special thanks to Catherine Scott for sharing original article.

Not only do I like the new look but I Love, Love, Love the new features and how incredibly powerful they are. Check out what you will be able to do when the new look rolls out to your group:

* Quickly discover the most popular discussions in your professional groups.

* Have an active part in determining the top discussions by liking and commenting.

* Follow the most influential people in your groups by checking the Top Influencers board or clicking their profile image to see all their group activity.

* See both member-generated discussions and news in one setting.

* Easily browse previews of the last three comments in a discussion.

* Find interesting discussions by seeing who liked a discussion and how many people commented.

A Big Shout out to the Developers at LinkedIn & Kudos for a job well done!

Business Owners are always looking for new ways to find customers, but how are your customers finding you? In May over 32 million people visited Yelp to help make spending decisions.

Think about Yelp as and old favorite “Word of Mouth Advertising” but on line and this is one conversation you as a business owner wants to join!

To help business owners get the most out of their online presence, Yelp offers a suite of Free tools to Business Owners so you can …

* Communicate with your customers– privately and publicly
* Track how many people view your business page
* Add photos, a detailed business description
* Provide up to date information, history, and specialties
* Announce special offers and upcoming events
* Recommend other businesses

So join the conversation today and let Yelp help customers find you business and begin spreading the word about your business online today… for FREE!

Seven years ago, Kandi Lee took her savings of $1.11, moved to Arizona and started One-Eleven Companies; a coaching, speaking and training company.

Ms. Lee works with business professionals, executives and corporations across the United States to incorporate personal empowerment, responsibility and a positive mindset dramatically transforming their culture and thinking resulting in Extraordinary personal and professional results.

Absolutely one of today’s most exciting & dynamic speakers!

Kandi Lee’s series “Extraordinary Is Not An Accident” strives to defibrillate the heart of the American economy. She is re-igniting the fire in the American spirit and causing a wave of positive change.

Kandi Lee takes fear, courage and tenacity to the next level and gives her audience a life-changing idea of what is possible when you think “Extraordinary”!

For More Information about One-Eleven Companies or to Book Kandi Lee for your next Event Click Here

Let Chip take the mystery out of LinkedIn® and help you quickly get up to speed, hands-on, with everything that you need to know to be a skilled user of this extremely powerful business and network development tool. Join us Wednesday April 28, 2010(PST) to register now Click Here

In the Webinar, you will:

• Get found and get noticed. We will teach you how to create the most effective profile to fit your needs;

• Turn your network into results. Build your network quickly and efficiently and avoid common mistakes that get people shut out of the LinkedIn® Network;

• Leverage your time. In 2 hours, you’ll complete the majority of your profile and learn everything you need to effectively use LinkedIn.com.

Raymond “Chip” Lambert with Network2Networth has trained thousands of individuals and organizations and his reviews are tremendous. To Check out what participants in his seminar are saying about his LinkedIn® Foundations Webinar™ Click Here.

Networking Events are great for meeting prospective clients, potential strategic partners and forming strong marketing alliances, but it can get expensive.

NetworkingPhoenix.com has partnered up with some of the best local networking groups in the Valley to offer their Networking Passport members FREE attendance into their most popular fee-based events, mixers, and seminars.

Make face-to-face connections. Meet the right like-minded local professionals in the right places all for only $9.95/month. Your Networking Passport gets you into all Networking Passport eligible events for FREE! This month alone, you can save $259 attending 12 premier events. (Eligible events vary monthly and an attendance limit may apply after their pilot program)

About NetworkingPhoenix.com

NetworkingPhoenix.com is Phoenix’s one-stop-shop for professionals, entrepreneurs, small business owners and anyone else looking to find networking events, chamber of commerce mixers, useful business seminars and leads clubs.

The site posts a free consolidated calendar publicizing events hosted by various groups and organizations all over the city. The social media capabilities of the site also allow users to create a free business profile, connect with other members and post their own networking events, which make this calendar extremely unique and resourceful.

To learn more about NetworkingPhoenix.com and their Networking Passport Click Here

]]> http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/04/networking-passport-free-admission-into-the-valley%e2%80%99s-premier-events-seminars/feed/ 0 http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/04/stop-selling-and-sell-more/ http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/04/stop-selling-and-sell-more/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:38:02 +0000 Helen Connors Groom http://blog.cvmllc.com/?p=688 by: Helen Connors-Groom


Successful companies have a secret. Sometimes you sell more by not selling. Strategic Marketing is a sport. By aligning the resources you already have, you can create a “magnetic network” that really can help you to sell more by not selling.

Take for example the man who sells firewood, in Arizona no less. Definitely a niche market, right? So how did he sell more… well actually he did it by not selling. Instead, he formed Strategic Marketing Alliances with the local Pool Builders & Backyard Remodeling Companies. They, well they didn’t really sell the firewood either. Instead they used it as a “Value-Added” incentive with every project they sold that included a fire pit or beehive fireplace, they included a year’s worth of firewood. Not a bad idea, and one that turned out to be a great advertising tool, referral generator, not to mention a win/win for everyone involved; the firewood company, the pool builders, the backyard re-modelers and most importantly the customers.

Another good example of selling more by not selling was when we owned Gazinka’s Backyard, a company specializing in very large expensive wooden play systems. We actually trained our sales staff not to sell, rather to ask lots of questions and orchestrate lots of referrals.

People didn’t come into Gazinka’s to “buy” a swing set. In fact, we didn’t even advertise that we sold swing sets. At Gazinka’s, we sold “Dreams” and our “tag line” or “branding” was Gazinka’s Backyard….Where You Can Buy a Dream! When customers came into our showroom, more often than not, they had just moved into their dream home, had another baby, were about to remodel a backyard, put in dream pool, have a birthday or celebrate a holiday and our swing sets were actually just one small part in the dream our customers had for their families.

So we taught our sales people to ask about those dreams, build upon them and help to make them come true. If you knew that someone’s dream included a putting green, backyard BBQ, Fire Pit, Pool and a safe place that their kids would want to play, you help make that Dream come true, not by referring them elsewhere, but rather by orchestrating, coordinating, facilitating and implementing all of their wants and desires. By asking questions, often you can become the one stop that’s all, turn key, trusted resources for all of your client wants and needs.

When you stop selling and take care of your clients wants and needs a funny thing happens. Price is never an issue, instead you begin to hear… What do you recommend?

If you have great success stories or tips regarding forming Strategic Marketing Alliances we’d love to hear about them. Or if you would like help leveraging your existing Strategic Marketing Alliances or forming new ones call Clear View Marketing today… We would love to help make it rain on your parade!

]]> http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/04/stop-selling-and-sell-more/feed/ 4 http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/03/all-aboard-america/ http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/03/all-aboard-america/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:55:43 +0000 Helen Connors Groom http://blog.cvmllc.com/?p=637

All Aboard America – Tour Division All Aboard America! is a professional full-service receptive tour operator, specializing in groups of all sizes. Their destinations include all parts of North America, Europe and Asia. With over seventy years of experience in the tourism industry, their enthusiasm, expertise and dedication to make your experience a fantastic one is unmatched! Let them take care of all your transportation needs! Please contact All Aboard America at 800-848-4728 or email them at sales@allaboardamerica.com to find out more about their fleet & services.

All Aboard America

]]> http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/03/all-aboard-america/feed/ 46 http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/02/finding-keeping-clients-in-2010-%e2%80%9charnessing-the-power-of-linkedin%e2%80%9d/ http://blog.cvmllc.com/2010/02/finding-keeping-clients-in-2010-%e2%80%9charnessing-the-power-of-linkedin%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:59:17 +0000 Helen Connors Groom http://blog.cvmllc.com/?p=578
WTTC-Phoenix/Scottsdale Invites You to Attend: Finding & Keeping Clients in 2010 ..“Harnessing the Power of LinkedIn”. Featuring Raymond “Chip” Lambert, Author of “Making Linkedin.com A Killer Business App”.

Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at the Desert Ridge Corporate Center, 20860 N Tatum Blvd., Ste. 190,Phoenix, AZ 85050. The Seminar begins promptly at 1:00pm. Early Bird Registration Compliments of Wttc.com.

To Register Now go to http://ow.ly/16qHN

There are only 8 days left until MPI’s Meet Different 2010, which is being held, this year, in Cancun, Mexico. The event has always seemed very “left brain” in many respects, promising attendees “… better designs, more efficient practices and return on investment that’s clear and measureable.”

This year, however, the association is shaking off the cobwebs with several sessions that look at the future of the industry. In particular, you may want to check out One+ Magazine writer and editor, Jason Hensel’s take on what the event planner job of the future might look like:

Hologram Specialist —In a few years, let’s say less than 10, there will be a need for hologram specialists, people to work with and on holograms for meetings and events. In fact, there are already patents pending and trials taking place (e.g., Microsoft and Masergy Communications).

Director of Senses —Sense management and how to use it to amplify meetings and ROI will continue to grow in popularity and use.

Sustainability Compliance Officer —One field that’s gaining steam is sustainability compliance. In the future, the meeting and event industry will be (maybe lawfully?) impacted by strict environmental rules and regulations concerning conferences.

Cultural Guides — It’s not too much of a stretch to expect that within 10 years there will be people working as specific cultural guides for meetings and events to help prevent an embarrassing cultural faux pas.

Chief Connecting Officer —In 10 years, the term “meeting professional” will no longer be sufficient in describing what meeting or event planners and suppliers do. Our future fails or succeeds on what we call ourselves, so let’s propose a new C acronym: CCO (chief connecting officer).