Stage 2 Networks Launches New eCONNECT(SM) Product
Posted by Aryeh.Landowne on Jan 29, 2010
Stage 2 Networks (http://www.stage2networks.com) launches new eCONNECT(SM) product developed to increase revenue generating call activities.
New York, NY (January 26, 2010) — Stage 2 Networks, a leader in hosted PBX and converged network solutions, today announced that it has launched a new product which may increase a company’s call pick-up rate by as much as 60%. The product is easily integrated into a business’s existing PBX system that uses SIP trunking or a traditional platform.
“We are excited about the launch of our latest new product which was originally developed based on a specific client need,” said Joseph P. Gillette, CEO of Stage 2 Networks. “Upon implementation, our client, a very large collections agency, has reported a significant increase in the number of collection phone calls that were answered because of the eCONNECT(SM) product. This also resulted in an increase in their revenues.”
The eCONNECT(SM) product works by matching the phone call recipient’s local calling area so that matching area codes are viewed on caller ID. Companies that can benefit from this new feature include outbound call centers, collection agencies, market research firms, credit card companies, and just about any phone-based sales-driven business.
About Stage 2 Networks:
Stage 2 offers a robust and redundant network with connectivity, quality of service and local number portability available across the country and, often, around the world. Our services include hosted PBX or business phone system solutions, without the capital expenditure typically associated with purchasing a new phone system. Stage 2 also provides phone line replacement at reduced cost with enhanced functionality, whether POTS or PRI services. Finally, all of Stage 2’s products are supported by robust data connectivity that can fully integrate its customers’ communication platform for both voice and data services across multiple locations. Stage 2’s productivity-enhancing features and functionality serve to differentiate its products and offer an added bonus to its customers. For more information visit www.stage2networks.com.
For further information contact:
Stage 2 Networks
Suzanne Urash
+1.813.649.8504
suzanne@cre8groupinc.com
Internet Marketing, Football and Poker: You Win Some, You Lose Some. What we can learn from the Jets loss, the Colts win and consistency
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 26, 2010
So the Jets lost and the Colts won. For all of you New York Jets fans, Sunday wasn’t the greatest. Of course most of you watched the game on TV. My cousin actually drove to Indianapolis for the game. So you gotta ask yourself. Would you rather drive 11 hours TO the game being all psyched and watch live… and then have to drive back home for the same ELEVEN hours! Well. That all depends on your attitude and your overall take on life. I would tend to think that most people would really enjoy a road trip from NY to IN when they have something to look forward to. And they would certainly enjoy being at the actual stadium, feel the actual cold air, watch the pigskin get tossed, and relish the thrill of being in a place where history had the potential of happening. Mind you I am a New Yorker so of course I was rooting for the Jets. Heck, even my friends who are Giants fans were rooting for the Jets. But I have a positive attitude and though the Jets lost and the drive home with a loss is MUCH longer than a drive home with a win, there is something to be said about making the effort.
When I was in Junior High School I was pretty good in math. If I studied, I got an A. If I didn’t study, I usually got a B. Teachers hate us sort of kids. We set the wrong example for the others in the class. And if you are a jerk (like I was), you probably told more than a few people when you studied and how much and when you didn’t and you get the picture. Well, about three months into the school year after acing most of my tests, I decided to take a break from studying before a test and failed miserably. I was devastated. My teacher marched me into the principal’s office and they gave me the bottom line. They didn’t like my attitude and were kicking me out of honors. I was so upset I began to cry. Loud. Everyone in the next classroom heard me. And then on top of it all, I was demoted to the “regular” class. That memory is stained on me and I never want to repeat it. Did I always study from then on? No. I was not a consistent student and I didn’t learn from my mistakes. But now in my adult and professional life, I try to remember this story and the stain and the pain. I try to remember that if I study and keep it up, I will not fail. And if sometimes I do indeed fail, I try to realize that there are always second chances. I will be behind and it will be a struggle to get back but if I keep at it and keep a positive attitude, I will make it to the top.
Last week I met up with some colleagues of mine. A CEO of a video production company and a CEO of an advertising agency. We were talking about our businesses and what we can do together to drum up business in 2010 and beyond. Economy Eshnonomy. People are doing business in this market and we need to do something that will land new accounts. Well, after talking for an hour, the ad agency guy asked me a standard marketing 101 question. “What makes you unique over your competition?” I have a very cool and quick answer for people that ask me that question. Basically there are 5 ways of saying New York; “NY,” “NYC,” “New York,” “New York City” and “Manhattan.” I am in the “Internet Marketing” and “Website Marketing” Business. When you Google those keyword phrases, SalemGlobal comes up #1.
SalemGlobal did not become #1 overnight. It took many years of hard work, strategy and time to get to the number one position. It took patience and it took consistency. So when I meet potential clients, I tell them my story. I evaluate whether their website warrants being in the #1 position for their keywords. I look at their competition and I give them the analysis they need in order to decide whether it’s worth competing or not. The funny thing is that I have found that it is only a select few who realize the power of the web and what I am telling them.
There are three basic ways to do business development in today’s super competitive world. As a business owner, you can place an ad in traditional media (this includes direct marketing as well as print, mail, radio, TV etc.) and wait for the phone to ring, you can network or you can cold call. My answer for the past 13 years has been the web! Internet marketing rules in this new tech based economy. There is no more efficient way to market yourself than using technology. The numbers don’t lie. More and more people are using the web to search for things they need and want. If you aren’t competing online in 2010, you are going out of business. Of course I don’t want to put down networking or cold calling. They work too. But you certainly can’t compare the global reach of the web to your personal local networking. And though you can make a phone call to mostly anyone anywhere in the world, there aren’t enough hours in the day to reach as many people as internet users. So in the playoffs of sales, the Web wins hands down!
So Raphi, all of your theory sounds good, but can you give us a real life example? Sure. Take www.4StarCleaning.com. They have been doing PPC (pay per click) on Google for the past four years straight for keywords “cleaning services” and “office cleaning.” We have had our ups and downs with the campaign, but the President, Fred Ross, recognizes how you have to be in it to win it. He recognizes that consistency wins the race. You don’t just turn on the campaign when you THINK people are going to call you. You let it ride. And though the past two years have been rough, we have witnessed calls come through when we least expect it (and when we most expect it too.)
As an entrepreneur and business owner since 1997, if I gave up every time there was a problem I would’ve had a new corporate job each new moon. I wonder if they teach you how to deal with problems and failure in business school. It seems fundamental to me to have the resiliency to bounce back after every setback. But maybe that’s what separates successful businesses from non-successful ones. Not how to deal with the good times, but how to deal with the bad times.
In poker, the idea is not to win every pot. The idea is to win consistently over time. A little pot here and a little pot there. A monster pot every now and then. And not to lose the monster pots. But you aren’t supposed to play every hand. When dealt a 7-2 non-suited, you are supposed to fold. That doesn’t mean you cash in, it just means you lose your ante and wait until the next round of cards are dealt.
So whether you are the Jets, a business owner or a poker player, remain consistent. Keep playing, keep blogging, keep developing, keep at it. The only obstacle in the way of your success is you. And the only person that can make it happen is you. Make the decision to be successful and keep a positive attitude and stay in the game. Next week I will share with you my son’s Chess game anecdotes. We will also cover more content strategies, newsletters and blogging for your industry. And of course if you want to know more about internet marketing NY and poker and networking, give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com.
Internet Marketing, The JETS and Martin Luther King Jr: What We Can Learn From Current Events, Sports, Keywords, Forums and Blogs.
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 19, 2010
Let’s start off this week by paying homage to Martin Luther King Jr. A great man who was taken down by the forces of evil that exist in this world. May his memory never be forgotten. May his soul rest in peace.
The two things that come to my mind when I think about the great Reverend Dr. are Freedom and Dreaming. Freedom to live and work in this world, in the place that I want. To practice the religion of my choice. To maintain the lifestyle that I desire. And of course to dream. To raise my children in a world of peace and tranquility. Happiness and not sorrow. Pleasure with minimal pain. Should I go on? Well - just 1 more thing…
Sunday night I was with a group of friends after the JETS game and 1 guy walked in and he said he had been DREAMING of a JETS playoff and Super Bowl championship. So “dreaming” really can be whatever you want it to be. For the past 26 years (he is older than that but only been a JETS fan since 1984?, he has endured the PAIN of the JETS not winning a Super Bowl. And by the way, there are plenty of JETS fans older than him that have endured the pain of a no win since 1969 (before he was born…)
So what can we learn about Internet marketing from these two timely events? Well, for one thing, if I am a young student learning about King, all I have to do is go to Google or my search engine of choice and put in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Actually - before I type in the full name I will see “suggested searches.” These suggestions range from King’s name to “moving speech video” to “biography” “quotes” “speech” “speeches” “pictures” “timeline” “day” and “letter from Birmingham jail.” Obviously these phrases are the most searched and will give me the results I am most likely looking for. This goes back to how important it is to have proper keyword research and implementation into your meta data. If you don’t have the proper keywords, you will not be found. If you are not found, you will lose out on lead generation emanating from your website. (Incidentally, it is also helpful to have a 2nd grader come home and want to use your computer to search for Ruby Bridges so you can be reminded that she was the first black student to integrate a white school in New Orleans.)
Which leads me to why you really are reading this post. Because world peace and desegregation are nice and all, but on the cover of the NY Daily News today http://www.nydailynews.com/news/galleries/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010.html as you can see, Gary Myers tells us why the JETS will win. As an Internet guy, I found it more interesting to search for “why Jets will win” and also “why Colts will win.” Even more interesting is that for each of these results you get daily newspaper article results as well as forums.newyorkjets.com and forum.colts.com which leads me tell you that forums and blogs are a great way to market your product and company. (And don’t forget to check out former NFL San Francisco 49ers tight end Dr. John Frank in honor of the upcoming football frenzy http://www.HairClinicUSA.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpajAIaULs8)
If you want to know more about freedom, dreaming, keywords, sports and forums, Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. I guarantee it will be worthwhile to you and your company’s marketing efforts. Next week we will find out what happens when the Jets play the Colts and what searches and results come up and how content affects you in the search engines and your bottom line.
Human Capital Score Being Used By Advisors and Students Alike
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 18, 2010
After launching a beta version of their Human Capital Score, People Capital (www.People2Capital.com) has had a large number of signups come from educational institutions and advisers. The Human Capital Score is a powerful tool that can help not just students but also college or high school guidance counselors as well. The Human Capital Score is a method of predicting a student’s earnings post education in order to help students decide on student loans or certain schools from a financial standpoint.
If you are a college guidance counselor, college planning advisor or other professional in the educational field send an email to freetrial@people2capital.com for a free trial of the Human Capital Score from People Capital.
Internet Marketing, Derek Jeter and the Jets: A Quick Primer On Evaluating Your Website For SEO
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 18, 2010
I have come to realize that the more I write about things in the news and specifically anything related to sports, I get a higher open rate, reader rate and response rate to my emails and blog posts. So have I been fooling myself over the past 13 years that people have been reading and are genuinely interested in my thoughts and tips on Internet marketing? Well. The numbers don’t lie (as I have recently come to understand more about statistics and economics from my latest read; Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner). The fact is that my numbers are higher due to more interesting content.
So the fact that my writings and more specifically my subject headlines mention sports together with higher response rates proves that indeed I HAVE been fooling myself. The fact is that internet marketing might be really boring to you. Even though your business may benefit from it and might help you make more revenue and profit by gaining more clients and customers, it just isn’t as interesting to you men that blogging about relevant things to your audience is more important to your business than the fact that the Jets had another great winner on Saturday. Oh - and sorry ladies… Derek Jeter (or his PR firm) just announced that he is tying the knot to some actress named Minka Kelly. (I admit it, I had never heard of her before today. But I have heard of his past girlfriends Mariah Carey, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba. Oh and something else you should know is that Minka is 29 (Jeter is 35) and is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and former Las Vegas showgirl Maureen Kelly. Ok. I just realized another thing. All of this information might actually be more interesting to guys than the Jets winning on Saturday also.)
So Raphi, what does all this have to do with Internet marketing and evaluating your website for SEO purposes? Well, that’s easy. The answer is content.
You see, your website consists of a “Front-end” that consists of content, graphics and links. And a “Back-end” - programming gobbledegook consisting of HTML and other various scripting languages. Google and other search engines are logical tools and work from the top down. That means that the higher up on the page you prioritize the content you want to be found, the higher up in search results it will position. Search engines are similar to humans in terms of what is interesting. So if you place your keywords in the header or at the top of your page, humans and search engines will prefer and rank you relative to your competitors. However, if your programming conflicts with this; meaning, your programming supersedes your content and displays your keywords on the front-end but doesn’t reflect this on the back-end, you might lose the SEO battle for your most important keywords.
Solution: Have me (ok ok, or some other professional) look at the source code with you. This evaluation literally takes a few minutes. An Internet marketing professional will teach you how to look at your source code and make sense out of the gobbledegook.
Remember: If you want to be interesting to people and search engines, put Derek Jeter and the Jets and football at the top of your content. But seriously folks. If you want to show up higher in search engines, your website needs to be evaluated and then you can implement suggestions made by an internet marketing professional. Start off with getting an evaluation. After all, it’s free. You have nothing to lose. Unfortunately, there are 20 other things that I recommend for all of you who are considering improving your website marketing in 2010. Next week we talk about industry keywords and how to research. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and install Google Analytics on your website. If you do, within a week’s time you will have some very valuable information regarding keyword research and your website.
What I didn’t talk about this week: if you love football, you should check out one of our newest partners Dr. John Frank, former tight-end for the SF 49ers at http://www.HairClinicUSA.com, a doctor with a passion for medicine who gave up his NFL career after 2 Super Bowl rings, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the $100 raffle winner who doesn’t know he won, ice-skating in Bryant Park, Team America, The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach and “Goo-gled: The End Of The World As We Know It” by Ken Auletta. And of course, if you would like to know more about evaluating your website, just give me a call at 212-993-5828, shoot me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. Its free you know. As in no charge 
Now - isn’t THAT interesting?
People Capital Announces Partnership with Prosper Marketplace
Posted by Aryeh.Landowne on Jan 11, 2010
American Banking News reports that People Capital (www.People2Capital.com), a peer-to-peer lending platform, has reached an agreement with Prosper Marketplace, another P2P lending service, to exchange referrals.
The agreement, which was announced on January 5th, 2010 calls for all loan inquires that do not meet Prosper’s requirements to be forwarded to People Capital. In return, People Capital will forward all loan requests that are not for student loans. Since People Capital only deals with student loans this is no loss for them and since Prosper Marketplace is a more established company any partnership could only help People Capital’s growth.
Click here to read the full article. Click here to visit People2Capital.com
Internet Marketing, Football, Sylvester Stallone, Ball Droppings and Insanity
Posted by Salem Global on Jan 5, 2010
Last week after writing about football and poker and what they had to do with Internet marketing and well, life itself, I received more feedback (positive feedback) than any of my posts over the past year. Well Happy 2010 everyone and thanks for the communication. After all, after writing, blogging and vlogging for the past 13 years, I deserve SOME form of acknowledgment that people are reading what I write. And it’s not all gushy mushy feel good stuff either. Its hard core marketing lessons that I have learned since I started up this company in 1997. Heck. I was blogging when people didn’t even know what blogging meant. My company pre-dates Facebook (so what) and Google! (Really?!?) Yup. And I have the domain name to prove it: Check out the waybackmachine for SalemGlobal.com - pretty cool huh?!
As I was saying, last week’s post got more feedback not because of my Internet marketing guru-ness, but because I finally gave the people what they wanted… Football! (Yes my friends. Football was more captivating than poker. Sad for me - but true)
And that leads me to write about getting back to basics. Think Rocky. (Gonna Fly Now - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ABifVq0pA - Eye of the Tiger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4kLlL6c2Pk) Think about how here was this street kid fighter from Philadelphia who was a nobody but he worked his butt off in the gym, ran up the steps to the liberty bell, lifted up his hands in victory and beat up Apollo Creed. But that’s not the real story. For those of you who don’t know this, I am proud to share with you the REAL Rocky story. The story of a writer, director and actor named Sylvester Stallone who walked into Hollywood, got pushed around and beaten up, but kept coming back for more. You see, Stallone WROTE the actual story and told Hollywood that he wanted to act and direct in it. They said they liked the screenplay but that they would get someone “famous” to play the part. Oh, and there would need to be some editing. Stallone said no way and walked out. They then walked back and said, “ok, here have some more money,” but he still said no. And he kept on saying no until he got his price and name in the credits. Well, as you know, Stallone went on to be one of the biggest action actors in Hollywood in his time. Imagine if he didn’t hold his ground and sold his book screenplay for a measly few thousand dollars. Where would he be today? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/trivia
So who saw the ball drop in Times Square Thursday night? Who watched it on TV? I didn’t. I actually don’t own a television. But I do have a computer with Internet access. And guess what? Some creative geniuses started to broadcast the Times Square NYC ball dropping a number of years ago and now they get MILLIONS of viewers to watch. But wait - there’s more. Some dude I met at a comedy club (Comix NYC) actually was one of the hosts interviewing people in Times Square. Harrison Greenbaum went from emceeing an open mic night to being broadcast into millions of home computers all over the world by being creative. True he wasn’t on TV. He isn’t in LA where thousands of comedians and actors are waiting tables until their lucky break comes. He got his face on the Internet and now he is on his way to stardom. Good going Harrison.
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Well, that is why a lot of organizations went out of business over the past 2 years. Sure, you can blame everything on the economy, on Madoff, on the president, on your personal troubles, whatever. That is what truly sets the winners apart from the losers. Simply put, losers give up. Winners adapt. Winners stay at it. Winners stay in the game and modify their strategy. And that is what you need to do in today’s cut-throat, dog-eat-dog world of business. It’s a war out there and many companies are dying. Business is slow. No one is buying. Everyone is cutting back.
Well guess what? That only means that truly the strong will survive. The endurance runners. The Shackeltons. The Rockys and the Harrisons.
So this year, as your competition prepares for another bad year of business, you need to get creative. You need to think about what you have been doing over and over again and what isn’t working and stop your insane behavior. You need to change it up. Yes its cliché but you still need to think out of the box. But this comes with a warning label. Don’t throw away what you have already done. Use it to your advantage and beat out your competition.
As an example, I know the value of a good domain name when I see one. Over the past year I have picked up some excellent domain names that have been around for years that were let go by businesses that didn’t see the value of a good DOTcom and let it go for peanuts. I can buy a domain name for $30 and turn it into $300, $3,000 and eventually (hopefully) $30,000. With each passing year, the value of a domain name goes up. Not just in price, but also in search engine value. That’s why perhaps I am somewhat of a packrat.
In addition to buying up domain names in the graveyard (you can get good rates on domain names at 1and1), SalemGlobal will be resurrecting 2 particular projects and starting up 2 new ventures in 2010.
First, we will be re-launching our MarketingDirectories.com directory and lead generation project.
Second, we will be re-launching our NYC Internet marketing seminars at TheSeminarSeries.com
Third, we will be opening up our offices to one to one private instruction for companies that can’t afford to hire a website marketing firm but can afford to train someone on staff to do some of the things that we do. Why not learn from the experts at a fraction of the price?
And finally, for now, I am proud to announce a new concept in business networking: Poker Networking. That’s right boys and girls. I am finally marrying 2 things I enjoy very much. Business networking and poker. Details available at www.PokerNetworking.us. Basically, we are starting up an exclusive group that wants to tell everyone who they are, what they do and get leads and referrals, but are tired of the mixers and minglers and breakfasts and lunches. Hey - we have all been networking and running around in the same circles for YEARS. Let’s have a little fun now shall we?
So this week’s message is simple yet you are still going to have to exercise that left-side of your brain. Get out of the box. Be creative. Don’t throw away the marketing you have done to date. Work with it. Review it. Modify it. Apply it and beat out your competition. After all, people and companies are ALWAYS going to need your businesses services. And if you are one small step ahead of your competition, you will win the race.
Want to know more about Internet marketing, football, poker, Rocky, domain names or private website marketing instruction? Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we get back to the 21 basics of Internet marketing; Evaluating your website for improvement. Oh. And Ice Skating, Freakonomics, Team America, Zack and Miri.
Happy 1st Quarter 2010 Everyone!
Raphi Salem