Computer Gossip

Long time Keyword Elite users will be elated to know that Brad Callen is almost ready to launch Keyword Elite 2.0. I have been using this tool for a long time now, and I can definitely say that it is my favorite keyword research tool. Whether I need to research keywords for my PPC campaigns or for SEO purposes, it has always been my tool of choice. The new version of the software looks to have several exciting new features, and I am anxiously waiting to play with it when it is released.

Below is a list of a few of my favorite new changes that will be part of this new keyword research tool.

Polished new interface. The user interface of Keyword Elite 2 has been totally redesigned from scratch. The software now has a brand new Web 2.0 look that will make using the software much more enjoyable to use.

Adwords Time Machine. Now you keep track of others in your niche and see their Google Adwords campaigns for the past 6 months. This allows you to copy their landing pages and use their ad copy which you know gets high click through rates.

Adwords Site Targeter. With this new feature, you can discover which sites are using Google Adsense in your niche. This allows you to target your own ads in Google Adwords, or setup a media buy with the site owner. Targeted placements = higher conversions.

JV Diamond Miner. This tool allows you to see related sites that collect customer emails. By talking to these site owners, you may be able to setup a joint venture with them and advertise your own product on potentially lucrative areas of their site. This is one tactic that that affiliate marketers rarely use, but can work very well.

Super Fast Results. The new Keyword Elite 2.0 is 10 times faster than the previous version. Instead of minutes, you now get your results in seconds. Existing Keyword Elite users will be stunned at the difference in speed between the two.

I have just listed a few of the new features that will be available when Brad Callen releases Keyword Elite 2.0. This doesn’t include the enhancements that I didn’t get a chance to mention so look for them as well. Brad Callen is known for releasing great products for internet marketers, and I am confident that he will not disappoint here. Be sure to get your copy of this advanced keyword research tool when it is available.

In the past few years the competition in the Realtor internet marketing industry has picked up pace. There is more competition today than there was two or three years from now. There are increasingly more people who are focusing their attention on the real estate market. This is why it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to focus their attention on building a reputation online. Its also imperative that they understand the tools they have at their disposal.

A blog is a web 2. 0 application that allows Realtor internet marketing people to blog about their business, themselves and their expertise. Its helps grab the attention of would be prospects and converts them into clients. Its like writing a daily or weekly column in a newspaper but only now you are writing it on your blog. This helps attract more people to your business.

People want to talk to and deal with people who are considered experts and a blog helps you do just that. Once people know that you are an expert in your field they will come to you for advice. Even though a blog is like a one way dialogue it still helps focus on bringing in potential customers very effectively.

The second thing and probably the most important thing you want to do if you want to be found on the internet is to optimize your blog and your website. You need to do some keyword research to find out what keywords people will use in order to find your business.

You need to target a specific list of keywords which you think that your clients will be searching for when there are looking for a businesses such as yours. The better your keyword research the more traffic you will get and in turn more clients.

Getting good organic traffic from SEO efforts is not going to happen over night. When a business is starting you will need a way to purchase good quality traffic. This is done via SEM or search engine marketing. You can purchase pay per click ad words from Google and other search engines so that when a prospect types in the keywords you are targeting your advertisement and link pops up.

This helps get traffic to your website. However you should be able to use this tool effectively because if not done right it can eat right though your advertising budget with no results to show.

When I ran small contact centers outside of New York City there was no VoIP technology. The reps you managed were right in the same room with you, hardwired to the switch. The idea of working from your home was a remote possibility, pardon the pun.

Since quality management is not a new concept even then, we were working to improve the quality of our team. We determined all the elements of a high quality call and created a call evaluation profile. When we listened to calls we checked for each quality element and gave it a subjective rating of 1 to 100, just like the school grading system. We rated items like; using the appropriate greeting, a pleasant tone-of-voice, fast efficient service, offering the current promotion, asking the wrap-up questions and a pleasant goodbye.

To accomplish this I used a big clunky headset that plugged right into the reps set and allowed me to hear the whole exchange. What I learned was this, if properly trained; almost everyone can render good service when their supervisor is sitting next to them.

Then we got a silent monitoring device. Everybodys phone connected to this device including mine. All I had to do was dial the right combination of numbers and I was listening to the rep I needed to evaluate. Although the reps understood that they could be monitored they never knew when. Immediately I experienced a more realistic view of our quality. It wasnt what I thought it was. But the ratings were made, discussion ensued and the quality improved. The more evaluations I did the better they got.

I thought it was the fear of being caught that motivated my reps to higher quality. But I quickly found out that our improvements came from the discussion and coaching that followed the ratings, not the threat of bad ratings.

The people who worked for me cared about quality and customer satisfaction. I had already sorted through the reps that didnt care and kept the good ones. Then when I ran into this statistic I was not surprised at all.

BenchmarkPortal a leading source of CRM information and practices for call centers, reported that 62% of surveyed respondents indicated that most of their agents appreciate the feedback and value of the center’s monitoring and coaching process; 31% said that most agents are neutral; and 7% reported that most agents dislike the process.

And then one day it hit me, who was I to determine what good quality was? I needed to survey the customer to determine if the call had actually gone well. What I found was surprising. First, speed was not nearly as important as getting the services done or the sale made on the first call. Everybody hated the dreaded Well have to call you back on that.

Also when the rep had a personal connection, like a shared experience or common background a brief discussion often occurred. Typically that discussion is evaluated as going off topic and the call rating suffered. However the customer usually found that to be nice and went away with a much better feeling about the company. Go figure, efficiency is not always profitable!

So my lesson was this, monitoring without satisfaction surveys is not the best approach. Make sure that your view of quality and the customers view line-up.

I had a much more experienced colleague that my boss mistakenly sent me down to coach in Atlanta. She was great at her job. She had a telephone sales rep who she told great stories about. He was reputed to have overcome the most feared of all objections – I dont buy anything without seeing it in writing first! One day in a stroke of absolute genius he told the customer that he could live with that. Just pick up your pen and write this down. At that point the customer was so amused that all the tension in the call evaporated. Needless to say the sale was made along with a new legend.

There is a point to this, if my colleague had call recording she could have captured that call. Then the magic of the moment could be used for training and coaching others. But its also true that bad calls are good for training and coaching. However, be aware that pride plays a big part in performance and if you embarrass a rep in front of their team they may feel really down about you as a manager and the company.

The technology to manage quality is no longer an expensive option. SafeSoft Solutions offers these features with its predictive dialer application called the Market Dialer.

SafeSoft is committed to removing the investment barrier to technology adoption. When you implement a SafeSoft predictive dialing solution, you get a complete package – for one affordable monthly fee per seat. That includes domestic long distance and voice services like announcements and call recording. Customers can simply pay as they go, using the service as long as they like, and stopping at anytime, with no cancellation fees or penalties of any kind. We are changing the industry by delivering the promise and power of the Internet in ways that free companies to innovate and adapt.

Considering an MCSE? It’s very possible then that you’ll fall into one of two camps: You are a knowledgeable person and you should formalise your skills with the Microsoft qualification. Instead you could be completely new to commercial IT, and you’ve found there is a great need for certified networking professionals.

Be sure you check that your provider is educating you on the latest level of Microsoft development. Many trainees have come unstuck when it turns out they have been studying for an outdated MCSE program which now needs updating. A company’s mission statement must be centred on the best thing for their clients, and the whole company should care about what they do. Studying isn’t simply about qualifications – the process should be all about assisting you in working on the best action plan for your future.

A typical blunder that students everywhere can make is to look for the actual course to take, instead of focusing on where they want to get to. Training academies have thousands of unaware students that chose an ‘interesting’ course – in place of something that could gain them their end-goal of a job they enjoyed. It’s a terrible situation, but the majority of trainees begin programs that seem wonderful in the marketing materials, but which delivers a career that doesn’t satisfy. Talk to many university students for a real eye-opener.

Prioritise understanding what industry will expect from you. What exams you’ll be required to have and in what way you can gain some industry experience. It’s also worth spending time thinking about how far you wish to build your skill-set as often it can affect your choice of certifications. Take guidance from an experienced industry professional, even if you have to pay – it’s usually much cheaper and safer to find out at the start if something is going to suit and interest you, instead of discovering following two years of study that you’re doing entirely the wrong thing and now need to go back to square one.

It only makes sense to consider training programs which progress to commercially recognised accreditations. There’s a plethora of small companies suggesting minor ‘in-house’ certificates which are worthless in today’s commercial market. Unless your qualification is issued by a conglomerate such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco or CompTIA, then you may discover it will be commercially useless – because it won’t give an employer any directly-useable skills.

IT has become amongst the most electrifying and revolutionary industries to be involved in today. Being up close and personal with technology is to do your bit in the gigantic changes shaping life over the next few decades. We’ve only just begun to get an inclination of how technology is going to shape our lives. Technology and the web will significantly transform how we see and interrelate with the rest of the world over the coming years.

Should lifestyle be up there on your goal sheet, you’ll welcome the news that the income on average for most men and women in IT is considerably higher than salaries in most other jobs or industries. Demand for well trained and qualified IT technicians is a fact of life for a good while yet, because of the ongoing expansion in this sector and the very large skills gap still present.

Many training companies will provide a useful Job Placement Assistance facility, to help you into your first commercial role. But don’t place too much emphasis on it – it isn’t unusual for eager sales people to overplay it. The fact of the matter is, the still growing need for IT personnel in the UK is what will enable you to get a job.

Help with your CV and interview techniques might be provided (if it isn’t, consult one of our sites). Be sure to you work on your old CV today – not when you’re ready to start work! Having the possibility of an interview is more than not being known. Often junior jobs are got by students (sometimes when they’ve only just got going.) The most efficient companies to help you land that job are generally specialised and independent recruitment consultants. As they’re keen to place you to receive their commission, they have the necessary incentive to try that bit harder.

Just make sure you don’t spend hundreds of hours on your training and studies, and then just stop and leave it in the hands of the gods to secure your first position. Stop procrastinating and get on with the job. Invest as much time and energy into finding your first job as you did to gain the skills.

You should look for accredited simulation materials and an exam preparation system as part of your course package. Don’t fall foul of relying on non-official exam papers and questions. Their phraseology can be quite different – and this could lead to potential problems in the actual examination. Mock exams will prove very useful in helping you build your confidence – so much so, that at the real deal, you don’t get uptight.