Please, No More Newsletters!

Please, No More Newsletters!
How's your inbox? Stuffed and overflowing with unread mail?

If you are like me, you probably receive at least five to
ten valuable newsletters daily. Most of these are great,
and full of useful information.

But, I just can't read them all. If I read all the
"useful" information I received from newsletters each day,
I would spend at least half of each day reading!

If I'm reading, I'm not doing.

Doing creates profit for my business. I simply cannot
afford to spend half my productive time reading all the
wonderful information you send me!

I think the concept of the newsletter has gotten out of
hand.

If it takes me more than 30 seconds to read your message,
you are wasting my time.

When I send you a newsletter, you will never get the whole
issue via email. I will send you a list of the titles of
the relevant articles, and a link to the PDF for you to
print and peruse at your leisure. I want you to read my
newsletter when you are relaxing in your easy chair after
work, or spending a few quiet minutes with your morning cup
of coffee.

I heard something interesting the other day about the
difference between how children and adults listen. When
you tell a child a story, they will give you 100% of their
attention. That's why fairy tales are so useful in
teaching values to children. Instead of telling them what
to do (which all of us hate), you tell them about actions
and consequences. Children listen to stories, and then go
out and play. They have the leisure time to process the
information behind the story.

If you tell a child the story of Red Riding Hood, they will
at first be horrified that the wolf ate Grandma, and then
wonder why in the world Red Riding Hood didn't recognize
that the wolf wasn't Grandma before she even entered the
room. The story of Red Riding Hood teaches children there
are bad things and people out there, and they need to be
cautious and watch out for the hidden wolf.

If you tell the same story to an adult, they will think to
themselves, "Oh, what a sad story, and how terrible for
Little Red!" Their attention will immediately transfer to
what they will be having for dinner, which child needs to
be picked up next, or the bill payment they need to get in
the mail before tomorrow.

Adults are bombarded with so much information they learn to
filter out everything but the most urgent and important.

Back to email. If you know that the average adult will
only spend a few seconds on your message, why in the world
would you send them a page full of data? Since most of us
access email at work, we simply do not have the leisure
time to process your information!

If you want my full attention, give me snippets via email.
Don't try to sell me, or send me a book. Mentally, I have
too much to process. If your message takes me more than 30
seconds to read, I will probably ignore it. Instead, send
me the highlights, and a link to a PDF I can print and read
at my leisure. I keep reading material with me at all
times, while I am waiting for an appointment, or one of my
children.

When you put together your next promotional message, keep
this in mind. Thirty seconds, max. Anything more and your
message will go right in the trash.

----------------------------------------------------
Todd Jensen, "The Profit Engineer", has helped hundreds of
business owners make their business more successful and
profitable. For tips and strategies on how to boost your
business success as well as increase your profits, visit
http://www.theprofitengineer.com or
http://www.freebusinessstartupinfo.com

How Effective Ad Copy Can Save Your Business, if Your Buildings Were to Crumble!

How Effective Ad Copy Can Save Your Business, if Your Buildings Were to Crumble!
When the 911 terrorist attacks occurred in September 2001,
many buildings circling the TWIN TOWERS also collapsed.

In the blink of an eye, a fortune in fixed assets, crumbled
into the dust.

Many business people lost their livelihoods... instantly.

Although the above is graphically troubling for some, the
analogy exists just the same.

And that is, "if your business was to lose every fixed
asset you own - either due to flooding, fire, bankruptcy or
any other 'disaster' how would you cope?

Could you replicate the success that you've built up over a
good period of time, almost instantly?

For many, they'd have a hard time reconciling the two.

But, if one owned the most prized key in the business world
(and knows how to use it) a business owner would be back in
business faster than it takes to clear up the rubble.

So, what is that PRIZED KEY ?

Effective, salesmanship-in-print advertising writing. The
type that gets people to purchase products, capture emails,
request a free report, respond by some sort of simple
action.

But, here's the real key: The better you are at delivering
your effective communication EARLY ON IN THE CUSTOMER
BUYING RELATIONSHIP you'll have them probably hooked for
life.

And that means... EVEN WHEN THE CHIPS ARE REALLY REALLY
DOWN, customers, clients, prospects whom you've interacted
with over a period of time, will support you even in times
of despair.

Getting customers on your side is vital. As you never know
when you're going to need to ask them for... money,
shelter, food or anything else. Stick close to them and
they'll never ever desert you.

Can you now see the value of communicating with people who
spend money with you, regularly, on a timely basis?

Of course you do.

Especially when you understand that at least 65% of
customers in a business simply walks away to another
competitor due to BUSINESS OWNER NEGLECT.

This lack of indifference, uncaring attitude and taking
customers for granted, is a disease that's rarely likely to
stop. Do you know what happened to the hundreds of
stockbrokers who lost a lifetime's fortune with the stock
market crash of 1929? They threw all their client records
out of the high-rise buildings and they followed suit by
jumping out of the building to their deaths. Obviously,
their losses were too much to take.

But, do you know what the other stockbrokers were doing?
They were snatching the client records out of the sky and
stuffing them into their pockets.

Why?

So they could then find out the value of a client's
monetary worth and accordingly adjust their approach to
them. They were sitting on a ready-made goldmine, just
waiting to be tapped!

The client list, the regular communicating and contact, the
high net worth. All of it took careful and systematic
nurturing,

Back to the twin towers.

When you think of it, no-one can really send a plane
crashing into the side of your sales letters and marketing
communications, can they?

Sales letters, emails, adverts, promotional literature in
print, they ARE your biggest asset... BAR NONE!

When will you start creating compelling communications to
your client base? When will you realise the inherent and
immense value that a satisfied client can give you?

A little hint: Find out sooner, rather than later.

----------------------------------------------------
Nick James is a UK based direct marketer and product
developer. During the last 5 years Nick has sold in excess
of £1.6 Million Pounds worth of products and sevices
online. Subscribe to his Free Tip Of The Week email at:
http://www.Nick-James.com

The Only Thing Constant is Change

The Only Thing Constant is Change
Who said that? We did. Someone else said it first, but
that's not important. What is important is your recognition
that change is an integral part of life and if you don't
incorporate it into your business, sooner or later you will
be left behind.

Now for those conservative minded readers who still wear
bow ties and Brooks Brothers suits, we will gladly
acknowledge that exceptions abound. Unfortunately, however,
most of us do not have the luxury of waiting to see if the
public will stick with our products. He who waits and makes
a mistake gets left behind. Don't believe me? Ask IBM,
Sears, or the entire U.S. automobile industry. Change left
them all in the dust.

To compound matters, change is rapidly becoming a trend
force. By this expression, I mean that change is becoming
an expected mode of operation for your customers. Want some
examples? Ok, let's take the fast food industry. Does the
name itself tell you anything? Think about the successful
ones—McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's. What do they
have going that their copy-cat failure competition can't
latch on to? Change. Almost every week the big three have
something new going on. You will see new products, new
offers, new games. McDonald's is totally changing the
interior of every store in Europe to change its face
overseas and create a more upscale environment. In
addition, kid's meal offerings change constantly along with
local endorsements and sponsorships.

You have only to listen to the quote of Ray Kroc, the
McDonald's founder, in order to know their position. "We
can invent it faster than others can copy it."

Change is certainly not limited to fast foods either. I
think one of the best examples of change can be seen at
Apple. Now that Steve Jobs is back he is cranking out one
winning product after another. He embraces change and makes
it a part of the corporate culture.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN TO YOU?

It means that you should adopt change as part of your
business. Not as an accident which happens, but actually
part of your ongoing operation. Use change to let your
customers know that you are a viable company constantly
aware of the latest trends. How do you do it? Let's look at
some ideas.

1. New product or service. Borrowing from the fast-food
industry, always be on the look out for anything new which
can be added to your product line or service offering. Now
note, and this is important, don't worry whether or not
this product will make money by itself. Sometimes you will
do things simply to draw attention to your entire line of
products and your business in general.

2. Be on the look out for a different way to serve your
customer. Home delivery is an example. More and more
companies are turning to this strategy and shopping online
is so successful because the products come to you. No
traffic and less stress. Can you think of another way?

3. Center promotions on holidays, local news events and
fads. These events don't have to relate to your product
except that you tie it in that way. The more you can use
these events, the more your company and product seem
current.

Change is a powerful business force. It can wipe you out or
it can make you an overnight success. This coming year, put
the word change on every day of your calendar. Constantly
be on the look out for the next promotion. If you do this,
you will energize yourself, your employees, and most
importantly, your customers.

Business Rule: Incorporate change as a part of your
business philosophy, but don't change what works.

----------------------------------------------------
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See The Business Growth Blog at
http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com

Emotional Connection - Why Do People Buy?

Emotional Connection - Why Do People Buy?
People buy based on emotion. You can benefit from this
with careful planning and execution of a plan. It all
starts with your target market. Having a narrow target
market allows you to create a conversation with your ideal
customer through your marketing.

Selecting the best possible target market is not easy.
Your target needs to qualify in the following ways:
- Viability - they must be willing and able to pay for what
you are offering and they fit within your life or lifestyle
- Need/want - they must need, or at least want, what you
are selling
- Access - you have access to this segment of the market
- Happiness - you need to enjoy working with them
- Fit - your niche (expertise) marries well with them

Once these criteria are met, you need to communicate with
this group using emotion. You may have heard about using
pain in your marketing, for good reason. It works! By
illustrating your target's pain, you are playing on their
emotions and getting their attention. Then you can inform
them that you are the solution and can take the pain away.

This may sound manipulative because it is. All marketing
is manipulative to a point - you are trying to convince a
person to take a particular action. This is not negative;
you are trying to get your target's attention to help them
solve their problem. You do not have to use your power for
evil!

By having a target market in mind, you can more easily
write effective copy for your website, your 30-second
introduction and all other marketing materials. Without a
target market, your marketing message comes across bland
and diluted. You probably also look and sound just like
everyone else. By 'speaking' to one narrow segment of the
population, you can really zero in on their specific needs,
speaking to him/her as though they are sitting right next
to you, making an emotional connection.

If you are in a field that is particularly emotional, like
therapy of any kind or anything to do with children, your
marketing message would be most effective if you could make
the prospect actually tear up or cry. They would feel as
though someone finally really understands them and can help
them! (Because you DO understand them and you CAN help
them.)

Some industries can use pictures to evoke an emotional
reaction. Don't you just love looking at before and after
pictures? Interior designers, professional organizers and
make-up artists are only three fields that benefit greatly
from using this technique. Just about anyone in the
wedding industry should use pictures to draw in their
prospects.

Let your personality and your passion really show through
your marketing. This is what your prospective clients
want. They want to feel you know them. Sometimes your
prospect needs time to make a decision; building a
relationship over time helps a great deal in making this
emotional connection.

Some ways to create and grow a connection with 'your
people' include putting new information on your website
regularly, collecting names and sending this list a
newsletter and/or a blog and networking.

By really knowing your target market's problems and needs,
and your solutions, you can give them exactly what they
want. When you demonstrate your expertise, you build
credibility in their eyes, and when you regularly remind
them of your existence, you will be the only one they think
of when they are ready to buy. Of course - you already
have a relationship!

----------------------------------------------------
Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is "The Tigress". Get
her FREE Special Report, "Closing the Sale is Not
Complicated!" with her FREE monthly email newsletter at
http://www.TigressCoaching.com .

Focus Your Energies by Forming a Joint Venture

Focus Your Energies by Forming a Joint Venture
Doing what you do best - and only what you do best - is the
ideal situation for everyone. For example, if you make an
excellent widget, then you want to keep perfecting those
widgets, not deal with the online sales and shipping of
your widgets. Or, if you are a writer of children's
books, you want to focus on the illustration - not on the
distribution and marketing of your books.

Obviously, sales and marketing are still very serious needs
that must be met in order for you to even have a company.
Thus, other people have found these needs and are willing
to fill them - if you let them do so. Makers of widgets
can hire companies to process all of their orders, ship the
widgets, and even handle the widget company's customer
service in its totality. Children's book authors work with
agents who create marketing campaigns for publication.
These types of partnerships are joint ventures in which
both companies win.

Focus on your expertise

The first step in forming this type of joint venture is
determining what you do best. If it is a product you
provide or an excellent service, you need to pin down how
your time is best spent.

Then figure out what part of your company you would like
someone else to handle. It could be as small as having an
outside company do your payroll, or as large as forming a
joint venture for your future advertising campaigns.
Forming a joint venture for a small or large part of what
you are doing now will allow you to focus on creating and
improving upon what you already do.

Seeking out joint venture partnerships

On the other end of the spectrum, if you are an excellent
sales and marketing professional, you might want to seek
out a company that has synergies with your business. If
you love their widgets, then propose a joint venture
marketing campaign that will propel both of you into the
forefront of the target audience. Or, if you find a great
children's book author and you sell children's toys, then
you can propose a joint venture email campaign.

The most important aspect in forming a joint venture in
your belief in what you do. If we are honest, we all know
there is something in which we excel. Indeed, we may have
become good at many things, but chances are we all have a
special skill or talent.

If you can discover your specialized talent, then you will
see where others are not as talented in that area.
Actually, you are likely to find people that despise doing
what you love to do, and vice-versa. This is a great
thing! The beauty of a joint venture is that your
strengths are the other partner's weaknesses, and
vice-versa. This helps you create a marketing campaign or
business strategy that is more powerful than your
individual efforts. Finding the synergies and
capitalizing upon those differences in a joint venture can
take your business to the next level.

----------------------------------------------------
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A strategic
Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers
business owners to discover and implement Integration,
Alliance, and Joint Venture marketing tactics to solve
specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create
your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your
sales, conversation rates, and repeat business.
Contact: christian@christianfea.com
http://www.christianfea.com

A Short Introduction to the Different Types of Binding

A Short Introduction to the Different Types of Binding
A variety of business and individuals use binding machines.
There are several different binding styles, and each style
comes in a variety of sizes for different binding volumes.

We'll briefly look at each binding style and who it is
suited for.

Comb Binding

Plastic comb binding machines will punch holes into the
edge of your paper, open the comb as you insert the paper,
and close it over a row of evenly spaced plastic rings. The
largest plastic combs that you can buy will bind about 450
pages. Plastic combs are the least flexible binding option
since they have a plastic spine that spans the combs
preventing the book from being folded over itself like a
coil will. Comb binding machine prices will vary depending
on the size of documents they can bind (both in number of
pages and length of the paper itself) and whether they
manually or automatically punch documents for you. Some
models also boast the ability to bind more than one style,
such as the Akiles ANYBIND, which will punch, comb and
double O wire bind. Plastic combs are less durable than
plastic coils because of the rigid structure and material
used to make the combs. Comb binding is popular for smaller
and thinner binding applications such as calendars,
cookbooks, and similar binding.

Coil Binding

Coil binding machines punch and bind documents with one
continuous spiral coil. Old spiral notebooks were bound
with metal coil that had sharp edges and bent easily, so
PVC coil is replacing metal in many applications. PVC is
more durable because it flexes and also doesn't have sharp
ends like metal coils. Prices for spiral (coil) binding
machines will vary based on the size of documents they can
bind (both in number of pages and length of the paper
itself) and whether they manually or automatically punch
and insert the coil. An automatic coil inserter is much
faster than doing it manually, but an operator must still
be holding the paper while the machine inserts the coil.

Spiral binding is ideal for law firms, real estate
proposals, and anyone else who needs to quickly (relative
to comb binding) and durably bind larger documents.

Wire Binding (also called twin loop, double loop, wire-o)

Wire binding uses metal wires (two per hole punch) that are
bent together by the binding machine after the paper is
punched and put into the wire ring. You can wire bind in
two sizes or pitches 3:1 and 2:1. The larger is 2:1 pitch
and will bind document up to about 300 sheets. Prices for
wire binding machines will vary based on the size of
documents they can bind (you'll need a machine with
disengageable die if you need to punch legal size
documents) and whether they manually or automatically punch
and insert the coil. Most wire binding machines do one
pitch or the other. Wire binding is professional looking
and durable. It's suitable for law offices, real estate
agencies, and anyone who needs to bind larger documents.

ProClick

ProClick is a new type of binding exclusive to GBC that can
easily be opened to add or remove pages from a document.
It's a continuous bind, so the book can be folded around
completely and lies flat. However, ProClick machines will
not bind a wide variety of lengths and pages of documents.
The ProClick binding spines can be closed and removed by
hand or with the machines, and the spines are durable. A
ProClick machine would work well for any company that needs
to bind smaller documents as they will only bind up to
about 125 pages.

Thermal Binding

You are probably aware of thermal binding as the way
paperback books are bound. A one piece front and back cover
has glue down the spine, which holds the pages in place.
The advantage of thermal binding over the types we've
discussed already is the clean look; thermal binding
doesn't punch the edges, leaving them vulnerable to tearing
and fraying. There are several types of thermal binding
that are beyond the scope of this article. You will find
thermal binders at a wide variety of prices for use in
anything from small business employee or training manual to
large printers who produce phone books. Unibind binding
machines are a subcategory of thermal binding that have
become popular for creating photo books and other
professional-looking hardback books.

Velobinding (also called strip binding)

A Velobind machine punches holes in your documents and then
covers the edges with a plastic strip so the punches are
not visible. Although the edges of the paper are visible on
one side (as opposed to thermal binding, where the bound
edges are covered) Velobinding still makes a durable and
clean finished product.

You can Velobind both soft and hard covers, and two
different types of spines which make Velobinding a good
choice for portfolios, reports, proposals, and courtroom
presentations. You can Velobind 2" or up to about 500
sheets.

Saddle Stitchers

Saddle stitchers are machines that punch wire staples
through the center fold of the papers being bound. Some
saddle stitchers will do both the folding and stapling of a
book. Saddle stitchers are usually in the thousands of
dollars and are mostly purchased by printers and similar
businesses. Saddle stitching is used for catalogs,
brochures, newsletters, and magazines.

----------------------------------------------------
Lydia King is the head of marketing development for
http://www.iShopBinding.com a top distributor of binding
equipment and supplies from brands like Akiles, Fellowes,
GBC, and more. iShopBinding strives to deliver relevant
advice and articles on the best binding equipment available.

Your Customer's Problems are Your Marketing Opportunities

Your Customer's Problems are Your Marketing Opportunities
The essential purpose of a small business or company is
that your product or service provides some kind of solution
to some kind of need or problem. In other words, people's
problems are your opportunities.

That's pretty oversimplified but holds true. If you don't
know what's bugging your prospects and keeping them up at
night, then you won't know what solution your services and
products need to offer them.

From a marketing point of view, you have to be very clear
about what your customer's problems are in order to "talk"
to them. When you think of what you are selling as a
solution to your prospects' problems or a way to improve
their lives, you are speaking their language. And when you
speak their language, they are much more likely to listen,
because you are tapping into the conversation that is
already going on inside their head!

People want to know you understand them, that you have
compassion for their concerns and want to help with your
services and products.

Your goal is to create a clear, concise and strong
marketing message that resonates with your prospects' wants
and needs. Your marketing message needs to clearly show
the connection between your services and your prospective
clients' needs.

Your target or niche market shares commonalities in the
frustrations and issues they face. As a good marketer and
business owner, you need to identify these and be able to
talk about them in your marketing communications.

Your prospects are walking around with needs and problems
and they are looking for solutions. They are not
necessarily walking around looking for the product or
service you sell. So, when you can position your product or
service as a solution to their problem, you immediately get
their attention!

To be more accurate, your prospects and clients experience
various symptoms or emotions caused by their problems. For
example, people come to professional organizers because
they feel many of the following symptoms: stress, anxiety,
feeling out of control, unhappy, inefficient, feeling bad
about self, ineffectual and so on. They may have different
problems, i.e. messy office, no workable filing system,
cluttered garage, but they all pretty much feel the same
and experience the same symptoms.

By tapping into people's underlying issues and the emotions
that are created from this problem or need, you can ensure
that your marketing materials talk directly to these
symptoms and problems.

So how do you figure out what your prospects' and clients'
problems are?

* think about when you have been in the same situation and
what your main issues and feelings were

* ask current and potential customers what the key issues
facing them are

* stay current with any studies, literature and news about
your target group and things that are "hot buttons" for them

* periodically check out your competitor's websites and see
how are they talking to their customers, what kind of
language they are using

* do research on your target market (via websites,
magazines, trade shows, online forums) to see what they're
talking about amongst themselves You need to stay educated
and informed of your prospect's problems; otherwise you
won't be able to communicate that you understand their
problems. And if you can't do this, then your potential
clients will not respond; and as a result they will not buy
your products or services.

The principle is very simple: if you can clearly articulate
a problem your client has, and you can demonstrate credibly
that you can provide a solution to that problem, they will
listen to you.

If your marketing message can clearly and compellingly
"connect the dots" between the problems your prospects and
customers have and the solutions your services and products
provide, then you'll have more qualified buyers and more
success marketing your small business!

----------------------------------------------------
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, delivers
simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to
help business owners find and keep their most profitable
clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your
business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE
special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at
http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com

Job Cuts - Layoffs - Fired - Are You Losing Your Job?

Job Cuts - Layoffs - Fired - Are You Losing Your Job?
If you've lost your job - or are going to lose your job -
the last thing that you want to talk about is "why" you
lost your job. In fact, the question

"Why did you leave your last job?"

is one of the toughest questions to deal with - especially
if you've been let go in one form or another.

If you are among the thousands of people who have been laid
off in the last year and a half, you can simply state: "I
was laid off."

This answers the question but still leaves a lingering
doubt in the mind of the interviewer, - "Why were you laid
off?" The more specific your answer, the more effective it
will be.

"There were six rounds of layoffs at my last company. I
survived five rounds, but when it came to round six they
had to cut deep. My position was eliminated along with half
of my group because the project we were working on was
cancelled."

Not everyone will have such a definite statement to make.
Whatever your situation is it will be helped by including
facts and figures to explain the circumstances surrounding
your layoff.

"10% of the workforce was let go," or "One out of every ten
jobs was affected, company-wide."

When you quantify a statement it has more depth. When you
tell the interviewer whether it was 10 or 1000 people were
laid off helps put the situation in perspective.

Fired

If you were fired, you probably dread being asked this
question. Not only have you been fired, you have to talk
about it - over and over. How you deal with questions about
being fired will depend on how you have resolved the issue
with yourself.

Here are examples of how two candidates answer the question:

Candidate #1 "I had a great boss, but he left. From the
very beginning it was clear that my new boss and I were
going to be at odds. We just had different types of
personalities. She kept changing the rules. One day she
would want it this way, and the next day another way,"
rambled Karen. "I don't usually have problems with bosses
but this woman was really overbearing in her management
approach."

This is not the best way to present the situation. This
candidate could be classified as a "whiner." Badmouthing
former employers during the interview is a bad idea. No one
wants to hear about someone else's shortcomings,
particularly someone they don't even know.

A better example of how to handle the situation:

Candidate #2 "I was let go after a major reorganization.
The merging of different cultures had caused a major change
in the way things were done. There were some differences of
opinion between my boss and myself and, in the end, I was
fired.. I take responsibility for my part in the way things
turned out. I learned a lot from the experience, and in
retrospect, I would have handled it differently. But, that
is behind me now, and I am ready to move on with a new
perspective."

This is a much better answer because it demonstrates
strength and self-confidence. Candidate #2 takes
responsibility and deals with the question honestly.

Whether you were let go under unfair circumstances or for
something you did and regret, scripting your answer ahead
of the interview will help you. You don't want to bad-mouth
your former employer or sound like a victim (even if you
were). Practice your answer with someone in a mock
interview and obtain feedback on your comfort-level while
discussing your situation.

Lying

Probably the worst way to handle this question is by lying.
One lie usually leads to another, and before you know it
you are in over your head. You always take a chance
whenever you put a lie on an application. The application
usually has a signature line on the back where you sign,
stating that the above is true, and that any false
statements could be grounds for termination.

Perspective

It is a fact that "people lose their jobs everyday." They
move on and get new jobs. And, you will too. No matter what
the circumstances, put it behind you and move on. Deal with
your feelings about the lay off or firing, and prepare your
answer to the question before it is asked. Being prepared
will make you feel more confident and less emotional about
the situation.

----------------------------------------------------
Carole Martin, America's #1 Interview Expert and Coach, can
give you interviewing tips like no one else can. Practice
for your interview FREE at http://www.interviewcoach.com

5 Tips to Capturing the Job With a Thank You Letter

5 Tips to Capturing the Job With a Thank You Letter
Is there any other interviewing technique that will set you
apart like a Thank You Letter? Possibly not—some studies
show that only 20% of candidates remember to send one, and
of that figure, nearly 80% get hired.

For this reason, I highly recommend using Thank You Letters
as an effective job search strategy. In addition to good
form, interview follow-up can help to you to expand your
network, PLUS maintain positive relations with the
employer—all key steps in a competitive market.

As a former recruiter, I recall that it was rare for any
candidate to remember to thank me after an interview. You
can bet that any applicant doing so scored some serious
points.

Here are 5 tips for a Thank You Letter that wows employers
and puts you among the top candidates:

1 - Personalized is best. In fact, the more of a high-touch
feel to your Thank You Letter, the better. This means that
handwritten cards are a fantastic strategy for interviewees.

One method that works well is to keep blank,
business-styled note cards in your car. Take them out after
the interview while still in the parking lot, and write
your notes right then and there.

You'll find that the information discussed at the interview
is still fresh enough that you should have plenty of
ideas—plus, you'll impress interviewers with your
personalized approach.

2 - Don't leave anyone out. I've heard from many job
hunters that thanking EVERYONE, from the receptionist to
the CEO, was key to putting their best foot forward after
an interview.

One of my clients who did this reported that even though he
wasn't hired right then, he WAS asked to come back a few
months later to interview for an even better role!

3 - Immediacy is key. It's best to maintain your relevancy
in the minds of hiring authorities, and that means being
ready to go as soon as possible after the interview.

Some professionals overnight Thank You Letters to the
hiring team. Others email them post-interview (within
HOURS).

The point here is to use a prompt response that sends a
clear message of your intent regarding the job.

4 - Skip the stalker tactics. While a quick reminder on
letterhead can speak volumes about your professionalism,
odd gestures like sending a shoe to "get your foot in the
door" can backfire big-time.

Keep in mind that your main goal is to be remembered for
your strengths and presentation—NOT the fact that you can
scare the people who've interviewed you.

5 - Get to the point. The best Thank You Letters start by
expressing your appreciation of the interviewer's time, and
then move on to a concrete example of what interests you
about the job.

For example, mentioning that you enjoyed discussing the
company's plans for expansion, or noting that the new IT
security project sounds like a great area for your
contributions, can keep you top-of-mind.

Closing with a reiteration of your interest is always
appropriate, as is a stated declaration that you look
forward to future discussions with the interviewer about
the position. Keep your letter concise and targeted.

In summary, remember to use every tool at your disposal to
maintain your competitive edge—and that a well-timed Thank
You Letter can work pure magic for landing the job.

----------------------------------------------------
Resume authority Laura Smith-Proulx of An Expert Resume
(http://www.anexpertresume.com), author of three books on
resume and job search topics, has attained a 98% success
rate winning interviews with techniques for a competitive
edge in the job hunt based on her expertise as a former
recruiter. Visit An Expert Resume to get Laura's FREE
E-Course, "The 7 Biggest Resume Mistakes That Can Keep You
From Your Dream Job... and How to Avoid Them."

Shopping Online Is The Easiest Way To Purchase All That You Need

Shopping Online Is The Easiest Way To Purchase All That You Need
Shopping has been a favorite pastime for women for ages and
it is a very common activity. In the ancient times, when
shopping was confined to visiting the village shops or the
trade barter system, now it has enhanced to shopping sprees
in air-conditioned malls. Shopping now not only includes
simple shopping and bargaining for clothes, but is a very
rich experience, which involves exploring the large amount
of variety that is available in the market today. Shopping
has today also expanded to an instant form of Internet
shopping where goods are purchased online and the payments
are made via credit cards. With online shopping, you can
indulge in shopping right within the comfortable confines
of your home. You just need to select the good that you
want to purchase from an online catalog, include it in your
shopping cart, and then make payment for it through your
online account.

Online shopping has facilitated shopping for all those
people who are unable to go to the shopping marts due to a
shortage of time or due to their physical deprivation.
Shopping has indeed evolved with the passage of time with
the increase in disposable incomes and the customer's
purchasing powers. Today, Internet is brimmed with plethora
of websites that can offer a vast realm of shopping
commodities right from lingerie, computers, and cosmetics
to the most inconsequential pest-repellant drugs. Shopping
sites make you aware about the huge variety of commodities
that are available in the market and save you from the
hassles of searching for your kind of commodity in the
market.

You no longer need to spend long shopping hours in market
to find the product that suits your pocket and is also of
the desirable quality. Shopping has become a far easier
task now where one just needs to log on to any Internet
shopping site, pick up his choice, and then order it. The
delivery will be done via shipment right at the customer's
doorstep. You can also avail the facility of customizing
the goods according to your needs and sizes. Online
shopping also saves us from the long queues and the
incumbent hassles at the over-the-counter scanning
procedures. Online shopping is also a very viable option
for all those women who have small children and cannot go
to shopping because of their tiny tots.

Online shopping can also save you from the problems of
parking and traffic jams that were really an obnoxious
trouble for everyone who started relying on Internet
shopping. Companies are also encouraging their customers to
buy their products online by offering lucrative discounts.
Although the trend of online shopping has now caught up,
but women still tend to purchase the more luxurious and
expensive goods like diamonds, gold and expensive clothes
by visiting markets only. Online shopping is also not very
successful in case of commodities where a customer
personally needs to see, feel and touch the product. This
is especially true in case of automobile shopping where a
customer needs to drive a car before purchasing it.

----------------------------------------------------
The article is written by Nor Nan. Please visit following
websites for more information:
http://www.bestbuywin.com
http://www.powerdvdmovies.com

What is the Protection Of A Proprietary Limited Company?

What is the Protection Of A Proprietary Limited Company?
If you own a company in Australia you might be interested
in incorporating your company and being able to sell shares
of the company to stockholders.

In Australia being incorporated is called being a
proprietary company. This is actually considered a
corporation and there are some limitations to having this
kind of corporation. One of these limitations is you can
not have more than 50 shareholders in the company. This
means you have to be careful who you sell shares to so that
you do not go over this limit.

Another limitation is the fact that the shares can not be
offered to the public, but must sometimes use a prospectus
to raise funds. There are other restrictions that a Pty.
Ltd. corporation must adhere to as well; you should consult
with your legal advisers before deciding for sure if you
want to be a limited corporation.

Stockholders like to invest into companies this way because
they can easily put in a little money and experience great
growth. You might be interested in incorporating your
company because you can easily get a great amount of money
invested into your company that you can use as capital to
make more money off the company.

If you have big projects coming up that you want to use to
grow your company and make much more money than you have
before this might be a great option as it will be
attractive to investors.

One important part of being an incorporated company is that
you have to sell shares (you can be the sole share holder
as well though). This has its pros and cons of course. When
you sell shares you can in fact lose your interest in the
company. Meaning if you don't hold over 51% of the shares
you can actually be out voted when big decisions are being
made. That is if everyone votes against you so make sure
you are confident in how you have structured your share
holding.

A good thing about being incorporated is that you and the
stock holders have a lot less liability in the company. In
a limited corporation you usually have unlimited liability
which means the most you can usually lose is your initial
investment into the company.

This means if you start out by investing into the company
with 1.5 million dollars and it grows to 6 million dollars
but then the company goes bankrupt you will lose all that
is invested. If you in fact cash out before the bankruptcy
then you would get close to $6 million (minus any taxes, of
course). Still though you only invested the 1.5 million so
that is all you are considered to have lost.

The protection of a limited company in Australia really
depends on how much you, as an investor, front to the
corporation. In most cases this is all you can lose by
investing in the company, and you will not have to worry
about any of your personal assets if the company goes
south. Again seek legal advice on if this structure is the
best for you.

----------------------------------------------------
Discover how you can register a new company in Australia.
It can be a simple process but you have to know what the
steps are. Visit http://companiesnow.com.au/ for more
information

The Friend in the Room Who Can Help You Look Good

The Friend in the Room Who Can Help You Look Good
By Clive Hook of www.clearworth.com

That low tech, often abused thing in the corner, the
flipchart, is your most important tool, and your best
friend in facilitation. I often say I would pay
facilitators based on two things - and one of these is how
much they work to get information to be vertical and
visible.

Vertical - Most meetings have everyone looking at their own
papers in front of them horizontally on the table. No-one
really knows what everyone else is looking at or reading.
When a decision is made, or a resolution is reached, there
will be some who are not quite sure what was just said.
The facilitator's job is to bring everyone's attention to
where the action is - and that's on the flipchart.

Visible - For the flipchart to work, people have to see it!
You need to think about your room layout, but more
importantly, your skill in writing on a vertical surface
(which takes practice), and the techniques associated with
charting. Your writing has to be legible, and it's much
better to develop a way of working in capitals that is
reasonably quick, than to rely on your normal handwriting.

Creating Effective Flipcharts

Because the flipchart is your most important tool, make
sure you can actually use it. I always, always take my own
flipchart pens, by the way. You will not be able to give
the service you're there for, if your pens don't work.
Blue and black are, without doubt, the colours to work with
for text. Red and green are great for emphasis and
highlighting. Those are all the colours you need for your
job.

I used to be astounded how often people wrote in red and
green, then I realised that they were the colours always
left behind in meeting rooms - because the black and blue
had been used. These colours do not, repeat do not, work
for text. They are generally less visible against white
from a distance than black and blue, and some people
(particularly men) have difficulty distinguishing red and
green from each other, and from black or grey.

Intellectual Property

You are using the flipchart to write up what people have
said or proposed or thought. This is their property. When
people see their words on the vertical and visible surface,
they feel a connection to the meeting and its process.
Those words belong to them. This is a fundamental
principle for all facilitators, so treat them as anybody
else's property you have been asked to look after. Your
care in capturing exactly what they said, reflects your
respect. Never cross out contributions, unless you have
been specifically told to do so by the author. If there's
general disagreement from others, I use brackets or a
question mark, so it stays there, but is marked as "under
discussion".

Flipcharts as Group Memory

Part of your job is to help the group's memory, and that
works best with a structure and pointers to help recall.
Breaks in the meeting are for participants to relax - not
you. One of your jobs in the breaks, is to mark the
flipcharts with things which will help recall, and to
display them in a logical order, if they are likely to be
referred to in some way later. Titles, numbers and dates
in the top right hand corner, all help you and the group to
recapture the essence much more quickly.

So - lots of flexibility, no bulbs to worry about, no
electrical cables, no noise from cooling fans just some
care and attention from you and you'll provide a great
service to the team or group as you drastically improve the
way they do meetings. Oh - and of course you can
photograph the sheets at the end on your phone or digital
camera and then no writing up minutes and action points
either.

----------------------------------------------------
Clive Hook is founder of http://www.clearworth.com which
specialises in offering high quality bespoke Management
development training programmes, Executive coaching,
F@sterclasses and team surveys.
We're all about learning. But not just learning for the
sake it - learning modified and improved by experience so
that it becomes really effective for both organisations and
individuals.

Don't Be Lazy; You Must Use These Tools To Create A Successful Home Business

Don't Be Lazy; You Must Use These Tools To Create A Successful Home Business
Starting any business takes time and effort, so why should
creating a successful online business be any different?

Setting up the correct tools will make it much easier and
much quicker. There are unique tools that an online
entrepreneur should be familiar with before starting up
their business. Knowing how to use these marketing tools
will greatly increase the chances of any online business
succeeding.

1. Domain Name

Your domain is your website address, a.k.a. URL or
universal resource locator. What domain name you decide on
is an important piece of your overall marketing plan. It
should be relevant to your business and easy to remember.
Keep in mind that your domain name is your internet
identity, so take the time to choose wisely. Keep it
simple. A well planned domain name is the first step to a
successful marketing campaign.

2. Website

Your website should be well designed and also easy to
navigate. You could design it yourself or pay someone to do
it. Keep the graphics to a minimum to avoid losing visitors
due to slow load time. Highlight the main topic of your
site with a headline or title at the top of your page. Be
precise and direct since you only have a few seconds to
impress your visitors.

3. Auto Responder

An autoresponder is one of the most important tools that
you can use to build a successful home business. Follow-up
can be extremely important to an online; it replaces
traditional methods of business advertising. Most online
businesses that do not follow-up do not stay in business.
Why is that? Because very few people can make a decision
after being exposed to your business just once. Why should
you follow-up with your prospects? You want people to
follow the action that you desire for them. Did you know
that you should contact your prospects at least 3 times
to get them to take action? Sometimes as much as 10 times.
Successful online marketing is all about frequency. Setting
up a marketing system that enables you to repeatedly
contact your prospects is crucial to your success.

4. RSS Feed

What is RSS? (Really Simple Syndication). RSS enables
people to have the latest information delivered directly to
their desktop. This is a great tool since it avoids having
to visit sites every day looking for updates and instead
allows people to see when a website has added new content.
As a website owner you can use an RSS feed to get fresh,
keyword filled content updated on your website daily with
no work on your part, and most of all this will improve
your ranking with the search engines.

The Internet has arrived and brought its own unique and
rather unorthodox but very effective marketing methods.
Anyone planning to market online should have the above
tools set up and ready to go.

To not use these tools effectively to build your home
business will almost certainly doom it to failure.

For more information about creating a successful home
business be sure to follow the link below.

Copyright 2008 Joe Rispoli

----------------------------------------------------
Brand New Home Business. "Are You Serious About Having The
Lifestyle You Dream Of?" All You Need Is A Simple
Step-By-Step Plan." Get the details FREE ====>
http://ucanto.com/theberrytree.html

Professional Profiles Filled with Dishonesty?

Professional Profiles Filled with Dishonesty?
If there is one all important thought to keep in mind as
you write your professional business profile it is honesty.
Always be honest when you are writing your business or
professional profile. Dishonesty will only come back to
haunt you. Three tips to honesty in your biography (or
profile) as I like to call it are:

Be truthful. Trying to be something you aren't simply
doesn't work. You may attract the client's attention, but
the truth always comes out, and when it does, it isn't
pretty. It just isn't going to be good for your image or
your bottom line or your reputation. You will be much more
credible in the eyes of your potential clients when you are
truthful with them.

Don't Embellish. You may think that embellishment is the
same thing as being dishonest. It isn't. Embellishing is
the act of trying to make yourself look better by going
beyond the reality of whom you are and who your company is.
Never say something that you can't back up. Don't tell your
potential clients that you have a master's degree when you
actually have a bachelor's degree.

Reflect on who you are. You are creating a marketing
message designed to invite your readers to do business with
you. The product or service, which is part of you and your
business, has strengths and weaknesses. Your goal in
writing your biography or profile is to articulate a clear
honest and compelling message that is appealing to you
potential client, employee, lender, vendor, or other reader
of your profile. Deceiving your potential clients by
embellishing the truth or outright lies isn't about to
establish yourself as a credible resource.

Develop stories about the challenges you have faced, the
lessons you have learned and the achievements you have
reached throughout your career and life

Take the example of a well know chef with his own cooking
show on the Food Network. This man claimed on his resume to
have cooked for the Royal family, and various U.S.
Presidents. After four years the truth was finally
revealed, the Food Network canceled the popular chef's
contract and at the end of this season will no longer air
the show. All because he exaggerated the truth on his
resume.

Now this is an example of an exaggerated resume, which is
not exactly the same as your professional biography, but
the idea is the same. Make sure you can back up what you
are revealing about your experience and education. What do
you think will happen if your clients find out you have
been less than honest with them about your past? Do you
think they will trust you when it comes time to performing
the services they hired you for? Not hardly.

When you use truthful stories in your biography, you will
appeal to the hearts of your potential clients. You have no
reason to embellish or to be dishonest in your profile or
biography and if you do, it will only come back to hurt
you. Don't take the chance of losing your credibility just
because you want to come across stronger or more qualified
in your professional or business biography.

These are just a few considerations to keep in mind as you
write your professional profile

----------------------------------------------------
You are invited to learn more about writing your company
profile at my website: http://anitaspen.com - Download your
complimentary copy of my latest report: "Top Tips to
Writing Company and Personal Profiles: 20 Do's and Don'ts
to Creating a Powerful and Influential Marketing Tool".