Around the Sales Web

The Knowledge Centre has compiled a list of recommended websites relevant to sales and marketing professionals. They are divided into broad categories - just click on one of the links below to find out more.

If you would like to recommend a site, please email AskSRC@cpsa.com.

Business Travel

• Flight Explorer  
Free subscription service offers real-time flight tracking, airport arrival and departure information plus current weather conditions and patterns at your destination

• Airfare Watchdog  
Online service that offers free airfare alerts when you sign up using your e-mail address. Airfare Watchdog lists low airfares for all major Canadian and U.S. destinations.

• Embassy World Comprehensive directory listing of contact resources for all diplomatic offices. Separate indexes exist for Embassies and Consulates, arranged by nation. Special search tools include items such as an international telephone directory; a global reference desk; and, maps of the world, including states and cities.

• Currency Converter Perform currency and foreign exchange calculations using live, mid-market rates. The Universal Currency Converter® contains the top 85 currencies listing the top 10 first.

• http://calendarzone.com/
Site provides links to a wide variety of calendars, including historical, cultural, religious, and event calendars.

• www.timeanddate.com
Plan meetings across time zones, find out local times for sunrise and sunset, check to see what time it is anywhere in the world, see what holidays fall when, generate calendars and much more.

• www.dopplr.com
Dopplr is a service for smart international travellers. Members share personal and business travel plans privately with their networks, and exchange tips on places to stay, eat and explore in cities around the world. Dopplr offers a Social Atlas iPhone application that contains travel patterns, tips and advice of the world’s most frequent travellers.

• www.carhelpcanada.com
Provides consumer tips regarding insurance, buying and leasing new or used vehicles.

• http://www.flightstats.com
Real-time flight status and historical flight delay information.

• www.tripit.com
Free online trip planner and free travel itinerary website for organizing vacations, group trips or business travel.

• Ontario Interactive Maps
Interactive maps containing information on road closures, restrictions, construction, accidents, camera images from the COMPASS (Traffic Management System), and high occumpany lanes and carpool lots.

• 50 Tips for Auto Theft Prevention
Don′t lose more than a car when you′re the victim of auto theft. Here′s 50 ways to help stop auto theft.

• www.points.com
Travellers can swap, earn, buy, gift, share and redeem miles and points from more than 25 of the world′s leading reward programs. Participating programs include American Airlines AAdvantage program and Air Canada′s Aeroplan amongst others.

• CaddyHawk for BlackBerry
The application gives you golf yardages and maps of thousands of golf courses. Get accurate GPS distances to the front, centrer and back of the green.

• www.roamsimple.com
Site allows you to purchase international SIM cards for your mobile phone to save you money and avoid costly roaming charges.

• www.livestrong.com
Perfect for the business traveller. Offers a free Daily Plate program that allows you to track your calorie consumption, plan healthy meals and keep your weight in check. Also available as a BlackBerry application.

• http://www.homeexchange.com/
Avoid hotel fees entirely by swapping homes with someone in a foreign country for a week or two. Additional sites to check out include www.homelink.org and www.intervacus.com

• http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore
Free Choice Hotels Locator App for iPhone lets guests spot and book nearby Choice hotels; select hotels by city, zip code, airport code or popular attraction; pinpoint hotels on a map; obtain door-to-door directions and real-time information, including rates, inventory and amenities.

• http://www.google.com/goog411/
Don′t waste your money calling 411. Program this number into your cell phone 1-800-goog411 (1-800-466-4411) and access business and residential numbers FREE of charge!

• www.smartertravel.com
Site offers discount travel deals, airfare, car rentals and vacation packages.

Marketing

• KnowThis Provides the basic principles of marketing and advertising in clear, concise tutorials. It also provides numerous Web resources for advertising, selling, promotion, research, and more in concise information areas for easy browsing.

• KnowThis Provides the basic principles of marketing and advertising in clear, concise tutorials. It also provides numerous Web resources for advertising, selling, promotion, research, and more in concise information areas for easy browsing.

• ClickZStats: Trends & Statistics
ClickZStats provides a collection of online facts and statistics which have been gathered from secondary sources. Especially useful is the "Stats Toolbox" which is an archive of statistical data.

• www.ideasiteforbusiness.com
Offers hundreds of great marketing ideas and tips on public relations, print and online advertising, website marketing for small business. Free Marketing Ideas e-newsletter available

• www.emarketer.com
Publishes Internet market research, statistics and provides objective analysis on Internet marketing.

• http://www.Trendsmap.com
Watch trending Twitter topics in real time by city. A remarkable resource for those tracking the impact of promotion for new products, especially those relating to electronics, films, television, sports and music.

• Virtual Business Card Sample
A novel way to introduce your salespeople to prospective customers.

• Best Social Media Tips
300+ helpful tips on using social media

• www.marketingprofs.com
Subscription-based source for online marketing resources, marketing articles, online seminars, case studies, conferences and events for marketing professionals.

• www.spyfoo.com
Provides competitive information on websites, businesses and prospective partners.

• www.marketingprofs.com
Tremendous resource to help you stay on top of effective and innovative marketing tactics and how they are being implemented. Register for free enewsletters offering bite sized tips.

• www.ning.com
Allows you to search for and create your own social networking site.

Sales Management

• www.cellularcomparison.com
Compares cellular and wireless plans/packages of Canadian and US providers, list dealers and more.

• www.leasebusters.com
Canadian lease takeover service for individuals and companies. Offers a no-charge evaluation service, a hot buyer’s list and weekly specials on leased vehicles.

• Sales and Sales Management Blog
Paul McCord′s discussion of current sales and sales management issues.

• http://harvardbusiness.org/resources/sales-marketing
Harvard Business offers sales and marketing articles, books, case studies and other online resources to help you develop effective sales and marketing plans.

• Sales Executive Council
The Council offers best practice insights, proprietary data and tools and advisory services to help sales executives make important business decisions. Membership-based but offers free insights and e-newsletter on sales issues and management challenges.

• Sales Force Effectiveness Benchmarking Association
Free membership and e-newsletter. Members have the opportunity to participate in benchmarking studies on various topics addressing issues of importance to sales force management of related industries.

• www.leadershp.net
Comprehensive and quality resource for business leaders on ethics, skills, qualities, teambuilding, strategy and much more.

• www.firedwithoutcause.com
Articles based on thousands of Canadian cases to help you understand whether your employer treated you fairly. Online tools to calculate your severance entitlement and create settlement letters.

• businessPartnerships.ca
Focuses on connecting Canadian small business owners and giving them the tools they need to succeed in a partnering environment.

• www.celltime.ca
Spending over $100 a month CDN on BlackBerry and cell phone charges? Let experts review your bill to help save you money.

• www.leasebusters.com
Need to get out of your contract or need to lease a vehicle? Site offers consumers options on both new and used vehicles.

• www.shipgooder.com
Allows users to compare national, regional and local courier in Canada and the U.S. to help you obtain the best rates.

• www.thejfblogit.co.uk
Jonathan Farrington′s delivers daily updates culled from leading sales experts

• www.sales-lead-insights.com
Mac McIntosh blogs about ways to boost your business with B2B marketing and lead generation.

Self-Improvement

• Dress Code Guide  
Select a dress code (Formal, Semi-formal, Business Standard, Business Casual and more) for details on appropriate attire.

• www.bettertalking.com Better Talking offers FREE automated phone interviews and helps job-seekers practice their interview and delivery skills. Job-seekers are emailed a link to their interviews so they can listen and see how they sounded.

• www.healthysalesexec.com
Whether you′re an executive, manager or director, achieving and maintaining a great level of health can be a real challenge in today’s competitive sales environments: early starts, travel, working from a laptop and mobile phone all day. Site gathers content from the leading gurus, and presents it in a way that is fun, tailored and realistic.

• www.peer.ca
A source of coaching, mentoring and training resources, including a Mentors′ Index

• www.rypple.com
Site taps the connections people have with friends, colleagues, bosses, and mentors, to help them get smarter and more productive.

• www.selfgrowth.com
Weekly source for motivational quotations to inspire and motivate you.

• http://www.bnn.ca
Business News Network is Canada′s only all business specialty channel. It presents nearly 12 hours of live interviews and analysis each weekday.

Selling Tips and Techniques

• http://www.salesdna.com
A sales blog specializing in business-to-business sales tips and techniques.

• Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
The only academic research-based journal in the field of personal selling and sales management. Features an Abstracts Section which contains summaries of contemporary sales-related articles found in over sixty academic and trade publications. Abstracts are classified according to subject area.

• www.salesopedia.com
Contains a comprehensive sales glossary, current articles, audio and videocasts on a wide range of sales and management topics.

• www.salesmarks.com
Free sales tips, tools, e-books, quotes and downloads that can be customized to your company′s needs.

• Sales Machine Blog
Geoffrey James offers tactics, tips and quizzes to help improve your sales efforts.

• SalesRoundupPodcast
Hosts Joe and Mike produce a weekly podcast dedicated to the complex sales professional. Features great tips on what NOT to do when selling to a customer.

• www.theaccidentalnegotiator.com
Discusses the negotiation and persuasion skills and techniques needed to be a skillful negotiator.

• www.simplenomics.com
Common-sense strategies and tips for marketing, customer service and sales.

• www.changingminds.com
Comprehensive site focuses on different aspects of how you can change what others think, believe, feel and act. Features a sales section offering great pointers on body language and negotiation tactics.

• www.salesmarks.com
A bookmarking site similar to Digg or Furl, but archives sales ideas, sales tools, free sales tips, sales articles, sales podcast and sales videos.

• www.salesteamtools.com
Practical site provides sales tools, sales tips and technology ideas for sales professionals, management and small business.

• www.salesresources.com
Free sales resources, sales training, sales articles, sales tips and more.

• www.saleshq.com
Site connects members of the professional sales community--from recent graduates exploring a sales career to veteran sales professionals and offers career advice and resources.

• www.saleslaundry.com
Small business consulting site dedicated to teaching sales growth to sales management teams. Features a really good Q & A sales advice forum.

• Quebec Directory of Manufacturers and Wholesalers
Free bilingual online directory featuring 30,000 company profiles.

• Lead card for trade shows
Template card to record visitor information

• www.salesresources.com
Original sales articles, videos, and tools that will enhance your sales skills and make selling fun.

• www.Sales2.com
Next generation sales tips, strategies and perspectives for generating leads.

• Social Media Influencing Buying Decisions
Article regarding the influence social media cites 61 percent of Canadian who use social media indicating that they turn to their online networks when making a purchase decision.

• www.profitbuilders.com
Keith Rosen offers refreshing content on sales trends and developments.

Small Business/Entrepreneurship

• Work.com Provided by Business.com, this site targets small business owners by offering over 2,000 "How-to" guides. Management is divided into 21 topics. Guides are written by experts and evaluations and comments are offered by readers.

• Business Environment Snapshots Designed as a one-stop guide to business environment indicators, laws, and World Bank Group project information for 183 countries.

• Inc. Gauge Offers a free Business Benchmarking tool that allows business owners to quickly evaluate their Key Performance Indicators and discover how they compare to up to 80,000 other companies.

• www.infobel.com
Links to online telephone directories around the world. Available in English, French and Italian.

• http://www.powerhomebiz.com/
Suggestions for planning through to running a successful home business. Guides display questions and answers from a series of experts. Feature articles updated frequently.

• www.businessknowhow.com
For home offices, small businesses and careers. Learn about leading marketing methods, how to attract new business and find tips, hints and advice from home office/small business experts.

• www.entrepreneur.com
Offers information, services and advice for small business owners as in-depth information on thousands of franchises.

• http://www.bplans.com/
Browse through sample plans and try a variety of interactive planning tools including Plan Wizard which matches sample plans to specific business needs. Sample marketing plans are also included.

• www.telloscar.ca
Canadian site lets customers record their best and worst customer service experiences from Canadian merchants, suppliers and service providers.

• www.allbusiness.com
AllBusiness.com provides information, products, and services for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and professionals to start, manage, finance and build a successful small business.

• www.frasers.com
Find manufacturing suppliers in the Canada Industrial Directory and supply catalogue.

• CTI Directory
Sourcing and buying site for Canadian manufacturers and exporters. Access over 30000 Canadian suppliers.

• Office Live Small Business
Free sign up and provides the essentials for establishing a professional web presence including, a domain name, web hosting and business-branded e-mail and multiple business applications.

• http://www.crossloop.com/
A remote desktop service which allows users to share their computer screens and collaborate with others over the internet for technical support, repair and other services.

• www.openoffice.org
Free leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It stores data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages.

• www.gethuman.com
Features customer service reviews, database of company phone numbers (e.g. wireless and travel) to help you reach human customer service reps.

• www.trendhunter.com
The largest community for trends, innovation and trend spotting, innovation in fashion, consumer goods, gadgets, technology, lifestyle and entertainment.

• www.investopedia.com
Offers a Stock Simulator that lets you submit trades in a safe simulated environment before you start risking your own capital.

• Small Business Canada
Whether you′re starting a small business in Canada or already running one, you′ll find what you need to make your small business a success here.

• Payroll Tip of the Week
Canadian Payroll Association offers a Tip of the Week to help small business owners/employers stay up-to-date with payroll issues, trends and legislation.

• www.evancarmichael.com
Resources for small business motivation and strategies. Features profiles on leading entrepreneurs and their successes.

• Getgrowingforbusiness.com
Scotia Bank’s online tool provides marketing and sales steps you can take to grow your business

Tools and Technology

• www.technicon.com
Offers a product catalogue software called CustomCommerce that allows you to create original catalogues and customize catalogues for your customers from CAD files and other data formats.

• www.aglaiasoftware.com
Company′s EpaperFlip software converts and presents printed publications such as catalogues, magazines, newspapers, etc. to an online format but at the same time it also preserves the look and feel of original publications. Users can also integrate audio and video files into their publications, email digital versions or send a CD version to customers.

• www.brothersoft.com
GT Salesman Product Catalog software allows users to scan and enter images into the program with complete information description which you can then show to your customers on a laptop. Users can search for a specific product by only entering the item number or any other field criteria in the program database.

• Chron Systems
CatalogVX is a professional and sophisticated catalogue creation software designed to help allows users to create and maintain product catalogues in-house. Ideally suited to retail and wholesale operations.

• InstaCat
An affordable software solution that allows users to convert printed catalogues into digital formats and to incorporate video and audio clips into them.

• www.whatis.com
Leading IT encyclopedia, dictionary and learning centre. Recommended for salespeople or companies dealing with technical requirements or IT departments.

• www.geekberry.net
Featuring a wide variety of BlackBerry themes, applications, downloads and news.

• www.pinstack.com
Online community for smartphone users featuring news, reviews, software, guides and forums.

• www.dvice.com
Features the latest in innovative technology for GPS, cell phones, car electronics, Internet, cameras, PCs, portable gadgets and much more. Highly recommended if you are looking to incorporate the latest in technology.

• www.alltop.com
Site features all the top headlines from popular topics around the web. You can also customize your topic′s page.

• www.telnic.org
Store and manage all your contact information and keywords directly on the internet under YourName.tel without the need for a website. Available to individuals, companies and organizations.

• Jing is a screen capture program that lets you capture whatever you have on your desktop (slides, webpage, image) and add audio as you click through.

• http://www.mofuse.com/
Build and manage a mobile site or blog.

• www.rememberthemilk.com
Task- and time-management web application that allows users to manage tasks from any computer as well as offline.

• www.trendhunter.com
The largest community for trends, innovation and trend spotting, innovation in fashion, consumer goods, gadgets, technology, lifestyle and entertainment.

• GPS Buyer′s Guide
In-depth, unbiased GPS reviews.

• www.smartbrief.com
Alert service for business and tech executives focusing on CRM and IT developments and their impact on business.

• Online Financial Calculators
Site features the largest collection of financial calculators for Canadians. Latest additions focus on Market Volatility and how long it will take your portfolio to recover its former value.

• BlackBerry App World Launched
App World offers both free and paid applications (from $2.99 and up) for smartphones with version 4.2.0 or higher of the BlackBerry operating system.

• http://www.techvibes.com/
New Canadian application keeps track of your marketing expenditures, helps to stay on budget and reduce spending.

• Way Back Machine
Browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.

• http://www.acronymfinder.com/
Find out what any acronym, abbreviation, or initialism stands for. Over 750,000 listed.

• www.intuitivewebsites.com
Practical ideas to help you develop a cool site that engages your visitors and provides hot returns to your business. Free website audit offer.