When you need to make a big impression with your presentation, start with the cover. Promotional conference folders are an ideal way to distribute reports, marketing reports and special sales presentations. If your company is introducing a new product, presenting findings at a conference or making a presentation of any sort to many people, folders could be the ideal jacket for your findings.

Conference folders are designed to be used at industry conferences and meetings, but they can serve other purposes as well. When you are presenting a new product, report or idea at a professional conference of any sort, promotional conference folders can be used to organize all your materials and display them to their best effect. In addition, many folders include an A4 pad so that your audience can make notes on your visual and verbal presentation as well. Distributing your informational materials in professional looking conference folders printed with your company’s logo, product name or project name is a great way to stand out and be remembered among the dozens of presenters at a conference.

There are dozens of different styles of conference folders, from economical PVC and PU portfolios to deluxe leather bound folder/cases. The styles range from simple pad holders with or without pen loops to elaborate cases complete with multiple pockets and holders for tech equipment and items. While the color choices are limited in most cases, there are some styles that offer you a choice of several different colors so that you have some customization options. You can choose classic black or navy voskin or leather with gold lettering to lend an impression of stability and tradition, or choose a more modern styling with contrasting trim to make a bolder statement of style.

If your business involves making presentations to customers in their homes or offices, your sales force will immediately appear more credible when they use customized conference folders to hold their sales materials. Imagine the different impression your sales people will make when they simply open a leather folder and place it on the desk before a sales prospect with the materials neatly and attractively displayed. If they’re used to leave promotional materials with a prospective client, promotional conference folders deliver a message about your company that goes well beyond what’s stated in the literature that they hold.

When used by your sales people, a well-made conference folder is a great way to organize all of the informational literature and other materials – and makes a welcome incentive gift for your salesmen and women. Include them among a variety of gifts that your staff can earn for reaching sales and training milestones. Promotional conference folders can be part of an entire range of work-related incentive gifts that includes quality writing instruments, note pad holders, personal planners and laptop bags – all embossed with the company logo or name to present a professional and polished appearance.

You’ll find a full assortment of conference folders in many styles and materials among the featured lines of products at one of the many online suppliers of promotional merchandise for your business. Whether you need advertising gifts, presentation products or customized corporate incentives, you’ll find what you’re looking for when you work with a professional in the promotional merchandise field.

3 Hot Tips For MLM Success

Here are 3 simple tips to communicate your business opportunity to new prospects, be they friends, acquaintances or cold leads:

1. Create Suspense.

You need to create suspense. Sometimes, we shoot ourselves in the foot by just talking too much and giving too much information at the get go.

Stop doing it

Instead be brief and build excitement and curiosity

When you talk too much you leave an opportunity for your prospect to make an uninformed decision – you don’t want that.

Be prepared to develop a planned strategy in how you prospect for team members

Develop the same principles of farming. A farmer plants seeds and then reaps at a later stage. You need to develop an environment of curiosity that leads the prospect to want to “buy” from you rather than you having to “sell” them – there is a huge psychological difference between the two.

Leaving the prospect in suspense makes them eager to hear what you have to say.

The point here is to get them to want to hear what you say, otherwise you are giving them just information rather than inspiration.

Suspense makes the prospect interested in what you have to say.

2. Urgency

You also need to move your prospects towards a decision that is time sensitive. You need to give them a reason to ACT NOW rather than waiting.

You need to give your prospect a compelling reason to act now. Buying moments are fleeting moments, so load up whatever you need to give by way of incentives to ensure that the prospect makes a decision now. It is statistically proven that it is harder to sell someone a second time than it is the first, so seize the moment first time round.

If you prepare the prospect through SUSPENSE, and then give them a compelling reason to act in an URGENT manner now, then you have set the scene for the third thing you need.

3. Fear Of Loss

You need to remind your prospect that if they don’t act now they will experience some form of loss, be it financial, emotional, or psychological.

Now one disclaimer I would put here ….. You have to believe that they will suffer loss. Don’t peddle a line that is a throw away sales line. If you genuinely believe that they will suffer some loss then communicate this with enthusiasm. Anything less will be shown up in time as a sales line.

If you don’t genuinely believe there will be loss, then get out of that and get into something that you passionately believe in !

People smell fakes a mile away – it is called intuition.

A fear of loss gives your prospect a reason to ACT. It is a buying motive they need to make them decide now rather than later, or not at all.

Combine all three in your lead generation, be it verbal or written, be it cold or warm lead.

Practice all three and develop your own scripts, based on what you will say in a variety of different situations, and also develop responses to a range of responses. You don’t have to be Einstein to work out what people will say in the majority of cases, so prepare in advance.

Suspense, Urgency & Fear of Loss – include them in all your presentations and watch your downline grow before your eyes

As I’ve worked diligently this last year and a half towards realizing some major dreams and goals, there have been days when I’ve become so frustrated with this place called “here” that I didn’t think I could wait another minute to get “there.”

You know about “there”; the “promised land”-the perfect place where the problems of today magically disappear.

“There” is the new job; “there” is losing those last twenty pounds; “there” is the wedding ring.

Whatever your “there” is -for most folk-it can’t arrive soon enough.

Unfortunately, some of us have become so consumed with “there” that we’ve started to neglect “here.” In doing so, “here” has become the grass that we haven’t watered, but are intent on comparing to the lush green blades on the other side of the fence.

Are you taking care of “here?” Because if you aren’t you will NEVER get “there.”

Worse, if you allow your “here” to fall apart, you’ll be more susceptible to latch onto a distorted and ill-conceived “there.” Like that woman on your job who you think looks soooo much better than your wife-she’s so sweet and sexy. And your wife has taken to wearing over sized t-shirts and is too tired after work and caring for the kids to tend to your needs.

Well, when was the last time you took your wife out on a date; when was the last time you lifted some of the pressure off her by cleaning up the kitchen or doing a load of laundry; when was the last time you told her you still think she’s beautiful?

I’ll tell you a secret: that “grass” on your job has to be mowed and watered too or it will grow weeds, turn brown and start dying just like your marriage. A wise man I know has a saying, “All grass has to be cut.”

Are you tending to your own yard? Are you taking care of “here?” Or are you so focused on “there” that “here” is falling apart.

The last couple of months I’ve been yearning for “there.” So much so, I wasn’t enjoying “here” very much. I was so focused on the future that I was dropping the ball on a lot of the stuff in my present. Then I realized if I wasn’t careful, I might end up sacrificing my “here” in the quest to get “there” –and that’s too high a price to pay.

In our glorification of “there,” we often ignore the fact that the place called “there” will have problems and challenges of its own. In this state of mental delusion, we convince ourselves that “there” is our “happily ever after”.

How many people left “here” to move into their dream house; a Mac-Mansion with more space than they could ever use and which now has become an albatross around their necks with a huge mortgage payment, soaring utility bills, and high maintenance requirements.

The truth is, “there” is a mirage. As we travel through life there will always be problems we’ll have to face; challenges we’ll have to meet; another “there” to strive for. That’s why you have to “enjoy the journey.” That’s why you have to enjoy the place called “here.”

“Here” is where we’re at and even though we may not realize it, there’s often something that we have to learn, accomplish, or complete before we’re ready to move from “here” to “there.”

I’ve learned to accept the fact that getting “there” is a process and the only way to it is through “here”. So I’ve been working on looking for the pleasure in “here.” I’ve been working on trying to savor each step of my journey-even the frustrating ones.

Yesterday morning as I was headed out to work, I just laughed when my three year old son -in giving his mommy a hug and kiss–smeared jelly all over my freshly washed and ironed shirt. I thought to myself: when I get “there” he won’t be three anymore; when I get “there” I may have to beg for a hug and a kiss.

In our quest for the perfect “there,” we must remember that “here” is a gift; that’s why we call it “the present.”

As lots of people are rightfully complaining about, Christmas has become increasingly commercialized, and the social tradition of giving gifts makes retail sales surge in December. The holiday season is a point when brick-and-mortar shops are more crowded than ever.

In order to stay away from all this hassle, why not do your holiday shopping on the net this year? This way you escape the long queues, you are no longer tied to the shop’s opening hours, and the assortment is often much wider. In case you are new to online shopping, here are just a few tips to make sure you have a good experience.

First, do some planning. If you just begin to browse around, chances are you let yourself carried away. There are countless great presents out there, and you can’t possibly buy them all. Make a preliminary list of who you need to buy presents for, what you would like to get and what your budget is. Keep the list in front of you while you do your shopping.

Don’t leave it to the last minute. Just as mortar-and-brick stores, online shops are also the busiest during the holiday season. Give yourself sufficient time to pick something nice, and have your order mailed to your door before Christmas. Be sure you check delivery times, but add in a few extra days just to be safe – those estimates are normally for regular periods.

Try to shop only with reliable, well-known retailers, and not some obscure little shop. However, if you do find something excellent on one e-shop you haven’t heard about, you shouldn’t just drop it. Try to do a little research, you may still be able to get some information and figure out if it is trustworthy or not. Check their address and give them a call.

Before you enter your credit card info, look for the VeriSign symbol – this means that your transaction is secure. Also, print out the receipt and keep it for a while, just in case something happens with your order. The retailer will probably need to know your order number, which is always on the receipt.

Make sure you check their return policy too. You never know what could happen. Usually you can return any product free of charge within a reasonable time frame, but it’s always good to be sure. Also, consider adding a few extra days to your initial estimate in case you must return a gift and get something else.

One of the best things about online shops is that their offers are very diverse, and you may find the same item at very different prices. This is why it is often better to use a comparison shopping engine instead of a normal shop. Comparison shopping engines look at several shops to find you the best deals. United Tech Store is a very good technology-oriented comparison shopping engine. If you are looking for gifts for tech enthusiasts, this is a good place to shop. You can find anything, from camera accessories to laptop bags, and you can compare offers from several tech shops around the web.

Here, David Letterman style, are what I consider to be the Top 10 most common mistakes presenters make when organizing and preparing their content:

10) Not setting the stage.

An introduction should be more than just “Hello. Today we’ll be discussing _____.” If you just jump into the content without setting up the presentation, it can get you off to a jumpy, disjointed start. An introduction should give the audience a sense of who you are, what you’re there to do, and what’s in it for them to listen.

9) Using ineffective notes.

It’s almost always wise to have some notes handy to make sure you don’t forget anything important, but if your notes are hard to follow or are distracting for the audience, they defeat the purpose. Trying to read from a crowded page of word-for-word narrative is a killer because you look down and have trouble looking up for fear that you’ll never find your place again. Disorganized papers or cards can be cumbersome and messy. Keep clear, concise, key-word-or-key-phrase-only notes handy to simply jog your memory, not serve as an unnecessary crutch.

Using jargon or acronyms that leave the audience bewildered.

When a listener hears a word or phrase he/she is not familiar with it causes what I call a “cerebral derailment”. The listener’s mind is chugging along happily with you until he/she hears an unfamiliar term and suddenly the mind jumps the tracks to wonder, “What does that mean?” Always define acronyms (even if you’re sure they know what the letters stand for) and, when in doubt, define any terms that could possibly be unfamiliar.

7) Planning backwards.

Many people begin to prepare a presentation by thinking, “What do I have that’s cool?” (meaning visual aids, support points, stories, examples, etc.) Then they ask themselves, “How can I work it in?” This is backwards. Decide on what you want to accomplish and then ask “What do I have in the way of support that would help me meet that objective?” If you plan backwards you may very well end up with a bunch of interesting information that is of no value to the listeners.

6) Not knowing your objective and/or not sharing it.

In addition to being clear on the point you want to make, you should also be clear on the objective you wish to achieve. Do you want the audience to make a decision? Show them the options and ask for a decision. If you need their cooperation, make sure you explain why you need them and how they can help you. If your goal is to familiarize them with a topic, make that clear so you don’t get bogged down in excess detail. Both you and your audience should be clear on what you’re there to accomplish.

5) Not providing “signposts”.

Imagine that you can get a new set of information two ways: 1) you can read it in a report or 2) you can listen to it in a presentation. What advantages do you have when you’re reading that you don’t have when you’re listening?

• You can go at your own pace
• You can re-read things that you found confusing
• You can skip sections that don’t interest you
• You can see when a new topic begins (because of section titles or white space)
• You can make notes
• You can file it away for future reference.

None of these options are available to your listeners. To the audience, your ideas are just sounds in the ether, so to make up for the lack of these advantages, you need to provide signposts to let us know where you are. Visual aids can help, but remember to include phrases like “Now, let’s move on to point #2″, “That’s all for the background, now let’s move on to the current status,” or “Let me just wrap up.” These little phrases take very little time but do wonders for helping your audience stay with you.

4) Having complex, hard-to-read visual aids.

Your visual aids should be just that–aids. They should HELP you get your message across. Complicated, crowded, hard-to-read visual aids compete with you for your audience’s attention. Keep them simple enough that listeners have a reason to stick around and listen to YOU.

3) Not having an obvious, logical structure.

Meandering from point to point can be very frustrating to a listener. Have your information laid out in a logical structure and share that structure with the listeners up front so they know where you’re headed.

2) Not making the POINT clear up front.

There’s nothing more frustrating to a listener than to sit there thinking, “OK, so what’s your point?!” Remember, you know your material cold. The listeners don’t. Sometimes you have to smack them between the eyes with the point, as in, “If you only remember one thing from my presentation, I want it to be __________________.” Don’t wait until the end to present your point with a dramatic flourish. Make your point right up front and spend the rest of the time supporting that point.

And the #1 content management mistake. . .

1) Including too much information.

It’s tempting to want to cram all the information possible into the heads of your listeners, but ironically, it’s possible that the more information you include, the less they learn. Think of a rainstorm. When rain is pouring down, much of it runs off before it can soak into the soil. The water is wasted because there was simply too much of it to take in. Whereas, a slow, steady rain has a chance to soak in thoroughly. It’s far better to include half as much information and have them retain most of it, than to squeeze in every imaginable tidbit and have 90% of the information wind up as runoff.

All of these problems are common. Luckily, with awareness and a few simple adjustments, they are easily overcome.