If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

• Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
  
  
• Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
  
  
• Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in compl
  Electronic Optical Sensors for Truck Wash Robotics Considered
  There is a huge problem in the truck washing industry right now and that is the labor shortage. Truck washes cannot afford to hire illegal aliens because they might be caught and shut down. And truck drivers tend to not like illegal aliens because they are upset that Mexican truck drivers are taking their business away and costing truckers their jobs, therefore will immediately turn them in.Nevertheless the real truth is that there is a shortage of 185,000 truck drivers expected by the end of 2008. The labor shortage in the United States for quality labor to work in truck washes is also very hard to get considering the unemployment rate currently in the United States of America is only 4.7%. Therefore is necessary for robotic truck washes to do the work rather than human beings.Robotics is the answer to the unemployment issue, however the robotics currently in the industry are unable to clean the truck more than about 90%, the last 10% needs to be done by humans because someo
  Delivering speeches, seminars, and webinars (online seminars) is a terrific way to generate large quantities of quality sales leads. Why is public speaking such an effective lead-generating vehicle? Here are a few reasons:
  • Speaking allows you to deliver your message to multiple potential prospects at once
    

    
    

  • A well-constructed speech, seminar, or webinar can establish you as an expert in your field and increase your credibility with prospects
    

    
    

  • Every speech has the potential to reach far beyond the original audience. If you deliver a compelling message, there is no telling how many times it will be repeated to others by your audience members.
  What should you speak about?

  Look for topics that are of particular interest to your target prospects. You can offer new approaches for solving especially troubling business problems. You can educate your prospects on compelling new technologies, or other concepts that will help them professionally or personally. You can discuss real-life case studies and share stories about how you (or your company) helped specific customers improve their businesses. Whatever topic you choose must relevant and important to your target audience.

  How should you construct your speech?

  Constructing an effective lead-generating speech requires walking a fine line. You want to provide your audience with truly valuable information. However, you also want to motivate them to contact you for additional information. As a result, you have to make sure you don't provide so much information that your audience can solve their problems all by themselves.

  This is not a big issue if you are speaking to generate leads for a product, as the audience members will likely need to purchase the product to completely solve the problems you discuss. Where giving away too much information becomes a real issue is when you sell services. If you share all of your knowledge about how to solve specific problems, why will your audience members need to come back to you?

  To avoid this undesirable outcome, follow these seven steps to constructing an effective lead-generating speech:

  1. Open with an "attention grabber". This can be a truly startling fact or an emotionally compelling story that relates to one or more of the key points that you will address in your speech.
     

     
     

  2. Give the audience a brief outline of the key points you will be covering in your speech.
     

     
     

  3. Describe the problem or problems your speech is intended to help your audience solve.
     

     
     

  4. Describe the impact of each problem as graphically as you can. Engage your audience’s emotions by asking them to describe how a problem has affected them personally or professionally. Another alternative is for you to tell compelling, real-life “problem impact” stories that describe how (current and past) customers were affected by specific problems.
     

     
     

  5. Relieve the tension you have built up in the audience by letting them know the problems can be solved. However, DON'T tell them EVERYTHING they need to know to solve them! Provide a brief outline of the solution. That way the audience will need to come to you for more details.
     

     
     

  6. Use glowing word pictures to help the audience visualize how wonderful their lives will be when the problems have been eliminated.
     

     
     

  7. Close by revisiting the key points from your presentation and giving the audience a "call to action".
  IMPORTANT NOTE: Be very careful about selling from the stage. Audiences become disenchanted very quickly if they feel a speech is nothing more than a thinly disguised sales pitch. You must deliver truly valuable insights and information to your audiences to reward them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend your speeches.

  What "call to action" should you deliver at the end of your speech?

  It is perfectly appropriate to include a gentle "call to action" at the end of your speech. Consider closing with a statement such as:

  "If you would like to explore the possibility of applying the concepts that were discussed during today's presentation in your company, please give me your business card before you leave."

  Here are some other effective calls to action:

  • Include a "please contact me" checkbox on a presentation evaluation form that you give to each audience member.
    
    
  • Give them a form they can use to request a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter.
    
    
  • Invite the audience to visit your company's website to download a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter. NOTE: Make sure you require them to provide their name and e-mail address in order to receive the free value-added information!
  How should you prepare for your speech?

  Preparing for seminars and speeches is a lot of work. Here are some of the key steps:

  • Prepare your presentation materials, write scripts, and practice them to the point where you can deliver your presentation smoothly and convincingly without having to rely on your notes too much. If you don't have much speaking experience, you may want to join a local Toastmasters chapter. They do a good job of teaching platform and presentation skills.
    

    
    

  • Secure a facility for your speech and make arrangements for any necessary audio/visual equipment.
    
    
  • If you are going to serve refreshments, make arrangements for the refreshments.
    
    
  • Develop and implement a plan for attracting an audience. This might include sending direct mail or e-mails, making phone calls, and contacting trade, professional and social associations and organizations.
  What can you do to maximize your return on investment?

  If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

  • Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
    
    
  • Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
    
    
  • Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in comple
    Realtor's Guide to Lead Management
    You’ve done your homework, invested in software, worked hard and now you have what you were after…leads—and plenty of them. But now what? You are so busy showing properties, getting feedback, and going to closings. And as your day-to-day tasks as a realtor begin to overwhelm you, your leads just sit in your database. You try to make contact with the prospects here and there but nothing is done with consistency. You even spend money on marketing postcards, but there really isn’t much of a response. You feel hopeless.Don’t worry, you are not alone. Did you know it takes on average 7 contacts with a prospect before you make a sale? A lot of realtors never achieve that number. Why? To put it simply—lack of time.There are two ways to solve the problem of a nonexistent lead management system. One—come up with a detailed plan of contact or two—enlist a real estate virtual assistant to manage your database for you.If you go for the first option, you have to be specific
    ructing an effective lead-generating speech requires walking a fine line. You want to provide your audience with truly valuable information. However, you also want to motivate them to contact you for additional information. As a result, you have to make sure you don't provide so much information that your audience can solve their problems all by themselves.

    This is not a big issue if you are speaking to generate leads for a product, as the audience members will likely need to purchase the product to completely solve the problems you discuss. Where giving away too much information becomes a real issue is when you sell services. If you share all of your knowledge about how to solve specific problems, why will your audience members need to come back to you?

    To avoid this undesirable outcome, follow these seven steps to constructing an effective lead-generating speech:

    1. Open with an "attention grabber". This can be a truly startling fact or an emotionally compelling story that relates to one or more of the key points that you will address in your speech.
       

       
       

    2. Give the audience a brief outline of the key points you will be covering in your speech.
       

       
       

    3. Describe the problem or problems your speech is intended to help your audience solve.
       

       
       

    4. Describe the impact of each problem as graphically as you can. Engage your audience’s emotions by asking them to describe how a problem has affected them personally or professionally. Another alternative is for you to tell compelling, real-life “problem impact” stories that describe how (current and past) customers were affected by specific problems.
       

       
       

    5. Relieve the tension you have built up in the audience by letting them know the problems can be solved. However, DON'T tell them EVERYTHING they need to know to solve them! Provide a brief outline of the solution. That way the audience will need to come to you for more details.
       

       
       

    6. Use glowing word pictures to help the audience visualize how wonderful their lives will be when the problems have been eliminated.
       

       
       

    7. Close by revisiting the key points from your presentation and giving the audience a "call to action".
    IMPORTANT NOTE: Be very careful about selling from the stage. Audiences become disenchanted very quickly if they feel a speech is nothing more than a thinly disguised sales pitch. You must deliver truly valuable insights and information to your audiences to reward them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend your speeches.

    What "call to action" should you deliver at the end of your speech?

    It is perfectly appropriate to include a gentle "call to action" at the end of your speech. Consider closing with a statement such as:

    "If you would like to explore the possibility of applying the concepts that were discussed during today's presentation in your company, please give me your business card before you leave."

    Here are some other effective calls to action:

    • Include a "please contact me" checkbox on a presentation evaluation form that you give to each audience member.
      
      
    • Give them a form they can use to request a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter.
      
      
    • Invite the audience to visit your company's website to download a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter. NOTE: Make sure you require them to provide their name and e-mail address in order to receive the free value-added information!
    How should you prepare for your speech?

    Preparing for seminars and speeches is a lot of work. Here are some of the key steps:

    • Prepare your presentation materials, write scripts, and practice them to the point where you can deliver your presentation smoothly and convincingly without having to rely on your notes too much. If you don't have much speaking experience, you may want to join a local Toastmasters chapter. They do a good job of teaching platform and presentation skills.
      

      
      

    • Secure a facility for your speech and make arrangements for any necessary audio/visual equipment.
      
      
    • If you are going to serve refreshments, make arrangements for the refreshments.
      
      
    • Develop and implement a plan for attracting an audience. This might include sending direct mail or e-mails, making phone calls, and contacting trade, professional and social associations and organizations.
    What can you do to maximize your return on investment?

    If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

    • Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
      
      
    • Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
      
      
    • Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in compl
      Answering the Phone: It's Just Good Manners
      The following is a true story. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.This week I called a well-known chain store (I’ll call it “Bargain World" for the remainder of this article) to inquire about getting a credit card for my business. This is the gist of the phone conversation that I experienced.Ring, ring. “ghkasdruasdfmklpdrlkmewemriopsdflkj- Bargain World." (This is the first contact with the company, and I couldn’t even understand anything she said until she said the name of the company. By the way, she sounded disgusted with her job and with me for bothering her.)Me: “I would like to speak with someone about getting a business credit card."Music. (Notice she didn’t say “I’ll transfer you," or “Hold a moment please," or anything else. She just abruptly placed me on hold.)BW: “Customer service."Me: “I would like to speak with someone about getting a business credit card."BW: “I’ll transfer you to Lay Away." (What does Lay Away have to
      ed to help your audience solve.
      

      
      

    • Describe the impact of each problem as graphically as you can. Engage your audience’s emotions by asking them to describe how a problem has affected them personally or professionally. Another alternative is for you to tell compelling, real-life “problem impact” stories that describe how (current and past) customers were affected by specific problems.
      

      
      

    • Relieve the tension you have built up in the audience by letting them know the problems can be solved. However, DON'T tell them EVERYTHING they need to know to solve them! Provide a brief outline of the solution. That way the audience will need to come to you for more details.
      

      
      

    • Use glowing word pictures to help the audience visualize how wonderful their lives will be when the problems have been eliminated.
      

      
      

    • Close by revisiting the key points from your presentation and giving the audience a "call to action".
    IMPORTANT NOTE: Be very careful about selling from the stage. Audiences become disenchanted very quickly if they feel a speech is nothing more than a thinly disguised sales pitch. You must deliver truly valuable insights and information to your audiences to reward them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend your speeches.

    What "call to action" should you deliver at the end of your speech?

    It is perfectly appropriate to include a gentle "call to action" at the end of your speech. Consider closing with a statement such as:

    "If you would like to explore the possibility of applying the concepts that were discussed during today's presentation in your company, please give me your business card before you leave."

    Here are some other effective calls to action:

    • Include a "please contact me" checkbox on a presentation evaluation form that you give to each audience member.
      
      
    • Give them a form they can use to request a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter.
      
      
    • Invite the audience to visit your company's website to download a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter. NOTE: Make sure you require them to provide their name and e-mail address in order to receive the free value-added information!
    How should you prepare for your speech?

    Preparing for seminars and speeches is a lot of work. Here are some of the key steps:

    • Prepare your presentation materials, write scripts, and practice them to the point where you can deliver your presentation smoothly and convincingly without having to rely on your notes too much. If you don't have much speaking experience, you may want to join a local Toastmasters chapter. They do a good job of teaching platform and presentation skills.
      

      
      

    • Secure a facility for your speech and make arrangements for any necessary audio/visual equipment.
      
      
    • If you are going to serve refreshments, make arrangements for the refreshments.
      
      
    • Develop and implement a plan for attracting an audience. This might include sending direct mail or e-mails, making phone calls, and contacting trade, professional and social associations and organizations.
    What can you do to maximize your return on investment?

    If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

    • Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
      
      
    • Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
      
      
    • Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in compl
      The Lucrative Oil Rig Career Path
      Oil Rig Jobs range from Offshore Oil Rig Jobs in Australia to Oil Rig Jobs in Alberta to Oil Rig Jobs in Texas. Below we examine the main oil rigs jobs available to those interested in working in the oil and gas industry.Leasehand oil rig positions are entry-level. The position exists to help inexperienced individuals become familiar with the activities around an oil rig. Individuals beginning as Leasehands can move up to the position of Floorhand within a short period of time depending on their ability and availability of other positions at the oil rig site.Leasehands perform various duties around the oil rig. They may be required to load and unload trucks, build fences, dig ditches, and assist other crew members with maintenance and pre-job preparedness. Leasehands are also responsible for housekeeping on the rig and often do extensive go-for driving on remote winter roads.Floorhands on oil rigs spend a lot of time working on the oil rig floor. There are usually two flo
      them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend your speeches.

      What "call to action" should you deliver at the end of your speech?

      It is perfectly appropriate to include a gentle "call to action" at the end of your speech. Consider closing with a statement such as:

      "If you would like to explore the possibility of applying the concepts that were discussed during today's presentation in your company, please give me your business card before you leave."

      Here are some other effective calls to action:

      • Include a "please contact me" checkbox on a presentation evaluation form that you give to each audience member.
        
        
      • Give them a form they can use to request a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter.
        
        
      • Invite the audience to visit your company's website to download a free special report and/or subscribe to a free newsletter. NOTE: Make sure you require them to provide their name and e-mail address in order to receive the free value-added information!
      How should you prepare for your speech?

      Preparing for seminars and speeches is a lot of work. Here are some of the key steps:

      • Prepare your presentation materials, write scripts, and practice them to the point where you can deliver your presentation smoothly and convincingly without having to rely on your notes too much. If you don't have much speaking experience, you may want to join a local Toastmasters chapter. They do a good job of teaching platform and presentation skills.
        

        
        

      • Secure a facility for your speech and make arrangements for any necessary audio/visual equipment.
        
        
      • If you are going to serve refreshments, make arrangements for the refreshments.
        
        
      • Develop and implement a plan for attracting an audience. This might include sending direct mail or e-mails, making phone calls, and contacting trade, professional and social associations and organizations.
      What can you do to maximize your return on investment?

      If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

      • Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
        
        
      • Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
        
        
      • Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in compl
        Essential Information About a Career in Banking
        Careers in banking and related fields are hot careers today, but before you decide on your career path, you may want to learn a bit more about the banking field and what it has to offer you. This particular field offers a great deal of diversity and is well paid as well, but the field is not for everyone. Read on to find out the essential information about careers in banking and decide whether or not a career in banking is the right choice for you. Career Choices in the Banking IndustryWhile you may only think of bank tellers when you think of the banking industry, there are actually a variety of different career choices available within the banking world. Of course, probably the most obvious is the bank teller, who deals with cash and customers. You may also want to consider a career as a customer service representative or a new accounts clerk in a bank as well, which involves opening and closing accounts, answering customer questions, and dealing with any customer concerns.Ano
        r presentation smoothly and convincingly without having to rely on your notes too much. If you don't have much speaking experience, you may want to join a local Toastmasters chapter. They do a good job of teaching platform and presentation skills.
        

        
        

      • Secure a facility for your speech and make arrangements for any necessary audio/visual equipment.
        
        
      • If you are going to serve refreshments, make arrangements for the refreshments.
        
        
      • Develop and implement a plan for attracting an audience. This might include sending direct mail or e-mails, making phone calls, and contacting trade, professional and social associations and organizations.
      What can you do to maximize your return on investment?

      If you are going to invest the time and effort required to deliver a first-class speech, you should also develop a plan for maximizing your return on your investment. This could include the following activities:

      • Give each audience member an evaluation form they can use to provide feedback and request additional information.
        
        
      • Provide handouts that include presentation highlights and your contact information.
        
        
      • Hold a drawing for some type of small prize (books, sample products, etc.) to encourage attendees to give you business cards and/or hand in completed evaluation forms.
        
        
      • Block time during the day or two following your presentation to make phone calls to audience members. When you make the calls, ask for feedback and offer an opportunity to ask questions that might not have been answered during the event. Also ask for referrals to people they know who might be interested in your presentation topic. These referrals may become immediate prospects. At minimum they should be added to your invitation list for future events.
      Delivering properly designed speeches, seminars, and webinars (online seminars) is a terrific way to generate large quantities of quality sales leads. If you follow the instructions provided in this article, you should see a satisfying increase in the number, size, and quality of leads in your sales opportunity pipeline!

      Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg