theideamechanic

indieConf 2011

Doug Foster — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:56:13 +0000

indieConf is back: Saturday November 19, 2011 at the NCSU McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC.

Just getting started in web freelancing? Looking for ways to get new clients, be more productive, save money, expand your network, or develop ideas in to marketable products? Any of these sound familiar? Then indieConf is for you.

If you were there last year you know it was good (here's some photos). If you weren't — and you're an independent web professional — you need to go. It's an affordable day packed with solid information.

Speaking at indieConf 2011

Doug Foster — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:54:39 +0000

indieConf is back: Saturday November 19, 2011 at the NCSU McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC.

Interested in a discount? Contact me (I've got a few to give out) then grab your tickets on Eventbrite ASAP.

Last year I talked about Convince Me! — the sales process I help people learn. This year I'm talking about how short stories and WordPress can help you sell a product, service, or point of view ...

Advertise your business on storyPanels™

Doug Foster — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:00:02 +0000

Shh ... don't tell anyone. Compared to other indoor advertising, placing your ad on storyPanels is a steal. According to national advertising rates listed by the Indoor Billboard Advertsing Association (IBBA), we don't charge enough. In fact, advertsing on a storyPanel gives you MORE ad space AND costs LESS than the national average. Way less. But that's ok. We figure your business is like ours: these days you have to offer and get the best deals you can. We're confident storyPanel advertising is a deal you won't want to pass up. Where do other indoor advertisers place their displays? Well ... when the IBBA says indoor advertising they're talking about placing ads in restrooms. Now we're not saying that doesn't make sense, but we've got a different idea. We designed storyPanel displays to use very little floor space. And because of that, our business partners place them in the middle of traffic ... not behind closed doors ...

storyPanels™

Doug Foster — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:00:52 +0000

storyPanels give you a simple, affordable, and elegant way to frame your corporate or personal stories. Each storyPanel is an 18"x1” square frame of polished aluminum inset with a glistening clear acrylic window. Put pictures, words, video, or anything you can imagine into a storyPanel and watch it come to life! (Here's our brochure.) In the Fall of 2010 Allen Moore of TouchStone3D Services and Doug Foster of the Idea Mechanics moved into a new location. Needing new white-boards in the conference room, Moore outfitted the space with custom units using an “Industrial Erector Set” from the 80/20 company. The new boards looked great! In fact, so great that as Foster studied them he remarked “They look like giant story boards, only empty. Wait. I’ve got an idea ...”

VoIP Hi Def audio conferencing. Amazing & free!

Doug Foster — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:56:11 +0000

I've been working with data/voice/video networking – and especially Voice over IP (VoIP) – for most of my career. I love it.

So why am I writing this short story? Because the other day I lived through the audio conference call from hell. The voice quality was abysmal. In fact it was so bad that my colleague and I almost lost control of a critical licensing deal on the call.

I came away from that thinking "Never again. There's got to be better way to do this." Good news. There is and ... it's free! And it supports VoIP! Wahoo!!

I'm not saying this is the perfect solution, but I've tried it and I REALLY like it. Even if it turns into a fee-based service I think I'd spend my money to use it. Too good to be true? Maybe. We'll see. I need to do more research and testing before I can completely recommend it. But so far I'm REALLY impressed ...

Five Principles of Selling

Doug Foster — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:00:48 +0000

Chuck Robbins is the Senior Vice President for U.S. Enterprise, Commercial and Canada with Cisco Systems in San Jose, California.

"As a senior executive at Cisco, every quarter I’m responsible for making sure my North American team closes thousands of sales, generates hundred-million-dollar revenues, and guarantees every customer we come in contact with is a satisfied customer. To do that, I lead a team of sales partners and sales professionals that numbers into the thousands.

What I’ve found is that the same sales skills my former colleague Doug Foster and I have used for years are just as effective now that I’m leading a team.

Here are my five principles for effective selling ..."

Telling the EBF3 story

Doug Foster — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:33 +0000

Through one of my clients – Fuentek – I get to work with NASA scientists and engineers. I mean, these guys really are rocket scientists! How cool is that.

I learn about technology they develop, then help them find licensing opportunities for the Intellectual Property.

Sometimes when you're educating prospects you need more than printed words to tell a convincing story. Consider the power of pictures and audio. You can build a powerful multimedia learning tool at a fraction of the time and cost to create a video.

Here's an example: Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication (EBF3) ...