Why Webinars Work

Sometimes, when you are home, cozy on your couch with your bunny slippers on, don’t you feel a bit sorry for the traveling salesman of yore? Imagine how tough his life was, donning a soft hat, moseying from town to town to show his wares in hopes of a new customer. No wonder his life was the subject of one of the greatest American theatrical tragedies.

Well, it’s not the 1950s anymore, and, to use another cliché, you—and the sales business—have come a long way, baby! And one of the greatest inventions of the last few decades is, without doubt, the webinar.

The webinar is basically the most powerful sales tool you could ever imagine. Just think, with it you can:

• Share data in a rich, immediate way, gathering a quorum of interested people no matter where they or you are. No dusty hat or plane trips needed for you. No travel approvals needed for your prospective client.
• Record your pitch, meaning that even if someone can’t meet with you, they can absorb your story later and even share it with their co-workers and other decision-makers.
• Enjoy webinars (if you have the right solution…hint,hint!) from any device out there, making it easier than ever to reach that prospect no matter where they might be.

The most important part of the webinar is, of course, you. And that is the one thing you and that traveling salesman have in common—you need to dazzle your prospects no matter where they might be.

But don’t worry, we have you covered. Visit our homepage and sign up for our free training module on how to be a dazzling virtual presenter. And then settle back down on the couch and get ready to wow the world, no hat—or, hey, even shoes—required.

Present with Confidence

There are many advantages to today’s virtual business world. You get to work from home and eat pizza at your desk in your PJs while jamming away on your documents. You don’t get stuck at the water cooler with that same guy—you know the one—every day. And you don’t have to do nearly as much business travel, meaning you can make all those critical sales presentations right from your desk, eating that pizza in your PJs. Awesome, right? Well, if we’re honest, not really.

Any great salesperson will tell you that to make a sale you have to win hearts and minds. And it isn’t easy to do that from thousands of miles away. Also, presenting without a room full of people offering you reassuring nods can be a bit daunting. How do you present with confidence in web meetings when you don’t even know what the person on the other end is doing while you present, never mind what they are wearing!

At YouDazzle, we’ve worked hard to give you the tools you need to present with confidence and get the results you need no matter where you might be. Here’s just a few ways how:

• Make your data room your new conference room: YouDazzle’s professional, secure data rooms mean you can easily send your audience to get the documents you are referring to, making information sharing effortless and effective.
• Provide that missing “personal touch” with co-browsing: Make your sales interactions more interactive and convert more leads by viewing your website and other sales materials in real-time with your prospects, recruits and customers. No more hoping folks visit your website and buy. Be there live to answer questions, solve problems and build stronger relationships. Shop together, fill out forms together, and grow your business.
• Meetings can be spontaneous again—no matter where you are: Simply share your personalized web address for real-time meetings. Instantly share your files and screen from any computer or device, including iPads, iPhones and Androids. Much simpler and faster than 1st generation web meeting products like GoToMeeting and WebEx, YouDazzle is the only way to share files live from tablets and mobile phones.

So, relax, take a deep breath. Have another slice of pizza even. And get ready to dazzle your prospects. And don’t forget to reward yourself for your success with a new pair of pajamas! (Seriously, we think you might need some.)

Screen Sharing: When (and Why) It Matters

First off, let me say that for many of us (myself included) screen sharing has meant getting a glimpse at a co-worker’s personal emails as he scrambles to pull up a PowerPoint. Or laughing at someone’s personal IM from her adoring boyfriend, which pops up when, of course, she is presenting to a potential customer. So, given these true horror stories, why would anyone ever dream of screen sharing. Because screen sharing is grown up—now it is about co-browsing.

And because, like most powers, in the right hands, it is amazing.

Screen sharing takes web meetings from talking to doing. It takes sales from leads to closes. It takes budgets from pending to finalized. By sharing a screen, you can share information in real-time. So, yes, screen sharing isn’t important for a static presentation. But for those times when you want to engage with customers, colleagues and prospects despite the miles, screen sharing is critical.

Here are some sample case uses:

• Filling out forms: There is nothing more frustrating than filling out a new form. Even when people PDF you samples of what you do step by step, it is still a nuisance. With screen sharing, you can walk a customer right through the sign-up process and get the sales done right then and there, with minimal hassle for the customers—and you.
• Sharing information in real-time: From working on budgets and documents to simply surfing to a cool new website with highly relevant information, screen sharing let’s you get information in a much more timely manner, making decisions rather than adding to to-do lists.
• Remote training and support: Get your sales force up and running in no time no matter where they are, knowing that they understand you and your product—and that they actually completed the necessary training! And when people need help, it is no problem.
• Most of all, communicate with your branding: when you screen share you can be in control of your own destiny and you can be sure to project your company’s brand the way you want to, whenever you want to.

This list is just a start. How do you use screen sharing? Together, we can use screen sharing to take over the world (no evil laugh included at the end of this sentence!)

Virtual Handshakes and Mobile Meetings: A Day in the Life of Bill and Sally

Ever get the feeling that technology has depersonalized the world? And that despite all the claims of social networking, it is getting worse the faster and faster we move forward? Worst of all, ever notice how technology impacts business, where something as simple as a handshake or a face-to-face meeting can be the difference between a sale and a dead end?

It doesn’t have to be that way. There really is power with technology’s promise. And its name isn’t Facebook, it is the cloud. The cloud has evolved to the point where it can be a truly effective sales tool, allowing you to share not just files, but videos and your desktop—all in real time. And with built-in security, file tracking and analytics, it gives you the control you need to run your business efficiently. Best of all, by leveraging the power of the cloud, the content you want to share is available to any device—desktop, smartphone or tablet.

Let’s take Sally and Bill, a couple in Portland, Oregon.  Sally is an architect and Bill is a digital creative designer.  They were both looking for an easy way to collaborate with their clients and teams.

Sally uses YouDazzle to upload and share her latest CAD drawings and renderings with her clients, contractors and builders. She has a weekly web meeting with the contractors to discuss blueprints, identify budget, and resolve scheduling issues early in the project. Sally is constantly on the go so she has the ability to view the latest CAD drawing directly on her smartphone. Her meetings may not be face to face but her busy clients and colleagues appreciate the new face to face: device to device communication that is easy and detailed.

Bill is a digital, creative designer who designs marketing campaigns, develops brand identities and viral videos.  He was looking for an easy way to share client deliverables, manage timelines, and client approvals.  He collaborates with his clients via his branded YouDazzle data rooms.  He receives real-time notification when a file has been viewed along with comments that drive his project workflows forward.  He can peer into the analytics and learn how his business development efforts are progressing and whether his prospects have viewed his portfolio samples or not. He may not be looking his clients in the eye—but he is going one step further and understanding their behavior.

Sally and Bill are like thousands of YouDazzle customers working and collaborating in the cloud. They may not be gathering at the water cooler with  co-workers, but they are using the cloud to find a way to let distances disappear—and even make you closer. By sharing details never before possible and making work mobile in a way people didn’t dream of even a few years ago, YouDazzle is helping personalize technology and empower a new generation of businesses. And there’s nothing wrong with a virtual handshake…especially in cold season!

Making Work Actually Work

“[O]ur attraction to a world of infinite possibility, information and complexity is here to stay. The challenge is how to participate productively in this new and turbulent world, and not be paralyzed by it.” –David Allen, “When Office Technology Overwhelms, Get Organized,” The New York Times, 3/18/12

Well-known business consultant David Allen contributed a fascinating column this past weekend to The New York Times, which addresses the conundrum he describes in the quote above. Basically, Allen is writing about what we all feel: technology has made our lives easier but in doing so has also piled a lot more management headaches on us and added job responsibilities onto our shoulders. So, the challenge is, how do we make technology really work for us?

Allen has a lot of great organizational tips, including a simple one that many people ignore at their peril: if something will only take 2 minutes, do it right away. Also, he notes that we need to make lists not just for the sake of list making but to actually get something accomplished.

There’s where we really think secure online data rooms can help. If we are able to organize our files online in an actual system, then we can achieve a few goals straight away:

• We can send people after information found in a clear, centralized place rather than having to create endless email chains trying to get data to people.
• We can track what data is actually being used via analytics and then we can avoid wasting time on data that no one is even bothering to look at.
• We can invite others to contribute to our data rooms, cutting down on work cycles and making work collaborative again.

As Allen says, “To be successful in the new world of work, we need to create a structure for capturing, clarifying and organizing all the forces that assail us; and to ensure time and space for thinking, reflecting and decision making.”

Now, data rooms are just one small step towards this overall goal, but wouldn’t it be nice to clear your desk and clear your mind by putting everything in one organized place and then seeing what gets used when? Not only will you feel a sense of accomplishment when things get done—a sense we rarely get in this modern work world—but you can avoid doing work that no one even uses. Now, isn’t that a novel concept.

So, go and get your list started. As Allen says, organize by priority and don’t let the most recent thing become tops just because it is top of mind. And remember to add a bit of free time to that list because once you get your data room up and running, you might even have time to do something for yourself for a change. (Just don’t tell your boss…or your spouse!)

It’s Dropbox, But With Personality!

Here at YouDazzle, we don’t mind telling you that we are fans of Dropbox. It’s a great tool! But frankly we’ve long thought that it is a bit too impersonal and not quite powerful enough to share with prospects and partners. So, we’ve spruced it up, and our users—and longtime Dropbox users—are loving the results. PC Magazine even pointed out our Dropbox integration as one reason why we are one of its 25 Best Small Business Apps for 2012.

So, what’s our secret sauce? It’s simple:

• Custom branding: Add your own branding to Dropbox folders and make your brand stand out whenever you share content and collaborate online. Add your logo and color choice in seconds to present a consistent and professional image.
• Web meetings: Instantly share Dropbox files with up to 100 people at once. YouDazzle web meetings are 100% browser-based, require no download, and work with virtually any computer, tablet, or device.
• Commenting: Extend the collaboration capabilities of Dropbox by adding comments to your files. Exchange feedback and ideas with team members, clients, customers, and prospects, and keep everyone in the loop.
• Activity analytics: Keep on top of who’s looking at your files. Stay in touch with trends and decision-making processes with instant feedback on deals and projects! No more wondering if someone viewed your files.
• Enhanced viewer: View Dropbox files without leaving your browser in large format with helpful viewing tools like zoom and multiple page display. YouDazzle viewer supports 300+ popular file types including MS Office files, PDFs, and many more.

So, give it a try today and let us know what you think. We believe that together YouDazzle and Dropbox bring Cloud-based information to life in a way never before possible!

How To Be Successful From Your Home Without Even Trying…

Well, OK, You do have to try, but today’s virtual workplace gives us endless opportunities to create not just our own businesses but our own business “lifestyles”. We can work from a desk, from a patio, from a local Starbucks. However, no matter what lifestyle we might choose, there are still some constants in what makes a “virtual”  business person successful in mind, spirit and pocketbook.

• Put on some polish: Although you may be working in your sweatpants, nothing about your business needs to be rough and tumble. Create branded data rooms for your files and make sure you have a consistent look and feel across all that you do.
• Connect with people in meaningful work ways: Even if you are operating from your mobile phone in your neighbor’s backyard, you can hold web meetings that can be interactive and insightful. Opt for solutions that require no downloads, work on all platforms and feature co-browsing, which is the new feature that everyone is going to expect of your meetings in the future. Don’t just show people something, guide them to solutions.
• Connect with people in meaningful non-work ways: Feel like Facebook is your only outlet for human interaction? That is not good, my friend. Give yourself time every day to escape from your work cave, no matter how glamorous it might be, and see friends. Heck, even make some new ones. Let’s face it, no one likes to be alone all the time.
• Start a blog: People love to learn from other’s experiences (including their mistakes). Let your customers and prospects hear your real voice, despite the miles between you. It will do wonders for your personal brand equity and allegiance.  And it will get the word out on your business too.
• Do everything in moderation:  Rome was not built (or even destroyed) in one day. The biggest peril of working virtually is that your office goes with you everywhere. Your best work in not the work you are going to do at 2 a.m. Even though you have the ability to work around the clock, try to establish regular work hours and stick with them. The most successful people aren’t the ones that work the hardest; they are the ones that work the smartest.

So, you can see how these tips will help your mind and spirit, but what about the pocketbook, you say? Well,  if you use these tips to create balance in your life and power in your business, the money will follow…and thanks to GPS it can find you no matter where you are!

Why Traditional Web Meetings Often Fail—and Never Succeed

A long time ago, web meetings were created to augment face-to-face meetings. They were yet another tool technology was offering to bring us closer. Then, the economy crashed and web meetings became the only way to get close to anyone, be it your colleagues, partners, customers or prospects. This technology, created to be an aid to interpersonal communications, became the whole shebang. And, frankly, it just doesn’t work.

Think of it. Have you ever had a web meeting that was actually satisfying? Or even actually worked? Traditional web meetings have a horrible track record and a bad reputation, which is unfortunately well deserved. But you know all this. Enough with the problems. What about the solution?

We wish the simple solution was to double that travel budget of yours, but that sure isn’t happening anytime soon. So, instead, here are the top three pitfalls of traditional web meetings and some ways around them:

1)    It’s The Download, Stupid: Let’s face it, most of the reasons why web meetings don’t work is that they aren’t really, simple web solutions. They require downloads. In this day and age, no one should have software sitting on their computer. Say no to downloads, say yes to the cloud.

2)    Roam Where You Want To: The whole idea of the mobile office is to be mobile. It is ironic that in this time of virtual everything, people would be tied to their desks to have a meeting. Think of it, when you meet people in person, you aren’t always stuck in the board room. So, find a solution that works on any device and get out there.

3)    A Little More Conversation: Traditional web meetings are all lecture, little conversation. You don’t actually share anything, unless it’s those awkward glimpses at someone’s mailboxes or an unfortunately timed IM from the presenter’s boyfriend. There is a whole new world of interpersonal relationships out there in cyberspace, people! It’s called co-browsing and it will let you take people with you to find what they need and even to fill out online forms (like purchase orders—you get where we are going with this!). Now, this is what web meetings should be about!

So, long story short, there is hope out there! So clear your hard drive of any of those dinosaur web meeting solutions you might have, and start anew! You’ll be glad you did…although we’ll all kind of miss those awkward glimpses into our co-workers’ email! Hey, we’re only human after all!

Collaboration: That Loaded Term

There are certain terms that have become passé in the tech space, words that have lost all meaning in their over-use, words such as best-of-breed or cutting-edge (or our personal favorite, bleeding-edge, whatever the heck that is). But a few years ago would you ever imagine that an innocent term like collaboration could become so loaded?

In today’s world of all things social, collaboration has started to signify everything from editing photo books as a group to creating budgets as a team. Everyone and their brother claims they have a solution that will let you work together in ways never before dreamed possible.

Consider this definition from Wikipedia:

“Due to the complexity of today’s business environment, collaboration in technology encompasses a broad range of tools that enable groups of people to work together including social networking, instant messaging, team spaces, web sharing, audio conferencing, video, and telephony. Broadly defined, any technology that facilitates linking of two or more humans to work together can be considered a collaborative tool. Wikipedia, Blogs, even Twitter are collaborative tools. Many large companies are developing enterprise collaboration strategies and standardizing on a collaboration platform to allow their employees, customers and partners to intelligently connect and interact.”

If everything from Wikipedia itself to Twitter are collaborative tools, how can you possibly decide what tool is best for your business? Well, we at YouDazzle wanted to offer some simple criteria: present and share, keep your information central and accessible on all your devices.

How can you apply this to your business in a simple way? Deploy a simple solution that combines web meetings, screen sharing and online file sharing:

Present and share—creating Cloud-based data rooms where you can share files is a simple, organized way that you can present information and see what people are viewing when, accessing analytics that will help you give your partners, colleagues and customers what they need to best do their jobs. Add to this a web meeting solution that doesn’t require any downloads or other fuss, as well as some co-browsing features and you have an easy way to communicate, present and share.

Keep it centralized—having an online space where you can store all of your files in an orderly way, including tracking revisions, makes all the difference in the world. Forget about complicated platforms as they just mean more IT support headaches and endless passwords, create a branded data room that can build your image while controlling your content.

Accessible—having that online data room means that you can share documents, track projects and involve people as needed all from one simple place. Best of all, with a Cloud-based solution you are fully mobile, you can accomplish collaboration from anywhere, meaning you have way more options than ever before.

See, once you get past the hype, not everything has to be coined “collaboration .”  After all, people are looking for an easy way to share and present information without all the complexities.  And if that isn’t best-of-breed, I just don’t know what is!