Here are some details about the presentation:

Businesses invest millions of dollars each year in sales and marketing personnel. Top sales representatives often earn six figure salaries with business owners thinking nothing of the expense. What if however we told you there was a better way? A better way to reach your customers and prospects and speak to an unlimited number of them at once, all for less than the cost of just one new employee. Too good to be true? This webinar will focus on how to leverage internet technology to prospect better, sell better, and service better than even the most effective sales representative. Who truly is your most important sales representative? If you haven’t answered with “my web site”, then this webinar is something you cannot miss!

Key Takeaways:

• How to leverage various online channels to market your business and generate new customers and prospects
• Turn your web site into a 24/7 salesperson through the implementation of sophisticated marketing strategies
• Outperform your competition by offering intuitive and interactive ways for the public to conduct business with you
• Reduce cost of sales by utilizing new technology and cutting edge marketing techniques to reach customers faster
• Most importantly, learn ways to turn your web site into your most valuable sales representative

Sound like something you’d be interested in?  Please select the link below to register for the event on March 4 at 9am:

Who’s Your Most Important Employee Webinar Registration

Fun Fact: I’ll be emceeing the event!  Hope to see you there!

Click Here for the webinar WMV video file

Click Here for the audio file from the webinar

I’d love to hear how you keep your passwords stored and organized. Please comment below to let me know!

More and more companies and small businesses are choosing to hold Virtual Events rather than the more expensive offline events and conferences. In fact, “Virtual Meetings and Events [will] replace 2.1 million airline seats by 2012” (Gartner, Feb. 2009). 76% of businesses say they have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009, while 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010 and forecast significant growth in virtual conferences and webinars.

Why my interest in virtual events? Part of the interest stems back to my training in college where I majored in Sound Recording Technology. I’ve always had a love of technology and gadgets – but not everyone shares my views. Even with the myriad of easy-to-use-tools for virtual events available, some entrepreneurs and online professionals would rather concentrate on delivering their content, and not worry about the technology. And that is the gap that our Virtual Event Specialist services fill!

I plan to launch a new division of my business called Virtual Events Team in 2010. Here is an example of my work.

Because my buddy, Gloria Bell, is involved in great organizations, I am profiling another one that she serves personally – Making a Progressive Philadelphia – or MAPP – which launched in October of this year. The mission of MAPP is to “fund thoughtful, committed citizens who can positively transform the City of Philadelphia neighborhood by neighborhood through the use of micro-grants.”

As examples, MAPP will give micro-grants to a neighborhood watch group that may need flashlights and whistles – or to a community garden that needs a rain barrel.

MAPP currently has 18 volunteers that help with everything from Community Relations to Social Media to Grant Review – as well as volunteer Explorers who visit neighborhoods to discover committed citizens and groups making a difference. Gloria, who owns Red Stapler Consulting, is on the team handling social media strategy and outreach for MAPP.

Want to help? MAPP is looking for corporate as well as individual donations to help fund grants. You can donate or volunteer by visiting the MAPP website.

I would love your feedback.

a sample post on ShareUrMeal.com

The WilsonVA Blog will profile an organization doing good works each month.  If you know a organization doing good works that you’d like me to profile, please contact me at Carla@WilsonVA.com.  This month we feature ShareUrMeal.com.

If you consider yourself a foodie and use Twitter, you’ve probably seen the hashtags (#foodporn, #sexonaplate) and photos of food.  Foodies love food and are not afraid to show it – especially on social networks.  One local non-profit took what we foodies were already doing – posting photos and commenting on food – just one step further to help those in need.

I’m speaking about ShareUrMeal.com, which launched in October 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.  I spoke with Gloria Bell, one of ShareUrMeal’s 15 volunteers, about the organization because I wanted to bring awareness to the good works of their organization.

Here’s how ShareUrMeal works – and how you can help them help the hungry.  Take a photo of a dining experience with your digital camera or phone.  Email the photo to post@shareurmeal.com.  For every picture posted, $1 or unit of food is donated to the hungry in the metro Philly region.

ShareUrMeal’s organizers, headed by Devon Segel, partnered with local corporations and the United Way to make it all happen.  ShareUrMeal coordinates the movement, and the United Way coordinates distribution to local food pantries and organizations for the hungry.

Although based solely in the Philadelphia region, ShareUrMeal hopes to expand this movement to other cities.  I asked Gloria if there was a goal for the number of posts, or amount of money they wanted to raise.  She replied, “We intentionally did not make a public goal – and we don’t want to make an effort to start creating goals.  Feeding the hungry is an ongoing problem, so we want ShareUrMeal to be an ongoing effort.”

Gloria volunteers with ShareUrMeal.com because, “…for every minute we donate, it’s helping someone else.”

Want to help ShareUrMeal, too?  You can post pictures of your dining experiences on ShareUrMeal.com.  Simply email your photo to post@shareurmeal.com to post anonymously or create your own profile page (like I did) and post there.  If you want to help ShareUrMeal.com with donations, you can find more information on their website.

Please leave me a comment below and let me know your feedback!

Shortly, I will be able to announce that I have earned my Virtual Event Specialist certification through VAClassroom. I want to help entrepreneurs implement the use of multimedia in their marketing efforts, and felt a live stream video was one method of demonstrating the ease of use.

Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.