In Sales The Biggest Rolodex Wins

How many names do you have in your business Rolodex? ______

If you respond the way most salespeople do - you’ll estimate 200, 400, 700, 1,000 etc.

Remember this, if your answer ended with a zero - you don’t really know, do you?

Your Rolodex, or contact management system, is one of your most important business assets. Not using it properly is a huge mistake and a big liability for you.

Here are several ways to build your Rolodex.

1. First, get rid of your paper planners. This is 2004. Invest in an account management or data base management software. Check out ACT or File Maker Pro.

2. While you’re getting rid of your paper planners you may want to invest in a good PDA like Palm or one of their competitors.

3. Don’t treat anyone anonymously. Today’s assistant could be tomorrow’s decision-maker.

4. When adding contact information be sure you get all of it including:

Name
Company Name
Street Address
City, State ZIP
Telephone number + extension
Voice mail number
Fax number
E-mail address
Web site

Special interests

Once you begin to build your data base (Rolodex) use it to promote your company, your products, and yourself. The more your customers and prospects hear from you the more they’ll buy from you.

Building your Rolodex is the ultimate in networking. Networking isn’t easy, but it is very important. If networking was easy it would be called neteasying.

Building your Rolodex takes time and will pay big dividends for you.

How many names did you add to your Rolodex today?

Jim Meisenheimer is the creator of No-Brainer Sales Training. His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by contacting him at (800) 266-1268 or by visiting his website: http://www.meisenheimer.com

A Golf Driver Tip To Remember

Every golfer wants to know the best golf driver tip. I hate to
disappoint you but there are many great golf driver tips that
could be the key to unlocking monster drives for you. Every
month the golf magazines have dozens of tips in them, but none
of them get to the root of the problem.

If I were to get the opportunity to write a golf driver tip for
a magazine, I’d say something against the norm. Something
teaching instructors wouldn’t want to hear. Do you want to know
what it is? It’s not some quick fix, because they never work
long-term. The “only” thing that works long-term is working on
you.

Your body has a current level of physical ability. I don’t care
how many balls you hit at the range; how many lessons you take;
and what driver you’re swinging. Hitting the ball further takes
an increase in clubhead speed. Period. So hitting more balls or
taking more lessons won’t improve this.

The only thing that can improve clubhead speed is strengthening
your core rotational strength and flexibility. Your core is the
engine to your swing. A weak or inflexible core will not give
you the results you are looking for.

The golf swing a turn back and a turn through. Isn’t that about
as simple as you can make it? If that’s true, why wouldn’t you
improve your body’s ability to rotate quicker and more
powerfully? This is the ticket to longer drives!

There are many simple, yet effective core rotational exercises
you can do in your home, or even office to greatly improve your
clubhead speed and driving distance.

Do you want an easy one you can do right in your chair?

Cross your arms in front of your chest. Sit up tall and erect.
With a fixed head position, rotate to the right and left slowly.
See how far you can go. Do this without stopping. As you feel a
loosening of the core, start to rotate faster and faster. Do
this 20 or 30 times when you think about it and I guarantee
you’ll feel it.

Since time is such a valuable commodity, you’ve got to get
creative. I’ve put together a complete section of my manual that
covers simples stretches and exercises you can do right in your
chair in your office. You can’t get more convenient than that.

I hope I didn’t disappoint you with this golf driver tip.

Fine Hair and Protein Myths

A lot of people think that you can increase your hair’s vitality by what you eat - and they are correct. However, a lot of people are wrong to assume that you need to consume a lot of protein, and specifically animal protein, to have healthy hair. For example, some people recommend those with fine hair consume a lot of eggs. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Here’s a personal example. My mother and I both have fine, thin, straight hair. She has eaten meat all her life, while I am a strict vegetarian (vegan). No matter that our diets differ, we both have similar quality hair. Of course part of this is genetic. But also, this is because we both get a well-balanced diet (mine just doesn’t contain any animal products).

To increase the vitality of your hair through diet, you need to include the following on a regular basis:

Clean water

A wide array of fruits and vegetables, preferably raw or cooked low-heat

A good selection of protein from several sources including: soy protein/flour, plant protein (like whole grains and rice) and brewers yeast.

I also recommend a high-quality multivitamin. In particular look for multivitamins with biotin and folic acid. These are the amino acids required for hair growth.

Gelatin Caps

Knox Gelatin sells packets and capsules of ground-up gelatin and markets it as a supplement to strengthen hair, skin, and nails. Before I became vegetarian my mother and I tried consuming these packets and capsules - along with eating tons of Jello — for a period of four months. Neither of us saw a bit of difference in our hair, skin, or nails. Perhaps it takes longer to work but I doubt it. Besides, the thought of eating ground up animal bones (that’s what gelatin is) just isn’t appealing.

Are You Vegetarian/Vegan?

You might have encountered good-natured people who tell you that eating meat will increase the diameter or quantity of your hair. And I’m sure you know this just isn’t true. I can believe you get all the nutrients you need through a well-balanced diet. However, if you are thinking of adding anything to your routine in an effort to help your hair, skin, or nails, I’d recommend the following supplements:

Vegan Multivitamin

Flaxseed (oil form or ground up) - add to a variety of dishes, this provides omega 3 fatty acids typically found in seafood.

Nutritional Yeast - add to dishes, tastes kind of like mild powdered cheese. Make sure you buy the nutritional kind, not the kind for baking bread or from the brewing process.

People who are not vegetarian/vegan will benefit from adding any of the above-mentioned into their diets, too.

Yes, diet does play a role in the health and vitality of your hair. However, eating too much animal protein won’t thicken fine hair - but probably will thicken your arteries! So, be healthy and get your protein from plant sources. Don’t be fooled by well-meaning, but uninformed people when it comes to having great health and fabulous hair!

Holly Houff considers herself a champion for women “cursed” with straight, fine, thin, limp hair - and tirelessly works in the pursuit of happy hair days! She reviews fine hair products and techniques at her website, http://www.finehairsecrets.com

Planting Summer Flower Bulbs

In the summer, the sun is shining and everything is vibrant. Even the summer flowers are brighter and bolder. No meek pastels or pasty whites here; summer flower bulbs are vivacious. While less hardy plants are dried, brown, and dying, summer flowers are bright, alive, and thriving. Summer flower bulbs are flowers that bloom in the summer. Some examples are daylilies, lilies, gladiolus, dahlia, begonia, and caladium.

Summer flower bulbs should be planted in early spring. They need to be planted in an area with adequate drainage. Flower bulbs will rot in standing water. For this reason, they should never be planted at the bottom of a hill.

Summer flower bulbs vary in their sun requirements. Dahlias, lilies, and daylilies, for example, thrive in full sun to partial shade. Gladiolus, on the other hand, requires full sun and iris prefer partial shade. When planning your arrangement, pay special attention to the amount of sun your garden or flowerbed receives and pick your flower bulbs accordingly.

All summer flower bulbs require loose, workable soil. If the area has never been used for growing, add some compost or peat moss. Most bulbs will not require any special fertilization, but follow your package directions carefully.

These flowers work best in masses. For the best effect, do not plant a single bulb or a thin line of bulbs. They look best when they are clumped as in the wild.

Summer flower bulbs should be planted when the soil is dry and free-flowing. Did the hole six to eight inches deep, and place the bulb in with the pointed side facing up. Cover the hole with dirt and pack firmly. Water thoroughly.

If you plant your summer flower bulbs in an appropriate location and give them the most basic attention, you will be abundantly rewarded. When all the other plants and flowers are dying, you will have a bed of bright, vibrant flowers.

Flower Bulbs Info provides detailed information on wholesale, discount, spring, summer, and fall flower bulbs for sale, flower bulb catalog and company information, and advice on planting flower bulbs. Flower Bulbs Info is the sister site of Flower Delivery Web.

Debt Management Plans - A Way To Survive The Debt And Come On Top

Debt Management Plans

Debt Management Plans (DMP) is placed one step beyond credit counseling and a stone’s throw short of bankruptcy. If you are too deep into debt and unable to pay them, a credit counseling agency may recommend Debt Management Plans. This is a serious step that should be considered carefully along with better money management skills and budgeting disciplines.

Similar to prescription medication that you would only take after consulting a licensed physician, Debt Management Plans should start only after you have talked it over with a certified credit counselor. Your certified credit counselor spends the time to review your financial situation, consider alternatives, and help you learn to handle money better. You want to stay out of debt after you get out of it.

What is Debt Management Plans?

In simple terms, your credit counseling organization begins to manage your debts on your behalf through direct interaction with your creditors. They come between you and most of your unsecured creditors, negotiate lower interest rates, eliminate certain fees, arrange payment amounts and prioritize which creditors gets paid first. In short, almost everything that could be done to get you out of debt fast. These plans cover most unsecured debts, like credit card bills, student loans, and medical bills. But secured debts such as real estate loans fall outside of these plans.

Before signing up with a credit counseling organization for a DMP, verify any concessions your particular creditors offer to that organization. All these concessions from your creditors amount to one thing: Lower your monthly payment and still get out of debt faster. In some cases, you will be able to pay you debts, years earlier. Ask your credit counselor how much earlier you will get out of debt if you stayed on course.

When DMP starts, you agree to send one monthly payment to the credit counseling organization and they in turn make all the payments to your creditors for you. In the meantime, you may have to agree not to use or apply for credit while you are participating in the plan.

Is a Debt Management Plan Right For You?

Cover the following with your credit counselor before you decide to participate in a Debt Management Plan.

Find out if there are other options besides the DMP available to you. Is your DMP handled by the same organization that also provides you assistance with money and budget management during and after DMP? If a Debt Management Plan is handled by one organization and another handles your ongoing credit counseling, how will you coordinate the two? Remember you want to stay out debt later.

Find out how enrolling in a Debt Management Plan impacts your credit and your credit score. Negative and accurate information on your credit record is not easy to remove despite any promises made.

Confirm what your monthly payment amount is and if you can afford it. Do not commit to something you cannot follow through.

Credit counseling organization promises concessions they can get from your creditors, such as lowering or eliminating interest charges and late fees. Confirm these with your creditors and see if there is a waiting period before these concessions kick in or do they start as soon as you enroll in a DMP.

Verify that your creditors are paid within the correct billing cycles and before their required payment due date.

Clarify the steps involved in getting status reports on your account from your credit counseling organization. How often? How detailed? Is it accessible by phone? Any hesitancy on behalf of the credit counseling organization to let you verify your account status is a big red flag that means you need to find another organization to help you.

Find out if your creditors are willing to reset the clock on your past-due accounts, wiping out the record of missed and late payments if you sign up with a Debt Management Plan. This process is called re-aging your account. How many payments should you make before your creditors are willing to do this?

What to do after Debt Management Plan starts?

Once you sign up with a Debt Management Plan continue to be active with the process, even though emotionally, you may want to wash your hands away and stay away. DMP does not relieve you of your responsibilities; it only helps you manage it better.

Keep in touch with your creditors and pay your bills until the DMP goes into effect. If you haven’t had any negative entries in your credit report by now, any late payments, late and penalties can still be entered into your credit report.

Contact your creditors and confirm that they have accepted the proposed Debt Management Plan before you send any payments to the credit counseling organization for your DMP.

Call each of your creditors on the first of every month to make sure the agency has paid them on time and verify this by checking your monthly statements. Your monthly statement should also reflect any changes in your interest rates, waiving of the late fees and any other concessions you were expecting.

May you be granted freedom from debts both physical and Spiritually.

How Much Traffic Can A Good Article Bring Your Business? Vishy Dadsetan writes easy to read, keyword rich, search engine optimized articles that make sense. Articles just like this one.
WebSite: www.freecreditreport.ws/creditcounseling.html

Outsourcing - Another Variation

In this article we’re going to go over another form of outsourcing that is just as common a practice as sending jobs overseas.

It’s the hiring of contract workers.

This practice actually started many years ago back in the 70’s by large companies such as AT&T.

As a regular employee of a company you are entitled to and probably receive the following: health benefits, vacation time, sick time, pension plans, 401 K and a number of other perks. These perks cost the company money, lots of money. If a company is marginally profitable these perks greatly cut into their profit margin.

In order to increase profitability and reduce expenses companies hire what they call contractors or outside consultants. Why? Well, for starters, they don’t have to pay them as much, though in actuality they pay them more money to make the position more attractive. So the question is, how can these companies actually pay more money and still make this profitable?

The answer is because outsourced contractors are NOT employees of the company. That means they work for the contracting company whether it be Source EDP or one of the other big contractors in the United States. These employees are employees of the contracting company. The contracting company pays their salary, benefits, etc. The company using the outsourcing simply pays this company a fee, granted a hefty one, for the employee. BUT here is what they DON’T have to pay. Health benefits, vacation time, 401 K, pension and all the other goodies that go with a company when you’re an actual employee of the company. This saves the company a ton of money on each contractor. Multiply this out by 100,000 of these and you’re talking about saving millions of dollars.

Here is actually a real life example that was given to me from an associate of mine from a contracting situation from years ago during the AT&T divestiture.

Back in the early 80’s AT&T Information Systems had a building in Northern NJ with 10,000 employees. They needed an additional 2,000 to complete a project. Instead of hiring them outright they outsourced them.

Now, the positions paid $7 an hour to an actual employee. The outsourced pay was $18. so the additional cost for the 2,000 employees for the 1 year project was $45, 760,000. One would think this is total insanity. However, the amount of money they saved per person for health benefits, 401 K, pension and all the other things they had to pay into came to $54,912,000. A savings of almost $10,000,000 because they used outsourced employees rather than hire actual workers for the company. After the project was completed they hung onto the contractors and laid off over 2,000 of their regular employees, which was the first time in the history of AT&T that they had to do this.

As you can see, outsourcing saved the company millions of dollars. It also cost 2,000 people their jobs. 2,000 jobs weren’t created because they were using contractors instead. Remember, these contractors were already working for a company, a contracting company. So 2,000 people were now out on the street. Most of them went into, you guessed it, contracting.

It’s one of the biggest industries in the United States today.

Any wonder why?

——————————————————-
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Outsourcing
——————————————————-

Curb Appeal: Home Sellers, You Only Get One Glance to Make an Impression

If you’re selling a fixer for a rock-bottom price, investors love ugly houses. However, if you want to get top-dollar for your home, you must make home shoppers get out of their car and see what’s inside.

Every home seller wants two things: a quick sale at the highest possible price. Neither of those desires is unreasonable, but in order to achieve those goals, you’ll need to do a few things to make you home more saleable and different from your competition–all the other homes for sale in your neighborhood and price range.

Curb Appeal

First, look at the outside of your home, since that’s what prospective buyers will see first. If you’ve ever bought a home, you know that you passed up potential homes simply because they looked shabby and unkempt from the street. It’s just a quirk of human nature that makes a person think that if a home looks bad from the street, it will be just as bad on the inside–so don’t let your home make a negative impression on the outside.

Keep the lawn and landscaping as well-manicured as possible. Keep perennials looking good, and if possible, plant some nice-looking annual flowers to dress up the appearance of your home. Make sure your front door creates a warm, inviting feeling. If it needs a coat of paint, do it. Paint is cheap, and the rewards will be worth the effort.

You don’t have to spend a huge amount of money to make your house appealing to potential buyers. However, as the old saying goes: you only get one opportunity to make a good first impression. So walk around your house, inside and out, and try to look at it as if it’s the first time you’ve ever seen it. What things do you see that would make a less-than-favorable impression on YOU if you were looking at them for the first time? Those are the things you want to address–long before the first potential buyers pull up in front of your home.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher, interior design instructor, helps home sellers with color psychology to make their homes more saleable. She offers FREE Home Staging Information. Jeanette teaches home sellers FIVE ways to get more money from their home sale. http://sellfast.info

Free Loan Advice Information

Debt Management Preparation

Pull together your most recent six months worth of receipts (if
you don’t keep receipts, start doing so now). Don’t bother
gathering tax information (you’ll be paying that no matter what)
and household utilities (ditto). Be mindful of your credit card
bills, and make use of their categorization (auto, grocery,
food, etc). If your bills aren’t categorized, categorize them
yourself. Next, you’ll need to think of some ways to save money
on EACH category, at a goal of 10% savings per category. This
savings will become your “nest egg?of sorts under the debt
management plan.

http://www.FAST-CASH-ADVANCE-PAYDAY-LOANS.net

Debt Management Execution

In a spreadsheet or a piece of paper, list each bill, category,
payoff amount, minimum payment, and APR.

Next, determine which bills are taking the most money away from
you, and eliminate those bills first. For example, Visa bill at
18.99% interest takes precedence over the 9% auto loan. This is
not to say that the auto loan should be ignored. Rather, the
minimum payment should be made on the auto loan (and all other
bills) while the remainder of one’s “nest egg?should be applied
to paying off the Visa bill. Percentages will forever rule your
life if you are in debt; turn the table and rule them.

http://www.freeloanadvice.info

An Organized School Year In 10 Easy Steps

Organizing your kids and keeping them organized throughout the school year can be a real challenge. But it doesn’t have to be. With an effective organizational system, your family can experience a life without chaos and clutter.

It all starts with establishing a system that works. As parents we’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to teaching our children how to be responsible individuals. One of the best ways to do this is to model the behavior and habits we would like to encourage in them and make our school aged kids responsible for their own belongings.

Being organized is all about developing family routines that work. Good routines are anything you do on a regular basis that simplifies your life and makes it run smoother. It could be setting regular sleep and wake-up times for your kids (and yourself) or something as simple as setting the breakfast table, making lunches, or laying your clothes out the night before.

A positive family rhythm is an organized one. Effective organizing involves having a solid system in place with regular family discussions, limited extra curricular activities, creative scheduling and a plan for conflict resolution when it occurs.

Following are some tips to help your family get and stay organized this school year and beyond.

Color-code supplies. Keep things simple by having a different color knapsack and lunch bag for each child. You could also take the color-coding idea one step further and use it as a way of keeping your children’s class materials separate.

Create a homework schedule. Have your child do her homework when and where it makes the most sense to her. Support homework completion by encouraging a regular daily routine.

Eliminate frustrations with an organized backpack. Showing your child how to effectively use her backpack can eliminate a lot of last minute hassle. Have her use the main section for books and binders. Signed permission slips can find a home in an outer pocket. The remaining small pouches are ideal for separating pens, pencils and calculators from personal items like a tooth or hair brush.

Daily backpack habits. Make it a habit to sort thorough your child’s backpack with her the same day it comes home. Depending on your schedule allot some time after school or after dinner. Sign permission forms and record important school events at the same time.

Record everything on a family calendar. One of best ways to keep on top of everyone’s schedule is to have a central spot where things are recorded and easily referred to. A large family calendar in a high traffic area like the kitchen is a great way of keeping abreast of what’s happening and when.

Schedule in nightly preparation time. Encourage your child to spend 15 minutes each night gathering all that they need for the next day. If you have several children set up a shelf with baskets or cubby holes so each child has his or her separate space to store school related belongings. Include in this time clothes planning for the next day.

Ready, set, leave. Set up a spot near the door for things that need to go to school (backpacks, school books, sports equipment, musical instruments etc.)

For more creative tips on how to get your kids up and out in the morning visit http://familysanitysavers.com/morningmadness.html

Make lunches in advance. Plan non-perishables like drinks and snacks a week or two ahead. Make sandwiches once a week and freeze or prepare them the night before.

Plan breakfast the night before. Save time in the morning by setting the kitchen table in advance and making cereal and bread available to those who are ready first.

Set your alarm clock earlier. Trying to get yourself and everyone else ready at same time in the morning only breeds panic. Do yourself a favor by rising half an hour before everyone else. It’s amazing how smooth your morning will go if you’re showered and dressed before waking the kids.

Sherrie Le Masurier is a lifestyle columnist, organizing consultant and a member of Professional Organizers in Canada. She offers up smart solutions for busy families via http://www.familysanitysavers.com and http://www.organizedliving.blogspot.com - Copyright.

Veranda Decking - A New Alternative In Decking Material

Veranda decking is a composite decking material that has a reversible finish. It has a combed finish on one side of the decking and a wood grain finish on the other. Although it is called veranda decking, you can use this decking to build a gazebo or any kind of patio or deck. The prices are comparable with other types of composite decking and you have three colors to choose from - gray, cedar and redwood. In addition to buying veranda decking, you can also purchase the railing you need for your deck in the same color and material.

Check with Home Depot for veranda composite decking prices. At the present time, this is the only store that sells this type of composite decking. Veranda decking comes in three different lengths - 8, 10 and 12 feet. You can also buy the screws you need in the same color as the veranda composite decking you choose for your deck. This decking material is the perfect one to choose for a deck that will see a lot of traffic and different climate conditions. It will not diminish in appearance with a lot of people walking on it, dragging pation furniture over it or through the elements of weather.

The thing that you will notice with veranda decking is that the color will lighten over time. This is not the result of a defect in the veranda composite decking but it is a natural occurrence due to exposure to sunlight. The decking has to have time to weather and this usually takes two to three months. After this length of time, you won’t notice any further fading or lightening of the color of your composite decking material.

Veranda decking has to go through a mellowing period. If you buy the decking at reduced veranda composite decking prices, you should not worry that the reason for the lower prices was that there was something wrong with the material. During the first two or three months, you may notice tan or greenish hues coming through the veranda composite decking, no matter what color you choose. There will also be slight color variations in the pieces because of the components of the composite decking - wood fibers and recycled plastic. Although there is a warranty with the veranda brand of composite decking, color variation is not included in this warranty.

When you buy veranda decking, you should buy all the material you need to complete your deck at the same time. In fact, experts with installing veranda composite decking recommend that you buy extra because of the color variation that you may encounter. The extra pieces will allow you to ensure that your deck is all the same shade of the color you choose. If you do run out of veranda decking before the project is completed, you may have difficulty getting the exact color to match because runs of the manufacturing of this product can produce slight differences in the colors.