January 30, 2009
Internet based gambling world wide websites are currently governed through 3 organisations. These are titled OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association (the FTGA). Love to return next week at Pebble Beach
The Offshore Gaming Association are a self-governing watchdog institute which audits the thriving overseas sports gambling industry in an enterprise to also give sports bettors the facility to swiftly select reliable organizations to play games with. The agency seeks to look after consumer’s rights, and also they do not demand any joining or annual costs. The association are a proficient not to mention impartial third party organization that pronounces nonpartisan viewpoints, built around customer feedback, unprejudiced studies, telephone calls, inside prompts not to mention supplies industry information.
The IGC is a nonprofit agency. The organization was created to allow a platform for worried participants to talk through questions and in addition to encourage progress in the area of communal matters in the international online gaming profession, in an effort to establish just and reliable professional rules and forms that endeavor to raise consumer confidence in net based gaming commodities and services, also to work as the sports gaming trade’s inclusive strategy consultant and the IGC supplies a data clearing house.
The IGC have established a distinction for dependability, good conduct and also believability through its high ethical standards, also its allure for honest gambling websites. The Interactive Gaming Council influences overseas gambling by means of championing an extraordinary 10-step code of practise furthermore charges gambling internet sites a license fee to feature their logo. Dispirited gamers can furthermore air their issues to the Interactive Gaming Council.
The Fidelity Trust Gaming Association has been established in an attempt to construct a benchmark which will improve the standards of on-line sports betting trading operations. The council suggest that carrying on business only with respectable partners, they are able to work out an alliance of the most trustworthy and most competent overseas gaming companies all over the planet. So, in summary there are establishments that observe the transactions of live sports betting and which should with luck aid to mitigate a few of the uneasiness felt by doubters. World wide web based sports gaming internet sites are at present consistently free from danger, since private details aren’t requested and also the payouts and the betting odds are invariably equivalent to an orthodox Vegas-type wager. They eradicate travel time, but nevertheless keep the basic ethos, only these days you can play in your own house.
Posted by Administrator under Bookmakers Stuff, Gambling Wheels, Sports + More | Comments Off
January 30, 2009
If you are a sales person, a professional who needs to fill your practice, or a new business owner looking to find clientele to whom you can sell your new products, your success will depend on your ability to promote yourself and/or what you have to offer. Oftentimes, people will start in to a new business venture and quit because of the stress and discouragement experienced during the process of looking for paying clients.
There is no one magical trick or secret process you can follow to become a person who gets new clients consistently. Instead, the ability to get new clients is the result of you thinking, feeling, and behaving a particular way. In other words, once you adopt a certain MINDSET, you begin attracting new clients.
The following will help you develop and sustain the mindset that will have you consistently filling your practice or business with new clients.
1. See people as people.
Many times, what will hold you back from promoting yourself or your product will be a belief or an image you hold of other people as superior, special, or different in some way. The truth is that they are people – just like you. They have the same human bodily functions, emotions, and needs as you. Keeping this in mind will help you increase your confidence when speaking to others.
2.Realize that rejection is not something personal against you.
If someone rejects whatever you are offering, it is not YOU that he or she is rejecting. Instead, they are rejecting the service or product that you are offering. Whatever reason they believe they don’t want it or need it, doesn’t matter. Just realize that it is not a personal rejection of You. Knowing this will help you approach others openly, honestly, and confidently.
3.Accept that not everyone is going to be interested.
It is okay. Not everyone is going to want your products or services. But some of them will. Focus on the wills and let go of the will-nots.
4.Adopt the knowing that getting new clients is about RELATIONSHIP, and not about selling.
If your focus is on selling a product or service to people, then you have missed the proverbial Boat! Successful selling occurs as a result of being in relationship with the purchaser. Form an immediate relationship with the person with whom you are selling, by being a sincere, kind, and compassionate person who believes in the product or services you are providing, and you will experience more and more success. 5.Improve your speaking ability.
The more confident you are about your speaking ability, the easier it will be for you to connect with people in a powerful, honest, and meaningful way. It will also be easier for you to speak to them about what you are offering. Join a local speaking group, like Toastmasters, where you can get regular speaking practice. This will help you in more ways than you can imagine!
6.Know your magical side and let it shine.
You are a unique, magical being. You look, act, think, and laugh differently than any other human being. Discover your magical qualities and let them shine in every interaction. Perspective clients will recognize and be drawn to you – this magical human being.
7.Set goals and be results-oriented.
Results occur for those who plan on what their results are going to be, by when. Set realistic, yet stretchy daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for how many new clients you are going to attract in to your business. Then, take action steps consistent with these goals. Basically, plan on, and know what your results are going to be before you achieve them.
8.Be curious, compassionate, and caring to potential clients.
Potential clients are also human beings with cares, trials, successes, and emotions. Be curious about your perspective client’s lives. What are their biggest challenges? What is their family like? Are they satisfied with their careers? What are their needs? And on, and on. Connect to your perspective clients in a caring and compassionate way. They will feel that and respond to you accordingly.
9.Take great care of yourself.
One of the well known universal laws is that the most successful people tend to take great care of themselves – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Implement a life plan that satisfied all of these human needs, and you will begin attracting perspective clients to you like a swarm of bees.
10.Do your homework.
If you have the opportunity to, find out what you perspective clients’ needs are, what their personalities are like, what their business products, philosophies, and goals are before you meet with them. If you do not have this opportunity ahead of time, let your instincts be your guide. 11.Practice visualization.
Spend at least 5 minutes every day running a movie in your mind about how people are going to be responding to you and what you have to offer. Experience the situations in your mind before they happen. Make them real by seeing them in Technicolor, and by adding appropriate sounds, smells, tastes, etc. Once you get good at visualizing, you will be amazed to see how well it brings the situation into reality.
12.Surround yourself with winners.
Do not spend time with negative, petty people who complain a lot. This type of person will drag your energy and potential down. Like attracts like, and you will rise to the occasion when you surround yourself with positive people who are already accomplishing what you are setting out to accomplish. Surround yourself with winners.
13.See yourself as a winner.
Now that you are spending time with winners, it is time to begin seeing yourself as an equal – a winner. You are a special, dynamic human being with unique attributes that only you possess. Let yourself and your winning qualities shine!
Posted by Administrator under Sales Management | Comments Off
January 30, 2009
Use adequate equipment – Computer projectors that require the room lights to be down are not acceptable. So are projectors without remote mouse controls! Adjust the room – have the engineers remove bulbs from fixtures above the screen. Extend the “Keystone arm” on screens to lean the top forward. It improves viewing significantly. Check electronics ahead of time -
Connect every computer to every projector and sound system Connect every modem to every phone line Connect the video conference link (even if it costs more) Advance through every slide program using the remote Test every microphone with every sound system. Walk around the room while talking into a microphone to check for feedback. Use fresh batteries in everything (and have a spare in your pocket). This includes microphones, remote controls, laser pointers, etc. When using the house sound system in partitioned rooms, ensure that all the speakers in your room are on, and that you are not also broadcasting into the next room. Tape down all wires. This prevents trips, disconnects and lawsuits. Find the hotel A.V. wizard (or union chief) and become their best friend. You must know how to reach them in an emergency. Have 2 designated hosts per room. That way, one can go for help while the other keeps things under control. Ideally, one should be able to assist the speaker with the technology problems. Have backup equipment
Find the equipment rental company in town and make sure they have what you need on hand. Have a spare microphone checked and ready. Bonus: Have a plan B and assume you will need it.
Ask your speakers this important question, “If the entire projection system fails and you still have to go on, can you do your program?” The answer must be, “Yes, I’m prepared!”
For a free copy of “The Sales Presenter’s Travel Checklist”, email article8@waterhousegroup.com and ask for article #8.
Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group (www.waterhousegroup.com). They specialize in helping companies increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at 1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com.
Re-Print Permission This article may be reprinted in it’s entirety if the following conditions are met:
The complete tag with the author’s name and contact information is included immediately after the article. A copy of the printed article is mailed to the author at 1467 Walnut Creek Drive, Orange Park, FL 32003 within 30 days of publication. The article is presented in a positive light as part of an appropriate business related publication.
Posted by Administrator under Sales Management | Comments Off
January 26, 2009
Checking my e-mail one Sunday morning, I immediately noticed a message. A chill went down my spine. The subject line said, “your e-book has been stolen”.
I always knew something like this could happen, but never thought it would happen to me… and so soon! I have only released my e-book a few months ago, and already the “digital pirates” went to work.
E-book theft is the biggest fear authors have, especially if they are working on their very first e-book, their “baby”. Most new authors take months writing their e-books, and are worried that as soon as their e-book “hits” the Web, it will be stolen, copied, illegally sold, or even given away.
I. How exactly does an e-book get stolen?
Sharing computer files between friends, family members and colleagues is not a new concept. People have been doing it for decades. But now that they can do it remotely, the number of files shared (e-books and software) has greatly increased.
This is not the authors’ main concern, though.
It’s the people who get their hands on your e-book and make money reselling it to others in some shape or form. An e-book may be copied, re-written, extracted from, packaged with other e-books, and illegally sold on thieves’ web sites.
The worst case, though, is when a thief decides to really make a big chunk of money on your e-book and offers Resale Rights to his customers. This simply means that anybody who buys your e-book from him will also be “allowed” to resell it to others.
Now the Internet is literally flooded with your e-book, and you begin to notice a huge drop in sales AND your income. Every author’s worst nightmare.
II. Why would anyone risk getting caught?
While e-books are extremely easy to publish, they are just as easy to steal. “Digital pirates” know it, and take this risk in exchange for making a few bucks (well, actually “my” thief claimed to have made over $10,000 selling my e-books. To this day I don’t know if this is accurate, but I am sure it turned out quite profitable for him).
Most people who steal other people’s digital products have no respect or appreciation for hard work and talent it takes to produce a quality product. “You put a few words together and now charging $50 for it!”, complained the thief in one of his messages to me. (How ironic – I thought it was my place to complain!)
An e-book is mostly prone to theft when 2 things are true:
a) The topic is hot and in demand, so it will be easy to make money selling it.
b) If you sell Master Reprint Rights to your e-book, which makes it difficult to track who resells it legally and who has not paid for the rights to sell it.
(See more about Reprint Rights at: http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com/articles/reprint_rights.html)
III. What steps to take when it happens to you?
If you have just discovered that your e-book is being illegally sold on another web site, stop. Take a deep breath. Has your e-book been really stolen? Go through this list to rule each situation out:
a) You sold Reprint Rights to this person and forgot about it b) This merchant simply sells a demo version of your e-book c) This merchant has purchased Reprint Rights from one of your authorized reseller (who holds the Master Rights to your e-book) d) The e-book has a similar title and content, but is not YOUR e-book.
e) The seller may be not aware that he is infringing on your rights, and is selling your e-book by mistake (this is only the case if you offer Reprint Rights to your e-book)
If you ruled every item on this list, it’s time to take action.
1) Find out the name of the person who is reselling your e-book. You can do this by doing a “Whois” search on Network Solutions web site (www.netsol.com). The search will reveal to you the name of the person who registered the domain name for the illegal site, his e-mail address, mailing address, and a phone number. There is no guarantee that this information is 100% accurate, but it’s worth a try.
Your perpetrator’s web site may also contain his name and e-mail address. Your first step is to send him a polite but firm message. Ask for an explanation, and wait 24 hours for his reply. If you do not get a response, or he refuses to remove your e-book from his web site, move on to the next step.
2) Find out the name of the hosting company, domain name registrar, and the Internet Service Provider (ISP). The hosting company may be listed under Technical Contact when you do the “Whois” search, or under “Domain Servers” at the bottom of the listing. It may look something like this: NS181.PAIR.COM. Enter this address into your Internet browser location bar and you will see that this site belongs to www.Pair.com.
The ISP may be located right in the person’s e-mail address. For example, if the e-mail is jsmith@earthlink.com, then the ISP is Earthlink.com. If the web address is hosted by a free hosting company (e.g. www.tripod.com/members/~jsmith) then grab the phone number of their customer service or even a fraud department.
Contact as many of these agencies as possible to inform them of the situation. Firmly ask them to suspend their services for this client. Always be calm and polite in your first message.
Charles Petit, an attorney and the webmaster of authorslawyer.com says that “Some ISPs… claim that they will not take any action without seeing the certificate of copyright registration. Don’t believe them. This is really just lawyerese for “we won’t resolve disputed copyrights.” The United States Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. section 512) makes the ISP responsible once notified of the infringement in writing, and is signed “under penalty of perjury.” The copyright need not have been registered at all, mentions Mr.Petit. “It is required only for a lawsuit, and late registration only limits the remedies available in court.”
Be sure to “immediately print the outgoing message and sign and date the printout”, mentions Mr.Petit. Mr. Petit’s more-detailed discussion, including sample letters, is at http://www.authorslawyer.com/c-pir0.shtml
3) Be sure to also contact the payment processor. Most thieves use a third party processor such as PayPal or ClickBank. Contact them immediately asking them to close their client’s account.
4) In most cases, by this time your problem will be solved. The hosting company will suspend their services, the payment processor will stop processing payment, or the ISP will stop the theif’s Internet Service.
If not, you may need an attorney who handles intellectual property disputes such as an e-book theft. It may take just a letter from him or her to resolve this situation.
You may think, “I will let it go – it’s only one person, how much harm can he possibly do?”. One illegal reseller is most likely not going to hurt your business. But if you don’t take measures to stop more than one thief, you may slowly notice a drop in sales, as the Internet becomes saturated with your product.
Do take basic measures outlined in the steps above. It won’t take you more than a couple of hours, but will save your business cash flow in the long run.
IV. How can you prevent e-book theft?
Catching and pursuing your thieves is not easy and time-consuming. Many e-book authors choose to prevent such situations before they even write their e-books. Here are some ways that you can stop theft before it happens.
1) Use an e-book compiler that makes your e-book 100% theft-proof. “E-book Pro” offers you such protection. With it you can remotely cut off access to anyone who stole, illegally redistributes, or otherwise loses their right to your ebook. Developed by the Internet Marketing guru, Cory Rudl, this is the ONLY software on the market that offers such protection for your e-books. You can check it out at:
http://www.helpingfoot.com/ebook-security.html
2) Always hide the contents of a directory where your e-book file is located. There is not much you can do if your customer decides to resell your e-book, but for those who are looking for easy-to-steal files, be sure to place “index.html” in that directory. This will insure that your files are invisible to Internet users.
3) Give your e-book a creative file name. I noticed that at least once a day someone tries to “guess” my e-book file name by typing different ones in. Don’t name your e-book file close to its title.
4) Password protect your e-books, and change your password at least once a month. This can be easily done through your hosting company control panel, or via a CGI script.
5) Do a search on your e-book title (and your name) at least once a month to see if anyone is selling your e-book without your knowledge. When you start selling Reprint Rights, be sure to save all the names of your resellers. This way you will always know whether this person is authorized to resell your e-book.
IV. How can you take advantage of e-book theft?
Yes, you read it right. Some authors actually take advantage of their e-books being stolen, especially those writers who have been in such situations before.
Here is the thinking behind this concept. If a thief truly wants your e-book, he will find a way to get it. Even if it means typing it up manually!
Instead of doing everything possible to stop the theft, authors take it into consideration BEFORE writing their e-books. Here is how you can do it, too.
1) Promote yourself, other e-books, your services, your newsletter, and your web sites throughout the e-book. If you’re giving examples, try to use your own web sites and your own experiences to illustrate.
2) Always have at least one more product for sale as your back-end product. Mention it throughout your e-book and link to it where needed.
3) Be sure to offer an incentive to your readers (whether they come from you or your thieves) to subscribe to join your mailing list. Give away a free report, a free e-book, a free newsletter, a free pen, etc. just to capture their e-mails. You will then be able to send them follow-up messages and special promotions.
4) Create more and more e-books of interest to the same audience. Since they can’t get more from the thief, they will get it from you!
5) Put a lot of personality in your e-book. It will make it harder to steal and claim as somebody else’s, will make you develop close relationships with your customers, and will make your e-book better.
In my own e-book development, I try to combine all of the above – prevention, pursuing, and promotion. But here is to your e-books never to be stolen!
Milana Leshinsky is a full-time Internet Entrepreneur, and the author of a web design manual for beginners, “Create Your First Business Web Site in 10 days”. http://www.firstbusinesswebsite.com/?ebookthft
Posted by Administrator under The Publishers Way | Comments Off
January 25, 2009
Everyone wants “organic” or “free” traffic, but it’s a full time job to try to keep on top of the search engines changing rules. Instead, if you build a good content-rich site and do the things on this list, you’ll get traffic and help your ranking at the same time.
1. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – Get traffic in an hour with PPC. Google and Overture (now Yahoo). Don’t bother with others until you make these two work. The key to this is to know your visitor value, bid on hundreds of key words and phrases and split test your ads and track each key word, phrase or ad separately.
2. Distribute Your Content – write articles of value to your target market. Distribute that content for other webmasters to use on their sites as long as they keep the link back to you in a “resource box” at the end of each article. Distribute your articles through article directories, ezines, and distribution services. The key to make this work is valuable content.
3. Submit Press Releases – submit electronic press releases frequently with news of interest to the media and your target market. Since press releases are news, if they get picked up, it will be quickly and you may get hundreds of links back to your site this way. Key to make this work: write 300 – 500 word releases, include a link back to you, and have them written and distributed by experts who know how to optimize each release for key words (not typical PR firms).
4. Set Up a Blog with RSS – to be effective, blogs must have frequently updated content. Base yours on information helpful to your customers, not sales pitches. Don’t do it unless you can commit some ongoing time to it. Seth Godin says the keys to a successful blog are: Candor, Urgency, Timeliness, Pithiness (short & to the point), and Controversy. The key to making this work is to make it interesting to your visitors, submit to blog directories, ping the search engines when you post and distribute your content with RSS.
5. Get One-Way Incoming Links – All the previous tips will create incoming, one-way links but you can also buy links from other sites from text link brokers. Don’t do reciprocal linking, it’s dead. Make sure you get links from pages with a Google Page Rank higher than “0″. A site Google rates as “0″ may be because they are penalizing it for some reason. If you link to it, you’ll get penalized too.
The key to making this work: Make sure links have your key words in the anchor text and make sure they are text, not graphical links. Make sure they are from other relevant sites, not link farms or FFA (Free for All) sites. The ideal is links from relevant pages without many other links.
6. Give Other Sites Your Testimonial – let them publish it on their web site as long as they link back to you. This can get you a one-way link from a site that would otherwise not give it to you. The key to make this work: keep it short and to the point.
7. Email Promotions – Advertise in Ezines, place ads in someone else’s email newsletters that reach your target market. The key to make this work: track everything carefully
8. Joint Ventures – Get promoted to your JV partner’s customer database by your JV partner. John Reese sold over $1 Million of his information product in 24 hours exclusively by using joint venture promotions from his partners sending his offer to their customer lists. He paid his partners commissions on sales. The key to make this work: know your visitor value and have a tested and proven sales page that converts well BEFORE you contact JV prospects.
9. Get Affiliates – If selling a product, offer a commission to affiliates to sell for you. Each affiliate’s link to your sales letter conversion page will bring you traffic and a better search engine rank too. The key to making this work is to make it financially attractive to your affiliates and give them everything they need to promote your product or service. Make it brain dead easy for them to do.
10. Buy Other Web Sites – Find web sites that already rank high on your keywords and verify their traffic with the site owner and independent tools. Make sure you get ownership of the domain – you can let them still use their content elsewhere. Check deleteddomains.com to see what domains you can register for a few dollars that their owners have let expire. The key to making this work: Check Google page rank, Alexa rank and the number of back links for any site before you buy a web site.
One marketer I know challenged some SEO experts to see who could get ranked highest on a given term in 24 hours. He won, the techies did a lot of slick things, but the marketer just bought the site that was already # 1.
Joe McVoy is a marketing consultant who has had experience starting up & growing businesses. He founded 2 companies selling to Wal-Mart, Target and other retailers, a mail order company and an Internet marketing business. He helps clients with traditional marketing, direct marketing, on-line marketing and has a free newsletter & resources at:
http://www.profitablemarketingsystems.com
Posted by Administrator under Better Traffic | Comments Off
January 23, 2009
Buyers buy from people they like.
The only possible exception occurs when buyers have no choice but to do business with a particular salesperson or a particular company. Perhaps the company manufacturers or sells a proprietary product or service. Perhaps the buyer’s preferred vendor is out of stock and the buyer has to go elsewhere to service his or her customer. There are probably several other reasons I could think of, but these are rare exceptions, not the rule.
As I said above, people by and large do business with people they like. I would even go so far as to say that people go out of their way NOT to do business with people that they DON’T like.
Some call this system the “good old boy” system and say that it’s not fair. I disagree. I believe that it is everyone’s right to do business with whomever they choose. If how much buyers like a particular salesperson is the criteria they choose — well, it’s their money and they can spend it wherever and with whomever they wish.
As the salesperson, it’s your job to make prospects like you better than they like the salesperson they currently do business with. If prospects like your competitor better than they like you, whose fault is it? I believe it’s your fault! If 99.9% of buyers do business with people they like, then your skill level at getting your prospects to like you better than they like your competitor is certainly as important if not more important than all of the other skills a top producing salesperson must possess.
Techniques to Get Prospect to Like You
1. Put the prospect’s interests above your interests. Never be so desperate for an order that you will make a sale when it would be in the customer’s best interest to purchase another product from another salesperson. When a meeting planner calls me to discuss speaking at, say, the company’s managers conference, I always quiz the meeting planner to make sure that I am the best speaker for the job. If I’m not – if I know of a speaker that would provide more value than I can provide – I do my best to guide the meeting planner in the direction of the more appropriate speaker. When prospects see you putting their interests ahead of your own, you all of a sudden become better liked and better respected.
2. Remember the Platinum Rule. No, I’m not confusing my precious metals. The Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Platinum Rule© says, “Do unto others as THEY would have you do unto THEM.”
There’s a big difference between these two rules. One focuses on you and what you like, while the other focuses on your prospects and that THEY like. Another way of putting it might be to say:
“Treat your prospects like they like to be treated.”
“Talk to your prospects about the kinds of topics that they like to talk about.”
3. Dedicate time to researching your prospects.
Learn a lot about your prospects likes and dislikes, pet peeves, interests, hobbies, hot buttons, etc. The more you know about a person, the better position you’re in to apply the Platinum Rule, earn their respect and make them look forward to your visits.
A few years ago, my daughter was sales manager for Nextel in Charlotte. One day she called me from the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “What are you doing at a race,” I asked her in amazement that she would be spending her Saturday at race track.
“As you know, dad, most of my customers here are home builders and every time we’re together, all they seem to talk about is NASCAR racing. If I’m going to have a chance of beating out my competitors in this market, I’m going to have to be able to participate in conversations that include NASCAR. That’s why I’m here.
Personally, I love Atlanta Braves baseball, but when I work in Philadelphia or New York, I don’t find a groundswell of interest in the Atlanta Braves. In fact, the baseball fans in the northeast seem to be pretty tired of the Braves winning the Eastern Division year after year. So when I am talking to prospects in those markets, it behooves me to learn a little bit about the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets and Yankees.
4. Smile a lot. Never complain.
Almost everyone likes a person who is happy and easy to be around. Almost no one enjoys being around a person who is always having a bad day or who is a persistent complainer. When a customer or prospect asks you how you’re doing, get in the habit of answering, “Terrific.”
5. Look for something that is worthy of a compliment and point it out to the prospect.
The rule is that the compliment must be sincere. The prospect will see through an insincere compliment in a heartbeat. Study the prospect’s business well enough to find something that this company is doing better than similar companies you know about. First of all, when you identify something specific a prospect is doing that is worthy of a compliment, you will come across as an astute observer. Second, you will make the prospect feel ten feet tall.
6. Employ Customer Care tactics.
If your conversation with a prospect uncovers that the decision maker is a big Pittsburgh Steeler fan, go to the Amazon.com Web site and peruse the books that have been written about the Steelers. Find one you can afford – not too expensive and not too cheap – and give a copy to the prospect on your next call. Say something like, “I ran across this book and thought about you. I sure hope you enjoy it.” Be sure to jot a short note in the front of the book so the prospect will remember who gave it to him.
Customer care tactics are endless. The better you get to know each prospect, the more effective you’ll be at identifying small gifts, magazines, articles, etc., that the prospect will appreciate. (As you practice #3 above, you’ll find more opportunities to use Customer Care tactics.)
7. Help a prospect solve a problem.
We all have pressing problems that drive us nuts. Anyone who can bring us a proven and workable solution will be forever appreciated. Once you have earned the right to ask this kind of question, say to your prospects: “I do my best to be not just a salesperson to my customers and prospects, but also to be a problem solver. If you will share with me a business problem that is eating at you, I will do everything in my power to bring you a couple of ideas to help you solve the problem.”
The is the best way to earn an order and to make a prospect really like and also regard you as a business partner.
8. Be humble, always give credit to others for any success you enjoy.
Only Ted Turner and a handful of celebrities can get away with arrogance. No one – and I mean no one – likes a blowhard; that is, someone who is quick to give himself credit when things go great and blame others when things go poorly.
The self-demeaning statement is powerful at making customers and prospects like you. Here’s an example of a story a salesperson recently told a prospect on a sales call:
“I am the luckiest salesperson on the planet. Yesterday, I was driving down the highway when my cell phone rang. I recognized the number as that of one of my biggest prospects. As I was flipping open the phone to answer it, I dropped the phone and it rolled under the driver’s seat. I could hear the prospect yelling into the phone as I pulled over to the side of the road to retrieve it from under my seat. By the time I got to the phone, he had hung up. Of course, I called him back immediately. When I told him what happened, he laughed himself silly, just before he finally gave me a huge initial order. I felt like I really dodged a bullet. I had been calling on this prospect for over a year.”
What did telling this story do for the salesperson? It make him look “human.” He obviously had enough confidence in himself to tell a story that might have made him look like a klutz to his prospect. It had a happy ending. He got the point across that he was persistent, committed and diligent in pursuing a key prospect.
9. Be appreciative. Show respect. Be courteous.
Always write a thank you note when a prospect gives you an appointment, gives you your first order, gives you a specific obstacle you must overcome, etc. Thank you notes are so rare among salespeople that you can really set yourself apart in an extremely positive way by taking time to write one.
10. Show your prospect how to make more money.
This is my favorite, so I saved it for last. I personally like people who through their suggestions put more money in my pocket than I would have had without their input. Back when I was in purchasing, a vendor invited me to an educational program whereby I had a an opportunity to listen to some of the brightest and sharpest business experts present. This was one of the most beneficial days I had ever spent and it didn’t cost me one nickel. The vendor asked nothing in return. But it was the vendor’s way of gaining my favorable attention and making me genuinely appreciate that company in a way I had not appreciated them in the past.
I hope these techniques will benefit each subscriber to this electronic newsletter.
For more information, visit www.BillLeeOnLine.com. To order, see Shopping Cart or call 800-808-0534 to order via voice mail.
Bill Lee is a sales trainer who has conducted over 600 sales seminars throughout the US and Canada. He is also author of the book, Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line. $29.95 plus $6 S&H. Bill’s newest book is 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. $21.95 plus $6 S&H. See Shopping Cart at http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com Or call 800-808-0534 to order via voice mail.
Posted by Administrator under Sales Management | Comments Off
January 23, 2009
When Yahoo went live in 1994 it was purely a directory of websites. Until the late 1990s Yahoo’s directory was still the most popular way to find information on the web however with the massive amount of new pages being added daily it was becoming extremely inadequate.
Then along came Google which indexed the massive amounts of new pages being added to the internet. So now instead of praying that Yahoo will include your site in their directory the focus has now shifted to search engine optimization – the art of enhancing your website to increase your listing on search engines for various keywords.
To get a greater feel for how Google and Yahoo index the internet I’ve included a few simple tips on how to optimize your site for maximum traffic in an effort to understand how information is indexed.
Check your Title Tags and your Description Tags
For search engine optimization your website’s title and description tags are essential for free traffic.
The Title tags should be short, to the point and different for each page on your site. Creating unique titles for each of your pages will enable the search engines to direct traffic to not only your main page but also to these back pages. Allowing searches to be directed to these pages will result in visitors finding exactly what their looking for without getting lost via your homepage. The fewer clicks a visitor has to perform to get the information they need the more satisfied they’ll be with your site.
Please Note: Resist the urge to create long winded Title tags. Numerous keywords or phrases will dilute their effectiveness and quality.
The description tag should be more descriptive and also repeat the main phrase of your Title tag – in this case “market research.” It is also very important for this term to appear in the body of your website for that particular page.
Both the Title tags and the Description tags appear in search results for Google (and other search engines) and have become far more important these days than the tag. Do not limit your title tag to just your firm’s name since chances are it’s not one of the more popular search terms on the internet. However for branding purposes it’s a good idea to start your Title tag with your firm/site name.
Keyword Ranking Tool
To view the popularity of any word on the internet I recommend using Overture’s (Yahoo) Keyword Selector Tool at http://inventory.overture.com.
Please Note: The most popular terms will not always send the most amount of free traffic since they are highly competitive terms.
Include Keywords in the Body of your Website
Search engines such as Google index every word (and link) on your site so it’s very important to include descriptive keywords and phrases in the body of your site. In the case above the phrase “market research” from the Title and Description tag should also be listed in the body of your page. Unique descriptions, words or phrases are especially important to include on your site since they are less competitive and will drive a targeted audience to your site – however they’ll probably send less traffic.
Add a Site Map
Search engines index the web by moving from link to link and therefore giving them a map to your site is extremely important. A site map should contain the Title of every page on your site and links to those pages. This will ensure that every page on your site has been indexed.
To view an example of a site map please visit Research Connect’s at:
http://www.researchconnect.com/site_map.asp
Please Note: Don’t forget to create a link to your site map from the main page of your website. The search engines need to be able to find the map before they can follow it.
Submit your Site to Google
Once your Meta Tags have been updated, your keywords have been added and your site map has been created it’s a very good idea to submit your site to Google. You can do this by visiting http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
It may take a few weeks to a month for the Googlebot to visit your site but please remain patient and don’t submit your site again for a number of months. The Googlebot will eventually get to your site. Pages that have a page rank of 5 or greater automatically get updated on a more frequent basis.
Please Note: Don’t over submit your site to Google and only submit the main URL. Over submitting will not expedite your listing and could potentially be harmful.
There are other search engines (Yahoo, MSN, AOL) that you can submit your site to but Google is king. For example, on any given day ResearchConnect.com receives approximately 700 visitors from Google whereas the other search engines send under 10 each.
Increase your Google Page Rank
Google ranks every page on a scale from 0 to 10. To view the page rank for any site on the internet download Google’s toolbar at http://toolbar.google.com/.
One way this PR is determined is by the quality and quantity of websites that link to your site. If your site has a PR of 1 and a similar site with a PR of 7 links to your site then that increases the quality of your site in Google’s eyes. The higher your PR the better your placement will be on their site and thus the more traffic you’ll receive.
To increase your PR scour the internet for websites and search engines that will link to your site all while paying attention to their PR. I would stay clear of sites and search engines that require you to pay for that link. The only site that you might want to consider paying for is Yahoo but please note that none of these links will send you a lot of direct traffic. What they’ll do for you is increase your site’s quality in the eyes of Google and thus lead to more traffic via their search engine.
Please Note: Google consistently keeps people on their toes and no one is truly able to figure out how they rank websites. These suggestions will definitely help over time but are not the only criteria Google uses for ranking websites.
** O’Keefe works with new and established websites to maximize the amount of free traffic they receive from search engines such as Google.
For an evaluation of your site please contact O’Keefe at 617-947-8071 or via tom[at]tomokeefe.com.
Tom O’Keefe is an internet business consultant and the founder of Research Connect, Inc., a market research database. O’Keefe works with small businesses and start-ups to help develop an affordable and effective online strategy to maximize traffic and exposure via search engine optimization, internet marketing and web development.
For a website evaluation of your site please contact O’Keefe at 617-947-8071 or via tom[at]tomokeefe.com.
Research Connect is an integrated market research database and research service which connects leading researchers and consultants with the corporate and investment community.
Posted by Administrator under Universe Of Search Engine Optimization | Comments Off
January 22, 2009
Ah, the oft debated but never truly settled conundrumis poker a game of skill, or of luck?
The debate has been ongoing for a long time, with strong support on both sides of the aisle, but today we look at one man’s opinion on it: Joe Hachem.
Who is Joe Hachem? Excuse the overused political rhetoric, and allow me to actually answer the question. Hachem works as an ambassador for the Crown casino in Austrailia and is marketing agent for the popular Poker Stars.
But that’s not what Hachem is here to talk about. No, today he’s trying to sell something else. He’s trying to sell the idea that poker is a sport just like boxing or football is a sport.
And he thinks it also has a viable place in the olympics. Now opponents would say that poker doesn’t really have all that much to do with athleticisim, but here Hachem would disagree.
When playing, Hachem recalls having to play 14 hours a day for seven days. He went through over 5000 people to come out on top. And here’s the point: such an act requires “exceptional endurance, stamina, competitiveness, and concentration, as well as strategy and an intense sense of psychology.”
Add all that together and you get a generally accepted definition of a sport as is applied to those activities we usually think of as sports.
Oh, and let’s not forget that two courts have ruled that poker is a game of skill, not a game of luck.
And perhaps that’s why poker has created such an uproar and has been steadily gaining in popularity since it’s inception to the wider spotlight of television and the internet.
But most importantly, Hachem’s comments and people who think in that same vein are the progressive idealists the poker community needs in order to heighten it’s acceptance among the nations and territories that still see it as kind of taboo subject.
Maybe, just maybe, with a little luck, we can get the ball moving and get the luck out of poker, and the title “skill” in.
Posted by Administrator under Gambling Wheels, Have Fun, Online Games | Comments Off
January 20, 2009
There are a few things you will require to acquire when you start cycling. The 1st and most clear is a high-quality bicycle that fits you! Though that may perhaps seem like a no-brainer, lots of people start out on mountain bikes that are too little, or manufactured with poor quality parts, merely because they are cheaper. The right fit & a well built mountain bike can make your ride a lot better, however, do not be tempted to bargain shop for your mountain bike. However, it will be better to procure one that will survive you a considerable amount of time. Once you have a bike that is right for you, it is time to get the other cycling items that will support you in becoming an enthusiastic cyclist.
Lights: The minimum required by law for your bike is a few reflectors. Nonetheless a headlight and tail light are very helpful, even in daylight hours. When it is dark & rainy, they can make a colossal impact in your visibility to motor vehicles.
Tools: Just like driving a motor car, accidents do occur whilst you’re on your bike. Keep some kind of tool kit on you at all times to take care of flat tyres, uncooperative chains, loose bolts & other issues. Get a great deal on cycling equipment from Sportswear-Equipment.com.
Helmet: While it’s legal in most locations to go without a cycling helmet, in several others, one is obligatory. If you are aiming to bike regularly, it is sensible to have one even in locations where no helmet law exists.
Clothing: Although special cycling clothes is without doubt optional, it’s intelligent to pay attention to what you are wearing. Loose clothes ought to be prevented, or tucked up so they don’t get trapped in the chain.
Locks: Unless you’re lucky enough to live in an area where you are able store your bike inside all the time, padlock is vital. Even in country, there are individuals who will gladly pinch and resell your bicycle.
Related topics of interest include: Formula One & Toy Shop.
Posted by Administrator under Shopping Management, Sports + More, World Of Leisure | Comments Off
January 19, 2009
If you’ve been in sales for any length of time, or have participated is a sales training program, chances are you’ve been taught to look for “buying signals” from your prospects. Buying signals can be important; but they can also easily be misinterpreted. We recently read an article in which the author equates certain statements or requests from your prospect with indication they are ready to buy. For example:
- Your prospect repeats a question that has been answered fully.
- Your prospect asks for a sample
- Your prospect makes “positive noises.”
- Your prospect makes “any comment or question about price”
- Your prospect asks for references.
- Your prospect asks for your guidance or opinion.
- Your prospect mentions a negative experience with a previous supplier.
Are these buying signals? Maybe. Maybe not. They could simply be questions that serve to clarify or gain an understanding of what you can do for them. Certainly, queries or comments like those listed above indicate that your prospect is at least “playing ball” with you – that they are engaged in an active sales process, and have some level of interest.
If we take these buying signals as gospel, we run a real danger of driving ourselves down a road of false hope toward the land of “Pendingville.” Ever been there? In a meeting, the prospect shows some of these positive signs and you walk out of the meeting feeling like you’ve got the sale in the bag. You follow-up by sending the information the prospect requested, you provide samples, you provide references, you give them a full-blown white paper offering guidance and advice. And then you call them – presumably to close the deal, and your call goes unanswered. You call again. You e-mail. You stop by their office. You send them cute and funny notes. You pray.
In the meantime, your manager asks you how it’s going with the prospect. You tell her, “Looks great, just waiting for the green light to get started.” Week after week, it’s the same story. If you have enough of these prospects in your pipeline, you’re looking forward to next month when you’re sure all of these wonderful people will get back to you with that huge order. And, since you know you will have this huge influx of new business you figure there’s no reason to do any new prospecting because you’re going to be so busy with these new accounts you won’t even have time to handle more.
The next month comes, and nothing happens. Then you start to panic; your boss is wondering what happened to all those huge deals. That Hawaiian vacation you were already planning in your mind vanishes from view. You realize you’d better get busy and get some new things going. And again, the cycle is repeated.
What was missing in this process? The NOT-buying signals. Spending too much time with prospects that either aren’t going to buy or aren’t ready to buy is one of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make – even veterans. By nature, all of us in sales are optimists – we want to believe that everyone who tells us they’re interested is in fact going to buy from us.
To protect ourselves and our income, though, we need to take a step back and sometimes play the cynic. Here are some of the things you should be looking for that could be indicators it’s time to move on:
- Will the prospect agree to a firm next step with you? (For more on this topic see “The Art and Skill of the Next Step.) If not, it may be time to move on.
- Have repeated calls to a seemingly “hot prospect” gone unreturned?
- When you speak to the prospect do you hear something like “I really like your proposal, but I need to do (fill in the blank) to get it moving forward”?
- Another variation of the above: “We really want to move forward, we just need a bit more time”, or “We really want to move forward, but we’ve had some other priorities come up.”
We don’t want to be naysayers, but typically these are signs that the sale is not going to happen; at least not within our normal sales cycle. There could be legitimate reasons as to why the prospect can’t move forward that are beyond your control. So what do you do?
First thing to do is to be on the lookout for anything that sounds like a “not-buying” signal. You want to hear those as early in the sales process as you can so you can spend your time with leads and prospects who are more likely buy within your normal cycle.
Next, if you’re not sure what the real reason might be for not moving forward, ask a question such as “Did we do something wrong?” (That’s also an effective message to leave for someone not returning your calls.) You may be able to get some valuable information that can help you recraft a recommendation, or give you more solid footing on which to move forward.
Finally, always make sure that you have enough coming into your sales pipeline; know how many new appointments you need at any given time in order to achieve you numbers. Don’t allow yourself to get caught in “Pendingville” without a reliable map and escape plan.
Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.
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