“Amber is a rockstar. Not only does she have years of experience as a VA and knows more than many others in our industry, she also has something that can’t be taught – dedication. Once Amber commits to something she is in 100% and will do whatever it takes to deliver. I highly recommend Amber and her team for the brilliance and knowledge.”
Many clients have posed this question lately during our weekly strategy sessions. Amber “what is your honest take on InfusionSoft since you have had a few clients switch over?”
I love sharing my feedback with clients on my opinion of programs, including InfusionSoft. Coming from my extensive knowledge of 1ShoppingCart, I have to say there are several distinct differences. Both programs have pros and cons and I enjoy working in both of them. So…I have to say I haven’t decided yet which I would recommend over the other. But, I will share with you here what I tell my current clients when asked this question about what I have found that I like about and what I am not to crazy about with InfusionSoft.
PROS:
InfusionSoft does has EXCEPTIONAL broadcast and segmenting abilities. That is what it is known for. I absolutely love the way it allows you to segment and send very very targeted emails. Let’s say you want to send an email to those on your newsletter list and EXCLUDE those who have signed up for your teleclass or product you are promoting already. Piece of cake.
I love the way you can create a follow up sequence task. For example, you can create a “task” via an email that will prompt a team member or even yourself a to do item after a purchase has been made. Love that. Automation at its best.
They have free technical phone support. Gotta give them thumbs up for that. Seriously. Especially as a Virtual Assistant and Online Business Manager it is critical to get immediate support…and FREE.
Very detailed customer record section. You can see what emails were sent to each contact, which were opened by them and more. Very very cool.
CONS:
Interface is a bit more confusing than most. It has a much harder learning curve (but then again, free support to help you with it!)
Shopping cart is not as easy as I would like. I find there are several steps to take in order to get it setup. (But love the fact that you have shopping cart abilities)
Support documents are hard to read. Much easier to just call support again, which is free.
I will continue to share with you as I learn more. There is so much about this program – but for now, I am still on the fence as to which is the best…
About six months ago, something touched me – something moved me. A commercial – A Message. Now those who know me well can testify that yes, while up in the wee-hours of the night with any of my children, I have had a tendency to order infomercial products. But this is different. This makes a difference. It is not a CD collection, gadget that makes cool looking sandwiches with your leftovers or the air climber that is to help you lose weight (ok so I did get the air climber too). This was to help someone get the stuff they needed that could not be done on $25 a month budget. Yes, I typed that correctly, $25 a month.
That is how I met Mary and became her sponsor through Compassion International. I decided that while I sat here well fed – others were not and although I am one person, I could still help. Mary lives on the plains of Kiini, home to approximately 4,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of earthen floors, brick walls and iron sheet roofs. Her diet consists of maize and beans and she is faced with malaria, a common health problem in her area. She is supported solely by her mother who is a farmer.
My reason for this today is that I would like to send Mary a Christmas gift and provide her with more than just my monthly sponsorship fee. And – I have decided that all my clients can help!
For the month of September, I am sending Compassion International 5% of my earnings so that Mary can have a special Christmas gift. So, if you are a current client – nothing you need to do but know that I am doing this and for those of you who are thinking about having my team help – now is the month to get started!
About Compassion International. They exist as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.
Founded by the Rev. Everett Swanson in 1952, Compassion began providing Korean War orphans with food, shelter, education and health care, as well as Christian training.
Today, Compassion helps more than 1 million children in 25 countries.
I shared with you last week how much Dave Crenshaw’s Book and free videos on time management have helped me tremendously. It is amazing how much more I can accomplish when I am NOT multitasking…what a concept!
I was blown away when Dave shared these statistics with me:
– Most people lose 28% or more of their work day to interruptions and the recovery time from interruptions
– Most people can only work 11 minutes until being interrupted
– Most people report being stressed out and too busy, IN SPITE OF the technology that was intended to give them more time
I wanted to let you know Dave is offering a FREE webinar this week and you can bet I’ll be on it! I am continually amazed at how much FREE and useful content Dave always gives away.
Yes, it sure is according to Dave Crenshaw, Author of The Myth of Multitasking! I have to admit, when I first heard that statement by Dave, I had to laugh. Why? Because I have dubbed myself for years as the “Queen of Multitasking”.
I multitask during many aspects of my life. Here are a few examples:
1) While cooking dinner I will open/review mail, load the dishwasher and make lunches. (Have always wondered why I burn the bread every single time!) Dave’s book clearly tells me why!
2) While driving I tell my kids to ask me their homework questions they have. Why not? (I Wondered why my daughter received a “D” on her homework I helped her with.) Dave’s book clearly tells me why!
3) While sending an email I was also on the phone paying my water bill. Who likes to wait during those automated messages so why not compose an email. (Couldn’t figure out why later I sent the email to the wrong “Joe”.) Dave’s book clearly tells me why!
After learning about Dave’s book The Myth of Multitasking, I decided I had to go to the bookstore last weekend and get it. Let me tell you. I couldn’t put the book down and read the entire book on Sunday afternoon. Amazing. His book is amazing. He clearly shows me how multitasking is hurting me – way more than it is helping me.
Dave says in the first chapter of his book, “Your lack of effectiveness has everything to do with your multitasking”. Wow. Is he serious?
Still skeptical I continue reading – and by the time I got to his ” multitasking test” (which I LOVED!) I realized, Holy Cow! He is really on to something here.
I recommend you check out his book The Myth of Multitasking, or if anything, his free training videos that will for sure give you something to chew on if you think Multitasking is effective!
What to look for when choosing your hosting company? This will all depend of course upon your specific needs, but here is my revised short list of the things I look for when choosing a hosting company:
1) Customer support via telephone. Are you required to only use a help desk or email to get support? For me personally, I like to pick up the phone and talk to someone who can assist me.
2) CPanel – do they have CPanel or another user friendly control panel interface? This can be helpful especially for those who are not very technical.
3) Fantastico – or the ability to easily install wordpress and other ecommerce and blog applications.
4) Backups. Do they backup your server? If so, how often do they back it up, how long is the data retained by them and is there a fee for them to restore.
and newly added #5 – drumroll please….
5) Email distribution limitations…what are they? You may not have a large list now, but hopefully soon you will and then will your growth be at their mercy? (learned the hard way with this one :))
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