On September 13, Joanie Badyna, president of Spirit Communications, LLC (www.spirit-communications.com) will give you a crash course in how to prepare and deliver a presentation to help you increase your business. Become a skillful and engaged story teller…Seize the opportunity of promoting yourself through dynamic presentations as well as in one-on-one situations when you have to deliver your ‘elevator speech’. In either situation, Joanie will teach you ways to be more authentic, convincing and effective so that your business will grow.

Joanie has been an educational speaker and communications trainer for nineteen years.  Prior to becoming a leading communication consultant, Joanie was a district sales director in the medical service industry.  Joanie’s style is engaging and entertaining!  Her extensive theater training is evident in her presentations. Audiences are captivated by her humor, intelligence and ability to connect.

Spirit Communications’ courses include: Presentation Skills training, Gender Communication, Communicating in Color (tailoring messages according to personality type); Team Building; and Stress management. Joanie and her team work with individuals, small groups, and large audiences.

In today’s marketplace, most people start their search for products and services on the Internet. Are they finding you or your competition?

We’re going to talk about how to successfully move your business into the online environment. If you’re already online, you’ll get some tips on driving traffic to your site and improving your search engine rankings. Whether you’re looking for direct sales or qualified leads for your consulting business, the Internet can help you achieve your objectives. The unfortunate reality is that most small businesses and independent consultants fail on the Internet. They make a fatal mistake by focusing on making money rather than on building a relationship with their visitors.

Learn how to avoid the pitfalls of building a site that doesn’t attract visitors. Find out how to get your business on the first page of Google results…even if you don’t have any programming skills. No web designer required! We’ll show you how.

Successful Web entrepreneur and instructor, Cindy McGeever has been on line since 2005, with the initial launch of www.top-sales-jobs.com. As a niche job board for sales professionals, Top Sales Jobs provides job seekers with thousands of job opportunities, along with content geared toward sharpening their resume and interview skills. Employers can search an online resume database and find tips on hiring, checking references and similar talent acquisition strategies.

Using smart tools that require virtually no programming knowledge, Cindy has developed extensive hands-on knowledge of search engine optimization and web site monetization strategies. She shares this knowledge in a classroom environment to guide participants through the often confusing maze of online business start-up choices.

Cindy teaches course at Penn State Brandywine on Building a Successful Business Using the Internet.

“Even if you are not actively using Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other social media tools in marketing your consulting services, I guarantee you that there is a conversation out there somewhere about your area of expertise.  Whether or not you choose to use social media yourself, you should at least be listening, so that you know what your clients, partners, and competitors are talking about.”

Download the PowerPoint presentation.

The objective of the panel will be to present some thoughts on how to phase out of an independent consulting practice and still have a revenue stream. We may not have an answer for everyone, but the thought process of the panel members and strong audience participation may well provide some interesting alternatives.

Rick Schilling will chair the session. Each panelist will have 6 minutes to share his thoughts on the topic. Audience questions, comments and discussion will follow.

Panelists:

Bill Hyczka founded WSH & Associates in 1990. Bill has been a business broker for 23 years and has 40 years experience in accounting, finance, M&A, business plans, valuations and consulting. Bill is a founding member of the Pennsylvania Business Brokers Association and currently serves as a PBBA Board member and Treasurer.

Barry Meyers is a co-founder of Definiti Business Solutions, a strategic advisory firm specializing in bottom line improvement for small and mid-sized companies. He has over 30 years experience in IT in textiles, paper, printing, newspaper, apparel, manufacturing and distribution. Barry has held director and manager positions for small to medium sized companies and management positions for start-ups and a Fortune 500 company.

Jan Stefanski co-founded Janus Consulting and has over 30 years experience in planning, design and implementation of various business solutions. He makes “fuzzy things clear”, assisting clients from “idea crystallization to internalization”. Jan consults to a wide range of domestic and international industries including pharmaceuticals, chemical, education, newspapers, non-profits and financial.

Rick Schilling established his staffing firm in 1992 after a 19-year career in commercial banking and 4 years in the construction equipment leasing industry. Clients use his cadre of experienced professionals to complete specialized projects and to fill interim and full time staff vacancies in middle management and senior positions.

We hear about social marketing tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. We have also learned that these can take up a lot of our valuable time. What is the right course for a consultant to consider moving forward with social media? It is not a black box; it is also not about having the latest shiny object. We will look at the importance of an overall social media strategy – things to consider when formulating a social media strategy, what should you consider first before taking up a lot of your valuable time. That being said, there is a place for these social marketing tools and we need to know how to embrace them. Bring your questions – if you have a specific question please submit it ahead of time to Rick@DinkumInteractive.com.

Rick Simmons is a principal at Dinkum Interactive.  With over 30 years of experience in advertising and marketing, and over 10 years working with the Internet, Rick brings an ideal combination of talents to the technology firm.  For the past 8 years, he has incorporated his marketing expertise with his Internet knowledge through his work with Search Engine Optimization and many other Internet Marketing strategies.  As a result of dozens of speaking engagements all over the East Coast, Rick has been touted as one of the best speakers for deciphering the Internet, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing for all levels of listeners.

Monday, May 10th at 724 West Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA. 7:30am to 9:00am. The cost is free. For information and directions, please visit the MACN website at www.maconsultants.com.

The Mid-Atlantic Consultants Network (MACN) is an open association of independent consultants in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. We meet regularly to learn how to grow our consulting practices, improve our skills as consultants, and strive to serve our clients more effectively.

Bruce Govan participated in a panel at a Mid-Atlantic Consultants Network meeting, where he explained the value of building relationships with your “competitor” consultants through settings such as MACN. While they may be competitors, they may also represent potential resources that can help you better serve your clients.

No one person can possibly answer all client needs. Bruce related a story where he was called by a “competitor” who had been hired to conduct an in-depth assessment of a skiing resort. The competitor didn’t ski, but Bruce was an avid skier and could help with the assessment of that aspect of the business. Not only did he get more business, he also got several days of free skiing.

Part 2: