Top 25+ iPhone Travel Apps... and How to Use Them

If you are one of the 60,000,000+ iPhone (or  iPad / iTouch) owners, you can use these 25+ Applications to save money, reduce travel hassles and make you more productive before, during and after your trip.  In addition, if you have an iPhone 4, we will describe a few more "extra" applications (or Apps) that you can use during your travels. Some Apps are included standard on the iPhone, others have to be downloaded from the iTunes Store, using the "App Store" App (standard on the iphone).  Over 200,000+ iTunes Apps  are available for you to download.

This may sound funny... but I have over 100 Apps on my iPhone 4. In this article, I include many of my favorite Apps that you can use to Plan, Research your trip, Check on your Day-to-Day Travel and Post-trip wrap-up activities.

Before You Go - Travel Planning & Research

• Google Maps - Google Maps can help you select your hotel based on how far it is from the beach, ski slopes, a client meeting or a city office. Google Maps comes standard on the iPhone and includes FREE wireless traffic updates, driving directions (on Graph Maps or Turn-by-Turn Direction Lists), Mass Transit pick-up locations (for trains, subways & buses)  and walking (biking) directions.  You an also download Google Earth for more detailed info on a specific vacation area anywhere in the world)
• Weather Channel - We prefer the Weather Channel App for planning travel to the standard Weather App that comes with the iPhone. Search and Bookmark the City that you are going to visit. Then, check the 10-day Forecast and determine what to pack. The day before your trip, you can track any  bad weather coming your way during the trip and plan accordingly.
• TripIt - Everyone seems to like this App. Use it to consolidate all your travel plans into one list and sync them into your iPhone Calendar,  Tripit is terrific for providing key information in one place, hotel phone numbers, maps, key contacts etc.  You can download the Free or Paid version (more features).
• Kayak - They have a great Search App that looks at all the other online travel services in one place.  We use it to find the best prices before we book a vacation, hotel, airline or car rental.  They also have a great Free Alert service that emails you a running 12 months of average pricing each month for a trip(s) that you specify.
• Airline Apps - Download your favorite Airline App to check for prices, schedules and check-in services. The Check-in services can really save you time at the airport and reduce the wait time on lines.
• Online Travel Agents - You can download Priceline, Expedia, Kayak and Travelocity from the App Store. They all have Apps that can be very helpful.
• Open Table - Before you travel, sign up for this service.  You can use the iPhone App to make reservations in advance or in a taxi on your way to the restaurant.
• Yelp - We often use the Yelp App to check out restaurant feedback before we make reservations.
• Games - There are lots and lots of fun easy-to-learn games available in the iTunes Store. They can make the time fly by if your flights are delayed. Find fun Games on iTunes
• TV Shows - Catch up on your favorite TV Shows or missed episodes by using the iTunes App to download TV shows from iTunes
• Movies - Rent or Watch Movies during your trip using the standard iTunes App.  If you own a new iPhone 4, the screen in incredibly sharp to watch High Definition (HD) or Regular movies. New movie releases on iTunes Top movie rentals on iTunes, Special priced movie bundles on iTunes
• iBook or Kindle - Must-haves, if you love to read.  Buy eBooks using the standard iTunes App.  If you prefer Amazon, download the new Amazon Kindle App (from the iTunes Store) and then buy ebooks directly from Amazon (using the Kindle App).  The iPhone is excellent for bringing multiple Books without the extra weight.  Note: Some people may prefer buying an Apple iPad or the new Amazon Kindle Reading Device for the larger screen and type.
• Audio Books - You can use the Standard  iTunes App to listen to audio books. Buy Audio Books to listen to best sellers or an old favorite book. Audiobooks on iTunes - Main Section or Best selling audiobooks on iTunes

During your Trip - Traveling

• Google Maps - Maps helps you get around a new city or resort.  The iPhone has a compass feature to help you find where you are going.
• Weather Channel - Check the hourly weather in the morning before you go out... and plan your day around the weather
• Google Search (with Voice) - Speak to your iPhone and search for anything you need or want.  The speech recognition is fantastic for searching. It really works!  Just be in a quite area.
• Facetime Video Call - If you and a loved one have an iPhone 4, this one App makes the price of the phone all worth it. You literally push one button and you are talking and seeing the other person. If you have Kids, a Spouse or a Parent at home while you are stuck in a hotel room on the road, you can't put a price on how wonderful it is to see and talk with your loved ones.  My wife and I love using Facetime. Note: You both need to be connected to WiFi for Facetime to work at this time. I believe that by next summer Facetime will work anyplace.
• Camera & Video - The standard iPhone Camera App can be used to snap photos and shoot HD video. The camera quality is extremely good and has a fast shutter speed and a digital zoom.  It is one of the best camera phones on the market today.  The photos can be excellent during the day. However, if photos are important to you,  it's handy to carry a point-and-shoot or Digital SLR Camera with you when traveling.  Note: We also love the easy-to-use and compact Flip Video Recorder for shooting excellent High-Def (HD) Videos. Buy a Flip Video Camcorder
• White Noise (Sound Machine) - My wife loves... and needs this App wherever we travel.  The App has 40 different sounds that block outside noises (and snoring).  It helps you get to sleep in a new bed quickly.  It also has a Turn-Off Timer and an Alarm to wake you up.
• Alarm - The standard Alarm App can be set to wake you up in the moring.  I never fully trust the Hotel Alarm Clock, Clock Radio or "Wake-Up" Calls from the Hotel Operator.
• iBook or Kindle - If you love to read, the iBook and Kindle Apps are excellent. With the strict luggage weight limits these days, you can bringing multiple books without the extra weight.  Note: An Apple iPad (or Amazon Kindle) is considered a much better choice for reading.
• iTunes Music, TV, Movies and Videos - Great for the plane trip or on a beach. You may want to buy a small travel speaker to play the music in your hotel room or for a private beach.
• iTunes Podcasts - This is part of the iTunes App.  You can get Free audio and video program downloads of many of your favorite news shows and newspapers from around the world to take with you.  I use this App every day to watch or listen to my High Tech Updates and the News.
• Audible.com - Listen to those favorite books that you just haven't read yet.
• Calendar - Use the Calendar to keep all your key info during travel. Tip: Print out a copy before you travel for emergencies.
• Skype - New Upgrade keeps Skype running in the background once you sign-in.  Now anyone can Skype call your iPhone and it will ring like a regular phone call. Talk or Text with Family, Friends or Business Assoicates with the Skype App for FREE
• AroundMe - This App is very handy in cities when you are looking for a local restaurant, cafe or Bank ATM.  They use the GPS in the iPhone to find the closest places to you and how far away they are on a map.

When you Come Home - Post Trip

• iMovie - Very Ease-to-use App to create and improve movies and then load them to Facebook or Flickr Web-Service  You can also use iMovie to create slide show movies (with background music) from your photos. (iPhone4 - $5)
• Flickr - Use the Flickr App to load,  share and store your travel photos.
• Facebook - Upload any photos that you have not uploaded during the trip to share with family, friends or business associates.
• Print Photos - Costco, Shutterfly, Kodak and Snapfish also have good websites to upload, share and print photos.

Here are links to the iTunes Store to download the Free and Paid Apps that you are interested in using during your trip.

Top free apps on the App Store Top paid apps on the App Store

A few more Travel Tips:

1. Very Important: When you are traveling internationally (outside the USA), make sure you turn off your GSM Radio on the iPhone before you land and only use WiFi with your iPhone overseas.  WiFi is often FREE  and GSM voice and roaming charges are prohibitively expensive to use.

2. If you have any questions or problems before your trip, stop by your Apple or AT&T Store to ask for help downloading or setting up your iPhone/iTouch.  You can also call the USA Apple Support phone number at: 800-275-2273.

3. Look up the appropriate Apple Support Phone Number for the country that you are visiting and enter it in your iPhone Phonebook. Apple Support Internationa Country Phone Numbers

4. Try to download the Apps (we discussed in the article) before you travel.   Give yourself a little time before your trip to play with all the Apps so you can enjoy your trip.

5. Please share your own favorite Top Apps for Travel by commenting below.

We hope this article has helped you think about how you can use the iPhone to make your travel so much easier.

Have a safe and fun trip!

5 Tips to Increase Sales Productivity This Quarter

Many Small and Mid-sized Businesses (SMBs)  are looking for ways to Increase their Sales Productivity over the next few months. We have always been told (and believe) that "If you do a few things well, you will be successful."

The following 5 easy-to-implement Tips should significantly increase your sales and reduce your cost of sales.

1. Define Goals, Metrics and Reports Have a team meeting and get agreement to a 90-day program. Set weekly goals, metrics and reports. If it doesn't get measured, it doesn't get done. Result: Team focus on closing sales
2. Leverage Lead Process All leads need to be contacted and qualified in 24 hours or less.  Fastest response time is king these days.  I just contacted a software company and was told that it would be two days to hear back from a sales rep. I'm now talking with their competitor instead of them. Result: More Qualified Leads
3. Increase Sales Calls per Week The average outside sales rep can make a maximum of 10 customer sales calls per week (2 per day). Three quick ways to increase sales calls: - Add an Inside Sales Resource - Add a web service like WebEx or GotoMeeting to add two extra web sales calls per week - Ask for referrals on every call Result: More Sales Calls per week
4. Increase Skills & Knowledge Create weekly in-house workshops to improve closing skills, best practice sharing, meeting skills, phone skills, product knowledge, competition and industry issues. Workshops should be held during non-selling hours and run no more than 45 minutes. Implement web-based meetings if your team is geographically separated. This is one of the best suggestions in improving sales productivity. Result: More Deals in Forecast
5. Improve Sales Recognition Most sales teams are pretty beat-up right-about-now. Reps sell more when recognized on a regular basis. Set up weekly recognition in a team phone or web meeting. A happy Sales Rep is a more productive Sales Rep! Result: More time selling and more sales closed.

Which Sales Productivity Tips are working for you this year?

Are You a Leader or a Manager?

I first saw this list during a management training program at Hewlett-Packard. I've kept it over the years to remind me to be a leader and not just a manager. I also use it as a coaching tool for helping our clients' managers grow into future leaders.  As you can see from this list, there is a big difference between being a manager and being a leader.

A leader creates A leader gives credit A leader stimulates desire A leader values people A leader expects innovation A leader prefers judgment A leader expands liberty A leader employs people A leader welcomes criticism A leader promotes others A leader makes mistakes A leader sees opportunity A leader corrects himself A leader acquires wisdom A leader develops pride A leader wants responsibility A leader seeks a job A leader sees through mirrors A leader has faults People Love to be led Leading is extremely difficult You make yourself a leader

A manager copies A manager gives blame A manager stimulates fear A manager values procedures A manager expects conformance A manager prefers rules A manager expands power A manager employs objects A manager welcomes praise A manager promotes himself A manager makes excuses A manager sees problems A manager corrects others A manager acquires knowledge A manager develops ego A manager wants rights given to them A manager seeks a position A manager sees his own image A manager is perfect People hate to be managed Managing is easy to do each day Anyone can make you a manager

So... are you a Leader or Manager?

Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands in 2010

Brandz recently published a list of theTop 100 Most Valuable Global Brands for 2010. The study was developed in conjunction with The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Datamonitor and Millward Brown Optimor. You can download a PDF Document with the list of the 100 companies from the Brandz website below.

Here's a peek at the Top 10 Brands:

1. Google
2. IBM
3. Apple
4. Microsoft
5. Coca Cola
6. McDonalds
7. Marlboro
8. China Mobile
9. GE
10. Vodafone

So... which are your favorite brands?

More Info and  Download the Top 100 List from Brandz

How the Apple iPad can Save You $1,600 this Year

The Apple iPad generates an amazing amount of positive and negative press. The day of the first announcement, I went down to my local Apple Retail Store to find out about the iPad for myself.  There were hundreds of people in line outside the store waiting to buy an iPad.

However, inside the store, the iPad demo units were not being used.  I walked in and spent one & a half hours playing with the iPad.  Two Apple Support Reps that were assigned to the demo units answered all my questions and showed me a few tips on using the new tablet.

I also went back to the Apple Store again this weekend to spend more time testing the iPad, asking other people for their feedback and watching how other people were using the new device.

Based on my own experience, the Apple Specialist Tips and all the other reviews, I quickly realized that the iPad packed a lot more into it than what I originally expected.

Without much effort, I was able to list out over $1,600+ of other product purchases that an iPad could replaced this year:

• 10" HD Digital Photo Frame $200
• Portable GPS for the Car $150
• Netbook $350
• Portable Game Console (high-end) $150
• eBook Reader $250
• Portable DVD Player $150
• Small Portable 10" HDTV with Battery (If you can find one) $200
• MP3 Music & Video Player  $150
• Daily Newspaper (Paper) & Magazine Subscriptions $100 per year

Update: The total savings from NOT buying all these other items is now up to $1,700.

Of course, not everyone will feel that the iPad can really replace all these products.   If  you need specific features on a laptop or netbook for example, the iPad just won't do the job.   However, there are very few other products that can really do ALL these functions in a package the size, speed and feel of the iPad.

As a result, your Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduation, Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas shopping just got a lot easier this year.

So what do You think?

Sales Productivity Tip: Measure Key Sales and Marketing Ratios

William Hewlett, Co-Founder of Hewlett-Packard often said: "What gets measured gets done." You can increase Sales Productivity if you focus on Tracking, Reporting and Reviewing these Metrics on a regular basis.

Five Key Sales & Marketing Metrics

1. Closed Sales Ratio
2. Qualified Lead Ratio
3. Pre-Qualified Lead Ratio
4. Marketing Response Ratio
5. Sales Cycle Ratio

Here are the Five Key Sales and Marketing Metrics and their descriptions:

1. Close Ratio

Measures the number of Sales Orders Closed divided by the number of Total Sales Deals that were listed in a Sales Forecast.

Example: It takes 5 Qualified Leads to close 1 Sales Order. This would be a 20% Close Ratio.

2. Qualified Lead Ratio

Measures the number of Qualified Leads divided by the number of Pre-Qualified Leads in the Sales Funnel (or Sales Pipeline).

Example: It takes 10 Pre-Qualified Leads to get 4 Qualified Leads. This would be a 40% Qualified Lead Ratio.

3. Pre-Qualified Lead Ratio

Measures the number of Pre-Qualified Leads divided by the Total Suspects that responded to all marketing events.

Example: It takes 100 Suspects to get 30 Pre-Qualified Leads. This would be a 30% Pre-Qualified Lead Ratio.

4. Marketing Response Ratio

Measures the number of Suspects divided by the total number of contacts sent marketing communications documents.

Example: It takes 1000 names on list to get 20 Suspects to respond. This would be a 2% Marketing Response Rate.

5. Sales Cycle Ratio

Measures the Date a Suspect has first Contact with a company minus the Date an Sales Order is Closed/Booked by the company.

Example: It takes an average of 6 months for a new Suspect to become a New Customer (or book its first sales order). This would be a 6-month Sales Cycle.

Small Business Marketing - Which Tactics are Moving to the Web in 2010?

There will be significant change in Small Business Marketing in 2010.  According to several recent studies, Small Businesses are planning to increase investment in Web and Social Media Marketing Tactics...and reduce investments in more traditional Print, Postcards, Catalogs, TV, Radio Ads.  There are three big reasons why executives are changing their tactics:

1. Reduced Cost of  Lead Generation Programs
2. Better Measurement of ROI
3. Reduced Sales Cycles

...all resulting in faster sales.

The eMarketer chart below is a good summary of the top 2010 marketing tactics:

How to Hold a Virtual Party at Your Office or Home

For those people who can't be at your Party (especially your overseas friends and family),  set up a FREE Video Web Conference using Skype — that way they can participate live during the event. Here is how we we use Skype for our parties.

First, you need two Skype accounts.   It only takes a few minutes to set up the service  if you do not have it. With Skype,  you can make FREE voice and video calls over the Internet (Click to set up a Skype Account) You also need unlimited internet connections at both locations to place the Skype Calls (most people have this service these days).

Before the party starts, we set up the webcams and laptops in the locations that you want to connect.

Make sure the Webcam is plugged into your computer, you've installed the webcam software that came with it,  and that it's switched on.

Dial each other using Skype and turn on the video. Since the calls are completely free, we just leave the video conference up during the whole party.

Then people can wander over to the camera during the party and talk with each other, make bets on the game,  and taunt the other fans that are located in each party.

Have fun and may the best team win!

More Skype Info or Order a New High Quality Video Webcam before the party