Tips From Toli

Bank Of America Site Down STILL - Hack?

2011-10-03T14:00:00.002-04:00

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/2011-03-12-cnbc-millionaire-habits_N.htm

2011-07-04T14:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/2011-03-12-cnbc-millionaire-habits_N.htm

Make your own movie trailer! I did!

2011-03-15T01:58:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to the trailer I made for the new movie Priest using their browser app.

It was fun! Try it!

http://www.sony.com/smimages/priesttrailerchallenge/sharer.php?vid=4438

Tron Is Coming!!

2010-09-26T21:58:00.002-04:00

This movie is going to crank!! Can't wait!

How Tiger Woods Can Turn A Sow's Ear Into A Silk Purse

2009-12-16T01:52:00.004-05:00

Tiger has a unique opportunity to reinvent himself which is rarely afforded - and it's not by "sucking up" to the media.

It is by publicly taking full responsibility for the complete ramifications of his actions. And also acknowledging, and promoting how wrong and damaging infedelity is.

He can be the interim but catalyzing "poster child" for the re-popularizing of morals in our society. This single act would restore his image and then some.

He has affected the lives of literally BILLIONS of people with this when you consider all of the people in the US, Europe and Asia who idolize him - especially the children who look up to him and their parents who promoted him as an example to strive to.

If he comes out and uses the fact of his transgressions to set a new example, one of a newly realized need and importance of morality, he can totally rise again and be more beloved than ever. And, at the same time, once again, setting a prime example for the world.

BOOK REVIEW: Soul Stealer By Michael Easton

2008-11-25T09:02:00.001-05:00

This book is amazing. Done as a graphic novel with fantastic fantasy illustrations by Christopher Shy, Michael Easton's dark and magical tale unfolds like lush velvet. A must read for any fantasy, gothic or magic fan. The soap fans will love it too since there's plenty of romance and action, tastefully executed.

DMF Comics made a good call putting out this one. Pick it up here.

Barack Obama's Brother In Africa Living on $1 A Month?

2008-11-02T15:16:00.003-05:00

If he wants to "spread the wealth", why doesn't he spread some of his to his poverty stricken brother? I found this on an AUSTRAILIAN news blog. It seems the US media isn't interested on what Senator OBAMA actually does but only in what he says.

Check it out.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24226262-5012748,00.html

Vista Still Sucks - 1 year later

2008-05-01T01:07:00.002-04:00

I was among those unfortunate computer users who were forced to purchase a new computer with Vista when it first came out.

Well, I don't have to tell you how much Vista sucks (if you have it or know anyone who does - you know it sucks).

But I can show you...

Technorati

2007-10-25T13:42:00.001-04:00

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Dancing Bird - The boys got SKilLZ!

2007-10-19T16:24:00.001-04:00

You have got to see this dancing bird. He's awesome.
http://birdloversonly.blogspot.com/2007/09/may-i-have-this-dance.html

Toli Loves This Venture Capital Video!

2007-07-20T18:34:00.001-04:00

Bud Light Swear Jar

2007-06-07T10:11:00.000-04:00

This may be the funniest commercial I have ever seen. Kudos to the ad agency who put this together.

I'm going to put one of those f&^*%&g swear jars in my office so we can get our mother f&%$#%g staff a f&%&$#g case of Bud Light! (Where do I send my quarters? :-) )

-- Toli (ROFFL)

Vista Trouble? - New word from Toli Cefail gives comic relief!

2007-06-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

Vista troubles? For those of you unfortunate enough to be caught up in the Vista guinea pig trial (i.e. me), I have a new word for you "Vista-fied".

I've been "Vista-fied" for several months now since my main computer's power died and I was forced to buy a new one with only one day's notice.

Of course the store only had computers with Vista pre-loaded, so I had to buy one. I tried to revert back to XP. I had the hard drive wiped and XP Pro re-installed, but HP, who is undoubtedly on the Microsoft payroll, refused to give us drivers that would enable the install to be completed. So I was stuck with VISTA :-(.

They've done some updates so most of my programs are working okay now (after 3 months of hell with almost nothing working). But I'm still Vistafied on a regular basis.

So the next time you're using Vista & it slows, crashes or locks up your computer with that madenning circle spinning, just say, "pardon me, I'm Vistified."

Cheers.
Toli

American Idol Top 12 Picks From Toli Cefail

2007-02-26T10:21:00.000-05:00

Who Should Be In The American Idol Top 12?

Here are my current choices for the Top 12:

American Idol Season 6 Top 6 Girls - Gina Glocksen, Jordin Sparks, Lakeesha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, Sabrina Sloan, Stephanie Edwards.

American Idol Season 6 Top 6 Boys - Blake Lewis, Brandon Rogers, Chris Sligh, Jared Cotter, Phil Stacey and Sundance Head.

Nicole Tranquillo Got The Shaft On American Idol

2007-02-24T23:57:00.000-05:00

Nicole Tranquillo deserves another shot. She did a great job, took a real chance with her song and was MUCH better than Antonella. Once again, Antonella skates by on her looks. I hope to see Nicole singing professionally soon.

Honor 9-11 Lives not deaths with Project 2996

2006-10-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

I'm late. Just found the site today. But I was born & raised in NYC. I remember when the towers were built and being in them. I am a blogger and know many bloggers.

I would love to participate next year and get others to do the same.

If you want to remember them right, join project 2996.

Pre-Order The Wii Here

2006-10-15T17:29:00.000-04:00

As an avid gamer, early adopter and owner of just about every cool gadget under the sun, I thought I was ahead of the curve pre-ordering the Wii this weekend.

Well I wasn't.

GameStop, EB Games and everyone else "sold-out" in about 10 minutes.

Note that I got the XBox 360 for last Christmas and I already have an Elmo TMX. I only pray that I will be able to get the Wii.

So I found a site that it seems will still allow you to pre-order here. They're in Hong Kong and cater to Japan and the US so I think we have a good shot at actually getting it. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's another site with good updates on availability for the Wii, PS3 (Playstation 3) and many more hard to find gamer items.

2006-10-15T10:26:00.000-04:00

Me: Girl takes pic of herself every day for three years

Very cool. I think I'm going to do something like this with my kids.

See Bad Boy Bill in Tampa Friday Dec 1st

2006-10-14T15:03:00.000-04:00

2006-10-09T09:47:00.000-04:00

LEGO Matrix

Inspired.

New Site For Clubbers is HOT!!!

2006-08-16T11:27:00.000-04:00

Check out www.NightScapeSuites.com the beta tester lounge for the forthcoming social networking MMORPG NightScape. It's the first game created using complete input from beta testers BEFORE it's even made!

Updates on game development can also be found at the company's corporate site www.nightlifeinteractive.net.

Rihanna Is Hot!!

2006-08-14T23:21:00.000-04:00

Pon De Replay

Add a video to your site Free Music VIdoes and Ringtones

Star Trek Cribs - From G4 Yo

2006-05-27T22:55:00.000-04:00

Proof that Star Trek has always been dope. (Toli Cefail was right).

American Idol UPSET - Chris Daughtry Voted Off

2006-05-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

UNBELIEVABLE!! I haven't written about American Idol weekly this year like I normally do but after tonight's Chris Daughtry upset I have to.

I just knew Chris Daughtry was going to be the next American Idol. He was LEAPS AND BOUNDS above the other contestants. In fact I was so confident that I didn't vote for him last night. I didn't vote at all (long story but I was occupied with other activities and couldn't reach my cell).

Anyway, I'm sure the record companies and bands are LINING UP to sign him. In all honesty, Chris Daughtry could become the most successful 4rd place American Idol contestant ever.

He deserves to be at least as successful as Kelly Clarkson if not more so. I just hope he has what it takes to follow through and make it happen.

Chris Daughtry, we wish you the best and look forward to seeing you accept your first Grammy!

American Idol Reviews - April 11th by Toli Cefail

2006-04-11T22:38:00.000-04:00

If Chris Daughtry doesn't win American Idol, I quit. Every week he is perfect and a total pro.

But what happens to all the guys on the show that get voted off? You never see them! If you ask me, the show producers, the record label and the network are leaving a ton of money on the table. They could be marketing music from all of these kids and making a fortune.

Anyway, this week's American Idol Review from Toli Cefail - Entertainment Critic:

Chris Daughtry was fantastic as usual. He's a super star. No doubt.

Bucky Covington was cool this week. He did a good job. Good enough to stay another week.

Ace Young - Ace is so cute & charming and has a fantastic voice. But he keeps choosing the wrong songs. Here is a classic example of an artist desperately in need of a producer.

Kelly Pickler - She did a great job. We love Kelly Pickler. As usual Simon Cowell is always right - on paper it should have been a disaster but Kelly made it work.

Katherine McPhee - She reminds me of LaToya London - technically perfect and polished but with a warmer and more friendly personality. She has made herself stand out with stellar performances because I didn't notice her at first.

Elliot Yamin - We LOVE Elliot and his voice. I keep thinking he's from New York instead of Virginia. Anyway, he always sounds great even though this week's song choice was a little odd.

Taylor Hicks - Great performance. I see Taylor in a Las Vegas Strip hotel show. I don't mean that as an insult. I just think he would fit in great there. He has that energy that a Vegas performer needs. He also has the quality of performance that you expect in a show on the strip.

Paris Bennett - Fantastic performance on American Idol tonight by Paris Bennett. She chose a very odd Queen song but she really sang it extremely well. See you next week Paris. ;-)

---- Toli Cefail

Saw Oakenfold Last Night - Hot!

2006-03-31T11:14:00.000-05:00

Saw Paul Oakenfold last night at Amphitheater (Tampa Bay's hottest club in case you didn't know). He totally rocked.

It was also great partying with my friends who I don't get to see enough :-).

And yes, now you know, I'm a party girl :-) -- Toli

Mother Of 3 (Size 4) Helps You Lose Weight & Keep It Off

2006-03-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Weight Loss at ToliCefail.com

Everything in this category is things that I have actually used to successfully lose weight & keep it off. If you’re a mom trying to lose weight after having a baby, you’ll like this site too. Whether you were skinny & want to get back there, are severely overweight or just need to lose a few pounds, you’ll find useful information here

That’s because I have 3 children. I have successfully lost weight after having kids twice and am now on my 3rd run after the birth of my 3rd child.

I lost all my pregnancy weight after my first 2 children (lost 30 lbs. from my first pregnancy & 45 from my 2nd – yes I gained more weight the 2nd time ). After my 3rd child I’m already down 25 pounds and have about 15 to go.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because everything I’m putting in this weight loss blog are things that I have actually DONE to successfully lose weight & keep it off after having 3 kids.

Having this blog is great because it gives me a chance to share the successful things I’ve found for losing weight & keeping it off.

For example: I’ll show you how I lost 45 pounds while eating cake, cookies & pasta. How just now, I’ve lost 25 pounds eating pancakes.

You’ll learn about how to think about your food in addition to what to eat. Your mental attitude while losing weight is just as important as diet & exercise.

I’ll show you healthy substitutions you can make for your favorite foods that taste just as good or better than what you’ve been eating.

I’ll show you how to eat when ordering out & what to look for on the menu.

I will provide the names of products, brands & foods that are healthy & will actually help you to lose weight while enjoying what you eat.

The information on this weight loss blog is not just for losing weight though. This information will help you keep the weight off and live healthier even if you don’t need to lose any weight.

I will share my experiences AND the experiences I’ve seen of others for a broader perspective on weight loss.

Now for the boring stuff: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I AM NOT A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL. The information on this weight loss blog is intended for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Visitors who use this information do so at their own risk. You are advised to consult a health care professional before beginning any diet or exercise program.
And now for the FUN STUFF.

Next Bond? Cast Your Vote

2006-02-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

Why they're getting rid of Pierce Brosnan, I'll never know. He's perfect. But Hollywood frequently makes idiotic calls.

So cast your vote for the next one here: http://nextbond.net.

Have A Great Product? That may not be enough to make you rich.

2006-02-03T10:22:00.000-05:00

"Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door."

Many of us have heard this expression. And many of us (who aren't professional marketers of course) have believed it.

The fact of the matter is, that no matter how "great" your product is, no one will even find it (let alone 'beat a path') if they don't know about your product.

How do they learn about your product's existence? Marketing.

A well executed marketing campaign can make even the worst product sell well.

Poorly executed or no marketing can leave the greatest product in the world sitting on the shelf.

Don't believe me?

A trip to any supermarket will quickly prove my point.

Simply walk down the aisle and take a look at how many of the products are actually worthless. The average supermarket today carries about 50,000 items most of which are worthless as far as benefiting us nutritionally. Yet they sell like crazy.

Why? Marketing.

Now let's take the reverse. Yesterday I had one of the best salmon dishes I've ever had in my life. The restaurant I ordered it from is on the verge of going out of business.

They have no marketing campaign. In fact, most of the people in the area that I've spoken with have never even heard of them.

Their mousetrap is better but where's all the business?

The moral of the story is, don't think that just because your product is great that you're guaranteed success and fortune.

By the same token, don't think that because your idea is not so special, that you can't sell a ton with the right marketing campaign. Remember American Idol's William Hung? His album debuted in the top 40!

William Hung had great marketing. While other, significantly more talented Idol contestants have all but vanished due to extremely poor marketing. (The Idol producers are leaving major money on the table if you ask me, but that's another story).

So if you think you have a marketable idea or product but don't know where to start the internet can be your testing ground. Check out a site called TenThousandBrightIdeas.com and no matter what you do, don't stop trying.
------------
Toli Cefail is a veteran marketer for more than 20 years. She is currently the Chief Operations Officer and co-founder of the leading online marketing firm In Touch Media Group. She also has created and maintains a number of sites in the fields of fashion and music.

American Idol Contestants - Start Tone Deaf Foundation

2006-02-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

The fifth season of American Idol has made it apparent that there is apparently an epidemic of tone deafness of enormous proportions in the United States.

In keeping with the tradition of establishing a charity to deal with every type of malady known to man, we here at Tips From Toli are starting the Tone Deaf Awareness Foundation.

The Foundation will offer assistance to individuals planning to audition for American Idol as well as those planning outings to Karaoke bars throughout the nation.

The Foundation will offer regular viewings and listening sessions of such in-tune singers as Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Garth Brooks, Barry Manilow, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken and others.

The overall objective of the foundation is to prevent the spread of "What The...?-itis", "Oh my God - itis", "I can't believe it! - itis", "what was she/he thinking-itis" and variations of these syndromes.

To volunteer or contribute, contact the American Idol Contestant Tone Deaf Foundation at info@idolonfox.com.

Marketing In The New Year - 2006

2006-01-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! This year promises to be a great one and we're looking forward to sharing many helpful marketing tips to you.

January is a great month for planning. Take some time this week before all the "action" of the New Year starts, to plan goals for yourself and your company for this year.

Include plans for marketing your products and services. How much do you want to sell this year? Do you want to go after a specific category of new client? Do you have a service that you really want to make take off this year?

Anything like the above should have a plan, no matter how simple. Just take a short time, grab some paper and write something down. You'll thank me when it actually gets done! :-)

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New Coke “Mastermind” Takes Job With Star Wars Galaxies by Toli Cefail

2005-11-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

Star Wars Galaxies – the once fantastic online role playing game where players could live in the Star Wars universe and pursue a myriad of goals much as one does in real life – has been invaded by what appears to be the ‘genius’ behind the creation of the New Coke formula.

If you play the game and have played lately, you’ve probably realized that the party is now basically over. What was once a fun & life-like game where one was free to choose one’s own destiny has become a boxed-in, restrictive, and limited “experience” that is destined for a short playing time.

For those of you who may be too young to remember, or may have forgotten, the New Coke fiasco, I’ll describe it here. Coca Cola, the world’s favorite beverage for about ONE HUDRED YEARS, decided some time ago to change its flavor. Not only did they change the flavor, but they eliminated the original flavor from all store shelves world wide. The only flavor you could buy was the New Coke flavor. Needless to say it was a colossal disaster.

No one liked the new flavor. People were going crazy trying to find the old flavor. Coca Cola was flooded with complaints and inquiries from consumers, distributors & stores. It was a mess. So soon after this blunder, they reintroduced the original flavor with the face saving label “Coca Cola Classic” which, of course, outsold New Coke by leaps and bounds. This is why your coke cans say “Classic” today.

No doubt some “marketing whiz” told the Coke executives, “you’ve got to be ‘fresh’ to keep up with Pepsi!”, “Out with the old. In with the new!”, “We’ve got to do something major!”. I can see the meeting now where this Madison Avenue “whiz kid” pitched this lunacy.

And so it is with Star Wars Galaxies. If you’ve been playing you know now that the entire game has changed. You’re now forced to choose only one of a limited number of professions; your single path is dictated by the game creators; and don’t even get me started on the mouse control changes. (I’m still getting over my headache).

The only good thing about the SWG changes is the new quests and new abilities.

I’ll never understand this obsession to change everything instead of just changing a few things. I will also never understand the tendency of companies to make sweeping decisions that affect their customers (and profits) without first surveying those customers to see what they want exactly.

I’m sure there were some complaints about the time it took to achieve certain game perks and abilities. But did rectifying that require a radical and complete game change? Did that necessitate eliminating skills and abilities players had worked weeks and even months to acquire? I’m certain no.

Hopefully the “new” SWG changes will go the way of New Coke and their “mastermind” will again be looking for work.

Earth To America - Review

2005-11-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

I just watched TBS's special Earth To America. Very funny. But a question comes to mind:

How is it that a bunch of liberal democrats can put on a 2 hour commercial for the democratic agenda with no media repercussions?

About 60 - 70% of this show is filled with digs and cuts on republicans, conservatives, Christians, etc.

Basically if you didn't know better & watched this show, you'd think that conservatives didn't care about the earth or global warming, etc. It does more than "poke fun". It makes anyone who doesn't tout the liberal party line look stupid.

The TBS special, Earth To America, is basically a 2 hour propaganda campaign for the liberal democratic agenda disguised as "caring about the earth". Because every good liberal knows that if you're not a liberal, you don't care about the earth.

Republicans, conservatives & independents TAKE NOTE. Get your campaigns together and get your messages out broadly. Surely there must be some conservatives & independents left in Hollywood right?

---- Toli Cefail

The Hypocracy of The Anti Wal Mart Lobby

2005-11-04T14:41:00.000-05:00

I am so tired of hearing these elitist union supporters talking from atop their high horses about how they want to "help the poor". Every person I've ever met who fights for unionization on a lobbyist level has been a rich kid from a rich family.

This "let them eat cake" attitude comes from never having had to work for anything and build something from nothing. They think that since they have everything, anyone else who has is in the same boat they are and therefore "owes" it to the poor to give them something.

Well I can tell you that is a crock. I earned every nickle I have and I don't intend to "give" it to anyone who hasn't earned it.

The hypocracy is that these rich brats get on television talking about companies like Wal Mart and the airlines like these companies should just give money to their employees because the employees don't have money. It's rediculous.

On CNBC today Mr. Blank said that Wal Mart workers "don't have insurance" and that there was "nothing more noble than helping the poor". Yeah right. Like he really cares.

If you really want to help the poor mister, why don't you give them some of your money. That's right, hop on a train up to 125th street (Harlem) and open your wallet Mr. High & Mighty. Why don't you lobby congress to privatize large chunks of government to create more jobs, less inefficiency and waste of hard earned tax payer dollars? Why don't you support a voucher system so poor families can send their kids to private school?

I live in the real world and know that would never happen. These supposedly sympathetic people who advocate unionization and jacking corporations under the guise of "helping the worker" don't care about anything but their own agenda. They are pimping for the man. Make no mistake. Don't believe me? Ask them what they have personally done to help the poor that doesn't patronize them or keep them poor.

These hypocrites look at the poor, minorities, the under-priveleged, etc. like they're "pets" or some type of novelty. They're doing it to make themselves feel better and not really for the poor.

You see because when companies suffer, jobs go away and families can't eat. Where's the bleeding heart for the family that can now afford Christmas presents because of Wal Mart's low prices? They didn't think of that because they don't really care.

Making companies suffer for the benefit of the worker is a communist philosophy. Communists do not advocate competition. They do not advocate rising up in society based on your abilities. They advocate taking from the rich and the highly capable in order to produce an equilibrium of wealth and ability.

Now they'll deny they're communist very passionately. And in all honesty, they probably don't realize their advocating communism. But the result of what they are asking for is the forwarding and implementation of communist ideals. If it looks like a duck...

You want to help the poor? TEACH them marketable skills.

You want to level the playing field? Implement a national VOUCHER SYSTEM for schools so that poor parents can send their kids to ANY school they choose.

You want to make sure all families and companies can afford health care? OPEN up the marketplace so that alternative medicine can openly talk about the illness it can cure. This competition will force costs to go down since alternative medicine costs less.

Anyway... that's my rant for today.

Internet Marketing - Are You Reaching Your Target Audience?

2005-10-20T08:42:00.000-04:00

To be sure you're reaching your target audience with any marekting effort and internet marketing in particular. It is important to have certain elements in place. First and foremost is to know who your public is.
Second is to know what they want from your product or service.
Third is to deliver what they want from your advertising all the way through your product or service itself.

How do you know who your public is and what they want from your product or service?
The answer is survey. Ask your public (customers and prospects) what they want with properly conducted market research in the form of surveys.

While there are many firms that perform market research and customer surveys it is important that the survey you conduct accomplish certain key objectives in order for the information to be practically useful when creating your marketing campaigns and collateral.

1. The survey must acertain what type of people are most likely to want and buy your product. If your product has a dual public, such as with children's products, you must survey both publics (e.g. children and parents).

2. The survey must find out what these people would expect your product to do for them - benefits they expect.

3. The survey must get them to tell you how best to present your product to them. This is a tricky one because your questions have to cut through a person's social acceptance mechanisms to get to what really makes them want a product. This is accomplished through careful question construction and is best done by marketers experienced in writing questions that cut through an individual's social veneer.

4. The survey should also ask questions about such things as pricing, packaging, color and name.

5. And finally, the survey should ask questions that tell you how to position your product so that consumers will find it appealing.

Even if you conduct focus groups and product testing, doing these types of surveys early on in the product development and marketing development stages can save a great deal of time and money. At the very least it will give you a direction to go in which will save many hit and miss attempts at getting your marketing right.

---- Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a veteran marketing executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years experience in marketing both online and off. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at the leading online marketing firm In Touch Media Group (ITOU.OB) - www.InTouchMediaGroup.com.

Marketing & Everything Else: You Get What You Pay For by Toli Cefail

2005-10-19T09:04:00.000-04:00

So often prospective clients come to me and expect me to perform online marketing services for them for free. If they don't want it for free, they want it for some rediculously low price like $99 or something.

I don't understand it. I'm still trying to guess what the thought process is.

I mean you wouldn't expect another professional such as an attorney, doctor or accountant to deliver services to you for free right? You wouldn't expect to put ads in a newspaper for free right? Investment bankers, ad agencies (when the buy rate is low) all get retainers right? So why not an internet marketing professional?

I have a few theories:

1. There is a glut of apparently "cheap" internet marketing information and tools on the web. So people expect professional internet marketers to fall in to that same category.

You've seen them. The web pages that go on for days talking about the "MIRACLES OF THEIR SYSTEM" and how you can "Get RICH Instantly" for "NO MONEY" and "NO WORK" are everywhere. YAY!!

These programs, tapes and e-books, etc. usually sell for under $300.

Well, if you have the time to invest in learning from them and implementing their suggestions, great. Go for it. But if you want professional help ...

2. The internet being apparently entirely technology driven has the feel of software. So people treat it like a piece of software and think it's effortless.

Yes. It's effortless like a gymnasts routine. If you've been doing it for 20 years you can make it look easy. But if you want that expertise on your side...

3. Some small business people who are not used to working with real professionals don't understand the etiquette of working with professional marketers and consultants and other types of experts in various fields. So, like children, they have to learn the hard way that if you want real professional results, you have to behave like a company that gets those kind of results (and budget accordingly).
_________________________

Well those are my theories on why some companies don't want to pay properly for professional marketing services.

This is not to say that no companies realize the value of professional marketing done right. My clients do and they are plenty. But it's fascinating to me how many small businesses there are that DON'T recognize the value. Perhaps this is why they stay small.

In any case, if you are trying to market a product on the internet or otherwise, do not underestimate the value of professional internet marketing consulting and services. The old adage "you get what you pay for" is still true today.

Toli Cefail Is...

2005-10-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

Toli Cefail has been a marketing professional for more than 20 years in addition to having a strong administrative and regulatory background. She has overseen the marketing, legal and regulatory affairs for what became a top provider of specialized telecommunications services against competitors such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint and the Baby Bells.

This involved establishing, coordinating and managing regulatory affairs and marketing efforts in 600 counties spanning 41 states. Ms. Cefail was also responsible for obtaining favorable groundbreaking legislation for this company in a number of states as well as creating the firm’s administrative structure and procedures from the ground up.

Ms. Cefail has also assisted in the marketing & web development for the boutique investment banking firm The RC&A Group as well as performed marketing consulting for such prominent entertainers as Doug E. Fresh.

Currently she is a principle of the major online marketing firm In Touch Media Group providing internet marketing consulting services to small & medium sized businesses.

When China Has An Election, Then We Can Talk About Unocal

2005-07-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

When China has an election, call me.
When you can read what you want in China, call me.
When a Chinese citizen can openly and freely practice their religion, call me.
When Chinese parents stop killing their newborn daughters because they’re only allowed 1 child, call me.
When the Chinese government stops controlling what news goes out to the rest of the world, call me.
When I can have my Chinese friends visit me in the U.S. without going through the 3rd degree with their government, call me.
When Chinese leaders stop saying things like “I believe WAR with the U.S. is inevitable.”, call me.
When the government doesn’t censure all media, call me.
When a Chinese citizen can openly and freely speak out against their government, (without getting shot that is), call me.

China is a COMMUNIST COUNTRY. Don’t forget it.

If you think for one second that the Chinese government is not 100% aware of the short-sightedness of the American corporate mentality, and taking complete advantage of that with every opportunity, you are whistling past the graveyard.

When the Chinese make plans they make them in DECADES and CENTURIES. We make them in quarters & years. The communist Chinese know this, and know it as a weakness of ours.

The manufacturing dependence and trade deficit with China was CALCULATED and PLANNED. It was a calculated risk they took starting decades ago and so far, it has paid off.

They’ve decided to seduce us with money and get us to support their way of life by making themselves somewhat indispensable to us.

But this tact is a double edged sword. They now need us MORE than we need them, at least a little bit. Why?

When we own (parts of) companies in China, it helps US. Yes, it helps them too but it also enables them to experience more of our culture. It makes them become less communist. And yes, it creates jobs and commerce for us and them.

But the key is that it does this INSIDE China. We are making money there which we can then bring home here. They need to reform their communist ways to make those companies produce and be successful in China.

If they are allowed to own companies outside China, then they will be taking our money home. They will be less dependent on us. They will have less of a need to reform their own country because now they can make money outside.

It is not in our best interest to lend this kind of support to a communist government. As long as China is a communist country they should never be allowed to own ANY western business by any means.

Would we let Fidel Castro buy an oil company here?

The Soviet Union crumbled because their ECONOMY FAILED. They were too poverty stricken to maintain their government let alone support their people. China, heeding that lesson has attempted to circumvent this inevitable consequence of communism by opening their economy, in part, to western ways.

But if we allow them to become financially strong OUTSIDE of China, they will have no need to allow western ways INSIDE of China.

Use our presence in China to win freedom for the Chinese people. Say NO to the CNOOK / Unocal deal.
--- Toli Cefail

To Great Britain On Today's Terrorist Attacks - We Are With You

2005-07-07T13:12:00.000-04:00

To our friends in England & all of Great Britain, we are with you. Our hearts and prayers go to all the victims and their families as well as all citizens of Great Britain.

Today's attacks showed once again the lunacy of the terrorists. We hope that the G8 will take heed and UNITE with steel resolve to eradicate this vermin from our free world once and for all.

There are really only 2 nations, one of free people with governments who want their citizens' prosperity (spiritual, mental and physical), freedom and tranquility. The 2nd with self-serving tyrants who wish to preserve their hold over their citizens through oppression, ignorance and propaganda.

We are the former, the terrorists are and represent the latter.

Let them know that the more they behave as terrorists and refuse to let people live in peace, the more we "infidels", with our free ideas and religious, gender and ethnic equality will invade every nook and cranny of their society.

Let them know this behavior will not be tolerated. Let them know they need to change their ways and seek to live in peace.

Google's Hidden Problem #2

2005-06-17T11:04:00.000-04:00

GOOGLE HAS AN ACHILES HEAL—WILL THEIR COMPETITORS NOTICE?

Even though Google Revenues continue to soar, the hidden problem that may stifle growth and may even allow Yahoo or MSN to overtake the paid search market in the future lies in two critical phrases: Customer Support, and Customer Training

Approximately 40% of the small businesses we have surveyed have tried Adwords in the past and failed, and some of them have tried multiple times. In some markets the percentage is closer to 60%. Why? because the program was designed by Google engineers, and heavily favors companies with the type of resources that most small businesses do not have. Unlike MSN and Yahoo who have programs that are much simpler in terms of use for small businesspeople, Google favors a technology driven solution that relies less on customer support, and expects users of their system to become more sophisticated.

The problem with this is that it is working quite well for professional internet marketers and search engine marketing companies employed by big corporations, but many small business people who are not web-savvy are by and large left out of the mix. This is unfortunate because this is a huge segment of potential income that is left "up for grabs"

and may be scooped up by MSN and Yahoo who are developing simpler, easier systems with better customer support.

All the major search engines recognize this problem, and getting those "offline" advertisers online is a high priority for all of them, but so far there has not been great success. It is a knowledge and training gap, and neither Yahoo, MSN, or Google has so far been able to address it adequately.

Google's recent acquisition of urchin, a web analytics program illustrates the problem Google is trying to solve. Big Companies getting involved in paid search will still continue to drive big revenues, but the new internet is about verticals and niches, and Google simply isn't making the grade in terms of training their customers well enough.

Where do small business customers go after they "churn"? Many of them go back to what they were doing successfully before; email marketing, direct marketing, and call centers according to our study.

The next growth area will be hundreds of thousands of verticals, driven by small businesses exploiting areas and needs that the fortune 500 companies can not fill efficiently. The search engine company that gets the most advertisers on its side will win market share, and winning will require the ability to service everybody, not just the super sophisticated internet super geeks.

However, many private companies not sanctioned by Google, have sprung up in order to try to bridge the gap between the Google Adwords program and the ability to advertise efficiently on Google and achieve a high ROI. One such company is http://adwordstraining.org that offers free video training and free frequently updated information at http://marketingnewsblog.adwordstraining.org

Simple training videos are available on the site, as well as an advertiser self study course to get non-technical people up to speed with Google Adwords advertising.

Between Google's extensive training program of Google Professionals and private training by private companies, this knowledge gap may be bridged, and in the process a whole new industry of Google Adwords Marketing companies may be created, to facilitate the knowledge gap between Google and the advertisers that want to take advantage of the enormous advertising reach afforded by paid search.

But, this might not be enough for Google to keep its lead, as advertisers often follow the path of least resistance in getting their messages out, and they are the ones funding the growth of the search engine industry.

Where those advertisers ultimately go will determine the ultimate victor in the ever growing search engine wars, and the winner is by no means secure at this point.

Steve Blom

Founding Partner

InTouch Media Group

www.intouchmediagroup.com

Hot Marketing Tip - Search Engine Marketing

2005-06-17T09:05:00.000-04:00

This is a specific tip regarding search engine marketing.

I have now heard over and over that many people, who are not succeeding with Google, are doing the same thing wrong. They are only using as few as just one or two keywords. They don't understand that if they try to use the one or two keywords that everyone else uses there results will suffer-badly!. One must use hundreds, if not thousands of keyword combinations.

One should also build multiple ads and populate each with a large quantity of keywords. People do not typically know the solution to the problem they are trying solve or the need they are trying to fulfill but they do know the symptoms. They will type in the symptom and try to find the solution from that. It is for this reason that you must develop hundreds or even thousands of keywords and phrases. Bob Cefail

Closing Series - It's Easy To Be A Fearless When You Know How

2005-06-17T09:02:00.000-04:00

The best closers in the world are the people who don't worry about whether they lose the sale or not. They are FEARLESS closers. They don't mind getting in there and pushing the close hard. They'll use tags and don't extend buy nows or special offers.

What helps these closers stay tough? No scarcity of prospects.

Your fearless closer typically is prospecting at every turn, getting referrals from past clients, or has a great lead source. They don't care if a given prospect doesn't close because they have 5 other prospects waiting in line to buy. You can create this atmosphere through prospecting your past or current clients, or by prospecting friends, relatives, and even neighbors.

You set up this environment by using Google Adwords to drive so many visitors to your site that you have an abundance of leads. Whatever you do, remember that the more prospects you have the braver you will be at the all important closing point. ---- Bob Cefail

Search Engine Training CD Set Special Offer Is Extended!

Data Resource Consulting is now extending its special search engine training CD offer because of the tremendous response we have gotten. We were not able to handle all the people who wanted the CD set. We are, therefore, extending the offer for an additional week. Here is the original special:

If you have ever considered setting up a Google search engine Adwords campaign, and were concerned about whether you were going to be successful or not, we have very good news for you. Data Resource Consulting has been involved in search engine marketing research end delivery for almost two years. Our technical group has now put together a three CD set of training materials (containing 15 separate training videos) which you can learn about by going to www.adwordstraining.org. These CDs can take a complete novice and turn him into an expert. The CDs are fully narrated and use a step-by-step training system to show you what we have learned. By setting up your own Google campaign, you can create your own leads without the need to use a third party lead source.

Closing Series #8 - Sales Tags

2005-06-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's article focused on the use of "sales tags" which involves the use of one or more additional people assisting a sales person in a closing process. The people involved in a tag are typically senior managers, company owners, happy clients willing to help, etc.

Tags involve their own unique strategies and should be worked out well in advance of the actual use of the tag. If an authority tag is to be used, which involves the bringing in of the boss, company owner or a well know customer, what is going to be said by the tagging individual has to be developed fully beforehand.

The tag person should be brought in by the original sales person; the tagger says what he or she is going to say; and then the original sales person carries out the closing strategy in concert with the tagger. Do no not bring in a tagger on an impromptu basis. That can lead to a big mess and the prospect could feel as though he or she is getting "played".

Be professional in the use of tags and have the plan discussed first.

2005-06-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

If you have ever watched a professional wrestling match you have seen "tag team" matches. These are matches where two wrestlers are on each team and when one wrestler gets tired or needs help they tag the other wrestler who is outside the ring. When the tag occurs, the other wrestler gets in the ring and starts wrestling.

This same technique is used quite successfully in the sales business. Car dealers use this technique by bringing in the sales manager followed by the finance manager (who really is a salesman for higher interest rates) to back up the initial salesman.

Sometimes a sales person will get stumped on an objection and by interjecting a fresh face with new ideas, one can handle the objection. In some cases one can bring in the authority tag, where a more senior person can come in and offer their experience or knowledge to push a sale over the edge.

There are referral tags where you can send a prospect to an existing or past (and happy) customer to validate how good your services or products are. Tags are used to wear down objections or add new information to push a sale forward. Make sure you have a tag system set up in advance of any use of a tag. These tags must be very smooth and seamless.

Closing Series - Closing Strategy

2005-06-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy

One of the key steps in any sales process is the handling of objections. There are several types of objections which we will cover in the next several articles. The first type of objection is the scaredy cat objection. This is detectable when a person starts giving you different objections after you handle a prior objection. The objections he is giving are not legitimate.

Underlying the changing of objections is the simple fact that he or she is scared. You handle a scaredy cat by reminding them of good decisions they have made in the past. Have them tell you about moments when they exhibited good judgment. Then remind them of the benefit that they will get out of your offer and have them tell you why buying your offer will help them.

This is all about increasing their confidence so that they can make a good decision. Sometimes people will come right out and say that they are nervous about their decision. Most of the time though, they will try to mask their insecurity.

Congratulations Carrie Underwood!

2005-06-12T10:28:00.000-04:00

Better late than never! Congratulations to Carrie Underwood for winning American Idol!

America once again proved that it knows how to pick real talent when it chose Carrie, Bo & Vonzell as its top 3 American Idol contenders.

We wish them all the best and look forward to their albums.

How To Get Great Leads On Your Own

2005-06-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

If you want to actually create your own leads and not depend on anyone else or any other company read on. Go to the following site - www.adwordstraining.org and learn about how to make the Google search engine system work for you.

This site was put together by one of the foremost Google experts. The information on this site is very surprising. There is also a special offer and if you are interested in finding out about it fill out the more information lead form and write in the comments box that you are interested.

Bob Cefail
Owner
Hot Daily Marketing Tips

Selling Tips - Series #6 - Handling Prospect Objections

2005-05-27T08:56:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy - The Attitude

The best closers in the world are the people who don't worry about whether they lose the sale or not. They are FEARLESS closers. They don't mind getting in there and pushing the close hard. They'll use tags and don't extend buy nows or special offers.

What helps these closers stay tough? No scarcity of prospects. Your fearless closer typically is prospecting at every turn, getting referrals from past clients, or has a great lead source. They don't care if a given prospect doesn't close because they have 5 other prospects waiting in line to buy.

You can create this atmosphere through prospecting your past or current clients, or by prospecting friends, relatives, and even neighbors. You set up this environment by using Google Adwords to drive so many visitors to your site that you have an abundance of leads.

Whatever you do, remember that the more prospects you have the braver you will be at the all important closing point.

Bob Cefail publisher of MarketingWorldNews.com top marketing blog.

Selling - Tips Series #7 - The Sales God's Attitude

2005-05-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy - The Sales God's Attitude

The best closers in the world are the people who don't worry about whether they lose the sale or not. They are FEARLESS closers. They don't mind getting in there and pushing the close hard.

They'll use tags and don't extend buy nows or special offers. What helps these closers stay tough? No scarcity of prospects. Your fearless closer typically is prospecting at every turn, getting referrals from past clients, or has a great lead source. They don't care if a given prospect doesn't close because they have 5 other prospects waiting in line to buy.

You can create this atmosphere through prospecting your past or current clients, or by prospecting friends, relatives, and even neighbors. You set up this environment by using Google Adwords to drive so many visitors to your site that you have an abundance of leads.

Whatever you do, remember that the more prospects you have the braver you will be at the all important closing point.

Bob Cefail
Author of The Hot Daily Marketing Tip as seen on
www.MarketingWorldNews.com

Paid Search Success - Winning With Search Engine Marketing

2005-05-24T10:45:00.000-04:00

You’ve heard all the talk about how fantastic search engine advertising or “paid search” as it’s now called, is. But many of you have tried this new ad medium, failed and since become discouraged. Don’t be.

Contrary to what you may have experienced, real success is possible with this new marketing avenue, if you know what you’re doing.

We recommend starting with Google, the most popular paid search engine. Once you succeed there, you can easily do well on the other search engines. Also, keep in mind that 80% of all search data comes from Google even with the other search engines. So it’s best to solidify your ad campaigns with Google first to ensure you get the most coverage.

Once you’ve decided that you want to succeed in this arena, you then need to decide on your approach. This is usually determined by your budget for both money and time.

If you decide to take a DIY (do-it-yourself) approach to search engine advertising, I recommend visiting the following web site www.adwordstraining.org . This site has tons of hard won valuable free information on marketing via search engines. It also allows you to contact our firm, In Touch Media Group, for further assistance.

If you’re really fed up and don’t want to take the time to do it yourself, we highly recommend getting professional paid search advertising help. Our firm provides several packages from the smallest to largest budgets to help companies bridge the gap between their advertising needs and Google’s advertising resource.

Feel free to visit our web site at www.InTouchMediaGroup.com . Or search for assistance with your paid search marketing in Google.

------ Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a 20 plus year veteran marketer and entrepreneur.

Selling - Tips Series #7 - The Tag Team

2005-05-24T09:43:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy - The Tag Team

If you have ever watched a professional wrestling match you have seen "tag team" matches. These are matches where two wrestlers are on each team and when one wrestler gets tired or needs help they tag the other wrestler who is outside the ring.

When the tag occurs, the other wrestler gets in the ring and starts wrestling. This same technique is used quite successfully in the sales business. Car dealers use this technique by bringing in the sales manager followed by the finance manager (who really is a salesman for higher interest rates) to back up the initial salesman. Sometimes a sales person will get stumped on an objection and by interjecting a fresh face with new ideas, one can handle the objection.

In some cases one can bring in the authority tag, where a more senior person can come in and offer their experience or knowledge to push a sale over the edge. There are referral tags where you can send a prospect to an existing or past (and happy) customer to validate how good your services or products are.

Tags are used to wear down objections or add new information to push a sale forward. Make sure you have a tag system set up in advance of any use of a tag. These tags must be very smooth and seamless.

Bob Cefail
Marketing World News (www.MarketingWorldNews.com)

Search Engine Training CD Set Special Offer Is Extended!

Data Resource Consulting is now extending its special search engine training CD offer because of the tremendous response we have gotten. We were not able to handle all the people who wanted the CD set. We are, therefore, extending the offer for an additional week. Here is the original special:

If you have ever considered setting up a Google search engine Adwords campaign, and were concerned about whether you were going to be successful or not, we have very good news for you. Data Resource Consulting has been involved in search engine marketing research end delivery for almost two years. Our technical group has now put together a three CD set of training materials (containing 15 separate training videos) which you can learn about by going to www.adwordstraining.org. These CDs can take a complete novice and turn him into an expert. The CDs are fully narrated and use a step-by-step training system to show you what we have learned. By setting up your own Google campaign, you can create your own leads without the need to use a third party lead source.

We have a very special price for the next 5 days and the supply is limited to the next 50 customers. The regular price for this training package is $895, but you can now purchase the CDs for just $195. If you are interested please contact me by email and leave a telephone number in order to order the CD set.

Bob Cefail
Publisher
Hot Daily Marketing Tips
(727) 465 0935

The 7, no 8, Deadly Sins Of Marketing - Secrets To Marketing Success

2005-05-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

The 7 – no 8 – Deadly Sins Of Marketing

Most of us have heard of the 7 deadly sins: Vanity, Anger, Envy, Lust, Greed, Sloth & Gluttony. But did you know that these could be applied to marketing? In fact learning how these sins can negatively affect your marketing can be a great help.

We’ve also come up with an 8th sin, that is, in our belief, as big a sin as the other 7. We’re saving this one for last. Over the next week or so, we’ll cover each of the 8 deadly sins and how they can kill your marketing and your company.

Deadly Marketing Sin #1 – Vanity

One of the worst things a company can do is produce what we call “the vanity ad”.

The vanity ad is an ad made to please company executives. Maybe the owner of the company likes Harley’s. So their ad agency makes an ad with hogs everywhere. But the client is selling lipstick (or coffee cake or soda or anything but a motor cycle).

The executives and ad agency folks sit around the conference table smiling & clapping. It’s a hit! With who? With the corporate execs. After all, that’s who pays the bills right? Wrong. The customer pays the bills. And if your ad doesn’t sell them, they won’t pay.

So stay away from vanity ads & vanity campaigns & stick to what will appeal to your customers.

Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail has been a marketing professional for more than 20 years in addition to having a strong administrative and regulatory background. She has overseen the marketing, legal and regulatory affairs for what became a top provider of specialized telecommunications services against competitors such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint and the Baby Bells.

Selling Tips - Series #6 - Handling Prospect Objections

2005-05-23T08:40:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy - Handling Objections

One of the key steps in any sales process is the handling of objections.

There are several types of objections which we will cover in the next several articles. The first type of objection is the scaredy cat objection. This is detectable when a person starts giving you different objections after you handle a prior objection. The objections he is giving are not legitimate.

Underlying the changing of objections is the simple fact that he or she is scared. You handle a scaredy cat by reminding them of good decisions they have made in the past. Have them tell you about moments when they exhibited good judgment. Then remind them of the benefit that they will get out of your offer and have them tell you why buying your offer will help them.

This is all about increasing their confidence so that they can make a good decision. Sometimes people will come right out and say that they are nervous about their decision. Most of the time though, they will try to mask their insecurity.

By Bob Cefail
Quoted with permission from MarketingWorldNews.com

Marketing Marvels - George Lucas & The Lucasfilm Crew

2005-05-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

Marketing Marvels – George Lucas – Star Wars Episode III & The Star Wars Empire

Talk about a lesson in marketing, George Lucas and the Lucasfilm team are AMAZING marketers.

Here are some notables from the Episode III campaign (& the Lucas marketing machine overall) for you to use in your own marketing efforts:

PR – Public Relations – The Star Wars PR is ubiquitous. Dozens of major TV shows, not to mention nearly every news & current events show, have had mentions of Star Wars on them for weeks now. Multi-hour specials have run on many TV channels and most magazines have run articles on the film. Basically, you can’t turn anywhere without seeing something about Star Wars.

How To Use This In Your Business – The ideal lesson if you can afford it is: Hire A Great Publicist. If it’s in your budget and you’d like to hire a publicist, be sure to check their references and resume well. You want a publicist who really understands what you want to accomplish and has the connections to get you the kind of publicity you want.

Stay away from the P.T. Barnum type publicists that subscribe to the “no such thing as bad publicity” theory. There IS such a thing as bad publicity and the wrong kind of publicity and kill your business. So go over your needs with your prospective publicists and make sure they get you. If you find the right one, you’re in for a wonderful time and great business expansion.

Merchandising – From toys to cereal boxes, the Lucas licensing machine is raking in the royalties. No doubt financing the Skywalker Ranch well into the future.

How To Use This In Your Business – Promote, promote, promote. Make sure your product is in the faces of your prospective customers at any and all possible opportunity. Don’t let them forget you. Be everywhere. It works.

A Great Film – Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of The Sith is a great film. Everything about it is awesome. The story, the direction, the acting, casting, special effects, music, editing, sound, etc. are all top flight. I can’t wait to see it again (and again and again).

How To Use This In Your Business – Deliver a great product.

No matter how fantastic your marketing is, if your product is bad, it won’t last. In fact, if your product is bad it will most likely create ill will with the public. So be sure your product is truly a good one and your service is delivered very well.

There are many lessons to be learned in watching the marketing of other companies. Pay attention as you go through your days to the marketing that you see. You’ll develop your marketing senses, learn things, and get ideas you can use.

------- Toli Cefail 5/19/05

Toli Cefail is a veteran marketing specialist delivering professional marketing services for over 20 years.

Pixar & Disney - Can Pixar Wag The Dog?

2005-05-19T11:41:00.000-04:00

Pixar & Disney – Can Pixar Wag The Dog?

Anyone who has ever been in a position of power will tell you that those who are not always think they can “wag the dog”.

For those of you who don’t know what the term “wag the dog” means here’s a definition. A dog has a tail. The dog, being the ruler of the dog body, wags its tail. You see the tail which may distract from the dog since it is the tail that is moving. It’s also apparent that the tail is important. After all, it’s putting on a show.

However, the tail is still part of (and subservient to) the dog. It is totally foolish for the tail to think that it can wag the dog. So, the dog needs the tail to put on the show but without the dog, the tail wouldn't exist at all.

Would the dog die without the tail? No. But many times “tails” get overly caught up in their show. They forget what their power depends on. They forget where they came from. They think that they can wag the dog. And so it is with Pixar.

I love Pixar. I love Disney. Keep that in mind as you read on.

Pixar needs to take serious heed to their position. The Disney marketing machine is perhaps the most formidable entertainment marketing machine to ever exist. As a veteran and natural marketer, I routinely marvel at its power and comprehensiveness. It is truly a thing of beauty. An ideal example to any marketer no matter how experienced.

Now you may be familiar with the expression “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” As one who markets and sells many products I can tell you that statement is completely false.

People care more about your marketing and your delivery system than the quality of your product. Don’t believe me? Check this out.

Think of the best hamburger you have ever had in your life. Now ask yourself if it was better than a McDonald’s hamburger. I’ll bet you it was.

Now ask yourself if the place you had that great hamburger sells more hamburgers than McDonald’s. I’ll bet you they don’t.

So why does McDonald’s sell more hamburgers than a thousand places that make a better hamburger? Answer: they have a marketing and delivery machine second to none.

And so does Disney.

Consider the Disney machine if you’re not familiar with it:

Television – The Disney Channel (1 & 2); ESPN; ABC; Toon Disney;
Radio Disney - nationwide radio network
Theme Parks – Disney World; Disneyland; Disneyland Paris; Disneyland Tokyo; Disney Cruise Line
The Disney Store – chain in every major mall in the US and the world

Every product, event or issue that Disney wants to support is promoted throughout all of these avenues constantly with no holes barred.

And all the Disney marketing machine parts have the Disney brand, known, loved & followed by billions around the world.

So Mr. Jobs, put your pride & greed aside and consider what you would really be giving up if you left Disney. If you need more ammunition for your stockholders note the following:

Even the mighty Steven Spielberg, David Geffen & former Disney chief Jeffery Katzenberg have not been able to beat the Disney machine. This despite the fact that Steven Spielberg is perhaps one of the greatest creative talents to ever walk the face of the earth and has a genuine Midas touch with films. Even with this superior talent, the SKG combo has not been able to beat the Disney machine.

And let’s not forget the tanking of the Antz and Chicken Run movies, their spectacular casts notwithstanding (Mel Gibson, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Danny Glover). Plus their merchandising (area of great and essential profits) performed even worse.

So to all our readers out there, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that because your product is great, you’ll sell tons and be a marketing success. The key to success is having a comprehensive marketing machine and a consistent delivery machine. These parts need to work cohesively and cover as many avenues as possible.

And for those of you who have a strong partner, owner or the like, don’t try to wag the dog.

--------- Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail has been a marketing professional for more than 20 years in addition to having a strong administrative and regulatory background. She has overseen the marketing, legal and regulatory affairs for what became a top provider of specialized telecommunications services against competitors such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint and the Baby Bells.

This involved establishing, coordinating and managing regulatory affairs and marketing efforts in 600 counties spanning 41 states. Ms. Cefail was also responsible for obtaining favorable groundbreaking legislation for this company in a number of states as well as creating the firm’s administrative structure and procedures from the ground up.

Ms. Cefail has also assisted in the marketing & web development for the boutique investment banking firm The RC&A Group as well as performed marketing consulting for such prominent entertainers as Doug E. Fresh.

Currently she is overseeing the development of administrative structure and procedures for ITMG and assisting in the development and execution of its marketing and full business plans.

Selling Tips Series #4

2005-05-18T22:05:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy

The following four words may be the most important words you will read if you are involved with sales: TIME IS YOUR ENEMY! Let's read that again -TIME IS YOUR ENEMY! This rule is an absolute truth in sales. If you have any experience in sales, you can remember many cases where you got someone excited about buying something and then they wanted to think about it or had to talk to someone, on and on. The minute you let them "add time" to the transaction you have cut your probability for success by at least 50%, in actuality probably a lot more. Remember that the only things that they are going to "think about" are the reasons they shouldn't do a deal. Suddenly the problems of life seep in and they are off handling other fires and not focusing on the sales transaction you started with them.

What is the solution? You must, must, must take the time out of the decision at every juncture. You must close now at all cost. Your tools are "buy now" special offers and the ability to handle objections to buying now. Most objections are not legitimate and you need to just move them off the objection and remind them "why" they decided to seek your product or service in the first place. Remember that during the initial phase of any sale, you must find out WHY they are buying, and what need or problem is being addressed through the purchase of your offer. The "reason" that they are buying is what you will need to use to leverage the close right now. Just get this into your head-TIME IS YOUR ENEMY!

Search Engine Training CD Set Special Offer

If you have ever considered setting up a Google search engine Adwords campaign, and were concerned about whether you were going to be successful or not, we have very good news for you. Data Resource Consulting has been involved in search engine marketing research and delivery for almost two years. Our technical group has now put together a three CD set of training materials (containing 15 separate training videos) which you can learn about by going to www.adwordstraining.org. These CDs can take a complete novice and turn them into an expert. The CDs are fully narrated and use a step-by-step training system to show you what we have learned. By setting up your own Google campaign, you can create your own leads without the need to use a third party lead source. We have a very special price for the next 4 days and the supply is limited to the first 50 customers. The regular price for this training package is $895, but you can now purchase the CDs for just $195. If you are interested, please contact me by email and leave a telephone number in order to order the CD set.

Bob Cefail
Publisher
Hot Daily Marketing Tips
(727) 465 0935

Selling Tips Series #3

2005-05-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy

As I have discussed in the past two articles, one must know how much the client can spend and when they intend to spend the money in order to develop a closing strategy. Once this is done, away we go. Now if the person is shopping, looking at multiple suppliers, it is vital that you do the following: let them know that you will make it very worthwhile to come back to you at the end of the "shopping" process and give you the last shot at winning the business. This does not mean you have to give the best price.

It can mean you will offer the best service package or best payment terms. The point here is that you must get the person's agreement to come back to you at the end of the process. In order for you to get such an agreement, you will have to really get in good communication with the prospect. Find out what they really want to solve by purchasing your product or service. Really listen. If you do this, and the prospect feels like you want to really help them out, they'll come back to you in the end and give you the last shot.

Search Engine Training CD Set Special Offer

If you have ever considered setting up a Google search engine Adwords campaign, and were concerned about whether you were going to be successful or not, we have very good news for you. Data Resource Consulting has been involved in search engine marketing research and delivery for almost two years. Our technical group has now put together a three CD set of training materials (containing 15 separate training videos) which you can learn about by going to www.adwordstraining.org. These CDs can take a complete novice and turn them into an expert.

The CDs are fully narrated and use a step-by-step training system to show you what we have learned. By setting up your own Google campaign, you can create your own leads without the need to use a third party lead source. We have a very special price for the next 4 days and the supply is limited to the first 50 customers. The regular price for this training package is $895, but you can now purchase the CDs for just $195. If you are interested, please contact me by email and leave a telephone number in order to order the CD set.

Bob Cefail
Publisher
Hot Daily Marketing Tips
(727) 465 0935

Selling - Tips Series #2

2005-05-17T09:07:00.000-04:00

Special Series - Closing Strategy

Yesterday we discussed the ways in which one must qualify the sales prospect. Today we will discuss the next vital piece of information one must have before developing a sound closing strategy.

You must know "when" the person needs or has to buy the offer you have put forth. Some people are just out getting information and aren't really motivated to buy quickly. You wouldn't waste a closing strategy on them.

You must have a concrete date when the prospect wants or needs to buy. You can of course "create" urgency so that they move their buying date up to the present. If you really understand why the person wants to buy and that reason contains some type of resolution of a problem (meaning that the offer will help resolve a problem), then you can certainly push the buying date to the earliest point possible.

It is important to understand that the longer your prospect has to make a decision, the less likely it is that you will be successful selling your offer. The trick here is to discover the date that the prospect wants to make his or her purchase on and then start "moving" that time closer to the present. The next article will cover how to "move" the buying date.

----- Bob Cefail

Quoted With Permission From Marketing World News

www.MarketingWorldNews.com

Birthdays Are NOT About Age - A Birthday Philosophy

2005-05-16T11:16:00.000-04:00

I've never really celebrated my birthday as an adult with the exception of when I was in college. I never really thought it was a big deal.

I never celebrated my husband's birthday either really, or the birthdays of my friends & family.

I basically took care of everything and everyone at Christmas figuring in part that birthdays were kind of a vanity trip and I didn't have time for so many celebrations.

Then one year I forgot the birthday of a friend and couldn't believe how offended she was. When I spoke to her about it she explained to me how special birthdays were for her and between friends and I realized something very important that changed the way I now view birthdays forever.

I recalled the birth of my 2 sons and my thoughts while lying in the hospital looking at them thinking to myself "this is a BIRTH day".

The combination of those 2 events cause me to realize why birthdays really are SPECIAL.

Birthdays are special because your birthday is the day that you, your family and your friends celebrate the fact that you are here.

Birthdays are a celebration of your arrival to this life.

They are a time to say, "thanks for being here" to people that you care about. And when it's your birthday, it's the time for your peeps to thank YOU for being here.

So the next time it's your birthday, CELEBRATE! Be thankful that you are here and celebrate the fact that you ARE here.

Happy birthday!

Selling Tips - Series #1

2005-05-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

Special Series - 1 Closing Strategy

One of the keys to an effective closing strategy is really knowing the prospect's ability to "PAY". How much "CAN" they pay? If you don't know that you can waste a lot of time on someone who can never really buy from you in the first place.

Remember that the time lost screwing around with an unqualified prospect is time lost in focusing on a real prospect. To find out what a prospect can pay, you need to ask questions designed to gather qualification information. Don't come out and just ask, "How much money do you have?"

In many cases, you'll get a no answer or false answer or an offended prospect. If the prospect is buying for a business, you can ask questions about how many employees do they have; what their annual budget is for the product or service you are offering; or whether they have purchased such an offer before.

You have to be a detective. For an individual, you should ask questions about where they live; what they do for a living; how many kids they have; and what kind of car they have. You just have to identify the ability to pay because you also want to identify the quantity or quality of the product or service that they can buy.

Remember, find out what your prospect can pay, then you'll know what to really offer and how much time to spend on the prospect. You are "SPENDING" time, so pay wisely!

----- Quoted With Permission From Marketing World News - www.MarketingWorldNews.com

Posted By Toli Cefail

The Latest American Idol Reviews - May 10, 2005

2005-05-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

Kenny Gamble is a friend of a friend so it was nice to finally see & hear his songs since I've been hearing so much about him. I grew up with those songs and was really impressed.

Now, here are this weeks American Idol contestant reviews.

5701 - Carrie Underwood – Excellent first performance & very good 2nd performance. Carrie has what it takes to be The American Idol.

5702 – Bo Bice – Superb performances. Bo is a total pro. Bo also has what it takes to be the American Idol.

5703 – Vonzell Solomon – Ok performances but not the caliber it will take to win this competition. Remember, everyone in this American Idol competition was excellent this year. So…

5704 – Anthony Federov – Talk about living the American dream! Great performances Anthony. Your parents looked great too. Well done!

---- Toli Cefail 5/10/05

Toli Cefail is a musician, entrepreneur and marketing executive.

American Idol - The Final 6! Competition is Tight!

2005-04-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

Tonight's American Idol performances prove once again that this is an extremely tight competition. As usual, we lovers of Simon Cowell, observed that he was again right on most counts.

All of the contestants are fantastic and we have no doubt that they will all sell tons of records. In fact, it is our belief that this crop of contestants will sell more records than all prior contestants combined.

And now, on to this week's American Idol performance reviews.

5701 - Carrie Underwood - TOTALLY AWESOME! Her performance was fantastic. Simon, as usual, was right.

5702 - Bo Bice - FANTASTIC! Bo is awesome. He reminded me tonight that I am in fact a rocker. Well done!

5703 - Vonzell Solomon - Great performance. Vonzell has really risen to the occasion and proved to be an excellent contestant.

5704 - Anthony Federov - SUPER!! Anthony reminded us tonight of everthing we like about him when he first came to the competition! He's gotten back to who he is and is once again showing his talent. FANTASTIC!!

5705 - Constantine Maroulis - Very good but not his best performance. Constantine is so appealing that he could get away with just about anything. Please note that Simon was right.

5706 - Scott Savol - Average guy? Average performance. This may be Scott's last week and based on all the performances tonight and the contest history, it should be.

---- American Idol Performance Reviews by Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a musician, music producer and marketing executive of a prominent online marketing firm.

This Week's American Idol Reviews

2005-04-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

It was a great night for everyone this week proving once again that this is an extremely tight competition. So whoever is off or in the bottom 3, DON’T FEEL BAD because you’re all great.

Now on to the American Idol performance reviews for the week.

5701 - Constantine Maroulis - HOT! Constantine came to WIN! Great song choice. Excellent performance. Paula was spot on about him.

5702 - Carrie Underwood - You have to be a diva to carry a Donna Summer song and Carrie YOU ARE A DIVA! Well done.

5703 - Scott Savol - He did well & picked a great song. But still not the star quality we’re looking for. I was bored.

5704 - Anthony Federov - Excellent! Anthony, you reminded us why we loved you in the first place. This was the perfect song for you. Very well done!

5705 - Vonzell Solomon - Excellent performance. I expected it to be better honestly because Vonzell is more talented than I originally thought.

5706 - Anwar Robinson - This may be Anwar’s last week. Anwar is a fantastic singer technically but I’m looking for more feeling.

5707 - Bo Bice - AWESOME!!! Perfect song. Perfect performance. I like that song better than the original. Bo, put that song on your album. We LOVE Bo!!

________________________

Bottom 3 picks - Scott, Anwar & Vonzell

Picks for off this week - Scott or Anwar

The Latest American Idol Contestant Reviews - April 12th 2005

2005-04-12T21:04:00.000-04:00

Vote For The American Idol Winners At 1-866-436-(last 4 digits below)

Look, we want everyone to feel good. We don’t want to invalidate any American Idol contestant. But we need to provide constructive critisism or we’re just kidding ourselves.

Now all of the contestants this season were fantastic. So let’s keep that in mind when reading these reviews going forward.

5701 - Nadia Turner - Trying to much to make a statement and not trying to win. This is not a political contest and you’re not U2 yet. This is a singing and performing contest. Nadia, you’re likability factor went down again this week. Stop trying to “prove” something or “say something” and just SING. You have a great voice. Let’s hear that.

5702 - Bo Bice - HOT!!! Freebird is one of my favorite songs. Bo, you ROCK!!! We love Bo.

5703 - Anwar Robinson - It was just okay. Actually boring. Anwar has such a great voice but it’s wasted on boring songs & performances. This was boring & safe. The star quality was missing.

5704 - Anthony Federov - Anthony, we love you & always have. But it’s not about how much we like you, it’s about winning. Much better this week but likely not good enough to stay. Remember: ALL of the contestants this time are AMAZING. So just because you go doesn’t mean you’re not great.

5705 - Vonzell Solomon - Vonzell, we’ve grown to love you. This is your worst vocal performance in weeks. You will get a recording contract because you are great. But since all the contestants are amazing… We’re still voting for you.

5706 - Scott Savol - Yikes. Scott… hate to say it but this may well be your last week. The big notes were okay but the rest was not good. Overall, not good enough this week dude. Simon was right.

5707 - Carrie Underwood - Thank God for Carrie Underwood! Best performance of the night. Proving versatility of the rocker. Carrie, you’re a pro.

5708 - Constantine Maroulis - Ok. Thank God for Carrie and… Constantine Maroulis. Fantastic in every way.

This Week's American Idol Performance Reviews

2005-04-05T21:25:00.000-04:00

Before we get into reviewing this weeks American Idol performances we’d like to comment briefly on the band and song selection. (Note, our reviews always include the contestants’ vote numbers as well).

The American Idol Season 4 band is improved a bit. Thanks to the music director and producers for that.

This week’s theme was Broadway show tunes. Now I grew up on Broadway shows and therefore cannot for the life of me figure out who was helping these people pick their songs. There are soooooo many fantastic songs that could have been chosen from this genre. Whoever the producer is who is “helping” the singers choose their songs needs to be given The Donald (I.e. “you’re fired”). And whatever you do PLEASE don’t bring them back next season!

Now, on to the reviews of this weeks American Idol performances:

5701 - Scott Savol - Very good singing. A bit off key and a bit boring.

5702 - Constantine Maroulis - Superb! We LOVE Constantine! Dude, you get better every week. Keep it up.

5703 - Carrie Underwood - Hailing from New York and growing up on Broadway shows, I found this performance completely wonderful. Carrie, you’ve proven that you are a total pro.

5704 - Vonzell - Excellent. Vonzell is a sleeper. You get better every week. Keep it up girl.

5705 - Anthony Federov - okay. Weak in the beginning and a bit boring. This week it will be either Anthony or Nadia who will go home.

5706 - Anwar Robinson - Much better this week Anwar. You seemed to really be making an effort to connect with the audience. It was however, noticeable to next week try to make it effortless. Just be.

5707 - Nikko - Great performance. A bit off key in spots but a very good performance. Nikko, you’re getting more likable. Keep that up.

5708 - Bo Bice - LOVE BO!!! Bo, everything you do, you put your own signature & style on it and it’s HOT! Love the shirt too. Very Clubware.com !

5709 - Nadia - Much better this week Nadia. We noticed less of the attitude appearance from previous weeks. We’re looking for you to be more lovable. Notice how lovable / likable the past idols were. All of the top 2’s are extremely likable.

----- Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a musician, artist and veteran marketing executive.

TV Reviews - Life On A Stick

2005-03-31T09:45:00.000-05:00

We normally don't review tv shows as a routine. But occassionally there is an exception that we like to speak out on. Life On A Stick is such a show.

This TV show is so bad, we can't even express how bad it is. Like a hollow, trite waste of celluloid (or video tape) this show wreaks of "shallow studio exec's pet project".

Somebody did somebody a favor and that is the ONLY reason this show is on the air.

Well FOX, now do US a favor & TAKE IT OFF. Please.

Thanks!

---- By Toli Cefail

American Idol Results

2005-03-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

Wow! We can't believe that Jessica is going home. :-(

We are very very sad.

Apparently voters are more interested in popularity than in actual singing ability.

After last nights performance, Jessica Sierra had no business being in the bottom 3.

We picked Anthony for the bottom 3 because we didn't think he was as popular as the others. Apparently we were close to wrong.

A note to Nadia Turner: If you follow this advice, you will stand a chance and stop ending up in the bottom 3.

The reason you keep ending up in the bottom 3 has to do most likely with attitude. What comes accross is an attitude of "I'm going to be edgy & different despite what anyone says." It seems as though you are trying to prove something.

Are you trying to prove that an odd edgy person can win? If so, Fantasia already did that. But she did it with friendly soul.

The difference between Fatasia's edginess and yours is that hers seemed to come from a genuine love of what she was doing and a love of having others enjoy it. Yours seems like, you don't really care if anyone enjoys it or not; or perhaps, "if they don't like it, they just don't know any better...".

Whatever the reason, this "attitude" is what is landing you in the bottom 3 and if you don't change it, you will lose this competition. You've got the voice, but it will take more than that to win.

Winning Advice For Anwar Robinson: We were not surprised that Anwar ended up in the bottom 3 this week. We believe the reason he was in the bottom 3 is the same reason that La Toya London lost last year.

La Toya London has a fantastic voice and is a performing "technician". She is technically perfect. But she lacked the soulfulness, feeling and loving audience communication that Fantasia Barrino & Diana DeGarmo had.

The Anwar performance this week seemed technically rehearsed. But it lacked that repore with the audience. You're going to have to perform like you love it to win.

---- By Toli Cefail

American Idol Reviews & Picks Of The Week - CLOSE RACE!

2005-03-29T22:22:00.000-05:00

You’d think that with all the money American Idol is making, they could afford a better band. Are these people’s friends or something? Do us all a favor & spring for a better band.

So keeping in mind that the band is tres cruise ship, here are our American Idol performance reviews and picks for this week.

5701 Bo Bice – fantastic. Bo is a total pro. The reason Simon was right in his comments is only because of the band. NOT because of Bo.

5702 Jessica Sierra – An absolutely perfect performance. Go home girl!!
Remember: Simon is ALWAYS right.

5703 Anwar Robinson – Ok Anwar, here’s the deal: we all know you have a fantastic voice. But you have to put more feeling into your songs. You have to rely LESS on the power of your vocals and focus on OVERALL sound & performance quality. Remember: Simon is ALWAYS right.

5704 Nadia Turner – Great performance. WAY better than last week. But Nadia you’re still on the edge. Return to what got you this far – a fantastic soulful voice. Don’t be too edgy just now. Remember: Simon is ALWAYS right.

5705 Constantine – We LOVE Constantine!

5706 Nikko Smith – Great vocal. Great performance. I see a recording contract in your future. We’d like to see more of that unique star quality in your performances.

5707 Anthony Federov – Great! You’ve gotten back to what got you here. But remember: Simon is always right.

5708 Carrie Underwood – Excellent. Perfect. You’ve got what it takes. Remember: Simon is always right.

5709 Scott Savol – Pitchy. Scott is very likable which may carry him through. But no “it” factor. It seams like he was concentrating on his voice a lot unlike a pro from whom it just flows naturally. Remember: Simon is always right.

5710 Vonzell Solomon – Wow. Vonzell is really improving. That was hot.

Our picks:

This week on American Idol we are reminded once again just how tight this competition is. Nevertheless, someone has to go.

Our picks for who will be voted off & who will be in the bottom 3 are based on both performance & popularity.

Bottom 3: Scott Savol; Anthony Federov; Nadia Turner (because she’s not as popular as she could be if she stopped trying to be so edgy); Jessica Sierra

Vote Off: this week we think it will be Anthony Federov.

What's Up With Iraq? - Thoughts For Those Who Can Think For Themselves

2005-03-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID:

Things that make you think a little........

1. There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during January.... In
the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January.
That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war torn
country of Iraq . 2. When some claim President Bush shouldn't have
started this war, state the
following:

a. FDR...led us into World War II.
b. Germany never attacked us: Japan did.
>From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per
year.

c. Truman...finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea
never attacked us.

From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,334 per year.

d. John F. Kennedy. ..started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.

e. Johnson...turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.

f. Clinton...went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

g. In the years since terrorists attacked us President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chapaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!!

Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military morale is high! The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts.

But Wait, there's more......................

JOHN GLENN (ON THE SENATE FLOOR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living.

This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.

Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn): "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?" Senator Glenn (D-Ohio): "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program

It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank."

"I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags.

You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible. I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?"

For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. Now he's a Senator!

Jeff Androsko

Kia Sportage - Commercial Of The Week

2005-03-23T10:49:00.000-05:00

p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">This commercial is hip & has a great message. It makes Kia look like a real player in the auto industry (which they are proving themselves to be with great cars) and they will sell a lot of cars from it. Check it out here.

PR & Marketing Opportunity ALERT - GM Financing

2005-03-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday GE Capital announced that they were withdrawing the $2 Billion credit facility they had been supplying to GM for years. GM’s stock subsequently went down on the news and they, along with GE Cap quickly responded with the clarification that GE Capital was canceling all automaker facilities under this program.

Ok. That aside, here’s the opportunity.

If I were a financier and wanted to get great free PR, I’d step up and offer the financing to GM. The actual risk is probably worth the PR value to get into the limelight as a contender. Key Bank?

Anyway, food for thought to anyone who’s listening.

It's A Bull Market Stupid

2005-03-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

When are the powers that be going to admit that we're in another major bull market? The DOW is well over 10,000 and all indications are that it's going way up as this long term trend graph clearly indicates.

I think we're poised for another huge stock market boom, but this time it will be for real, based on substance and not hype.

Remember: internet access has just hit the 50% penetration mark. There will be a boom as it goes to 90%. Broadband is less than 50% so we're poised for a ton of growth there. And let's not forget about convergence - the combining of voice, data, internet, IP telephony and content into a single company. There will be a HUGE boom with these types of companies in the coming years with a shakeout late this decade. But this part is just begining so buy stocks in convergence players NOW.

--- Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a marketing executive and co-founder of the online marketing companies Data Resource Consulting and In Touch Media Group.

We Love SIMON - This Week's American Idol Reviews - TUESDAY

2005-03-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

We love Simon. Simon pretty much always gets it right. He's not trying to spare anyone's feelings because that's not the nature of the entertainment business. And frankly, he's usually right.

Tonight was no exception. Here are our reviews of tonight's performances.

Mario, where for art thou Mario?

Man on man are we totally bummed that Mario Vazquez isn't there. I mean he was one of the best ones. We really thought he could win.

Anyway, rumor has it that he quit because his agent said that if he won he would be locked in to American Idol and wouldn't be able to sign with anyone else. Frankly, if it's true, I think he got some bum advice.

First of all, he's locked in the Idol until 3 months after the contest ends anyway. And now, he won't get anywhere near the exposure he would have gotten had he stayed. He also won't develop the fan base he would have if he'd stayed.

But what's done is done. We hope it all turns out all right.

Anthony Federov - Performance was pretty good. But Anthony, you can do better. You're one of our favs and remind us of Clay. Step it up next week dude because we can get bored quickly.

Anwar Robinson - What happened? The judges gave great reviews and we know that's because you have this perfect voice. But seriously Anwar, you could have done MUCH better. I mean it was like watching a Ferrari drive 3 blocks at 45 MPH. Anwar, you could have made that song sound so much better than Luther (Vandross) ever did. What happened? PLEASE TEAR IT UP NEXT WEEK! Don't get complacent.

Bo Bice - DA BOMB!!! We love you Bo. You totally tore it up this week. You're one of our favorites and we think you can WIN! Bo is exactly what the music business needs. He's different and he looks & sounds great. Rock it Bo. See you next week.

Carrie Underwood - Carrie, you too are one of our favorites. But this week, your performance was well, boring. You sang the song with technical perfection, but there was no style. We agree with Simon that you picked a song that was true to who you are, that's great. But you didn't make the song your own. You just sang the notes with none of the Carrie sizzle that we're used to. Please do better next week.

Constantine Maroulis - Dude! You rock. Your voice was great this week. The best vocal performance we've heard you do. You can actually sing dude! I mean not just stylin' like usual but really SING. Well done. Now you're more than just a hottie. See you next week. :-)

Jessica Sierra - HOME GIRL ROCKED IT! I don't care what Randy says. You rocked it girl. The performance was hot. I totally hope to see you next week.

Lindsey Cardinale - Very off key. Lindsey, you're a lovely girl. This may be your final week and if it is, we wish you the best.

Mikalah Gordon - WE LOVE MIKALAH!! We love your saucy style and thought your voice sounded GREAT this week. The problem was that you were bouncing too much and it made your voice shake. This made it seem like you were off but you actually weren't.

Madonna used to have this problem too, so you're in good company. She had to work with voice coaches so she could sing while dancing. It's harder than it looks. Try not to bounce next week Mikalah. We sincerely hope to see you next week and believe we will if you're more popular than Lindsey, which we think you are or at least should be. (Sorry Lindsey).

Nadia Turner - Nadia, we love you too. This is so hard for us because we love so many of this season's performers. You did great girl but it was a little dry. Next week stay more true to your funky soulful self as much as possible.

Nikko Smith - DUDE! We're so glad you're in this. We thought you deserved to be and were genuinly surprized when you didn't beat out Lindsey (sorry Lindsey). You have alot of talent. Now this week, you stunk up the joint as you were totally off key. You can do so much better if you just relax. It sounded like you were really nervous which is understandable considering how you got into the top 12. Alot of pressure.

Anyway, we think you'll make it to next week because people will vote for you since you're now an underdog. But this was a bad off key performance dude. Step it up next week because you might not be so lucky then.

Scott Savol - WHOA! Sleeper! You totally rocked. I love that song and you did it proud. You keep getting better every week. Keep it up and you may make the top 5 or 6!

Vonzell Solomon - It was an okay, nice performance. Simon was spot on. You'll make it to next week but won't last long unless you bring it.

President Bush's Plans For America - A Solution

2005-03-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

I don't have a ton of time so I'll get right to the point: The Republican's PR is horrid.

The Democrats PR is fantastic. And don't blame the so called "liberal media".

This is a lesson in a marketing & PR basic "REPETITION OF MESSAGE".

I just visited the web sites of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

On the DNC web site their message comes through loud & clear "we're for the people!". EVERY headline on the site is a search engine friendly sound bite. EVERY headline succinctly communicates exactly what they want the public to think about a given topic. They have front page articles about every single message they want to communicate to ensure that the public (& search engines) are GETTING THEIR MESSAGE.

Our visit to the RNC web site observed the following: no clear message. In fact, it confirmed our suspicions about the republican PR leaders' idea of what to say and what the American public thinks. (More on that later).

The headlines featured peoples names more than actual messages and were frankly, boring. There is obviously an assumption that people visiting the site know what they're looking for. BIG PR MISTAKE.

The democrats definitely understand that political approval is ALL ABOUT MARKETING. It's a sales pitch. Period. No one epitomises this more than James Carville & Bill Clinton. James Carville being the master strategist and Bill Clinton being the master executioner.

The democrats online PR & marketing is strong, clear & syncronized with their well planned, established & worded off line messages. Whenever you see a democrat on television, they have their message down pat. They don't try to reason they just spout their message over and over. It doesn't matter what the other guy says, they just keep spining & repeating their message.

Not since the days of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh on TV have the republicans had even a glimmer of this type of synchronicity. And the election year they had it was a sweep. Remember that.

If President Bush and Congressman Delay want to win this battle and actually get their plans approved, they're going to have to drastically change their public relations and marketing strategies.

Our basic recommendation is to follow the model from the days of Newt & Rush, add a little Carville & bring back William Kristol.

--- By Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail has been a marketing professional for more than 20 years accross a variety of industries from telecommunications to urban fashion. She currently is co-founder of the leading online media companies Data Resource Consulting and In Touch Media.

Commercial Of The Week - Richard Branson & Volvo

2005-02-28T21:01:00.000-05:00

Hats off to Volvo!

This Volvo commercial with Richard Branson is hot. The music is great. The positioning is great. It's unique, exciting and makes you curious about Volvos.

Too bad the contest period is over. The poorly revised version of the commercial that is now airing features a voice over that sounds like an after thought, doesn't show Sir Richard and frankly isn't nearly as captivating.

Had we been running the marketing on this, we would have shot more footage so we could use Sir Richard after the entry period was over.

So well done Volvo for being on the cutting edge at least for a short while but shame on your ad agency for not thinking far enough ahead - waste of money.

---- Toli Cefail 2/25/05

Commercial Of The Week - Verizon Miniatures

2005-02-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

The new Verizon Miniaturization Commercial is our pick for commercial of the week.

Hats off to Verizon for this cool, fun and funny commercial that gets their message accross in a memorable way.

We have no doubt that they'll get tons of new subscribers from this. We'd love to work with their ad agency as they really know what they're doing!

To see the Verizon ad click here.

--- Toli Cefail

P Diddy's New Commercial Is Hot!

2005-02-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

This commercial is everything advertising & marketing should be. It appeals to the right public. It's funny. It gets and keeps your attention. It is extremely memorable and has that "water cooler" quality meaning people will be talking about it at work.

Check it out here.

Wal Mart - Friend Or Foe

2005-02-24T16:34:00.000-05:00

Wal Mart – Friend Or Foe?

There is a lot of talk lately about whether or not Wal Mart is good for America.

Opponents say that Wal Mart forces independent and smaller retailers out of business, exploits workers and kills US jobs by forcing vendors to manufacture overseas.

Proponents say that Wal Mart provides affordable merchandise for consumers that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise buy. They also say it provides a large number of secure, good paying jobs with excellent benefits and many opportunities for advancement.

Wal Mart’s own ad campaign featuring employees has them expressing joy over having a real “career” and not just a job. It shows their employees feeling fulfilled, challenged and happy to work each day.

From a marketing perspective, Wal Mart barely exists. What I mean to say is that Wal Mart doesn’t really “market” in the proper sense. Their commercials are normally just for PR and not to sell merchandise. When they do occasionally have a commercial for their stores the theme is always the same – Price, Price, Price, Selection, Price. They don’t even routinely put an insert into the Sunday paper.

Wal Mart is all about price. They do of course also offer and promote a huge selection and one-stop shopping but this is not emphasized as much as the low prices.

So is Wal Mart good for America?

We say “yes”. It’s better for a family to be able to afford what they need and want and get it in the shortest amount of time so they can spend more quality time together.

When I was a kid growing up in New York City, we had to go to many different stores for everything. It took all day. Many times we could not go to the park or a movie because there wasn’t time.

Now with Wal Mart, not only is there time left over, but there is money left over too. Children and families throughout the country are benefiting from this.

But what about the stores that get “put out of business”?

Decades ago, when the automobile was first introduced, there was tremendous opposition from the railroad owners and workers. Their arguments were essentially the same.

“The automobiles will mean the end of the railroad.” “All of the railroad workers will be out of work.” “The shops, towns and companies that service the railroad will be out of business.” “It will be a disaster.” Etc. Etc.

Well as you can see, it wasn’t a disaster and the country is substantially better off because of the automobile.

Entirely new businesses were created along with marked freedom and independence for the consumer. Industry evolved to a new level and expanded to accommodate the increase in people needing to be serviced.

Businesses unwilling to change and evolve, died like dinosaurs.

And so it is with the age of Wal Mart.

Consumers will continue to get what they want most – convenience & savings in a pleasant atmosphere. Businesses that don’t evolve and adapt to this new era will not survive.

We suggest that businesses who want to compete (or survive) with Wal Mart can do so by offering value added services.

Historically, people will pay more for convenience and additional services that make their lives more pleasant.

One idea is to add services such as personal shopping, other personalized services, exotic or hard-to-find merchandise, etc. Catering to a niche customer such as mom’s or golfers, etc., is also a way to compete with Wal Mart and other mass retailers effectively.

The point is to be creative. Find something special that’s needed & wanted that is not being delivered and deliver it. Be innovative with your business offerings and you’ll stand a good chance of surviving against the mega stores. You may even thrive and start a whole new trend yourself!

The result of the age of Wal Mart is a boon for the consumer. We now receive very affordable prices and the ultimate in convenience from Wal Mart and other mass retailers while we also get unique and specialized offerings from smaller shops with superior service.

It’s a win win all around.

----- Toli Cefail – February 24, 2005

Is your marekting just a one night stand or is it the real thing?

2005-01-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

If you’re looking for instant gratification, online marketing, and in fact marketing of ANY kind, is NOT for you.

Many times, I’ve seen business executives begin an online marketing project with unbridled enthusiasm and stars in their eyes. They salivate over the “millions of people” they will reach for “minimal cost” and fantasize about the thousands of customers they will get “instantly”.

They’re delusional.

Marketing, whether online or off, is a PROCESS. Instant gratification is RARE. It takes TIME to develop a successful marketing procedure and even longer to perfect it.

The so called “internet gurus” that you see who have these online marketing “systems” took YEARS to develop and perfect them. They may have spent only months developing their software for the system, but they also spent 20 years learning to write ad copy, 15 years learning marketing, and an equal amount of time learning about their market.

They are also continually modifying, testing and updating these systems to keep them working if at all. This is because the internet is constantly changing. There are more savvy internet users than ever and they don’t go for the “guru hype” that was so successful just 6 or 7 years ago.

In short – to repeat – marketing is a PROCESS.

Think of it like dating. If you want someone to fall in love with you, you can’t expect that to happen on the first date. Sometimes you may get lucky and it happens. But this is rare.

The reality more often than not is that you have to woo the person. You have to get to know each other. You have to learn each other’s likes & dislikes, how each other responds to different types of communication and environments. You learn how to make each other happy. You learn what NOT to say and who not to invite to their birthday party. You try different approaches. You make mistakes. You make some hits too.

All of this takes TIME. But eventually, through knowledge, trial, experience and persistence you get it right and perhaps fall madly in love with each other.

And then, AFTER you fall in love, you have to work to MAINTAIN and IMPROVE the relationship. You can't take anything for granted or you'll end up DIVORCED.

And so it is with your prospective customers. It is a PROCESS, not for the impatient or the lazy and definitely not for the faint of heart.

When you have a product or service that you want to market online (or offline) there are several things you will need to find out in order to market it successfully:

1. What is your product REALLY? – You need to clearly, cleanly and simply know exactly what your product is, what it does and what need(s) it fulfills. These answers should be easy to communicate to anyone in plain English.

2. What type of person wants your product and what type of person needs your product? These are not always the same. You also may have many different types of people who want or need your product. Each type of person may need to be marketed to differently as each responds differently to certain types of communication. For example what appeals to a 19 year old young man doesn’t necessarily appeal to a 45 year old woman yet they both need use toothpaste. You would nevertheless, market to each differently.

3. What do the people who would buy your product or service want from it? What would they demand, expect or require from your product? The answer to this should be known and if it is not known, market research should be done to get the answer. It can be as simple as asking a few people up to conducting comprehensive market research. Once you know the answer, be sure that any marketing done CLEARLY demonstrates that your product or service delivers “it”.

4. What type of promotion will your products public respond to? E-mail, banners, pop-ups, TV, radio, contests, word-of-mouth? What image appeals to your public? Conservative, hip & trendy, traditional, wholesome? Different people respond to different types of promotion, styles and images. Find out the answer and design your marketing campaigns accordingly.

5. And last but definitely not least – TEST, TEST, TEST and RE-TEST. Testing is the key to developing any successful marketing campaign. From the above answers, you will get bright ideas on how to market your product. Try them. Test different wording, different marketing vehicles, different publications, web sites, etc.

Eventually, something will work. Tweak what works until it works well. Repeat these steps with each tested idea. Eventually you’ll have a number of things that work and there you have your system!

Sounds simple right? Well for some people it is and for some it isn’t. If you have a knack for marketing and plenty of time, you can do this and succeed relatively easily. If not, you may want to study marketing books and materials or hire professionals to help you.

Whatever you decide, be prepared to invest time and other resources into developing this “relationship” so that it is rewarding, long lasting and meaningful and not just a one night stand.
_________________________

Toli Cefail is a founding partner at Data Resource Consulting and has been a marketing professional for over 20 years. Her experience, both online and off, spans all manner of products, industries and venues including, communications, fashion, corporate services, marketing services, food & beverage, music and more.

Welcome To The Tips From Toli Blog!

2005-01-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

Here you'll find info, news & tips on a variety of topics including:

marketing your business
selling
managing your business
how to get your business idea off the ground
baking (yes. baking. Because... I'm into it)
managing your money
improving your credit
launching a new product
how to make an advertising campaign that sells
political and current event commentary
and much more!

Check back daily because more tips are added all the time.