Identifying prospects has come a long way since the days of simple list buying. With the hype flying fast and furious, sometimes it?s difficult to sort out truth from fiction and to put things in the proper perspective. Without worshipping buzzwords, however, two of the most important developments i...

For over 25 years, major corporations and organizations throughout the world have used the concepts of Situational Leadership to improve the effectiveness of their managers. Dr. Heresy and Dr. Blanshard at Ohio State University to provide managers with a practical and simple approach to achieve the ...

If you have extensive knowledge on a particular subject, why not create a free course for your web site visitors. The course should be related to the theme of your web site. If you`re selling business related products, you would want to giveaway a free course about business. You could offer ...

Want to know why certain people succeed and others don?t. Well successful people have certain traits? Do you have them?

Business has changed a great deal over the years. We now have computers, the internet and because of the internet - web pages, email and everything else that comes with it...

Prospecting is the engine that propels anyone in sales. Without consistently initiating contact with prospective customers to talk with, your sales will plummet and everybody loses. Studies confirm that 80% of all salespeople fail in their first year because of the fears associated with prospectin...

?This offer is good but can you guarantee it.? Why write a guarantee for your product or service? It reduces the risk in the eyes of your customers, enough to turn a cynical customer into a convinced customer. So, what makes a good guarantee? Besides the obvious, ?I guarantee it,? strong guarantees ...

My first real job (schedule, time clock, paycheck, boss) was as a bag boy with a chain grocery store in Winter Park, Fla. I had worked before, cutting lawns, etc., and thought I knew about working hard. I remember asking my supervisor if it was against company policy to collapse on the job on the fi...

Legal interview questions come in all shapes in sizes and local employment laws will dicate which ones are illegal. Typically, the following topics are off limits for interviews and are not considered to be legal interview questions:

Age

Marital Status

Information about your ...

They`re only words. Some believe the school-yard taunt: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." They`re wrong. Words can hurt you in the workplace. I`m not referring to the caustic ones spoken (or received) tainted with sarcasm, irritation, anger or frustration, carrying...

Well, it is that time again when hearts are all a flutter with sending and getting Valentines Day gifts. Do you know that Richard Cadbury invented the first Valentines Day candy box in the late 1800s? Or that the Chocolate Manufacturers Association of America reports that 36 million boxes of chocola...

Most employees spend the majority of the day sitting in their workstation, being comfortable should be important. When it comes to proper positioning, sitting correctly and making sure the equipment is at the right height, is most important. Improper positioning can lead to serious problems such as ...

Have you ever convinced someone to do something only to have that person change his or her mind a little later? If so, join the crowd, and I do mean crowd. It happens to every one ... and in a lot of different situations such as sales, getting your child to do something, promoting an idea, trying to...

Most small businesses do not have a high powered advertising agency to produce award-winning radio commercials for them. Most award-winning radio commercials win for the wrong reasons anyway. Radio commercials should sell the benefits (not features)of your business/product and should be on the same ...

The Story Business has a habit of testing us as individuals and as entrepreneurs. Several years ago I retained my first entertainment agent to represent my business and me. This was at a time when I was coming closer to the threshold of gaining national attention for my speaking and writing busines...

My husband and I attended the Edmonton Home Renovation Show in January (we just bought a new home) and spent some time at a booth with low volume flush toilets. We try to do our part for the environment and were considering a model that has two flush options. I was reading the company literature an...

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in connection with marketing planning. Marketing Mix means the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you chose for your business. Including both short term and long term strategies in the marketing mix can make ...

The world - at least from where I see it, is full of people who either tell their story or tell you how to do something for money. For example, some time ago I attended a combined breakfast and talk by a young, personable (and pleasantly attractive) lady who told the story of how she had gone from r...

1. Make your ad prominent: This can be done by keeping special characters like *, >, # , = etc. You can put these on top and bottom of your 5 line ad. Leave an extra white spce above and below your ad. This gap pulls readers eyes towards that spot. 2. Offer a discount: Make it time sensitive. It w...

Innovation - is a talent that everyone has, yet they think they don`t. If you`ve ever marveled at somebody`s creative prowess, guess what, you can create and innovate too. It just takes time. Everyone is born creative. The box of crayons in kindergarten was not limited to only those who possessed po...

I just collected my mail. As usual, more than 80% of it was junk. Marketing junk. What did I do with it? Threw it in the garbage without reading it. Same as you do. Only it made me think about this article, which I guess might be of some use, unintended by the morons who send me all that useless dir...

One of the biggest debates in the photography world is whether digital cameras are better or film cameras better? The answer to this question cannot be answered in a simple yes or no. There are several issues which need to be considered while answering this question. To make things simple and with...

To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary Sources of Narcissistic Supply. Their role is to accumulate the supply (in human speak, remember events that support the grandiose self-image of the narcissist) and to regulate the Narcissistic Supply of the narcissist during dry spe...

Framing a shot using a digital camera can get a bit of getting used to. Like film cameras, compact digital cameras have a viewfinder which is ?offset?. This means the viewfinder image is not exactly the same as the image you get on the sensor. However, you can make small adjustments to capture the ...

I have given many prosperity lectures over the years and, in light of the current massive restructuring of all world and financial systems, I feel that now is the time for all of us to review our beliefs and refocus on manifesting prosperity and abundance in our lives. I do "walk my talk" and so I w...

Some education is essential to enlighten you about this form of interactive marketing. Directories aren`t Search Engines; they are web sites or information portals which use analysts on staff to review submissions from companies who want to be listed in their Directory. Yahoo would be the penultimat...

In 1993, on a moon lit, warm summer night, I was surfing the Internet attempting to discover what successful sites had in common. I was really hungry to find out the secret ingredient of websites that were making it big. You see, I was tired of traveling thousands of miles by plane and car. My mind ...

A corporate logo is actually a part of a brand entity. It is something in which it?s shape, color and typeface are all different from others in a similar market. An effective logo has to be one that is recognized instantly, while evoking some emotional response to the public. The well-designed or pr...

Q. I hate my job as a computer consultant. I am ready for a career change. The aptitude tests say I should be a recreation specialist. I like the idea but I dread returning to school for a new degree. A. Before you invest in a degree, try out the new career. A test drive will tell you more than any ...

Ever hear the story of the two masons working side by side at a building site? They`re doing the same work under pretty much the same conditions. Then, one day a stranger comes along, approaches one of the men and asks him, "What are you doing?" "I don`t know and I don`t care," replies the man, his ...

In Stephen Covey`s great book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", he talks about the `emotional bank account`, where you have to build a credit in your relationship with the individuals who you work with (and everyone else as well!). If what you do isn`t `trustworthy`, then all yo...

Have you ever used your intuition to solve problems? Can you trust your intuition? Can you improve it? What Is Intuition? Intuition is simply a feeling, sense, or hunch based on information not available to your conscious mind. Some say this comes from the ether or wherever, but I`m content to belie...

As a single mom and full time student myself, I find this to be the busiest time of the year for me. Add onto this the fact that I homeschool my daughter and you`ll find that I, like the majority of others that I know, am having a difficult time balancing my family`s varying schedules. I would even ...

What does it take to be successful? I know that many volumes have been written on this topic but here I wish to plumb the depths a bit and look at an issue that likely has received little attention. Do you accept that in order for someone to be successful they must be fully in charge and aware of th...

You approach a stranger at an association meeting or industry conference with you arm outstretched and say: ?Hi. My name is?..? And you?re off and running. There?s an art to successful networking and business development. Rather than just exchange pleasantries you can gather information, gain al...

Too often, we are only half listening to what people are saying. This is because we believe we know what the other person is going to say or because our mind is on something else. Sometimes we think we understood, but don`t clarify to find out if in fact we did heard it right.

Some other things...

Have you noticed that your banner ads rarely get clicked on? Banner ads used to be a very effective method of advertising, but the web has become bloated with banner after banner. As a result they`re largely ignored today. But did you know there is a simple and effective way to get people to click o...

Recently I was talking with a very bright traditional marketer on the value of integrating Internet marketing into an enterprise?s marketing mix. Personally, I have witnessed significant and measurable increases in the online results of an enterprise when they include traditional marketing strategi...

Is website traffic convertible to cash? The answer is yes. But that is not the right question every webmaster might want to dwell into, the right question is ?How can my site get targeted traffic without me spending too much?? The answer to most webmasters, ezine operators question is very simple. T...

"Goals are dreams with deadlines." -Diana Scharf Hunt When clients come to me for marketing help, the first thing I ask is, "What`s your plan?" If I`m greeted with a blank stare, then I know we have work to do! In order to set up a great marketing strategy, you need to write it out in black...

Everyone worries. As bothersome as it is, worry isn`t all bad, and can actually work for you. Worry can give you a jolt of energy, spark your creative thinking, and help you to meet deadlines. The trick is to keep worry under control and these tips will help you do that. 1. Identify the source. ...

When you place brochures from every mortgage company side by side, you can?t help but notice the similarities. Each piece mentions that they have every possible loan program available, proven & experienced professionals, fast & friendly service, a list of documents needed to process the loan, a prom...

As an entrepreneur, or a small business owner you are busy enough. You spend much of your time attempting to network and grow your business. You would love to have the luxury of an administrative assistant but cannot afford the expense. If any of this sounds familiar, a Virtual Assistant (VA) may ...

What makes a company great? Jim Collins, author of the book ?Good to Great,? says that great companies ?first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.? The right people ar...

Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives? Ask yourself:

• Are your required actions described thoroughly and accu...

In my professional experience as a sales and marketing coach/consultant, I`ve had the opportunity to work with a number of small business owners on various issues related to sales and marketing. The owners who are struggling to keep their businesses afloat tend to engage in some, or all, of the foll...

There are so many different stock trading software packages on the market that you could try a different one, every day of the year, and never run the same one twice. Many trading professionals use some type of stock trading software to keep their emotions in check and to enable them to focus on ...

Recently my friend Michelle was concerned about a professional conference she was planning to attend with her husband, a veterinarian. She has no background in veterinary science, so she did not think she would be able to effectively communicate with the people at the conference. I asked her why s...

Meetings can be a total waste of time or a powerful and productive communication tool that solve problems, stimulate ideas, promote team spirit and generate action. The results lie totally in how they are run. Organized and well-managed meetings will inevitably produce effective results. Whereas,...

What are you trying to do with your business, non-profit or association public relations program? Get a little publicity for a service or product? Or, perhaps, you?re doing what you really should do, persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that...

Refinancing has become a valid option for many individuals with high interest rates on their mortgage. Refinancing is essentially a replacement loan, with a different lender and (hopefully) a lower interest rate. So why would you choose to refinance?

• You may be able to take advantage o...