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Let your email travel with you !

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Apr 242022
 

Are you spending a lot of time away from your computer? Wish you had access to all your email accounts while traveling? Need to have your letters and address book with you, but don’t want to carry a notebook? Reach-a-Mail gives the right answer!

While you are traveling, it is very important to have access to current and prior email correspondence, as well as your address book. Many email services have access to free Web mail. But what if your email provider does not have Web mail? Or what if you are traveling to a destination where Internet connectivity is just not up to the task of coping with colorful but bulky pages that you need to open just to check if there’s a new message? What if you just want to see if there’s something new in your mailbox, and reply to just the important stuff? Finally, what would you do if you had more than one email account, for example, one from work and one of your own, and need to check them all?

Reach-a-Mail is just the right tool for you! It installs easily on a light and compact USB flash memory stick, allowing you to store your address book and any important correspondence you might need for your day-to-day tasks on this portable stick. While on the go, you just plug the stick into a Windows PC and have immediate access to your email and address book with no installation required.

If you are traveling to exotic places, you already know that they often have sub-standard connections even in Internet cafes. Opening a single Web page becomes a pain, not mentioning that if you were using Web mail to access your messages, you would have to open multiple pages just to see what’s new, and then open even more sluggish pages to send a reply.

Reach-a-Mail requires the least bandwidth to check your email. It connects to your mail server and downloads only the required bits of information, displaying the senders and subjects of the new messages. Then you have a choice to download and read a message or to delete it without wasting the limited Internet resources of that exotic destination. Of course, you could use Reach-a-Mail exactly as you would use a desktop email program, downloading and seeing all messages immediately.

With Reach-a-Mail you can check as many email accounts as you have. Using multiple email accounts is as easy as having just one. After you set up your accounts in Reach-a-Mail, you will have full access to their respective folders containing messages that were sent, received or deleted.

After you unplug your USB flash stick, all your personal information remains in the stick. No pieces of information are ever stored on a computer that you were using to check your messages.

Reach-a-Mail is a small, portable and easy to use email solution for traveling that is absolutely free to use. Download your copy now at http://www.smartpctools.com/portable_email.html.

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Apostrophological Anomalies and the Welcome Sign

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Apr 232022
 

Putting your apostrophes in the right places on those ubiquitous carved wooden Welcome Signs is pretty easy once you know the rules.There is no greater motivation than having all those grammatical fuddy-duddies think better of you, either! But, before examining the rules for the apostrophes use and how its literary status has earned it’s reputation, I want to make one thing really clear…I’m writing this to be helpful – that’s all. I couldn’t care less if you get your apostrophes wrong. There are plenty more important things in life and nature to get on a soap box over! Besides, this stuff (and the rules) is not written in granite!

The apostrophe has four primary uses: possession, omission (contractions), plurals, & phrases of time or measure; however, when it comes to knowing how best to create proper identification on Personalized Welcome Signs we’ll focus on the mystery of the possessive and plurals business only – time and omissions wait for no man! At the most basic level, if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an “of the…” phrase. For example: the man’s hat = the hat of the man; or, three days’ trip = trip of three days. Once it’s been determined that you need to make a possessive, here’s the rules to create one: add ‘s to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s) like the neighbor’s car or Louis’s hat. Add ‘s to the plural forms that do not end in –s like, the children’s toys and the moose’s whistle. Add just the ‘ to the end of plural nouns that end in –s like, houses’ decks and three dogs’ tails. Add ‘s to the end of compound words like, my mother-in-law’s comments. Finally, add ‘s to the last of compound nouns to show joint possession of an object like, Thom & Elaine’s house.

And, of course a few exceptions (as shocked as I am sure you are!): Some words sound awkward when an apostrophe ‘s’ is added, like Jesus’s disciples, so the accepted form is to just use the ‘s’ apostrophe: Jesus’ disciples. Interestingly enough, this only applies to names of Biblical or historical significance e.g. Jesus, Moses, Ramses…Moses’ followers, Ramses’ pyramid. Still others don’t have a clutsy sound, like the princess’s bed. Just be consistent! Although it may be worth noting that some “experts will say something like, “…words ending with an s present a problem. There are two valid options in this case. It is either Jesus’ teaching or Jesus’s teaching.

Elegance would seem to preclude the latter….” See what I mean about being consistent! The confusion really arises when the apostrophe is used with a plural noun – The vipers’ den…more than one snake in that den so the s’ – the den of the vipers! Generally speaking, if there’s one owner – add an apostrophe and then ‘s’ and if there are two or more owners – add ‘s’ then an apostrophe. For words which form their plural by changing internal letters (instead of adding ‘s’), like the children’s table…it’s already plural – we don’t pile it on! It’s the same with words people, women…and so on. When using names that end in S, you follow the same rules as with any other name and add apostrophe S: Thomas’s car. Plural names also follow the same rules: Thomases’ house (add -es to names that end in S to indicate plural form). For anyone else whose name ends in S, you generally let your ear be your guide.

If Lars’s house sounds awkward, feel free to omit the final S. The only rule in this case is that you must (MUST) be consistent. You can’t have Lars’ two-car garage then Lars’s property. On a Welcome Sign – it’s just not going to happen!zThis whole business of Apostrophological Anomalies (I can’t believe I used that again!) stirs passionately among some folks, and there have been whole sub-cultures formed to lobby for the universal observance of the mystery of the apostrophe. I am not of that belief set; I’m just a sign guy; however, I’m pretty sensitive about getting these things right. I think all you really have to ask yourself is, “Does my sign refer to the object to which it’s attached, Larson’s Cabin?” And then, is it the whole gangs’ cabin? Either way, I just don’t think it’s grammatical its, “Apostrophological!”

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Five Tips on promoting and marketing your portrait photography website

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Apr 222022
 

The portrait photography business is a competitive industry filled with a wide variety of portrait photographers with skill levels of all ranges. Unfortunately, being a quality portrait photographer doesn’t always mean that your business will be booming. There are hundreds if not thousands of talented professional portrait photographers in the United States who are not getting the results they want or the business they need to meet their financial goals.

Please consider the following marketing and promotional tips for your portrait photography website. The fact of the matter is that marketing is the most important aspect of having a successful portrait photography business. If you want to make succeed as a portrait photographer, the following tips should be very helpful.

Tip #1: Website!

Since the dawn of the Internet age, websites have become the most powerful and effective strategy for photographers to showcase their respective portfolios. If you don’t have a website by now then you might as well forget about increasing your business. Even for the photographers who have been in business for 30 plus years, a website is an essential thing to have. Not having one is akin to not having a telephone number: it’s that important!

Tip #2: Your website must be impressive!

Your website is you. That is, your website is a virtual you. When potential clients visit your website, they are looking at something that is an extension of who you are. It is imperative that they are impressed with the look and feel of your website as well as the presentation of your images and content. It never ceases to amaze me at how many portrait photographers have websites that look sloppy, unprofessional and downright ugly! If you want to gain business as a result of your presence on the Internet, you absolutely must have a professionally designed, easily navigable and aesthetically pleasing website. If your website is missing any of these elements, I would advise you to remove it from the Internet. It’s better to leave no impression at all rather than a poor impression!

Tip #3: Finding a qualified web designer

Be sure to do your homework before plunking down thousands of dollars for your new website. Be sure to carefully review your prospective web designer’s portfolio. Find out whether the website they will build for you is a custom, one of a kind website or a template website. Although custom websites cost more, they are usually worth the money as they will set you apart from the competition. It’s never a good thing for a photographer to have an identical website as another photographer in the industry.

Be sure to find out exactly what is included in the price they quote you for the new website and review the contract carefully to ensure there are no surprises.

Tip #4: Marketing your website

Just having a good looking website isn’t enough these days. Getting found on the search engines for high value keywords is one of the most effective ways in increasing your portrait inquiries. A well-known portrait photographer in Denver, Colorado – Julie Harris—estimates that 80 – 90% of her portrait inquiries can be directly attributed to her high search engine rankings on Google, Yahoo and MSN. “Without the traffic to my website, I don’t know where my business would be,” says Ms. Harris.

The effectiveness Search Engine Optimization and Search Marketing cannot be overstated. The Internet is full of free articles that will help you figure out how to go about implementing a successful website marketing and promotion campaign. You may also want to consider hiring a professional SEO consultant to help you with your website marketing strategies.

Tip #5: Maintaining and updating your website

Keeping your website up do date and fresh is extremely important. Try to get into the habit of uploading new work to your portfolio on a monthly or bimonthly basis. If you have a great portrait session, replace some of your older stuff with the new images. This will ensure that you’re always showing off your best work and it will encourage people to keep visiting your website to see your new work.

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Affiliate Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

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Apr 212022
 

One of the fastest ways to begin a home based internet business is with affiliate marketing. Becoming an affiliate is fast it’s free and you can begin earning within a very short time. What does an affiliate marketer do? Well, they promote people products and or services in exchange for a commission. Let me give you an example. Say John Doe writes an ebook called ‘Best gardening tips,’ he would have his own website and he would be selling the book via Clickbank. In order to generate more sales John Doe would use his website to advertise for affiliates. Along comes Carol King and sees the ad for affiliates on John’s site. Carol already has a Clickbank account so she decides to become an affiliate. Carol signs up and is give a special link that she will use to promote John’s Gardening Tips ebook. The link that is given to Carol contains her nickname. Carol chooses the nickname when she registers her account at Clickbank.

Carol now goes away, armed with her affiliate link and advertises it in as many different places as possible. How does Carol make money? By generating sales. Carol is advertising the link given to her by John, now whenever someone sees Carol ads and purchases a copy of John’s book, the sale is registered to Carol through her nickname and she earns a commission.

Simple? Well it can be if you know how to go about it. It is possible to earning a good living as an affiliate, but you must arm yourself with the correct information before you begin. Unfortunately there are many mistakes made by affiliates that prevent them from ever getting paid. Here are some of the more common ones.

Falling For The Hype
There are many so called ‘get rich quick’ schemes out there and they tend to do a very good job of convincing people that they can get rich by doing nothing. If you do nothing, you will receive nothing. Period. As an affiliate marketer you do not have to own a product, you do not necessarily have to own a website, you do not have to deal with the hassles of shipping stuff to people or worry about handling payments, but you do have to actively, continually and consistently promote the product. Which means having a working knowledge of marketing. So yes, you do have to do some work if you want to make money.

An Unfocused Attack
Pay-per-click, traffic exchanges, forums, article writing, blogging and classified ads. There are many different advertising mediums out there and if used correctly they can be extremely effective. The trap that many beginners fall into is thinking that they have to do all of them at one time and master them as well. If you are currently trying to use or master all of these methods you are going to find that you will never sleep, you will probably max out your credit cards and you will not have any profits to show from it. Focus, plan your attack and then execute it. Decide before you start what your goals are, decide how you are going to go about your marketing and decide what results your looking for. Knowing what you want to achieve, how you are going to get there and what your results should be, will force you to focus on the task at hand and you are far more likely to get the desired results.

Getting Left Behind
Affiliate marketing is an ever-changing game and if you want to remain successful you must roll with the changes. I beg you do not sit back and relax just because you are seeing some profit, you must keep moving forward, take time to learn about new and developing trends actively seek out new strategies so that you will not get left behind.

Promoting The Wrong Product
Choosing the wrong product to promote can mean instant failure for any affiliate. The decision you make is a critical one. If you are choosing a Clickbank product here are a couple of things to bear in mind. Do not choose the most popular product there; the competition will be far too great for a beginner. Do not choose a product that is offering less that 50% commission, after all you do want to make some money. Do not go for products with commission rates over 80%, this usually means that the product is not selling well and the owner is desperately trying to attract affiliates in order to get some sales. Do some research; find out if the product is in high demand, there is no sense in promoting a book about Dog Training if most people are searching for a book about Potty Training.

Lack Of Creativity
Most likely the affiliate program you are promoting has given you some of the tools you need to get started. Just because you may be told what to do, step-by-step that does not mean that those are the only steps you can take. As I mentioned before there are many types of advertising out there, be innovative be a leader, take your time and try out various methods of advertising, find out what works for you. Don’t just take what is handed to you. Learn, apply, earn.

If you can avoid these costly mistakes, you will make it as an affiliate, be patient success will come, but not overnight.

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Pet supply – unparalleled shopping experience

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Apr 202022
 

It was only recently that we started to pay attention to the significance of helping our pets lead a healthy, normal life. Today, the pet supply industry is making huge profits introducing new products concerning health care issues, natural food and other various accessories your pet might need or want.

We all want to make our animals happy no matter if they are dogs, cats or birds. But we must also keep in mind that their happiness is strongly linked with them being clean, healthy and well-fed. This is why when we think about pet supply, there are various things to consider, starting from nutrition and ending with cleaning products.

The Internet has played a major role in the development of pet supply stores and many more products were introduced with the help of the World Wide Web. Now, we have a large variety of merchandise to choose from and most important we can have them delivered to your house for free. No more shopping for pet food, no more standing in line; we can order online and benefit from the unbelievable discounts offered.

When you choose a pet supply online shop, make sure you check its reputation and the quality of the products advertised. Look for supplies that are non-poisonous, particularly if you have a dog. Always try to purchase cleaning products and medicine that was previously tested in order not to harm your pet unnecessarily.

Pet medications are that particular type of pet supply to which pet owners will always attach the importance corresponding to just how healthy their pets are. As with other products, you have a lot to choose from but you may want to start with basic stuff such as dewormers, calming tabs and ear/eye products. Also, you may wish to purchase some vitamins and calcium tabs from one of these online pet supply shops. Calcium is particularly recommended for dogs as it helps them grow and stay healthy.

The quality of pet supply has improved significantly in the past few years. Nowadays, every store, online or not, is concerned about its products and tries to make available only those that are not harmful. Pet supplies include not only medicines, but also vaccines, food and pet accessories. Other interesting things you might want to purchase for your pet are: clothes, tags and special grooming products.

Check out the pet supply super centers and discover various products for dogs, cats, birds, fish and other pets. You can find products from several manufacturers, then compare prices and brands and have a fun time looking for pet related stuff.

There are a lot of satisfied consumers who prefer visiting an online pet store in order to browse for dog supply. They enjoy the discounts offered and the wide variety of products. As every dog is different in its own way, you can find online diverse brands of dog food, all natural and healthy. If you want to make a little corner for your little/big companion, you can purchase one of those nice, soft beds and a blanket to go along. It will make your dog feel happy and comfortable.

When you think about buying dog supply, you must also take into consideration the treats that he likes so much. This is why online shops have yummy bones that your dog can chew and bite as much as it wants; moreover, they serve a double purpose: they engage your dog in fun activities and keep its teeth clean and in good condition.

As a proud dog owner, you are surely aware of the variety of online dog supply. Caring for your pet is now easier than ever and the perfect way to start shopping is to purchase a collar and a leash for your companion. Of course, the options you can make are various: you may choose from anywhere between plain and luxurious types. It is vital for your dog to feel comfortable and for you, as its owner, to feel you have made a smart decision. Collars and leashes fall in the category of safety dog supply. They help you keep your dog safe while offering it the much needed freedom.

Manufacturers have come up with funny dog supply products and originally designed toys for your loved companion to play with. There are various kinds of toys that your dog can chew, bite, not to mention play with. You can choose from chew toys, stuffed animals and rubber balls, depending on what your pet likes. Keep in mind that safety comes first and you should always choose safe toys.

Dog supply products do not include only the things mentioned above. In a good online pet shop you will also find bowls for feeding, carriers, clothes, anti-flea products and even jewelry. Now you can basically purchase everything you may think of for your dog and enjoy many quality moments with your companion.

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The Complete Person: Starting With the Basics

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Apr 192022
 

We’ve all heard about coaches pounding away at what they refer to as “the fundamentals.” In other words, the basic skills and techniques of their sport. So for our purposes, what are the basics? For me, the basics components of The Complete Person fall into four easily comprehendible groups: Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart. To ignore any one is to limit options, possibilities and, ultimately, total success in reaching the higher level of living and being each of us strives to reach.

The Complete Person

I find analogies often get my points across much better than detailed explanations, which can create the “eyes glazed over” response. So, here goes.

Imagine you – your entire self, physical, mental, spiritual, energy field … any and every aspect of you – are a car or other sophisticated machine. We all know, on some level, that today’s vehicles are made up of multiple systems, each of which has a number of components that must function together in a tightly choreographed relationship. Without getting technical, they have to work together closely. Beyond that, each of the systems, when called on, must function correctly with the other systems in the vehicle.

It’s not much of a stretch to think of us in the same way. Each of our major components must be “tuned up” in order to perform at its peak. Only then can we experience our entire “machine” reaching its highest possible level of performance.

OK, not much new here, but it’s worth mentioning as a starting point.
These are the areas I strive to excel in:

1) My focus on the four major components of the Complete Person – Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart and how they function individually and synergistically;
2) The carefully screened and selected, highly effective products, tools and free information available through this resource and;
3) My ability to guide and support you as you integrate the “tuned up” components of your Complete Person in your journey to reach higher and higher levels of personal living.

A Word About Simplicity

Have you ever had the experience of being confronted with something that, at first, seemed overwhelmingly complex or foreign only to realize later, after overcoming the learning curve, that it wasn’t really all that complicated? With hindsight, you were able to say, “I though it was more complicated than it really was. It was actually simpler than I thought.” The experience of many of our most accomplished practitioners is like that.

With our support and guidance, these successful individuals have been able to make educated decisions and choices; those that have enabled them to reach successively higher levels of personal performance and satisfaction. The “ah-ha moment” almost universally is when they realize that instead of getting more and more difficult to identify their personal next level, it actually gets easier. That’s because with increased sophistication comes clarity of mind (read that as simplicity) and of purpose. The further you go on your journey to personal development, the clearer, less cluttered your path. It’s just that … well, simple.

The Four Components of The Complete Person: Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart

At the beginning of this article, I referred to coaches drilling their players on the fundamentals, or basics, of their sport. Good coaches place a high value on the fundamentals because they are “fundamental” to each player’s success and to that of the entire team. I agree.

With that in mind, let’s briefly cover a working definition of each of our basics and how they impact the success of our practitioners.

Mind

The mind is where all the chatter exists; the chatter that includes things like self-doubt and conflicting messages. These are the killers of personal progress. They tend to paralyze us. They keep us from making decisions for fear of making a costly mistake. In truth, not making a choice or decision can be far more costly, if only in terms of our self-esteem and faith in our own judgment. My goal to help you quiet the negative chatter and open your mind to the positive, supportive messages that will energize your personal journey. We provide lots of help.

Body

Of our four basics, the body is the most obvious and easiest to comprehend. Most people start their personal journey here. That’s OK. The body is where the other basic components live. Some people, however, never move beyond the body. That’s OK, too, if that’s where they want to limit their journey. For me, personally, and for all of us at Natural Healing Tools.com, the health and well being of the body can only be maximized when proper attention is paid to the Mind, Spirit and Heart.

The list of products, tools and information to enhance the body and its functions that is available from countless sources is long, to be sure. Our resource is filled with them. The difference in what you will find here and what you find elsewhere is that every item we offer has been individually reviewed screened and hand picked for its content, intended purpose and compatibility with everything else offered here. Be advised that different products – including the ones we offer – work differently, and sometimes not at all, for different people. But know this: if we offer it, we use it or have used it. It’s our guarantee of authenticity.

Our intent in offering a wide variety of products, tools and information for the body is two-fold. First, to offer you only the best-of-category by eliminating inferior and ineffective products and misleading information. Second, to offer you reasonable choices in various categories and help you decide which will work best for you – today and tomorrow.

Spirit

This isn’t what you might be thinking. Yes, it has to do with energy, but not the kind you get from Red Bull or another energy drink. It comes from connecting with what might be called “your higher self.” No, this is not especially “touchy-feely” stuff. It is fundamentally human! We all experience the connection, or at least the need to connect, in one way or another. Humans have been doing it for all of recorded time. For some, the connection roots itself in a religious context. For others, it might be as simple as living in greater harmony with nature. But the need to take oneself to a higher level of consciousness and connect with a higher existence or power is very real. Filling the need to connect with one’s higher self gives us strength and resilience we didn’t know we had. It reveals and makes possible things never dreamed. Call it mind over matter, if that works for you. Whatever you call it, whatever it is, it works and it helps everything else work better!

Spirit, as we consider it, is a bit foreign for some. Even those who recognize and accept Spirit as part of their Complete Person can have difficulty defining it. Not to worry. We’ll ease you into the subject and help you drill down as deep into it as you decide to go.

Heart

Ah, yes, Heart. The catalyst for all parts of The Complete Person. It’s easy to over-complicate the subject of Heart, so let’s not.
Here’s another analogy: electricity. While amperage does the work, voltage provides the power that gets the work done. So it is with heart. Heart equals passion. Without passion there’s nothing but … (you fill in the blank.) Heart is the fuel that will power you to ever-higher levels of personal performance and satisfaction.

We think that like Spirit, Heart is somewhat difficult for some people to grasp. Our job, then, becomes two-fold: 1) to help you understand and internalize the essence of Heart and 2) to help you understand the central role Heart plays in enabling you to become a more Complete Person. Once you understand number one, number two will be easy.

To understand Heart, think about some decision you made half-heartedly, only to regret it later on. The decision wasn’t authentic because you didn’t make it from the Heart. Or put another way, when you do something with “all your heart and soul,” you do it without limitation. You do it with passion. That’s because you are acting from the Heart.

Like Spirit, the subject of Heart is very deep. We’ll stay with you, however deep you want to drill down.

Environment

While it’s not one of our fundamentals, I feel we must pay attention to the subject of the environment in which we work, live, love and thrive. Much has been written about the advantages and, particularly, the disadvantages of the environment – physical and emotional – that envelopes our daily lives. No need to debate or belabor it here. Just know that I take the environment that surrounds us very seriously. I am constantly looking to find products, tools and information on this to help you improve and maximize your environment.

The Complete Person includes Mind, Body, Spirit and Heart. Ignore any one and you limit your options and possible successes. Natural Healing Tools exists so that you can have ready access to a robust resource for maximizing all four components of The Complete Person, then integrate and balance them to achieve the higher level of personal living you want for yourself.

All the best to you as you begin – or extend – you journey. I’ll be anxious to learn about your successes! Email me at jurban@naturalhealingtools.com.

Dr. James Urban, Founder Natural Healing Tools

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Don’t Just Stand There, 8 Steps to Make Things Happen

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Apr 182022
 

Has this ever happened to you?

You spend hours and hours working on a new process. You dot all the “I”s cross all the “T”s and then some how you still ended up doing it the same ole’ way.

You go to a fantastic seminar, you are all pumped up and excited, but then somehow all the stuff you learned just sits on your desk.

Or how about this one. You finally read that book that’s been sitting on your nightstand, it had great ideas in it and you see how you could do things a little bit differently to make some more cash. But time goes by, the book ends up on the shelf and you never implement any of those great ideas.

It’s like taking the time to research, test drive and buy a new car. Then parking that expensive, shinny new car in the garage and driving the old one.

Don’t leave your shinny new process in the garage to collect dust.

Here is a step-by-step system to get you implementing all your hard work.

Step 1: What’s in your way?
Determine what resistance there might be before you get started. Are you a procrastinator? Do you need a new web guy? Did you just set up a schedule where your best work needs happen when you’re taking your kids to school? Set yourself up for success by dealing with barriers and issues before you get started.

Step 2: Commit to Implement
It takes 21 days to form a habit. So commit to following your new process or plan for 21 days. Come on, that’s only 3 weeks. You can do anything for 3 weeks, right?

Step 3: The Proper Training
Give yourself or anyone working with you the proper training they need to in order to follow your process. Everyone (including you) should have all the tools they need and fully understand what needs to be done.

Step 4: Find a Place
Decide where you are going to keep your new process or plan. Do you have a book that you can keep next to you? I am a visual person so I physically tape a new process to the wall in front of me so I always see it. I had one client that saved her new process as her screen saver.

Step 5: Follow the Bouncing Boxes
Actually follow your plan or process. How do you know if it’s working if you don’t actually do it? Remember you committed to implement.

Step 6: Keep Track of What’s Working – And What’s Not
As you go along, make notes and keep records of things that you could streamline, delegate out or are not running as smoothly as you would like. You’ll use these notes later.

Step 7: Version 2
At the end of 21 days, go through those notes you’ve been making. Put your consultant’s hat on and see if there is anything that will make your process even better. Incorporate those changes into your process and voila, version 2.

Step 8: Count down to Launch
Pick a date when version 2 goes into action. On that date, start the implementation process over again and keep that ball rolling.

Now get out those new processes and start implementing.

© 2005 Beth Schneider. Want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur of Process Prodigy, is a business process consultant who helps solo-entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers who want to systemize their business to increase profits, increase productivity and grow their business without having to give up the family oriented, flexible, balanced lifestyle they desire. Beth works one-on-one with her clients, offers home study courses, and teleclass boot camps. For more information visit http://www.ProcessProdigy.com and sign up for your FR+EE 5- Step Process Starter Kit and FR+EE Process Tips.

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Is This a Trend? Three Horrible Calls Reviewed

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Apr 172022
 

I’m asking for your tolerance in this column as I blow off steam about what appears to be a trend in telephone solicitation (it doesn’t even deserve the name telemarketing or telesales), at least in my experience over the past few weeks, that darkens the already-blackened eye of the image of inside sales reps (even professionals like you) as a collective group. Let’s look at these calls.

Awful Call Number One

I’ve been a subscriber to Sports Illustrated magazine since I was old enough to read. Received a call from a rep (unenthusiastically and poorly reading a script) who explained SI’s new book of the “Greatest Moments in Sports” or some such thing, full of photos, blah, blah, blah. She asked me no questions, asked for no response, and in her pitch she mentioned several times she was sending me the book. I repeat, she said she was sending me the book, and I hadn’t so much as grunted yet! She finally got to the next part:

“As a preferred subscriber, we will be sending you this book, and if you decide to keep it, it’s only $24.95. All I need to do is verify your address. (She recited it and I concurred.) We do accept all major credit cards, which will you be using?”

I said, “Let me get this right. You’re sending me a book. I didn’t ask for it, and you never did ask me if I wanted it, right.”

“Uhh, I guess.”

“Well, do what you want, but if you send it, I’ll consider it as a gift.”

Awful Call Number Two

The caller informed my assistant that she was with US West, my local phone company. I took the call, as I do all calls to me (can’t afford to miss potentially great material for this column, and seminars!)

“Hello, this is Service Operator Amber, with GLD Business Savings Plan and we’re going to be applying a 40% discount to all of your AT&T Lines. The service is free of charge since you’re a business, and it’s just an incentive to help you remain loyal to AT&T. I just need to verify your company name (I verified it), and what is your first and last name (I gave it to her). Ok, my computer records show that over a six month period you average a minimum of $20 a month in long distance, is that correct.?”

I questioned how she knew that, and she said, “It just came up on my computer.” Alrighty, then. “Now please hold and I’ll put you on line with Verifications, they’ll just ask you some questions and make sure your address is correct. This is an FCC regulation. Now let me explain, that when you hear the verifier say you’re giving your approval to convert your service to the GLD Savings Plan . . .”

I jumped in, “NO. I’m not doing that.”

“Uh, what they mean by that is if you’re receiving a 10% discount from AT&T it will be replaced by the 40% discount . . . it doesn’t mean you’re switching from AT&T because you’re still on the AT&T network, and you’re still billed by the AT&T bill manager.”

I asked her what would happen if I didn’t have AT&T (which she didn’t bother to ask). She explained that I’d still be eligible for 40% off my “standard rate,” which she didn’t know or ask, but kept referring to 40% off. I’ll spare you the rest because this call sickens me. I did get a supervisor on the phone and blasted her for what I consider an unethical approach. She lamely tried to defend it, but finally admitted she was with a service agency in Missouri contracted by GLD to place these calls using this script.

Awful Call Number Three

After identifying herself and her company, the caller said,
“I’m calling today to tell you about a new low-cost way for your company to attract a whole new market of potential customers over the Internet.” Actually a pretty darn good opening statement so far. Got my attention. But the warm fuzzy feelings didn’t last long.

“What QuickPages will do for you is set you up with a home page with a web address unique to your business. You can include up to 200 words to describe your business. Now, let me just verify your company name (notice the trend here from the other calls?) And you would be the contact name on this account?

Unbelievable. A presentation and close, two sentences after the opening, without any questions of me. (I guess that might be termed call efficiency?) At some point here she mentioned the cost of the service, which, by the way was overpriced for hosting just one web page, and she was going into the final details of how I would be billed, and so on.

Finally, I stopped her.

“You just gave an entire presentation, assumed a sale, and asked me no questions whatsoever other than my company name and address. And you’ve treated me like an Internet illiterate. How do you know that I don’t already have an extensive web site?”

She mumbled and bumbled a bit. I eased up on her, mainly because she admitted she was just reading her script, and she sounded honest. She even read the script back to me so I could tape record it. Again, this was a telemarketing service agency, Future-call, contracted to do the phoning for the client.

What to Do?

What’s up with “salespeople” reading from these scripts, and as with each of these cases assuming a sale? It seems to be that this is so inane the approach would eradicate itself due to lack of success. And do the people at these service agencies and client companies think prospects are so stupid that they’ll fall for stuff like this?

Fellow professional, I hope you’re as outraged by these tactics as I am. It wouldn’t bother me if no one other than the offending culprits were affected, but we’re all lumped in whenever the words “telemarketing,” “annoying,” and “scams,” are mentioned in the same conversation. People are getting calls like these every day, and it makes it tougher for you, the skilled salesperson, using a customer-oriented consultative approach, to have an opportunity to speak with someone who has an open mind.

What to do? Aside from continuing using your professional approach on calls, I suggest jumping on these people when you get calls like this; not the poor callers who are reading from the scripts, but the agency managers and client companies who approve and create such damaging garbage.

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