But we love this column from Dan and Chip Heath (authors of “Made to Stick”) about using your presentations to “show, don’t tell.” They point out how painful presentations can be for the speaker as well as the audience. (Great line: “It’s like a breakup talk with fewer tears and more clip art.”)

The “show” aspect of presentations is about bringing real examples and demonstrations into your presentation – much more powerful than reading text from some slides.

Have you done a great “show, don’t tell” presentation? Let’s hear about how you made it work.

So, do e-mail newsletters still have a place, a role in marketing? This interesting opinion piece on ITBusinessEdge.com takes Ben & Jerry’s to task for announcing it would eliminate its e-mail marketing in favor of social media. It points to the idea that social media isn’t a replacement for e-mail and people – 1.3 million in Ben & Jerry’s case – have selected e-mail as a way they like to receive news about the ice cream icon.

Yes, e-mail marketing can be expensive, especially if you’re sending to millions of people. But, it can be effective, giving customers specials and deals, information and simply keeping your brand top of mind. This particular piece highlights recent research from ExactTarget, an e-mail marketing firm based in Indianapolis, noting that when people are interacting with brands, 62 percent will sign up for an e-mail versus 17 percent looking to Facebook for deals.

Does your business use e-mail marketing? Have you considered giving it up and focusing only on social media? Or do you believe each form of marketing plays a role in your overall campaign?

Because we like to have fun, here’s our latest video, giving you some tips – in a playful way – on how to mind your manners while on the phone. Are you guilty of some of these? Or have you been on the other end of the line?

So, once a business decides to invest in video conferencing, the next step is weeding through the many options for the best solution. Your first reaction may be to go with the free service, but that might not be a good fit for your business and its unique needs.

Before you fire up the webcam, here are five things to look for in a video conferencing service:

1. 24-hour technical support. If you have an important call with a large perspective client scheduled for 6 p.m. and have a technical question, the last thing you want to see is that customer service closed at 5 p.m.
2. Similarly, find out if local support is available. You may need an actual person to come by your office and assist with setup or solve a problem.
3. Look for the ability to add multiple people to the video call – and confirm the quality of the call will be consistent whether you have three people or 30.
4. Can you share documents and computer screens? It’s great to see people face to face and it’s even better to see the website or strategy document they are referencing during the call.
5. Possibly the most important consideration is security. Can the provider guarantee a secure, encrypted connection or is your call floating on the public Internet for any hacker to see?

Courtesy/PCWorld

Some big tech news this week is reports that Verizon will begin offering the iPhone as early in January. A report from Bloomberg quotes two people familiar with the not-yet-public information.

Many Verizon customers have been eyeballing the iPhone for years, but are loyal (or at least bound by contract) to the “Can you hear me now?” wireless provider.

The article reports:

The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.

Adding the iPhone to its line of smart phones should be big for Verizon as many current customers will most likely take advantage of the new offering. It could be interesting to see how this impacts other brands Verizon offers, such as the BlackBerry.

So, we want to know: if you’re a Verizon customer, will you be first in line for an iPhone? And if you’re a current iPhone customer with AT&T, would you consider taking your iPhone business to Verizon?

But taking the time to actually sit down and hand write a card for someone is an excellent gesture of thanks and appreciation. It’s a way to stand out from the crowd of e-mails and tweets.

Handwritten notes are appropriate in a number of situations:

• Thanking someone for a job interview.
• Congratulations to a co-worker for a promotion.
• Appreciation to a customer who just renewed a large account with you.
• Encouragement for a colleague struggling with a difficult job situation.

You can’t go wrong with a nice note, granted you don’t need to send one every time your co-worker refills your coffee cup, but for extra special instances, it’s appropriate. When was the last time you wrote a thank-you note or congratulatory card? Do you think this still has a place in business today?

Just last week on this blog we addressed the importance of using business quality video versus a free service like Skype. Even though, Skype (most likely followed by other similar services) is branching out into group chat, there are still good reasons for businesses to use a service that is truly geared toward business use.

1. We provide 24-hour technical support for our Spirit On Demand video and Web conference users.
2. We’re a local company based in the Carolinas working with Carolina businesses, so we understand your needs.
3. We have the ability to accommodate 50 participants in a single meeting.
4. Anyone on the video conferencing call can be given the opportunity to share documents or applications.

How are you using video conferencing for business? Have you tried free services? Let us know what you think.

Skype is a good solution for letting the kids talk to grandma or for chatting with your best friend in another state, but when it comes to professional business meetings, free isn’t always the best. One of the most important benefits of Spirit on Demand is the ability to conference with multiple people. Free services tend to work best for one-on-one conversations. Typically, a business meeting includes a larger group.

Also, business quality video conferencing services are just that: business quality. They don’t have the lag time, grainy picture quality or glitches a free service might. The last thing you want when pitching to potential investors is a lag in your presentation that makes you look unprofessional.

Here’s a video from one of our technical consultants giving more details on the benefits of business quality video conferencing services:

Today, you’re hard pressed to find anyone from age 8 and up who isn’t thumb-typing, surfing or e-mailing on a smartphone. These little devices are glued to our sides and we seemed shocked to encounter people, especially in the business world, who are using a plain ol’ cell phone. It’s a bit like people who don’t have an e-mail address or a business that doesn’t have a website. We exclaim, “How is that possible?”

The big three in the smartphone universe are iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. Each has its pros and cons. Many people love anything with an Apple logo. Many people love the iPhone but use the BlackBerry while waiting for an iPhone version to join the Verizon lineup. Others are becoming enamoured with the Android.

So, we want to know: which smartphone is best? Particularly, when it comes to business use, how does your phone rate? What are the critical features and must-have apps for a business person using a smart phone these days?

What’s the last thing you typically do before leaving the office to begin your vacation? Right! Record an out-of-office voicemail greeting.

A few tips for leaving a coherent and helpful greeting:

• Offer the dates you’ll be on vacation so callers know when to expect your return.
• Provide the name and phone number or extension for someone who can help while you’re out.
• Scratch the patronizing phrase “Your call is very important to me.” Would they have called you if it wasn’t important?
• Skip the ever-present – and useless – instruction, “Please leave me a detailed message.” First, callers will share the information they need to share. Second, why invite someone to leave a seven-minute message?
• Let callers know you won’t be checking messages. With people having calls forwarded or receiving voicemails via e-mail, many people just expect that even though you say you’re on vacation, you’re still checking in. So if you’re truly on vacation, say so.
• The very first thing you should do when you return is change the voicemail greeting. It’s incredibly irritating to call someone on July 10 to hear a greeting that says the person will be out on vacation from June 1 to June 15. OK, so are you back in the office or not?

Oh, one last thing, try not to gloat in your greeting because you’re on vacation and the rest of us aren’t.

And check out this video for a few more voice mail greeting tips:

In the last week, we’ve also learned, there’s no such thing as a volcanic ash day. With travel halted because of the ash clouds over Europe, businesses are turning to video conferencing to keep work flowing and meetings moving.

A Reuters news article this week highlighted the way businesses are looking anew at video conferencing as a key way to do business.

According to the article:

Videoworks (a Norwegian tech startup) Chief Executive Even Zimmer said the volcano will make business people think about the benefits of videoconferencing.

“The timing is very good. The market’s growing and the consequences of the ash cloud won’t be forgotten very soon,” Zimmer said.

The videoconferencing sector has seen a flurry of acquisitions and, analysts say, is a key growth area as companies seek to cut business travel costs.

Whether it’s cutting travel expenses, working from home with a fever or trapped by a volcanic ash cloud, businesses are quickly finding video conferencing is an effective and less expensive way to do business. Does your business use video conferencing? Is it something you’re considering?

So when you simply have to grin and bear it, how do you handle a difficult client?

• Answer questions before they’re asked. Do your best to anticipate your client’s needs and questions and be ready with answer. Provide monthly or quarterly reports that outline your progress and highlight the next steps.
• Pick an appropriate company representative. Some people are just going to butt heads. Find someone in your firm who can calmly deal with the client and isn’t easily rattled or angered.
• Show your appreciation. Even though a client may be difficult and irritating, this person or business is still a client who is paying you to do a job. Offer to take your customer to lunch or dinner; send a gift basket for no reason; or drop off some Starbucks gift cards. You just might find the old saying “killing them with kindness” rings true.
• Keep it to yourself. You may be tempted to vent about the latest annoying thing client X has said or done. You may see this as harmless venting but it’s not setting a good example for your employees. It’s fine to recognize the challenges of dealing with this customer, but use the situation to find ways to handle the customer and keep the peace.

Have you ever dealt with a difficult client? Were you able to make it work? What techniques did you use?

The first item on the list is a reminder to tell employees their role, give them clear direction and give them rules. That sounds extremely logical but is often poorly executed in the workplace. How many times have you been given a task or new project but with little instruction or a sense of the goals of the project or expected outcomes?

The real issues comes when an employee has tried her best to succeed despite being given little direction and then is called on the carpet for not doing what the boss wanted.

It’s completely unfair to put an employee in that situation. One key way to avoid this problem is by putting instructions, expectation, objectives and deadlines in writing. Don’t assume someone can read your mind and figure out how you’d like to have the project completed. Don’t assume that because you think XYZ outcome is best that everyone will too. You may, in fact, find an employee has determined ABC outcome is best.

Once you’re written out your instructions and expectations, review them thoroughly with the employee and make sure the employee feels comfortable asking questions and for clarification.

As time passes, be sure to check in regularly (more often than just the annual performance review) with the employee to assess progress and address any problems or challenges. If the employee has been tasked with a short-term project, a brief weekly meeting may be enough to keep on track and ensure the employee feels he has the necessary direction to succeed.

Few things can derail a project or business situation faster than when two people are operating under two entirely different objectives.

It’s not easy to have the courage to toss a paying client, especially in this economy, but when it comes to the health of your company, you have to have to do what’s best. Chances are a couple of clients are on your short list of ones to dump, but how exactly should you determine which ones to keep and which ones to let go?

First, look at the time you’re spending with the client. If your client is constantly calling, asking for meetings and complaining about everything from the quality of work to the latest invoice, it may be time to cut your losses. It’s likely you have a client who isn’t going to be happy no matter what you do and this client is using up a lot of the time you could be spending on more profitable clients or finding new business.

Second, assess whether your company has outgrown the client. Has your business grown and expanded beyond what the client needs? If you’ve added services and raised your prices or rates, but your client still only needs those initial services, it’s quite possible the client needs a smaller company and you need to look for bigger clients.

Finally, review your bottom line. Does the client pay on time? Are they open to hearing about your new products or services? Or, is the client constantly complaining about expenses and always two months behind on payments? If a client is cutting into your bottom line or causing you to be late with your own payments, it’s best to focus on clients with more financial stability.

It’s your turn: share your advice for how best to determine when it’s time to fire a customer or client.

We recommend going with choice a – it’s sure to serve you better in the long run. But how do you put together a presentation that looks polished and professional even if you aren’t feeling very polished and professional?

• Visuals – These days PowerPoint is typically the presentation tool of choice. It’s great, but don’t overdo it. Do not put your entire talk – word for word – on the slides. Just offer up key points, statistics, charts or images. The PowerPoint should serve as a guide to your presentation, not a script.
• Expect the worst – Just assume the Internet connection will work fine five minutes before the presentation begins and then freeze up five minutes into your talk. If your presentation depends on showing Web sites, for example, then pull some screen shots and have them ready should you lose Internet connection.
• Keep it casual – Invite the audience to ask questions during the presentation, which makes it feel less like a presentation and more like a conversation.
• Keep it short – Try to contain your talk to about 20-30 minutes. This not only keeps people from getting distracted or overwhelmed by the information, but also forces you to distill your key points into the most compelling and useful information. Now is not the time to take 40 minutes to explain the entire process of how you came up with this new product line – just get to the point of how it will help your audience.
• Practice – If you’re not accustomed to giving public presentations, gather a couple of co-workers, family members or even the family dog and do a trial run.
• You hold the power – Remember, people are here to listen to what you have to say. You have information, experiences or advice they want to hear, so be confident in your approach.

Share your best tips for giving effective presentations. And, if you’re brave, we’d love a good story about what worked – and what didn’t – in your presentations.

With many of these tools either free or available for a minimal cost, it can be easy to go on an app shopping spree, loading your device with all sorts of time-wasting trinkets. But, selecting some key apps that mesh with your business needs and personal preferences can be truly useful.

Some useful business apps:

• Tripper – A mileage log perfect for the sales person who spends a lot of time on the road and needs to file an expense report at the end of the month.  
• QuickBooks – Get a mini version of your accounting software program so you can track expenses and run a profit and loss report all while sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room.
• Box.net – A file-sharing and collaboration tool.
• For managing tasks and to-do lists, check out Remember the Milk (also available free to use online) or Things.
• Recordoid – Turn your Android into a dictaphone so you can record voice, add notes and even send as an e-mail.

What app has transformed your phone? Which apps would you recommend to other business professionals?

Sources: Nine Awesome iPhone Apps for Business; iPhone Business Apps and 101 Best Android Apps.

Here are few “don’t” for when you’re on a video conference with colleagues, supervisors and certainly clients.

1. Don’t adjust your clothing. In fact, just fold your hands in your lap and only move them to take notes on the meeting.
2. Don’t blow your nose – or make any other bodily noises.
3. Don’t primp. Because you can see yourself on the video conference, it’s tempting to straighten your tie, comb your hair or put on a little lipstick. Go to the restroom before the conference and do all your combing, brushing and applying in private.
4. Don’t eat anything. Put down the granola bar, the crackers, the salad and most certainly the banana.
5. Don’t pick your teeth. Abide by Rule #4 and this won’t be a problem.
6. Don’t put anything in front of the camera except your face. This means don’t stand up in front of the camera lens for all your co-workers and associates to see your stomach and chest. And for heaven’s sake, don’t turn around.
7. Don’t be a monkey. Don’t scratch, itch or clean your ears.

Your best rule of thumb is to think about a video conference as an in-person meeting. Particularly if you’re conferencing with clients or potential clients, now is not the time to eat and put on lipstick.

Check out this video for a humorous look at these tips. And please share your “dos and don’ts” for video conferencing.

• High-speed broadband and Internet access.
• Video, audio and Web conferencing, which improve communication yet save money on travel costs.
• Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP, which enhances phone systems and saves money.
• Don’t forget our mobile phones that allow us to check e-mail, surf the Web, listen to music, read the daily news, send messages, take photos and video – oh, right, and make phone calls.

What business communication tool has improved your work life so much you just have to pause and say thanks? Let’s hear it!

If you’re longing for a business tool that would make your life easier, be sure to enter the Spirit Santa promotion. Just post your business wish on the No Static Blog and Spirit Santa will grant one wish up to $250. Plus, Spirit Telecom will give $10 per entry to Toys for Tots.

Post your answer (just a short paragraph) here by Dec. 18 for a chance to have your business wish granted. For each wish posted, Spirit Telecom will donate $10 to Toys for Tots, an organization managed by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves that distributes Christmas gifts to children who would otherwise go without. 

Spirit Santa will choose his favorite wish and grant it up to a $250 value. The winner will be announced Dec. 21.

Additionally, Twitterers can follow the company’s @NoStaticST Twitter account and tweet their holiday spirit. For every tweet using @NoStaticST and the hashtag #spiritsanta within the tweet, the company will donate $1 to Toys for Tots up to a maximum blog and Twitter donation of $1,000.

“We recently launched a social media campaign and we thought what better way to get it rolling than to get into the holiday spirit by helping our community through a fun contest,” says Terry Metze Jr., executive vice president business development and strategy. “We hope Columbians really get into the idea of Spirit Santa and share their most longed for wishes, all for a great cause.”

 OK, let’s hear it! What’s your business wish?

• Think before you forward. No one likes the person who forwards every joke, funny photo, chain letter or (probably false) warning. If it’s pertinent to business, pass it on. If it’s a joke you know a specific co-worker would enjoy, share it with that person and not the entire office.
• Have an e-mail buddy. Occasionally, we receive an e-mail that gets us fired up. Rather than hammering out a response you might regret and sending it immediately, first send it to your e-mail buddy who will read it objectively and let you know if you’ve reacted too strongly.
• Be your own editor. Technology sometimes makes us sloppy in our business communication. Especially if you are e-mailing your supervisor, a client or potential customer, take a few seconds to reread your message and look for any typos, misspellings, or grammatical errors.
• Keep it to yourself. One of the benefits of e-mail is you can send the same message to several people at once, maximizing efficiency. But only reply to everyone when necessary. If you have a specific question or comment for the sender, reply only to him or her.
• Watch using all capital letters or unnecessary punctuation, which could convey a tone you didn’t mean to convey (i.e. using all caps means you’re yelling or angry).
• Do you best to respond within 24 hours to an e-mail at least letting the sender know you received it and will provide a more detailed response as soon as you can.
• Watch your follow ups. If you don’t get a response to your e-mail within a few days, send a follow up. If you still don’t get a response, either call the person or let it go. Many people appreciate a follow-up e-mail because they see it as a reminder. But too many follow ups become annoying.

What are your tips for e-mail etiquette? What annoys you most about e-mail?