Didn’t go to Stanford for your MBA? Well, now you can. Top notch universities in the US and abroad, business schools, museums, public broadcasting stations and state education organizations are all part of YouTube EDU, Academic Earth, MIT Open Course Ware and iTunes U which offer free downloads of educational podcasts or videos. These presentations cover a range of topics from VoIP security forums to language courses. iTunes U is the most popular platform for these free downloads. iTunes U’s popularity is most likely attributed to its promotion of free and mobile learning. Although released in 2007, not many users are maximizing its true potential. iTunes U has the prospective of creating a more empowered business person.

How it works:

iTunes U is accessed through iTunes and is found at the top of the menu bar. The podcasts can be downloaded individually or you can subscribe for automatic downloads as they become available. This second feature is used primarily for an on-going series podcast which operates like an on-going course.

How to Use it:

iTunes U’s direct relationship with iTunes means podcasts can be watched or listened to through a computer or can be taken anywhere with an iPod or an iPhone. iTunes U can be accessed from mobile devices through their cellular networks and via Wi-Fi. When accessing iTunes U from a computer, you can even send the podcast to your employees to ensure they are also up-to-date with current technologies or business concepts.

Whether your company is trying to break into a new industry, revamp your company logo or stay current with trends, there is probably a lecture for it.

Here is an exaggerated hypothetical situation illustrating how to utilize iTunes U to improve your business:

A small business owner is deciding between a social media focused online marketing campaign or a direct mail campaign. From listening to some iTunes U lectures, he decides that an online marketing campaign would be best and could be part of a larger search engine optimization effort. This savvy businessman decides to learn more about online marketing strategies before hiring anyone. After several lectures, he hires an experienced graphic design firm familiar with techniques referenced in the podcasts. He managed to do all of this free research on his iPod while on his daily subway commute to work each day.

As with the hypothetical example above, listening to these lectures may not illicit the necessary skills to do the project yourself, but will create a more knowledgeable entrepreneur. This knowledge creates a more confident negotiator and may eliminate the need to outsource more basic projects. Whether trying to learn Spanish to attract new clients or learn about social networking sites, with over 200,000 free educational files available through iTunes U alone, not taking advantage of this educational opportunity is too expensive of a mistake to make.

Ever wondered whether you could put your iPhone to work for practical business purposes, like, say, credit card processing or tracking product shipments? The competition for the best iPhone Application (App, for short) has heated up since we cataloged our 10 favorites last year. In honor of Apple’s super-secret big announcement this week, here are our top picks for the best business iPhone apps:

EverNote: EverNote works like your brain would- if its contents were exported to your iPhone. This app takes any form of information- photos, written notes, voice recordings- and makes it searchable using technologies like optical character recognition. For example, you can take pictures of posters, magazine covers, business cards, or anything else and search the photo based on the content of the text.

WhatTasks: Quite possibly the easiest-to-use task manager in existence, WhatTasks allows you to group tasks (by client, location, etc) and prioritize them using a simple, uncomplicated interface. If your main complaint about task management apps is that it’s a task in itself to use them, look no further- this one’s actually worth it to use.

SugarSync: SugarSync is the iPhone app that accompanies Sharpcast’s Sync service. For $50/yearly, you’ll have access to 30GB of storage that is accessible and searchable on your phone. Changes to files on your computer (document revisions, etc.) are also reflected on your mobile device instantly.

PageOnce: PageOnce lets users view many different accounts (Facebook, Twitter, different email accounts, bank accounts, etc.) on one page. Sign up for the free account and then download the iPhone version, which allows you to access bank account, credit account, and invoicing account pages easily, no matter where you are.

iProcrastinate: If you work best on a deadline, this appropriately-named application is for you. You can group your tasks by due date, allowing you to prioritize your work. Tasks can be easily searched and can be identified by color coding (if you’re looking for something to do while putting off actually getting to work…) And yes, there is an “overdue” category for those that really procrastinate.

BeamME: The “greenest” business card is a virtual one. BeamMe is one of the better contact information transfer apps out there, allowing you to sent information via text or (more conveniently) via email from your phone in a few simple clicks.

Griffin iTalk: There are quite a few voice recording apps available, but iTalk gets our vote for its simple interface and easy compatibility with other Apple products. Use iTalk to record conversations (reporters like it for on-the-spot interviewing) or simple notes and to-do-list tasks.

MWare Mobile: MerchantWARE Mobile acts as a virtual credit card terminal, allowing you to process credit card transactions using only your phone and a connection to a WiFi or 3g network. MWare mobile gets our recommendation because no 3^rd party merchant account gateways are required, it’s easy, to use, it’s secure, and (best of all) it’s free.

FedEx Mobile: This easy-to-use application allows you full access to the range of FedEx services. You can arrange pickups, find a FedEx drop off location, or track outgoing product shipments directly from your phone.

mBox Fax: Faxing (strangely, to some) is still a very common method of transmitting information. Some companies that don’t want to invest in a machine can use this application to accept incoming faxes.

PointerRemote: The next time you need to make a presentation, use your phone as a remote. This tool works with both Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote. It also lets you view notes on your phone screen so you can discreetly navigate between slides and topics without craning your neck to read the large screen.

FreshBooks: FreshBooks, an invoicing and time monitoring software program, offers up some of its best features in this mobile application. You can track the time spent to complete specific projects and tasks for later invoicing, keep notes on entries, and monitor job costs when you’re working out of the office.

Any we missed? Share your finds with other business owners and entrepreneurs in the comments section.

As an online entrepreneur, you know that great ecommerce web design can make or break your sales numbers. But statistics like site visits, click throughs to item descriptions, and other numbers might not tell the whole story: according to BizReport and eWay Direct, the majority of shoppers- a whopping 70%- browse products, set aside items for purchase and then…vanish. It’s called shopping cart abandonment- the process of loading items into a cart and then either purposefully or inadvertently navigating away from the site before completing a purchase. (more…)

Even if you missed Google’s official announcement last week you’ve probably heard by now: Google Chrome, an operating system designed to work seamlessly with the Google Chrome browser, will roll out in 2010.  Chrome is the company’s attempt to “re-think what operating systems should be-” it relies on cloud computing, and will be targeted at net books- inexpensive laptop computers purchased mostly for internet use.

It’s been a big year for Google.  In addition to announcing Chrome, they also unveiled Google Voice- by invite only, naturally- after purchasing the GrandCentral online phone service.  Google Voice isn’t quite as revolutionary as Chrome, though it has plenty of fans already.  Both Google Voice and Chrome are free, and provide most-if not more- of the features of competitors who charge for services.  A small business owner’s dream, right?  Cutting-edge services that offers professional functionality and easy user interface…for free?  Did Google just become your business’ new best friend?

Here’s an overview of these products and how they can have a big impact on your business:

Chrome- What Makes An Operating System So Important?
The operating system is one of the most basic components of your computer- chances are, you use a Microsoft OS if you’re using a PC (most business owners do).  The cost of the operating software alone can send the cost of a new computer into the thousands- you need to pay for the software itself, plus a license for each user.  Google Chrome, which uses cloud-computing technology, is free.

This means you can purchase net books, used, or refurbished computers- saving big on hardware costs.  Research company DisplaySearch has already reported a large surge in net books to retail outlets, anticipating that around 32.7 million will be sold next year- up from 16.4 million this year.

Using a cloud computing based OS (Operating System) is not only less expensive; it also allows more flexibility for business owners that travel or that work from the field.  You’ll have more data storage available at a less expensive cost, and are not tied to licensed products.  Ever tried to open a document that someone stored in WordPerfect?  A seamless OS/Browser experience eliminates this problem.  You can’t download WordPerfect or other Microsoft programs immediately, but you can install Google Docs or Open Office - two completely free office applications that create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations as easily as the Microsoft programs many of us are used to- in seconds.

Chrome isn’t available yet- it’s set to roll out at some point next year.  If you’re holding off making a computer purchase or upgrading operating software, waiting until then could be a good idea.

Voice- The Future of Phone Systems?
Voice is the new, Google-branded version of the GrandCentral technology the company purchased two years ago.  Google Voice works similarly to GrandCentral’s service model- you choose a phone number (the example on the Google blog shows how you can choose a number that spells out words) and program your own mobile devices or IP-enabled phones to ring when it is called, similar to most basic VoIP phone systems.

Voice has a host of cool features that are ideal for business owners: You can store voice messages and make calls using your computer, automatically transcribe voicemails for viewing as an email (enabling you to search emails and voicemails based on certain key words), and program certain phones to ring (office, home) based on who is calling.  Business owners who want a “mobile office” will be served well.  You’ll still need to pay for cell phone service in order to have your calls, texts, and data routed to your mobile device, similar to the way most other VoIP telephone systems operate.  Google Voice is currently available to past GrandCentral users and the general population by invitation only.

The New “Empire”?
Google’s motto, “Don’t be evil,” is often seen as sarcastic reference to Microsoft’s (the “evil empire”) industry domination.  A recent article in the Los Angeles Times pointed out this irony as Google introduces more and more products that are designed to work with other Google offerings.  Many worry about the security risks involved when one source is relied upon for every key business operation- especially when data is stored using cloud computing.  Time will tell if Google has plans to usurp Microsoft or even follow their established model for obtaining a customer monopoly over certain segments.  For now, enjoy the competition between the two- it seems to be producing better options for all small business owners.

While Microsoft is busy fighting the search engine war, it might be losing ground on another front: Use of Microsoft’s internet Explorer has dropped below the 60% mark, dropping from 62.09 % to 59.49 % in June.  It seems like some who jumped the Microsoft ship are switching to Firefox- the free, open-source, downloadable browser that launched version 3.5 weeks ago.  As Internet Explorer’s market share dropped, Firefox’s increased: from 28.75% to 30.33%.  One of the appealing features of Firefox is the add-ons, or plug-ins, that work with the browser.  Here are some top picks:

Brief: A tool for RSS feeds that makes following your favorite sites, bloggers, and news items as easy and uncluttered as possible.  Feeds are presented on a single page, where you can easily tag, bookmark, and modify the appearance of specific feeds- for example, headlines only.

Read It Later: Have you ever come across a page or article that didn’t quite warrant a bookmark, but that you didn’t have time to read immediately?  Enter Read It Later, a tool that allows you to save pages temporarily for later review.  You can read saved pages online and access your saved list from any mobile device.

Googlepedia: Automatically adds a Wikipedia search to to all of your google searches. Great for when you want to know what something is (a manufacturing process, a company, a brand name) rather than sort through blogs or sites that just talk about it.

Search Cloudlet: Displays the most used search words in a “cloud” on top of your google searches, giving you hints about what to search for next if a particular query doesn’t return the results you want.

TwitterFox: Adds a Twitter icon to your status bar that lets you “tweet,” plus keeps you up-to-date on friend’s Twitter status easily.

Tab Mix Plus: The ultimate tab manager, this tool lets you control which links open in tabs and windows down to the most personalized detail- you can easily keep track of which tabs you haven’t viewed, undo “close tab” in case you accidentally lose information, and much, much more.

XMarks: According to Firefox, it’s the #1 bookmarking add-on.  Xmarks allows you to keep bookmarks and passwords synchronized across all browsers, computers, and devices you use, as well as offering a host of search and social-media friendly features.

DownloadThemAll: A must for anyone who downloads big files or multiple files at once.  DownThemAll is the ultimate high-powered download manager, featuring download acceleration (up to 400 percent!) and the option to pause/resume downloads, among other features.

Download Status Bar: If you don’t need as much download power as DownloadThemAll provides, Download Status Bar is great- it allows you to see download status in your status bar, rather than a separate window.

SmarterFox: What business owner or entrepreneur doesn’t wish they had more hours in each day?  SmarterFox can’t suspend time, but it comes close in terms of adding minutes to your day.  This tool makes everything you do online faster- searching, copy-and-pasting, and bookmarking favorite sites, all take up less time than they would using a traditional browser without the add-on.

Speed Dial: Speed Dial works the same as on a telephone -you can quickly and easily access the websites you visit most often.

New Firefox add-ons are constantly being developed (you can check the add-ons tab on your toolbar for the most recent updates to yours), and this is by no means an inclusive list.  Feel free to remind us of any add-ons you’re using.

Identity theft is now a pandemic, and a scourge for its victims. Is the federal government finally ready to fight back?

The Identity Theft and Restitution Act of 2008 was recently signed into law by President Bush. The new law is supposed to make it easier for the government to convict those charged with pursuing computerized identity theft. Supporters tout this legislation as allowing federal prosecutors to be more aggressive in cracking down on identity theft cyber crime. But will it work to protect millions of future victims?

The new law provides for the following:

1. Discarding the requirement that damage to a victim’s computer exceed $5,000 over a one year period before charges can be asserted for unauthorized access to a computer.

2. Eliminating the interstate jurisdictional requirement, thus allowing prosecution of those who steal personal information from a computer, even when the victim’s computer is located in the same state as the thief’s computer.

3. Allowing victims of identity theft to seek restitution for an amount equal to the value of the time reasonably spent to fix their problems.

4. Adding the charge of a conspiracy to commit cyber crimes. (The prior law only allowed for charges related to the actual crime, and made no provisions for conspiracy to commit the underlying charge.)

5. Adding the remedies of civil and criminal forfeiture to better allow federal prosecutors to combat cyber crime. Individuals found guilty of violating the act can be forced to forfeit both property used in commission of the cyber crime, as well as property obtained from any proceeds gained from the cyber crime.

6. Making it a felony to electronically damage ten or more computers no matter the value of the damage caused.

7. Making it a crime to threaten to steal or release information from an individual’s computer. (Prior law only permitted the prosecution of those who seek to extort companies or government agencies by explicitly threatening to shut down or damage a computer.)

It is intended that the new law will allow federal prosecutors to be much more aggressive in prosecuting identity theft criminals. Elimination of both the $5,000 damage requirement and the interstate jurisdictional requirement should make it easier for prosecutors to bring charges.

But will it really help?

The federal government has tried to keep up with identity theft for years with few results. If the feds are truly interested in stamping out the pandemic, it is with the enforcement of the laws, and not just new laws, that will turn the tide.

Still, there are encouraging signs that a wide ranging effort is being made. The IRS is helping out by allowing in this next year all but the last four digits of taxpayer ID numbers to be blocked out on 1099’s, W-2s, and other informational returns. There is privacy in that move.

But it is not over. Stay tuned for more on this battle.

The dreaded question asked daily by some poor small business owner who finds himself with a dead server or workstation and all of the company’s data gone forever. Like most people, we never think it will happen to us so we either choose to ignore the risk or the “I’ll get to that tomorrow” strategy. The sad thing is that having a solid back-up and recovery plan is fairly quick and easy to do and quite inexpensive when you think of the possible financial impact of lost data.

As a SMB you need to:

* Think and plan for disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) contingencies. Most people use these terms interchangeably when they are really quite different in levels of coverage and timing. A good DR plan should have you back up and running in 24-26 hours. A BC plan that is actually implemented and tested should have your business back online in less than four hours.

* Additionally, it is critical to weigh the risks against the benefits and costs to determine which strategy is best for your business but you need to do something before you find yourself asking “Now what?”

2008 is not even three-quarters of the way home, and already the Internet sector has seen some significant startups work their way into the public eye. An economic downturn and weak credit market have not kept these companies from continuing their quest to be “the next big thing.”

This young data analysis company looks to change the way we analyze information and predict future problems. The tech team at V-Kernel has developed a series of proprietary algorithms that collect and compute data from virtual machines (servers) and then determine whether or not there will be conflicts within that data in the future. The company will help businesses effectively use virtual servers to bill their clients more accurately.

With its groundbreaking Basecamp software already making project management easier for small businesses around the world, 37 Signals has set its sights on bigger and better things with its open source web application Ruby on Rails. Instead of piling on more and more features, 37 Signals keeps things simple, adding only basic features to their products that enhance usability. The company currently maintains only a handful of employees, but look for that to change as their software continues to grow in popularity.

The more serious sibling of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, LinkedIn helps individuals network with those within their industry or who need their services. Despite a much smaller user-base than Facebook, the company still forecasts revenue of $100 million per year (compared to $150 million for Facebook). With a redesign in place, watch for this company to make some serious movement in ’08 and beyond.

Slide is a tech company that is proud to play both sides of the fence. Developing widget applications for social networking destinations and their rival, stand-alone websites, Slide is like the weapons supplier in a battle that looks to rage on for years to come.

Taking the touch-screen into the 21st century is the goal of this two-year old startup company. Already known throughout the world for the groundbreaking work on CNN’s election coverage (the company designed the data-filled, eye-popping technology used by the anchors to deliver polling results) Perceptive Pixel has recently scored a top-secret contract with the Department of Defense. And although the terms of that deal are secret, the company itself won’t be undercover for much longer.

The Spanish start-up Fon is a firm believer in the axiom “give and you shall receive.” Tired of paying for WI-FI all over town, the company’s tech gurus have developed a system that allows home WI-FI users to “share” their connection with the world in exchange for free use of the overall network. If the Fon network becomes a world-wide affair like the company’s founders hope, that trade-off should turn out to be a sweet deal.

You don’t have to be crazy to take on Google at its own game…but it helps! Luckily, the team at Powerset is as ingenious as they are nuts, and have developed a search engine technology that utilizes real language to put search terms into the proper context within a sentence. That means more effective searching for the end user, and a more targeted advertising stream for businesses.

Loopt combines social networking with GPS technology to create an application that lets people know where their friends are and what they’re doing. You can even set alerts that announce when people on your friend list have closed to within a certain radius of your position. Creepy concept, but one that incorporates enough social media and blogging to make this company one to watch.

This fast growing maker of lithium ion batteries is revered among the “green” business community because of its partnerships with the top electric car makers in the world. Simply put, as the automotive world moves forward and becomes more fuel efficient, A123 will be there to power the journey.

Perhaps the most innovative start up to watch in 2008 is 23andme. For a small price of $1,000 this company will provide you with a detailed breakdown of your DNA. Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself will be there. It could be a boon for those individuals at risk for hereditary illnesses or those seeking more information about their origins. 23andme even plans a social networking hub to match you up with those who share your characteristics.

A good list isn’t just a random collection of people. It’s a list of people who have something in common. It may be their age-range/gender, professional affiliation, personal interests, level of income-you name it. If the people on your list have something in common that puts them in the target market for your business, then, bingo. You’ve hit pay dirt.

There are a number of ways you can put the power of a list to work for you as part of an effective overall marketing plan. You can use that list to conduct market research, the way Fortune 500 companies do. Or you could use that list as the basis for your marketing campaigns, utilizing direct mail, email or both.

With all the different ways that the power of a list can help to grow your business, using one only makes sense.

But how can you get your hands on a list that actually corresponds to your target market? Here are a few tips to help you get started.

1) Build One
Your website is a great place to start building a targeted list. That’s because there’s one important thing that all visitors to your website have in common-an interest in your products and services. It’s not hard to see why capturing their contact information can be key to the growth and success of your business.

One effective technique for building a list based on your website traffic is to create a free e-course or special report. When visitors sign up to receive this free information, they provide their email address. The e-course or special report is then sent directly to their inbox and their email address becomes part of your list.

This is a technique that has been incredibly effective for thousands of savvy entrepreneurs.

2) Exchange One
Maybe you know of another business owner who serves a clientele similar to yours with a complementary (non-competing) product or service. In which case, it might be beneficial for both of you to double the size of your list through a list exchange.

If you’re just getting started, and don’t have a list of your own just yet, there might be something else you could provide for your fellow entrepreneur. You might offer to provide a free ad for their business on your website or feature their products or services in a limited run of promotional materials for your own business. Both of these ideas foster the spirit of “win/win.”

3) Find One
The Dunn and Bradstreet Corporation (a.k.a., D&B) is among the leading providers of business information in the world. If your target market includes a certain profession and/or business clientele, you can use the massive database on their website to create a targeted list.

Entries to this site provide legal and trade names, physical and mailing addresses, geographical descriptions, product and industry descriptors, sales and number of employees, as well as up to 40 vital statistics. This information is often used by large corporations for marketing research services and finding prospective customers, because you can really hone in on the specific types of businesses you are looking for.

And, D&B offers modest subscription services for small business owners that include profiles of the top companies in a wide variety of industries. Their Industry Reports can really help you narrow down on sales prospects, in particular.

3) Buy One
When all else fails, there’s always the option of simply purchasing a list. There are a number of businesses online that offer extremely targeted lists, based on the target market you are trying to reach. Check out www.melissadata.com — one of the good ones. If your customers are consumers, they’ve got a variety of targeted lists you might find interesting, including people who have recently moved, recent graduates, people who are “about to move,” absentee homeowners, people with credit challenges, income groups, people with children, married vs. single people and more.

While buying lists tends to be expensive, it may be a worthwhile investment in the long-term health of your business. Before investing serious money in a purchased list, you should know more about your sales conversion rate so you can build a budget for list-buying that ensures a solid return on investment.

No matter which option you choose, remember - a good list is worth its weight in gold!

Sales are the life blood of any company. Especially in the early stages, a startup business must sell in order to survive. The primary responsibility of its founders is to deliver growth and increased revenues in order to reach profitability.

Some companies succeed even with slower growth, while others struggle while making faster revenue gains. The reason for this is predictability - the founders achieve what they say they are going to achieve.

When predictability is so highly valued, making more money than forecast may be perceived as being as bad as not reaching stated targets. Companies often increase their forecasts if they are having a better year than expected because they don’t want their year-end figures to be higher than predicted. Conversely, organizations also downgrade their forecasts if things are not going as well as expected. Basically, the executives of the company need to demonstrate that they are in control. This is no different to sales people: they must also demonstrate control over their forecasts.

Each month and, more importantly, towards the end of the quarter, the sales professional puts forward his or her best guess as to where he or she will be in relation to their target when the quarter ends. As part of this prediction they may well also name one or two deals that they believe are crucial to them. These are often, if not always, the largest deals they have.

The data is then taken from the corporate pipeline and fed to the sales manager, who will manipulate it and feed it to the sales director or VP of sales. In turn, the head of sales will manipulate it further and feed the data, as a forecast, to the CFO and CEO. If it is going to be a bad quarter, they’ll be told so.

However, thanks to a chain of manipulation and wishful thinking, the figures at this stage will appear less grim than they really are. This allows the VP of sales to explain that with a fair wind they should just be able to turn it around and make the number.

The psychology of what’s happening is simple. People want to keep their jobs and believe that admitting that they’ll miss their quarterly target is not the best way to do that.

Sales professionals need tools to help them to do their job. Unfortunately, the tools supplied by a company are often for the benefit of the company itself and not to the individual’s advantage. Even then, the tools are rarely fit for purpose and most will not be able to adapt to taking a checks & balance approach.

For instance, the pipeline is used as a management tool to make sure there are enough deals in the right places to meet target. In other words it becomes a reporting tool. These reporting tools are often misguided in their approach to the problem.

A pipeline’s primary purpose is to show you are in control. It gives you the ability to predict the outcome, even if that outcome actually falls short of your sales target. Prediction is only successful when it’s accurate. If you say you’re going to come out at 100% and you come out at 110% that’s not good. It may be good in revenue terms but it’s not an accurate prediction.

Introducing Focus from First Border! Focus is a visual opportunity manager that’s easy to use and even quicker to set up. In a matter of minutes you can input the deals you’re working on now and see how closing them will affect your sales commission. It was made for all for us bootstrappers with limited resources; a copy of Focus is about $200.

Better still, it’s built to let you drag and drop deals within the application to show you how winning or losing any specific deal will affect your target and the resulting commission. With a series of grids that show you immediately the status of each opportunity, you know at a glance which deals are the important ones to work on to make your number and which deals you don’t have a chance of winning. Now you can save valuable time and put more energy into winning those deals that really matter.

The result? More accurate forecasting and maximized sales.

Focus is for those in sales who maintain a portfolio of sales prospects and who would like to simplify the challenge of managing the different priorities presented by the complexity of opportunities.

Focus is a personal sales productivity tool that provides a simple, quick and easy way to help focus on and manage the right opportunities at the right time in order to maximise sales and earnings.

Unlike the traditional corporate tools that are designed to provide benefit to the company, Focus delivers benefit directly to the sales professional.

The simplicity of Focus is the visual way in which the opportunities are managed through the buying process. You can see at a glance the status of your business.

Focus: Dashboard - Visual Performance Indicator

The Dashboard changes when deals are moved. This provides immediate visual and numeric status of performance against target and commission for both the current and potential outcome. If you drag a deal into or out of the forecast you will immediately see the impact it has on achieving target and commission earnings. Scenario planning couldn’t be easier.

Focus has minimum data requirements! Quick and easy updates

The only information required to enter a deal is the customer name and the date the deal is likely to close. All other information is optional. Typically, most people can input all their leads and opportunities in less than 10 minutes. New opportunities can be added in seconds.

If you enter the value of the deal you can use the Dashboard to immediately see the impact that deal has on the outcome of your sales period. Also, further information can be added at any time, but only add further information to those deals that are important. Therefore, maintaining Focus is quick and easy.

Drag & Drop for quick and easy updates

Once a deal is in it is moved between grids by Drag & Drop… making it very quick and easy to move deals around.
Deal Information and Plans - For total control

Focus allows you to maintain full Deal Information and Plans for all your important deals. Qualification questions are built in and work on a traffic-light system for quick visual representation of qualification risk.

Deal Plans help you think through the opportunity by developing a series of questions that need answering. These questions help you progress the deal by highlighting your risk of losing due to lack of knowledge of the deal. By finding answers to the questions you make the deal more robust and increase your chance of winning. Deal plans also make it easy to communicate the status of the deal to others.

Reports - for easy sharing

Focus provides a series of standard reports for sharing of information. The reports can be saved in various formats allowing further changes to be made or adding the information to other documents very easy.

Filters - for easy review & sharing

Focus allows you to filter all opportunities across various criteria. You can filter by Customer, Private or Public deals, Partners, Co-Workers, Teams, Sectors, Close Dates and Sales Periods.

You can also see all the opportunities and with their corresponding deal plans. You may also wish to set up lead generation labels as Teams. You can then view your opportunities by lead generation source and share the progress of these leads.

This is just is just a starting point of all of the things Focus can do. For more go to firstborder.com and read more under products.