Excerpt from Entrepreneur by Barry Farber: Move from “I Hate” To “I Love to Sell.” Five great tips for those of you out there who hate cold calling and sales as much as we do!

It would be great to wake up every day full of enthusiasm about moving your business forward through the sales process. But there are days when we get tired of sales calls to new prospects and feel as if what we used to love has morphed into a feeling of “I hate to sell.” No need to worry; it’s normal. And there’s not a top sales producer I know that hasn’t gotten into a rut once in a while. You just have to figure out how to get out of it.

Here are some ways to turn your “I hate selling” days around:

1. Show up. Activity that introduces you to new contacts not only can open up more opportunities for business but also give you that boost of energy that accompanies adding qualified prospects to your pipeline. How many times have you been on your way to a sales meeting or networking event thinking to yourself “this is a waste of my time,” only to meet a person who brought you significant business several months later?

2. It’s not about you. If you think selling has to do with how well you can talk, then you’re missing out on a huge part of your business. After you show up, shut up–doing so might help you love selling. Every time you’re with prospects or customers and they start asking questions about you, answer quickly and then turn it around with questions to get them talking about themselves. Since so many people love talking about themselves, you’re in no danger of listening yourself out of a sale. Nobody’s ever said, “I don’t like her; she listens to me too much!”

3.Attitude is king. Maybe you’ve heard over and over that attitude is everything. Well, there’s a reason for that. When you have a negative attitude people pick up on that, and it’s contagious. Every day you wake up, your attitude that day has more to do with your sales success than any other factor. Let this knowledge influence your choices: Read positive materials and surround yourself with people who drive you and inspire you. A study of top executives determined the four attributes that contributed to their success were knowledge, experience, intelligence and attitude. When the executives were asked to rank them by importance, knowledge, experience, and intelligence together only comprised 7 percent, while attitude determined 93 percent of their success.

4.Plant seeds in the right soil. One of the biggest factors that contributes to your attitude about selling is rejection. The more rejection we experience, the more we feel like what we’re selling is of little value or worth. Many times rejection has more to do with whom you’re calling on to make a sale. When the person isn’t qualified to make the decision or doesn’t have a real need for your services, you have to learn to walk away and move on to more worthwhile accounts. Imagine planting seeds in the desert–it can be very frustrating. If you employ the advice from tip No. 2 above, “It’s not about you,” you’ll know the person you’re speaking to and can target questions to determine where your product could be of service.

5. Hard work. This is one of the best ways to beat the salesman blues. It makes up for our deficiencies. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Beats for Boobs (http://www.beatsforboobs.org), will host its 6th annual fundraiser on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23rd @ 111 Minna Gallery, 6 p.m. – 2 a.m. Beats for Boobs is an annual fundraising event that raises community awareness for breast cancer through a collective celebration of art, fashion, food and music.

This year will be the biggest yet!! B4B hopes to raise over $25,000. (Last year Beats for Boobs raised over $16,800 for the breast cancer cause). How are they doing this? With YOU, YOU, AND YOU!

What else are they up to this year?

- This year the event will be held on a Friday for the very first time.
- Beyond the four walls of their home away from home, 111 Minna, B4B’s is hosting an array of entertainment and performances in the Minna alley which we will be taking over in full this year also for the first time!
- Loads of FOOD, EDUCATIONAL GAMES, FASHION, ART and BEATS to boot for the boobie!

Please take a minute to peruse and join (if you haven’t already) the FB fan page. You can see photos from past years, videos, and loads of detail and updates as to this year’s goals and event details. We also have a list of the organizations to whom funds will go from this 100% volunteer and charitable event!

Become a Fan: http://www.facebook.com/beatsforboobs

“GREEN IS THE NEW PINK” is the theme this year! Knowing that environmental toxins are one of the leading causes of disease, cancer, birth defects, asthma, and reproductive harm, Beats for Boobs will help educate people on how to reduce exposure in their own lives and live at a higher level of health & wellness. The best cure for breast cancer is prevention.

Why wait in line when you can pre-purchase VIP Tickets and VIP Packages on their website: http://www.beatsforboobs.org. Music, food, fashion and live performances will be provided by the following sponsors, contributors and volunteers who make this annual event possible:

ABCey Events was most recently hired to produce the Michael Moore Event here in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district, Justin Herman Plaza. He was in town promoting Capitalism: A Love Story, his latest venture and assessment of American economic policy. Michael Moore spoke to over 1000 people and also gave out 300 Boxed Lunches to guests. The Specialty’s on Spear St. reportedly had their biggest one day sales ever!

We were hired for our event planning and management services including Audio and Equipment, Rentals, Catering, Social Media, and Street Team Promotions.

Capitalism: A Love Story- In Theatres Now
WW.CAPITALISMALOVESTORY.COM

Are you an Entrepreneur with a great idea, but not sure how to reach more customers, investors, or both? Or are you a Small Business Owner with a great product and service, but feel like your marketing just isn’t working and you are wasting a great deal of time and money?

If you answered “YES” to any of the questions above, please come join me at BizTechDay 2009.

When: October 22-23,2009 (Thursday & Friday)

Where: Hyatt Regency SFO, Burlingame

BizTechDay 2009 is a practical, hands-on and experiential Small Business Strategy, Social Media and networking conference where expert speakers and business leaders (from Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Yelp, Virgin America, Elance, Constant Contact, Justin.TV, WordPress, CBS 5, and Comcast Business Class) share their insights and experience and help your business get up to speed in this economic downturn.

Tim Ferriss (the author of 4-Hour Workweek) and Kevin Rose (Founder of Digg.com) will be joining this year!

Through high-impact keynotes & panels, small group executive round table sessions, hands on demos and one-on-one meetings, you will learn about Raising Money, Selling and Social Media Marketing for your business:

MONEY TRACK
* How to Raise $100,000 to 3 Million. Meet Paypal Angel Investor and Founder of the Keiretsu Forum.
* How to Raise $5000 – $100,000 for Your Business.
* How to Access Investment Capital and Make the Federal Stimulus Program Work for You. Meet Experts from the Governor’s office.
* Building Partnerships with Fortune 500 Companies

MARKETING/SELLING TRACK
* Building a Strong Business Brand. Meet Experts from Google, Yelp, Linkedin, Facebook & Twitter
* Securing Your Number One Spot on Google
* Selling to the Baby Boomer and GenY Communities
* Selling to Women & the LGBT Communities
* How to Make the Media Love You – Join Sue Kwon, Emmy Award Journalist with CBS 5
* 13 Things All Business Owners Must Know About a Compelling Business Website
* How to Use an Email Marketing Campaign to Build Your Database and Close Sales

SOCIAL MEDIA TRACK
* Twittering with the Star with Kevin Rose & Tim Ferriss
* How to Get Media, Celebrity or Blogger Attention for Your Business
* Strategies of Building Your Online Community from Zero to Millions
* Turning Visitors into Customers Using Viral Videos
* How to Market Your Business on Facebook
* How to Make Money on Twitter

Here’s the list of speakers you will meet at BizTechDay 2009:
* Tim Ferriss – New York Times Best Selling Author of the Four Hour Workweek
* Kevin Rose – Founder of Digg.com
* Porter Gale – VP Marketing at Virgin America
* Michael Gerber – World’s No 1 Small Business Guru per Inc Magazine and the New York Times Best Selling Author of the E-Myth
* Matt Mullenweg – Founder of WordPress
* Kevin Hartz – Paypal Angel Investor
* Fabio Rosati – CEO of Elance
* Joel Comm – Creator of iFart iPhone App – Over 1 Million downloads
* Gary Swart – CEO of oDesk
* Mark O’Leary – Regional VP for Business Services for Comcast
* Randy Williams, Founder of Keiretsu Forum. The World’s largest angel investor network – over $180m invested in 200 companies
* Chris Larsen – Founder of Prosper.com
* Michelle Broderick – Director of Marketing at Yelp
* Alison Covarrubias – Founder & CEO of Hatch Network
* Julie Castro Abrams – CEO of Women’s Initiative
* Justin Kan – Founder of Justin.TV
* Ramon Ray – Chief Editor of SmallBizTechnology.com

And 40+ more thought leaders and successful entrepreneurs.

Plus, you can sign up for one-on-one consultations on Raising Money, Social Media Marketing Strategy, Blogging, SEO, Paid Search Marketing, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and many other essential business topics.

COST
* Regular Conference Pass: $595

Click here to register. Use this Discount Code: “AmandaCeyVIP” for $200 off.

The iPhone application slogan: “there is an app for that” has rung true. Everything from MyStarbucks to BubbleWrap (Yes, you actually pop bubbles with your finger on your touchscreen) has made the iPhone capable of pretty much anything you can imagine.

Here are our most recent top ten (in no particular order):

Blog Press ($2.99)

Our blogging app of choice. use this app to write blogs, upload pics, everything you can do on a computer on the go. So next time a wave of inspiration overcomes you, or you just to to share your latest news, you don’t have to wait until you get home to do so.

Sugar Sync (Free)

SugarSync allows you to access all of the files on your home computer without having to store any of it on your iPhone! This app works in conjunction with SugarSync desktop software which you can download as well for either a mac or a PC.

Tweetie ($2.99)

Twitter is all about real-time updates…so don’t let an opportunity to share pass you by. This is the highest rated twitter app.

Share Services ($4.99 LiteVersion Free)

Twitter, Skype Chat, Facebook, Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN and AOL and many more. This app does it all. Messages are free so save on MMS and SMS (50% off in anticipation of next release)

JotNot (2.99)

Converts your iPhone into a portable scanner. Quickly copy paper, letters, notes, receipts…whatever!

Biz Cards ($3.99)

Add new business cards by snapping a photo. Also, can scan your business card and extract text so you can easily text message or email information.

Bump (Free)

Swap other contact info by “bumping” two iPhones together. Information is automatically saved to your contacts and photos to your camera roll.

Business News ($0.99)

In this industry it is so important to stay up to date on the latest news. Catch up on your favorite news provider while you wait in line with this app.

Analytics App ($5.99)

Gives you anytime access to your google analytics data. Must have a google analytics account to use this app but its free to download. Stay informed on the activity on your site all the time.

TechCrunch also gives a good list of both business and personal apps too: The 35 best iPhone Apps of the Year (So Far)

Any other great suggestions? Add your favorite app in a comment below!

Apple App Store

I was so excited to see this recently, the YR Wall! What is it you ask? The YR Wall is an interactive drawing art tool where users create virtual digital graffiti on a large wall using a modified spray paint can. It is basically graffiti with a can that contains no paint, only a button and IR light source which is tracked using a computer vision system. No paint, therefore no drips and no damage! And no arrests;)

It’s an attention-grabbing combination of physical and digital, and of performance and play which makes for a very enticing offering for event planners like myself and our novelty-seeking clients.

By pressing the faux spray can’s button, users draw on the wall much like using their computer’s draw function, but without the mouse and on a much larger scale. A pop-up interface provides an array of digital paint colors and also allows users to select themes like nature or urban; grabbing images from these themes to add to their piece. Artistic digital creations can then be saved, recalled and played back, as well as utilized in a number of other ways to create unique and personal mementos of their digital graffiti experience.

This way the user can work with digital paint to create their own digital graffiti art. No more swapping paint cans to change color or having to wear a face mask and gloves. This is entirely environmentally friendly and accessible by anyone without any prior computer or graffiti skills. Oh, the excitement of working in a virtual envirornment.

YrWall 2008 Showreel – Interactive Digital Graffiti Wall from Lumacoustics on Vimeo.

YrWall, which can be hired short- or long-term or installed bespoke, has already been quite a hit at events like the UK’s Secret Garden Party. They have also recently worked with Daydream Network and Royal Albert Hall on an exciting new exhibition. Adding to the concept’s appeal and branding opportunities, people can receive a free digital copy of their art to share with friends, or can have their design printed on t-shirts and stickers right after they’ve finished their piece. Virtual postcards can be sent as well.

YR Wall Website