Google Drive for real, yo!

Google Drive for real, yo! | Ubergizmo window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '139683546053659', status : true, // check login status cookie : true, // enable cookies to allow the server to access the session xfbml : true // parse XFBML }); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); Network:Ubergizmo English, French, SpanishUberphones Subscribe to RSS Ubergizmo ReviewsMobileGamingAndroidAppleComputersGadgetsConceptsPhoto/VideoEvents |  Jobs Home > Computers > Google Drive for real, yo! Google Drive for real, yo! Edwin Kee 09/25/2011 20:21 PDT

It was not too long ago when Google Drive was spotted in some additions which were made to the code in Chromium (not the operating system just in case some get confused – it is the open source browser behind Chrome) that pointed towards the possibility of Google Drive being launched sometime down the road. Shortly after that, additional proof might nudge that closer from rumor to realization, as eagle-eyed social media consultant, Johannes Wigand, saw an interesting screen during a presentation at a Google-sponsored event which clearly resembled Google Drive.

What he posted on his blog was later verified by Techcrunch, and needless to say, it is currently being used internally at Google. This would be somewhat an act of rising from the ashes, as Google Drive was worked on in 2007 and 2008, albeit killed off only to be resurrected like a phoenix as the market today seems to be far more ready and receptive for something like it.

Just what will Google Drive bring to the table? Well, it is said to offer native syncing software which you can install on different computers and mobile devices, in a similar vein as that of Dropbox. Want to transfer a file from one computer to another? Simple – just drag and drop it into this new Google Drive sync app and you’re good to go.

Read: wisecom.wordpress  | Add a Comment 

Follow Ubergizmo's founders on    Eliane Fiolet  Hubert Nguyen  Topics: Computers | Articles by keywords: drive, google, google drive Reviews Olympus E-P3 ReviewEpic 4G Touch ReviewGalaxy S2 ReviewDroid Bionic ReviewHP TouchPad Review - With Our Deepest CondolencesHTC Wildfire S ReviewBlackberry Bold 9900 Review
ArchivesIf you want to dig deep into Ubergizmo's past, and check what was going on previously, check our archive page. It's great for random browsing, but a search may be faster to find something specific.
TrendingiPhone 5 announcement happens at Apple HQ in CupertinoSamsung Galaxy S2 gets Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread ROM leakedHuawei Honor offers "power, unlimited power!"Galaxy S2 ReviewiPad 3 coming because of iPad supply chain order cut?Motorola Droid RAZR is very real and coming soon Related Articles
User Comments Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContactAbout|  Q: 10  ID: 89776  

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Apple store accidentally gives customer hard drive with top secret files

Apple store accidentally gives customer hard drive with top secret files | Ubergizmo window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '139683546053659', status : true, // check login status cookie : true, // enable cookies to allow the server to access the session xfbml : true // parse XFBML }); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); Network:Ubergizmo English, French, SpanishUberphones Subscribe to RSS Ubergizmo ReviewsMobileGamingAndroidAppleComputersGadgetsConceptsPhoto/Video |  Jobs Contact About Home > Apple > Apple store accidentally gives customer hard drive with top secret files Apple store accidentally gives customer hard drive with top secret files Tyler Lee 09/02/2011 11:45 PDT

Apple seems to have this nasty habit of losing their products – last year with the iPhone 4, and this year they have supposedly misplaced the iPhone 5 (although this has yet to be verified), and now it seems that they accidentally gave away a hard drive full of the Apple Store’s internal file server that is supposedly filled with top secret and confidential documents, and this is how it happened.

According to Cult of Mac who broke the story, a tipster sent them an email explaining the situation of how he sent his Mac in for repairs, but due to the hard drive requiring a replacement, he got his Mac back with a brand new hard drive and was handed a hard drive by Apple Genius at the store, which he assumed was his old and dead hard drive.

He then plugged it into a USB enclosure in an attempt to see if he could salvage anything, but when he plugged it in he realized that this was a completely different hard drive and it appeared to be a complete Apple Retail Store server Time Machine backup disk. He then offered to sell the hard drive to Cult of Mac who declined.

He then sent some screen shots of what was on the hard drive and it appeared to have contained “confidential docs, internal manuals, Apple’s sales technics, an Apple store work checklist, products layout, time schedules, pictures and videos of Apple corporate activities that only Apple employees can see, videos of store meetings, business structure and much much much more.”

Cult of Mac reported that the files look legit, but since they did not actually see it for themselves, and since there’s no way of knowing unless someone actually buys the hard drive off him, we’re going to have to take this at face value. Personally I’m just waiting for information regarding the much anticipated iPhone 5; do you think there’s any info stored in the hard drive about Apple’s next-generation iPhone?

Read: cultofmac  | Add a Comment 

Follow Ubergizmo's founders on    Eliane Fiolet  Hubert Nguyen  Topics: Apple, Computers, Storage | Articles by keywords: apple genius, apple store, backup, confidential data, cult of mac, hard drive, time machine Reviews HP TouchPad Review - With Our Deepest CondolencesHTC Wildfire S ReviewBlackberry Bold 9900 ReviewMotorola Photon 4G ReviewVizio Tablet Review (8-inch)Panasonic GF3 ReviewDroid X2 Review
TrendingOpen World Forum - Sept 22-24 - Paris@GalaxySsupport tweet suggests Droid/Nexus Prime coming soon?Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer trailer releasedAcer Aspire S3 [Ultrabook]Lost iPhone 5 didn't happen [SF Weekly]Motorola DROID Bionic website unlocked Related Articles
User Comments Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContactAbout|  Q: 10  ID: 87151  

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Can CEOs Drive Sales Growth?

It may appear to be critical these days, but the fact is that CEOs have lamented for years over their need for more sales. Whether it's a small business or a large corporation, growth is king. Numerous studies and a variety of personal interviews state that growing sales is #1 or near the top of the largest issues CEOs face.

SO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?

This is one of the first questions I ask leaders when they tell me they need to increase sales. The responses are interesting to shocking. Here are a few of my favorites:

"We are going to just ride it out. When the economy comes back we will get our share."
"I am not happy about it, but it is up to our sales leader. If he does not get it going soon, I will have to replace him."
"We are cutting back the sales staff. If we cannot sell enough at least we are going to spend a little less. And, we can weed out the lower performers."
"We brought the sales team in for a three-day training workshop to improve their skills."
"We invested in a CRM system so we can see what they are working on and get more accurate forecasts."
"We are cutting our prices so at least we can generate some volume."
"I would like to get rid of the entire sales team, but people keep telling me I need them."
"I am personally getting a lot more involved in deals to make sure that we win."

These responses, and the ones going through your mind right now, prompted me to ask the logical follow-up question: "How's it going so far?"

Overwhelmingly the responses included gems such as "Not very well," "We spent the money but didn't see any change," and "Things actually got worse."

If these are the alternative available to us and they don't seem to be working, WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Let's start by reflecting on how the CEOs beliefs and behaviors contribute, OR NOT, to sales. Answer the questions below to see how you are helping your sales team succeed or are hindering their improvement.

ARE YOU, AS A CEO, CONTRIBUTING TO SALES?

By answering 10 questions, you can discover how you, as a CEO, are personally impacting your sales team and how the entire company feels about them. Answer the following questions quickly with a YES, SOMEWHAT, or NO.

Do I foster a culture (policies, recognition, stories) that enables the entire company to support the sales team?
Have I invested in our sales team to give them a competitive advantage?
Have I worked with my sales team to understand the critical steps our customers take in evaluating our products and services and have documented the best approaches for all to use?
Do I have a clear strategy for where our growth will come from, determined our most probable customer, and communicated it to the entire organization?
Have I encouraged my sales leaders to understand what behaviors and activities lead to sales and supported the deployment of the tools they will need to implement them effectively?
Do I understand that a sales leader's job is to develop a team of sellers, and do I devote part of their pay to making it happen?
Do I continually invest in my sales leader to be sure they have access to the best education, tools, and practices to drive continual improvement?
Do I routinely make sales accomplishments visible to the entire organization, recognizing sellers and those that support sales?
Do I believe that sales is a process that can be taught versus a skill that is inherent in certain people?
Do I look at sales as an investment in the business versus a cost to be managed?

If the majority of your answers were YES, you are most likely helping your team succeed. Continue to reinforce the behavior and support your sales leader.

If the majority of your answers were SOMEWHAT, you are doing some of the right things but need to take a closer look at ways you can improve.

If the majority of your answers were NO, you have an opportunity to make some changes that can make a big impact toward improving your sales.

If you want to grow sales, it all starts with you!

CEO STEPS TO GETTING RESULTS

Below are a few of the changes our clients have made that are getting results.

Publish a growth strategy. Let everyone in the company know what type of client you want to work with and show them how to get the leads to sales people. Follow it up with a routine communication that shows people how their efforts are driving sales. You would be surprised how many of your employees are connected to people that could be customers.

Invest in your sales leaders (if that's you, still do it). Sales is a discipline like any other function in the organization and it's driven by the boss. Sales people do best with a clear set of expectations regarding what they're supposed to do, how they should behave, how frequently and what results they should be getting. Most managers learned their job from their former manager who never learned to do it well. Be clear their job is not to sell, but rather develop a team of people that can sell your products and services. Then, provide them the education and support they need to do it well. If you dedicate a portion of their compensation to how well they do it, you'll definitely so improvement.

Create a step by step method for engaging your customers, but understand that you can't fix people over the weekend. Put in a methodology that clearly outlines what activities help your prospects make effective decisions. Document which steps, tools, and resources advance the sales, and reinforce them over time. No one changes their behavior over a weekend. If that were true, we would all stop smoking, lose weight, and strike the ball like Tiger Woods. If you want the new approach to stick, think of it as the beginning of several months of teaching, or re-teaching, skills to resistant adults. It takes time and it's up to the manager to teach and coach until a new habit is formed.

Stop making your manager the score keeper. When I ask sales leaders their biggest challenge, they tell me they just don't have enough time to do it all. When I inform their boss, I hear "They'll just have to work harder." As we dig into what they spend their time on, we often find that more than 50% of their time is spent adding up forecasts, sitting in meetings to communicate the latest projection, working with the CRM team on the latest upgrade, or helping marketing with what signage to use for the next trade show. Studies show that when they spend their time in the field coaching their reps, sales go up significantly. Reduce their administrative time wherever you can and help them focus where they're needed most, teaching their team to be better.

Take as much pride in your sales team as you do your products/services. In a world of the internet and products that are obsolete by the time they get to market, how you go about engaging and working with your customers may be your biggest advantage. The best sellers want to work for companies that believe in, invest in, and continually develop their sales leaders and teams. If you're not doing this, they know it and it shows up when they talk to your customers. Participate in significant sales events. Send an email to the entire company recognizing key wins, let the sales team know they are the lifeblood to your cash flow.

The exciting part is that this is all within your control and it works. And, it works in every economy. Your customers are always looking for the best value. Sales team that help their customers make good business decisions by understanding their needs, concerns, and risks, will always have a competitive advantage.

We've worked with studied, and witnessed a transformational change that takes place when the CEO modifies how they look at the sales team and its purpose in the organization. Modest investment, new focus, and a sales philosophy driven from the top will get your sales team moving confidently and quickly.

Mike Braun is a speaker, author, and co-founder of Pivotal Advisors (http://www.pivotaladvisors.com), a national sales improvement firm dedicated to helping companies drive sales performance through the development of their sales management. He's dedicated to providing sales leaders the knowledge, tools, and support they need to succeed. His experience includes many years as a consultant/facilitator providing advice, coaching and support to hundreds of sales organizations from large, public companies to small businesses. Mike also has 25 years of selling, sales management, and executive level experience. He's led small start-ups, professional service firms, and was Vice President of Sales and Marketing at a $1 billion technology company. Mike holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and received his Executive Education from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Using Desktop Sharing Tools to Drive Sales Success

In the traditional sales model, presentations are made in person at the client's place of business. Today, however, rising fuel costs have translated into higher airfares and gasoline prices. As a result, the travel budgets of companies around the world are straining at the seams. Similarly, company executives are recognizing that traditional business travel consumes a significant amount of a salesperson's time, thereby negatively impacting employee productivity. Both travel costs and a salesperson's time increase the cost of on-site meetings, and represent resources that could be better leveraged to generate additional sales. As a result, businesses are increasingly seeking less expensive technological alternatives to on-site sales presentations.

This paper explores computer desktop sharing solutions as a means of leveraging resources to drive sales success. Specifically, this paper addresses four questions:

What is desktop sharing and how does it work?

What are the benefits of desktop sharing?

How can desktop sharing tools be used in sales?

What features should an effective desktop sharing tool include?



Although business travel and on-site sales presentations are sometimes necessary, many on-site pitches can be replaced by online presentations at a fraction of the cost. Effectiveness and efficiency increase, positively impacting both the sales professional's and the client's bottom lines.

Desktop Sharing: A Simple, Innovative, Technological Tool

Desktop sharing is an innovative software program that allows one or more people in remote locations to view the primary user's computer screen. Using a Web-based interface, the user can show others any document or application that is open on his or her desktop.

Desktop sharing is initiated when the presenter invites others to participate in a session. The presenter begins the session, and participants join via the Internet, using a unique session ID. During the session, the presenter's screen - including mouse movements, documents, and applications - is visible to the participants. The participants simultaneously interact with the presenter by phone or audio conference call.

The Benefits of Desktop Sharing

By delivering sales presentations online, desktop sharing allows sales professionals to increase the effectiveness of their presentations while leveraging their time to reach more clients and prospective clients.

Through the use of desktop sharing technology, sales presentations are amplified with visual components. The instantaneous, real-time delivery of documents, slides, or software applications allows for better communication and increased flexibility in addressing the specific needs and concerns of the customer.

As a Web-based tool, desktop sharing enables the sales professional to make a presentation instantly to anyone, anytime, worldwide. Because a session can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, traveling to a customer's place of business isn't necessary. This not only represents a significant savings in travel costs, but also a tremendous savings of time, allowing the salesperson to exponentially increase the number of sales presentations he or she can initiate.

Desktop Sharing in Sales

Lead Generation

Many companies have found that desktop sharing quickly becomes a critical tool to generate leads.

Breaking Down Geographic Barriers: As part of the salesperson's repertoire, desktop sharing provides sales professionals with the ability to schedule online meetings with larger groups of prospective customers, regardless of their geographic location. Web conferencing allows companies to gather leads in new markets without incurring the travel expenses associated with reaching these prospective customers.

Passive Lead Generation: Companies can, through their websites, offer visitors the opportunity to register for informational online meetings or for the launch and demonstration of a new product or service. Potential customers self-select as leads through the registration process. The data collected from registrants and from those attending the online meeting can be used by the company's team of sales professionals to convert leads to customers. When a company archives their informational meetings and educational seminars on their website, potential customers can register to download or listen to the information, which generates additional passive leads.

Existing Customers Become New Leads: Desktop sharing allows new products, services, or specials to be shown in order to upsell or cross-sell existing customers. Current customers make excellent prospective customers for new products, and desktop sharing enables a salesperson to upsell or cross-sell without having to make an on-site sales call.

Educational Seminars Hook Prospects: Online meetings can also be utilized as a non-sales marketing tool to present live educational seminars to potential customers, who then become qualified leads. In contrast to online meetings that introduce a company or a specific product or service, the topic of an educational seminar serves to address a common challenge faced by the company's potential customer base. For example, a company that provides shopping cart software might hold an educational seminar on cost-effective marketing techniques to drive traffic to e-commerce sites. The information gleaned from the attendees of these lead generation seminars can be passed on to the sales team, which can convert sales by using the collaboration features offered by desktop sharing.

Qualifying Leads

When marketing tools, such as white papers, recordings of product demonstrations, and customer testimonials, are posted on a company's website, potential customers self-select by downloading or accessing the materials. This process begins the selling process prior to a sales team member contacting a prospect.

Similarly, an online meeting utilizing desktop sharing technology can drive prospects to download or access supplemental materials that can further pique their interest and speed up the sales cycle.

Sales Calls

Desktop sharing is most useful during sales calls, and represents a tremendous savings of resources. The salesperson can invite one or more prospects to a presentation or project demonstration, regardless of the geographic locations of the potential clients, thereby saving both time and travel expense.

Presentations and Product Demonstrations: By enabling prospects to view the sales professional's computer screen, desktop sharing allows the salesperson to easily present information about the company and its products and services. The salesperson can also turn over control of the desktop to a participant, allowing him or her to try the product or browse through various parts of the presentation. This hands-on experience gives the prospect a clear understanding of the benefits of the product or service.

Building a Virtual Bridge: When some members of a potential client's company can attend an in-person meeting but other key personnel cannot, desktop sharing allows those who can't be physically present to participate in the meeting to attend from a remote location.

Cold Calling: During cold calls, the sales professional can quickly initiate a desktop sharing session and invite the prospect to review the company profile and view slides or other information about the product or service.

Immediate File Sharing: During an online meeting, desktop sharing allows the sales professional to provide potential customers with any material they may request. This capability communicates efficiency and a commitment to customer support.

Closing the Sale

Desktop sharing is a powerful tool for closing sales and shortening the length of the sales cycle and increasing revenue streams.

Document Collaboration: Desktop sharing streamlines the process of working on proposals and contracts, since it allows both the salesperson and the client to modify proposals together in real time.

Team Leader Involvement: A salesperson's upline or supervisor can sometimes be instrumental in closing a sale. Desktop sharing solutions enable sales team leaders to join a sales presentation without ever leaving the office, thereby enhancing the interaction and increasing the client's level of satisfaction.

Client Authorization: When a sale hinges upon the go-ahead from a potential client's higher-level manager, desktop sharing solutions can smooth the way to closing the deal by allowing managers to attend meetings without ever leaving the office. In addition, the flexibility inherent in the tool makes it possible to initiate or reschedule a presentation at a moment's notice.

Customer Support

Once the deal is closed, desktop sharing tools can be utilized to enrich the relationship with the customer.

Transitioning to Customer Support: Desktop sharing can become a bridge to provide the customer with the support needed to implement the company's product or service. For example, desktop sharing can be used to introduce the company's customer support team and walk the customer through the support services offered.

Follow-Up Meetings: Desktop sharing can also be utilized to conduct follow-up meetings, during which the sales staff can stay in touch with new customers. A series of weekly conferences, for example, can go far in demonstrating a company's commitment to their new clients.

Customer Retention: Similarly, desktop sharing can be incorporated as a way of keeping in regular contact with existing customers. Inviting customers to educational seminars, new product launches, and company news events are just three of the ways that desktop sharing can help ensure customer satisfaction and pave the way for future sales.

Features of Effective Desktop Sharing Products

There are a number of desktop sharing solutions in the marketplace. To ensure maximum accessibility and security, you should consider a number of factors when selecting a desktop sharing program.

In order for clients and potential clients to embrace participating in a multimedia sales presentation, there cannot be any barriers to accessing the technology. From a technological perspective, this means that the desktop sharing product should enable participants to connect through corporate networks, firewalls, and proxy servers. They must also be able to connect using a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. Similarly, customers should not be required to install software in order to participate in sessions.

In order to facilitate spur-of-the-moment presentations, participants should be able to connect using any Internet browser and without having to register or submit any personal information. The desktop sharing interface should be intuitive and easy to use.

From the presenter's perspective, a desktop sharing tool should allow him or her to show his or her computer screen without first having to upload the content to a presentation server. Likewise, he or she should be able to hide confidential screen areas and have the ability to pause transmission in order to browse through confidential files. In order to facilitate discussion, the participants should be able to highlight items on the presenter's screen.

Finally, a desktop sharing solution should have strong security features. Transmission should be encrypted to the best practices standard, and connections to individual sessions should be made using unique, random session IDs.

Leveraging Resources to Boost Revenues

With tight travel budgets and time at a premium, using innovative tools to conduct remote sales presentations can leverage both your time and the time of your clients. Desktop sharing solutions can reduce routine business travel costs and increase productivity. The result is the ability to reach more prospective clients and an acceleration of the sales cycle. When sales presentations can start with a click of the mouse and reach customers and potential customers around the world, the result is an increase in the bottom line.

Mark Patrick Zondler is responsible for software development and global operations at http://www.BeamYourScreen.com, a software company that develops simple, easy-to-use, secure business communication tools for small and medium-size enterprises. Mark developed the technological vision for BeamYourScreen.com and defines the long-term development plan. He has several years experience in developing and operating Internet software systems. Prior to BeamYourScreen, he co-founded Allegro Solutions, a Singapore-based software firm specializing in dynamic price negotiation and online auction systems. Mark also worked in the consulting divisions of IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He studied business administration in Germany, Singapore and France.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.