Windows Server 2003 Set To Expire July 14th!
If your organization is currently running either Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Exchange 2003 on any servers in your office, you need to know about a dangerous security threat to your organization that must be addressed very soon.
Windows Server 2003 and Exchange 2003 Replacements
MUST Be Made By July 14, 2015
Microsoft has officially announced that it will retire all support on the Server 2003 operating system on July 14, 2015. That means any business with this operating system still running will be completely exposed to serious hacker attacks aimed at taking control of your network, stealing data, crashing your system and inflicting a host of other business-crippling problems you do NOT want to have to deal with.
This is such a serious threat that the US Department Of Homeland Security has issued an official warning to all companies still running this operating system because firewalls and antivirus software will NOT be sufficient to completely protect your business from malicious attacks or data exfiltration. Running Server 2003 will also put many organizations out of compliance.
Unless you don’t care about cybercriminals running rampant in your company’s computer network, you MUST upgrade any equipment running this software.
FREE Windows Server 2003 Migration Plan Shows You The
Easiest, Most Budget-Friendly Way To Upgrade Your Server
During the month of April, we are offering a FREE customized Windows Server 2003 migration plan to all businesses still running this operating system on any computers in their office. At no cost, we’ll conduct a full analysis of your network to help you determine what specific servers will be affected by this announcement. Additionally, we will provide a detailed analysis of all upgrade options available to you, along with the pros and cons of each option. We will then put together a customized Server 2003 Migration Plan specifically for your office.
Because of the intense one-on-one time required to create these Windows Server 2003 Migration Plans, we can only extend this offer to the first seven lucky companies who request it by April 30th. All you have to do is call our office at 724.235.8750 or email info@intechit.net with the subject “Server 2003 Migration!” to request yours today.
Six Easy Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is a great social media platform for entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals. Unfortunately, your LinkedIn profile may not be helping you to create those connections.
So let’s tune yours up with six simple steps:
Step 1. Revisit your goals. At its most basic level, LinkedIn is about marketing: marketing your company or marketing yourself. Think about your goals and convert your goals into keywords, because keywords are how people find you on LinkedIn.
But don’t just whip out a keyword tool to identify popular keywords. Go a step further and think about words that have meaning in your industry. Use a keyword tool to find general terms that could attract a broader audience, and then dig deeper to target your niche by identifying keywords industry insiders might search for.
Step 2. Layer in your keywords. The headline is a key factor in search results, so pick your most important keyword and make sure it appears in your headline. Then work through the rest of your profile and replace some of the vague descriptions of skills, experience and educational background with keywords.
Step 3. Strip out the clutter. The average person has changed jobs six to eight times before they reach age 30. Sift through your profile and weed out or streamline anything that doesn’t support your business or professional goals. If you’re currently a Web designer but once worked in accounting, a comprehensive listing of your accounting background is distracting.
Step 4. Add in some personality. Focusing on keywords and eliminating clutter is important, but in the process your individuality probably got lost. Now add enthusiasm and flair. Share why you love what you do in your profile. Describe what you hope to accomplish. Remember, no one connects with keywords. People connect with people.
Step 5. Take a good look at your profile photo. A photo is a little like a logo. On its own an awesome photo won’t win business, but a bad photo can definitely lose business.
A good photo flatters but doesn’t mislead. The goal is for your photo to reflect how you will look when you meet a customer, not how you looked at some killer party. The best photo strikes a balance be-tween professionalism and ap-proachability, making you look good but also real.
Step 6. Get recommendations. Most of us can’t resist reading testimonials, even when we know those testimonials were probably solicited. So ask for recommendations, and offer to provide recommendations before you’re asked. The best way to build great connections is to always be the one who gives first.
Customers Expect More
In today’s market, as in none before, it is crucial that we learn selling savvy. The sales environment has changed radically in four distinct ways:
1. Customers are better-educated, more sophisticated and more value-conscious. In other words, they are harder to please; they want more for their money. Think about your own demands as a consumer. You insist on quality goods and efficient service. You don’t want some slick con artist trying to trick you into buying a product or service you don’t want or need. And you don’t want to be abandoned after the sale. You expect follow-up service. If something goes wrong, you want to know that the salesperson and the company are going to stand behind the sale.
This means that salespeople have to stay on top of their markets. They have to be knowledgeable about the products and services they are selling. And they have to be honest—they have to be sincerely interested in helping their customers find value and derive satisfaction.
2. Competition is stiffer. Customers now have so many options that price will always be the deciding factor—unless you can offer a strong differential advantage. That means you have to offer something that sets you apart from all the other salespeople who are trying to get your customers to buy from them. You have to provide quicker service, more up-to-date product knowledge and better follow-up. Moreover, your customers must acknowledge the superiority of your products and services, and the object of your presentation should be to lead them toward that recognition and acknowledgment.
If you can’t lead your customers to that acknowledgment, you won’t get the sale, no matter how good your product. Your success in selling depends less and less on the product you are selling, and more and more on your skills as a salesperson.
3. Technology is rapidly replacing peddlers. People are buying more through direct mail. The Internet is making it possible to buy almost anything you want at the click of a mouse. Companies are no longer looking for peddlers to handle items that are much easier to sell online or through the mail. In many cases, they’re setting up self-service systems that can be operated by clerks. Of course, there are plenty of very good opportunities for really sharp salespeople who can sell with power and skill, especially in the industrial field.
To be successful as a salesperson, you must find ways to distinguish yourself from the inexpensive clerks and the commonplace peddlers. You must rise to the challenge with proficient skills, depth of knowledge and a positive attitude.
4. Time has become a priceless commodity. Prospects don’t want salespeople wasting their time. And if you’re serious about becoming successful, you don’t have time to wander around showing your products or services to anyone who will look at them.
To survive in today’s volatile marketplace, you need a clear and effective strategy. You need the skills to implement that strategy. And you need the know-how to make that strategy work for you. When you acquire and apply these things, you’re demonstrating selling savvy.
Dr. Nido Qubein is president of High Point University, an undergraduate and graduate institution with 4,300 students from 40 countries. He has authored two dozen books and audio programs distributed worldwide. As a business leader, he is chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company, with 220 stores in 43 states. He serves on the boards of several national organizations, including BB&T (a Fortune 500 company with $185 billion in assets), the La-Z-Boy Corporation (one of the largest and most recognized furniture brands worldwide) and Dots Stores (a chain of fashion boutiques with more than 400 locations across the country). As a professional speaker, Dr. Qubein has received many distinctions, including the Golden Gavel Medal, induction into the International Speaker Hall of Fame and as the founder of the NSA Foundation in Arizona. To learn more about Dr. Qubein, go to: http://www.nidoqubein.com/
Shiny New Gadget Of The Month:
TextBlade
When we are surrounded by touch-screen mobile devices, sometimes we can get a little nostalgic for a good old-fashioned keyboard. Sure, there are a number of apps that make typing on a touch-screen easier, but tactile feedback is non-existent. Or we want to type something more substantial than a text message or quick email, and we don’t want to go through the chore of typing it all out on a small screen. And then it’s often hard to find a wireless keyboard that is both practical and truly portable.
The WayTools TextBlade aims to solve these problems. The TextBlade offers a fully-featured and responsive solution—while maximizing portability. Through a Bluetooth connection, you can sync it up to your favorite smartphone or tablet. The lithium polymer battery lasts upwards of a month with average use, and it’s quickly recharged via USB. Small but powerful magnets keep it held in place when you’re using it and when it’s tucked away in your pocket.
It’s priced at $99 and you can find it online at www.waytools.com.
“Are You Touching People Appropriately?”
As business leaders, we are called to interact with our staff and customers in the most positive and constructive ways possible, whether it’s verbally on the phone or in meetings, written in emails or our marketing material, or non-verbally in our gestures.
My dear friend and peer coach, Peter Verlezza took this idea coined the term ‘Touching People In Appropriate Ways.’ Yes, Peter did craft the phrase to make you look and read it twice. And he did so quite purposefully.
Everyone likes to be communicated to in a certain way. Sometimes the way they like to be communicated to is NOT how you usually communicate. And this causes tension in the relationship.
Research shows that leaders who ‘touch their staff appropriately’ actually get about 2x the amount of work out of them! That is HUGE!
Customers who feel you are not ‘touching them appropriately’ will soon leave along with the revenue they provide your business.
Are you touching your staff and customers appropriately? What can you do each day, deliberately, to cultivate these relationships?
Peter believes in this concept so strongly, that in addition to putting the philosophy into practice in his own business, he started a podcast series by the same title where he interviews movers and shakers, many multi-millionaires, to see how they Touch People In Appropriate Ways. You can find him on the podcast app by searching for Peter Verlezza or visit www.tpiaw.com to subscribe and take a listen.
To Your Continued Success,
Who Else Wants To Win A $25 Gift Card?
The Grand Prize Winner from last month’s Trivia Challenge was Carmen Irwing of Uptegraff Manufacturing!
Here’s this month’s trivia question. The winner will receive a $25 VISA Gift Card.
One famous April Fools’ Day hoax occurred in the 1957 when the BBC aired a curious story that tricked quite a few viewers into believing they could grow what?
a) Musical Shrubbery
b) Horse-sized Hamsters
c) Spaghetti Trees
d) Chocolate Potatoes
Email us right now with your answer! info@intechit.net
