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June 12th, 2008 Do Your Words Betray You?

What do the words that you use say about you? What is your basic message? Do your words support that basic message?


As a business owner, entrepreneur or sales professional, part of your message must be of confidence and authority. You always want your prospect or your customer to see you as an expert in your field, as someone who is credible and someone who is knowledgeable. Sometimes, the words we use or the way we use them get in the way.


Have you ever started a conversation with a prospect or customer with the phrase “I’m just calling…”?


That little word “just” is an apology. It says that your call is not important and that what you have to say is not important. Delete it from your vocabulary immediately! Simply tell your prospects and customers why you are calling. That is enough.


“I believe that….”


“I think that….”


“I know….”


Who would you rather listen to? Someone who believes or thinks she knows somethingor someone who just knows it? The phrases “I believe” and “I think” detract from your message. They detract from your power.


“Once we have completed… we will hopefully achieve…”


Hopefully?


No one pays you to “hopefully” do something. They pay you to do actually do it! Tell your prospects or customers what they will achieve or should expect to achieve.


To make your words sound powerful, pitch your voice to a lower level than your usual speaking voice. In our society, a lower-pitched voice is perceived as more authoritative. Also, make sure that the inflection goes down at the end of every sentence. When nervous, everyone tends to make even statements into questions with an upward inflection. This will make you sound nervous and unsure. Be careful also, as you are doing this, not to drop off or throw the last words of your sentence away. That would sound like you are giving up.


It may take some time and practice before you are fully comfortable eliminating the words “just,” “I believe,” “I think” and “hopefully” from your vocabulary. It will also take some time and practice to get the lowered vocal pitch and downward inflections at the end of sentences. But it will be time well spent when you see the difference in the way your customers and prospects respond. Even if you do feel nervous, using these particular word and vocal tips will make you sound confident and self-assured. Eventually, you will even begin to feel that way!


© 2004 Wendy Weiss

EzineArticles Expert Author Wendy Weiss

Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success, is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. She is the author of Cold Calling for Women and the recently released Cold Calling College. Get her free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com.

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June 11th, 2008 Become Involved in the Joy of Radio Controlled Cars

A radio operated car is made up of a remote control and the motor car. By turning or pushing the controls up or down and left or right, the worker has the means to let it go in whatever direction needed. Toy-Shopper.co.uk has great offers on a range of gadgets, including radio control gas cars.

There are many scores of different types of makes currently on sale in the market. The basic replicas can only travel a little distance. Shoppers that long to feel the authentic deal must acquire the remote control vehicle that requires being custom-built & modified from scratch.

Remote operated vehicles are catalogued either as electric operated or as nitro motorised. The key thing about remote controlled vehicles that make us of an electric powered engine is that the battery given can just be recharged. Whereas, remote control cars that make us of fuel need to be topped up and oiled after a certain period of time, which is extremely identical to regular road cars.

These toys are often driven by kids & adults of varying ages. Certain specialist stores have models identical to those driven in NASCAR racing as well as monster trucks that are time and time seen in the destruction derby. This simply emphasises that people are able to enjoy radio operated cars both on and off the road.

Do these outstanding tools demand loads of maintenance? Yes they can. The owner must scrutinise the battery, the shock absorbers & the tires regularly. This will help guarantee that the radio control car is capable to maintain its pace & efficiency each instance it’s taken to the race circuit.

The enthusiast should be conscious that not all of the parts can be repaired. This is down to toy producers designing their vehicles to work only until the parts just stop working. Customers that want to enjoy the toy will somehow need to swap the machinery, yet this occasionally can complicated to acquire.

Radio operated toys don’t merely apply to cars. There are also loads of planes, ships & helicopters available in the toy shop.

Parents & kids alike who are interested and have never done this prior maybe should stick to the entry level model(s) then upgrade later on if the child is absolutely serious with it & desires to contribute in official remote control car competitions regularly.

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June 10th, 2008 Do You Really Want To Take The Less Travelled Road? (Part 1 of 2)

I once heard my grandfather say that life is very much like a road. As a matter of fact, roads can be long or short, straight or curvy, rocky or smooth. Whatever your life is like, long or short, your path will inevitably run into many different roads. Some roads will take you to a life of felicity, marital union and spiritual mission. Others roads can bring you glory and abundance, or on the contrary loneliness and scarcity. You may always encounter roads to happiness or roads to misery, roads to success and joy, and roads to failure and frustration.

Now if you take a moment to reflect upon your life so far, you will surely identify similar crossroads, deviations and perhaps dead ends. As far as I am concerned, crossroads have always held some sort of fascination mixed with a sense of adventure and perplexity at times. Which way to go out of the four roads ahead of you? How do you make up your mind, especially when you do not know exactly where a particular road will lead you to? There is no guarantee that your decision will be correct, and for some the question may even be whether they should move at all or simply remain where they are.

Don’t Take Anything For Granted In Life

When you take your first step onto a new road, you will never really know where it will take you until you are already on that road. Most importantly, you should know that life doesn’t offer any guarantees. Even doing the right thing does not necessarily translate into happiness. Similarly, you may love someone with all your heart and not be loved in return. Recognition and prosperity do not either guarantee a happy life. In fact, life is such that you have little control of the far too numerous possibilities and potential outcomes. What you do have control over however are the choices you make, and how you decide to act and react to different situations in life.

Go For It!

Remember, life doesn’t offer any guarantee and you never really know if your decision is right or not until you’ve made it. So, my suggestion to you is to dare make up your mind and take your chances. This mindset will most certainly avoid you get stalled in an unpleasant rut.

While a single decision can ruin your life as well as be the start of a new adventure and open more roads, it is always a matter of perspective. You have the choice between living your life or “watching” it happen to you. In any case, avoid taking decisions randomly or taking careless risks.

Live A Life With No Regrets

Obviously if you knew in advance that the decision you are about to make is wrong, you would immediately change your course. And that would be the right thing to do, since nobody with common sense would embark on a road leading to nowhere or very little. But – and that is a big but – whenever you have to make a decision, there’s no way for you to know for sure that this is going to be the right decision. The only way to know is to wait for the outcome of that decision, and consider whether the positive consequences outweigh the negative effects or the other way round.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Copyright © Luc Andria

Luc Andria is the owner of the world’s first Internet Network Marketing School. A Harvard-educated seasoned entrepreneur and marketing expert, he leads a team of successful business builders creating global residual income. Discover how you can leverage proven strategies and powerful cutting edge techniques of InterNetwork Marketing to explode your business and income at http://LucAndria.com

To request your F-R-E-E “Choosing Success” eCourse and access the powerful money-making secrets that thousands of ordinary people have already discovered to create financial freedom and live their dream lifestyle, simply send a blank email to: Success-eCourse@aweber.com

Luc Andria - EzineArticles Expert Author
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June 6th, 2008 Horizontal Blinds – Enjoy Real Wood, Vinyl, Or Aluminum

In horizontal blinds, you can buy blinds made by many different manufacturers and in varying price ranges. Of course, everyone loves a bargain, so why not shop around to find retailers that sell the top brand names at discount prices. One of the places where you can realize great savings in horizontal blinds at discount prices is the American Blind and Wallpaper Company. With the wide range of horizontal blinds available in this location, you can shop for sheer blinds or any number of other styles of discount horizontal blinds.

The top selling brand of horizontal blinds is the Hunter Douglas Everwood 2 inch blind. This is a wood blind made from real hardwood and selected composite materials. With this blind you realize a discount in getting wood blinds for your windows at a significantly lower price than the more expensive blinds, yet you do not have faux wood blinds. If you want sheer horizontal blinds, you should know that this is one of the specialty shades. Although it is slightly higher in price, when you order online you will get a fantastic discount and free shipping.

Sheer horizontal blinds help to create distinctive widow coverings. These horizontal blinds are not only soft and luxurious, but they are also very unique. You don’t have to bypass this type of blind because they are available as discount horizontal blinds and are well worth a second look. In these blinds, the slats are made of fabric and appear to float between two layers of translucent sheer. This gives you a softened look of the outside of the window.

If you want horizontal blinds with a look of Venetian blinds tempered with sheer, then the sheer horizontal blinds will give you the look you want. You can adjust the slats to open or closed or even have them angled to allow only part of the light to shine through directly. You can raise or lower these blinds and with the discount horizontal blinds in this style, you can afford to buy enough blinds for every window of your home.

Horizontal blinds operate with a side cord, but you can also have them motorized as well. By shopping online, you can get the motorized blinds as discount horizontal blinds simply because of the cheaper online prices. Sheer horizontal blinds are designed to be functional as well as pleasing. They are made from sturdy polyester and they are easy to clean. If you get spots or stains on these horizontal blinds, you can lightly rub the stain with a mild cleaner. When you install these blinds at your window, they will enhance the look of the room in a way that no other blinds can.

To find out more about Window Blinds visit Peter’s Website The Blinds Guide and find out about American Blinds and more, including Vertical Blinds, Venetian Blinds, Custom Blinds and Discount Blinds

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June 6th, 2008 Discount Laminate Floors

Recent trends indicate that laminate floors are fast becoming popular not only in Europe but also in the U.S. The current demand for these products is thus very high. Perhaps the most important reason for the popularity of laminate flooring is that it is an economical option. It comes cheaper than hardwood flooring, though not at the cost of aesthetics. Laminate flooring can provide the hardwood effect but at a cheaper price.

However, in spite of the fact that laminate flooring is already a cheap option, some traders take a step further and offer a discount on them. Such a step is deliberately undertaken to cater to a large segment of people. With lower prices, new demand can be created for the laminate floors. Therefore, the supplier benefits, as do the consumers who are quick to pick up on this trend.

There are also stores who offer such discounts expressly to customers who buy laminate floors on a regular basis and in large volumes. People involved in the laminate flooring business – builders, flooring fitters, interior designers and the like – may make deals at unbeatable prices from such stores. People who buy laminate flooring material in bulk can also find such offers highly profitable.

The persons trading in wholesale dealing of laminate flooring material find it worthwhile to offer discounts on their products. This actually generates greater profits for them, as it draws a large number of bulk-buyers who find the discount offers attractive. Be sure to find out what kind of guarantees are offered on whatever laminate flooring you purchase.

Laminate Floors provides detailed information on Discount Laminate Floors, Hardwood Laminate Floors, How To Clean Laminate Floors, How To Install Laminate Floors and more. Laminate Floors is affiliated with How To Install Laminate Flooring.

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June 5th, 2008 The Fantastic Four Comics

The Fantastic Four comics are about four superheroes who got their superhero powers from a space mission.

Reed Richards is a scientist who was researching cosmic rays in space. Reed wanted to go to space and he needed an astronaut to fly the spaceship so he asked one of his friends, Ben Grimm to help him. Sue Storm, one of Reed’s scientist friends and former girlfriend, agreed to go too. She asked Johnny Storm, her brother to go too and they all boarded the spaceship and headed off to space.

Reed Richards started his research once in space, and Ben Grimm got in his space suit and left the space ship to collect particles. Suddenly, the cosmic rays caused an explosion and everyone helped pull Ben back into the spaceship so they could head away. They managed to get Ben back into the spaceship, but the effects of the explosion still reached them and changed them all in different ways.

Reed Richard gained the power to move his body like a rubber band, so he uses the name Mr. Fantastic and he was appointed the leader of the group.

Sue Storm acquired the power to make herself disappear, then reappear. She also has the ability to make a force field around herself, her team, and civilians to protect them. She calls herself The Invisible Women but using force fields for a very long time causes her to become weak.

Johnny Storm’s new power makes his body turn into flames, so he calls himself The Human Torch and turn himself into flames by yelling out “flame on”.

Ben Grimm turned into a walking pebble like creature called The Thing, and he stays this way all the time. He is known for his catch phase “it’s clobbering time” which he says when he gets ready to punch an enemy.

The team of superhero heroes do not get along all the time. For example, Johnny Storm likes to make fun of The Thing and plays jokes on him. The Thing does not like this, so he destroys Johnny’s car, which in turn, makes Johnny turn into The Torch and throw a fireball at The Thing’s head. Since he is made of pebbles it rarely affects him which makes the two of them fight all the more. As a result, Sue Storm has to put a force field between them in an attempt to stop them. Reed Richard does is part by tying himself around The Thing’s arm to restrain him from throwing punches.

What also makes this comic different from others is that these superheroes are always superheroes. Unlike Spiderman, who hides the fact that he is Peter Parker, the Fantastic Four do not have another identity to hide behind when they want a rest. This comic contains great adventure stories and you should check it out.

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June 5th, 2008 Breast Cancer Prevention: Lifestyle for Healthy Breasts

It has been estimated that by the year 2020, the number of women who get breast cancer may be as high as 1 in 5. That number is staggering. With the help of a “healthy breasts” lifestyle, you can defy those odds, and help to beat those ominous forecasted statistics. You can help change the future.

Chances are, if you are a woman, or even a man for that matter, you know someone or at least have an acquaintance who has either battled breast cancer, or succumbed to the disease. I am no different.

My Story?

I am 31 years old, and about eight years ago a very dear relative of mine, my aunt, passed away from complications directly related to breast cancer. About 3 years before her passing, she went to the doctor because of a lump in her breast. After going through several rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, we all thought she had beat the cancer and was going to enjoy a long healthy life.

After being in remission for about a year, the cancer returned with a vengeance. Before we knew it, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, her back and her liver. She passed away, a shadow of her former self, and a very warm, brave and compassionate person was gone from our lives, just like that.

I wanted to share the story to convey the pressing importance that we take good care of our bodies, and our breasts, so we can help ensure our long, healthy stay here in this world.

Some Lifestyle Tips for Breast Cancer Prevention :

1.) Cut the unhealthy, saturated fats and substitute with healthy fats like olive oil. If you use butter, use organic butter.
Actually, it’s really best to buy all organic dairy products, since toxins like chemicals and pesticides tend to build up much more in animal fat – which is what dairy is made from, animal fat and biproducts.

2.) Cut out the underwire, push up, and tight-fitting bras. It has been speculated for years that more pressure on your breasts can result in more toxin buildup in the breast area, as well as agitate any tendencies toward tissue abnormalities. Wear looser fitting bras whenever possible. Even better, go braless when you don’t need one.

3.) Moderate breast massage may be helpful in breast cancer prevention. Some studies have shown this practice to be therapeutic and speculation is that the massage helps free the breasts of toxins and improves circulation.

4.) Get plenty of antioxidants in your diet. Foods rich in antioxidants, which help defend against cancer-causing free radicals, are as follows:

a. Dark green leafy vegetables
b. Brightly colored fruits
c. Red Wine
d. Tomatoes
e. Garlic
f. Tea (especially green tea)
g. Berries

5.) Moderate exercise, or at least not having a sedentary lifestyle.

6.) Get organic foods whenever possible. The pesticides, chemicals, heavy metals and other general toxins that are in
our food, our water and produce just seem to be getting worse. Many speculate the increasing number of cancer cases is partly to blame on the foods we eat and the water we drink. Also try to drink distilled or filtered water rather than spring or tap water.

7.) Smoking and drinking alcohol have both been shown to be possible risk factors, so it goes without saying what needs to be done if either of these habits are a regular part of your lifestyle.

We can never prevent any disease 100%, and it is true that breast cancer has also been linked to a hereditary factor. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t dramatically bump the odds in our favor and enjoy a disease free, cancer free life.

Visit Natural Breast Enhancement Guidefor more info on breast health, and general info on breast enhancement and beautification naturally. Danna Schneider is also the founder of MyBeautySpace Beauty Review Blog.

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June 5th, 2008 Advantages of Online Dating

With the advantages of online dating becoming more obvious all the time, it’s no wonder the industry itself is continually growing. Gone are the days of smoke filled bars and clubs trying to get to know someone. Online dating gives you the opportunity to view a single’s profile before you have even contacted them.

Getting to know someone from the comfort of your own home is an affordable luxury with online dating. There is no guesswork involved either of whether the other person is single, because they are all single. And they are all there to find a compatible partner.

Arrive home from work, login, and check your inbox. There’s no need to wait until Friday night, or Saturday night to start dating. There are no unsociable hours online, it’s a twenty four hour lifestyle.

With no need to dress up as no one can see what an online dater is wearing, there is no need to spend hours getting ready. Comfort is the only concern when dating online.

Every detail of a prospective date is there in black and white. The things they love in life, their desires, and what they want out of life. An insight into someone’s personality is instantly recognisable.

Once someone has found an interesting looking profile, an e-mail or instant message is all it takes to get some possible conversation going. If the recipient likes the look of the senders profile then an online relationship is ready to bloom.

After getting to know someone the first date can be at that new coffee bar that’s in need of a test. A nice quiet date to continue the connection someone has made online. Or maybe an excuse is needed to try out the new restaurant in town.

Evenings out with friends can be spent enjoying yourself again. There’s no need to spend the night trying to find someone to start a relationship with. You will have a new air of confidence about you. And when all your friends find out the “how’s” and “where’s”, they will soon be enjoying the advantages of online dating as well.

For extensive online dating reviews with advice for a higher quality online dating experience visit – http://www.the-online-dating-reviews.com

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June 5th, 2008 So, What is Project Management? Try Project Based Working, it Will Help You

Look around any organisation – large, medium and small. You have people, professional staff engaged in projects. These can include for example:

1.	service improvements
 2.	costs reduction
 3.      product development
 4.	staff development
 5. 	improved sales

Where someone or a team are engaged in delivering a change, then you have a clear project and need to apply project management principles. But as we will show below, many people fail to recognise that the application to day-to-day work of some of the tools within project management can help them enormously and answer a key question!

So, what is that questions? By far the most popular asked on any of our project management events is…..what is a project and what is not as project? There are many book definitions which have failed to satisfy people on our courses. I am not of course criticising the project management definitions, simply saying that people who come our courses want much
more clarity – what is and what is not a project?

They want answers that will put work (project management work or non project management work) into neat boxes, project work here, non project work there. However, work is not like this. So, how can we help them, and we hope you?

To answer this we have developed a process called PROJECT BASED WORKING. The process is simple; we take some of the component parts of project management, for example:

a)   developing a business case
 b)   having clear objectives for your project
 c)   carrying out risk assessment
 d)  managing stakeholders

We take the tools and processes within the above areas and apply to day to day work (business as usual). Here are some examples;

1)why do that report? (business case) ?
 2)are you clear what the objective is with that day to day   task?
 3)organising the meeting - what can go wrong (risk) ?
 4)who do you need to involve to ensure a satisfactory delivery of the task; managing stakeholders

These are some simple examples of what we mean by project based working -applying some of the tools of project management to day to day work.

So, why worry about what is and what is not a project? Use these tools on all types of work, everyday!

Many people who have come on project management events have argued over this issue and it only when we explain about project based working they understand.

So the next time someone asks the questions what is a
project?, tell them about project based working. Explain
what it is and how helps others and, how it can help them!

Ron Rosenhead helps people deliver projects.

He is an author, consultant, professional speaker, coach and trainer all in the field of project management. He has personally trained over 7,00 people!

To receive your free e-course on project management go to: http://www.deliverthatproject.com

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June 5th, 2008 The Top Six Reasons to Buy Rather Than Build an Inventory Management Solution

Is building your own inventory management solution really your best bet?

The issues that companies face when they decide to build a solution in house are numerous: Scarce development resources, project cost overruns, delivery delays, unexpected technical issues, long-term maintenance issues.

For these reasons, you should consider purchasing hosted, flexible, “out-of-the-box” vendor managed inventory (VMI) and web-based inventory solutions that can be running in a matter of days — rather than months — all at a fixed monthly price – with no delays, low risk and a lower total cost of ownership.

At Invendia we’ve often seen companies struggle with the decision to buy a technology or to build that solution in-house. The decision criteria typically are:

    • Availability of qualified development resources
    • Long-term maintenance staffing
    • Implementation time and costs
    • Project risk
    • Process understanding
    • 3rd party objectivity

So, what are the top six reasons to buy rather than build an inventory management solution?

6. Availability of qualified development resources. If you have available resources that are experienced in developing web-based, distributed solutions then you should consider building your own solution in house. In addition, your staff should ideally be knowledgeable about leveraging development standards such as J2EE or .NET. If not, you should source an off-the-shelf solution that can readily integrate with your existing applications.

5. Long term maintenance staffing. Once you have a solution, how are you going to keep it current, from both a technology and from a process point-of-view? For example, in the last few years RFID, collaboration, wireless and countless other developments have forced companies to update their processes. With ever increasing innovations, you need to ensure that you are staffed to manage not only the system upgrades but any errors that you may discover. If you either don’t have the staffing for this or don’t want the headache, then you should consider a “bought and maintained” solution.

4. Implementation time and cost. How quickly do you need a solution? If you have ample time to scope your project, build a project plan, free-up resources, develop and test the application, then you should consider building the solution. Furthermore, do you have the budget to pull off an in-house project? What are the opportunity costs? What is your company’s track record of getting IT projects completed on-time and on-budget?

3. Project risk. One major reason that organizations build in-house is that they want to build expertise in an emerging technology. Does this meet your organization’s business goals? What if you find that the learning curve is long and steeper than you anticipated? Are you willing to take that risk?
When you are scoping your project, have you considered all of the issues? Are you willing to stick to your original scope when your users demand new features (scope creep)?

If you cannot mitigate these issues, then you should strongly consider a fixed price, packaged solution.

2. Process understanding. Collaborative inventory management(VMI) processes are complex and varied as your trading partner needs. If you have many diverse trading partners (or may have in the future), building your own solution may not be a great idea (see “long term maintenance” above). Additionally, your trading partners may want to extend the use of the collaboration solution to their trading partners. Can they do this? Only if you are willing to get into the solution environment. This is especially important as your trading partners start to get more and more benefit from these solutions and may force you to switch to another solution.

1. Third-party objectivity. A critical concern for trading partners is that of data confidentiality and security. Most trading partners are leery of exchanging critical and confidential and feel more comfortable with a third party managing the data. Is this a critical issue for your organization?

Summary

In the nascent days of any technology, be it the car or software, many companies think that they can build the better mousetrap. However, as the technology evolves and becomes more complete, there are significant barriers to entry. As the collaborative inventory management field continues to evolve, there are enough reasons to give pause before deciding to build a solution in-house.

Ken Town is VP Research and Technology at Invendia, a leading provider of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Web-based Inventory solutions.

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