The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Dialogue Applying Coveys Habits To Difficult Conversations

Writen by Tammy Lenski, Ed.D

Stephen Covey's seven habits of highly effective people have become classic pieces of leadership and management wisdom. The habits are applicable to having successful conflict conversations, both at home and at work. Here's how to use them next time you find yourself in a tense situation or conflict:

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Covey said that proactive people take initiative and "work on the things they can do something about." In conflict, too many people mistakenly assume that they have no real hope of changing the relationship they have with the other person, whether that's a co-worker, neighbor, ex-spouse, or former friend. When you make that assumption, you postpone or avoid the important conversation that could change matters.

When you act proactively in a conflict situation, you step up to the difficult conversation rather than avoiding it. Avoidance of important conversation usually allows frustration to fester and the divide to widen. Proactive people engage the important conversations in their lives.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Beginning with the end in mind means having clarity about your destination before you proceed. In difficult conversations, you want to have a "big picture" image of success before you start the conversation. It's worth advance thought before simply plunging in.

The end you want to visualize shouldn't be one in which the other person "sees the light," changes their opinion, or does things your way. Worthwhile ends include preserving the relationship, minimizing the debris of ongoing conflict, preventing loss of morale in the workplace, encouraging workplace dialogue, and the like.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Putting first things first means attending to your priorities before you attend to lesser matters. In difficult conversations, you want to focus on the most important topics and avoid getting side-tracked by less important matters, pet peeves, and minor annoyances. Get clear on the heart of the matter for you both and keep that front and center in your conversation.

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

This is basic conflict management 101. If you enter your most important conversations with the intent to win at the other person's expense, then you risk prolonged and entrenched conflict and greater harm to the relationship. The win/win approach invites you to consider the conversation as a joint exploration into what could work for both of you. While this kind of conversation takes longer to accomplish, you'll usually save emotional energy and time in the long run.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

In difficult conversations, you may be tempted to spend your energy telling. Telling the other person what they did wrong, what the impact was on you, what you'd like them to do differently. While some of this may be important for them to hear in order to understand the impact of the situation on you, it is a mistake to begin there. And it's a costly mistake if both of you try to begin there, since the resulting "telling tug of war" will make the conversation messier than it need be.

Instead, try entering your difficult conversations with genuine curiosity. Make it your first priority to understand the other person's perspective, even if you don't agree to it. Real attention to understanding is likely to yield new information that can help you resolve the problem.

Habit 6: Synergize

Synergy is the interaction of individuals for greater combined effect than any one person would have on their own. Truly effective conflict management is all about synergy. Different values, opinions, and perspectives, when viewed as opportunity instead of a problem, allow families and organizations to build on their joint strengths and minimize the individual weaknesses.

In difficult conversations, valuing synergy means that you no longer ask, "How can I make that person different or better," and instead ask, "How can the two of us bring our best to this problem?"

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

For Covey, this is the habit that makes all the other habits possible. Sharpening the saw is the act of self-renewal, learning, and personal growth. In dialogue terms, sharpening the saw means practicing your habits in low-stakes situations so that they're more accessible to you when you need them most. It means learning how to manage yourself well in difficult moments, whether you learn this by attending trainings, working with a coach, or reading on your own. When you stretch yourself and practice when the stakes are low, you help your mind respond better in those trying moments.

Copyright © 2006 by Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved.

Dr. Tammy Lenski is the author of I Can't Say That!, a popular blog read by women all over the world. A professional mediator, conflict management coach and educator, Tammy works personally with select women who want to keep their balance in conflict and step up to the conversations that matter most at home and work. Are you a woman who avoids difficult conversations, afraid to say what's on your mind because it might make things worse? Or who charges into conflict with a rough edge that leaves debris you'd like to prevent? Visit http://lenski.com and sign up to receive Tammy's wisdom and humor regularly by email. Or sign up for free tele-chats with Tammy at http://lenski.com/index.php/chats/ and get entered into a bi-monthly drawing for a free hour of coaching or consulting.

7 Key Tactics For The Small Business Owner

Writen by Allyn Cutts

For most folks, owning your own business is a dream come true. The freedom of being your own boss and succeeding to the best of your ability are facts of life for the small business owner. Sure, there's more stress than what you probably imagined when you were creating your grand plans, but with a little strategy and planning you can overcome any tough spot you get in. There are 7 tactics developed by successful marketers that are sure to make your business as successful as theirs.

1. Create A One of a Kind Selling Point If you want to stand out from the crowd, create a unique selling proposition that stresses the benefits the customers will receive from doing business with you. Will they get faster service? Go ahead and dramatize it, but keep the customer at the focus..."Get free overnight delivery!" Hey, it tells the customer...you get quick service and a discount on shipping. Two definite benefits in one statement.

Why should someone buy from you and not your competitor? I hate to deal a blow to your ego, but it really has nothing to do with you , your product, or your service. Yeah, its a little self-centered, but customers are attracted by offers that point out the things that benefit THEM.

Don't go out on a limb to create new products and services to get attention. Just, add a special benefit to the ones you already have... maybe it's quicker service. The most effective things to emphasize are benefits that your competition cannot or is not willing to give.

2. Use Testimonials Hey, we all know that business owners think their product or services are the best thing going, but it's what the current customers think about it that really matters to your prospective customers. They're the ones who see things from their point of view... what they have to say about the business has an impact.

Testimonials play an important part in advertising - especially for small businesses. Yeah, big businesses with well-known names don't have to worry about it, but small companies can use testimonials as marketing tools to build credibility.

Think about it...how else can we gain credibility than by creating a group of satisfied customers and shouting what they have to say? Let's look at some ways we can make testimonials an effective part of our marketing campaigns.

3. Upsell Upselling is one of the most successful marketing trends today. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to get you to buy more. From McDonalds with its supersize options to clothing stores that try to sell you shoes to match your outfit, everyone's jumping on the band wagon. Why? It works!

Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it... it's much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.

Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It's a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.

4. Make Your Price Seem Smaller Divide and conquer... The old war tactic works in marketing too! When the price seems too steep, break it down into "buyable" size bites. An $120 item is only 12 low monthly payments of $10. A $365 purchase would only cost $1 per day. Now that sounds affordable!

5. Paint The Benefits Pretty Customers buy because they want to enjoy the benefits of the purchase. A lady might buy a dress because she wants to feel sexy, or a man will buy a book because he finds pleasure in reading. Emotions are the key element that drives purchases.

Use word pictures to stir up the emotions that will instigate the sale. Let them "feel" the benefits, and they'll be more apt to head for the cash register. Put them where you want them.

6. Create Attention Getting Headlines Are you ready to capture your reader's attention with great copy? The headline is the place to start. How often do you scan the newspaper's headlines before you decide whether or not to read the article? Yeah, that's where we lose or gain the reader's interest, so it's a pretty important part of the advertisement.

A good headline should telegraph its message in twelve words or less. Double check those headlines. Do they make a promise of a positive benefit, or ask a provocative question? Don't settle for less than attention grabbing statements.

7. Provide An Offer They Can't Resist Is your deal too good to pass up? If not, you need to improve it. Hey, I'm not talking about cutting prices even more...you've still got to make a profit. You can make the deal sweeter just by increasing the readers knowledge of the value of the product, or adding bonuses that are perceived as valuable, but cost you little.

Motivate buyers with expirations. Yeah, an open ended offer encourages procrastination...which leads ...yep, nowhere. When the customer knows he has until Saturday to purchase an item he'll pay more for on Sunday, he'll make it a priority to head for your shop.

Copyright 2005 Cutts Group, llc

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Are You A Project Manager Or A Project Mangler

Writen by Luc Richard

Which one are you? An effective IT project manager, able to deliver software on time, according to specs, and within budget, or someone referred to by your peers as a project mangler? Find out with these Top 10 Signs You're a Project Mangler.

10. Your .mpp attachments are considered to be more harmful than the Netsky virus.

9. You think your job description is limited to running around and asking people "Are you done yet?"

8. Your record for the "longest consecutive number of days without changing your project plan" is 3, which was achieved over a weekend.

7. You don't publish your project plan for fear developers might find out what the REAL dates are.

6. When the first 90% of your project is done, the second 90% begins.

5. You couldn't write a line of code to save your life, yet you tell developers how long it will take them to complete their feature.

4. You only work from 9 to 5 but expect developers to work evenings and weekends to meet your deadlines.

3. Your best motivational skill: telling people you're working from home tomorrow.

2. You DO think that 9 people can have a baby in 1 month.

And the number one sign you're a project mangler...

1. Your name is R. U. Dunyet.

Luc Richard holds an MBA with a major in high technology. For the past 10 years, he's been managing the development of software applications. He is the founder of The Project Mangler (http://www.projectmangler.com), an online resource that publishes free articles, stories, and other ready-to-use tools to help developers, team leaders and managers deliver software projects on time, according to specs, and within budget.

The Top Ten Ways To Stop Procrastinating Now

Writen by Kerul Kassel

10. Procrastination Condemnation - Lose the Labels! All those things you call yourself, such as lazy, scattered, disorganized, not good enough, incompetent, or stupid, for example, aren't helping you get things done, are they? You've learned to believe them, and you think they've become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you look around yourself, though, you'll see evidence that you can accomplish quite a number of things without delay.

9. Procrastination Exaggeration – Are you really procrastinating, or are you simply focusing on other priorities? It's possible that those things you're not doing shouldn't get done until sometimes later, perhaps not at all. Focus on only the most significant areas first, and the rest will come.

8. Procrastination Temptation – If you hang out with people who coax you to procrastinate, it's time to start surrounding yourself with better examples. If you know certain that situations are too enticing and will lure you from following through, create a work-around plan that will help you prevent yourself from "taking the bait".

7. Procrastination Alienation – Recognize that you're not alone, and are, in fact, in excellent company. Most people procrastinate about something, sometimes about many things. In a recent survey on procrastination, almost 1/3 of respondents who identified themselves as procrastinators had a post-graduation or higher education.

6. Procrastination Inclination – At the moment you are about to procrastinate, stop for just a moment to acknowledge the pattern, even if you continue on to put off whatever you were going to do. Awareness and acceptance that these are your current patterns is a necessary step in procrastination extermination.

5. Procrastination Perspiration – You probably think that the only way to stop procrastinating is to use will power and discipline. While that certainly can work, it can cost you a lot of energy and struggle. By allowing yourself to begin recognizing what is specifically in the way of following through, and creating simple new patterns, progress is pretty painless and immediate. For more information, sign up for the New Leaf Systems ezine at http://www.newleafsystems.com , and the soon-to-be-published book The Power of Procrastination.

4. Procrastination Exploration – What is your procrastination costing you? Do you have a procrastination reputation? Do you continually have to make procrastination explanations or reparations to others? Are you in procrastination isolation so nobody will know what you're not doing? Is your credit history in procrastination degradation because of paying bills late? Are you in procrastination desperation because you might lose your job or significant relationships? Sometimes understanding how badly you're paying and in exactly what ways can provoke you to seek assistance.

3. Procrastination Consultation – Talk with friends about how they overcame procrastination. Buddy with them on their own projects, holding each other accountable to get things done. Hire a procrastination coach, someone who has worked with hundreds of people and not only knows about procrastination generation, but has helped many veteran procrastinators with procrastination renunciation.

2. Procrastination Transformation – nothing helps you achieve more easily than knowing all the steps you need to take, having a plan to take them, scheduling that plan into your calendar, creating incentives to make following through more attractive (and consequences to make it less attractive!), and putting some accountability supports into place. This, combined with a simple procrastination meditation, will get you back on track quickly and easily.

1. Procrastination Emancipation – Once you've fully understood that one of the big reasons you have been procrastinating is that you're focusing only on finishing (and that's too daunting) you'll begin to instead concentrate on starting, which is a much more approachable and manageable way to get thing done. All you need to do is keep starting, and finishing will take care of itself.

Kerul Kassel | New Leaf Systems

Member: National Speakers Association, International Coach Federation http://www.newleafsystems.com 407-957-1494, (fax) 407-957-4814

Kerul Kassel works extensively with people who are procrastinators, or think they are, and who want to operate more optimally in personal and professional areas. She's helped corporations such as Sony, Hilton, and Volvo, and has presented at professional conferences in the US and abroad. Kerul is currently writing a book entitled "The Power of Procrastination" and is conducting a survey (which she'd love for you to take: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=32694765277 ...you might even win a complimentary coaching appointment). She also offers telephone classes open to the public, which can be found through her website at http://www.newleafsystems.com

Ten Top Tips For Creating Good Business Requirements

Writen by Niall Kennedy

Creating good business requirements will go a long way towards ensuring the success of the project and eliminate design and development risks that result from poor business requirements documentation. Here are the Top 10 Tips for Writing Good Business Requirements:

1. Develop a clear understanding of the problems that the proposed software is being designed to solve. This will ensure that the subsequent business requirements document addresses those problems fully.

2. Identify all project stakeholders and involve them in the business requirements gathering process from the start. Work to build trust and establish credibility early on so you can maintain stakeholder support throughout the project. Learn the individual personality traits of each stakeholder in order to be able to better manage them during the requirements phase of the project.

3. Clearly document all business data including workflow, current problems, anticipated risks, and required performance metrics. Use project-approved tools and methodologies to ensure that the documentation conforms to the client's requirements.

4. Use approved templates for all documentation. Ensure that terms used throughout all documentation either exist in the project dictionary or are added as required. No one reading the business requirements document should encounter unfamiliar terms that cannot be quickly resolved by reviewing the project dictionary.

5. Identify potential privacy and security issues early on so these problems can be mitigated to a level which satisfies the stakeholders that these risks have been managed properly. This helps to build trust and ensures that stakeholders remain committed to the project.

6. Make a concerted effort to identify and document all risks, the impact of these risks on the project's costs and timetable. This will avoid unexpected project delays as well as help control runaway costs.

7. Conduct both group and one-on-one meetings to insure that all business requirements, risks and concerns are identified.

8. Present a draft of the business requirements document to key stakeholders for preliminary review and tentative approval. This helps to ensure that the final business requirements document will be more easily accepted by all stakeholders when it is presented.

9. Rewrite the draft business requirements document to address any issues discovered during step #8. This may requires repeating the stakeholder meeting process until you are sure that all issues have been identified and documented.

10. Present the completed business requirements document to all stakeholders in a formal meeting. Take notes in order to maintain the collective project memory and be ready to address any issues or concerns which may be raised.

Niall Kennedy is an internet marketing consultant. Positive is a UK provider of professional Business Analysis. Contact Positive at http://www.Be-Positive.co.uk for more information about Requirements Documentation.

All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright Be-Positive.co.uk

All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright Be-Positive.co.uk

Ten Ways To Leverage A Professional Speaker

Writen by Ron Kaufman

Hiring a professional speaker can be an effective way to raise an issue, educate an audience or drive home a business message. Use these top ten ideas to get the most value from your investment.

1. Use pre-event publicity to build interest in your speaker.

Use posters to announce the speaker and the topic.

Send a memo describing the speaker's credentials.

Encourage your staff to visit the speaker's website.

2. Fully inform your speaker about your business.

Provide information for the speaker to study well in advance: annual reports, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Answer the speaker's questionnaire as completely as possible. Don't hold back useful insights or information.

3. Put your speaker in touch with people in the business.

Give your speaker access with management and staff prior to the event. Telephone conversations are a good start. Face-to-face meetings are even better.

4. Put your speaker in touch with your customers.

Encourage contact between your speaker and your customers. Let customers know in advance that a speaker will be calling to gather their ideas and suggestions.

5. Be candid with your speaker about your culture and your competition.

Let your speaker know what's really going on in your industry. Be sure he or she understands your competitive advantage and the actions being taken by others.

6. Review and use a speaker's introduction.

Your speaker should provide you with a 'speaker's introduction' in advance of the actual event. Customize this to link with your event theme or business issues.

The person introducing the speaker should be prepared and enthusiastic. The introduction starts the speech!

7. Reinforce the message with take-home handouts.

Help people remember and apply key points with an attractive take-home handout. Handouts can be as extensive as a customized notebook, or as simple as a laminated wallet-size card.

8. Arrange for audio and video taping of your speaker.

If your speaker is properly prepared and effective in delivering an important message, the cost of professional audio and video taping can be a very wise investment.

9. Improve room setup with your speaker's input.

Be sure your speaker has access to the venue prior to his or her presentation. Professional speakers have vast experience with room layouts, acoustics, lighting, etc. Small improvements can make a very big difference.

10. Allow time for questions and answers, but ensure you get good questions!

When the schedule allows, a Q&A session lets your audience go deeper into the topic with the speaker.

Get good questions by letting your audience know in advance that a Q&A session will follow the normal presentation. Allow a few minutes for discussion among audience members before taking the first question. Make sure one or two participants are ready in advance with excellent questions to help 'get the ball rolling'.

Provide microphones for your audience to ask questions. Otherwise, ask your speaker to repeat each question clearly before providing an answer.

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at www.RonKaufman.com.

10 Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. People want to make more money. They may want to start their own business, get a higher paying job or invest in the stock market. This will make them feel successful.

2. People want to save money. They may want to invest for the future or save for a big purchase. This will make them feel more secure.

3. People want to save time. They may want to work less and spend time enjoying life's pleasures. This will make them feel more relaxed.

4. People want to look better. They may want to lose weight, tone their body, or improve their facial features. This will make them feel more attractive.

5. People want to learn something new. They may want to learn how to change their car oil or build a deck. This will make them feel more intelligent.

6. People want to live longer. They may want to get in shape, eat better or gain extra energy. This will make them feel healthier.

7. People want to be comfortable. They may want to relive aches and pains or want to sleep in a more comfortable bed. This will make them feel relieved.

8. People want to be loved. They may not want to be lonely anymore or want to start dating again. This will make them feel wanted.

9. People want to be popular. They may want to be a famous celebrity or be more popular in school. This will make them feel praised and admired.

10. People want to gain pleasure. They may want satisfy their appetite or sexual desires. This will make them feel more fulfilled.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

Top Ten Tips For Hiring A Web Professional

Writen by Anita Larson

1. Big Red Flag. No website? If the person you are planning to hire doesn't have a site of his or her own, this is a big red flag. How will they know what works or doesn't work if they haven't tested it on their own site? If they are a professional in business they will have a website. Their website is a true reflection of them – study it carefully looking for anything that may indicate "this company looks great!" to "I have some doubts in working with this company".

2. Listen to me. Can you hear me now? Are they really listening to what you want/need? OR immediately writing out a prescription like a bad doctor based upon what they think you need. If it is the latter – run-Forest-run.

3. Experience. How many years of experience does this person have? How will this benefit you?

4. Resources. How many resources does this person utilize? If they work only with one program or have one resource and derive all information/facts from that one source – probably not in your best interest to hire someone with such limited resources.

5. Speak to me. Do they speak your language? If they are speaking in technical terms you don't understand ask them for the plain English version. If you still don't understand and they aren't patient with explanations – keep looking.

6. Questions. Are they asking you the right questions? What is the goal of your website? Who is your target audience? How we will reach that audience online and offline?

7. Follow Through. How long does it take the person to return your phone calls or emails? This is a strong indication of what it will be like to work with this person. A good businessperson will respond in 24 hours or less.

8. Get it in Writing. Will you have a written agreement outlining the scope of work and pricing details? It's important to get it in writing so both parties are clear on the expectations, time frame and other details.

9. Stories. Ask them to tell you success stories of working with different clients/companies. Who is their favorite client and why? Have they had any situations where clients have been unhappy? How did they handle those situations?

10. References. Call at least two or three people that they have worked with or are currently working with. Check the Clients, Portfolio or FAQ pages at their website. Ask three important questions:

a. Can you tell me what type of experience you've had working with _______?
b. Have there been any surprises while working with ________?
c. As an XYZ company is there anything in particular you'd recommend I be mindful of before hiring a web professional?

Finding a good web professional can be a tedious process. Ask lots of questions. Go with your gut. Your own personal feeling about working with the person is going to matter more than anything else. Also remember that web professionals will be interviewing you at the same time to see if you're a good fit for them. It's a good idea to talk with at least three businesses to see who best fits your needs, timeframe and budget.

Anita Larson, The Web Muse & Co., http://www.thewebmuse.com Creating websites to attract your ideal clients.

Increase Business Profits Ten Ways

Writen by Steven Gillman

How do you increase business profits? Answer the following questions carefully, and you'll have a good start.

1. Can you increase the average sale? A restaurant with 25% profit margins might make 50% on additional sales to existing customers (less labor to bag one large order than two smaller ones). Asking "What would you like to drink with that?" works, and it's just a start.

2. What's the least expensive way to get a customer? Before you spend another thousand dollars advertising to get new customers, could you get as much business by spending a few hours contacting previous or existing customers?

3. What low risk ideas can you try? I once sent a letter to several visiting basketball teams, inviting them to visit our restaurant, and giving the coach a free meal as an incentive. The cost? Two dollars. The pay off was two busloads of customers. At that rate, you could increase your business profits even if nine out of ten ideas fail.

4. Have you tested prices? I knew a store that sold a product for a $1.05, that cost them $1.00. At a price of $1.20, it is doubtful that they'd lose half their sales, but if they did, they'd still make twice the profit. Some things even sell better at a higher price. Test.

5. Can you measure your advertising results? How do you know that you're not spending more for a customer than they're worth? Coupons, customer surveys and other methods of measurement are a must.

6. How do you know your customers are satisfied? The worst restaurant meal we ever ate went down without a comment, but we never returned to that restaurant. Maybe the owner should be talking to the customers.

7. Can you enhance the percieved value of your product? Years ago, I sold walking sticks for $10 at flea markets, and $20 at craft shows. Sometimes location alone can enhance the percieved value of a product. What else can you do?

8. What are similar businesses doing? See what your successful competitors are doing. Can you do the same?

9. What other products can you sell? There's a reason stores have candy and magazines near the checkout. Extra sales are a great way to increase business profits.

10. Can you use your customers as salesmen? Word of mouth is a start, but what other ways can you get your customers to bring their friends to you?

These were culled from a longer list. I call it "stolen business ideas," because I can't credit the original authors. I took them where I found them over the years, with grattitude, but without notes.

Steve Gillman has been studying every aspect of money for thirty years. You can find more interesting and useful information on his website; http://www.EverythingAboutMoney.info

10 Trade Show Thanks For The New Year

Writen by Julia O'Connor

To start out the New Year, we gave thanks for the people we love, the things we enjoy and made the obligatory resolutions for the New Year.

Now, let's get practical and give thanks to the people who make our industry function, make us look good and help us make money.

1. We thank the Show Sponsor who has the marketing vision and takes the financial risk to put on the event. Without both the will and the way, there would be fewer successful shows.

2. We thank the Show Organizer who, with the Sponsor's vision and financial support, puts all the pieces together, draws the contracts, supervises the nitty-gritty and gets us all through the door for the show and out again.

3. We thank the Exhibitors who invest time, money and manpower to present their products to the world in this unique environment. It's how we find out who's who, what's what and become attuned to what's going to happen in our industry.

4. We thank the Attendees who also invest time, money and manpower to attend the trade show and who look, listen and learn about our firms. With the golden hope that Attendees beget Leads beget Clients, we give them much thanks.

5. We thank our Exhibit Managers who make it all go so smoothly. These detail wranglers handle minutia with a smile and professionalism unfathomable by most marketing types.

6. We thank the Exhibit Designers who take our many "..but I think..." and "I wanna..." and turn them into dynamic, attention-grabbing and profitable conveyors of the right image at the right time.

7. We thank the Unions - yes, we do - for their dedication to their crafts, their ability to take boxes and cases and crates, and make them the magic we need for the show - and then pack it all up again.

8. We thank the Freight Folks, from the local courier to the big guys in trucks, trains and planes. We appreciate their understanding of "time critical" and "fragile", and we especially thank them for customer service courtesy and online tracking. Bah Humbug to those who haven't gotten the message yet.

9. We thank the Creatives, those promotion folks who run the gambit from defining the marketing experience for each show, selecting goodies to hand out, and pulling it all together so we're successful on both sides of the aisle.

10. And, last but not least, we thank the Exhibit Staff. There's no job description that says "stand in the booth and hand out brochures", so staff is drawn from many disciplines throughout the company. Trade shows are hard work. They make you physically tired because of travel, long hours and a compact agenda. They drain you emotionally because you get more rejections than acceptances. And, they compound the amount of work you have to do because there's still your "real" job back at the office which you're still at the show.

Make this your New Year's Resolution - a salute and a Thank You to all who make your trade shows successful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julia O'Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - writes about practical aspects of trade shows. As president of Trade Show Training, inc, now celebrating its 10th year, she works with companies in a variety of industries to improve their bottom line and marketing opportunities at trade shows.

Julia is an expert in the psychology of the trade show environment and uses this expertise in sales training and management seminars. Contact her at 804-355-7800 or check the site => http://www.TradeShowTraining.com

The Email Jungle 10 Tactics To Help You Tame Your Email Problems

Writen by Jo Gibney

Can't cope with the e-mail overload? Having nightmares about e-mails stalking you through the corporate jungle? Waking in the middle of the night with the sweats because you accidentally sent that dirty joke to your boss instead of your work mate?

Don't despair! Here are 10 tips that will restore your sanity, improve your reputation as a professional communicator and put you back in control of your mail. E-mail is one of those necessary evils, like credit cards and mobile phones. We can't live with them, and today's society won't let us live without them. The answer? Learn to do it better, smarter and faster. Read on to change your e-mail blues forever.

1. Control your urge to respond immediately

Only check your email two or three times a day. Opening every email as it arrives distracts you from the task at hand. Having broken your chain of thought, it may take hours to get back on track.

In today's world of global communication, we often bow to the pressures of immediacy. But before you get caught up, ask yourself this question "What will really happen if I don't see every email as it hits my computer?" Twice a day is sufficient. Go on, live dangerously and turn off the "notify me" option on your email software. Do it – now!

2. Don't use groups to send all your emails

We are all complaining about the sheer number of emails that hit our computers every day. Most of them are a complete waste of time, but we have to open them to find this out! And when you use standard groups to send emails –through laziness, to cover yourself so they can't say they weren't told, or because you just like to tell everyone everything – you add to this over-supply of useless emails.

Emails are a communication system and should be used to do just that – communicate. You wouldn't invite the entire department to a meeting if you just wanted to talk to 2 or 3 people would you? Use the same logic when it comes to email. Your colleagues will thank you for it. And if you pass on this tip to them, your own in-box may lose some weight too. If you do think it necessary to send emails to a group, then mark the email clearly with either "for your action" or "for your information only" in the subject line so the recipients can easily determine its priority and choose when to open it.

Avoid the reply-reply-reply merry-go-round

Have you had a ride on this merry-go-round? By the time you reach the tenth reply, you have changed the subject or lost the thread of thought completely. Here's what to do to keep some order.

If the subject changes at all, then send a new email using a new subject title. Remember, the subject title should say it all, and give the recipient a clear and concise idea of what your message is about. If the subject is still the same, but only some sections of the chain remain relevant, cut and paste the relevant sections of the original message into a new message. For long messages, type your reply in a different colour, in the body of the original message – this helps to identify what section of the message you are replying to. For short messages and short replies, set your software to type replies in a different colour.

4. Use signature blocks to save time

Most email software allows you to design a number of signature blocks (texts which sign off using any words you like). You could create one for external customers, using a more formal farewell, your job title, your phone/fax details and a company slogan or message of the month.

For internal emails, you could create a signature block with an informal farewell, just your first name and some fun sign off. (Yes, it is OK to have fun at work, even when dealing with the dreaded email system!)

5. Use folders to organise your correspondence

Why do you keep any of your emails? So you can access them if and when you need to – right? But how often have you tried to find a particular email and 45 minutes later you are still wading through files, ready to throw your computer through the nearest window?

Just like letters used to be filed in various filing cabinets in the dim, distant past, similarly emails should be filed on your computer's hard drive. Create folders, which make sense to you eg "customers", "suppliers", "departments" may make sense to Jo Bloggs, but you might prefer "my regular customers", "boss stuff", or "easy to reach suppliers".

File "skinny" not "fat". That means put fewer emails in each folder, and use more folders. This will make it easier to retrieve the email you're looking for, especially if you get a lot of mail on one topic. And remember to create a "read later" file for the emails marked "for your info only" which you will be receiving from now on.

Use your archive function to keep your folders a manageable size. Apply archive dates by folder, so you can choose to keep frequently accessed information for longer periods, and archive less important information more often. This helps the retrieval process enormously.

6. Think (and cool off) before hitting the reply button

Emails are often like conversations, but with time between each speaker. Use this time effectively. If the message sets your blood boiling, the temptation is to hit the reply button immediately with an equally inflammatory retort. Don't! Take time to consider what you are saying. Unlike the spoken word, the written word can be forever.

7. Not all emails deserve a response

Emails, though often likened to a telephone conversation in slow motion, are nothing of the sort. They are the same as all correspondence, with new rules of etiquette and new levels of access and speed. Unlike telephone conversations, not all emails need, or expect, a response.

You neither have to acknowledge receipt of all messages, nor have the last word on a chain of reply-reply messages. The original sender probably didn't expect a reply, and you have just added to their already substantial list of emails for that day. Unless you are asked for a reply or a specific action, or you must advise the recipient of some vital piece of additional information, do not reply. Be discriminating with your reply button, and everyone will be the better off.

8. Group incoming email for more efficient reading

You spend a significant amount of time opening and reading email every day. Time which you can better spend on more direct work activities. One way to use this time more efficiently is to file your emails before you even open them, so you can decide on which ones need urgent opening, and which ones could wait till you have a spare fifteen minutes.

Most email software allows you to set rules for incoming emails. The system will direct emails into folders you have set up, depending on the rules you apply. For example, you could set up folders based on words contained in the subject matter or the address of the sender or key words in the message text. Once the incoming emails have been sorted for you, you can choose when to open the emails, based on the importance of each folder. This same process can be used for outgoing emails, so that you can automatically file into folders you created in point 5 earlier. Check your email software for this and other time saving options.

9. Make sure you are legal

This is a major topic! A whole new industry has been spawned to keep watch over the legality of email transmissions. Simply put, take extra care when sending words which have not been authored by you, including the common practice of "forwarding" messages sent to you. Copyright on email belongs to the writer, not the recipient. If you have any doubt about forwarding another person's message – then don't.

10. Filter messages to get rid of unwanted bulk mail

Again, use the features of your email software to help remove bulk or junk mail before it reaches your in box. Most software will allow you to filter out junk mail based on options such as blocking BCC (blind copies), blocking mail from certain addresses (lists created by you or your organisation), colour coding junk mail so you can recognise it or moving junk mail into separate folders so you can deal with it later.

Once again, it is a matter of knowing what your software can do (usually we use only 20% of software capacity!!!) and using it to save us time, effort and energy.

One final Word Finally, think before turning to email. Email is often seen as informal communication - quick, efficient and immediate. But to many (especially those whose careers began pre the email revolution) email is not the medium for well-mannered communication.

Before you send an email, ask yourself what is the recipient expecting. In some cases, snail mail is a better option, especially if speed is not the primary issue. Examples where traditional mail is better include:

* Client presentations or proposals

* Formal requests or invitations

* References

* Bulky correspondence (eg reports)

* When you are trying to make a good impression

Email can be either a blessing or a curse of the modern workplace. Either take control over your email jungle by applying these ten tips or keep cursing each time another email hits your inbox. The choice is yours!

Jo Gibney is an accomplished seminar leader, group facilitator, professional speaker, writer and HR Consultant. She has a broad background in both the private and public sectors and has presented at seminars and other business forums both nationally and internationally. Her commitment to adult learning is a life long passion, and much of Jo's work focuses on developing not just work skills but also personal competencies and strengths. Jo set up her own training and consulting business in 1995 and has developed many close links with both small and large businesses throughout Australia. In recent years, Jo has concentrated much of her professional expertise on the process of creating confident, courageous and committed individuals and organizations. Jo's ability to take complex theories and concepts and demystify them into user-friendly processes is a key to her business and personal success. Her strategy of keeping it simple and on the human level works brilliantly in both small and large organizations. Contact her at jo@organisenow.com

10 Ways To Stretch Your Printing Budget

Writen by Scott Pfaff

1. Use the Internet- Call a few local printers for estimates and then look on the Internet for the best deals. Usually the best areas to purchase printing from are the less developed states where industrial space and labor are less expensive. Printing in states like Pennsylvania, Southern States, and the Mid Western States can save you up to 50%. Once you have found a printer give them a small job to test their services. Chances are if you found them on the Internet they are not close and you can't just stop by to check them out.

2. Plan Ahead - I know in today's market this is often difficult but a little extra time can save big money. Printers will charge between 25% and 100% on rush charges. Shipping charges for ground instead of overnight can save tremendous amounts of money. I have witnessed print jobs where the shipping costs exceeded the printing costs. If the printer is far away then give him the time to ship your job the most economical way possible.

3. Talk To Your Printer - Some printers specialize in certain paper stocks, sizes, and colors. Ask them these questions and you may be able to save money. I deal with a printer that runs two different paper stocks, four-color process, only. I save up to 50% if I give him a four-color process print job to print on his house sheet. Other printers may specialize in envelopes or long print runs.

4. Ask About Their Equipment - Do they have their own bindery or do they send it out? If they send out that tells you the turnaround may take longer. What types and sizes are their printing presses? Printing a one or two color print job on a large four color press will typically cost you more then if you find a small shop with an older, smaller press.

5. Use Industry Standard Software Programs - Many printers will only accept certain formats. If your materials are not the correct format then they will need to be redone. Find out in advance before you create your project.

6. Know Your Specifications - One of the fastest ways to waste money is changing specifications after the designs are done. It may sound like nothing to you, but telling a designer to change the number of colors or the size of the job will take time and typically you are paying for it.

7. Run All Your Printing Together - If you have multiple similar print jobs run them at the same time. Inform the printer that you are giving him all the jobs at one time and tell him to run them together to save cost.  Although he would run them together anyway he may not give you the discount unless you ask.

8. Die Cuts - Stay away from complicated die cuts. They are very expensive and add extra turnaround time to your project. Instead of an expensive die cut consider a standard that the printer has already. Many printers have standard die cut templates they will give you, just ask.

9. Varnish - Varnishes can set your collateral apart from the competition and many printers charge little or nothing extra. Dull or gloss varnish make your materials stand out. A creative approach is to use spot varnish. Spot varnish is defined as varnish applied to a specific area only. A combination of both gloss and dull spot varnish will give a very rich appearance without breaking the bank.

10. Paper Stock - Paper can get very expensive if you are not careful. Determine your needs and ask your printer for paper samples. A number one sheet of paper is much more expensive then a number two or three. Ask to see a sample of the house sheet. Many printers will buy number two or good number three sheets in bulk and pass the savings on to you.

I hope these tips will help your budget go farther and make your job a little easier. Good luck with your next print experience.

Article written by Scott Pfaff - General Manager of Art And Design Unlimited, Inc. and first posted at http://www.artanddesign.com Any reproduction of this article needs to have an html link pointing to http://www.artanddesign.com

Top 10 Tips For Communicating With Your Boss

Writen by Victoria Graydale

Here are ten tips for communicating better with your immediate supervisor:

1. Make an appointment to speak to the boss, unless it's an emergency. She/he has work to accomplish too.

2. Don't be lulled into thinking that your boss is your friend, even if they are friendly. When it comes to judging your performance or laying you off, most will not hesitate to act.

3. Don't be too friendly with the boss. It can cause coworkers to distrust you.

4. Avoid tattling, unless it's a serious offense, such as theft or a safety violation.

5. Watch your timing. When you ask for something can be almost as important as what you're asking for. Asking to schedule your next vacation the day after you've gotten back from the current one probably isn't a smart idea. Nor is asking for a promotion or raise right after your boss was chewed out for a mistake you made.

6. Be specific if you have a coworker complaint to discuss with your boss and, ideally, have a solution to suggest. If you go to your boss and say, "I hate working with Bob," you sound like a whiner. You'll get better results with, "Bob hasn't been providing me with the information I need to complete my weekly reports on time. Would you please remind him that it's due by 5:00 each Thursday?"

7. Be patient. It's frustrating to see a coworker "get away with" coming in late, leaving early, calling in sick all the time, never sharing the work load, and so on. In your mind it is clear that the offender should be fired. However, legally and ethically your supervisor must give "trouble" employees a chance to correct their behavior before taking such a drastic step.

8. Be sure to discuss your long-term goals and interests with your manager. That way they won't have to make assumptions on your behalf.

9. Ask up front what makes an "excellent" employee. Don't wait until your annual review to find out what you thought was important doesn't matter to the boss.

10. Realize that there is often more pressure on the boss than he or she is placing on you.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain...and most fools do." ~Andrew Carnegie

Victoria Graydale has been a technical writer/mananger for over 15 years. After many years of experience in the corporate world, Victoria realized there are very few resources for employees looking to improve themselves at work, although there are hundreds books on how to be a better manager. Victoria Graydale has recently realized her dream of creative writing with "The Wizard's Daughter," due out in December 2006 from Stargazer Press.

Top 7 Considerations To Sales During Hurricane Evacuations

Writen by Lance Winslow

If your business has a team of salespeople who continually handle customers outside the region and you are facing a large category hurricane coming in to your region and everyone is forced by mandatory evacuation to leave. You need to provide sales tools, such as cell phones and contact information to decision-makers in your company so your salespeople can continue to do sales and make arrangements with customers and get those arrangements okayed by your management team.

If not then all those sales calls and negotiations in transit or in the pipeline will fall by the wayside and you will lose sales in your company just because a big storm came to your area. You do not need to lose a whole months worth of future sales and you can prevent this if you plan ahead you see?

It is important to consider all aspects of your sales because that is where your new money is coming from while evacuating during the 2006 Atlantic tropical hurricane season. If you plan in advance of a major catastrophic hurricane hit at your corporate headquarters, your sales team can still be working out of their vehicles, hotel rooms or even at family homes outside of the area.

Your customers may not ever realize that you were hit by a big hurricane, and that means your sales will go along as you rebuild your business and bring all your employees back to work. All businesses should have sales plans and be prepared for such disasters without disrupting the inflow of your most important cash flow; new business from sales. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Top 7 Tips For Starting A Truck Wash Business

Writen by Lance Winslow

When starting a truck wash business it makes sense to be as close to a major truck stop and a major interchange of two major freeways as possible. It is not always easy to find inexpensive properties in areas like this but it is possible if you concentrate and are patient.

Truck wash businesses will need good signage, which can be seen for up to 1 minute before an off ramp. Truck wash businesses should put signage on top of the roof that can be seen for him a long distance.

The employees at a truck wash need to wear collared shirts with the logos and dark blue shorts; the team leader for each crew at a truck wash must speak perfect English and truck wash owners should refrain from hiring people who do not speak any English.

Truck wash companies should limit the amount of hydrochloric acid they use and keep it to a bare minimum. If a truck owner is very happy with the service that they received after truck wash ask them if they would put that on the CB as they drive down the road.

Truck wash businesses should put discount flyers at the fuel desks at all the nearby truck stops. A truck wash business would be wise to contact each of the dispatchers of all the major trucking lines that they see drive by on the major highways near them. I hope you will consider all these items if you are starting a truck wash business for yourself. Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Reduce Your Telephone Costs 10 Easy Tips

Writen by Glenn Williams

80% of businesses in the UK overspend on their telephone costs. Customers are often confused about the various solutions and cost options available. In reality there is no need to be - just ensure that you are talking to a supplier who provides a wide range of options and that they recommend the best solution for you. For organisations such as EWC who specialise in providing a broad range of business telecoms solutions, the prime business driver is to provide the optimum cost saving regardless of the technology and introduce new services http://ewcoms.com/

Now is always the right time to review your telecoms cost and you are almost certainly able to make worthwhile savings. I would recommend these simple hints:

1. Use a specialist not just a reseller of minutes such as a PBX maintainer. Exploit their expertise to present the options that most suit your business in plain English.
2. Do not assume that BT will be the most expensive – using BT lines open up opportunities with alternative carriers.
3. If you don't have a BT line, ensure the carrier enables the 'Carrier Pre Select' service on your line to allow you to use alternative carriers.
4. If you are calling just one specific person and quality is not a major issue then consider one of the free PC to Phone options such as Skype.
5. If a PC to Phone solution doesn't provide adequate quality use a low cost IP Phone like a Grandstream coupled with an account from a VOIP providor to make free calls to other accounts and low cost calls elsewhere.
6. Local and national calls to land lines may make up the bulk of your bill but don't assume the supplier with the lowest rates to these numbers will be the best overall. Often the cost to mobiles or international numbers can be so high that it offsets any savings.
7. While your existing supplier may be beneficial on certain routes most office systems can easily allow two or more suppliers to maximise your savings. Do not be put off by this, the best way to maximise savings may be to use BT on capped routes such as USA and alternate suppliers for the real high cost routes for the bulk of the savings.
8. Make the suppliers do the work for you. Companies such as EWC always provide a comparison of your call costs to their services free of charge. This is the easiest way to reduce your cost allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.
9. Don't forget your mobile phones. Your supplier should be able to offer means of making even greater savings from your mobiles.
10. If following your cost review your incumbent supplier proposes to match any cost savings you make, seek a rebate for at least the past 6 months against the new rates – after all shouldn't your supplier have been pro-actively looking after your needs?

Glenn Williams info@ewcoms.com is the co founder of EW Communications Ltd ewcoms.com a company dedicated to reducing the telephone costs of businesses across the globe.

Glenn has over 10 years experience in the telecoms sector, initially at a UK cable operation. Prior to founding EWC he run a UK based PC to Phone operation turning it into a global market leader within 2 years. EWC provides low cost telephone service to companies in the UK and overseas using technology such as VOIP, Carrier Pre Select and GSM gateways to ensure the maximimum benefit for its customers. Using EWc solutions provides our global customers with savings of betwen 25% and 60% against the alternatives.

Top 7 Reasons For Fighting Phishing Scams

Writen by Daviyd Peterson

If you haven't heard of phishing scams yet then Google it quickly before your bank account is emptied or you can watch last weeks episode of 'Numb3rs' and watch the angry face of an FBI agent once he realizes that his account has been the victim of war-driving. Still don't feel you should get off the couch and fight back then do a search on 'spear phishing' and get an eye full of what hackers are prepared to do to businesses and soon enough consumers. With that in mind let's approach the top 7 reasons below...

1. Your credit really can't take any damage from a hacker.

2. If your credit is good enough to take severe damage from a hacker then contact me immediately before a hacker targets my account.

3. How many banks and other companies have lost personal information to this date, how many more times are we going to wait for the headlines to report yet another bank.

4. In some states phishing scams against companies don't have to be reported.

5. The hackers have evolved and created spear phishing, the attack is targeted using a companies own email addresses and they are going after specific vulnerabilities within each company.

6. With spyware, spam, adware, phishing attacks and all the other ways hackers are trying to get into your computer's hard drive - watching tv programs instead of doing something proactive from the home out to the Internet against hackers is the only real working solution.

7. A city had four walls to protect itself in frontier days, these are the days of the electronic frontier with business, law enforcement, and city leaders as three of the walls. Are consumers expected to continue to lay down on the job while hackers have their way?

Daviyd Peterson: 10-year consultant, instructor, trainer of digital divide solutions for both home and business. Helps African American and minority Small Business Enterprises bridge the digital divide by becoming wireless Small Office Digital Offices (SODO). Free articles on Wireless Internet Security, Internet Marketing and other related articles ==>http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Daviyd_Peterson

Ten Tips For Being A Productive Team Member For Attorneys

Writen by Alvah Parker

You have probably been asked to serve on a committee or team. When possible it is important to choose those teams wisely. (There are times when your manager appoints you to a team and you are not given a choice.) Being a team player can give you visibility and credibility but if you choose the wrong team or work with a less than productive group you will lose the benefits. How do you decide which committee to serve on and then how do you make sure that team is very successful? Here are some ideas:

1.Critical Path or Personal Passion – Be sure the goal of the team is directly connected to the bottom line of the firm or is a focus of your own personal passion. You will need to have energy around the mission of the team and you will want the organization to be supportive of the findings of the team.

2. Appropriate work for a Team – Decide if the work can only be done by a team. If the work would be better accomplished by one or two people making a decision then don't waste your time. You'll be spinning your wheels on something that could be done faster with fewer people involved.

3. Mission of the Team – Ask about the mission of the team and what outcomes are expected. Get clarification if you don't understand it. The team can't do its work if the mission isn't clear.

4. Benefit – Look to see if being on this team will benefit you in some way. Perhaps it will add a skill to your resume. It might be a visible team and add to your standing in the firm or community. It could put you in contact with someone that you want to know better.

5. Expertise Needed – Be sure your expertise is required by the team. If you feel that there is a more qualified person, give the leader the name of the person who you think has that expertise. If possible decline to work on teams that don't seem to need your specific talent. This work should be a showcase for what you are uniquely qualified to do.

6. Other Members – Ask about the other members and what skills they bring to the table. Discuss adding people who have skills you see are missing.

7. Quiet Members – Notice who the quiet members of the team are. Help those people to be heard by asking them to repeat their comments or by asking their opinions on something. Find ways to help them participate.

8. Stay on track and focused – The team needs to keep to its timeline and within its budget. Complete your own work in the agreed upon time frame and budget and help others to do the same. Offer support to anyone who may make the team miss a deadline.

9. Team Decisions – Make sure that everyone is comfortable with the decisions that are made each step of the way. Nothing is worse than completing the task and finding that someone disagreed with something done in the very beginning of the work.

10. Ease tension – There are often tense situations that come from teamwork. Not everyone agrees all the time. Find ways to actively listen to someone else's point of view. Help to restate it for the group if some people don't understand it. Make sure everyone understands all sides of the issue. Take a break when things get hot. Use humor to release tension.

Many of the ideas from this list are mentioned in the book How to Be a Star at Work Robert E. Kelley. Kelley has done research on how star performers work. This book would be useful to associates in a law firm or employees in a corporation.

About Alvah Parker

Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor for attorneys and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker's Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. To subscribe send an email to join-roadtosuccess@go.netatlantic.com.

Parker works with successful attorneys who feel overwhelmed by their work and are willing to take action to create a more profitable practice and a more fulfilling life. Alvah also helps attorneys and others who want to change careers and find the work that is more meaningful and fulfilling. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com She may also be reached at 781-598-0388

7 Ways To Make A Great First Impression

Writen by Lee Hopkins

1. Focus on the other
Being known as a 'natural' at interpersonal communication is not just a gift that a select few enjoy. We can all enjoy the reputation of being 'a great communicator'.

Simply focus the conversation on the other person. This takes the pressure off you -- you don't have to be a witty bon-vivant to be a great communicator.

Avoid interrogating your new acquaintance, and if you are really nervous do your best to control twitches and jittery movements. And (best hint coming...) ALWAYS slow your speaking rate down. Nervousness makes us talk too fast.

2. The eyes have it
Here's a great 'rule breaker': instead of sticking to the 'respect someone's privacy and personal space' rule, when you meet someone for the first time give them a good look right in the eyes.

It's well known that when we look at someone we find attractive, our pupils dilate, a phenomenon that the other person instinctively picks up on. Well, that phenomenon can also be put to good use in our business dealings, too. Notice the other person's eye colour, say 'great' to yourself, and you'll find yourself involuntarily smiling. The other person will pick up on your mood.

But try and avoid smiling lecherously, or as a vampire would when contemplating a tasty new neck...

3. Get over your 'bad hair day'
Whilst 'being yourself' is always a good thing for relational honesty, try and disguise your inherent pessimism and bad mood from new acquaintances.

Even though you know you are just 'having a bad day' or a bad half-hour, the other person will probably decide that you are a 'full-time whinger', an impression and reputation hard to shake.

A bad mood will spread contagiously, bringing down the other person too. Better to start off positively; you can always let them see your 'other' side on another day...

4. "Mirror in the bathroom" **
Adjust your posture, voice and gestures to those of your new acquaintance. Establish rapport by mirroring their head nods and tilts. Speak at their pace and volume level. You'd be surprised by just how many different 'voices' a successful salesperson uses in a day -- they spend a large amount of time mirroring the other person's gestures, voice, language, pace, intonation and volume.

** (a wildly unsuccessful link to an 80s ska/reggae song)

5. Tread lightly...
He's talking about his new Holden Commodore; you're thinking of your new Impreza WRX. Or she's talking about her latest small win at the office and you're thinking about the new $1M account you just landed single-handed.

Which do you reckon will be more impressive: you gloating about your wins and toys, or you letting the other person have their 15 minutes of fame?

Good manners, as well as psychological research, dictate that to impress your guest you should always keep at the forefront of your mind the question, "How am I making the other person feel?"

Actively encourage others to talk about themselves, and respond genuinely -- without bringing it back to yourself.

6. Focus on their achievements
Use flattery sparingly but powerfully by focusing on the other person's achievements, not their personal attributes. Even if they suspect you might be brown-nosing, they will still get a warm glow from a well-directed compliment. "You have a great eye for colour; I really like how you have put the office decor together" is more flattering than, "Nice office".

"I like your new BMW - you must be a real asset to the company for them to give it to you" is more flattering than, "So who did you suck up to?"

Similarly, "You have a great eye for colour; I really like how you've put your wardrobe together" works better than, "You look totally shaggable in that dress".

7. It's never too late
Remember, there's very little that is unfixable in our interpersonal business relationships. There is usually always another chance to fix false first impressions.

Let's say you arrive at a meeting late, having just copped a parking ticket from the previous appointment. Your mood is not, as they might say, triumphant and glowing. Instead of responding appropriately to a new acquaintance's polite greeting, you mumble a grumpy 'yeah' and drop your laptop bag unceremonially into a nearby chair.

Okay, not a good start. But step outside the room for a moment, take a deep breath, count to seven (ten is too long a pause) re-enter the room and look your acquaintance in the eye. Apologise and explain why you are out of sorts. You might even want to turn it into a joke by saying something like, "I see you just met my evil twin."

And remember to cut others some slack if they make a bad first impression on you, too! What comes around, goes around...

When you match consumer psychology with effective communication styles you get a powerful combination. Lee Hopkins can show you how to communicate better for better business results. At Hopkins-Business-Communication-Training.com you can find the secrets to communication success.

Top 7 Tips To Deliver Exceptional Customer Service Instead Of Growing Your Competitors Bottom Line

Writen by Leanne Hoagland-Smith

With the holiday season just beginning, businesses are scrambling to get more customers and show more sales. However, retail and business to business (B2B) research continues to suggest businesses are failing to deliver adequate to exceptional customer service. Poor customer service dramatically affects the bottom line of every organization. Hence, all that scrambling may be for naught.

The 2005 American Customer Satisfaction Index, a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, is at one of its lowest levels in the past 10 years. IBM survey of 2004 Christmas shoppers revealed poor customer service was second only to long lines. Good customer service is essential in developing loyal customers who are only a click or a few steps from visiting your competitors.

1. Assess Your Organization

Customer service begins with the internal customer also known as your employees. Assess your organization from the top down. In many cases, poor customer service is a symptom of a more serious undiscovered problem. HINT: Incorporate proven criteria such as Baldrige to determine what you do well and where you need to improve.

2. Assess Your Customer Service Training

Poor customer service is not because your employees don't know how to, but probably more often than not they don't want to. If your customer service training focuses only on knowledge and skills, you are draining your K.A.S.H. Box because you are failing to address attitudes and habits.

3. Don't Assume Employees Know What Good Customer Service Is

With the world a far different place than 50, 30 or even 10 years ago, don't assume that your potential and even current employees know what good customer service is. Specifically define what good customer service is. HINT: Good customer service is when a customer comes back, spends more and doesn't visit the competitor.

4. Deliver Customer Service Training in Real Time

Customer service training should extend beyond the procedures and policies. Infuse good communication skills and professional appearance within your learning sessions. Create mentors that new employees can job shadow.

5. Ask Potential or Existing Employees If They Buy From You?

If you are a retail chain, ask employees if they have ever bought from you? What did they like about your store or business? Many businesses ask the "Why do you want to work here?" question. Why not dig a little deeper?

6. Ask Yourself If You Would Buy From You? This question may sound ridiculous, but would you buy from you?

7. Focus on Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

Exceptional customer service is when a customer brings or directs a new customer to your business.

Customer service is the beginning and the end for any business. All businesses are in customer service because without customers there would be no business. If your customer service is not at the exceptional level, then you are missing incredible opportunities to build your business and you are wasting a lot of money and resources. And,if that isn't bad enough, your poor customer service is growing your competitor's business.

Copyright 2005(c) Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S.

If doubling your results or performance is important to you, then visit http://www.processspecialist.com/seminars.htm to explore the types of customer service training that can be delivered on site and tailored to meet your needs. Sign up for a free monthly newsletter. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don't believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results at http://www.processspecialist.com/press.htm

Quotwhy Clarity Is Essential To Building Massive Momentum In Your Businessquot

Writen by Matt Zembruski

Clarity is an absolutely essential ingredient for you to achieve your full potential in business. Napolean Hill, in his classic book Think & Grow Rich, said "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." He goes on to explain why having a clear definition of what you want to achieve is a critical factor in your success.

For business owners who truly want to be "on purpose" for success and take their business to the next level, I define "clarity" as follows:

Clarity is determining exactly what results you want to achieve and when you want to achieve them.

The key word in that definition is "exactly". If you don't make the time to define your goal in exact terms, you are not setting yourself up for success. Instead, you are setting yourself up for a guess.

That's right.

A goal that is not clearly defined will not be clearly achieved. Part of the goal may be achieved, but you will not be completely satisfied with the results unless you take the time to define the entire goal upfront.

So why is having clarity so important?

Without clarity, your business moves from place to place like a ship without a rudder. But with clarity, you run your business "on purpose" and you will create amazing results -- both for you and for your customers!

This may be best understood with an example. Several years ago I worked with a business manager named Dan who helped manage a company based in Massachusetts. Dan had some lofty ideas for what he wanted to achieve, but they were not defined in much detail. He also knew that he wanted to achieve a lot of results in a short period of time, but he didn't have a good idea of how he was going to do it.

In other words, Dan was just like many business owners and managers who I have met over the years. He wanted to accomplish a lot, but he needed help gaining clarity about his ultimate goal and his timeframe for achieving it.

The first thing I did with Dan was help coach him to identify his most important short-term goal. Once that was done, Dan and I worked together to figure out what timeframe was going to be our target for achieving this goal. And once we had clarity with our goal and the target timeline, both Dan and I felt much more confident about our chances for success.

In this case, Dan's timeframe happened to be pretty aggressive and we both were confronted with a lot of opposition from people who thought that it couldn't be done. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Dan reached his big goal and he reached it within the four month window that he had set for himself.

So how can you learn from Dan's success and develop clarity for your business goals? Here are some questions to get you started:

1. Remember in Step One ("Understanding") when you were asked how you measure success in your business today? Well, you need to use the answer to that question to fill in the blank below: What have you achieved in the last three months in your business in terms of _____________ ? (i.e. typical items to fill in this blank are money, profits, or new customers)

2. What one goal would you like to achieve in the next 90 days?

3. Once you achieve this goal, what do you want to do with the extra money and extra time? In other words, what do you personally get as a reward for achieving this goal?

4. Looking back, what was your best month you ever had in your business in terms of ______________? (insert your chosen measurement again in the blank, and then answer the question)

5. Can you summarize what happened that month (or that period)? In other words, what specific actions had you taken that led to those incredible results?

Let's use another example to show you just how easy this process can be. Let's pretend a woman named Cindy is the proud owner of Cindy's Teddy Bear Company, which makes custom teddy bears for children of celebrities and upper class families.

In last week's article on Understanding, Cindy wrote down that the two biggest reasons she is in business is to positively affect children's lives and to make enough money to be financially free. Cindy also thought about how she measures her success and determined that the number of customers she has is what is most important to her.

Cindy came up with the following answers to the five Clarity questions listed above:

1. In the last three months, I have gained 72 new customers.

2. I would like to get 100 new customers in the next 90 days. I have never done this before, so this is a very exciting goal for me!

3. When I reach my goal of 100 new customers, I will invest half of the profits into my personal financial freedom account and spend some of the profits on a one-week vacation to Mexico with my family.

4. In my best month ever, I gained 30 new customers.

5. During my best month, I think the biggest reason for my success was that I rolled out a marketing campaign to a local community and followed up on every lead that I received.

Great job with Step Two, Cindy! Now you're ready to move on to Step Three.

Are you starting to get the picture and see how easy it can be to develop clarity for yourself? When you focus on the above questions and answer them honestly, you will be laying the next brick in your momentum foundation.

Make some time in your schedule this week to think about your answers to these questions. And if you have a business coach today, also make the time to review your thoughts about these questions with him or her.

Getting very clear about what you want to accomplish in your business in the next 90 days is a very important step to catapult your business into massive momentum. Take action and get these questions answered today.

You'll be glad you did!

Matt Zembruski (aka "Mr. Momentum") is the author of this article and publisher of the Massive Momentum Now newsletter. Subscribe today to get your free audio special report called "The #1 Reason Why Businesses Fail and How You Can Avoid It!". You will also discover a proven step-by-step system that gets you results...guaranteed. Free subscription if you visit our site today. ($197 value) http://www.mrmomentum.com

10 Reasons To Form A Strategic Business Alliance

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join together for a set period of time. The businesses, usually, are not in direct competition, but have similar products or services that are directed toward the same target audience. Below are ten reasons to create a strategic alliance.

1. You could offer your customers a larger variety of products or services. This will allow you to spend less time and money developing new products to sell.

2. Your number of sales people will increase because you're combining with other business. You won't have spend to time and money hiring new employees.

3. Your marketing and advertising budget will increase. When you form a strategic alliance with other businesses you both will share the advertising and marketing costs.

4. You can now offer your existing customers more back-end and upsell products. This will increase your sales and profits.

5. Your business will gain a larger number of skilled people working on the same project. You will gain the knowledge of the other businesses employees.

6. You will be able to beat your competition by selling to a larger target audience. You will also increase the total number of existing customers you can sell your products and services to.

7. You can exchange endorsements with your alliance partners. You'll add more credibility to your business and gain your potential customers trust to buy.

8. You can expand your business more rapidly. You can develop new products and services faster with a larger work force.

9. You'll be able to solve your customer's problems faster with a larger base of customer service people. You'll also learn new ways to improve your customer service from your alliance partners.

10. You'll have a larger number of "strategic thinking" people. This will allow both businesses to come up with profitable business ideas quicker than before.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

International Shippingfreight For Dummies

Writen by Paul Buisson

There are lots of benefits for some businesses to import or export goods. Manufacturers and distributors can order directly from the overseas manufacturer and save money on their purchases. They can also market their goods to the world instead of just the USA. There is a demand for American products in many parts of the world, but smaller American companies don't think they have the connections to offer their goods internationally. I recommend using freight forwarders instead of carriers because a good freight forwarder will shop several carriers to get you the best rate. With the right freight forwarder importing and exporting is as easy as sending a package via UPS.

First I will tell you what information you need to get a complete and accurate international freight quote. Then I will tell you how to insure that the quote you are given matches the dollar amount on your freight invoice. To get a freight quote you need to provide: your billing address, the origin zip code/city, origin country, the destination zip code/city, destination country, method of transport (usually ocean freight or air cargo), destination and origin details (door to door, door to port, port to door or port to port), residential or business origin/destination, if a lift gate is needed at the origin or destination, a description of the contents, Length, height and width of each pallet or box (unless you are shipping an entire ocean container), and the amount of insurance coverage if needed. This information will get you an accurate freight quote. If you accept the quote an agent of the freight forwarder will get the remaining details from you.

Follow these tips to protect yourself from misleading quotes. Make sure the quote is confirmed by a FAX/email. Verify that the fuel charge, customs clearance fees, customs brokerage fees, and trucking fees (if applicable), insurance (if applicable), and transit time are included in the quote. The destination location usually pays the duties and taxes to their government. If you are new to importing or exporting you can go to www. shipandfreigt.com or phone Paul Buisson at 985-727-2992 for free advise.

Paul Buisson has been helping small businesses import and export for over three years. He specializes in helping start-up businesses and businesses that don't know anything about international freight. Recently he helped a small business with one employee win the bid for a large military contract shipping items to Iraq.

10 Mind Busting Ways To Gain More Orders

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. Automate your online business to save extra time for marketing and advertising. You could use auto- responders, time saving software, etc.

2. Host a free hall of fame or museum on your web site. It should be related to your target audience. It should attract people just like offline ones do.

3. Write your ideas on paper; bad and good ones. Don't get an idea and take the risk of forgetting it; it could be your future income or success.

4. Design your ad copy to target your visitors goals, dreams and desires. Allow your product to attract their emotional and physical needs.

5. Create a small treasure hunt. Allow people to get a discount on a product you sell if they find a certain graphic somewhere on your site.

6. Have visitors sign-up to receive free promotional merchandise. It can be hats, bumper stickers, cups, or anything with your web site print on it.

7. Increase your traffic by creating other web sites that relate to the latest new fad. You just advertise your main web site on your fad web sites.

8. Load your site with a wide variety of content. Your site will become known as an area of regular reference for many of your visitors.

9. Interview famous people that your visitors want to know more about. Publish the interview in article or audio format on your web site.

10. Tell people the purpose of your web site. When they visit a web site and have to figure out what it's about, they may get frustrated and leave soon.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

10 Proven Ways To Accelerate Your Profits

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. Make copies of your web site in many different languages. This'll allow foreign speaking people to read your web site and advertisements.

2. Give your customers a surprise bonus for buying. When you give customers more than they expect, there is a good chance they will buy from you again.

3. Send greeting cards offline or online to customers on holidays. You'll get the chance to increase your orders by including your ad inside the card.

4. Market your products or services to your target audience. For example, don't try to sell a football in a cooking magazine.

5. Give people the option of buying other products or add on products when they decide to buy your main product or service at the point of sale.

6. Think of new ways to attract people to buy your products or services. You could add on extra free bonuses, delivery options, payments options, etc.

7. Give other businesses the option of selling your product. It could be a simple joint venture deal or an affiliate/associate program.

8. Follow-up regularly with all your prospects and current customers. When people see your ad more than once they are more likely to buy.

9. Learn sales ideas from reading and studying other business' advertising and marketing material. It could be ads, brochures, tv ads, sales letters, etc.

10. Educate yourself with new strategies to increase your sales. You could take classes, subscribe to e-zines and magazines, read books or ebooks, etc.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

Top 7 2checkout Credit Card Processing Advantages

Writen by J. Stephen Pope

Here are seven good reasons why you should consider 2Checkout.com (also known as 2CO) as your credit card processing solution and merchant account alternative.

1. Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account

For an initial fee of $49.00, you can accept all major credit cards as well as online checks. Fees are 5.5% of sales and $0.45 per transaction.

2. Handle Both Intangible and Tangible Products

While ClickBank.com restricts itself to digital products, 2Checkout can handle both digital and physically shipped products.

3. Shopping Cart

Whereas ClickBank handles only single sales, with 2Checkout, you receive a shopping cart. Alternatively, many third-party shopping carts integrate with 2Checkout.

4. Integration With Third-Party Affiliate Programs

2Checkout integrates with third-party affiliate programs such as ClixGalore.

5. Eliminate Sales Tax Problems

Since you must agree to sell your product to 2Checkout for resale, 2Checkout becomes the retailer responsible for collecting sales taxes -- not you. This simplifies or eliminates sales tax administration for you.

6. Fraud Detection

With 2Checkout, you have to wait until they complete their fraud detection checks before you deliver the product. This protects the merchant as well as the customer.

7. Other Advantages

As well, 2Checkout features free on-line support, their own affiliate program, and more. Your products are also searchable from shopping center links on their website, thus giving you more exposure. 2Checkout also allows for multi-currency transactions which enable customers to buy in their own local currency. According to the 2Checkout.com website, this improves sales and reduces credit card disputes.

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

To learn more about accepting credit cards, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/creditcards.html

For profitable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

10 Power Packed Ways To Boost Your Profits

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. Sell a few back end products that are not related to your main product but are needed by all humans. Every customer that buys from you is human.

2. Take on as many of your business' chores as you can handle; outsource what you can't. Only you can determine how your business is operated.

3. Try out new business opportunities. You could combine them with your current business. It could add an extra profit stream to your web site.

4. Create an alliance with 3 or 4 web sites. Include each of your ads or banners on the other web sites. You will all share targeted traffic from each other.

5. Create a free e-zine directory. You'll attract a lot of traffic from ezine publishers and people that want to subscribe to the e-zines.

6. When you offer a freebie from your site, submit it to free stuff sites. They provide target categories which means targeted traffic.

7. Make your visitors curious about your product by telling them they need to sign-up to get into a password protected site to read the rest of the ad.

8. Remember the little things about your web pages really count. Include the title of your site at the top right corner, a description about of your site, etc.

9. When you ask someone to sign-up to receive a freebie, don't ask for really personal information. This is a fast way to lose a potential prospect.

10. Remember newsgroups are still pretty popular. You could post your ad in ones that allow it or you can leave messages with your sig file include.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

10point Checklist For High Visibility In Google

Writen by Ash Nallawalla

Google is the pre-eminent search engine (SE) with no close competitor. Given that inclusion is free, your Web pages must be in it. We'll show you how to top the Google SERPs, that is, be found at the top of the search engine results pages. These techniques are known as search engine optimization (SEO) and require a small investment of your time.

I took two of my sites to the top of the SERPs in three months, so it can be done. My pages have few competitors: my challenge was mainly to get past false positives such as resumes, job vacancies, articles, and so on. If you are competing with "real" sites that are selling competitive products such as the ones you read about in your spam e-mails, you can get there within a year with some persistence.

Goal

Casual Google users use default settings, so your site must get into the top 20 results. Unfortunately, you cannot assume that visitors will use the most appropriate search terms. Real people are unpredictable.

Google SERP

You must understand that SERP positioning is dynamic - what you see depends on no single factor. It depends on the viewer's location, the type of search used (basic, advanced, regional, filtered, and so on), the content of the page, their keyword density, the page rank (PR), the search term (words or phrase), and so on. Therefore, you need to plan your site carefully.

Ten-Point Checklist

1. Domain Name and Server

Get a .ca domain if your audience is likely to look for Canadian sites. Use a global, top-level domain (gTLD) such as .com if your business is not local. A unique, topical name such as "dentist-atlanta.com" should rank higher in the SERPs than "dentist.com" or "smithclinic.com" (if the search term is likely to be "dentist in atlanta" or similar).

It is nice but not essential if the web host gives your site a unique IP address, but it is highly advisable to host your site on your own dedicated server. Shared web hosting means that a server could host thousands of web sites, and Google's spiders would be slowed down.

If you already have a Web site, you can find out its IP address using cmd.exe or an MS-DOS prompt, e.g. "ping www.cnn.com" and call up the displayed IP address in the browser. Example: http://64.236.24.12 brings up cnn.com. If you don't see the expected web page, it has a shared IP address.

2. Page Title

An ill-planned page title is the Achilles Heel of a Web page. This is the text that appears at the very top of the browser window.

The Title tag text should be brief and readable, avoiding superfluous words and punctuation marks. Begin with the most valuable keywords, e.g. "Root canal specialist dentist clinic, Mayfair, London", not something like "***** Fred Smith, BDS - 5 Stars Dental Clinic *****", or worse, "Welcome to my home page", or "Untitled".

3. Style Sheet

Placing style definitions in a .css (Cascading Style Sheet) file moves the body text close to the top of the document and shrinks the page size. Many Javascript effects can be replaced by CSS. Fast-loading pages are good for both humans and search engine crawlers.

4. Meta Tags

Google ignores the Keywords meta tag for ranking but other SEs use it. An extract from the Description meta tag sometimes appears in the SERP; sometimes you see a snippet from the body text. Moderation and relevance should be your benchmark for placing keywords in these tags.

5. Content

• Quality content is rewarded by top placement in the search results. For example, if you sell new cars, used cars, and car service, you would have three branches, each containing pages relevant to that theme.

• Links to popular causes, memorial ribbons, HTML validation, page counters, etc. could distract visitors to other sites.

• Optimise images and keep the page size low.

• Place key phrases towards the top of pages and in heading tags such as H1. Don't get hung up on a single keyword for the whole site. Pick different ones for different pages so that you have more ways to be found. Optimise for the search terms used by your paying customers, if you can identify them, not casual visitors.

• Consider (this depends on the size and nature of your business) placing noncommercial pages such as staff pages, personal hobbies, genealogy and so on at a secondary level but not linked from the entry page. Some of my ranking success comes from hosting my hobby pages below my commercial site, because I cannot justify buying a domain for each of my interests. I legitimately link them to my resume, which has a link to my business site. This enables free placement of the secondary pages in otherwise for-fee directories.

6. Links and Folders

• Link a site map from the home page so that crawlers can find the rest of your pages.

• Link each page to the home page and to others in its logical group (but not to every other page in the site). The anchor text should use key phrases and words.

• Use keywords for folders, image names and Alt text but don't overdo it. e.g. /hamilton/lawyer/divorce.htm, alt="Perth plumber" The deeper your directory structure, the less likely it will be spidered regularly.

7. Neighbourhood Watch

Get quality incoming links from sites that share your theme. Without referrals, it's near impossible to be visited by Googlebot. Try to get such links from sites with PR3 (Page Rank - see below) or better, not from link farms that are clearly built to boost PR. Make it easy for other sites to use keyword-loaded phrases in their links, say, by offering a cut-and-paste slice of HTML anchor code. Here is an example you can use to link to this page:

Links from lower-ranking peers will not penalise you; they simply won't appear in Google's list of backward links to your page. You cannot control who links to you, but you have control over who you link to.

Add a judicious number of outbound links to topical peers of the same or better calibre. Google likes links to authoritative sites, but don't overdo the external links. Although such sites might not overtly link to your site, their site statistics file might get crawled and constitute a link back to you.

8. Cloaking

Cloaking hides content from humans and SEs, which is generally a bad practice. Good reasons to cloak include hiding parts of your optimised pages from amateur competitors or to show different pages to different visitors based on their browsers.

Subscriber-only sites also manage to get into SEs. They use a cloaking practice known as "agent name delivery", which is a slab of code that checks whether the visitor is a crawler or a human. Crawlers get to see the whole site, but others are directed to a sign-up form.

9. Avoidable Practices

The following practices could get your site banned from Google at worst or lower its ranking at best:

• Gimmicks. Pointless Javascript effects such as cursor trails and transitions do nothing for your viewers but place a lot of code above your body text. You want your content close to the top of the page.

• Bad HTML code. Novice hand-coders might copy some HTML tags without understanding their meaning. One webmaster used the robot directive and wondered why his site was not fully in Google in spite of Googlebot visits and good incoming links. He was asking to be indexed, but for his links not to be followed.

• Multiple sites with duplicated content, e.g. www.example.net and www.example.com hosted on the same server or different ones, as this is considered spamming. Use a permanent redirect on all secondary sites to point to the main domain.

• Multiple copies of the same page. This is typically an entry or "doorway" page optmised for different keywords to lure different people, e.g. crackz.htm, serials.htm, passwords.htm, and so on.

• Hidden content. This can be repetitive text on the same colour background or a layer with coordinates that are off the visible page. It begs the question why the author does not put this effort into creating visible text.

• Flash-Only pages. A solution is a user agent entry check that displays Flash to enabled browsers, but plain HTML to crawlers and other human visitors.

• Frames. Googlebot will crawl links in the Noframes text, but not ones in the framed pages. Other SEs might not crawl frames, so it is better to use tables and more so to use CSS. If you must use frames, ensure that you use the correct Doctype declaration for frames. I have noticed that Googlebot can now crawl links in frames but sometimes it cannot.

• Submission software or service. They could submit your site to thousands of unknown SEs. You will get a lot of spam, abuse, and possible inclusion in link farms that will ruin your reputation in Google's eyes. After all, can you name more than five major SEs?

• Session IDs. Sites that require session IDs from crawlers will get poor visibility because the previous session will have expired by the time Googlebot returns.

• Over-optimisation. [Update 11/2003] Many sites that followed a strict "SEO formula" found that they could not be found at the top of the SERPs, or in the index at all. There is speculation that such tactics cause the sites to be filtered out of the search results.

10. Patience

Having optimized and submitted your pages to Google, get on with growing your business, because Google takes time to rank you. Work on getting quality, inbound links from high-ranking sites that feature the same subject matter. Increase your content and keep it fresh. Get free or paid listings in Google Adwords, Overture, Yahoo, Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org), and reputable engines such as MSN, Yahoo!, and Ask Jeeves.

Ash Nallawalla is an experienced Internet marketer. Much of his work involves search engine marketing, which includes pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization. More information is at http://www.sem911.com/