8 Reasons to Get Your Library Card in 2015

While it may be 2015, there are still several reasons you should get your own library card. Whether you are a business owner, an inventor, a designer, an employee, a student, or retired, your local public library has many resources at your disposal – and almost all of them are free! Although Benjamin Franklin founded the public library system in the United States almost 200 years ago, here are eight reasons why you should get your library card today.

Free Audiobooks

In today’s fast-paced society, it can be hard to read a full book in between everything you have to do. This is where audiobooks come in handy. Download the audiobook – for free using your library card – from your free audiobook app (also downloaded for free with your library card) onto your phone or tablet and listen to the audiobook on the go. Plug in during your car ride and listen to a chapter or two while you’re stuck in traffic. Plug in while you exercise. Instead of listening to the same ten songs on your running list, try learning a thing or two.

Free Language Learning Software

Ever wanted to learn a new language? Your public library offers language learning software. And yes, it is completely free of charge. Using your library card you sign up in person or online to learn one or all 71 different languages the libraries offer.

Free Work Stations and Wi-Fi

Sick and tired of going to the same loud, busy and crowded Starbucks to open up your laptop and answer a few emails? Check out the public libraries. They have plenty of space to spread out, either on large tables or comfy chairs, and do your work. The best part about working in the libraries is for those that appreciate peace and quite while they’re doing their work. Need to focus on a big project coming up? Reserve a private room – for free – at your public library and work till your heart’s content all with unlimited wi-fi.

Free Digital Studio Space

At the Hillsborough County Public Libraries in the Tampa Bay region, the libraries offer free access to The Hive. The Hive is a space providing modern tools and technologies for entrepreneurs and creative designers. Full recording studios for making videos, podcasts, and more are available to reserve for free. You just need your library card! Plus, take full advantage of the digital media scape center for interactive programs and projects for you and your team.

Free Books, Magazines, and Movies

Yes, this is what libraries are most commonly known for but that doesn’t mean this benefit should be overlooked. You can get your library card and check out a book for approximately two weeks and return it to the library. You can do this for free! It makes you wonder why you even bother buying books any more. Don’t have time to read a full book within two weeks? No problem, just check out the DVD version of the book.

Free Access to 3D Printers

Think that libraries are stuck in the past with antiquated practices and technology? Think again. Some of the coolest gadgets and technologies are available at your fingertips – all for free with your library card. Some of the best new programs revolve around the 3D printer technology. Have a design ready to be printed? Want to learn how to set up a design? Just bring your material to the technology center and see the printers in action!

Free Classes and Workshops

Through various city, county, or state programs, there are several free classes available for anyone with a library card. Are you just starting up your business and you need help with setting up your taxes? Are you looking to become a graphic designer and want to know how Photoshop works? Have a new product but need to get funding for your production? These are just a few of the many different classes and workshops that are available every month at your local public library. And the best part? You guessed it, all free!

Your Wallet Never Looked So Good

Tell people you have a library card. Go ahead, do it. I’m sure you will get some very interesting looks. Whether young or old, most people do not appreciate their public libraries like they used to. Instead, show off your library card proudly. Carry it in your wallet just like you would any other card. Make your wallet proud!

Yes it is 2015 but that doesn’t mean you should ignore all the great benefits of having a library card. Just share these useful tips with the people around you and see how you can become a better person and business owner, all for free!

(All images courtesy of the Hillsborough County Public Library)

8 Ways to Improve Your Prospecting

The following article is an original blog post and was recently published in NAR's young professional blog.

As a sales professional, you should be conducting direct sales activities everyday that will add new prospects into your lead list. But sometimes you get into a rut or you need new ideas to help grow your list. Here are eight ways to improve your prospecting routine in order to get more clients.

Inspect Your Lead List

The most crucial checklist for anyone working in a sales position is your lead list. Your lead list will identify potential clients and where they stand in your sales cycle. At a minimum, you should be inspecting this list on a daily basis. For some people, checking this list multiple times a day is useful as well.

Having an adequate system – whether an online CRM, a spreadsheet, or index cards – to track, upgrade, downgrade, and to make notes on a particular lead is the lifeblood for a sales associate. You should always know exactly where your client is in the lifecycle of the sales process. Plus, if you can identify the likelihood of closing a particular lead, the more worthwhile your lead list.

Calendar Checking

As a sales professional, you probably rely on the records in your calendar just as much as your do as the data in your lead list. You probably note the time, date, location, and with whom you are spending every meeting, every breakfast, and every networking event with. Why not tap into all of that useful data?

Go back one day, one week, one month, and one year in your calendar. Look at what you were doing during those intervals. Who were you meeting with? Where were you meeting? Did you have coffee with a potential new client a month ago? Were you at an out-of-state conference last year? Follow up with all of the people to stay in touch or remind them of your encounters. It is an easy and free way to stay in front of your clients.

Warm Calling

Inspecting and checking your lead list is a great internal control to see where each one of your clients are in the lifecycle of your sales process. But if you never talk to any of your leads, then your lead list is practically worthless.

Use your lead list to engage in warm calling. Email your existing clients just to say hello and catch up. Text some clients who are just starting in your sales loop to give them some useful bits of information about your industry. Call a lead that may have been lost a few months ago to follow up and see if there is anything you could have done better to keep them as a client.

Networking Events

The best and most meaningful form of sales comes from face-to-face, in-person meetings. The only way to get these types of meetings is to meet new people in the first place. That is where networking events come in.

Look at your calendar for the coming weeks and if you have some openings, fill them with networking events. The beauty of networking events is that they can be anything from a kickball game with your friends to an industry specific seminar. Great sales professionals know how to network!

Social Media Engagement

By now, you should have a profile on at least three different social media outlets. The more social media outlets you have a profile on the better. But, it isn’t just about the number of profiles you have. The most important metric in social media is engagement.

To really see a return from using social media, you need to engage those on that social media platform. Don’t just post and spread your content. Like, follow, and comment on other people’s content. Start discussions with other people. Make connections with the influencers on each social media outlet so you can grow your sales by making more strategic connections.

Write a Blog Post

If the adage in the traditional media world is “content is king” then the adage in online media should be “new content is king.” Everyone with a website should be posting new blog content at least once a week. The more original, quality content you can promote the better. There are studies showing significant gains in traffic the more often you post content.

Unlike social media engagement where you are purposefully finding and communicating with other people on the different outlets, posting an article is an insightful way to get your message to your audience. Writing lots of new and inspiring content not only will get you more social media engagement, it will also start to brand you as an expert in your particular craft.

Make a Video

If writing a blog post is meant to establish yourself as an authority in a particular subject and to grow your audience, creating a video is how to spread your message exponentially quicker. If one of your social media profiles isn’t already on a video sharing outlet, you need to add it to your portfolio immediately.

Currently, nearly 3 billion hours of online media content is watched on a monthly basis in the United States alone. That means every person living in America is watching a little less than 10 hours of video online per month. If your videos aren’t part of those programming decisions, you are missing out on a great deal of potential traffic.

Cold Calling

Finally, the least enjoyable of any sales activity for most sales professionals is the cold call. Whether it is dialing every business in a certain radius or canvasing office parks in a certain part of town, cold calling can take many different shapes and styles. While today’s consumer is less and less likely to buy into a service or product from a cold call, it is still a way to make new connections. Once you have this new connection in your lead list, it is up to you how well you can cultivate them into a new client.

The next time you sit down at your desk and scratch your head as to what to do next in your sales career, think back on some of these routine refreshers and you’ll be growing your sales list in no time at all.

The Best Homes in the Best School Districts in Tampa Bay

August marks Back-to-School Month here in Tampa Bay. It signals the end of summer vacation and the beginning of another great school year. It also means a very busy time in the real estate industry as well. To help tie these two items together, here is a collection of the best homes in the best school districts in Tampa Bay.

The list broken down into the top five public high schools throughout Hillsborough County and the top three homes for sale in each school district. Here are the homes:

Plant High School

1. 5111 W. San Jose St., Tampa

4 Beds | 3.5 Baths | 5,137 sq. ft.
$2,599,000

2. 4916 New Providence Ave., Tampa

5 Beds | 5 Full Baths, 2 Half Baths | 6,322 sq. ft.
$1,595,000

3. 5026 W. Dickens Ave., Tampa

5 Beds | 4.5 Baths | 4,367 sq. ft.
$1,295,000

Newsome High School

1. 6116 Kestrelridge Dr., Lithia

4 Beds | 3.5 Baths | 4,117 sq. ft.
$579,900

2. 5752 Eaglemount Cir., Lithia

4 Beds | 4 Baths | 4,229 sq. ft.
$565,000

3. 5907 Alana Leigh Pl., Lithia

5 Beds | 4.5 Baths | 3,597 sq. ft.
$588,000

Steinbrenner High School

1. 4110 Highland Park Cir., Lutz

5 Beds | 5.5 Baths | 5,761 sq. ft.
$1,169,000

2. 4526 Cheval Blvd., Lutz

6 Beds | 5.5 Baths | 7,818 sq. ft.
$1,893,000


 

3. 8660 Tarpon Springs Rd., Odessa

3 Beds | 2 Baths | 2,309 sq. ft.
$600,000

Bloomingdale High School

1. 1007 Centerbrook Dr., Brandon

3 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 3,496 sq. ft.
$585,000


 

2. 1405 Lido Dr., Brandon

4 Beds | 3 Baths | 4,427 sq. ft.
$369,900

3. 115 Laurel Tree Way, Brandon

4 Beds | 3 Baths | 2,885 sq. ft.
$335,000

Sickles High School

1. 15004 Maurine Cove. Ln., Odessa

4 Beds | 4.5 Baths | 3,970 sq. ft.
$899,000

2. 10716 Beagle Run Pl., Tampa

4 Beds | 4 Baths | 4,480 sq. ft.
$924,000

3. 9813 Tree Tops Lake Rd., Tampa

5 Beds | 5 Baths | 4,280 sq. ft.
$995,000

Thanks for checking out this list of the best homes in the best school districts in Tampa Bay. Be sure to pass this list along to everyone you know on social media. Don't see your school or your home on this list? Post a comment and shout out your school.