Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 @ 01:22 PM
Richmond's National Association for Women Business Owners (NAWBO) just hosted an outstanding seminar on certification for women owned businesses. The seminar was moderated by Karen L. Cole, Assura Consulting, Inc. and presented by Sandra P. Eberhard, Executive Director of Women Presidents’ Educational Organization-DC and Joanne W. Tompkins, Director of Crater Procurement Assistance Center. The presentation included information on the WOSB, WBENC, and Other Women Business Certifications.
Karen L. Cole with Assura introducing the panelists
Presenters from left: Joanne W. Tompkins and Sandra Eberhard
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Tue, Nov 22, 2011 @ 01:24 PM
Guess who made some breakthroughs in the past couple of months? The photo below should tell you part of the story. For some exciting details, read on.
As a business owner and entrepreneur, you need a broad set of skills. Some of these skills you might have naturally, acquired over time, and some you need to work on. Public speaking is one of these skills that are critical for an entrepreneur to possess. Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs started their companies with another co-founder; however, Gates and Jobs are better known and more visible because of their ability to communicate their vision to others effectively through public speaking.
Public speaking is an important skill for a leader to have. As a leader, one not only needs to create the vision, but convey the vision to others in a way that motivates and empowers them. As I learned in my E-Myth Mastery Impact! training, you don't have to be born a leader; you can learn to be a leader. Luckily, public speaking is a skill that can be learned. Dale Carnegie spent over 40 years discovering the secrets of effective speaking. He revealed his discoveries in his books: "The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking" and "Speak More Effectively". Effective speaking is one of the concepts taught in the Dale Carnegie course that I had the honor of taking very recently.
When I started my Dale Carnegie Course Skills for Success eight weeks ago, I was not comfortable speaking in public. However, that was a skill that I knew I need to work on in order to communicate my vision and grow my business. Throughout the Dale Carnegie course, and with the help of our trainer, coaches, and fellow participants I was able to stretch myself beyond my limits, building my confidence, my skills and fascination for public speaking. Each week, we gave 1-to-3 2-minute presentations on building relationships, pushing back on stress, and becoming a leader. Our presentations were concise, passionate and intense.
Today, I am the proud recipient of the first Outstanding Performance Award for this course, and a proud recipient of a Crashing Through Award for demonstrating courage, flexibility and risk-taking. I am much more empowered, and much more prepared to tackle public speaking.
Now that I graduated from the Dale Carnegie course, I look forward to every public speaking opportunity I will have. On November 3rd, I participated in Virginia State University Business Week, were guests from the corporate world came and talked to students about working in the real world. I very much enjoyed talking to a computer networking class of 20 students along with another consultant from Cisco. It was a very rewarding experience that I plan on repeating. On November 17th, I had the honor of presenting my company at a luncheon to a local professional association in Richmond, VA. You can read my remarks here.
While in the past I would've avoided speaking to large groups of people, now I would jump at any public speaking opportunity that will give my business more visibility. A very powerful tool for growing my business!
So I challenge you to stretch yourself beyond your limits and acquire new skills, and the benefits would be that you will achieve new heights you did not even imagine.
Bright wishes,
Lamees Abourahma
Founder & President
Webbright Services, LLC
lamees@webbrightservices.com
804.638.4448
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Mon, Nov 21, 2011 @ 11:54 AM
Early this year, I had the pleasure of helping the Venture Forum, a Richmond-VA professional association, develop their membership website. As the website sponsor, the Venture Forum recently offered me a 2-minute speaking spot on their luncheon program.
This presentation was a great application to the "Magic Formula for Influencing Action" that I recently learned at my Dale Carnegie course. The Magic Formula is most effective for communication in which we ask listeners to take some action. It consists of the following three steps:
- Evidence
- Action (Point)
- Benefit
Here is how I used this formula in my 2-minute presentation:
"In the spirit of the Venture Forum, I wanted to share with you a short and fun venture story. In 2005 Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah met at MIT while working on their MBA. Brian graduated and went on working with venture-backed companies to help them grow their businesses. Dharmesh stayed at MIT to work on his master’s degree. As part of his thesis, Dharmesh started a blog called OnStartups.com. He was spending 3-4 hours per week in between classes to work on his blog. While Brian was helping companies spend tons of money on trade shows, telemarketing, advertising and other marketing venues. For their surprise, Dharmesh and Brian found that Dharmesh’s blog grew much further interest and traffic than the companies Brian worked with. It was clear something has changed.. the way people shopped and learned has changed. Companies are no longer in control. Customers are in control.
Brian and Dharmesh went on to invent what they called Inbound Marketing. In 2006 they started an Inbound Marketing software company called HubSpot. HubSpot started with 3 people. I visited HubSpot office in Cambridge this summer. They’ve grown to more than 300 people. Inc. has recently recognized HubSpot as the #2 fastest growing software company and the # 33 fastest growing company overall.
Why am I telling you this? My name is Lamees Abourahma. I am an Inbound Marketing consultant and a HubSpot value-added reseller. I’m also the founder of Webbright Services and the proud website sponsor of the Venture Forum.
I’m here to make you two offers. First, I like to invite you to go to my website (www.webbrightservices.com) and fill out an Inbound Marketing evaluation request. You will receive a detailed report of your Inbound Marketing performance and a free consulting session. Second, I would like to challenge you to learn more about Inbound Marketing. I am available to speak to you or your marketing department. Inbound Marketing is a very effective strategy for generating leads and growing your business.
I would like to thank the Venture Forum for this opportunity. Thank you. Enjoy your lunch and the rest of the program."
What did you think of this presentation? Is it effective? Anything you'd do the same or different?
Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? Please share in the comments section.
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Mon, Oct 31, 2011 @ 10:22 AM
- You want a professional image and strong branding for your organization that you can’t get from Wild Apricot standard website themes.
- Your staff administrators are great at what they do, but they’re not technically savvy.
- Your organization is running by a small group of dedicated volunteers who can’t take on the additional task of creating a website and learning Wild Apricot.
- Your staff members can benefit from one-on-one training by a Wild Apricot partner.
- Wild Apricot is constantly upgrading their software and you can’t keep up with all the changes and additions.
- You want to integrate a Wild Apricot widget (e.g., event or news updates) with your website which is hosted with another provider.
- You need custom code or custom search that is not supported by Wild Apricot.
- You want to work with a dedicated account manager to help you with any inquiry or consultation, instead of working with limited Wild Apricot technical support.
- You want to migrate your website and all existing contacts to Wild Apricot.
- Membership and event registration is a pain for your staff. You need to innovate your systems and you need expert help.
- Learning Wild Apricot has a big learning curve that a Wild Apricot partner can help you overcome.
- You understand the benefits of social media for your organization and you need help integrating these media with your website.
Webbright is a Wild Apricot Partner and Membership Solution Provider. Learn more about our
Membership Solutions.
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Fri, Oct 28, 2011 @ 01:06 PM
One of my primary Strategic Objectives is to create a virtual company where I can run the business and work with people anywhere in the world. My Virtual Office system comes in handy in the summer when I got to work from Halifax, NS.
Our first road trip from Richmond, VA to
Halifax, NS this summer was a great success. The 2,000 km drive was not a problem as we made a couple of stops along the way to visit with family before arriving at the beautiful Halifax. The city was very charming and the tourists were lively. Despite the absence of sun most days, the cooler weather was a nice blessing (70 C for high and 50 C for low). My kids enjoyed, what I like to call, "the sound of music camp" playing in the fields as well as flying kites. I had a fantastic time visiting with friends and catching up on our year. We ended the trip on another great note as my husband and I had a special getaway in lovely
Mahone Bay, NS.
On the way back to Richmond,
I was very thrilled to visit with my HubSpot Partner Account Manager, Jeetu Mahtani, and Director Peter Caputa, at their new, large, inviting, and "orange-bleeding"
HubSpot office in Cambridge, MA. The young employees (average age 25-28) worked quietly, happily, and intensely in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The organization growth chart displayed in the lounge area clearly showed HubSpot's very ambitious motto "Go Big or Go Home". The company started in June of 2006 with 3 people. In July 2011, the company has already grown to 300 employees. The fact that HubSpot has no vacation policy as each employee's performance is evaluated based on target numbers is reminiscent of E-Myth's Key Strategic Indicator system. This system-dependency, as opposed to people-dependency, is another reason I really like this company. My only regret: I did not have a camera to take any photos!
After a fantastic summer, I am all charged up and eager to start working more on my business.
What's in store for Webbright? A new content marketing strategy, new partnership with amazing providers with outstanding skills and talents, new solution packages with innovative services for new markets. Stay tuned for more details as we make history.
Last but not least,
I am very excited about starting the Dale Carnegie Skill for Success course this Fall. As
Warren Buffet called it, "it's the best certificate he ever got and a life-changing experience". I am looking forward to some great changes!
Bright wishes,
Lamees Abourahma
Bright Founder & President
Webbright Services, LLC
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Tue, Oct 25, 2011 @ 01:31 PM
According to the recent Membership Marketing Benchmark Report by Marketing General, 57% of the organizations surveyed experienced membership growth in the last 12 months compared to only 42% in the previous year. Despite the good news, most membership organizations continue to face the following 9 common challenges in increasing their membership:
- Insufficient staff
- Lack of planning
- Inadequate database
- Lack of research
- Lack of marketing strategy
- Insufficient budgets
- Weakness in products or services
- Lack of marketing expertise
- Market saturation
Based on this survey, the biggest obstacles to membership growth appear to be insufficient budgets, weakness in products or services or poor marketing expertise. Organizations reporting these had a decrease in membership over the last 5 years. Organizations reporting a lack of planning or strategy had, on average, no change in membership. Interestingly, those organizations reporting insufficient staff, market saturation, an inadequate database and a lack of research nevertheless showed increases in membership.
| Increased Membership |
No Change in Membership Growth |
Decrease in Membership |
| Insufficient staff |
Lack of planning |
Insufficient Budget |
| Market saturation |
Lack of strategy |
Weakness in products and services |
| Inadequate database |
|
Poor marketing expertise |
| Lack of research |
|
|
Here is some of these challenges and what professional associations can do to over come them.
Insufficient Staff
In the survey, 16 percent of the respondents cited insufficient staff as the biggest challenge to membership growth, the highest percentage of any of the challenges. Yet this is probably the easiest challenge to overcome because every membership organization has a built-in opportunity by involving its members in selling the organization. Members should be engaged in meaningful ways, so they clearly see the value of the organization and are willing to share it with others. Programs that reward members for bringing in new members can be effective. A “Member Get a Member” program, with recognition for success has worked well for many organizations.
Insufficient Budget
Every one of the challenges to membership growth is, to some extent, caused by a lack of money. While only 12 percent of the respondents reported insufficient budgets as a challenge for membership growth, very few organizations will admit to having sufficient funds to accomplish all their purposes. The best organizations find ways to work around money shortages by setting priorities and finding more efficient ways to do things. The use of committed members willing to provide pro bono services can be very effective; some expert members might also be willing to trade their services in exchange for sponsorship opportunities.
Weak Product or Service
This was the second most cited challenge to membership growth, with 13 percent citing it. The organization has to show it provides a real return on investment to its members. For example, many members join an organization because it provides good networking opportunities. If the programs are weak, ways should be found to enhance the networking experience. One organization held a weekend retreat with key staff and members with a professional facilitator to re-examine their mission. Weaker programs were pinpointed and either eliminated or strengthened.
In a weak but evolving economic environment, membership growth is dependent on staying ahead of the curve. Use of social media like Facebook and Twitter have little cost, but can provide major benefit. This article provided three of the challenges membership organizations face in growing their membership, and some suggestions to over come them.
Learn about Membership Solutions.
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Tue, Oct 11, 2011 @ 09:08 AM
When I turned on my TV last Wednesday night, October 5th, I was very saddened, like millions around the world, by the news of the passing of Apple's founder, Steve Jobs. There was a lot of coverage on many channels of his life, his company, and his legacy. I was very captivated by the lessons of leadership that Jobs demonstrated during his life. one of the stories I particularly loved is one that John Sculley told.
John Sculley was the former CEO of Pepsi. In 1982, Jobs wanted Sculley to join Apple as its CEO so he said to Sculley: "do you want to sell sugary drinks for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me... and change the world". Sculley took the job and became Apple's CEO for the following 10 years. What I loved about this story is how Jobs sold Sculley on his idea. Sculley was not sold on salary; he was not sold on bonuses; he was not sold on perks. Jobs sold Sculley on a dream.. "to change the world".
In 1963, when Dale Carnegie wrote his best-selling book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People", one of the principles he taught to enhance relationship in order to achieve desired results is "arouse in the other person an eager want". As professionals, we are constantly selling ideas. But people consent to help for their own reasons, not ours. If we make it clear how our ideas will benefit them, there is no limit to the cooperation we could receive.
Related content:
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Thu, Sep 29, 2011 @ 02:51 PM
As a legal service provider, you need to wear many hats on daily basis to run your business and deliver your services. One of the things you might need to figure out is how to market legal services on the web?
Legal services traditionally relied heavily on relationship-building activities for referrals. However, attorneys can now innovate their lead generating systems by embracing the Internet's unparalleled ability to generate qualified leads. While the "slow and steady" philosophy of building a legal practice by launching public relations campaigns and professional networking may work eventually, the results are unpredictable. On the other hand, Inbound Marketing is a proven strategy for generating leads on the web, as the examples below illustrate [source: HubSpot Case Studies for Legal Services].
Inbound Marketing for Legal Services
A comprehensive Inbound Marketing campaign includes:
- creating content with blogging, white paper, webinars, etc
- optimizing the content for search engine with SEO best-practices
- promoting the content with psocial media
- converting leads to clients with offers, landing pages, and call to action
- analyzing performance and innovating the strategy
As legal experts, attorneys are in the perfect position to provide quality advice, demonstrate their expertise, and gain online visibility through marketing platforms like blogs and social networks.
According to the Usage and Population Statistics published on the Internet World Stats webpage, Internet usage reached 78.3% in North America as of March of 2011. Businesses and consumers alike use the Internet to conduct research before buying the products and services they need. For this reason, it is crucial that law firms, CPA firms and other professional referral businesses shift lead generation efforts to Inbound Marketing, as an important addition to traditional relationship marketing efforts.
Immigration Attorney Experiencing Great Success with Inbound Marketing
For immigration Lawyer Karen Pollak, Inbound Marketing allowed her to make cuts to her Pay Per Click (PPC) budget. With the money she saved, she was able to launch TV campaign and gain more visiblity. Her Inbound Marketing campaign focused on getting found online by creating content to her persona-focused audience. Some of the results she experience with Inbound Marketing include:
- expanding globally and landing new customers
- Reallocating PPC budget to starting TV campaigns
- Attracting 150+ leads & 7 new customers in one month
- Increasng online traffic by 3900% in five months
- Reaching a 7% conversion rate from visitors to leads in one month
- Expanding international market to over 70 countries
- Drewing 457 inbound links from over 70 domains
Lawyer Uses Inbound Marketing for Generating Leads for NY Parking Ticket Service
Larry Berezin is a lawyer who took on the task on marketing an online site that offers promotions for NY parking. After launching an Inbound Marketing campaign for the site, he was thrilled with the results he was able to achieve:
- Accumulated 831 inbound links from 115 domains in 6 months starting with zero.
- Ranked on first page of Google search for any keyword related to NY parking tickets.
When Larry decided to prove the value of his Inbound Marketing stategy, he stopped his stopped blogging for 2 weeks. As a result, his search ranking dropped 400,000 spots. He then resumed his blogging and increased the number of posts to 5 blogs in one week; his search ranking went up by 500,000 spots.
Building a Legal Practice with Turn-key Inbound Marketing
As is always the case, law firms who respond the fastest to the Inbound market shift will have the most leverage. Other firms will be left behind, reluctant to change. Getting professional help in navigating the Internet is essential for success. Companies who need some advice about where to start should call a consultant today. The Internet is the answer, but it does not promise to be an easy solution for the uneducated novice.
[Webbright is Inbound Marketing Certified and HubSpot Value-Added Reseller. For questions on Inbound Marketing or the HubSpot software, you can call us at 804-897-1310 or email info@webbrightservices.com.]
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Fri, Sep 23, 2011 @ 08:03 AM
As I was watching a recording of Facebook f8 conference last night, I couldn't stop but think how businesses and organizations can use the new Timeline product to innovate their business system.
Mark Zuckerberg 
enthusiastically showed how the Timeline can tell a person's life story with photos, maps, apps and notes. The Timeline is a fascinating idea and a simple design to telling a story. The timeline visually shows most important events on a person's profile from the current date back to the date the person was born. It can show maps of places you visit, recipes that you cooked, people you met, and videos you took. Adding an event or photo to the Timeline is as simple as clicking on the vertical timeline and entering the information or photo. The Timeline has a "cover image" that you can add and update as much as you want.
How can businesses and orgnizations use Facebook's Timeline? How about the good old "history" or "timeline" that some companies proudly shared on their website or other marketing media. Facebook's Timeline seems like a great tool to innovate these business systems, does it not? As you share information, photos, videos and apps on your company's website, the Timeline should allow you to tell your company's story in a simple and beautiful way.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited about trying this new product!
Posted by Lamees Abourahma on Fri, Sep 16, 2011 @ 09:09 AM
Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg
used it to get back on an ex-girl friend in 2004. President Barack Obama used it to win the Presidential Election in 2008. Egyption youth used it to start a revolution and throw down the government in 2010.
How can you use Facebook effectively in busienss?According to the Facebook Statistics page there are 750 million active users on Facebook. The substantial influence that Facebook bears in the marketplace is undeniable. Company giants like YouTube and Pringles have embraced the social media giant as an inexpensive and "must have" marketing tool to use to great advantage. Astute small businesses use Facebook as a way to compete with larger companies and affordably reach new customers. Facebook and other social media tools have leveled the playing field for smaller businesses, opening up a larger marketplace than would have ever been affordable on a small business budget, prior to the establishment of the social media.
Facebook for Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing is an Interent Marketing methodology that is based on getting found online by creating "remarkable" content and promoting the content with social media, like Facebook. HubSpot, is a marketing software company that is using Facebook very effectively in their Inbound Marketing strategy. In addition to the company's Facebook page, every employee at HubSpot has a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, which they use to promote the company's very impressive library of remarkable resources as well as cover the never-ending customer and marketing activities that the company host.
Facebook For Lead Generation
One story about a small businessman operating a wedding photography business exemplifies the power of Facebook target marketing. Mr. Mayer, who was having little luck with his traditional marketing efforts finally struck gold when he spent $300 on Facebook marketing to generate $60,000 in wedding photography bookings. Lead generation is the lifeblood of any business. Facebook offers an affordable technique for business to target market for leads. Before trying Facebook, Mayer had advertised in a bridal magazine and marketed his services at a trade show, barely paying for the expense of the advertising with revenues earned as a result.
The other benefit to Facebook marketing is the instant feedback provided as soon as the advertising is released. This instant feedback allows a business professional to adjust quickly if the results are less than expected. Being able to change the marketing message quickly saves money and time, two resources that any business values.
Fan Gating or Like Gating in Facebook
When used properly, "fan gating" or "like gating" is a technique for quickly increasing a company's fan base. Visitors are required to become a fan to access enticing content, contest details or special deals. Companies lure potential fans in with the promise of something they want. Cheese and Burger Society used this application to devise a clever marketing campaign that allowed fans to send a cheeseburger to their friends.
Tab Applications Build a Large Following Fast
As the 5th largest Facebook page with 25,437,451 fans and counting, YouTube has proven how valuable tab applications are for building a following. The top videos and life in a day tabs used by YouTube have made this company's business page so much more interactive and interesting than a simple corporate Facebook wall that sounds like every other wall. Being creative and engaging fans pays big dividends for building loyalty and brand marketing purposes.
Build Your Fan Base
The more fans a business page attracts, the more exposure the business gets. For this reason, it is important to build the fan base population as large as possible. Pringles Facebook page uses videos to great advantage on their Facebook page. Funny videos are apt to go viral, being sent from fans to new prospective fans. Through the strategic use of videos, Pringles has set a good example for other companies to follow.
With millions of people already on Facebook and couting, chances are your customers, prospects, vendors and partners have joined or soon will join this social network. You might want to look into your existing business systems to figure out how to incorporate Facebook into your market research, lead generation, lead conversion, leadership and other business systems. This article presented some examples of companies who endorsed this social network and used it effectively for their business.
Do you know other compaies who are using Facebook well? We'd love for you to share these examples in our comments section.
