An attractive woman has a decided advantage as sales representative over her male counterpart. This “selling edge” is primarily due to the existence of the “glass ceiling” found in most business organizations today. The glass ceiling (women are still arbitrarily held back from leadership positions) means that there are many more men in decision-making positions in businesses than women. Therefore, when cold calling, an attractive woman has a better chance of getting an appointment for a sales presentation, than does a man. Women are also given more attention in their presentations and less resistance up to a point, than a male sales representative or service industry professional (accountants, attorneys, consultants, bankers, etc.). This advantage has everything to do with sex and the physical appeal of a woman. It is clear to me as a sales trainer, coaching sales representatives and service industry professionals in the field, that male decision-makers often use a different part of their anatomy than their head to make their buying decisions.

The female advantage in obtaining sales opportunities is tempered, however, by most sales women experiencing a greater difficulty in closing sales. The male ego gets in the way of the final decision; because many men can’t allow themselves to, as they see it, “lose” to an attractive woman. Therefore, female sales professionals need to execute a selling process that counters this knee jerk reaction experienced by many of the male prospects, customers or clients they try to sell.

A selling system like the one taught in my Sales Success Strategies self-directed learning manual http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/manual1.htm can help any sales woman to flip switches in a decision-maker’s brain and easily move around the roadblock to closing her sale. I have seen research on this subject that says that an attractive women who effectively implements a step-by-step consultative selling system, can achieve a 30 percent higher closing ratio than a male representative using a similar selling process. Sex sells!

To obtain a free Sales Myths e-training course go to:
http://www.mcssl.com/app/contact.asp?id=32989&afid=&formid=&preview=

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge

Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask me how to come up with a first class design for your marketing collateral or publishing mediums, it would be very unfair for me or anyone else to tell you what is a good design and what is a bad design. But there are certain elements and principles that we should look for in a design to determine whether the design and layout of the material will be able to carry the message across effectively to the readers and your potential market. The main aim of every design material related to advertising or promotion is either to sell something, promote something or brand a company.

Keep the design and layout simple and clean
The more cluttered or messy the layout and design is for your marketing collateral, the harder it would be for your customers to find the important stuff. So, don’t overcrowd the design of your marketing materials. First and foremost, it should be kept clean and very simple. Yes, we all want to fit as much information as we can into the design but hey, keep the purpose of the design of the marketing stuff in mind. You want to design a novel or design something that sells.

Design Colors
If you have a set of corporate colors (like the colors that you use on your logo, letterhead, envelopesetc), keep to the same colors in your design. You should present a very simplistic, unique, corporate, professional, consistent image, not a haphazard one. How can anyone rely on you when you have that kind of image, right? It’s best that you not use too many colors for your design. And another important point about designing marketing materials is this; avoid using all the colors of the rainbow in one design! You’re not trying to confuse your customers, you’re trying to make it easy for them to find information, attract them and urge them to buy something from you! I would say using 2 or 3 main colors from your corporate color for the design is good enough.

Fonts
There are tons of free fonts (quite incredibly attractive ones at that) that you can find off the Internet for the design of your marketing stuff - but the sad news is that it’s not always possible to use all of them. Keep to one single font for the content in your design, and if you wish to, you can use a different (a bolder and louder font) for the headings and titles in your design.

Images in your design
Unlike web publishing, using images in the design of your brochures, flyers, menus, company profiles is always a good idea. Enticing your customers with useful pictures or diagrams that illustrates your point or including pictures of your products in the design of your marketing stuff is encouraged. Be careful and weary of using stock photos from the web for your marketing material. One, the resolution of such images (those that you can get off the Internet) is never good enough for printing purposes. Two, you’ll get in trouble with the people who actually owns the rights to those images. So, if possible, if you want to use pictures or illustrative images in your design, it’s best to either get the pictures for the design yourself (with your digital camera) or you should just purchase it.

© 2005, Marsha Maung
Email: marshamaung@yahoo.com
Site: http://www.marshamaung.com

Feel free to reprint or publish this article on your website, ezine, magazine, newsletteretc. Please include the bio, links and credit intact.

Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and copy writer who works from her home in Selangor, Malaysia. She loves nothing more than blowing bubbles in the park with her 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She designs apparel and premium items at http://www.creativejooz.com and is the author of “Raising little magicians”, and the popular “The Lance in freelancing”. More information can be found at http://www.marshamaung.com

Yes, you can call a reporter.

I’ve said it before, in dozens of articles and presentations to financial planners looking for free publicity. Hopefully now you’re getting comfortable with the idea. Go on. Pick up the phone. Reporters and newspeople are human beings like the rest of us.

They can, and do, take phone calls.

Just be ready with a couple of useful story ideas - about your topic and expertise, not about you - and chances are they’ll listen.

A great phone opening to use with busy reporters is to always ask first: “Is this a good time to talk?”

Amazingly, many people think reporters don’t want to hear from them. Wrong! Offer information they need, and they’ll welcome your call. (But not at deadline time, which is usually in the afternoon. Call or email by about 1 p.m.)

A cousin to this myth: many also believe it’s the anchor guy or gal they see on the tube each night that decides what stories appear on the evening news. Wrong again!

That person may be the most visible and highly-paid face at the station, but he or she usually has little or nothing to do with the process of deciding what stories get covered and who gets on the air.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

Motivation is a term that is so widely used, yet many managers know little about how it really works. But it doesn’t have to be confusingin fact, it’s quite simple. Treat your employees as valuable assets and you will reap the rewards. Here are five truths to pay attention to in motivating your workforce.

1. Most managers think money is the top motivatorbut, it’s not.

   Sure compensation is important, but most employees consider it a rightan exchange for the work they do. Rather, they want is to be valued for a job well done by those they hold in high esteem. They want to feel what they do make a difference. Money does not do this; personal recognition does.

2. You get what you reward’ is common sense, but not common practice.

   How many managers consider ‘appreciating others’ to be part of their job responsibility? Not many. They tend to be too busy and too removed from their employees to notice when they have done exceptional workand to thank them for it. Limited appreciation leads to limited motivation.

3. What is most motivating to employees tend to be relatively easy to do and cost the least.

   For example, recognize a high performer in the company newsletter or website. Have her manager’s manager call to thank her for a job well done. Leave a voice mail praising. Distribute a praising e-mail to everyone.

4. What motivates others is often different from what motivates oneself.

   When workers and supervisors were asked to rank a list of motivators from 1 to 10 in order of importance to workers, workers rated ‘appreciation for a job well done” as their top motivator; supervisors ranked it eighth. Employees ranked ‘feeling in on things’ as being #2 in importance; their managers ranked it last at #10. What is one person’s carrot is another’s ‘yucky’ orange vegetable.

5. Managers don’t tend to focus on employee motivation until it’s lost.

   They are often too busy focusing on what’s urgent and forget about regularly motivating and recognizing employees. They forget about it until morale sinks, employees quit and then management must scramble to figure out what’s going on. At this point, responding to poor morale is much more difficult than doing little things along the way to keep it high.

When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work load seems never-ending, leaders tend to forget the “basics”-building commitment and loyalty beyond the paycheck. It’s the small things everyday that can bring down morale and it’s the small things everyday that can raise performance. A holiday party or picnic once or twice a year probably won’t do it. Rather, it’s a leader’s sincere recognition that employees are assets to be valued, not tools to be used up and discarded.

Marcia Zidle, the ‘people smarts’ coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job

No one really knows how many television stations there are in China. Best estimates put the number at 5,000. Yet, just over ten years ago there were no more than 40. The number of newspapers has increased from around 200 to more than 2,500, radio stations have blossomed from a 100 to 1,200 and TV and radio penetration is now over 85 percent.

In just, 10 years, the media in has exploded. But it is still heavily regulated and owned and controlled by the state run Communist Party. Most local media is pro-China in its content and style and is used as a tool for control and influence over the country’s huge population.

There are also limits on foreign journalists - where they can travel and to whom they can speak. Overseas media regularly have their offices screened and their activities are closely monitored.

Taiwan, Tibet and human rights issues are strictly off the editorial agenda.

Despite this, consumerism has well and truly arrived in China. There’s now an increased sophistication in the market - and marketing communications, brand management and reputation building have become big business.

There is no such thing as privately owned media in China - and foreign companies are restricted. Consumerism is driving up advertising revenue. The dominant Chinese television network, CCTV is said to earn a total of 1 billion yuan or A$200 million a year.

So in this environment how can Australian companies effectively get their message across and plan marketing communications strategies in China?

The first thing to understand is how companies will have to work in a very complex and constantly changing regulatory environment.

“China is very conscious of reforming its media and has some relatively progressive thinking internally about where to take it,” said Gary Davey CEO of Star TV in Hong Kong. “But it’s going to take a very long time because they are equally sensitive about the importance of control.”

An older generation of bureaucrats still sees the media, and television in particular, as a propaganda device and any attempt to reform it into a commercially driven business raises great suspicion amongst the Chinese leadership.

In the past the News Corporation owned STAR TV has upset Chinese authorities and Davey is quick to point out the sensitivities of the Chinese marketplace, especially when it comes to cultural differences.

“You might be able to run a successful State-run security operation by trying to force your own cultural values down someone else’s throat, but you certainly can’t run a business doing that.”

STAR TV has had to develop strategies that fit these realities. “We’ve created new companies with Chinese partners to play a part in the evolution of the policy,” Davey said.

The days of handing out long red envelopes filled with cash to journalists at press conferences in China could also well be over. The industry is trying to clean up its act and has recently released a new code of practice for both public relations professionals and journalists.

The local media is still very pro-China in its content and style but the practice of accepting cash and gifts in return for running positive stories is now being phased out.

Tony Turner has worked in corporate communications in China for over 25 years and is the Hong Kong based Chairman of the Rowland Company.

He says in the past there has been a degree of cronyism, corruption and lack of transparency in the media but that is changing as Western-based multinationals entered the market with a new set of communication standards.

“What we’ve got today in Hong Kong is a highly professional, highly inquisitive and free media,” he said.

Turner believes many multinationals don’t want their name tarnished by being caught for paying journalists.

“The opportunity for PR and professional PR is as great as it ever could be,” Turner said.

This view is reflected in Beijing where Gua Hu-ming heads up the China International Public Relations Association. He says PR as a profession, started in China 15 years ago and first appeared in joint venture hotels.

In the past it has been standard practice for reporters to accept cash and gifts in return for running positive stories or even working in conjunction with investors to ramp up the stock market.

But this is changing Mr Gua believes the Chinese media and journalists are becoming more professional.

But what impact is the Internet having on traditional news sources and PR campaigns?

Dr Xueli Huang is an expert on Internet marketing based at Edith Cowan University in Perth.

He says Internet usage is growing in China with 60 million users but news content is still heavily controlled.

Most users are young and cannot afford a computer. Instead they use Internet cafes to send emails and their main news sources are limited to international news sites such as the BBC World Service and CNN.

“I don’t think the Chinese Government will ban all the news sites, but Government will certainly want to control political sites.”

Bandwidth is also a problem in China. Huang believes newspapers, radio and TV will still provide local news because of the time in downloading information from the Internet and the lack of infrastructure.

So if you are doing business in China here are 12 success tips for implementing a successful marketing communications plan:

1. Understand cultural differences. Be sensitive to local communities and understand the complex and varied structures of the Chinese media. They are not uniform and often controlled at a local, provincial and national level. I will never forget the cultural shock of seeing an armed red-guard standing on a pillbox outside a TV studio in Guangzhou asking for my official ID. Improve your cultural literacy by understanding the culture and history of those you’re doing business with. Respect these differences and don’t impose your own values & perceptions on how the local media should treat you.

2. Use a local spokesperson. Depending on the news value of the story, you will have a better chance of gaining media coverage the more Chinese you make your message. Using a local spokesperson will give you greater credibility. For example in PR campaigns for Nokia and IBM in China, they use local Chairmen who are Chinese because they are well respected and have deep Chinese roots.

3. Know your point of difference - what you do in your own backyard you also have to do in new markets. Find out what makes you or your service or product unique in the marketplace? How will it stand out from the competition. In the past cultural differences have been used as an excuse for dubious practices not acceptable back home. This has changed.

4. Clarify your communication objectives? What do you want to achieve? To inform or entertain? To provide information? To build a profile? To influence public opinion? Personal marketing? Marketing or launching a new product or service? How will cultural diversity and differing news values influence this? News values differ in China. Often issues will be reported one or two days later and not with the urgency or timeliness of the Western media.

5. Define your target audience? Who is your target audience? General public? Customers? Competitors? Suppliers? What age are they, what level of education, what beliefs and values, geographical location, how do they use the local Chinese media? How credible is the media your target audience uses? Does it still have credibility even though it is controlled? The media is evolving and becoming more respected.

6. Identify the best channels of communication. What is the best way to reach your target audience? TV, Radio, Internet, newspapers - local or national? Do your homework on how news is structured and gathered. Investigate who is reporting on what. Find out the nuances. TV has the highest penetration, while the Internet is growing amongst younger Chinese.

7. What is your key message? The media is becoming more competitive and market driven. They need readers and viewers to stay viable in the new economy. How can you make your message appealing and newsworthy? Distill what you want to say into three key points. Always check translations of media releases. Have them retranslated back into English to check for accuracy.

8. Build your case? When building your case look for the China angle. What are the features, advantages and benefits of your message for your Chinese targets? What evidence and proof do you have that is seen as credible and independent within their cultural belief system?

9. What is the China hook? What will make your message or news release stand out from the rest and appeal to the values of Chinese journalists. You are not successful in China until the local market tells you. Giving money to Chinese journalists is no longer acceptable. Use more legal and ethical incentives such as providing transport, lunch or a gift or souvenir item.

10. Develop long-term relationships with the media. Visit and meet journalists face to face. Network, get to know them and involve them in the story. There is now a focus on the interactive brand experience. For example in a recent mobile phone campaign local journalists were involved in trailing the product prior to launch. They were asked for their feedback and engaged proactively in its development providing them with ownership of the product and subsequent story. Relationships and personal connections, or guanxi are very important in China and especially so in cultivating good media contacts.

11. If you have to face the media yourself Use the Three Golden Rules to Perform at your Best = Know Your Topic, Be Prepared, Relax.

12. Seek Professional Help. For maximum impact, effectiveness and value seek the advice of a media and communications professional that can help your company see the media as an opportunity not a threat.

Source: “China Media - The Ethics of Influence”, 1999

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.

You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.

The 2004 election is over–at least in the minds of the public–and analysis runs rampant as to why Senator John Kerry lost. From a business viewpoint, one could say that he simply didn’t sell the product. Or more accurately, he didn’t sell the American voters on himself, and by extension the Democratic Party, as the product. We all remember phrases such as “This is the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time” and “I voted for the invasion of Iraq before I voted against it.”

Imagine if Bill Gates took to the airwaves and said, “We’re against business. Our aim is to completely sandbag business [N.B.: some Microsoft foes may quip that he’s succeeded.] But even though we’re anti-business our software can do business better than our competitors’ products. So buy Microsoft even though we’re anti-business.”

Even all of Bill Gates’ millions couldn’t stop stockholders from hauling him before a Wall Street firing squad. Die-hard Windows lovers, like true blue Democrats, would continue to support Gates nonetheless. They might even do it to spite Apple Computer, the way so many Kerry voters chose to support Kerry because he wasn’t Bush. “The Uncola” slogan worked for 7-Up, but that’s the exception. Most successful business enterprises win loyalty by telling customers who they are, rather than who they’re not.

Consider the mundane example of juicers, specifically an online store front called LivingRight.com, one of a family of health appliance and lifestyle product Web sites operated by Arizona-based company Open Chute. There are literally hundreds of juicer Web sites, so what can Open Chute do to convince customers to buy from LivingRight.com? Except for saying, “We will meet or beat any of our competitors’ prices,” LivingRight doesn’t waste much time reminding you of the competition. Consider the statement on their homepage:

“We supply commercial juice extractors and industrial juicers to businesses and also carry the best juicers for at-home juicing junkies. We have gift ideas for the health nut in your life, juicing recipes and tips on juicing for healthy living, as well as a Best Price Guarantee.”

Let’s look at what LivingRight has just told you about itself:

Fact: It cares about your health, and to prove it, there are pictures of spiffy-looking juicers surrounded by fresh fruit. Mm-mm. It even wants your friends and family to be healthy!

Fact: It supplies commercial juicers, and links to those products are right up there on the home page. But those juicers seem affordable for “at-home juicing junkies.” Open Chute knows that if you’re going to invest in a juicer you’re going to get something that lasts. And hey, there’s a Best Price Guarantee!

Fact: It is so sure that LivingRight will make a difference in your life that it offers recipes to go with the juicers, as well as tips on juicing for healthy living.

So in one short paragraph, LivingRight has sold itself as a caring consumer advocate and supplier of these nifty health appliances. After all, everyone wants to be healthy.

Contrast this with Kerry’s message, delivered not in one paragraph but in hours of negative campaigning, debates, and speeches. For those of you who can’t remember what it was, “I’m not Bush” comes pretty close. Although “We have better hair” also surfaced as a slogan. Reality check: People only vote for hair and make-up at the Oscars. Hillary Clinton herself denigrated the media fascination with her hair. Imagine that: Hillary’s a better business leader than John Kerry. After all, she survived Whitewater, didn’t she?

So what could the Democrats have done differently and what can you learn from them? For a start, you can realize and affirm the seven reasons why you are your own best product.

1) You are successful in what you do. LivingRight’s Web site says, “More than 25,000 health appliances shipped!” “Shipped” communicates follow-through, as in a former McDonald’s slogan “Over one billion served.”

While going to war isn’t a popular decision (as even Joan Rivers remarked at the 2002 Oscars, “Every idiot in the world wants peace”), President George W. Bush successfully prevented attacks on American soil by first going after al-Qa’eda, then in toppling Saddam Hussein from power.

2) You believe in your product, and by extension yourself and your vision, so much that you use it yourself. Those cheesy Hair Club For Men ads hit it right on the head, pun intended: “I’m not only the Hair Club president, I’m also a client.” If John Kerry was so against the action in Iraq, why did he initially vote for it?

3) You are so compelling that you surround yourself with people who build up (not necessarily brown-nosers) rather than tear down your image. Bush has benefited from Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Vice-President Dick Cheney, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (another businessman successful at selling himself), Rudy Giuliani, Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller, and especially the legacy of former President Ronald Reagan. Now Bush has truly moved into bold territory by appointing his own father and former President Bill Clinton, one-time political rivals, to head the Asian tsunami relief.

I have to concede partial credit to Kerry and the Democrats for being associated with, or at least profiting from, a successful movie franchise–though let’s not call “Fahrenheit 9/11″ a documentary. Unfortunately, Michael Moore himself has proved to be less than stellar at being his own product. Although as of this writing he won the People’s Choice Award for Best Film of the Year, he’s also developed a reputation for lack of integrity, not to mention bashing the USA that has given him his career. Moore’s whole image as “a man of the people” has been called into question many times. Although the marketing of Michael Moore is an Oscar-worthy production, 51 percent of Americans didn’t find him credible.

Celebrity endorsements are only as good as the celebrities themselves, and many Americans found the Dixie Chicks, Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Jessica Lange, Ed Asner, Janeane Garofalo, Whoopi Goldberg, and many of the supposed elite to be less than convincing, particularly with the way Hollywood keeps selling crudeness, vulgarity, violence and intolerance for any point of view but its own. The multiple military backgrounds, Ph.D.s, and public service records the Bush team collectively holds puts in perspective the glamour of a few Academy Awards and hit TV shows, movies or albums.

4) You are confident enough in yourself not to deride people who opt for an alternate product. The British newspapers derided the majority of Americans who voted for Bush as being “dumb.”

As my voice acting teacher, Samantha Paris, founder of Voicetrax San Francisco/Desert Cities says about casting for radio, narration, animation and TV commercial jobs, “It’s selection, not rejection.”

5) You thrive on competition, not taking it as a personal attack, and you don’t turn the competition into personal attacks. Politics violates this rule too often, and the 2004 campaign was nastier than most.

Contrast that with Coke and Pepsi. The competing celebrity endorsements (Santa and the polar bears on the Coke side, Ray Charles and Faith hill on the Pepsi side) only prolong an ongoing competition that isn’t likely to be resolved any time soon. The Pepsi Challenge shook Coke out of it’s 1980s complacency, and Coke learned from its abysmal New Coke mistake. Although to be fair, Pepsi had its own klunker with Crystal Pepsi, although they rebounded with Pepsi Twist.

These days Coke has brought back Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, and even branched out into Coke with lime. Notice that Coke isn’t telling investors how awful Pepsi is, and vice versa. It’s just good old-fashioned competition in which you, the businessperson, puts your best foot forward.

6) You don’t change who you are. People were never sure of who John Kerry was, whereas George W. Bush’s swagger (”which in Texas is calls walking,” he remarked in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention) doesn’t hide itself. Bush has made no attempt to correct his oft-remarked-on slips of the tongue and even owns up to it (”People sometimes have a tendency to correct my English–I knew that I was in trouble when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it.”) Bush’s folksy ways make a statement that he is comfortable in his own skin. Likewise, Bill Clinton didn’t switch to caviar from McDonald’s (much to his regret later). Costco hasn’t added high-end coffee bars and gourmet food stands, but the lines at the checkout are still as dauntingly long as ever.

7) You focus on who you are for the present and future, rather than who you used to be. Senator Kerry’s rehashing of the Vietnam conflict, and the Swift Boat controversy that cropped up to haunt him, illustrated how drawing on past glories (or controversies) only make people confused about who you are in the present. Imagine if Coke and Pepsi trotted out all their marketing missteps, and imagine if Pepsi tried to resurrect its ad campaign with the embattled Michael Jackson. Dated at best, controversial at worst.

People connect with who you are in the moment and who you will be in the future. When someone buys, say, a juicer, she envisions many mornings of fresh homemade nutritious juice and the well-being that she receives, well-being that she comes to associate with the company or store that makes and/or sells the juicer. A past track record is helpful, particularly in maintaining relationships with customers, but don’t keep rehashing it. “You’ve always been there for me” sets up the expectation that, like State Farm, you will be there in the future. You can enjoy a restaurant twenty times, but have you ever noticed that one bad meal can make you think twice about going there?

A coda to this list: Fortunately, if you’ve made yourself your primary product, even the most critical of diners can forgive a slip-up, because they’ve already invested in you. So make sure you are an investment they’ll want to hang on to, and in the Democratic Party’s case, a future they believe in.

Kristin Johnson is co-author of the “highly recommended” Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadable media kit is available at our Web site, http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com

The advantages of using direct mail to promote your home-based or small

George was a highly specialized Internet Marketing Computer Geek.
Every small to large size company who understood the importance of e-commerce was looking for someone with his skills. However, when their HR Department called the Temporary Staffing Agency that he worked for the Employers would request a Computer Programming person with “All” the necessary experience in Computer Programming Languages.

The staffing agency lived by the motto that the customer is always right and surely these companies knew what kind of temporary contract worker they needed!

Wrong. It took them a couple months to realize that a Computer Programmer and an Internet Marketing person were two different animals. They did not understand that the Search Engine ‘Gods’ deal in “formulas” They didn’t quite understand that no matter how many computer programming languages you could write that did not mean you understood how to increase the number of web site visitors to 25,000 in one week and to 50,000 the next week.

George knew he had to do something, he had learned that the way to riches was to find a need and fill it. And there clearly was a need for a Staffing Agency who could provide skilled and professional Internet Marketing persons to the Corporate World
at a reasonable hourly rate.

George did his homework; there was room at the top of the Temporary Staffing Industry for him. Yes, a lot of the larger companies were hiring PR firms to do their Internet Marketing, but the PR Firms needed to hire a new type of marketing person. These new type of marketing persons had to be computer gurus. It did not much matter that they had never written a press release a day in their life, it only mattered that they understood Google ranking algorithm and Froogle’s (Google’s cousin) way of life.

George had every thing in place; he had collected dozens of his computer geek friends who wanted to work independent contract jobs once or twice a week. He trained them in the ways of the search engine spiders, SEO, link popularity and other necessary task. There was just one problem, and that’s how I meet George.

George’s small staffing business begin to grow faster then his Accounts Receivables.

George did not have the cash flow to pay his contract workers until the corporations paid him. Even after he invoiced his corporate client’s it would take 30 or more days to receive a check. Since there were about 20 close friends working with George, there had been no real problem. But now, there were dozens more clients’ who needed his services and he had no choice but to hire “real” employees.

George contacted me through the Taxes Will Travel web site. He explained what his problem was. I asked who his clients were and how much would he be billing his clients each
week? He was hesitant because he was new in business and had no credit references, except his student loan. I explained that his credit was not an issue, that the Financing
Company would be more interested in who his client’s were. (His client list read like a Whose Who in the Corporate World) When I explained there would be “no problem” I could tell he did not believe me. He was polite and ask how anyone could get a Line of Credit for $100,000 without a credit check or Financial statements. I explain to him that his “Customer’s” credit was the important factor and as long as he had an Invoice, I could find a Lender that would wire the monies into his account within 48 hours. He said “OK”, but I could tell he was not sure about me or what I had said to him.

I told him that I would have one of the Vice-president’s of one of the major companies that provide Invoice, Lines of Credit to Staffing Agencies contract him later that afternoon.

As I hung up the phone, I was hoping my contract would be available to talk to George as soon as possible. George needed to hear someone from the “top” say that there should be ‘no problem.’ I knew I had to move fast. As usual Mr. X was available to talk to my client that afternoon. George was instructed to fax information to the company that I had selected for him based upon his needs, and was able to Factor over $70,000 in Invoices that same week.

The Financial company wired the monies into his account and he was only a day late with his payroll — Of course we blamed it on the mail!

George’s need to hire Employee’s to handle the increasing number of contracts that his small staffing agency was getting was the reason for his need to do what we call “Factoring” or Accounts Receivable Financing, or Invoice, Line of Credit.

The Pilgrim’s journeys to America were financed by advances from a Factor who provided the funds to pay for the journey. The Pilgrims repaid the money with earnings from America. Factoring to this day is an extremely common business practice in Europe whereas many American business men have never heard of it.

Factoring is the selling of your accounts receivable for cash versus waiting 30-60 or 90 days to be paid by your customer. When you provide a Factoring company with copies of your invoices, the Factoring Company uses your invoices to make a loan to your company. It is a simple process and can be automated after the first transaction.

This article was written by C. Ingraham, Tax Specialist and Founder of http://www.taxeswilltravel.com an Online Tax Resolution Service that provides Clients with Cash Flow Solutions.

The principles of Negotiation can work for you in any situation, but often people ask me, “Well, its often a fact that conflict happens unexpectedly. What if I don’t have time to prepare? Can negotiation skills be used on the spur of the moment?” The answer is YES. The principles of Street Negotiation were created and battle-tested on the streets and it’s power lies in its ability to be used to resolve any conflict anytime. Conflict can be resolved in six easy to learn steps, acronymed as BEDROL(TM). That is: Back-up plan, Emotional control, Defusing their anger, Reframing, Options, and Letting them choose their fate.

Step 1–Back Up Plan.

Having a back-up plan before you step into a conflict is absolutely crucial. Police officers sometimes are so accustom to having people do as they say, they become complacent and fail to have a plan B ready in case the person doesn’t want to comply. An unfortuanate number of police officers have been killed in the line of duty because they didn’t know what to do once the subject refused to comply with their demands. Their lack of a back-up plan made them freeze up, giving the suspect enough time to overpower them. By having a plan B in your pocket prior to dealing with any conflict, you can remain confident that you can still move forward even if your negotiation fails. Remember that your plan B is your best solution that you can come up with on your own without having to talk with your counterpart. For the hostage negotiator, this could mean using the tactical team to take control by force. For two angry neighbors, this could mean going to court. Your plan B gives you the confidence to deal with your counterpart and the ability to move forward, whether you reach an agreement with them or not.

Step 2–Emotional Control

Your anger is the biggest challege towards resolving the conflict peacefully. You need to control your anger by separating the person from the problem. Have pity on the person for attacking you because their real anger lies in the problem, not with you. View the situation rationally without allowing anger into the equation. You always have to remember that if you react with angerthen you’ve lost the battle.

Step 3–Defusing their anger

The other obstacle to overcome is your counterpart’s anger and frustration. These emotions are blinding them from seeing things rationally. Their primary focus is that they were wronged and now they want retributionoften from you. Think of their emotions like a pressure cooker on a stovetop. There are two ways of releasing the pressure: (1) you can pop the lid and the have the contents explode out of the pot from the sudden change in pressure, or (2) you can engage the pressure-release valve and slowly let that steam pressure out of the cooker which will enable you to open the lid without injury. The same is true for an angry person. You want to hit their pressure release switch by using active listening skills. Listen and acknowledge this concerns. Engage them in empathetic responses by trying to walk around in their shoes. Paraphrase back to them what they told you in your own words. You will see a dramatic difference in their level of hostility as they get to vent their anger.

Step 4–Reframing

Now comes the time when you must reframe their position into interests. Do this by first reframing them from an enemy into a partner. Then reframe all their personal attacks on you back on the problem. Then finally, uncover their interests behind their demands with nonconfrontational questions.

Step 5–Options

Discuss options with them and get them involved in the process of thinking about possibilities for a solution. You might have to present some various options that they have available to them. Strive for a cooperative effort to find mutually-satisfying options that will benefit both parties.

Step 6–Letting them choose their fate

Empower your counterpart with the choice to make their own fate. Don’t back them into a corner by telling them what to do. Human beings need control over their own life, otherwise they feel threatened. Let them pick the option that you both have discussed. If they still fail to comply at this point then ask them what the possible consequences are if no agreement can be made. As a last resort, use your back-up plan as an alternative to the negotiation.

Tristan Loo is an experienced negotiator and an expert in conflict resolution. He uses his law enforcement experience to train others in the prinicples of defusing conflict and reaching agreements. Visit his website at http://www.streetnegotiation.com

It used to be that people said that there was 6 degrees of separation between everyone. Many people know that Kevin Bacon game that people play to prove it. They name a film that such and such played on with Kevin, who worked with your cousins, friends’ uncles’ gardener, and BOOM.. there you have it! Someone who you know who knows someone who knows Kevin Bacon! There is also the Hollywood version that makes a point to prove that everyone in Hollywood is connect to Kevin Bacon through any amount of projects that they’d worked on. You get the point!

I’m finding more and more that networking is one of the greatest business skills of all time. It can move mountains and create opportunities that didn’t exist whatsoever until you met that special person. And now with the power of the internet, the world has shrunk so that everyone is the neighbor of one another. You can literally network on the computer with people to be in touch with the PERSON who you need to meet. It’s mind boggling!

We’re beating at the door of the good ol’ boys’ club and it feels GREAT!

But how do you break in? How do you get it started? Well, one way I’ve found is to actually HIRE a Professional Networker?

What is that you ask, and how is that different from a publicist or a marketing person? In my mind, Public Relations is how to position yourself or a company in the media or to the public. These people can be excellent sources for you. They’re going to do articles highlighting you or send press releases about you or make calls for you.

The marketing people will do similar work but they’ll do more repeated calling and branding of you or the company.

The Professional Networker? They position themselves anywhere and let people know how great you are. If and when they meet someone that fits the perfect client profile, they’ll introduce you as a friend to friend contact. It’s a lot less intimidating and a lot more informal. You have to select someone who is a natural networker. Pick a person who is friends with the rich, famous and the powerful. It doesn’t have to be the rich and powerful, just someone who isn’t afraid to meet them!

I’m one of those self made people I guess. I didn’t have any connections that got me launched doing anything that I’ve done, but I was blessed with a good education, supportive parents and a mom who pushed me out the door when I graduated, but besides that, I’ve been the one who has created and maintained my contacts throughout the years.

Just on one trip alone, the people I’ve met can help me or my clients a tremendous amount! I met the president of the cell phone company that I need to get a new contract and phone from. I met the president of the textile firm who might invest in another of my friend’s business who is raising money for his business. I put the textile president in touch with my friend Josh, the Broadway producer, who asked if he’d be interested in investing in a Broadway play.

Back at home, I am actually paid as a professional networker. I hook people up for other people when they are trying to find people to sell to or to recruit. I’m also being considered to be hired for this position by a recruiting firm.

The techniques I use are exactly the same as when I was a lecture agent years ago. My job was to put two people or two companies together. The object is to find out who needs what and who they need or want to meet. As I get to know the companies and their needs, I automatically can draw from a mental list of people who would fit into the role that they are seeking. I’m not a full time recruiter, but I do possess the same skills and have been paid when I’ve made some decent hook ups.

I happen to know a lot of people. I know people in nearly every job profession across the board. I know or have met people all across the country and most of the people are always willing to meet someone new.

The skills are teachable, learnable and definitely usable! It takes a lot of energy and follow-up but it’s worth it in the long run. Here are some of the valuable hook ups I’ve made; some have brought me finders fees, some not but here they are:

I’ve gotten up and coming stars an agent. One turned into a regular gig on the Rosanne Barr show after I got him an agent. Others have made money for years from their public lectures.

I’ve gotten many people on radio and TV because I introduced them to the hosts or the producers or the publicists

I’ve helped financial companies recruit sales people

I’ve helped financial professionals meet new clients

I’ve introduced men to women and women to men. (There’s at least 1 marriage but many great relationships were established!)

I’ve introduced two TV news anchors in the same city who are on competing stations and I’ve never even been to their city!

I’ve helped friends and clients get tickets to great events, meet top notch lawyers, meet business partners, helped get items for silent auctions, and helped moms find good babysitters.

Networking is the answer to your problem. If you need to meet more people, hire more people, recruit more people or sell to more people, you can either become an expert networker or hire someone who is. Why cold call when you can be walked in the back door? Working smart can save you time, and it can make you money.

Its time you start doing what the stars have known all along. It’s not who you know, but who you can GET to know that matters. Then its all up to you!

Mary Gardner, The Charisma Coach! is an Executive Communications Consultant and Trainer. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She owned and operated one of the first coaching institutions on the east coast, CCI, in NYC, Philly and NJ. Mary has appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and has self published a book on public speaking. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5, and lives in Orlando, FL.

Information: mary@marygardner.com or Web: www.marygardner.com