If you want someone to nod yes, all you have to do is nod yes at them. This works if you are speaking to a group, or just telling a joke to a couple of friends. It’s most affective, however when you are making a sales pitch.

The old standard policy in sales is to get the customer to say yes and to keep saying yes until you have their signature or their money. The nod gets them in the mood. The nod involves the head and the entire body and is really stronger than merely “saying” yes.

To move prospects closer to that sale, we need to give them reasons why they should buy. What’s surprising is that sometimes the reason only needs to be ‘because.”
In the book Influence: Science and Practice, author Robert Cialdini reveals, “A well known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.”

Cialdini cites a study in which a researcher asked people to let her cut in front of them to make copies “because I have to make some copies.” Her success rate was over 90%. The people were in line to make copies and yet they let the researcher go in front of them, when she gave them a reason . . . because.

Will you try these two sales techniques the next time you’re negotiating? I’m nodding my head, so I assume you are too. Nod your head, and give your prospect a reason to buy . . . even if it’s only because it’s a good product.

Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle “free preview” for business training videos. He also owns Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which broadcasts HR and business training information, program previews, and training samples from some of the world’s great training speakers twenty-four hours a day. You can listen and learn on Human Resources Radio.

There are lots of ways to open sales calls, and I detail many of them in my books, such as Reach Out & Sell Someone®.

But I’ve discovered one of them, the “inactive account” approach, is flawed.

Here’s what I mean.

You look at your database and you see lots of accounts that you haven’t talked to in a long time. Gee, you think, they must be upset with us, or minimally, they’ve taken their business elsewhere.

This seems logical, doesn’t it?

So, you rehearse what you’re going to say when you call.

“Golly, Frank, we haven’t heard from you in quite some time. Is there anything wrong?”

It’s not a terrible opener, and you might get a replyexactly the negativity you’re expecting to hear.

But in lots of customers’ minds, they don’t classify themselves as inactive, at all. This is what I’ve found after doing several outbound telemarketing campaigns aimed at these “shadow clients.”

So, if THEY don’t think there’s anything wrong, why plant the seed that there is!

Now, I recommend using the “Thank You Approach.”

“Hello, Frank, this is Gary Goodman with Customersatisfaction.com, and I’m just calling to thank you for all of the business we’ve done together; I appreciate it!”

If they have heartburn, believe me, you’ll hear it in their voices. If not, you’ve just set a great tone for catching up with them and handling any reorders they may have.

In the middle of one outbound telemarketing campaign, the light came on for me, and I switched from the inactive account opener to thank-you opener.

And the results were nothing less than amazing. With the former, we hunt for problems. Using the latter, we’re upbeat, and ready to do more business.

Big difference.

Try it!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

With the claims culture growing all around the globe, having possession of professional indemnity insurance is developing into being ever more and more necessary. If you don’t have professionally indemnity insurance built-in into your building insurance, then now is probably the occasion to look at purchasing improved cover. Here is some info about why you need insurance, & what to pay attention to.

What is professional indemnity insurance: Professional Indemnity cover is an insurance policy that shelters you from claims that 3rd party’s could possibly make against you in the likelihood of an accident. If someone damages their possessions or injures themselves in or around your property or business then the public liability insurance will protect you for any charges that could perhaps arise. Cover usually ranges from two-hundred and fifty pounds up to one million pounds. Purchase business insurance online today from Insured Risks.

What are you insured for: Insurance will insure cover for accidents or loss that others might endure in or around your home or business site. You are protected from claims from trespassers, and damages that may perhaps occur to somebody from falling items or workers carrying out repairs. If an accident arises on your property and someone claims against you, your cover will support you to pay any fees.

What’s included Numerous contents or property insurance documents have in-built liability insurance. You ought to check with your insurer whether this is the case, and what level of cover you get. Even if the insurance is incorporated, you need to make sure that you are correctly protected for any sort of accidents that may well arise.

Payment: The payments that you are likely to have to pay depend on the level of coverage you purchase. If you just insure your home, then costs are likely to be not as much as than if you are wanting to cover a business. On the other hand, payments are comparatively cheap for the level of protection that you get, & it is as a result fundamental for any individual running a business.

When was the last time you thanked your customers?

This often neglected gesture is a very powerful sales tool. As a small business owner, I want to know that the companies I chose to work with appreciate my business. Here are some of the opportunities you have to thank the people around you.

1. When they place an order or make a purchase of any type. This may sound pretty obvious but my experience has taught me otherwise. Do you remember the last time a retailer thanked you for shopping at their store? Has the cashier at the local grocery store thanked you lately? What about the clerk at the gas station around the corner? How about your suppliers or companies you use to support your business? I use several hotels across the country to conduct my training workshops and some of my sessions are multi-day program which means I can spend several thousand dollars. Yet, I can count on one hand, the hotels who have thanked me for choosing them versus one of their competitors.

2. When they refer you to another potential client. Much of my business is generated through referrals and I take great pains to thank everyone who refers new potential clients to me. A good friend of mine sent many referrals to an associate yet, the other person did not take the time to thank him or reciprocate. Needless to say, my friend has stopped sending potential clients his way. Simply because he wasn’t thanked.

3. When they contact you regarding a service issue. Most companies don’t think of thanking customers for complaining. Far too often, business people and employees try to redirect the blame or justify what went wrong instead of thanking their customer for pointing out the shortcoming. However, when people do express their concern with something, they are providing you with a golden opportunity to take corrective action and improve your business. Shortly after launching my website, a client encountered a problem and received the incorrect item for an online order she had placed. I thanked her because she helped me correct a problem I didn’t know existed.

4. When they make a payment. This morning, as I wrote this article, I received an electronic card from my personal coach who I work with on a regular basis. She thanked me for the timeliness of my payment and commented how quickly she usually receives payment. This, in turn, made me feel good because I now know that she recognizes this. Her thank-you will encourage me to continue my prompt payment habit. If she uses this approach with all her clientele I’m sure she doesn’t encounter cash-flow problems very often.

5. When they help you solve a problem. I recently faced a minor problem with one of my clients. I asked one of my key contacts in the organization to look into the matter and in a matter of hours the situation was resolved. Without his help, I might still be dealing with the issue. Assistance or action like this requires recognition and a simple thank-you can go long way to reinforce someone’s behaviour.

6. When they are loyal. If you have long-term clients it is critical to thank them for their loyalty. We often take these individuals for granted and forget that they, like anyone else, want to feel appreciated for their business. I firmly believe that we should send regular thank-you cards or notes telling people that we appreciate their business. A friend of mine, who also owns a training company, has a thank-you party every year. He invites many of his customers for an evening of dining and entertainment as a way of thanking them. Plus, it gives them a chance to network with other like-minded people, often resulting in the formation of new business relationships.

There are several ways to you can thank someone. You can say thank-you in person. You can call the other person. You can send an email. Or, you can write a note or mail a card. My preference is to send cards because most people receive very few thank-you cards. An inexpensive card with a few handwritten comments can help you stand out from your competition. Plus, many people will keep a card on their desk which keeps your name in their mind. Yes, it takes some time, but the payoff is usually worth it.

One last comment. I know you are busy and like most business people, that your time is precious and more valuable than ever before. Therefore, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this article. I appreciate it!

Copyright 2004 Kelley Robertson. All rights reserved

Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen - Proven sales techniques to turn browsers into buyers.” Visit his website at http://www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com and receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free weekly e-zine.

This article is designed to help Horsham residents select plants and shrubs for hedges. Not all plants that are suitable are listed here but most common and easy to raise ones are listed.

Hedges are one of the major components of your landscape. Hedges define the limits of your landscape and thus should be the starting point in your landscape design. Before selecting plants, you should carefully consider their landscape requirements and the characteristics of the plants. For example, deciduous plants drop their leaves in the fall and are effective screens mainly during the growing season. Evergreens provide good screening all year. Gardeners considering a sheared, formal hedge should realize that they may need to be pruned (sheared) several times a year to remain attractive. In comparison, an informal, natural hedge is relatively low maintenance. Select shrubs that grow to the desired height. Planting a tall-maturing shrub where a short, informal hedge is desired creates work. Many landscaping problems are prevented by selecting the correct planting material.

Our plants are well suited for many hedge plantings. We sell many types of plants and shrubs which can work well as a natural privacy boarder. Bare-root material is the most economical type of nursery stock when planting a hedge. However, bare-root plants are rather small. For the beginner, bare root is the hardest type of plant to grow out. Container-grown and balled and burlapped plants are larger, but are more expensive. You will have better luck with potted and B&B stock…The added cost will be worth it. Most B&B and potted stock can be planted whenever the ground is not frozen as long as you have the knowledge to help the plants along.

Plant spacing is determined by the plant species and hedge type. Most plantings will range from a spacing of a foot or two to a couple of feet. Many people will plant the shrubs and fail to prune them back hard. Pruning generally will make the shrubs more dense and compact.

The following is a list of shrubs suitable for hedges that we sell:

Amur maple Acer ginnala 15 to 18 feet natural Barberries Berberis species 1 to 5 feet natural or sheared Boxwood Species 2 to 4 feet natural or sheared Redosier dogwood (D) Cornus sericea 8 to 10 feet natural Burning bush (D) Euonymus alatus 6 to 15 feet natural Junipers (E) 8 to 15 feet natural Beautybush (D) Kolkwitzia amabilis 8 to 10 feet natural Spirea VanHoutte (D) 6 to 8 feet natural Lilacs (D) 4 to 15 feet natural Yews (E) Taxus species 2 to 10 feet natural or sheared Arborvitae (E) 3 to 15+ feet natural or sheared Arrowwood viburnum (D) Viburnum dentatum 6 to 8 feet natural American Cranberry (D) 8 to 12 feet natural

When you visit Highland Hill Farm at 5275 W Swamp Rd. (rt. 313) Fountainville Pa. we will be happy to show you these plants. You can also go to our web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com

Admit it. When the sun is out and you are at your favorite campsite or cottage on the lake the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time cooking a meal. Often, when vacationing, the lure to purchase instant foods is strong. Unfortunately, these convenience foods often come over packaged usually including some type of plastic. As we can see when we come across trash in the wilderness, the plastics tend to linger the longest - other than maybe glass and metal. Nothing ruins the feel of a pristine, natural area more than a bunch of garbage. Numerous studies prove that tourists return to an area primarily for its cleanliness and greenery. In this era where the economy has come to rely more on tourism, cleaning up is truly a benefit for the community.

We soon realized that walking by these messes and complaining over such disrespect, we were behaving not much better than the polluters who left it. Now when we hike we pack a supply of plastic bags (grocery bags work well) to clean up as we go. Often we earn up to $10 in returnable bottles and cans in the process. When you take a bit of time to clean up some trash not only do you have a better trail or beach to come back to, you have helped to make it safer and nicer for the next user. This simple measure just might influence others to keep it clean, as well.

When on the water with the canoe we also clean as we go by diving for garbage below the surface using a mask and snorkel. It is amazing the finds we have from these excursions under water. One of the first times we did this, we found an expensive diving mask in about 30 feet of water - enough incentive to continue this practice! We have found antique bottles, jewelry, fishing lures and reels.

It feels very good to clear up a beach of shards of broken glass hiding just below the surface before an unwary swimmer splashes into it. It does not, however, feel as good to find a large fish hook by imbedding it in the bottom of your foot. Take heart in knowing you have done a good thing as your expletive echoes off the far mountainside. Imagine an innocent child stepping on that hook instead of you and decide if it is worth taking the time…

– Written by Dave and Lillian Brummet based on the concept of their new book Trash Talk. The book offers useful solutions for the individual to reduce waste and better manage resources. A guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment. (www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

Landlords and rehabbers take notice - you may soon be focused on the new concepts of “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

To separate fact from fiction, I asked Bryan Ellis for comments. He’s the man many consider to be the father of this new form of investing.

When I began using the term virtual real estate investing in the late 1990s, I did so because I saw clear parallels between the strategies used for profiting from physical real estate and those that would create income in the online world, said Ellis.

One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. “There’s a huge difference between a website and a piece of real estate, but the ways you can profit from them are similar: ‘flipping’, rental/leasing, advertising sales, etc…all of these apply to both markets” he states.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. Consider this: If you own a piece of real estate in a desirable neighborhood, your real estate has value because other people are interested in that location. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

Bulls fire interim coach Boylan

Some risk takers should have spotted the phrase “offshore sports betting”, but some maybe aren’t wholly clear on what that signifies. A foreign gaming site fundamentally works out of the sphere of a distinct country alternatively it can also mean a networked sports betting website that bases their host servers inside the borders of a country in which computer accessible gaming isn’t currently disallowed. Succinctly therefore, it is a wagering organisation working outside the nation of the bettor. Online sports betting internet sites are mainly regulated through the agency of three councils. These assemblies are the OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), the IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association (the FTGA).

The OSGA is an unbiased institution which monitors the thriving offshore gambling trade, they want to provide sports gaming afficionados the ability to locate trust-worthy websites to play games of destiny with. It works to support betting lover’s rights, and also they charge no enrollment costs. The Offshore Gaming Association is a well qualified and non-biased third party affiliation which conveys nonpartisan judgments, established around customer feedback, impartial analysis, phone discussions, prompts also provides industry information.

The Interactive Gaming Council is a non-profit-making administration. The organisation was created to allow an arena for interested parties to discuss topics and in addition to improve collective matters in the worldwide interactive sports gambling business, to ensure proper and also effective commercial rules and procedures which endeavor to heighten consumer faith in online gambling commodities and benefits, and in addition to work as the betting industry’s extensive policy advocate and the Interactive Gaming Council also supplies an information depot.

The Interactive Gaming Council have made a reputation for dependability, stability and in addition sincerity via the uncompromising industry ethics it exhibits, and also its allure for credible sports betting websites. The IGC governs overseas sports gambling through implementing a specific ten step code of behavior not to mention bills betting businesses a license fee for displaying their logo. Discontented gamblers may, if they desire, recount any of their challenges to the IGC.

The FTGA has been founded in order to compose a standard which will improve the actions of networked sports betting operations. The IGC proposerealize that by doing business only with enterprises of good reputation, they can work out an affiliation of the most trustworthy and most proficient online betting operations multinationally.

There are establishments who guide the behavior exercised by online gaming and which should assist to ease some of the insecurities experienced by skeptics. Computer accessible gambling websites are nowadays actually safe, since personal details are not necessary and the returns not to mention the odds are generally as uniform and fair as a normal Vegas-type stake. They eradicate the travel expenditure, but preserve the character of a Vegas-style gaming site, only nowadays you are able to game in the comfort of your own home.

Listen and Learn: The Intonation of Two-Word Expressions

Many people think that pronunciation is what makes up an accent. It may be that pronunciation is very important for an understandable accent. But it is intonation that gives the final touch that makes an accent correct or native.

Intonation is the “music” of a language, and is perhaps the most important element of a correct accent. Often we hear someone speaking with perfect grammar, and perfect formation of the sounds of English but with a little something that gives her away as not being a native speaker.

Therefore, it is necessary to realize that there is more than the correct pronunciation of the vowels and consonants of a language. This is very important and we do stress it in other articles. But it is only one of the three components to an accent, pronunciation, intonation, and linking.

In other places we will examine the correct pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and linking, the way that syllables within a word, and the beginning and ending of words come together.

But in this article we will look at how the difference that intonation makes in the daily use of a proper North American English accent. The practice will help you to notice, practice, and master the different intonation patterns that you will discover as you concentrate more on your use of North American English.

Two Word Stress

Knowing when and where to stress the words you use is very important for understanding, and therefore, as part of a good accent. A clear example is that of stress in two word expressions.

According to whether it is an ordinary two-word expression or a special, set expression, the place of the stress changes. In an ordinary expression the two words are used to describe something like a “white HOUSE” (meaning a house that is painted white, and not blue or gray). In this case the most important note is the noun because we are talking about a house that happens to be white. Similarly, a “fat BOY” is an overweight young male.

But sometimes short two word expressions are set or “consecrated”, (that is, they mean something special) and have to be made different from similar expressions. One example is “the WHITE house” where Mr. Bush lives. In this case, the emphasis is on the adjective because we are more interested in stressing that it is the house that is known because it is white. In the same way, “FAT boy” is the nickname of a boy, chosen because the word fat emphasizes his weight.

It will be useful for you to be aware of both types of two word expressions. Here is a list of a few that will get you thinking and give you some practice in identifying them and using them correctly. Underline the syllable that is stressed, and write a brief explanation, for both uses of each phrase. I start the exercise with two examples. You do the rest. Make sure you say the phrases OUT LOUD!

WHITE house
In Washington

white HOUSE

House painted white

LIGHT bulb
Shines with electricity

Light BULB
A bulb that is not heavy

Now do these, underling the syllable that is stressed, and defining the word that has the indicated intonation.

Dark room, Dark room

A cold fish, A gold fish

The paper box, The paper box

An old key, A door key

A nice watch, A wrist watch

A sticky web, A spider web

A clean cup, A coffee cup

A toy gun, A water gun

A bright star, A movie star

A new ball, A foot ball

A sharp knife, A steak knife

An old brush, A hair brush

A dry leaf, A fig leaf

A pointy tack, A thumb tack

A blackboard, A black board

A green house, A green house

For more articles on intonation, search with the keyword “intonation”.

Frank Gerace Ph.D has worked in Latin America in UN and national Educational and Communication Projects, and has taught in Bolivian and Peruvian Universities. He currently teaches English in New York City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He provides resources on accent reduction and the proper American English accent at http://www.GoodAccent.com He also maintains resources for Spanish Speaking learners of English at http://www.InglesParaLatinos.com

A novel re-definition through experimentation of the classical format of the book is emerging.

Consider the now defunct BookTailor. It used to sell its book customization software mainly to travel agents - but this technology is likely to conquer other niches (such as the legal and medical professions). It allows users to select bits and pieces from a library of e-books, combine them into a totally new tome and print and bind the latter on demand. The client can also choose to buy the end-product as an e-book. Consider what this simple business model does to entrenched and age old notions such as “original” and “copies”, copyright, and book identifiers. What is the “original” in this case? Is it the final, user-customized book - or its sources? And if no customized book is identical to any other - what happens to the intuitive notion of “copies”? Should BookTailor-generated books considered to be unique exemplars of one-copy print runs? If so, should each one receive a unique identifier (for instance, a unique ISBN)? Does the user possess any rights in the final product, composed and selected by him? What about the copyrights of the original authors?

Or take BookCrossing.com. On the face of it, it presents no profound challenge to established publishing practices and to the modern concept of intellectual property. Members register their books, obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to someone, or simply leave it lying around for a total stranger to find. Henceforth, fate determines the chain of events. Eventual successive owners of the volume are supposed to report to BookCrossing (by e-mail) about the book’s and their whereabouts, thereby generating moving plots and mapping the territory of literacy and bibliomania. This innocuous model subversively undermines the concept - legal and moral - of ownership. It also expropriates the book from the realm of passive, inert objects and transforms it into a catalyst of human interactions across time and space. In other words, it returns the book to its origins: a time capsule, a time machine and the embodiment of a historical narrative.

E-books, hitherto, have largely been nothing but an ephemeral rendition of their print predecessors. But e-books are another medium altogether. They can and will provide a different reading experience. Consider “hyperlinks within the e-book and without it - to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, user-interactive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other e-books (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and more”.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of “Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited” and “After the Rain - How the West Lost the East”. He is a columnist in “Central Europe Review”, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com