Salute Friend

“The management of self is critical. Without it, leaders may do more harm than good. Like incompetent physicians, incompetent managers make people sicker and less vital.” Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, Leaders (in a chapter entitled “Leading Others, Managing Yourself”)

Too many managers who aspire to lead and develop others haven’t learned how to lead and develop themselves. They are trying to build organizations or provide services that are different than they are. These well-intentioned managers are trying to improve their teams or organizations without improving themselves. Many seem to be living along the lines of Mark Twain’s observation, “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.”

Here are some examples of these all too common disconnects between organization and personal performance:

• Pessimistic managers push their companies to be market and industry leaders while blaming external factors like the economy for their poor performance.

• Managers with stunted personal growth set strategies to build a “Learning Organization.”

• Managers produce team and organization vision, values, and mission statements without having clarified and aligned their own personal preferred future, principles, and purpose.

• A major program to improve customer service is initiated by managers who boss, direct, and control rather than serve their organization’s servers.

• Managers with weak levels of continuous personal improvement implement change and improvement programs for others.

• Strict Technomanagers (bureaucratic or technical experts) oversee rigid systems and processes while trying to encourage risk taking and innovation.

• Management groups comprised of turf protecting departmental managers, fighting like three kids in the back seat on a long hot drive, try to get others to build stronger teams.

• Disorganized managers with poor time management habits are setting goals, priorities, and disciplined processes for everyone else.

• Although they have no personal improvement plan, process, or habits, managers develop extensive organization transformation and improvement plans.

• While avoiding (and shooting messengers of) personal feedback, managers construct extensive performance appraisal systems and talk about the importance of accountability for everyone else.

A Team or Organization Can’t Rise Above the Level of Its Leadership

“Organizational change begins with leaders who walk the talk by transforming themselves.” Stratford Sherman, “Leaders Learn to Heed the Voice Within”, Fortune

It just doesn’t work. We can’t build a team or organization that’s different from us. We can’t make them into something we’re not. But I’ve watched countless managers and management teams try. There are two major reasons that this disconnected approach doesn’t work. First, unless you’re a superb actor, you can’t be a split personality and teach or lead others to do something that’s out of basic alignment with your own habits, skills, and characteristics.

Second, everyone’s “phoniness radar” or “BS meters” are getting ever more sensitive (from overuse). We’re getting fed up with sanctimonious church leaders charged with sexual abuse, fat doctors telling us to get into shape, politicians giving retractable promises to get elected, executives drawing big salaries and bonuses while their company’s financial value declines, municipal transit managers who don’t take their own buses to work, training and consulting companies who don’t practice what they teach, and the like.

I once wrote a scathing note (which was never answered) and quit a speakers’ association because I kept hearing “the old pros” telling people who wanted to get on speaking platforms and tell others how to be successful to “fake ’til you make it.” (The personal and organization improvement field has its share of aspiring speakers and consultants who don’t practice what they preach). One of those speakers also asked me to provide a jacket quote endorsement for a “motivational book” he bragged he’d written “on a six hour airplane flight.” And that’s about how much research and thought the warmed-over platitudes, old jokes, and generalities he’d pieced together obviously had. I declined his invitation.

We loathe phoniness and crave genuineness in our leaders. If I aspire to be a leader, the authenticity (being the real thing) that stems from aligning who I am with where I am trying to take my team or organization will inspire trust, cooperation, and forgiveness in the people who’ll help take me there. Nobody expects us to be the perfect role model. But they do expect to see a close connection between who we are and the direction we’re pointing the team or organization toward.

Or they at least need to see that we recognize our shortcomings and we are working hard to improve ourselves so we can close the organization-personal performance gap. Otherwise they’ll shrug off all our team and organization improvement rhetoric and planning with a sense that this is just Kidney Stone Management it will hurt for awhile, but this too shall pass. “Watch out, he/she has been off to another seminar (or read another book). If we lay low long enough, he/she will move on to the next fad”.

Successful team or organization leadership begins with successful self-leadership. The first step in improving my team or organization is improving me.

Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. During the last 25 years he has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations, workshops, and retreats. Jim’s five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader’s Digest. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/articles.

Spyware has lots of side effects on the computer system. The major drawback is the deceleration of the computer system. This effect continues until the antispyware cleans the spyware. If individuals browse the internet for a longer period, there are possibilities of downloading some sorts of spyware into the PC, although accidentally. For this reason, the analysts known as spyware, arises without the knowledge of a user. It is legal software, since it gets downloaded in a computer system with the user’s permission. Keyloggers usually show what applications were used on the controlled computer what sites a child visited and what he actually wrote to his online pals.

The list I just gave you earlier is getting longer and longer and longer. As the spyware fighters get better, the hackers try harder and harder. Making new software to attack different parts of any system made on earth. Just when we thought that XP was locked down, they restarted their attack on Win2k. And they haven’t exactly given up on the other versions of Windows that older computers are using still today. Now no computer is safe any more as people got lulled into thinking that older computers were forgotten. Data loggers, key loggers are just a few programs which harvest info from your computer. Winclear is the only program created specially to auto remove such spywares. Most probably right now when you’re reading this there’s some nasty file inside your Windows system doing its job. That is why every computer owner needs winclear.

Protect With Winclear :Search Engine That Leaves No History
If you really want close monitoring, you need to buy computer spy software that will offer you maximum protection and utmost data gathering capabilities. A computer monitoring program that has been featured and recommended by several news agencies across the country is PC Pandora. This spy software records keystrokes, chats, emails, screen content, programs used, and website revisited. Winclear is the only software which is capable of removing keylogger programs. Generally the information there is safe because it is non-executable text files. Winclear has been the industry leader in fighting keyloggers for the last 8 years.

Winclear:
Still I lost so much valuable data from the malware I was looking for something better. That is the reason why you need Winclear installed onto your computer. Predators seek children whose schedules mesh with their own children who are online most days during a consistent time frame. Protect your computer security by using Winclear! More about Winclear here: Winclear Review.

With the huge variety of fragrances, colognes and
perfumes available, it is understandable that men will
find it confusing and difficult to choose their
personal perfume. It is easy to get lost in the myriad
of scents and smells that some pick the wrong perfume
that does not compliment their personality and taste.
There are many different kinds of scents, oils and
essences being advertised which makes choosing one,
very challenging. Finding the right perfume that
compliments and enhances your personality is important.
You don’t want a perfume that simply smells good but a
scent that becomes uniquely you - irresistible,
alluring and attractive. There are many things a man
should consider when choosing a personal perfume. These
simple pointers are just to guide you in making the
right decision.

When choosing a perfume, go for one which appeals to
you and makes you feel great. Think of what kind of
smell you find most attractive. Is it the woody and
aromatic smell of spices? Then go for a spicy perfume.
If you love the smell of the fresh ocean breeze, then
you should choose an oceanic fragrance. If you feel
good about yourself, you will exude confidence, which
makes you much more attractive and charming. There are
six main categories of perfumes including:

1. Floral - romantic and feminine, has flowers as a
dominant theme

2. Fruity - spicy and fresh with fruits used as part of
the formula

3. Oceanic - use synthetic elements to smell strongly
of the sea

4. Greens - fresh energetic perfumes that remind you of
the outdoors

5. Orientals - sexy exotic and intense perfumes that
smell of musk, vanilla, spices and opulent heavy
flowers

6. Woody - Perfume that smells like bark, moss and
other things you might find in the forest

Of course, not all of these perfumes will suit your
personality and taste. Go for a scent that will bring
out the best qualities in you. Pick a scent that is
subtle enough and not overpowering. You do not want to
smell as if you took a bath in your perfume. Your scent
should be sensual, but not overly sexy that you might
give the wrong signals. Choose a scent that comes
closer to the natural attractants in a man’s body. By
accentuating those scents, your perfume becomes much
more effective and magnetic. For best effect, your
scent should elicit happy memories in a woman. Such a
scent will leave a woman wanting for more.

You can choose from many popular perfume brands. Some
of the recommended colognes and perfumes include the
following: Acqua de Gio by Armani has a strong citrus
scent that reminds one of summer. Most people love its
fresh scent. Cool Water by Davidoff is simply a classic
- cool, refreshing and smooth, it is perfect for
everyday wear. L’Eau D’Issey combines the scent of
citrus and tobacco for a differently exciting
fragrance. If you want a perfume that is elegant and
speaks of class and good taste, go for perfumes from
the French perfume houses Guerlain and the House of
Creed. You can also choose Penhaligon’s, Czech and
Speake from England or Acqua di Parma from Italy.

Finding the perfect perfume that compliments your
style, personality and essence may be challenging and
difficult but it is also rewarding and enjoyable.
Perfume becomes a medium of expressing yourself. Having
the perfect scent makes a strong and lasting
impression.

Timothy A. Garyantes enjoys shopping online and recommends: http://www.youngperfume.com/
as a resource for information about perfume.

There’s something peculiar about having spare money… it burns a whole in our pockets and we can’t wait to spend it on something, and often it’s on something we simply don’t need. We merely desire it. But when times are bad, it’s a burden to continue paying those bills.

Here are the Top 7 tips to reduce unnecessary bills:

1) There’s no roam at home. Do you really need a cell phone? If so, it’s doubtful you need the fancy ringtones you’ve been downloading for 99 cents a pop. Itemize your cell phone bill, and see what you can eliminate and where you’ve been wasting money. If you pay per call, use your cell phone only for dire situations, not for idle chit-chat.

2) Was that trip necessary? Make every trip count to save gas and reduce vehicle wear-and-tear. Consolidate your errands so you can take care of more than one task. For example, schedule your grocery shopping on the same day/time you pickup your prescription medicine.

3) The good old days. Remember long ago when your mother hung clothes out to dry? Believe it or not, solar drying still works. Since natural drying won’t remove lint or wrinkles the way a dryer does, you can still dry clothing such as undergarments on a clothes line. Don’t forget about natural sunlight to illuminate your home instead of using your lights.

4) To your good health. Not only costly, but cigarettes, alcohol and dining-out at fast food restaurants can be unhealthy, which can also cost you additional medical expenses.

5) Don’t forsake insurance. For some reason, insurance is one of the first bills people will dump when they suffer financial hardships, which is precisely the time they need the protection insurance offers. Instead, drop the non-essential bills such as your cable or satellite connection.

6) Surprise, surprise. Know what you earn, what you can afford, and how purchases will affect your finances down the road. When you discover you have an extra $20 left over from payday, don’t spend it on a whim. In a week or two, you may need that 20 bucks. Project all your bills and plan for unexpected expenses such as a replacement tire for your auto.

7) Budget, don’t fudge-it. The most important item we saved for last, for fear if you read it at #1 you would have skipped this article as re-hashing what you’ve already heard time and time again. But it’s true. A budget is necessary if you want to earn good credit, save money, and get the things you really need.

Article by Toni Phelps of Credit Federal, which offers a free debt-to-income calculator to reveal how much of your money you spend on bills per week, month and annually, as well as a breakdown of gross and net income.

It would be fair to say that Starbucks has penetrated the cultural fabric of America quite extensively. Now, it is also attempting to do the same with the rest of the world. It has become a place to get together with friends, an extended office, a pick-up joint, and many other things - different things to different people.

Starbucks is a consumer concept that was pretty much unimaginable until it was implemented, scaled, funded, and scaled further. Howard Schultz envisioned the concept after experiencing the popularity of coffee bars in Italy. For those who were gutsy enough to invest in the concept (Jamie Shennan of Trinity Ventures, for example, who is still on the Board, and invested in 1990; Starbucks went public in 1992) the deal paid off handsomely.

The world’s #1 specialty coffee retailer, Starbucks operates and licenses more than 8,500 coffee shops in more than 30 countries. The shops offer coffee drinks and food items, as well as beans, coffee accessories, teas, and CDs. Starbucks operates more than 5,200 of its shops in five countries (mostly in the US), while licensees operate more than 2,800 units (primarily in shopping centers and airports). It reports an employee count of 96,700 in 2004.

As the US continues on its quest towards finding business concepts that cannot be off-shored and out-sourced, clearly, high-touch retail and consumer concepts such as Starbucks are highly desirable.

Here is one that I like to fantasize about: Jazz Bars and Dance Floors of the ambience, musical quality, and vibrancy that we see in the movie, Ray, celebrating the life and music of Jazz legend Ray Charles.

As American culture degenerates further into becoming more and more sedentary, obese, isolated, on-line, and uninteresting, I wonder when would the pendulum swing far enough, that someone will get frustrated enough to start something new. A new place to “connect”, a new way to “enjoy”, and consequently a new way to “employ”…

My hope is, that those who will launch that quest will rediscover the joys of Swing and Foxtrot, as Herman Hesse described in his celebrated novel Steppenwolf.

I haven’t done the business plan, and I haven’t run the numbers but I sure hope there would be money in such a venture, if done creatively, with the thoughtfulness and business savvy of how Starbucks was launched upon the world.

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur and Strategy Consultant Sramana Mitra writes on Entrepreneurship, Business strategy, Emerging Technologies, Market Moves, etc. in her Blog “Sramana Mitra on Strategy”.
Read More at http://www.sramanamitra.com

CAROLINE NADER AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER RECEIVES HONOURABLE
MENTION IN INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Sydney artist Caroline Nader was awarded an Honourable Mention
in the International Photography Awards (IPA) 2005 Competition.

Los Angeles, California, 2005 - Caroline’s photos in the
‘Architecture in non-professional’ category, won her an
Honourable Mention for her series of images titled “In Search of
a Holy Space, Spain.” The 2005 IPA Competition drew an avalanche
of images from around the world - 16,648 entries and across 32
countries.

The outpouring of these thousands of photographs from cities,
towns and small villages continues to prove the global power and
presence of the still image. Susan Baraz, one of the competition
judges, said: “as one of the IPA judges, I was overwhelmed by
the incredible talent displayed by all who entered.”

About Caroline Nader

Caroline was born in Lebanon, and spent her early childhood in
Nigeria and England, before settling in Australia at the age of
eight. It seems that travelling was always in her blood.

Although titled “In Search of a Holy Space”, it was Caroline’s
love of football that originally took her to Europe. “I guess
that’s the joy of travelling, you find something special that
you never originally sought,” she said.

The legendary Santiago de Compostela provided the perfect
photographic setting. “Places of worship have a certain magic, a
raw energy. People’s fears, hopes and dreams are captured within
a holy space.”

Are there any more Spanish adventures in the future? “Seville is
a dream, the blending of Spanish, Arabic and Northern African
cultures.”

Currently Caroline is the Creative Director at Etcom, a
specialised multicultural communications agency. Etcom is part
of the Worldwide WPP Group as well as the STW Group in Australia.

About Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Since the 12th century, thousands of pilgrims have completed the
“Camino de Santiago”. The final destination is the cathedral
containing the scared relics of the apostle St. James. Santiago
is the second largest Catholic Pilgrimage centre after Rome.

About IPA

IPA is comprised of 18,000 members and affiliates from around
the world. IPA’s mission is to salute the achievements of the
world’s finest photographers, to discover new and emerging
talent, and to promote the appreciation of photography. Since
2003 IPA has acknowledged photographers’ achievements from
around the world in various categories. The 2005 gala Lucie
Awards ceremony will be held in October, New York.

Visit www.photoawards.com

For more information, please contact:

Guadalupe Millan PR Manager, Etcom, Australia etcom@etcom.com.au
+61 2 9568 8398

Caroline Nader caro_nader@yahoo.com mobile: +61 (0) 422 458 969

IPA Contact: Clio Van Ert press@photoawards.com 310-659-0122
(USA)

“April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom, holiday tables under the trees.” -E. Y. Harburg

After reveling in a mountaintop experience, it often takes one a couple of days to not only regain altitude and perspective; it takes a little while to fully grasp whatexactlyjust happened.

Such was our trip to France.

Escorting thirty-six young musicians to Paris for a three-concert tour proved to be an amazing experience which I cannot fully communicate in this Newsletter. My words will fall short; our pictures will miss most of it; and stories re-told with enthusiasm to eagerly awaiting family members will only reveal a glimpse of the experience. What happens when vision meets strategy, passion meets energy, and divine inspiration meets faith cannot be comprehended by those missing the mountaintop. But because it is now part of who I am, I feel moved to attempt to share it with you.

Paris was, for me anyway, the fruit of nearly fourteen years of musical training in my kids. And it found my heart bursting with joy as I celebrated it. After listening to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” played mostly with less-than-perfect intonation upwards of ten thousand times; of the foot-stomping, the eyeball-rolling, and the ‘I hate the violin’ when my children were too irritable to practice; of the 90-minute roundtrip weekly drives to Westport for lessons: watching not only my own Ben and Cristina, but the orchestra kids aged twelve to eighteen, perform Beethoven’s “Fifth” and Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” in a medieval cathedral in the center of Paris left me ebullient. Tears stained my cheeks as the music moved and carried my soul to a height previously unimagined. Friendships forged with the most unsuspecting partners, as commonalities were uncovered and shared. Barriers erected by political divisions, theological differences, and ideological disparities collapsed under the international love language of music.

It was an extraordinary experience, and I learned a few lessons along the way:

1) We stand on tall shoulders of the spiritual giants who lived before us. When one visits a city with cathedrals still standing after the frenzy of the Crusades and the numerous battles fought there, one realizes the magnitude of the spiritual convictions of those who came before us. Studying the Chartres Cathedraland walking the halls of La Trinite and the Magdalena Cathedrals where our children performedallowed me not only the luxury of admiring stained glass windows depicting prominent Biblical themes; it allowed me to ruminate on the vision, inspiration and dedication with which they were crafted. In earlier times in Paris, religion was not a part of life. It was life.

2) Art, music and literature are necessary components for creating a life worth living. As are good shoes, good mattresses, and good books necessary elements of every childhood; good art, good music, and good literature provide needed nourishment for the soul. Wandering through the rooms of the Louvreand my favorite museum in Paris, the Musee D’Orsaygave me even greater appreciation for the importance of fabulous art. They don’t call these guys masters for nothing. I am convinced that the world would be both safer and happier if everyone learned to paint, played a musical instrument or sang in a choir, and read classical literature on a daily basis. Music remains the universal language of the heart; anyone who does not understand this had better start listening to Mozart.

3) Celebrate serendipity. Already a lesson explored in both my book as well as in earlier Newsletters, it is worth repeating here, as I witnessed, embraced and practiced what I preach. Most of you may know by now that I have an inordinate amount of passion for the color lime-green (or illness, depending on your perspective). It was pure serendipity that, while walking down a Parisian street in search of French ceramics and candles, we stumbled upon a lime-green sofa setting against a bricked store wall. I started laughing hysterically. Where but in Paris would I find a lime-green sofa in the middle of the street? I promptly sat down in it, reveled in the experience, and allowed it to be captured in film. It was serendipity that, while walking around a tony shopping district, I was grabbed from behind, only to find a Parisian lady who spoke no English attempt to communicate to me that her surname was “La Coq” and could I please tell her where she could buy the Vera Bradley backpack I wore which sported roosters and eggs? I happily told herin Englishthat it was no longer available but sign-languaged her to get out a paper and pen so I could write down the internet site where she might have some luck. The serendipity of that encounter still makes me smile. Perhaps it was serendipity that our tour guide was darn near perfect; that our flights were uneventful; that our hotel was perfectly situated; and that the Parisian orchestra, which played in a joint concert with us, was well-prepared and delightful. Serendipity or angels watching over us: we celebrated each and every tiny victory.

4) Food plays a huge role in the celebration of life. To be French means to have a passion for all things related to food. They unapologetically indulge in the culinary arts and enjoy all of its inherent stress-relieving side benefits on a thrice-daily basis. They endorse a ‘live to eat’ rather than an ‘eat to live’ M.O. And it shows. “Take-out coffee” is an oxymoron. It simply does not exist in France. Coffee is meant to be drunk sitting down, preferably with a friend or two, along with a baguette or a sugar-or-chocolate-filled crepe as well. While French women may not get fat, American women visiting France just might. I embraced the French dining philosophy for eight days and came back with more “wiggle in my waddle,” if you know what I mean. Que sara sara (or is that Spanish?)

5) Charm and charisma still work. They are not overrated. From the hotel staff to Parisian waiters to the clerk at the Ralph Lauren store: all met our needs with grace and charm. When an unsuspecting yet magnificent floral arrangement brought a constant tickle to my throat, the “Polo clerk” ordered up a glass of water for me. It was delivered on a cloth napkin atop a silver tray. (When was the last time that happened to you stateside?) When our orchestra met up with the community orchestra for a joint concert, we wereevery one of usenthralled by its Parisian conductor, Sylvan. Young and vibrant, he exuded charm with his humility and gracious behavior toward us; the hot pink tie against his otherwise all-black “uniform” proved once again, the magic of charisma.

6) “Bonjour” means something. The French refuse to start a conversation without it. Once, when I barged into my explanation of needing several Eiffel Tower charms for bracelets without the mandatory “Bonjour” opening, the store clerk stopped me mid-sentence, interrupting my banter with “Bonjour, Madame, how can I help you?” How wonderful to be reminded at every turn that today is, indeed, a good day!

7) “Bonjoie” means even more. Late on the second night of our trip, bubbling with energy and excitement after traveling to the top of the Eiffel Tower, I accidentally said “Bonjoie” (jwahr) rather than “Bonsoir” (swahr). Sarah, the perfectly-fluent chaperone to which I directed this mis-step, proclaimed: “Happy joy of life to you, too!” Giggling my way up the escalator to my hotel room, I didn’t quite realize the extent of my error. But the next morning on the bus, everyone greeted me with “Bonjoie.” And so it stuck. It became our password for life in April in Paris. I can think of none better.

Our children shone like sugar-coated gumdrops sprinkled around the streets of Paris, dotting major landmarks and sweetening each and every meal. I was thrilled and honored to have been part of an event of such historic significance for our young and tiny youth orchestra. They were goodwill ambassadors for our symphony, our town, and our country. Never have I been more proud as a music lover, a parent, and as an American. Perhaps my experience sheds some insight on how you, too, can celebrate life.

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; homeschooling for ten years provided fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is available on Amazon.com, in bookstores everywhere, or by calling 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via parenting classes and radio and TV interviews. Please visit http://www.rocketmom.com to subscribe to her free ezine and get a weekly shot of inspiration.

The perfect golf swing IS achievable for any senior golfer!

Actually we have noted in our ongoing programs, a dramatic change in the quality of the games of senior golfers many of whom are achieving the perfect golf swing at their ages and despite relative inexperience on the golf course. Not only that, they are hitting the ball as long as their PGA counterparts. And we are talking about both male and female players.

So how do they do it?

The answer is so simple that it may be a little difficult to believe at first. Actually it is the result of a simple combination of personal coaching on swing mechanics and getting stronger. They do not get stronger as a result of arduous weight training using heavy weights designed to give bulky muscles.

Rather the training ideas have even been described as “enjoyable” by some and the program even involves simple exercises that will not take you away from the office or your work and yet have the potential of helping you reach the perfect golf swing much quicker than you ever thought possible.

Very specific conditioning and training achieve the perfect golf swing and a much better game. Exercises that are not straining but are in fact targeted very specifically at improving the quality of the golf game are responsible for the ‘miracles’ in junior golf players.

Surely if it works so well with senior citizens, younger golfers should have no problem. Right?

Actually we are also witnessing junior golfers who are also dramatically revolutionizing their game through the same exercises and conditioning which also involves using products recommended by experts and people who earn a living improving ordinary amateur’s golf games and helping them towards achieving the perfect golf swing.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Check out his new golf fitness products site at Perform Better Golf.

Prospects have many reasons (you might think excuses) for not buying your product or service. Many of these objections, however, are actually emotional defenses, and before you can overcome the obstacle you must recognize the emotion behind it. To help you analyze why your prospect doesn’t want to buy from you, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Does the buyer feel neglected?
This is a prime danger of taking regular customers for granted. You could well walk in expecting a sure-thing order only to find that your customer isn’t sure he or she wants to deal with you anymore. Why not?

The buyer may feel that the amount of steady business that his or her company has provided merits more of your time and attention then you’ve been giving lately.

The buyer may feel that his or her job depends on dealing with a supplier who can be trusted to deliver what was ordered when it’s supposed to be delivered., who will still be available after the order is signed.

If you’ve determined that neglect is the emotion behind the buyer’s objection, the best thing to do would be to let the customer get all those feelings outside in the open. Once the buyer has made you aware of your shortcomings, he or she may still give you the order-once promised to do better in the future.

2. Does the buyer feel that you’re not showing enough respect?
To some buyers, salespeople who just “drop by” are telling them that they aren’t important enough for an actual appointment.

Make sure you show respect for your customers’ time-especially in the initial stages of developing an account-by taking the time to set up an appointment for your call. Later, customers may indicate that its okay to stop by any time you have a useful idea to share with them.

3. Is the buyer afraid of doing something new?
Fear of taking a new course of action is a common emotion. Staying with a known product or service is a secure investment.

When this fear is the emotion behind the objection, you must show the buyer-tactfully, of course-that not trying new methods or products eliminates the possibility of benefiting from them. Especially if the buyer has been burned before by a new-and-improved product that turned out to be neither, you may have to prove that your product or service will really do what you’ve said it will, that its value is worth its cost.

4. Is the buyer afraid of abandoning the old?
Closely related to the fear of taking a new course of action is the fear of abandoning an existing one-especially one that represents a major start-up investment-even if its proving unsatisfactory. A company that has already made a significant investment in its existing program will probably be hesitant about dropping a similar sum on a totally different alternative.

If you realize that the prospect is not going to abandon what it has, you still don’t have to abandon the company as a client. Look for ways that your product or service can help solve some of the problems created by the existing system. But take care not to sound too critical of what could be the buyers ( or someone in top management’s ) pet idea. Don’t tell the prospect to dump the existing product and switch to yours. Instead, explain that you are aware of the problems and that if the prospect will allow you to explain your alternatives, you’ll be able to show how your product or service can help them correct them.

Making an honest attempt to understand the emotions behind sales objections helps you to position your product or service in a way that makes it easier for your prospect to say “yes”.

Neil Greenberg is a sales maanger with a DC based e-commerce company. http://salessherpa.blogspot.com/

Designing a website specifically designed to sell your product is an essential part of your success. Everything within your website should have one specific purpose — getting your visitor to take action.

Creating a professional website specifically designed to sell will take a great deal of time and effort, as there is much more to take into consideration than just the design. You must look at a much broader picture and plan each step very carefully.

Every part of your website must be strategically designed, from your overall design to your sales copy; each will play a very important role. Your visitor’s first impression will almost instantly determine whether or not you’re going to make a sale.

Your website should be simple in design with the navigational links placed at the top, left or right side of the page. It should be designed in standard HTML with no Flash or fancy plug-ins and very few graphics. Unless your graphics specifically pertain to your product or enhance your site, you probably shouldn’t include them. Your site should load very quickly and each additional graphic will add additional load time. In addition, there should be no banners or outside links of any kind — nothing that will distract your visitor’s attention.

You must specifically design your website to rank high in the Search Engines. This involves much more than just including META tags. Your design, text, title and image alt tags all play a very important role in determining how your website will rank.

Title - Your “Title” should contain your most important keyword or keyword phrase that you think potential visitors will use when performing a search. Instead of capitalizing the first letter, type it in lowercase, as most people type in all lowercase letters when searching.

Description - Your description should contain your most important keywords and describe your product in detail. You want your potential visitors to know exactly what you’re offering. Your description should be less than 200 characters.

Keywords - Select the most appropriate keyword and keyword phrases, in different variations, that you feel your potential visitors will use when performing a search. The more targeted the better.

You can find a variety of tools to assist you in creating an effective list of keywords here: http://www.jimtools.com

You can also download a great little freeware program called, GoodKeywords http://www.goodkeywords.com. This program will assist you in developing a list of targeted keywords for your website. In addition, it also includes a site popularity tool that enables you to check your site’s popularity.

Heading tags - Search Engines pay close attention to the text displayed within the “Heading” tags. Place your most important keyword phrase within a “Heading” tag.

Graphic Alt tags - Place a readable sentence containing your keyword phrases within your graphic “Alt” tags.

Text - All of your keywords and keyword phrases should appear throughout your text. If any of the keywords you placed within your META tags do not appear within your text, the Search Engines will ignore them. Your keyword phrases should appear at least three times within your text, but no more than seven.

Another consideration of great importance is the use of “Tables.” If you’d like to set up your website using tables, try to place your “Heading” text above your “Table” code. If this isn’t possible, make sure you include your keyword phrases within your top left “Table cell” to assist you in ranking higher in the Search Engines.

One final note, always place your most important information above the fold of your web page. This is the top portion of your web page that is visible when your page is first loaded, without scrolling. This is the most important part of your entire page — use it wisely.

Your website is your product’s storefront and will play a very important roll in determining your success. Take your time and do your homework before you begin. You may be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, “Web Design Mastery” (www.webdesignmastery.com) and “eBook Starter - Give Your eBooks the look and feel of a REAL book” (www.ebookstarter.com)

Visit www.Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips and receive a copy of Shelley’s acclaimed ebook, “Killer Internet Marketing Strategies.”

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