Stephan Bevan's Blog

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  • Bell Sympatico & Bell Canada – For Whom the Bell Tolls

    Our Internet Service Provider is Bell Sympatico (a division of Bell Canada).

    We make a full-time living off the internet (if you do too, make sure you read the last paragraph), and yesterday our internet went down.

    We have been with Bell Sympatico since 2008. For some reason we had to get a second line in order to use Sympatico, so now we have two lines. Yesterday early afternoon, our line 1 went down, which brought down our internet on line 2 – why I don’t know- line 2 worked but not Sympatico. They scheduled a repairman to come out that evening between 5pm-9pm to fix the phone but no one showed.  We called again to say it didn’t matter how late, that they could still come. Still no one.

    In the wee hours of the morning, I called Bell again and I was told the tech from last night said it would have taken too long ???? so the appointment got cancelled, so they booked again for a 9am-12pm that morning appointment, and assured me it would be fixed then. We called again at 9am to make sure someone was still coming, and they still assured us that someone would be there between 9am-12pm. Upon calling at 9:30am (I was determined to call every 1/2 hour until it was fixed) I was told that there was no appointment booked by Bell Canada or Bell Sympatico and that they would TRY to make it for the afternoon 1pm-5pm. So, it appeared as if Bell had cancelled 2 appointments on us, on their own, without telling us. I feel lied to. Whether intentional or not, the result is the same – no service. Every time I called BELL CANADA I either got someone in Bell India (named John or Bob) or Bell Philippines, that gave me the same lip-service over and over. This got to be extremely frustrating as you could imagine, because no one there had ANY ability to make ANY difference to our situation. I could have done a whole renovation job from the nails I could have spat. HEY BELL CANADA – your outsourcing tech support is not working! I even tried calling French tech support, but I guess they’re not required to be bi-lingual anymore -uuh merci beaucoup, bye bye. At 9:30am, I starting telling the Bell agents that we were advanced internet marketers and that for every 15 minutes our internet was not fixed, that I would post our experience once somewhere on the internet. Nobody cared because we were always talking to someone in a call center in the Philippines or India. If you’re reading this, it’s one post of 96. They finally showed up 25 hours after our first call in. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a mild -mannered guy, but by that time I could have built a whole sub-division with those nails.

    We live in a rural area. We used to have wireless internet, but when Bell Sympatico came along in 2008, we signed up with them because it was much faster. Unfortunately because of where we are located, there are no other decent alternatives for internet access (other than wireless -too slow & satellite – way too expensive).

    It would seem that Bell Canada & Bell Sympatico has 3 shifts of in the field tech support 9am-12pm, 1-5pm, 5-9pm, and we kept getting shifted to the next shift. I believe they outsource most of their field tech support to other companies. So, this is clearly a case of not enough field tech support.

    You know, all this might be OK if this were the only issue we had with Bell, but we have had many similar instances of their poor customer service. One example is when their version of the “Turbo Stick” came out (Internet Anywhere), we signed up for a promotion of $10/month, FOREVER (unless you go over in bandwidth – fine), but when we received our bill, they had always charged us $40, so every month we had to call them back to get it fixed, with the same response “Sir we don’t offer a program for $10/month”, so we had to speak to a manager to get it fixed – if they even knew what we were talking about. Finally after calling in month after month to get our bill fixed (telling them we signed up for $10 but getting charged $40 every month), my wife just decided to cancel the service altogether, to save her sanity. So with all the issues we’ve had with Bell, we would love to have an alternative for phone & internet but not available in our area – so far we’ve only been able to find another carrier to take over our 1-800# (which cost about 3-4X less a month than with Bell).

    In Canada there are a bunch of  monopolies, but in the most profitable Industries: automotive, banking, energy and communications (to name a few), we have what are called Syndicates: these are small group of individuals (organizations) that control these top sectors. That’s because the government has granted the control of these

    industries to a few companies, and other companies are squeezed out of those markets. So there are few options to Canadians when it comes to these services, and obviously where it comes to customer service, you get what you get, and just pray you don’t ever have to call.  I realize that technical issues happen with all service providers, but within large companies, there seems to be little value placed on great customer service anymore. If you want good service, you need to turn to the smaller companies that care about each and every client. In the least, to empathize with the client rather than reading the same regurgitated “we’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience sir” line off a script. If you are a business owner, in whatever you do, if you want to survive and thrive, make great customer service your priority.

    Why is it that these large companies like Rogers, Microsoft, and Bell Canada, etc. have outsourced ALL their customer service to places like India & the Philippines in an attempt to increase profits, but have not in turn offered cheaper or better services as a result of their increased profits. “Oh, but it’s all about the shareholders…” No, it’s because “the love of money is the root of all evil,” as the Bible says.

    If your living is dependent on the internet, I suggest that you DO NOT rely on just 1 ISP, but  get a redundant ISP system, such as a dual-wan router, and have a backup ISP

    connection, so that if one service goes down, it will automatically switch to the other. Also get USPs (uninterruptible power supplies) to have time to back up your data during an outage (they’re also a good idea to protect all your electronics from lightning spikes). Get a separate USP for your router & modem so you can still use a laptop if the power goes out, without other things draining that battery’s power, like monitors and speakers. We used to have redundant ISPs but at the time it was cost prohibitive because our options were limited. However after this fiasco with Bell Canada & Bell Sympatico, we probably just need to bite the bullet and get both, so that we don’t have to spend 15 hours with just 1 ISP’s tech support (and have to learn a whole new language in the process), but can still get work done while our supposed HIGHEST PRIORITY SUPPORT TICKET gets shifted to the next day.

    The result – it was eventually fixed the next day, and they gave us a two-day discount (only after we demanded it). Not at all what I was expecting, but then again, what could I expect from Bell Sympatico and Bell Canada.

  • Benefits to Hiring an SEO Consultant/Firm vs. a Full-Time In-House Search Engine Optimizer

    Although the Average Hourly rate may be up-to 50%-100% more, you will still save money by hiring a Search Engine Optimization Consultant. Here are some of the reasons why:

    Employee Expense Savings ($$)

    -Your company doesn’t have to pay unemployment benefits

    -you don’t have to pay pension plans

    -no holiday pay

    (these alone can add another 50% to the hourly rate of an employee)

    -no RRSP/401(k) contributions

    -no expense of health plans / health care

    Office Space (Sp)

    -you won’t need to find permanent space in your office

    -if the consultant can work from home they won’t have to charge you for travel/commuting expenses and won’t take up ANY space in your office

    Payment Terms (PT)

    -you often don’t have to pay a consultant until the job is complete (if the hours are under 40), although most due charge an up-front fee

    -some consultants may be willing to work on a combination of contract/commission or straight commission meaning they don’t get paid until you have success – they better you do the better they do

    -when the job is complete obviously you don’t need to pay them anymore

    Time Savings (T)

    -almost all communication can be done via: phone, email, Webmeeting, Twitter, MSN etc, saving time with on-site or off-site meetings which usually take much longer

    -consultants know they won’t be paid until the job is over so they will work quickly to get the job done.

    -in a consulting firm you may have multiple people working on your site compounding the time savings, and multiplying the ideas, creativity and resources

    Experience (Exp)

    -SEO consultants are often more experienced than their employee counterparts because they have worked on multiple projects and usually come with a vast portfolio and years of experience

    -consultants are often more familiar with a greater variety of the tools in the industry because they have worked with different companies’ needs and can pinpoint more closely which software/tools/products will work best for your website

    -consultants are often networking and honing their skills more than the average employee keeping themselves abreast of new changes in the industry.

    -the new skills that that a consultant learns is on THEIR own time not on yours

    -since your results will affect their portfolio and therefore future prospects, SEO consultants have a vested interest in getting you great results in the search engines- it looks better on them

    Tools (Tool)

    -consultants usually come equipped with their own laptop/cell phone and software saving the company in $1000s of dollars in extra expenses

    Social (Soc)

    -you don’t have to add in another personality into your company mix and see if they fit in

    Legal (Leg)

    -if the consultant you first choose doesn’t work out – you just find someone else without the possibility of labour law issues

    If you are looking for a Search Engine Otimizer to help optimize your website for higher rankings in the Search Engines, and for driving traffic to your site, please contact us at:   stephan @ stephanbevan . com

  • 10 Reasons Why You Need to Hire a Professional Search Engine Optimizer

    It is becoming increasingly more challenging for companies to stay competitive in this Global Economy. As more and more products are being produced in China and labour is being outsourced to India all to the lowest bidder, it is absolutely vital for companies to have a substantial web presence in order to stay alive and not become extinct. YOUR competitors are already on the Internet and are ALL not only doing what they can to keep customers from going to you, but are also trying to steal your customers away from you! Your ability to remain on top your competitors will determine if your company thrives or becomes extinct through the ever evolving years of the Information Age into the Conceptual Age.

    There are approximately 20-30 BILLION web pages on the Internet TODAY all trying to drive traffic to THEIR sites.

    By having a website, you open your doors to a global market to create opportunities for your company that you would never have imagined. Your sales staff are good at what they do, but they can only talk to one person at a time and are limited to a local geographic area. When your company creates a website, you literally begin marketing your products internationally, often without having to pay commissions to your staff.

    Companies set up a website for several reasons:
    – to let others know they are current and technologically minded
    – to provide their customers with information so they don’t have to
    waste valuable resources explaining their products to every prospect
    – to increase their Brand Recognition
    – to increase leads & convert into sales
    – to set up an e-commerce program creating another stream of income

    The problem with this is that most web designers (as good as they may be) are brilliant at web design but have no idea how to drive traffic to your sight. Many even claim to know but really don’t realize that theres more involved than just metatags.

    Without traffic, you will have NO conversions to sales, and without sales all you have is an information site. When searching for ANYTHING on the Internet 85% of people START with one of the 3 major search engines, who all have different criteria for determining how a site will rank.

    A GOOD search Engine Optimizer/Guru should help your company with these ten things:
    1) Help you to determine who your on-line Target Market really is.

    2) Identify who your online Competition is.

    3) Selecting the proper Keywords for your Industry/Vertical for SEO and PPC.

    4) Re-write your Content to make the best use of your keyword phrases.

    5) Only employ the use of “white-hat” Organic practices to avoid being penalized.

    6) Proper use of Metatags.

    7) Make sure your site has proper Flow for visitor retention (you have a 15second window to capture a visitors in).

    8)Improve your rankings with New Content without creating duplication.

    9) Submit your site to the search engines.

    10) Maintain your rankings by keeping up to date with search engine algorithm up-dates.

    Understand that this is not an overnight process and its not cheap. It can actually take up to several months, especially the more competitive your market is. There are no promises of success either. It will involve constant analysis and adjustments to your pay-per-click campaigns. If you try to do it on your own you will likely spend more time and money than if you hired one.

    ©2008 Stephan Bevan

    Call me today for more information or to get started.
    Stephan Bevan
    Search Engine Optimizer
    stephan @   stephanbevan  .  com

  • America is calling for Entrepreneurs Now! No Experience Necessary

    America loves movies like the “Pursuit of Happyness” – the “rags to riches” story of the underdog’s fight to make it to the top from less than nothing – and so they should – that IS America’s story. Unfortunately for every one Chris Gardner out there, there are thousands who fail in business every day because they can’t compete, don’t have the resources, are are trying to do too much with too little.America needs to support the mom-and-pop stores and small businesses, or in a hunderd years from now, they may be terms only found in wikipedia.

    Whether you love or hate them, some of the most iconic symbols of America are: Ford, McDonalds, Nike, Coca-Cola and Walmart.  These powerful images are recognized in every country on the planet, and are synonymous with the term Capitalism – a swear word in many countries. In the west too, there is an ignorance as to the meaning of the word, but without it, North America would not be the business center of the planet.

    Dictionary.com defines capitalism as: an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

    Many today have the misinformed impression that Capitalism is a form of government or only pertains to mega-corporations that have the intention of taking over and becoming monopolies. Although it is true that there are companies like Walmart & McDonalds that seem to have more power than governments and make up their own rules as they grow, Capitalism represents the freedom to enterprise – to determine your own destiny based on how hard you work, how smart you work, and how well you net-work. America was forged by entrepreneurs – not employees, and all too often we forget this fact.  Capitalism stimulates creativity; socialism (which America already has) creates an atmosphere of only entitlement.

    Although we say we hate the idea of large corporations taking over, all of these massive conglomerates were once – one person with a big idea. As a matter of fact, you can say that about nearly every business that you drive by on your way to work. As controversial as it is, the Playboy Bunny is one of the longest standing icons of entrepreneurism in America. Even McDonalds had a small beginning at one time. They just made a whole lot more good decisions than bad ones, which is why they are where they are today.

    Your business could also one day go from one employee to 1000 if you too kept the vision to do so ever before you. If you don’t want to, shame on you for thinking so selfishly. Capitalists create jobs which feed families; they produce commerce to keep the economy going; and create new inventions to improve the quality of life for people all around the globe. Why wouldn’t you want to make the biggest impact you could in making this world a better place than how you found it?!

    Every day we lose more and more of our freedoms because of Government Policies that have the pretense of being for the benefit of the public. We give up our rights, for social programs that cost us more than we realize, and our children pay the biggest price. We forget how hard our fore-fathers fought for the freedom to enterprise without tyranny and interference. More and more of us are turning to the false sense of security of a steady paycheck with a big company than to stick it out hold on to their dreams. Will you be next? I hope not!

    Now more than ever, our nations need us to be successful in business. Small businesses employ far more people than all the big corporations combined. If everyone worked for the government, who would pay their salaries? Who would cut grass, clean houses, drive trucks, run restaurants, pump grass, build homes, design better software, grow food, service appliance, and a million other things?

    Today aroung the globe, it seems like there are no more borders around countries, and major corporations have become the nations – without borders, often getting away with breaking the law. JD Rockefeller said “competition is sin” – only true to someone who desires to monopolize an industry, or create a cartel. Competition keeps prices in check, quality high, and allows the company with the better customer service to excel.

    The successful entrepreneur is one of the most endangered species of our time, and it is up to us to see its survival. If not you than who? If not now, then when? Start today, and do not despise small beginnings. One day your brand could represent America! If you are already in business, congratulations and thank you for staying the course. You are paving the way for generations to come, to keep America standing on the foundation it was built on – Freedom!

  • Doors Open to Those With Initiative – Apply Within

    What really is Initiative? How does someone learn or develop Initiative? How do you grow Initiative? How does one get Initiative if they’ve never had Initiative before?

    Initiative is a trait that all successful Entrepreneurs and upper managers possess, and it is an essential characteristic to excelling in life. Initiative is what drives the movers & shakers of this world, and if you possess even a little more initiative than the average person, you will accomplish much more than you ever dreamed imaginable.

    Perhaps you’ve had a boss tell you that you need to take more initiative at your job, or maybe your parents told you that you needed to take more initiative with your homework, when you were younger. In any case, we automatically feel threatened by the comment, and usually we make it to mean someone thinks we’re lazy or maybe stupid. The fact is, we are all motivated by something – to get someone to take initiative is to work with what motivated them. All great leaders know this about human nature.

    Like outstanding Customer Service skills, Initiative is something people either have or they don’t: my wife did something for her boss before she was even hired and he said “You can’t buy initiative like that!” Initiative is a word found on every resume, and everyone claims to have it, but very few people actually live it. People who have these instincts just seem to navigate through certain situations with ease, like a foo-foo dust has sprinkled on them and they just know how to charm others and seize opportunities.

    Roget’s Thesaurus lists Initiative as: An aggressive readiness along with energy (drive) to undertake taxing efforts. Synonyms: enterprise, hustle, punch.

    If you don’t have initiative, your employees won’t either, because the speed of the group is determined by the speed of the leader (John Maxwell’s “The Law of the Lid”). Stop expecting it to come from others, and take the darn initiative to develop it yourself. If you want to learn how to develop initiative, start by reading the short book: “The Go-Getter,” and work for someone who has an aggressive, creative drive to excel, It may eventually become instinctive to you too.

    Larry Winget is a staunch supporter of entrepreneurial initiative. When he was asked what an employee could do to be successful (which also applies to business owners) he replied: “Do what ya say you’re gonna do, when ya say you’re gonna do it, for the amount ya say you’re gonna do it for.” Follow this strategy, and customers will remember how you treated them with such integrity, and they will trust you with repeat business. This demonstrated a responsibility that is unparalleled in business today.

    Some examples of taking initiative are:
    1)    Starting a group at your work or in your community to improve a situation or offer support
    2)    Recognizing and capitalizing on opportunities as they arise rather than procrastinating.
    3)    Anticipating & preparing for changes rather than allowing things to happen to you.
    4)    Suggesting & implementing new ideas or projects that will improve the outcome of circumstances that do not necessarily benefit you directly.
    5)    Contacting a person you have had a strained relationship with for the purpose of improving the communication and dealing with the situation for mutual benefit.

    Examples like these demonstrate that you have a mind of your own and do not wait around to receive orders. You see something that needs doing and you do it without being asked (like a husband who does the dishes and takes out the garbage without waiting for his wife’s prompting). The outcome is a direct result of your taking ACTION. Initiative does not refer to the first person who THOUGHT of a better mousetrap, but the person who actually built it and sold it -took ACTION on it.

    You see a problem. You fix it – without waiting for orders from someone above you. Or, if you do not have the authority to make the changes directly, you present the ideas to your superiors and offer to assist in implementing the improvements. Even if the proper steps were not taken, you still may be recognized for having had initiative. Business Leaders get excited about those they see having this trait, and there Is no faster way to be considered for a promotion than by demonstrating a consistent ability to recognize new opportunities. Don’t freak out if your ideas are stolen from time to time- a person showing consistent initiative will eventually become known as having this ability.

    In organizations that are heavily bureaucratic, initiative may be something that is resisted because it may involve changes that cause discomfort or fear in others. If you face a consistent resistance to your initiative, it may be a sign that your ideas may need some fine tuning, or the way they are presented, or it may be a sign for you to move on to bigger and better things. It feels better to have your ideas accepted which is why so many people with initiative just decide to go it alone in their own business where customers will appreciate this rare ability. Go-getters would rather be creative than try to move a corporate rolling stone with too much momentum heading in the wrong direction. If you feel like this could be you, what are you waiting for? Take initiative and start your own business today!

  • Exceptional Customer Service Will Either Make or Break Your Online Business

    How you treat your customers WILL not only be your trademark, but it will also determine if your company will survive the 95% failure rate of business within the first 5 years. Starting Immediately is the only way you’ll get an edge on your competition. We have all had the experience of atrocious customer service, and we know it isn’t fun, but how many of your customers have felt that way about you?

    Outstanding Customer Service is all about COMMON SENSE & COMMON COURTESY (which isn’t so common any more). I am always amazed at how many companies will have a completely apathetic person at the end of the phone taking calls from customers who already aren’t happy, but usually just succeed in pissing them off further. It makes you want to reach through the phone and shake them. Its a great opportunity to turn an irate customer into a repeat customer, but as long as companies are willing to hire anyone, they will continue to lose business to the competition. I see this with a lot of large companies who are just trying to fill the roll at the cheapest cost.

    I’ve also noticed that a lot of mega-corps are outsourcing their customer service to India. It obviously pays for them to do this, but again I have observed the challenges that this can also create. It is frustrating to call in to a company and get a different customer service person every time you call and have to explain your situation all over again. If someone makes an exception for you, the next time you call in, the new person will just refer to the company policy which states: “You can’t do that!” Poor service is also all to common with government agencies & monopolies. That’s another reason why I hate unions too! Where we live north of Toronto, if our garbage & recycling isn’t in the exact specifications that they state in their “POLICY”, they will just leave it there. How pathetic!! It exemplifies how most people are more interested in being lazy than in being a contributor to society (common sense not so common).

    When we finally run into someone who’s providing us with outstanding service, we want to stay on and keep talking to them, because its so refreshing. It brightens our day. Treat every customer as if they are your ONLY customer and they will come back for more because you have met some of their basic human needs – the need to be heard (the need to be right), appreciated and respected. If you check out our eBay feedback (ID:adventurecapitalism), people were stunned by how much we cared, and some even said “overwhelmed” by the level of service, speed, & product quality they received. Why did we do that? Because we treated people how we would want to be treated. That simple. Period. Its not rocket science, but common sense is something you either have or you don’t.

    If you intend on growing your small business, I URGE you to read Blair Singer’s “The ABC’s of Building a Business Team That Wins® – The Invisible Code of Honor That Takes Ordinary People and Turns Them into a Championship Team!” Come up with a Code of Honor for your company, and have any potential employees agree to it before you agree to hire them. That way they can be held accountable to the code, and you can weed out the weakest links for those who violate it, and CYA in the process.

    A friend of mine runs an executive magazine. She does not have money to waste, but is happy to pay her staff better than good to get the right people and it shows in the results. It allows her to get more done with fewer people, and run a tighter, more loyal team.

    It pays to have exceptional customer service. Your gauge is in repeat customers. Your current customers will also spread the news if they have either been treated exceptionally well or exceptionally poor. Build your business right – right from the beginning, and your company will support you in your vision – if you create a Code of Honor that honors people, and you are ALWAYS the first to honor the code.

    Have all your employees read “How to Win Friends & Influence People”, and they will gain common sense that will last them a lifetime, and you will reap the rewards through repeat business.