Fast Forward to 8:23am today. I get a phone call from the Regents Bank Fraud department to tell me that there was suspected fraudulent transactions on the account. A number of gasoline purchases were made in the past few hours in Iowa. I said, that the card was in my wallet and that these were not my charges. He said that he would close the account and I should go to the local Regents Bank office in La Jolla and get a new card.

Bank opened and I was in the door within just a few minutes. Behind the desk was a woman that I had never met before but I said “I am here because the fraud department called!” and her response was “Oh, you must be Brad from WebHEAT. Someone else is dealing with this but we all communicate and we were expecting you.” WOW. Did you hear that!? I am not the person responsible, but we all communicate and I will get you taken care of! I had NEVER met her. AMAZING.

They handled the issue is just a few minutes. And I was back to my day.

So to my FRIENDS at Regents Bank, Dan Yates, Jessica, Ryan, Cecilia, Ken, Jeff and the rest of the team that I have never even met. Thank you for operating a real community bank that really cares about each member!

Dan Kennedy Information Marketing

Brad Slavin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:03:41 +0000

Just got off of conference call with Dan Kennedy where he discussed his A to Z marketing strategy and his info summit. Just like most info marketers he gave some real information, held back some of the finer points and then introduced his product.

For those of you who missed the call here is the Dan Kennedy formula for creating a successful info product.

ap + ql + mf + rr + ci + wn = Big $

Seems simple right?

Well this is what it meansQuality Product + Quality Lead + Marketing Funnel + Risk Reversal + Continuity Income + Whats Next = Big $

Quality Product – This one speaks for itself, don’t try to make money online with a substandard product. Make sure you have integrity and that your product is of the highest possible standard.

Quality Lead – There are people out there willing to buy a quality product, you just have to know what niche you are filling and advertise directly to them.

Marketing Funnel - Have some sort of automated system that directly markets to you people on your lists. This is something that you should setup the pipeline and let the software take over the dripping to your prospects.

Risk Reversal – Remove risk completely from the transaction. Give money back guarantees, the benefits will far outweigh the costs of returns. You will get more people who buy because of your guarantee than those who will return the product. Make this promise, IRON CLAD.

Continuity Income – Something, like a membership site, a paid newsletter – that keeps the customer paying month after month for the information that they are recieving from you. (THIS IS A BIGGIE)

Whats Next – Keep the prospects fully informed about what else they can buy from you, what else they can expect.

BIG $ – If you have to ask, you don’t need to know.

The Tough Enonomy is Invading the Schools

Brad Slavin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:29:53 +0000

Lisa gave me the most amazing birthday present ever she enrolled me in Machine Shop Basics for some personal development. I have always wanted to learn how to run a lathe and a mill, I love the feel of metal, the clean lines and the glimmer of stainless steel.

SO I get there today and there are 90 people crowding around a small classroom listening to the instructor talk about the vocational training that City College offers. She spoke about Electronics Assembly, Electronic Testing and Machine Shop. She mentioned that this was the largest group that she had ever seen in her years of working for the district and that spaces were limited.

She asked for a show of hands on how many people were planning on the machine shop class and about 30 people put their hands up. Now this was really the most motley crew you have ever seen, people of ever age and every walk of like united by the one reality – that they needed a skill to get a job. Man, there were people there with some hard luck stories, people who needed bus tokens to get to school and subsidized textbooks.

The instructor said that there were only 12 open spots for the class and that there was just no way for everyone to get in. They decided to hold a lottery and 1/3 people would be accepted. This is when I walked to the front of the class, let her know that I was not going to take the course – I wanted someone to take it to build a better life rather than me who wants to build door nobs!

She was really appreciative – but man….I have really not seen just how hard people have been hit by this economy – until today.

Is Hummingbird the Twitter automation tool worth the money?

Brad Slavin — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:15:56 +0000

Hummingbird claims to be the software that the “Twitter Elite” don’t want you to know about. The developers claim that by using Hummingbird software you can automate to the building of a huge twitter following in a matter of weeks rather than months or years. I am a skeptic, I have always been the person that wants’ know “what’s the catch” or if something is to good to be true it probably is. Skeptical not cynical

So I plunked down some hard earned cash on April 20th of 2009 and decided to give it three weeks. Today is March 8 and I feel that I am in a pretty good position to be able to give this review. So that’s 19 days of owning the software, probably 15 days of using it, and I am SHOCKED at how well it works.

Here is the background information:

1. I created a brand new twitter account on the 20th of April. I added a picture to the account and I had ZERO followers at that point. Here is a copy of the email receipt to show when I got the software.

2. I searched the Internet for some relevant links in the niche that I was interested in and then copied the URLs into a text file on my desktop making some notes to what the web page was about.

It looked like this:

Short Sales:
My tweet, and then the url that I found:

How to do a short sale – http://www.ehow.com/how_8132_short-sale.html

Snag a great deal on a short sale http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/real_estate/short_sale.moneymag/index.htm

How to exit your property with a short sales http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2007/03/the_new_exit_st.html

I created about 40 links like this by searching google for “short sale 2009”

3. I posted about 10 of these links into my newly created twitter account while inside the Hummingbird interface just so that I had some content for people to read when they checked out my profile.

4. I used hummingbirds built in twitter following tool to find followers and I picked a keyword that I wanted to follow. I found a user talking about short sales and they had about 3500 followers. I clicked on their profile, and then on the list of their followers and when the list of their followers came up I pressed the button in Hummingbird to auto-follow the users in the list.

5. I then started posting every 5 or 10 minutes one or two of the remaining links that until I had posted about 30 total links including the original ten before I turned on Hummingbird.

6. At this point I was about three hours into the process and I had followed nearly 1000 people. I manually stopped Hummingbird because I did not want go get the account banned on the first night for following to may people. This was just too easy.

7. I had about 40 people following me within four hours. I then went back to step number 2, rebuild my tweets for the next day and went to sleep.

8. When I woke up I had 327 people following me! This was in less than 8 hours! I kept posting links throughout the day.

9. On day two all I did was post links and kept following the rest of the people in the account from that I was originally following. I got up to about 1100 people that I was following and about 36 updates. At the end of day two I had 331 unique twitter followers all found and auto followed with Hummingbird.

11. At about 8pm on day two, I started my first mass unfollow. And the next morning my numbers were even at about 331 followers and 381 following.

10. Day three I just posted about 20 new links found the same way as step 2.

12. I then started the process over again. Basically wash, rinse, repeat. I have done this three times in since I started using the software and as of today May 8, 2009 I have 1,627 followers and I am following 2,001 total twitter users and everything was automated with Hummingbird.

13. In Summary:

Start a twitter account
BUY HUMMINGBIRD – $197 is cheap!
Search Google for relevant content
Post 10-20 updates per day
Use hummingbird to find a person with lots of followers in your niche follow their followers
Wait 24-36 hours and unfollow the people that are not following you
Post 10-20 new tweets a day
Repeat.

*** I will tell you that the first 200 followers are the most difficult, actually maybe the first 40 are the toughest, people don’t want to be the first to follow a new user but one I got to about 40 twitter followers the Hummingbird really helped me to kick it into over-drive. ***

Results on Day 11

This software is amazing! I would most certainly recommend Hummingbird if you want to automatically build a twitter following. It is a great twitter manager software that automates the tiring tasks!

Results on Day 15.