ProDougtions

 Hey friends, I’m excited to share something that’s very close to my heart—my podcast, Walk and Roll Live - Disability Stories . It’s more than just a podcast. It’s a place where voices from the disability community come together to inspire, inform, and uplift. Whether you're someone living with a disability, a caregiver, an advocate, or just someone curious about the strength of the human spirit, this show is for you. Why I Started Walk and Roll Live As a polio survivor and lifelong advocate, I’ve experienced firsthand the power of sharing stories. Over the years, I’ve met so many incredible individuals who are navigating life in creative, courageous, and resilient ways despite the challenges that disability can bring. I felt there needed to be a space where these stories could be told, celebrated, and heard far and wide—and that’s how Walk and Roll Live was born. What We Hope to Accomplish Our mission is simple: to amplify voices in the disability community and break down b...

  Hello. I’m back again with another blog. Two days in a row. I'm on a roll. This time I do want to talk a little bit about an effective on hold message. And really that starts with having one. I've been doing this now for close to 30 years. When I started, I didn't really know how important an on hold message was. I primarily thought of it as a way to advertise some of the services that your business performed that your customers may not know about. Meaning they may call a print shop because they want business cards but while listening to your message they learn that you do wedding invitations or can print large signs. One of the things that I told my clients was that it would help them reduce hang ups otherwise known as call retention. It wasn't the first thing I told them about. I thought it would be nice but didn't think it was enough to lead with. But then as time went by I realized that every client I got back in touch with after installing their on hold messa...

  Hello. It has been a while. Yes, life was busy for a while. And I was not able to keep up with blogging. But, I'm retired now and hopefully I can get back to blogging more consistently. This used to be the please hold marketing blog. But now it is the ProDougtions blog. For a lot of reasons that I won't bore you with and take the time to get into I did away with Please Hold Marketing. That was my business where I did custom on hold messages for business. But I also do voiceover, narration and other commercial voicework. That was done under ProDougtions. So, I had the bright idea to do away with Please Hold Marketing and put everything that I do under one umbrella called ProDougtions. Which I already had a website for. That's the short story, if you want to hear the full story send me a request and maybe I'll get into it someday. Not really that exciting though. So if you know anybody in business or has need in their private life for any voice work, it could be a b...

The geeks of the world unite this week every year at CES in Las Vegas. That's where all the new electronic innovations are debuted, shared and lusted after.  Click here to see the contenders for best new products.

Happy Thanksgiving. :)

At my Top Source Networking meeting this morning our computer guy, Mike Borger , talked about new business start ups keeping in mind their computer needs as they are planning the layout of their new office space. It got me to thinking the important things a business needs as they are getting started. Some obvious as in desks and other office furniture, office equipment, office supplies, electronics and so forth. And there's the materials with which to do business, letterhead, business cards, presentations, etc. I'd also like to take this opportunity to remind you of a businesses advertising needs.  Along with the ones most business owners think of, newspaper, radio, magazines, brochures an more, there is a very inexpensive yet effect tool to help your business grow it's image and sales. The on hold message. Visit ProDougTions.com and learn more about this form of marketing, listen to demonstration recordings of what it can sound like. Then give us a call and we'll get ...

I've asked this question so many times. I found this video on YouTube and I think I'm starting to understand. Maybe this will help you too.

Cats get all the glory it seems on YouTube. Here's a dog that deserves our sympathy.

The weather is warm, you've got vacation time, but money is tight. Are you planning on taking a vacation this summer? Is it as big as it ever was or are you keeping the budget a little tighter? Let us know. We're looking for ideas.

As we celebrate the 4th of July holiday Please Hold Marketing announces the "Red, White & Hold" special. Through the month of July any new sign ups for the on hold message service get the first month for just $1.00.  Call for details at 909-226-1375. Have a happy and safe Independence Day! ProDougTions.com

Need an on hold message for your business? Call Please Hold Marketing. We can come up with something a little more professional than the one the office manager did for you. Listen for all the details...   Memorial day special 2011 by vx4hire

Have you ever struggled with leaving a phone message? What do I say? How long should the message be?  When it comes to leaving a business message first and foremost you want to make it productive. You want to get the call back, the sale, etc.  Here are some tips to help you leave a well crafted message. Enjoy this video.

I found this video on YouTube the other day. It says everything I would say about etiquette in regard to putting someone on hold so I thought I would let it do the talking.

Multimedia can help you tell your story. Photos, videos, links can add tremendous value in an online environment. They help you tell your story and engages your reader so they can better relate to you and your business. Part of the experiance of buying something is getting to touch and feel the product, that experience has to translate to the internet. Let your customer know you're in Rancho Cucamonga and serve the Inland Empire. Just think if you would buy something online, say a shirt, without viewing it first? Photos don’t have to just be a logo or a head shot, but often flow charts and graphics find their way into blogs and traditional media. When it comes to online video, often a less produced video can produce better online results. prodougtions.com

Facebook, MySpace, Yelp, Linkedin… there are many different social networking sites out there. Lots of businesses are using these sites to add to their success. With these sites, TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines, Billboards and on and on, it’s estimated that the average person is exposed to anywhere from 1500 to 3000 advertisements in a given day. If you ask yourself who your competition is you have to answer, everything. Add to this your family, social groups, recreation, the list seems to go on and on of who and what are vying for your attention. That is a lot of messages! You can’t ignore these new mediums. Chances are your competitors aren’t. If you want your message to cut through all of that noise, you have to employ these same tactics. Today, that includes using new media strategies to break through to your target audience. Search has to be top of mind every day. Think about it, is there a day you don’t use a search engine? CEO’s to middle management to regular consumers use a...

Last week I shared a few networking tips. Today Barbette Mobeck and Elaine Symonds gave a networking seminar this morning at the Top Source Networking meeting in Rancho Cucamonga. Great information and another good reason to be a member of the group. I had a few tips last week for networking. Here are a few more. Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them. Become known as a powerful resource for others. When you are known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you visible to them. Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your doing it special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you m...

You have to love Google.  As I was thinking about what to write about today I thought I would cover business principles. A quick search for inspiration and up came one that I've always tried to adhere to. Simply stated: Under promise, over deliver. Too many times companies make big grandiose claims and it's almost impossible to live up to them.  I've always thought it was better to manage your customers expectations.  Give them a realistic idea of what they can expect and then try to give them even more. This way you'll have a happy and satisfied client rather than someone who is disappointed and not afraid to share this with the whole world. Which is entirely possible in this day of social media. Many times you may have delivered the exact same amount of service or product, the difference was in how you managed the customers expectations. That's my 2 cents for today. Thanks for listening.

Decisions, we all wrestle with them all the time.  You can’t get around it. They’re part of everyday life. But, I found a way of minimizing some decisions by making them only once. Chances are you’re already doing this is some areas of your life. You’ve made the decision you’re going to work each day.  You don’t wake up each day and make that decision. For my weekly networking meeting I do the same thing. I’ve made the decision that I’m going to the meeting each Wednesday. I don’t wake up each Wednesday and make that decision. I do the same thing for Kiwanis meetings,  community meetings, etc. It helps cut down on all that unnecessary decision making. It frees me up for more productive thoughts.  We’ll never get out of making all those decisions, but you can cut it down a little.

I was looking around the Internet for some good tips on how to make my business better and came across some good tips on networking. I thought I would share them here. Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others. Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business connections. Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining. Hold volunteer positions in organ...

  This morning at the Top Source Referral Network meeting during my 60 second message I discussed how each business has a uniqueness.  Even though your business may be part of a bigger category, Insurance, Heating and Air, Computer repair, you have a unique way of presenting what you do, what your focus is and how you conduct business.  If you're not sure what your unique business quality is, take some time to define it for yourself. You may want to take a little survey of your customers. Maybe they can give you some insight. When you define what's unique about your business it becomes easier to communicate your message and most importantly become more profitable. And isn't that what we all want?