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Low Fat Cooking

January 31st, 2009 by Admin

The obvious advice when seeking to eat healthier is to reduce the weekly or monthly occurrences of dining out, but it’s good advice to take things when step further: when planning meals for home, plan on low fat cooking. Many of the recipes from grandma’s cookbook undoubtedly taste great – that’s why they’ve survived the generations – but they’re throwbacks from the time when no one gave any consideration to the nutritional value of meals. In these health-conscious times cooking still needs to taste good, but it needs to be healthy as well, and low fat cooking is a way of achieving this status.

One of the main concerns in healthy eating is reducing the consumption of saturated fats and trans fatty acids, both of which have been shown to make significant contributions to the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Low fat cooking seeks to eliminate, or at least reduce, the amount of these fats in the food we eat, and it begins with preparation. Butter and cooking oils such as canola and olive (which do contain heart-healthy fats but must still be used in moderation) are the standard for cooking, but can be easily replaced by nonstick cooking sprays that serve the same purpose yet significantly reduce the fat content of cooked foods. Low fat cooking also pays close attention to cooking styles; frying food may make it taste good, but it’s a much less healthy option than baking, broiling, steaming, or poaching, all of which remove the need for added fats.

Low fat cooking also makes use of the leaner cuts of meat: with poultry, skinless white chicken or turkey breast; for beef, round, sirloin, or tenderloin cuts; for pork, tenderloin cuts as well. In order to retain the same juicy, flavorful taste, simply wait until after cooking to trim off any excess fat. This aspect of low fat cooking will enable meals to have the same tasty appeal while having a much healthier nutritional content.


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Making Hand Made Walking Sticks

January 30th, 2009 by Admin

Walking sticks are useful walking aids before walking aid innovations are introduced. Even now, walking sticks are still very much handy for disabled and elderly individuals.

Historically, hill men would never leave their houses without a stick to carry. Because of the rugged environment, the stick acted both as aid and companion. When sheep were already being herded, the stick became a necessary and ready tool for catching and controlling the animals. This was when the plain sticks came to be called as “Shepherd’s Crook”, a working tool and a walking aid for the hill men.

To be sturdy and durable, the shepherds themselves form their crooks from sheep’s horn. In order to produce the sheep’s horn crook, they are exposed to the heat from the peat fire so that their shape would bend and then, carve them with knife. Most fine selections of these hand-made horn handled crooks and walking sticks can be found in Scotland. There are crook makers that specialize on handcrafting these sturdy, elegant and durable walking sticks.

The hand-made walking sticks can be made from a variety of raw materials like Ram’s horn, Hazel shanks and buffalo horn. Ram’s horn is a traditional material used by crook makers, although, as of now, it is becoming increasingly scarce in a quality suitable for crook making. This may be due to the changes in farming practice. Hazel shanks are gathered over the winter in woods, burnsides and lakeshores. Then, they are stored to dry, for use on the following year. Buffalo horns are now becoming favored material by the crook makers. Asian water Buffalo horns produces interesting colors and textures and become striking crafts when finished.

The process of making a hand-made walking stick, with the crooked handle takes 4 steps to finish. First, is shaping the handle. This step involves cutting the material to a rough shape, exposing it to heat and rasping it into shape. Next is preparing the shank – the main body of the stick. After collecting hazel shanks over the winter, they are stored in the rafters to dry. A suitable shank is selected from among the dried ones and it is straightened using heat and pressure. Third step is joining together the handle and shank. This is done securely by a steel rod glued into the hazel shank and the crooked handle. Then, the handle is rasped down to fit the shank and the final shaping is done. The final step involves shaping the stick by applying various grades of files and abrasives on the handle. Indeed, this process is time consuming but this is also vital since it ensures the production of a high quality stick. After the files, polish is applied and then – enjoy the fine stick produced!

These walking sticks are really high quality because of the personal handcrafting care applied to it. Though it takes time to produce, knowing that it’s sturdy and durable enough to last for years to come is well worth the effort! -30-

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.walkingaidsplus.com/


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Handbags as a Symbol of Female Power

January 30th, 2009 by Admin

Have you ever thought of a handbag as a symbol of female power and authority? Of course everyone is different so a purse for one person may mean something totally different and unique for another but let’s look at handbags from a different perspective.

The press of England has spent time and effort speculating and commenting on ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s handbag. To quote “The Times” in June, 1982 written by Julian Critchley, “She…tends to believe the worst of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She cannot see an institution without hitting it with her handbag…”

It’s obvious that the press equates Margaret Thatcher’s handbag with her assertion of power and the ability to impose her will. If you look closely, you will notice that her handbags closely resemble the Queen Mother’s handbags. Is is because both of these powerful women choose the same type of bag or is Ex-Prime Minister Thatcher deliberately mimicking this female symbol of ultimate authority in her country?

Negotiations are underway for the famous handbag to be placed in a museum that houses Winston Churchill’s papers and historical documents from the War. There is no indication that Mr. Churchill’s wallet is stored in this prestigious collection but, then again, Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to impose her powerful presense (and pocketbook!) on 10 Downing Street!

About the Author

I run an online handbag resource site located at:
http://henriettashandbags.com


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Radware Expands Intrusion Prevention Capabilities in New DefensePro Version to Safeguard Against SSL

January 25th, 2009 by Admin

Version 2.4 Provides Unprecedented Protection Against SSL Attacks While Dynamically Managing Bandwidth to Block Threats to the Network

Radware (NASDAQ; RDWR) the leading provider of Intelligent Application Switching solutions ensuring the end-to-end availability, performance and security of networked applications today announced the expansion of its DefensePro product line. With the unveiling of DefensePro version 2.4, Radware now protects against SSL-based attacks, ensuring that hackers – many of whom have learned to exploit SSL tunnels to evade network intrusion prevention measures – can no longer exploit this unprotected pathway to launch DoS/DDoS attacks.

Intercepting over 1,500 malicious signatures, hidden worms and viruses, DefensePro 2.4 blocks application attacks at an unmatched speed of 3-Gigabits/Sec. Leveraging years of experience with SSL acceleration and SSL sniffing, Radware integrated its SSL sniffing capabilities with DefensePro, scanning encrypted traffic and blocking attacks. Handling up to 15,000 SSL transactions per second, the Radware solution offers remarkable scalability of SSL protection for seamless service volume growth.

“SSL Encryption is an important security tool, but it can also be used as an evasion technique. Attacks hidden within an SSL tunnel can evade even the strictest intrusion prevention policies and technologies,” said Charles Kolodgy, research director of Security Products at IDC. “As a result, enterprises and carriers must protect applications with pro-active security systems that can discover and prevent SSL attacks by being able to peer into the encrypted traffic.”

DefensePro isolates attacks by dynamically managing bandwidth to stop propagation across users and resources while ensuring the complete continuity and performance of all secure traffic to proactively control impact and limit damage.

DefensePro’s port density enables high capacity scanning across multiple network segments for increased protection against attacks originating from both inside and outside the network. By integrating Denial of Service protection with its IPS capabilities, DefensePro delivers the security and performance that high capacity environments require.

“Increasing sophistication among hackers has created an environment where many organizations are hard-pressed to stay one step ahead of they latest worm, exploit or BotNet,” said Assaf Ronen, VP R&D, Radware. “Our mission has always been to ensure the security, performance and reliability of networked applications and we realize that point IPS solutions aren’t enough. Now, with SSL protection in DefensePro 2.4, organizations worldwide can stem the tide of ever evolving information security threats.”

Unparalleled protection against SSL-based attacks with the ability to inspect SSL-encrypted sessions

Intuitive “first time” wizard for quick and simple installation, with simple customization for different environments

Enhanced management capabilities and comprehensive statistics reporting

Geographical display of threat, with respect to the country of origin

User defined reports that allow maximum flexibility in setting any type of report

Customer based reports (for MSSP services)

Enhanced bandwidth management features

New drill down capabilities

Availability and Pricing DefensePro 2.4 is available immediately for customers. Standard pricing begins at $25,000 U.S. For more information on DefensePro, please click: http://www.radware.com/content/products/dp/default.asp

Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR) is the Global Leader in Intelligent Application Switching, enabling the full availability, maximum performance and complete security of all mission critical networked applications while dramatically cutting operating and scaling costs.

Radware’s integrated Application Security , Application Infrastructure and End-to-End Connectivity solutions are deployed by over 2,500 enterprises and carriers worldwide. Radware offers the broadest product line in the industry meeting application needs at every critical point across the network including Web and Application Servers, Firewalls, VPNs, ISP links, Anti-Virus Gateways and Cache.


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Health Giving Nutrition

January 23rd, 2009 by Admin

Today, we are living in a world of instant gratification. At every turn, ready made foods are packaged attractively, promoted attractively and priced attractively. One cannot but be swayed by the colours, smells and tastes out there.

We, however need to eat a balanced diet to maintain our mental and physical health. We all know that all the necessary nutrients are available in natural foods. But, the question is, how many of us are following the precepts of nature; do we eat all the recommended portions of fruits and vegetables? Most of us do not. Put it down to the acquired preferences as well as our innate rebellious nature that, makes us do the exact opposite of what our parents tell us!

On the one hand we do not maintain a proper food habit and, on the other hand we poison ourselves with the muck on the store shelves. One consequence is the ugly obeseness that we see all around. Nutritional shortfalls exist for many nutrients in our normal diet. Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-6, Folic acid, Zinc, Copper, Calcium, Iron, and magnesium are all lacking in the normal diet.

It is also a fact that conventional agricultural practices as well as the cold storage chain to which harvested produce is subjected depletes a lot of the nutrients from even natural foods. One way to overcome this deleterious effect will be to eat only organically grown produce. This however may not always be affordable as it costs considerably more than conventional produce.

One way then is to get nutritional supplements. These are available in a wide range of combinations and along with the conventional vitamins and minerals also include the rare salts and elements necessary to maintain a healthy body. Neutraceuticals is today a multi billion dollar industry and these products are affordable and tailored to suit the individual requirements.

It is thus essential to learn about proper nutrition and what your body needs in order to stay healthy. A lot of the chronic diseases of today are caused by nutritional deficiencies and, as such, can be prevented by seeing that you provide your body with the building blocks of good health that it needs. Our body’s ability to renew itself and protect itself is amazing provided that it is given all of the essential nutrients.

Paramesh

Exciting Lessons, Free Mentoring and more at http://www.InternetProfitMentor.com 12+ Hours of Video coaching and invaluable tips


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DS3 Service in the Los Angeles Market

January 22nd, 2009 by Admin

Searching for a DS3 in Los Angeles? Bandwidth has never been cheaper and Los Angeles is no exception to this. Many telecom companies built out their infrastructure in Metro cities and with the crash that has taken place since 1999 many of these companies have seen the usage of their pipes decrease significantly. The infrastructure that was laid is a fixed cost that companies are eager to recover. The result of the reduced number of businesses in the market seeking service and the drop in pricing has created a buyers market.

In a buyers market remember that you can push and probably get concessions from the carrier but also remember that all carriers are not created equally. Many carriers may appear to offer a bargain price but you may be several hops from the internet and have a problem with latency. You may also be using a small carrier that hasn’t actually checked the capacity of the CO before you sign your contract and can’t even deliver the service they promised. The only way you’ll discover this is when you start using your connection and find that at peak traffic times your connection is bogged down at a level below that which was guaranteed.

I suggest when dealing with a larger pipe you consider the larger Tier1 providers. You can still get a great price even though it’s not as low as some of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies. You’ll also have the peace of mind knowing that you have an SLA and the company will deliver what you believe you will get. If you’re in the market of a DS3, communications are vital to your company. Make sure you get both a reliable product and the price you’re looking for. If you need help finding such a service, consider speaking with broker who is knowledgable of the providers available in your area.

About the Author

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications http://ld.net/mscprez and http://DS3-Bandwidth.com …….delivering choices to both residential and business consumers for voice and data broadband services. Michael also authors BroadBand Nation http://BroadBand-Nation.blogspot.com where you’re always welcome to to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, and ramblings for the masses.


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Laser Eye Surgery: To Opt or Not to Opt…

January 21st, 2009 by Admin

Copyright 2005 Octocat Ltd

If you’re suffering from diminished eyesight in any capacity, there’s a whole parcel of feelings that go along with the possibilities of eventual loss of sight versus the risks of undergoing the treatments that are necessary to correct the problem.

When considering the delicate nature of the eye, many people make the decision to put off corrective treatment until the situation becomes dire – or is no longer able to be treated effectively.

Laser eye surgery – now quite common as a form of treatment for eye disorders – is one of the first options that many folks look toward when they’ve made the decision to pursue treatment and reclaim their ability to see clearly.

Weigh your options

While there are pros and cons involved in such a treatment plan, it’s worthy of a thorough investigation before making such a weighty decision. There are a number of things that should be looked into, and you should feel comfortable with the information that you uncover before attempting to take such a leap.

Here then, are a few safety and risk factors that are involved in laser eye surgery that you may find helpful in your quest for information.

Which type of treatment is right for you?

There are two main types of laser eye surgery procedures that are currently available: Lasik and CustomCornea.

The difference between the two is that CustomCornea utilizes newer technologies to accomplish what Lasik surgery can provide and, in either case, there are safety risks that may be involved. These may include serious complications which may result in decreased or lost vision, and there are those who would not be considered as candidates for such a treatment.

Included among those are:

individuals who are pregnant or nursing

under the age of 21

suffering from Herpes Simplex

currently taking medication that may interfere with the body’s ability to heal

suffering from severe allergies or diseases

or have a corneal infection or scarring.

Also listed among those who are not considered for laser eye surgery are those who have had previous eye surgery, those who have inflammation of the eye or eyelids accompanied by crusting of the eyelashes, suffer from unstable refractive problems, currently take medication that causes them to suffer ocular side effects, those with Keratonconus, glaucoma or high blood pressure in the eye region, corneal injury, and those who are taking sumatriptan for migraine relief.

Some of the risks

Among the more specific risks that are associated with laser eye surgery are:

lost vision

reduced low-light vision

under-treatment

over-treatment

increased need for reading glasses and severe dry-eye syndrome.

It’s best to discuss these risks with your physician before committing yourself to having this procedure performed, since there will be no way to reclaim diminished or lost sight when it comes about as the result of laser eye surgery.

One other consideration that you’ll have to pay careful attention to is the reputation and success rate of the doctor who will be performing the surgery. He or she should be licensed in the area of laser eye surgery and care, and be able to offer an impressive success rate.

If possible, check with other people who may have undergone this procedure with that particular doctor before making that final decision, in order to get their impression of both the treatment and the doctor, as well as an accounting of their experiences after opting to have laser eye surgery.


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Paying Too Many Debts?

January 20th, 2009 by Admin

One of the smartest ways of dealing with too many monthly bills is to obtain a consolidation loan. How can a consolidation loan help a bill-stricken person?

Throughout a person’s life, he or she will always procure debts and expenses that are not easily paid off. These expenses may include the automobile loan for the second hand car, the medical expenses when one of the family members was hospitalized, the credit cards, and even the student loans. When all these have bills and statements arriving every month, the beleaguered consumer may not be in a calm state of mind to deal with other aspects of his life, such as work, friends, and family.

How to solve the problem?

To address such a situation, a person must consider a debt consolidation or a consolidation loan. As the term implies, a consolidation loan, “consolidates” or puts together a person’s monthly financial obligations, which include credit cards, auto loans, student loans, medical expenses, and all other outstanding debts from various companies. But even when these debts are put together, the interest fees of the consolidation loan is considerably lesser than the total finance charges demanded by various creditors and, as a result, a person need only meet one loan payment every month.

Thus, debt consolidation or taking a consolidation loan is a smart step for people who face numerous financial obligations every month and, ultimately, the consolidation loan can help a person pay off his bills and reduce his debts to a point where these are manageable and easily payable.

Is debt consolidation for everyone?

Debt consolidation can certainly help a person reduce or remove all his debts. However, there is one thing needed by a person so that his debt consolidation or consolidation loan obtains his intended results. This one thing is called discipline. Such a trait is needed so that the process of debt consolidation will work as it should be? Why? Because, once a person has taken a consolidation loan, he must not procure any more debts.

At one glance, avoiding additional debts sounds easy, but there is a great temptation to use the credit cards again and again, simply because the person is lured into thinking that he has no more debts to pay, with only one loan payment to be made monthly. With a consolidation loan, a person must keep in mind that he simply transferred all his loans into one creditor only, thereby reducing the finance charges. But the best way to reduce the debts is to pay off the consolidated loan and, in the meantime, avoid taking on more debts.

Where can a person obtain a consolidation loan?

A person may obtain debt consolidation or a consolidation loan from several sources. These can be the nearby banks, the locality’s credit unions, the various finance companies, and other lenders. A person can certainly searched for such sources by using the Internet.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author’s biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of UK Bad Credit Loans4u who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.uk-bad-credit-loans4u.com website.


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Follow-Up Marketing: How to Win More Sales with Less Effort

January 19th, 2009 by Admin

A study done by the Association of Sales Executives revealed that 81% of all sales happens on or after the fifth contact. If you’re a small business owner and you’re only doing one or two follow-ups imagine all the business you’re losing.

Not following up with your prospects and customers is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain!

But don’t be disheartened if you’re among the 90% of business owners I talk to that don’t do any follow up. The good news is you have ample room for profitable improvement.

Consistent follow-up creates a predictable and profitable stream of prospects and customers that buy. Small businesses that capture leads and follow-up with them enjoy higher conversion rates and a higher percentage of referrals than those that don’t.

After asking many small business owners the reason they don’t follow up I often hear responses such as, “I don’t have the sales staff to chase down all our leads”, or “We’re usually too busy to do a lot of follow up.” These responses automatically set off red flags that tell me that they lack a systematic process for following up.

The problem is not that they don’t have the capacity to follow up with prospects, it’s that they don’t have the systems in place to do it.
______________________________________________

What Does a Good Follow Up System Look Like?
______________________________________________

A good follow up marketing system should have three attributes.

It should be systematic, meaning that the follow up process is done the same way every time.

It should generate consistent, predictable results.

It should require minimal physical interaction to make it run, meaning it should be able to run on autopilot.

Sounds like a dream come true for most small business owners doesn’t it? Not only can it be done, it’s being done every day. The secret to “follow-up marketing” is to make it automatic so that you don’t have to lift a finger but the job still gets done.

With today’s technology it’s simpler than ever. Automating your follow-up processes gives you more time to work “on” your business rather than “in” your business.

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Three Types of Follow Ups
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There are three types of people you should be following up with, suspects (people in your target marketplace), prospects (people who have responded to your marketing but have not purchased, and customers (people who have purchased something from you.)

Each follow up message and offer will be different for each type of person. With suspects, you’ll want to entice them to call you or visit your store / office.

With prospects, you need to persuade them to make their first purchase. And with customers, you want to convince them to come back and do more business with you and give your referrals.

Obviously the hardest type of person to follow up with is a suspect because they haven’t shown any interest yet in a pool or hot tub and you usually don’t have their contact information.

But that’s not true with prospects and customers. You not only know who they are, but you should already have their contact information.

And if you follow up with your customers with consistency you’ll find that they will help you turn your suspects into prospects and prospects into customers for you through referrals.

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Your Follow Up Marketing Tools
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Your principal follow up marketing tools are the telephone, direct mail, and email. Many pool and hot tub business owners make the mistake of jumping right on the telephone to follow up; however, most prospects don’t want a pushy sales message right away and most prospects have been trained to consider anyone who calls up to be a pushy salesperson.

Instead, you should try to develop a relationship of trust with your prospect by quickly sending informational items such as special reports, audio CDs, or videos before you make a phone call.

Remember to always include a “next-step-offer” to accompany your educational materials. If the next step is to visit the store, then entice them with an appropriate offer or if the next step is to call you, entice your prospect to call you immediately.

People move through the buying process in baby steps, especially when considering buying high-ticket items such as hot tubs or pools. Your offer should always help them take the next step.

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Your Follow Up Sequence
____________________________

The power of your follow up will lie in your follow up sequence. Your follow up sequence is a series of communications with your prospect that are “linked” together, with each communication building on the previous message.

For instance, you might start your second letter by saying, “10 days ago I sent you a letter…” You might also consider stamping the message, “2nd Notice” on the envelope to let people know this is the second time you’ve contacted them.

Referencing the previous communication links what you’re saying with what you’ve already said and reminds your prospect that you care enough to continue the conversation.

Usually, when doing direct mail you should include three to five mailings spaced out about seven days apart. When using a sequential autoresponder you can have as many follow ups as you want because using email is basically free (that’s why you always want to get a prospects email address).

One of my clients has over 20 follow-ups in his autoresponder sequence that go out over a six month period.

Each sequence should follow a logical argument and you might consider bolstering the offer with each communication using a deadline as a motivator to act now.

As an example, in the third communication you could say, “I’m surprised you haven’t taken me up on my generous offer. What’s holding you back?” Or consider saying, “I’ve written you three times and you still haven’t taken me up on my offer so I’m going to pull out all the stops and make you an offer you simply can’t refuse.”

Notice how the language always links the previous communication and increases the boldness of the offer. It’s the same type of conversation you might have in a regular sales conversation.

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How to Put Your Follow Up Marketing System on Autopilot
_______________________________________________________

What I’m about to reveal to you is the key to developing a powerful follow up marketing system because it overcomes the number one reason most businesses don’t follow up.

You must automate your follow up system as much as possible so that there are few, if any, physical interactions from your employees with the system. It’s the required physical interactions (i.e. printing letters, sending emails, inputting leads etc.) where 99% of all the breakdowns happen in well-intentioned follow up marketing systems.

To automate your follow-ups you should consider using robotic marketing systems and outsourcing any manual interactions to a dedicated service.

For instance, to capture your leads you should consider using a toll-free automated recorded message system that captures your prospects contact information and automatically transcribes it and sends your leads to you in a spreadsheet every morning via email.

If you’re using a direct mail follow up system (and you should be), find a fulfillment house to do the mailings for you. To find a fulfillment house, simply go to your local printer and ask them to refer you to a fulfillment house in the area.

Now step back for a moment and see the power of what I’ve just revealed to you. Imagine running an ad, having your prospect call up and give their contact information via your recorded message system.

Then having your leads automatically sent to your fulfillment house via email, after which your prospect receives a five-sequence direct mail package containing your most persuasive marketing message — without you lifting one finger!

You can set up the exact same type of “hands-free” follow up marketing system using an email autoresponder system. Your prospect will not only be receiving your direct mail messages, but you can insert your email messages in between your mailings.

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What About Calling to Follow Up?
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You’ll notice that I didn’t say anything about calling your prospect. That’s because you want your prospect to have already received your educational marketing messages and have most of their questions answered before they call you. An educated prospect is your best prospect.

They already know why you’re different, what your value proposition is, and how you’re uniquely qualified to meet their needs. In essence, they’ve pre-qualified themselves before you ever have to spend time physically speaking to them.

This drastically reduces the sales cycle and increases your conversion rate because you have positioned your small business to be their only logical choice.

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Conclusion
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Follow-up marketing will boost your closing rate and dramatically increase your customer satisfaction. Following up with systematic processes allows you to leverage your salespeople’s time and enhance their productivity, which will result in more sales with less effort and isn’t that what you want? Start winning more sales today by implementing your own follow-up marketing system.

Copyright 2005 David Frey

EzineArticles Expert Author David Frey

David Frey is the author of the best-selling manual, “The Small Business Marketing Bible” and the Senior Editor of the “Small Business Marketing Best Practices Newsletter.” To get your free lifetime subscription visit http://www.MarketingBestPractices.com


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Purchasing a Treadmill for Christmas?

January 18th, 2009 by Admin

Does it make sense to purchase a treadmill for Christmas? As the
holidays draw closer many of you are considering that ideal gift
for your loved ones. A treadmill could be perfect, but there are
a number of pros and cons to consider.

Cons

It Could be a Waste – You may be surprised that many
people buy treadmills and never use them. There are actually a
number of treadmills that are overpriced clothes hangers. Can
you believe it? Before you invest all that money make certain
that the treadmill will get used, unless you want to impress
people when they come over with your unused home gym.

It Takes up Space – We’re not talking George Forman
Grills. A treadmill is big and heavy. A top of the line
treadmill weighs 345 lbs. Plan ahead for the space that it will
occupy. And the biggest question is, will Santa be able to get
it down the chimney.

It’s Not Cheap – If you plan to buy more then a toy
treadmill, you need to spend a few bucks for a model that will
withstand constant use. For example, a decent walking treadmill
goes for approximately $1,000. If you plan to use it for running
don’t spend less then $1,400. Think about it this way, a flat
screen television won’t probably contribute to living longer.

Pros

Convenience – You don’t have to make the trip to the
health club, you can exercise right in your home. We are all
pressed for time, the more convenient it is to exercise, the
more often you’ll burn some calories. Plus you don’t have to
spend money on the latest fitness fashions. No one will see you
at home.

The Guilt Affect – You just spent all this money on a new
treadmill, if you don’t use it you’ll feel guilty. And since you
can’t hide a treadmill under your bed, it is a constant reminder
that you need to get off your butt and get that heart
pumping.

Weather is Not a Factor – For those who prefer to run or
walk outside, the weather does not always cooperate. Treadmills
allow you to get your workout all year long. You don’t have to
deal with snow, ice, cold and darkness and the hazards related.
Weather no longer becomes an excuse.

You Personally Benefit from the Gift – If you give a
treadmill as a gift to your significant other you benefit in two
ways. First, your spouse will get in shape, and not only improve
his/her physique, but will also be healthier. Second, if you are
particularly good your partner may let you use it.

The majority of Americans are overweight, and an increasing
number are surpassing the obesity level. We have a health crisis
and a treadmill for the home is one solution that can burn off
those excess calories. A few less Big Macs is the other.

There are a number of great gifts to give for the holidays, but
none surpass giving the gift of health. This is the type of gift
that can increase your energy and motivation, and improve your
appearance and your attitude. And it can be used by the whole
family, including your kids. If used, it really is “the gift
that keeps on giving.”


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