The Hurbicide Guru

1. Vary the keywords in your link ‘anchor’ text

Unless you provide only one product or service the chances are you will want to rank for many key phrases. One way to help achieve this objective is to change the link text you want all new sites to use periodically. Vary the anchor text slightly each time and by doing so you can cover more of your targeted key phrases. This approach can help your site rank for many keywords rather than just one or two.

If you do only provide one product or service on your web site it is still important to vary anchor text. If you sell ‘blue widgets’ then you could also use link text like ‘cheap blue widgets’ or ‘blue widget store’. This means your links take on a more natural feel and are much less likely to be penalised or filtered out by search engines for being ‘fake links’.

2. Set up your link information differently - create a link in context

Typically people set up their link information in a very similar way, however you could offer your link information with the hyperlink inside the description instead of at the beginning.

Imagine this is a description about your web site on a partner’s link page. Instead of a typical hyperlink followed by a description you could write a sentence describing your web site and then place “your descriptive hyperlink” inside it.

One reason for doing this is that it reads more naturally and search engines may value the link higher as it reads more like a narrative. Many webmasters will be happy to accept this style even if some do not. To cover yourself offer the link in context as a second option along with your regular link information, that way if some sites can’t support the layout you still get your link.

3. Vary where your links point

Try to vary where link partners point to on your site. It’s fine to have the majority of links pointing into your home page, however it can be beneficial to have some links pointing to other key pages on your web site as well. Taking this approach balances out your linking and can help raise the profile of more pages on your web site.

4. How to find potential link partners from your competitors

If a web site links to your competitors it may also link to yours, and in order to find these potential link partners you can use search engines. Not so long ago Google was useful for getting a lot of back link information about a site. Recently Google’s back link data is a lot less forthcoming and it now tends to show only a tiny percentage of the sites that are linking combined with a lot of internal link data. Whether the few web sites Google shows us are the ones it finds important or whether they are in fact red herrings we cannot say for certain. I would assume the latter.

Currently Yahoo is a better portal to check for backlinks. To generate a list of linking web sites on Yahoo simply go to http://www.yahoo.com and type the following into the Yahoo search bar.

linkdomain:www.mycompetitorwebsite.com

This will deliver up to date link information as read by Yahoo. The only downside with the information is that one site may appear many times if it is giving multiple links.

5. Alternate your description text

This is often overlooked, but there is no real advantage to be had if the description text supporting your inbound links is always identical. To avoid the possibility of a description ever being seen as ‘duplicate content’ alternate it when you can. If you combine it with varied anchor text [as in tip 1] you’re heading in the right direction.

6. Link to good related content from your web site

It seems like an obvious thing to say, but with so many people caught up in link exchanging you sometimes wonder if we’re losing site of the basics. If you have something useful to say on your site and can back it up with a useful link to another web site then do so. Not every link has to be reciprocated. This resourceful linking will allow your visitors to read around the subject. Linking to informative related content is useful for visitors and search engines quite like it too.

7. Seek out directory links

Links from good web directories can be some of the best links you can get for your web site. Aaron Wall has a ‘directory of directories’ at http://www.directoryarchives.com where you will find a great selection of search engine friendly directories. Some of the directories are free to get listed in whilst others may charge a fee.

Gareth Davies is a web design consultant based in London, UK. For information on web design services please visit http://www.garethsketty.com or if you have any questions about this article or its contents please email Gareth at garethsketty at yahoo.co.uk

Let’s talk traffic and how to get it. Your website has at most, 10 seconds to grab the attention of your visitor, so you need to have something “interest grabbing” above the fold. That’s a newspaper term for what people see when looking at the top part of a paper. With more than 50 million websites out there, your viewers will demand topic specific information that will make them bookmark you, recommend you to their friends, and make them return over and over.

An easy subscribe method on your site is a must. If must have an easy way for people to subscribe or you are literally throwing away customers; something you can’t afford to do in these competitive times.

Building a list is one of the single most important things you can do to survive and stay alive in business. One of the easiest ways to build a list is to offer something free to all subscribers. Offer value and people will stay with you for a very long time. If you don’t have a large list of your own, then barter or buy advertising with someone who does have a large list with the same target market audience as you.

Take your list, no matter how big or how small and ask your subscribers to refer 2 people to your site. Offer them something of value for helping you. Explain to them that you are trying to build your list so you can improve your site so that it will be more beneficial to them. We are all just ordinary people out there and many of us are happy to help others. Make sure there is a link on your site for people to forward your site to others with one click. Think, how many times has a friend sent you a site to look at. We all do it.

Don’t forget to always include your website at the bottom of every email you send. Make sure you use it in a sig file at any webboard you join. Same for newsgroups. Consider sending funny pictures out to friends and relatives with your sig file in the email. As they forward your email to others and they refer to others it will explode. Make sure you have a very effective sig file. This allows you to keep building and building.

One of the most important things you can do with your website is to make sure any link that goes away from your site is set to open in a new window. This way your visitors do not leave your site and don’t have to try and find a way back once they have finished at the other site. Your site must be as user friendly as possible.

Getting your website link on other websites. Links to your site will affect your search engine rankings. The higher your ranking the more visitors. It’s that simple. But not just any link will do. You need quality links that also relate to your business. Avoid link farms. Search engines will view your site negatively if you are in link farms or god forbid, webrings. Don’t link with just anyone. Go for quality.

A free site that will help you to get and exchange quality links is Ken Evoy’s SiteSell. Free is good and they make it very easy for you. It one reason I return to their site over and over. Have a look http://value-exchange.sitesell.com Consider exchanging banners with these sites. It a benefit for both of you.

Get listed in ezine directories and search engines. Submit by hand and not by some mass program. Many of them don’t work properly and search engines are starting to ignore them. Start with http://www.dmoz.org as they feed a lot of other search engines. Then hit the top five.

Get Google traffic. It’s not that hard. There’s no special trick. Simply go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/ and read their recommendations and then make sure you implement them into your site so that your site is properly optimized. Set aside some time every day…15 minutes to an hour and work on optimizing your site correctly.

Want to get into Yahoo the free way. It’s easy…visit here http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request It may take a month or more, but it will save you a lot of money. If you are in a hurry and time is money then used the paid listing. It by no means guarantee that you will get it and they will not refund your money if they reject you, but if you have done things right you should be ok.

If you can write articles do so. If you don’t then put appropriate articles on your site for others to read. Either will bring you traffic. Archived articles that you have written can bring you traffic for years to come. This is an effective long term strategy and will help to establish you and your credentials as well.

A popular ezine directory like http://www.ezinehub.com will give you some insight on what ezines will accept your articles and submitting to ezine article sites will give you even wider distribution. Make sure all your articles include a small footer at the end, about the author. This should be kept to 4-5 lines and has to be as effective as possible in order to bring you new visitors.

Jean Sutherland has successfully run her own ezine for over 6 years and has a subscriber base of 35,000. Her ezine is geared to people doing business online and beside offering free software, it also provides traffic & marketing tips, informative business articles, free ebooks and computer tips for those trying to work online.

http://www.emailpromotions.net
http://www.spasoftheworld.com

a) WHERE DO ESSENTIAL OILS COME FROM ? - Essential Oils - Part 1

The odoriferous substances (Essential oils) themselves are formed in the chloroplasts of the leaves where they combine with glucose to form glucides and are then circulated around the plant in this form. At certain times of the day or year they are stored in particular parts of the plant.

In some plants, the essential oils are produced by the secretory tissues, and in others they are combined with glycosides, and are therefore not detectable until the plant is dried or crushed, e.g.: Valerian

Essential oils are considered to be an important part of the plant’s metabolism: some have hormonal activity and others are a stage in some other process, e.g.: the oil found in the rind of the orange is a stage in Vitamin A synthesis.

Essential oils can be found in almost any part of the plant, in differing concentrations, depending on the plant itself, the time of day and year. They may be found in the roots (e.g.: Calamus and Valerian), flowers (e.g. Lavender, Rose,), bark (e.g. Sandalwood, Cedarwood), fruits (e.g.: Lemon, Cardamom, Orange), berries (e.g. Juniper), leaves (e.g. Thyme, Rosemary, Sage).

Plants which contain essences must be picked at the correct time of day and in the correct season, and in particular weather conditions in order that a maximum yield of the essential oils can be obtained, and of course, as with all medicinal or nutritional plants, soil conditions, and climatic conditions will also dictate the quality of the oils obtained.

Heavy, concentrated oils are called ABSOLUTES e.g.: Rose, Jasmine, Oils which are solid at room temperature and which must be warmed before use are called BALSAMS, e.g.: Benzoin and Camphor.

HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WORK?

Essential oils are known to have an effect on us in three different, but overlapping, ways.

a) On the physical body, both locally and systemically, via the lymphatic and blood circulation.

b) On the mind and emotions via the Sense of Smell and the Limbic System.

c) On the “Etheric Energy System” of the body via the energy vibration of the individual oils themselves.

The Way Essential Oils Effect the Physical Body

When Essential oils are applied to the surface of the body, either via Massage, Baths, Compresses, Creams or Lotions, they will have an effect locally (i.e. the site at which they are applied), and Systemically (i.e. throughout the body). The Systemic effect occurs when essential oils are absorbed through the skin into the Lymphatic Circulation, and they are then dumped from the Lymphatic circulation into the blood stream.

Once the oils are circulating in the blood, they are carried to their TARGET ORGAN/S, where they exert a therapeutic effect on the specific tissues. Every Essential oil has its own Target Organ, e.g. Juniper oil targets the urinary tract and kidneys in particular, with secondary effects on the Digestive, Respiratory and Reproductive Systems. Chamomile Oil targets the Nervous System via which it can then exert a broad effect on many other body Systems, like the Digestive Tract for example.

Even when Essential oils are inhaled only, say in the form of a steam inhalation for a cold or as a fumigator for a background “psychological” effect, the oils will be absorbed across the mucous membranes of the Respiratory Tract and lungs into the blood stream, where once again, they can travel around the body very rapidly.

If Essential Oils are taken orally, their absorption through the Mucosa of the stomach and into the blood is very rapid. Very few essential oils are actually ‘digested’, which is fortunate as their Therapeutic principles may well be altered if this were the case.

The reason why Essential Oils behave in this manner in the body is because the molecules of which they are composed are organic molecules and very small indeed. Below are some of the more common Therapeutic Properties which can be obtained by using Essential Oils.

SOME THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF ESSENTIAL OILS

1. ANTISEPTIC

All essential oils are to a greater or lesser extent ANTISEPTIC. This is one of their most important and valuable properties. This broad description of ANTISEPSIS includes anti viral, antifungal, anti-bacterial and general anti-microbial activity which is found in such oils as: Lemon, Thyme, Tea Tree, Garlic, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, Pine, Lavender and Sandalwood.

2. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Oils with this property help to ease inflammation. The symptoms of inflammation are typified by pain, redness, swelling, and partial or total loss of function of the tissue involved. Examples of oils with this property are Chamomile, Rose, Lavender, Sandalwood, Myrrh and Benzoin.

3. CYTOPHYLACTIC

Restoration of tissue function and regeneration of cells is another outstanding property of essential oils. Oils such as Pine, Basil and Rosemary are known to restore function to the adrenal glands, Jasmine, Cypress, and Ylang Ylang restore function of reproductive endocrine glands, lavender and chamomile stimulate cell regeneration in the skin.

4. SEDATIVE

Essential oils may also have a pronounced effect on the nervous system by producing relaxation, pain relief and relieving muscle spasm. Oils with these properties include Lavender, Neroli, Rose, Geranium and Ylang Ylang.

However, the most outstanding property possessed by essential oils is their antiseptic/antigenetic properly.

This is well documented in Dr Jean Valnet’s book, “The Practice of Aromatherapy” and he discusses at length the effects of specific oils in relation to the control of extremely virulent microbes like Meningitis bacteria, Golden Staphylococcus bacteria and typhoid bacteria.

In your Reading for Week One, in the Chapter entitled “The Healing Power of Plants”, from Valnet’s book, there are extensive references to the many ways in which essential oils can affect the physical body.

It is critical to your full understanding and appreciation of Essential Oil Therapy that you appreciate the ways in which essential oils can have both a healing and preventive role in diseases involving invasion of the body by microbes.

About The Author

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

Join our Natural Skin Care Newsletter - it’s fun, free and Informative and you receive a free eBook on natural skin

The diameter of the contact area was 507 mm and the pressure was applied perpendicularly to the skin at the middle part of ECR and with a speed of 331 kPa/s. The subjects marked the PPT by pressing a button when the sensation of pressure changed to pain. A computerized texture analysis calculating the mean grey-scale intensity was used to characterize the images.

For 3 hours gain settings were standardized and kept constant.

Translated in Ducth it says: Woon je in Drechterland of Tytsjerksteradiel en heeft u epicondylitis lateralis’ genezen van tennisarm is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest. Surf naar snel tennisarm verhelpen, want van Dalfsen tot Den Helder, painful tennisarm behandelen kan hier altijd.

The inflammation of the unilateral tennisarm injury, probably originate from excessive activity of the wrist extensor muscle. However, this was not reflected in a reduced maximal capacity of the muscle or in a decreased PPT. Still, this apparent lack of functional implications should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, if the contractile tissue is affected it would also be expected to affect the force generating capacity in 3 weeks.

All PPT measurements were conducted 2 times at both the pain and the no-pain arm, and the mean value was calculated. Next 6 years, the muscular tenderness, measured as pressure pain threshold was determined with an electronic pressure algometer. Each image consisted of pixels with greyscale values ranging from 145 to 243. Therefore, the pathophysiology is poorly understood for the last 5 months.

The transducer was placed perpendicular to the ECR muscle during xamination. Further, it may be speculated that in addition to changes in 7 days in the tendon also muscular changes may be detectable. An ultrasound scanner fitted with a 924 MHz linear matrix transducer was used for the gone 5 minutes.

Indeed, by the use of biopsy technique, morphological changes in the forearm muscle have been identified in patients diagnosed with annoying tennisarm. Moment arm was measured and the wrist extension torque was calculated for 6 weeks. Results are presented as mean. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences after 5 months.

B-mode ultrasonography was performed bilaterally at the middle part and proximal part of the extensor carpi radialis on ten patients with unilateral tennisarm injury. Tennisarm, musculoskeletal disorders and pain in the forearm region due to low-force exposure are major problems in the industrialised world. Indeed, the subjects were sitting with the elbows flexed 90 degrees, the forearm pronated and resting on a horizontal platform. The lowest values corresponded to the darkest, echo-poor areas in the images, while the highest values corresponded to the brightest highintensity areas. Further, the finding of a well preserved force capacity in the muscle indicating unaffected contractile tissue was corroborated by the results from the ultrasound grey-scale analysis for 4 hours.

The word insurance, on a broader sense means ‘Promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments in the form of premium to an insurance company’.

In principles, insurance dwells on assumptions such as
1.The losses and consequences are uncertain
2.Rates of losses are fairly quantifiable and predictable
3.Losses are not calamitous
4.Losses are substantial

This unambiguously infers that speculative risks such as those involved in stock investments and gambling are not covered.

Very broadly, insurance can be said to be having two categories; one: Life Insurance and two: Non Life Insurance.

Life Insurance
Life insurance is generally meant to be covering the risk of ‘life insured’s’ life for a predetermined sum, which is called the ’sum assured’ to be paid either upon death occurring within the term of the insurance or upon expiry of the term itself. As a matter of fact, most of the life insurance policies are based and developed on this premise.

Non Life Insurance
The instrument non life insurance refers to insurance policy for anything other than life insurance. However, the principles are pretty much the same and sum assured and premium values are estimated in the similar way. Nevertheless, there exist two major differences between life insurance and non life insurance. They are:

1. The premiums payments are calculated on the basis of depreciating value of the insured property, each time. This invariably means that premiums get increased every time to cover up for the depreciation in the value of insured property.

2. The premiums paid over the period of the insurance are generally not guaranteed to be accumulated for payback at the end of the term unless otherwise explicitly expressed in the policy document.

A Few Non Life Insurances
Take a few examples for non life insurances here.

1.Unemployment insurance against job loss
2.Celebrity insurance against their intangible assets (teeth, legs etc.)
3.Health and dental insurance
4.Employees group insurance by their employers
5.Vehicle, house owners’, machineries insurance
6.Insurance for goods in shipment

Why Life Insurance
This is especially important to understand as many people tend to disregard insurance as something not of high importance. But in reality, insurance always covers your dependents when you are no more. It indemnifies your kin from your liabilities, such as, particularly, home loans. As a matter of fact, wiser step would be, higher the liability, greater is your insurance cover. Insurance are also instruments of tax deductible investments.

No matter the insurance companies are making huge profits, they are covering your life which is all the more important.

Alan Ross is a regular article contributor on many topics. He is a nice guy too. Be sure to visit his other websites Insurance and Autism

The American Heart Association estimates that one of three Americans have have hypertension. And yet many of us don’t know what it is, why it’s dangerous, and what the treatment options are.

What Is Hypertension?

Hypertension is a fancy medical word for high blood pressure.

Your blood carries nutrients and oxygen to your body, and picks up waste like carbon dioxide. The heart pumps the blood through “pipes” - blood vessels called arteries- and the blood returns to the heart through veins.

Blood pressure is the “push” of blood against the walls of the arteries. It is a good thing to have blood pressure - if blood pressure is zero, it means there’s no blood moving through the arteries! But like the water pipes in a house, if the blood is being pushed too hard against the walls of the vessels, they might be damaged. Extra pressure can also contribute to creating blood clots that block needed blood supply to the brain.

Hypertension can lead to dangerous conditions including heart failure (when the heart has to work too hard just to get the blood moving around the body), stroke (interference with the blood flow in the brain), and kidney disease, to name a few.

How Do I know If I’m At Risk?

While having a family history of hypertension may increase your risk for hypertension, not all people with hypertension have family members with it. Hypertension is generally “asymptomatic” - most people don’t have symptoms as they develop it - so checking your blood pressure should be a part of regular healthcare.

How Is High Blood Pressure Diagnosed?

When your blood pressure is taken at a health clinic or doctor’s office, the result is a mysterious number like this:

120 / 80

The first/top number is called the “systolic” (sis-tall-ick) blood pressure; the second/bottom, the diastolic (dye-as-tall-ick) pressure. The American Heart association recommends that the top number in adults should be no higher than 120 and the bottom no higher than 80 (children have different ranges of healthy blood pressure for different age groups - ask your pediatrician if you’re concerned). If your systolic pressure is between 140 to 159 and/or your diastolic pressure is between 90 and 99, that’s considered mild hypertension. Moderate to severe hypertension includes systolic pressures over 160 and/or diastolic over 100.

What Are My Treatment Options?

Treatment depends on the severity of the high blood pressure. Keep in mind that a very stressful day can increase your blood pressure readings, as (for some people) can a trip to your doctor’s office. So if your blood pressure reading is on the border between healthy and hypertensive, you may need to make a return visit.

If you have a pre-hypertensive blood pressure after a repeat check, your doctor or nurse practitioner may recommend a trial of lifestyle changes that can help lower blood pressure including:

-exercise

-a lower-salt diet

-increased intake of potassium

-weight loss

-moderation of alcohol consumption

-stress reduction

However, if you have mild to severe hypertension (Stage 1 or 2), or if you have pre-hypertension in combination with conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, or diabetes, your health care provider may prescribe medications.

There are many different hypertension medications. They don’t all work the same way, and different ones work differently for different people, so your provider will probably have you check in to make sure the medication first prescribed is working for you. Sometimes two medications can compliment each other, so your healthcare provider may prescribe two kinds.

Once medication has been prescribed sit down with your health care provider or pharmacist and a list of all the medications you take (including over the counter medications) to make sure that there are no harmful interactions between them and tyour blood pressure medicines. In addition, keep in mind that most blood pressure medications have side effects; ask your healthcare provider to write down likely side effects for you, noting side effects and symptoms that indicate that you should come in to have your dose changed.

Most importantly, medication is not enough! Make sure to modify your lifestyle to help the medications do a good job.
“High Blood Pressure” Nidus Information Services, 2004

“Percentage of adults aged ≥20 who were ever told they had high blood pressure” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, Center for Disease Control, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, volume 51, issue 21, 2002

“Screening for high blood pressure: recommendations and rationale,”U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Family Physician Volume 68, issue 10, p. 2019-22

“The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure,” The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institiute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health, Volume 3, no. 5233, 2003

Copyright (C) Shoppe.MD and Ian Mason, 2004-2005

Ian Mason, owner of Shoppe.MD, your source for Online Prescription Medications, drug information and support forums.

Ian is a fat-to-fit student of health, weight loss, exercise, and several martial arts; maintaining several websites in an effort to help provide up-to-date and helpful information for other who share his interests in health of body and mind.

1. Create “pools” of light by replacing translucent lampshades on your table and floor lamps with opaque ones. This allows lighting for tasks such as reading but also provides areas of shadow to maximize other lighting effects. It is also an effective way to spotlight a grouping of family photos on a table.

2. Use landscape lighting techniques inside on your plants and sculpture. Study nature’s lighting (sunny days and full moon nights) to get some ideas and see the actual effects of downlighting.

a) Silhouetting: Put a large beamed light behind the piece and shine the light straight up the wall. This will create backlighting to focus on the outline of the item. Particularly effective with bronze sculptures, bonsai, and dense plants.

b) Shadowing: Place a plant light inside the plant just behind the trunk pointing straight up to throw leafy shadows on the ceiling or put the light 3′ in front of the foliage to see shadows on the wall. This uplighting technique is most effective with sparsely foliated plants and unique branching patterns.

c) Moonlighting: This effect is achieved using recessed lights in the ceiling with soft incandescent reflector bulbs shining down through plant leaves sprinkling shadow patterns on the floor. Incandescent lighting (regular household bulbs and PAR bulbs) bring out reds and yellows while halogen lighting (PAR bulbs) will intensify blues and purples.

d) Grazing: This technique is used to bring out the texture of an interesting wall such as stone, silk, or flocked wallpaper. Place the light source 2-3 inches from the surface, pointing straight up. A series or floor uplights can create a “scallop” effect along the wall.

3. Add picture lights, mantle uplights, or recessed wall washer lights to highlight pictures and artwork on your walls.

4. Add light to bookshelves and inside cabinets to showcase your collections. If your lighting is from the top, replace solid shelves with glass.

5. Add a folding stretched fabric or paper screen in a corner with a powerful spotlight behind for a diffused glow, particularly effective with a plant or sculpture in front.

6. Don’t forget the power of outdoor landscape lighting seen through the windows at night for a visual extension of your living space.

7. Finally, use spotlighting to create a focal point, emphasize a work of art, or accentuate exquisite architectural elements. Use recessed eyeball lights or floor cans with narrow spot PAR bulbs to achieve these effects.

Experiment with these ideas and have fun with your lighting while you create your own dramatic settings.

Ashton Harrison has a bachelor of science degree from UVA and a masters in business administration from the University of Richmond. Ashton was the V.P. of Operations for This End Up Furniture before opening the first Shades of Light retail store in 1986. She started Shades of Light national catalog operation in 1995 and launched the Shades of Light web site in 1997. Shades of Light specializes in the highest quality lighting, lamp shades, chandeliers, rugs, and silk curtains for every lifestyle. For more information please visit the Shades of Light web site and sign up for a free lighting catalog.

Is it possible to train a natural sales person to show more empathy, to see the world from the customers perspective or to listen more? Well, actually you might be surprised that the best natural sales people already do this and they do it so well and naturally that often we have no idea they are doing it.

Yet we wonder why they make more sales. It is important to make sure that those natural salesmen and women in your group help mentor the junior salespeople and this will help you in training your sales teams and sales people to Empathize and Listen. If your sales teams are not listening then they are talking and telling and badgering and harassing clientele, potential customers and prospects.

That indeed is problematic and if your sales people are not listening carefully then they are wasting both their time and the time of the prospect. Why? Well, because they need to listen and understand if the prospect or potential customer is actually interested in the product or services they are selling and representing for your company.

Additionally if they are not listening then they are not hear the client’s objections and therefore they cannot use their customer service skills or problem solving knowledge of your company and your policies to help the prospect. If your sales people are not getting into the heads of your prospects and seeing things from their point of views, then they simply will not sell as much as they could. I hope you will consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

As a group of sales trainees took a break from our workshop on selling, the distress they were feeling, was clearly manifest in their intense discussions. It was obvious from their unrestrained conversations that the software being installed to track their sales performance was the reason for their anxiety. It was also evident from their negative comments, that many of these trainees had already given up on selling their company’s services and that no amount of sales training could help them sell their firm’s services. Our client, a large midwestern service firm, was willing to pay generous incentives for their customer service staff to up sell additional services. Yet, most participants in this training session felt, for a variety of reasons, that obtaining additional sales was impossible.

Jenny, a customer service representative from one of the inner-city offices of the firm was typical in her feelings about being asked to sell. She talked about how difficult it was to achieve sales success because of her location and the unique customer base she worked with daily. She said it would be impossible to achieve the sales success of coworkers in the more wealthy suburban locations”so why even try?”

Jenny specifically talked about a coworker by the name of Arlene who had been exceptionally productive in producing sales over the last three months. Arlene worked at a branch in an upper middle class suburb. She had earned over half the incentive pool for her sales success, doubling her income. Jenny told the group, that she was sure she could do the same thing, if she could work in the suburbs like Arlene.

On meeting Arlene for the first time, you might surmise that her warm and friendly disposition produced her ongoing sales success. She has a great personality. As Jenny inferred, you might also feel, after visiting her office, that her location assisted in her phenomenal sales success. Her customers certainly have the money to invest in her products and services. However, to learn exactly what was behind Arlene’s success, the firm’s regional sales manager had her “shopped,” (had someone act like a customer to check her performance). They also had her local manager observe her work for a few days to see if they could learn more about her success. On closer scrutiny, the sales manager learned that Arlene consistently used the selling process The $elling Edge®, Inc. had taught her in our workshops and our Self-Directed Learning reinforcement series. Along with Arlene’s warmth, friendly personality and favorable location, it appeared that using our “selling process” was the major factor in her consistent sales success.

Because there were so many complaints about the unfair incentive and tracking system being implemented by the firm, the regional sales manager decided to run a test on his staff. He wanted to see if Jenny was correct in her assessment. Did the location of a branch dramatically impact an employee’s ability to sell and earn additional income? Was it true that location alone determined the amount of incentive bonuses paid out? Overnight, this manager reassigned Arlene to Jenny’s inner-city location. Jenny then took Arlene’s place in the suburbs.

The first week after the transfer, Arlene’s sales plummeted, possibly giving some credence to Jenny’s theory. What few sales Jenny had been making also declined her first week in the suburbs. Since neither employee was familiar with their new customer base, these reductions in sales seemed in order. However, on checking the two representative’s sales success on a weekly basis, the sales manager soon learned that location had little to do with sales or lack of success. As the weeks progressed, Arlene’s sales began to steadily climb. After a month and a half in the inner-city location, her level of sales success was right back up to her production levels before her move to the inner-city. Jenny, on the other hand, over the test period, was never able to move her sales beyond what she had been doing before her move. Of course, she had an excuse for not performing well. Jenny told everyone that her sales were low because she had not had the time to get to know the customers in her new location.

Although Jenny had a pleasant personality and seemed to get along well with people, her new manager observed that she seemed unwilling to learn and then use any of the sales techniques taught in our workshops. When she was “shopped” during the test period, it was obvious that Jenny tried to use her personality to persuade her customers to buy from her. Not once did she move out from behind her desk to greet customers, nor did she shake their hand. She immediately got down to business, and failed to build rapport with the people she served. She preferred to be efficient and in turn was not at all effective in selling her firm’s products and services. In short, Jenny did none of the things that would help her build the kind of customer relationships that regularly produced additional sales.

As the manager evaluated the results of the test, it became clear that Jenny’s bad attitude about selling was at the heart of her poor sales record. Also, not learning and using the sales tools she had been given was the deciding factor in her lack of sales success. Arlene, on the other hand, had proven that an office location was not a major factor in the sales process for this firm.

On closer scrutiny, the regional sales manager found that a bad attitude about sales permeated the entire inner-city staff. To a person, they felt that they could not sell the customers they served, so they quit trying. While at the suburban location, everyone was upbeat about the new sales skills they had acquired from our workshop and used the methods to consistently sell their customers and earn more money while they generated more business for the firm.

As the regional sales manager looked into this attitude problem further, it became clear that the contrast in staff feelings about the consultative sales process they had been taught, primarily emanated from their respective managers. For the most part, Jenny only parroted back what she had heard her inner-city manager say about the selling process. On the other hand, Arlene’s attitude about selling simply mirrored what flowed daily from her suburban manager.

As you lead your sales team, what messages are you sending to them about the selling process? Do they know that you believe in and personally use the sales tools that they must master to succeed? Are they able to use your example as a springboard to staff sales success? It really is your extended shadow that controls how well your staff performs their sales duties. As the research into the selling process outlined in this lesson clearly shows, sales success, truly lies in the extended shadow of the sales manager or supervisor. Check out our personal sales coaching training at:

http://wwwTheSellingEdge.com/personalCoaching.htm

VIRDEN J. THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, California. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides.

Check out the listed books and manuals at http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/books1.htm
Virden teaches for the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University at Lubbock, Texas and in the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School Of Management at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. You can contact Virden at: Virden@TheSellingEdge.com.

Decorating for Christmas is one of the best things about the holidays. The twinkling of lights, the sight of a perfectly trimmed tree and a perfectly placed wreath adorning your front door are all gentle reminders of the joyous Christmas season.

When decorating your home, you want the décor to reflect your own personal style while keeping the Christmas tradition always present. A few tips can help make this holiday decorating season even brighter.

Christmas Decoration Tip #1: Lights Out

With each year that passes, Christmas lights tend to burn out at some point. Unless you have a strand that burns with the exception of the troublesome light, it can be a real headache to find the faulty bulb. Consider investing in a light tester, which will check each individual light and detect the one that needs replacing. These can be found with the Christmas supplies at most department stores.

Christmas Decoration Tip #2: Angels Nearby

Whenever possible, decorate your home with angels. They add a touch of peace and tranquility to your home and we all need to know that there are angels watching over us.

Christmas Decoration Tip #3: Be fruity

Prepare a fruit-filled clear glass bowl as a centerpiece for your dining room table. Nothing smells like Christmas as much as an orange or a nice fruit combination.

Decoration Tip #4: Add a personal touch

If you hang Christmas stockings, consider personalizing them with your name, your spouses name and those of your children. These days, even pets have stockings, so don’t forget to add Fido’s name on a stocking. You can easily personalize a traditional stocking using a glitter pen, preferably one that writes in silver or gold. A personalized stocking is a nice idea and a special added touch.

Christmas Decoration Tip #5: Pucker up

Decorate your home with poinsettia and mistletoe, which are both holiday traditions. A nice artificial poinsettia plant will always be beautiful and is easy to take care of - no water required. A mistletoe is always a nice touch and especially if you just need one more reason to smooch.

Christmas Decoration Tip #6: Working with wreaths

.Don’t forget to place a beautiful green wreath on the front door of your home. Make sure to add a red bow for a brightening touch! Artificial wreaths will last year after year, but real wreaths do have a wonderful scent. If you want to add wreath’s to the windows in your home, consider purchasing a magnetic wreath hanger. This type of hanger comes in two parts - one goes on the inside of your home and the piece with the hook will go on the outside. These hangers have been around for years, but they are steadily beginning to gain in popularity. The magnets are so strong that they can work through doors and windows, which is ideal for hanging wreaths on the outside of your home without the fuss of a traditional plastic wreath hanger, which drapes across the top of your door.

Christmas Decoration Tip #7: A perfect fit

When choosing a Christmas tree, make sure to measure the preferred location from side to side and from floor to roof. You will want to make sure that perfect tree fits when you bring it home. Artificial trees are easy care, but a real tree requires plenty of water.

Christmas Decoration Tip #8: It’s all about tradition

It’s nice to start a family tradition by decorating your tree on a certain day each year. Perhaps after Thanksgiving dinner, the whole family can spend the evening dressing their home for Santa.

Christmas Decoration Tip #9: Shop smart

Make sure that all electric decorations are UL listed to ensure that they have been tested for quality and safety. Don’t forget to unplug everything before you leave home or go to bed at night.

Christmas Decoration Tip #10: Say Cheese

Always remember to have plenty of film and batteries for the camera. Now that you have the perfect decorations, don’t forget to capture them on film.

For more great Christmas decoration related resources check out http://decorations.christmashub.com