June 29, 2008
The charge you need to observe is how much you pay back on the amount you borrow - this is a fixed sum dependent on the individual provider. This is where a fast minikrediet comes in, offering a suitable sum of money to help you get by. If you apply for an minikrediet for 304 euro you will usually have to fill out an online form and attach copies of your documentation in an email, or by fax.
Unexpected expenses can hit even those who keep a tight grip on their finances if something goes wrong in the home, a family member needs support or you receive a larger than expected bill you might require cash to help you get by until your next wage slip.
For many it simply can’t arrive soon enough as we attempt to juggle bills and expenses, as well as trying to have a little fun in life. However, this does vary with some providers charging 31 interest and so on. You must however, be able to satisfy the 10 minutes minikrediet provider that you will have enough cash available to cover the advance repayment they will look at how much you can afford to pay back on an individual basis between 316 euro. As with all online minikrediet it is best to take a complete search of the market before you apply for a fast online minikrediet for aount 422 euro so you can compare interest rates and make sure you are getting the best deal for your needs. It’s easy to compare direct minikrediet with us and hopefully you’ll soon have the cash you need to get by without worrying how far away your next payday may be.
So be ready to use the gsm minikrediet comparison tool at snel minikrediet aanvragen to compare 2 times the rates. The premise behind payday loan is simple whatever you need 370 euro for, you can take out a loan (usually ranging from 332 euro but sometimes up to 1,000 depending on the provider) that is repayable on your next payday, whether it is 26 months away or less.
How many of us count down the weeks until payday? A direct online minikrediet is a way to solve a short-term cash issue for amounts like 141 euro.
In the majority of instances for every 498 euro you borrow you have to pay back 197 euro, meaning 23 interest. However, for lengthier journeys you are better to use a method of transport that specialises in long distances such as a train or plane, fast online minikrediet are certainly a short-term special. However, it is not necessary to use the loan for this purpose and effectively the cash can be used at your discretion as long as it is paid back with interest during the short loan term.
Posted by Administrator under Credit Infos, Economy + Finance, Payday Loan Resources | Comments Off
June 29, 2008
If you run a small business, advertising costs must be figured in as part of your overall expenses. If you have received quotes for phone directory ads, business association block ads, and mostly any other print media, these costs are quite high. So, what if your budget is small, perhaps negligible? Will you be left outside of the advertising arena or are there other avenues to help you get the word out? The answer in one word is: yes. Let’s explore ways you can “get the word out” through online means…yes, via the internet!
The rise of the internet has spawned an entire industry with it. You may remember in the late 1990s stories of dot.com companies who made a fortune and then went bust. The “irrational exuberance” of that era has, thankfully, passed by and in its place is a much more rational, but very lively market.
Today’s biggest players online are search engine providers led by Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Between them, these three search engines dominate the market. Mostly everyone today searches the internet for products sold by small businesses to large corporations and these are the people you want to target. Indeed, while Christmas season sales typically increase around 4% year over year for “brick and mortar” retailers, the internet has been seeing year over year increases of 30% and higher! No small business operator should exclude the internet when crafting a marketing plan.
Speaking of the search engines, both Google and Yahoo! have their own advertising networks. Google has its AdWords program while the Yahoo! Publisher Network is a comparable, though newer program. This is where you, as a small business owner, can do some of your advertising. By selecting the advertising plan that works for you, you can have your ads appear on web sites in your local area or across the world and be charged a small amount per click. In other words, you don’t pay for advertising unless someone clicks on your ad and goes through to your site. To keep clicks from getting out of control you determine the price per click and the amount per day, week, or month you are willing to pay. No busting of your small business budget!
Banner or text ads on select sites can also be helpful for your small business. If there is a web site you like and you suspect that a lot of your customers would frequent that site, contact the webmaster to learn what his advertising charges would be. Perhaps in exchange for submitting a few helpful articles, the webmaster would waive your advertising fee altogether. Or, at the very least, accept any other help you could provide [moderating a forum, answering questions, etc.].
Another way of getting the word out is through your own web site. No, you don’t need a web professional to establish your site, but it does help to have someone who can guide you through the set up process. At the very least a few pages is what you will need, so set up costs shouldn’t be terribly expensive. In addition, figure on paying monthly hosting and domain name fees but these expenses should be no more than $100-$125 per year. Pay a little extra for a web professional who can help you optimize your site [make it search engine friendly] and you’ll get your money back much quicker. Finally, check with your accountant for small business tax deductions.
You can also generate plenty of attention by writing articles, just like the one you are reading now. No, you don’t need to be a professional writer, but if you can clearly convey your thoughts and present a plan of action for your readers [such as: buy my product] you can get what amounts to be free advertising. How so? By submitting what you write to article submission sites for wider dissemination. By including helpful links in the author resource box you can cause search engines to make your web site much more visible as your article gets reprinted on other web sites. Furthermore, readers will perceive that you are an “expert” and will likely inquire to find out just what you are all about. You can call this, “small business advertising on the cheap!”
No, as a small business owner you don’t have to be strapped by high advertising costs — who has the cash to spare? Instead, the internet offers to you several cost effective ways of informing people about who you are, what you do, and where they can find you.
Select the marketing plan that works best for your small business. A mixture of all four points is a great plan of attack for many small business owners…just like you!
Copyright 2006 - For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.
Posted by Administrator under Business Opps | Comments Off
June 27, 2008
What are you waiting for? Learn all the top bet sports center games here!
Tie together two of people’s greatest interests and you will reveal a vogue named a sportsbook wagers site. And seriously: what could conceivably be more resourceful… Envision a crowd of sports admirers rooting for any chosen sports heroes, and often antes will be established tied in to the clamor. So as to catch some of the action, on-lookers will frequently aspire to divine who is the likeliest to win the upcoming race. At the end of the day, this develops into a matey little race titled sportsbook wagers site.
If you want to place your wager, you’ll want to search out a sportsbook wagers site, i.e. a place which takes in sportsbook wagers site. In America, there’s four states where to go for sports betting in a legit manner, but if you don’t care for legality, you can attempt it essentially anywhere provided that you can pinpoint a bookie and you are of legal age. Included among the sports events you have a choice of betting on are pro combined with college basketball as well as football, professional hockey, professional hockey, combined with betting on. Visitors will have the option of wagering on the entire results of a game, in what round a contester will go under, and even whether a tossed coin in a game comes out either heads or tails.
There’ll be sundry categories of lays- parlay wagers, straight bets, where you simply choose the team you guess will make it or go under, over/under stakes, teasers, which are a duplicate of to parlays only differing in that you will either add or subtract points from the spread to improve your stakes’ odds and so on, the straight bets being the most typical in sports betting.
Why not have a stab at it and enjoy the recreation in tandem… But take care that you won’t get ripped away and throw away your entire social security checks on a vagary… Otherwise you just might catch yourself full of misgivings for life…
Posted by Administrator under Gambling Capers | Comments Off
June 27, 2008
Updating my will has been on my mind for quite some time now. Life circumstances change, kids grow-up, financial situations changes. I procrastinated for a very long time about this will. Now that it is, I feel very satisfied and pleased. There is peace in that corner of my mind that nagged and nagged about it for so long. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that people, myself included, avoid making out wills because they don’t want to confront their own mortality or have to face up to making difficult decisions.
One of the things I learned from the process of making a will is that a will is an expression of love for the living. After all, the loss of you will be difficult enough for your loved ones to bear. Why add to their angst with legal problems, emotional confrontations with family members and possible financial losses.
The living, that is, those left behind, will make of a will what they will. Make no mistake, the will, is taken seriously by those left behind. Understand there will be no opportunity to explain what you really intended by leaving some treasured object to cousin Jo or why you named Sally your executor instead of your older son Bob. The child who is convinced that you love the others more than him will be looking for something in the will that proves him right and may very well find it in spite of how careful you are not to have anything in the will that might be misconstrued in that direction. So, it is a good idea to use the simplest language and clearest grammatical structure as possible.
The Last Will and Testament is exactly that. You don’t get a second chance. After I dealt with distribution of the tangibles - financial assets, money and physical objects accumulated and treasured for so much of a lifetime you confront the most important part of your legacy. .
Making a will is a poignant reminder that the physical stuff, including the money, doesn’t really amount to very much when all is said and done. Perhaps the appropriate background music for will making is the song “Is That All There Is?” My answer to that musical conundrum is a resounding, “No.” That isn’t all there is. The tangible things we leave behind have little to do with the real legacy we leave. The real legacy is the one we fashion each day of our lives by the way we live and who we are being.
How do you want to be remembered? Are you living your life in a way that is consistent with the legacy you really want to leave. Do you even know the nature of the legacy you want to leave or are you like Alfred Nobel who was fortunate enough to read his obituary printed prematurely in the daily newspaper? Much to his chagrin the obituary described the fame and fortune he accumulated from his invention of dynamite. Nobel decided then and there that dynamite and its awful potential for destruction was not the achievement for which he wanted to be remembered. And, so he established the prestigious Nobel Prizes. Today, when the name Nobel comes up the first association is with the prizes. Relatively few know he is the inventor of dynamite.
Few of us have the wherewithal to create a legacy of the magnitude of the Nobel Prizes. But all of us can recreate the opportunity Alfred Nobel had in looking at his legacy and then taking steps to change it if it displeases us.
Most of us never stop to think of the legacy we would like to leave. How do you find out what legacy you would like to leave? Here are two exercises that will help you clarify your thoughts on the subject. The first is to write your own eulogy. Warning! This can be an emotional exercise, so keep the box of tissues close at hand. Make sure you are alone and in an environment where you will not be disturbed. Before you start, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and visualize your funeral. Be objective. If you were to die tomorrow, what would be said about you? Look it over. If the eulogy you write does not please you, write down what you do want to be said about you. Look this eulogy over and decide what actions you would need to take now in order to create the legacy you really want to leave. Notice that the legacy you want to leave has little to do with your business or job. It is about the kind of person you were, who you were being when you were at work, with your family, or handling a difficult situation.
The second exercise is to imagine that you had everything you needed. Write down the words to complete the sentence “If I had__________ I would________________.” What changes would you have to make in your life to live a life consistent with your dreams? This is your real legacy. What is your stand? How do you live your life?
Here are some immediate actions you may want to consider taking, with regard to your legacy.
1) If you don’t have a will, call a lawyer and make an appointment today.
2) If you have a will, review it. Is it up-to-date in terms of your circumstances today? Does the language in the will say anything that could be construed as hurtful or damaging by anyone? Are you giving from a generous heart or are you attempting to control the living from the grave?
3) Ask your accountant if its time to do estate planning.
5) Now, today start creating your true legacy.
Copyright Unlimited Resources 2000, all rights reserved.
Ruth Zanes has been a Business, Career and Personal Success Coach since 1985. Her broad range of experience prior to coaching includes consultant, business ownership and corporate executive for some of the world’s largest corporations. Contact Ruth and see her blog and coaching resources at:
http://www.unlimitedresourcesinc.com/
Posted by Administrator under School of Self Improvement | Comments Off
June 27, 2008
With the beginning of the new school year coming VERY soon, here are some tips to give us a “heads-up” to start the year off knowing what to do.
Three tips to have your kids Achieve Success At School:
1.) Turn off the T.V. At our house, we have an understanding that we don’t really have time during the week to watch T.V. (of course, we can be a little flexible if there’s a special, long-awaited educational show on PBS!)
2.) Be Prepared. Have backpack, pens, pencils, paper, folders, pocket dictionary, planner and anything else that would be useful. (The teacher would be an excellent person to ask.) At night, before getting ready for bed, all backpacks are packed-up with all books, papers, signed items, planner, completed homework, …and placed close to the door ready to be grabbed up in the morning on the way out.
3.) Follow the Schedule. There’s a daily and weekly schedule in every classroom. In most classrooms, weekly spelling and vocabulary words are given out on Mondays and the Spelling Tests are on Fridays. By simply being aware of the weekly “flow” of the classroom, you’ll come to find that there are few surprises-assemblies, field trips, and guest speakers…
The kids’ primary concern, (job?) is to study, complete their homework, read, get some exercise and prepare for tomorrow’s school day.
That’s it for now. If kids are taught organizational and time-management skills at home, then they’ll find that being a top, honor-roll student is actually quite easy!
Your can join the community of parents and teachers at: http://www.achievesuccessatschool.com that are working together to give you and your kids a rewarding, successful, enjoyable school experience.
For more tips, strategies and methods to have your kids be top, honor-roll students please visit: http://www.achievesuccessatschool.com/
About the author
Mr. Carbaugh is a teacher and a father of 3. He teaches and lives with his family in Northern California.
Posted by Administrator under Children Fun | Comments Off
June 26, 2008
Podcasts have been popping up all over the Internet in the past year or so. I have come across podcasts on anything from the latest tech gadgets to gardening tips. With millions of listeners out there and plenty of new people listening to podcasts every single day, now is a great time to start your own podcast and make some money along the way.
So far podcasts sound pretty similar to an Internet Talk Radio Show, doesn’t it? Even though the two have many similarities, there are also quite a few differences. Podcasts are unusually not as structured as an Internet Talk Radio show. The tone of a podcast is very informal. Podcasts are usually on blogs and are also available for automatic download to your mp3 player through RSS. Podcasts also don’t have guests on every show. The host of the podcasts does a lot of the talking him or herself. Podcasts be shorter or just as long as a talk radio show, plus they can vary in length from one show to the next.
There is a little bit of both hardware and software you will need for a good sounding podcast. Podcasts are usually broadcast as mp3’s, so you need some sort of software to record your show as well as a decent microphone. Plantronics has some great mike’s available. You can either use software like Allrecorder or a complete service like Audio Acrobat that will also host your audio files for you. Having your files hosted through a service like audio acrobat has the added benefit that people listening to and downloading your podcast will not eat up your bandwidth. This may save you quite a bit of money in hosting fees. You also don’ t have to worry about troubleshooting when there is an issue with the audio files.
Let’s talk about how you can start making money with your podcast. Your two main sources of income will be paid advertising and affiliate programs. You can sell 30 - 60 second ad spots on your podcast, as well as advertising spots on the site that links to the audio file of your podcast. As far as affiliate marketing goes, you can promote related products on your website and mention them in your show. If a listener follows your recommendation and buys the product through your link you will make a commission.
Another, newer source of income for podcasts that’s starting to pop up is sponsorship. Companies will pay good money to be mentioned as the main sponsor of the podcast both on your podcast website and in the show itself. Once your podcast attracts some listeners and you start getting some publicity, it should be easy to attract a corporate sponsor. In the meantime you could contact a few small businesses in your target market that may be interested in sponsoring your podcast for a few months.
Now sit down, grab a pen and paper and come up with a great topic you can talk about for hours. Jot down a few ideas and start recording. Before you know it, your first own podcast will be up online.
Nell Taliercio is the owner of a leading work at home mom resource website packed full of unique information for the telecommuter, business owner and virtual assistant. Visit www.mommysplace.net today
Posted by Administrator under University of Podcasting | Comments Off
June 24, 2008
Copyright 2006 William Hamilton
Joe Q. Merchant, a successful e-commerce business owner, opens a letter from the Chargeback Department of his credit card processing company. “What’s this?” he wonders, intuitively knowing that this can’t be good news. His suspicions are proven correct when he reads this retrieval request form where he must provide information about a particular transaction. While no specific reason is offered as to why this request has been initiated, Joe knows that he must comply to avoid a chargeback - where funds can be taken out of a merchant’s account due to a variety of reasons and placed back into a given customer’s account.
Joe ponders what went wrong with this particular transaction. Is it possible that a member of his staff accepted an invalid credit card (e.g., expired date)? Has there been a processing error (e.g., an input error has been committed where the wrong account has been charged)? These scenarios are very unlikely, Joe decides. In all probability, a customer has either disputed a) the validity of the transaction (i.e., whether the customer has authorized the transaction) or b) the quality of the service and/or product (i.e., the customer has voiced dissatisfaction and wants a refund).
According to guidelines set by Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, Joe Q. Merchant must reply with written correspondence, providing all the requested information - in an expedient fashion - in an attempt to rebut any possible chargeback. (A review committee will eventually render a decision as to the legitimacy of a chargeback.) But the retrieval request has indicated the date that this information must be received. If the merchant offers evidence of a transaction after this date, a chargeback will ensue and the merchant will automatically lose those hard-earned dollars that he/she may have already spent.
Online merchants, such as Joe, have more difficult obstacles to overcome than retail merchants in the resolution of chargebacks. After all, those who generally swipe credit cards have a transaction slip or receipt. If a card does not swipe through a credit card terminal, retail merchants must run the card through a manual imprinter to prove that the transaction was authorized. In contrast, those who run businesses online will not have such a physical receipt proving that the customer authorized the sale. This is why online transactions are categorized as “card not present” or “customer not present.”
Every year, a myriad of chargebacks result when customers claim that they never received the merchandise. In such instances, it is imperative that the merchant has a proof of delivery notice, indicating the date with the customer’s signature. If the signature on this notice belongs to another individual (e.g, neighbor) or even if the customer claims that he/she never signed for the item (signature is not clear), the merchant can lose the chargeback. It is always best that an online merchant use the Address Verification system (AVS) to ensure that the address listed on the customer’s credit card matches the billing address. Moreover, it is advisable to check for Visa’s CVV2 code or Mastercard’s CVC2 code - the three digits printed on credit cards near the signature panel in the back of the card - to help determine the validity of a sale. This aides the merchant in helping to identify a cardholder in a non-face-to-face transaction.
Of course, the merchant may then insist that the billing address and ship to address be the same to reduce the possibility of a chargeback. (As an added measure of protection - as a proactive maneuver - a merchant may fax a customer an order or invoice form and ask that the form be faxed back so that the customer’s signature may be on file. In another scenario, if the customer has initiated a chargeback for non-delivery of goods, before 30 days has elapsed from the time that the transaction occurred, the merchant can respond that ample time for shipment was not provided - especially if he/she can submit the terms of agreement, indicating the delivery date. If the merchant knows that delivery will be delayed, it is imperative to contact the customer should the customer derive the conclusion that the shipment was never made. Moreover, at least with phone orders, the merchant may even decide to postpone charging the card until the delivery is near completion or completed.
The retrieval request/chargeback battle becomes even more complex if the customer claims that the product or service does not live up to the customer’s expectations. If this has occurred, Joe Q. Merchant needs to submit his refund policy and proof that the customer was made aware of such a policy.
If a product was purchased, the customer must return it before a chargeback can be initiated - at least if the customer used a Visa or Mastercard. It is then up to the merchant how to proceed (i.e., to either grant or deny a refund). Disputes regarding a service fall in a very gray area. While it is mandatory that the customer attempt to work out an agreement with the merchant before attempting to charge back payment, such a conference may result in a stalemate. The almighty refund policy may help the merchant but if there are loopholes, the customer may very well be deemed victorious. And it should be clear that any “tie” goes to the customer; if the merchant cannot provide conclusive evidence that services rendered were thorough and appropriate or if there exists reasonable doubt, Joe Q. Merchant will not only have lost time with the customer but his money. And if the customer asserts that services were not rendered at all, Joe needs to show evidence of his work to the processing bank or a contract that spells out that he intended to provide service on a future specified date. Again, any inconclusivity that Joe fulfilled his obligation or planned to will result in a thinner wallet for Joe.
Although Joe Q. Merchant was quick to dismiss the notion that a point-of-sale processing error transpired, he needs to realize that there exists the possibility for human error on any given transaction. What happens, for example, if a customer has inadvertently been billed twice for a product or service? What happens if a customer cancelled a recurring billing charge but was still assessed a charge? In business, attention to detail is a must. But if Joe or a member of his staff erred, a credit to the customer must be issued posthaste.
Of course, the best way to prevent chargebacks starts with Joe’s actions and not necessarily the customer’s actions. Are safeguards in place to prevent processing errors? For instance, on phone orders, do the merchants’ representatives ensure that every given digit, including the expiration date, is absolutely correct? Are orders confirmed by fax?; Are phone numbers checked with directory enquiries?; Are customers contacted back by phone to confirm the telephone number?
Internet orders need to be evaluated, too. Are fraud-preventative devices, such as the AVS and CVV2/CVC2 code employed? Was the customer’s address verified by calling the card issuing bank’s Voice Authorization Center? (Alternatively, the merchant can automatically decline any transaction where there is an AVS mismatch.) Is the refund policy easily accessible and observable on the website? Does a recognizable Doing Business As (DBA) name with a concomitant phone number appear on the customers’ statements? Are signed delivery receipts obtained?
Logic and intuition are powerful tools in preventing chargebacks, too. If Joe Q. Merchant has an uneasy feeling about a transaction (e.g., the customer is willing to pay additional fees for faster delivery for a high-ticket item, the customer has a domestic billing address but a foreign shipping address, etc), he needs to proceed with caution. High-ticket items are profitable but risky and Joe Q. Merchant must especially perform his due diligence with such transactions.
A yellow light should also appear for any foreign order, particularly those that originate from certain problem countries like Singapore or Indonesia. Indeed, Joe needs to weigh the benefits vs. the potential cost of doing business outside the States.
Although chargebacks can raise their ugly head for any merchant, Joe Q. Merchant realizes that by taking a thorough, hands-on and cautious approach, he can substantially reduce or eliminate their occurrence. As an added measure of protection, Joe will conduct business ethically and responsibly and reach out towards his customers to ensure their satisfaction. He will, for example, describe products and/or services with accurate descriptions, provide a clear and fair return policy and establish dialogue, whenever possible, with the customer - either before, during or after a given transaction.
Advancing technology, to better identify customers (e.g., Verified by Visa or SecureCode provided by Mastercard), will serve to reduce fraud and/or limit chargebacks. But until technology catches up with the oft-unpredictable world of e-commerce chargebacks, Joe Q. Merchant can look towards one reliable stop-gap measure: himself.
William Hamilton owns a payment processing company, IntelliCollect (a subsidiary of United Bank Card), a firm offering cost-effective payment processing solutions. Services are listed at:
www.intelli-collect.com
Posted by Administrator under The Maths Center | Comments Off
June 21, 2008
Zambia is a stunning country, the huge open fields teaming with big cats and one of the smallest population densities in the country. South Africa comes with some of the very best natural terrain in South Africa, the excellent blend of clear fields, forests and marshlands makes the total land come to life. Not only can you be seduced at the countryside, one will furthermore be marvelled at the impressive lakes and springs. A real sanctuary on earth. A Zambian safari in South Africa is available from Kaingo.
In Southern Africa you will be able to explore the very best waterfall of all, the Victoria Falls. This appealing waterfall has been a location for countless lions with many big cats and elephants coming to bathe in the cool waters that run here. Also make sure you yourself see the birds & hippos around the Zambezi River, and remember to hire a tour guide as the river will probably be a little bit rough. one may also wish to book a driving safari in South Luangwa National Park & be upclose with the diverse wildlife. On a walking tour you will see elephants & exceedingly rare wild dogs. If you yourself are lucky enough you shall view a heard of elephants with their young. The facility to be so close with these marvellous animals is amazing.
Places to stay in South Africa should range from 5 star chain hotels right through to outside shelters without any TV. Whichever accommodation type you yourself select you yourself will be sure of an incredible time.
Posted by Administrator under On the Road | Comments Off
June 20, 2008
Whoever said, “You can’t take it with you” was obviously not referring to a sense of humor …
Here is a list of actual epitaphs from departed souls who clearly had more to say than the time to say it, or from their next of kin, who wanted to be sure they literally had the last word:
On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies
Ezekial Aikle
Age 102
The Good Die Young.
In a London, England cemetery:
Ann Mann
Here lies Ann Mann,
Who lived an old maid
But died an old Mann.
Dec. 8, 1767
In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread
And the Lord sent them manna,
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.
Playing with names in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery:
Here lies
Johnny Yeast
Pardon me
For not rising.
Memory of an accident in a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery:
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake.
In a Silver City, Nevada, cemetery:
Here lays Butch,
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger,
But slow on the draw.
A widow wrote this epitaph in a Vermont cemetery:
Sacred to the memory of my husband John Barnes
who died January 3, 1803
His comely young widow, aged 23, has many qualifications of a good
wife, and yearns to be comforted.
A lawyer’s epitaph in England:
Sir John Strange
Here lies an honest lawyer,
And that is Strange.
Someone determined to be anonymous in Stowe, Vermont:
I was somebody.
Who, is no business
Of yours.
Lester Moore was a Wells Fargo station agent for Naco, Arizona in the cowboy days of the 1880’s. He’s buried in the Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona:
Here lies Lester Moore
Four slugs from a .44
No Les No More.
In a Georgia cemetery:
“I told you I was sick!”
John Penny’s epitaph in the Wimborne, England, cemetery:
Reader if cash thou art
In want of any
Dig 4 feet deep
And thou wilt find a Penny.
On Margaret Daniels grave at Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia:
She always said
her feet were killing her
but nobody believed her.
In a cemetery in Hartscombe, England:
On the 22nd of June
- Jonathan Fiddle -
Went out of tune.
Anna Hopewell’s grave in Enosburg Falls, Vermont has an epitaph that sounds like something from a Three Stooges movie:
Here lies the body of our Anna
Done to death by a banana
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low
But the skin of the thing that made her go.
Here’s more fun with names, this time featuring Owen Moore in Battersea, London, England:
Gone away
Owin’ more
Than he could pay.
Someone in Winslow, Maine didn’t like Mr Wood:
In Memory of Beza Wood
Departed this life
Nov. 2, 1837
Aged 45 yrs.
Here lies one Wood
Enclosed in wood
One Wood
Within another.
The outer wood
Is very good:
We cannot praise
The other.
On a grave from the 1880’s in Nantucket, Massachusetts:
Under the sod and under the trees
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there’s only the pod:
Pease shelled out and went to God.
The grave of Ellen Shannon in Girard, Pennsylvania is almost a consumer tip:
Who was fatally burned
March 21, 1870
by the explosion of a lamp
filled with “R.E. Danforth’s
Non-Explosive Burning Fluid”
Here’s Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903–Died 1942
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down.
It was.
In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery:
Here lies an Atheist
All dressed up
And no place to go.
But does he make house calls? Dr Fred Roberts, Brookland, Arkansas:
Office now upstairs
Let’s hope.
J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at Longer Life’s website, which provides information designed to improve the quality of living. He’s at longerlifegroup.com/cyberiter.html
Posted by Administrator under Humor Tips | Comments Off
June 18, 2008
So often sales men and woman are the very people that prevent themselves from obtaining additional sales and increasing their commissions. It doesn’t matter if it’s counter sales or door-to-door.
They get caught up in the newest method or someone’s latest spin on how to get their customers to buy. What most forget is that sales is a process of developing long term customer relationships.
For 36 years I have been selling to the public. I’ve sold just about everything you can sell. In all those years, I’ve learned that selling simply comes down to 8 simple steps, that has always increased my sales and drives customers back for more.
1. I know my products well. You want your knowledge of the product to be almost second nature. You never want to flinch in front of a prospect. Any hesitation could cost you a sale.
2. I always ask questions of my prospects so they can tell me what they want. I want them to open up to me. You really don’t need some planned out sales pitch to get the customer interested. Customers love to talk about themselves. So encourage them to keep on talking. The more they talk about themselves the more you know what it is they are truly looking for. They will begin to think you know more about them than they do.
3. I listen intently. I’m not preoccupied with what I have to say! I have seen to many sales people listen but will not pay attention to what is being said. They were to busy thinking of how to sell their product. If you know your product well, then you will be preoccupied with your prospect.
4. I know I won’t sell to everybody so I don’t sweat it. You will be turned down more times than you can imagine. It’s nothing personal it just goes with the territory.
5. “No” means right now! Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month and not next year. Customers change their minds all the time. That particular person who turned you down last week may have a different consideration next month. So don’t write them off.
6. You have to be persistent. Knowing that “No” is not a permanent decision, is the very reason you stay the course and never quit. I had a client place a large order with me after nearly 9 months of phone calls and canceled appointments. Had I not been persistent my competition would have swooped in and made the sale.
7. I plan my work and work my plan. Get up early and focus on what you need to do today and today only. Do not concern yourself with tomorrow. It will come and bring with it a whole set of situations of it’s own. Then begin implementing your work that you’ve planned for the day.
8. Work smarter, not harder. There are so many ways to do this. Here is just one way I did it. I wanted to drive more people to my website: www.Impactyourarea.com. Instead of contacting people I knew, I decided to put out a press release. It was about something my business did and how it helped others around Christmas time. Within hours of it’s release, my phone started ringing with inquiries and people placing orders. My only effort was writing the press release. The company I submitted it to did the rest.
Remember, even though we live in fast paced times you are still selling to individuals. People still have wants, needs and desires met. In thousands of years it has never changed. The only thing people want from you is for you to listen closely to them. They have a problem and simply want you to solve it for them, but only after you learn what it is. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Copyright 2005 Woody Quiones & www.Impactyourarea.com.
Woody Quiones is the owner of Hardee Lock & Key and http://www.Impactyourarea.com., a promotional products website. He is also a Specialty Advertising Dealer and New Dealer Sponsor with Kaeser & Blair Inc. You can go to his website anytime to view his product line, apply to become a dealer or stop by his forums to gather ideas about promoting your business.
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