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Networking Your Way to Profit - Part 1

The ‘Elevator Speech’ - Part 1

Create your own business network and you create a wealth of opportunity. The opportunity to find business; give business and introduce business people to each other. Concentrate on creating a network of contacts who know you, trust you and, eventually recommend you. The most effective way of doing this is to make sure you know what he /she offers - so you can recommend him/her. Then he wants to ‘return the favour’ by recommending you.

Before he can suggest you to other business contacts, or even decide if he wants you in his network, he needs to know what you do and why he should recommend you. Your challenge is to get him to decide you are a valuable addition to his network right from the word ‘Go!’ That’s where having a powerful, succinct - perhaps even intriguing - elevator speech works magic for you.

The idea is very simple, but extremely effective. The intention is to give a powerful or intriguing introduction, when you first meet someone, so people ask for more information - rather than ’switching off’. The name; ‘Elevator Speech’ originates from the US and refers to the time it would take to ‘ride the elevator’ to the top of a high-rise building - about 30 seconds.

And that’s about the maximum amount of time you have to keep someone’s attention after they ask “What do you do?” If your answer is boring or long-winded he (or she) starts looking for a way to ‘escape’ from you.

There are many ‘elevator speech’ structures and theories around. I first came across this particular one at a Jay Abraham’s seminar in London in 1994. It was introduced by one of his co-presenters and the structure made it so easy for a beginner to use.

The ’speech’ has 4 specific elements:

“You know how…”
“Which means …”
“Well, what I do is…”
“Which means …”

I thought this was such a brilliant way of introducing yourself I enthusiastically ’spread the word’ amongst my own business colleagues.

And something suddenly struck me… an awful lot of them just ‘didn’t get it’. Oh, they got the idea alright, and they seemed to understand the principle. But when they tried to put it into practice for themselves they either went on for too long (in some cases the elevator could have gone up and down a dozen times before they finished!) or they missed the point of highlighting a serious problem and demonstrating a solution with a real benefit or an intriguing notion.

Let me tell you about one example…

I’d agreed to give a presentation on business networking with a good friend and business colleague of mine, who organises corporate events and exhibitions and offers training on how to get the most out of attending an exhibition. Our presentation was at a business breakfast meeting - we have quite a few of these in the UK. Now, Chris is absolutely brilliant at networking, but he hadn’t come across the Elevator Speech before. We decided it would be a good tool to share with the delegates and Chris agreed to write his own Elevator Speech as a demonstration.

This is what he came up with…

“You know how some business people attend exhibitions but don’t know how to work their stands”
“Which means they don’t get the business contacts they need”
“Well, what I do is train them how to work the stand properly”
“Which means they get new business from the exhibition”

Although this was OK; it does actually describe what Chris does for the exhibiting company, it really didn’t hit any ‘hot buttons’ for anyone listening.

You see, the first statement “You know how…” must reveal a hot problem - whether real or perceived. Chris’ first attempt just didn’t state a problem people could identify with.

So what is the real problem businesses see in exhibiting? Well, for smaller businesses there is a barrier to taking part in exhibitions (at least there is here in the UK, maybe elsewhere as well). Entrepreneurs and business owners find it difficult to justify spending the money and time on an exhibition. And it is purely because they don’t have a clue of how to get the most out of it. Chris does - he and his associates have over 50 years of experience between them. So the ‘real’ problem here is not ‘how to work the stand’ it’s ‘how to justify taking an exhibition stand’.

After talking it through, this is what we came up with:

“You know how some businesses regard exhibitions as a complete waste of time and effort because they never seem to get any extra business,
Which means they don’t exhibit and lose out on the opportunity to make a high number of business contacts in a comparatively short time, don’t you?”

“Well, what I do is train business people on how to prepare for the exhibition beforehand, how to work their stand on the day and follow-up afterwards,
Which means they maximise their opportunity to make good contacts in a focussed environment, know how to follow-up and get good sales results by exhibiting, making the exhibition a cost effective way of increasing business and profit.”

It needed more refining - but the perceived problem for prospective exhibitors had been established.

In the next part of this article I’ll give you another example, show you how to create your own elevator speech and give you some important insights of how to make yours even more powerful…

©2005 Original Work by Carol Bentley

Author of ‘I Want to Buy Your Product… Have You Sent Me a Letter Yet? (How to create powerful sales letters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, web pages and newsletters that persuade hundreds, or even thousands, of additional customers and clients to buy from you!) by Carol A E Bentley (Rated 5-star on Amazon.co.uk)

Subscribe to your free reports, with no obligation, at
http://www.accelerateyoursales.co.uk or visit http://www.CarolBentley.com

Even if Property Index is a rather young organisation, incorporated only in March 2007, they have quick proven their mettle. On closer scrutiny, they are a unbelievably down to earth organisation entirely dedicated to offering their expert opinion to every customer who is looking to rent real estate in most areas of the world. They avow to aid you uncover just what’s needed swiftly and, to boot, sans pain.

Realty is up for grabs in a wide selection of areas across the globe these days, one of the high-class areas being land available for sale in Italy. It should be easy as pie to tally the wonderful realty you can purchase in Italy, one argument for opting for property here being a combination of the houses and apartments on the market and the chance of being able to live between this sprightly and eager population. It’s one of the most popular regions these days, and in view of the gorgeous landscape and the weather that surrounds you all year long, how could you conceivably go wrong… Realty in Italy is very rich in history, culture and art, this country has been and still is home to quite a number of nations.

There are a range of properties in Italy for sale on Property Index, from villas to apartments.

About twenty years ago you would find a mere trickle of English keen on realty in Italy. Ask any person who has chosen to move to Italy and they’ll certainly back this up. Plenty of people would are wont to call it a temporary vogue and others are wont to call it a that’s nearly an addiction! People who are willing to relocate to this region generally range from young working couples keen on a new life perspective to elderly people who want to enjoy being retired. Bear in mind, however, that you might encounter some catches when purchasing realty in a foreign country - you’ll find there are dozens of varied procedures be it when organising, touring or finalising. If you only miss but a single minor action it is sure to well bring about insurmountable catches as well as, most importantly, financial loss.

Obviously and expectably with this favored region, realty may be fairly upscale in this location which is absolutely on account of the broad market pressure. Despite this the homebuyer indeed is rather spoilt in terms of choice in a place so richly blessed by mega cool topography. Really it offers practically everything you could imagine, and lots more.

A Good Notebook Bag

Forget those that are bundled with your notebook computer. Get
yourself a good notebook bag that is well-padded both on its
load-bearing straps, and 100% around the notebook itself.

Aren’t all notebook bags built the same?
The answer is NO. There are countless bag types and variations.
Not all of them have your comfort and protection of the notebook
itself in mind. Most of them sacrifice style for substance, which
is worse than not having a notebook bag in the first place.

The best way to determine which notebook bag is the one for you
is to bring along your notebook while shopping. Put it in the bag
and ensure that it doesn’t slip and slide around. Generous
spaces do not mean better protection! You want it to be snug.

Carry the bag with your notebook in it. Simulate a light
jog. Why? Experience tells me that’s how you’ll most
likely travel through the gates of airport hell. If the straps
start digging in those shoulders, start looking for alternatives.
A good strap should cushion those shocks as the bag bounces off
your shoulders while doing your airport jog.

Note also how the notebook bag opens up for main access. Again,
if you’re a frequent traveler you’ll want to have one that’s easy
to retrieve and store your notebook for security checkpoint
purposes. The best are usually top-loading ones secured by either
a zipper or a flap. We recommend the flap versions because they
usually have an additional layer of cushioning right around the
top for the notebook, and secure well but open fast with magnetic
snaps/buttons.

The zipper types have none, and your poor notebook will get
whacked full-force if the bag topples head-long off an airport
luggage cart. Trust me on this bit: I’ve had enough times my
notebook took a tumble that way, and seen many other helpless
souls literally spill their notebook’s guts across airport gates.

A good alternative to those shoulder-loading bags are the rolling
pilot cases. They are typically bigger than any shoulder-bearing
bags including backpacks, but offer solid protection with a
padded hinge-top opening similar to actual pilot cases. Roller
bags are also less taxing physically, and the generous
compartments in the bag means less luggage pieces to carry while
traveling.

A Heat Dissipating Cooler Or Pad

Heat is the number one notebook computer killer. Today’s
notebooks are little thermal generators, with internal
temperatures that rise up to 150 degrees even with built-in
cooling fans.

Those internal fans and heat-dissipating systems work full time
more often than you think. That’s why they are usually the first
components in a notebook to die on you. When that happens, you’d
better not fire up that notebook, as it’ll fry even before you
see the start screen.

So help out your hardest working notebook component and extend
its lifespan. Invest in a notebook cooler or a cooling pad.
Notebook coolers typically are low-rise, plastic or metal-faced
pedestals on which your notebook sits. They are equipped with a
fan or two inside, which serves to draw hot air away from under
your notebook, and thus promote a cooler operating environment.
Usually efficient enough to drop up to 15 degrees the operating
temperature, notebook coolers however require power for its fans
and would typically draw its power off your notebook’s USB ports.
This could somewhat decrease your notebook’s battery operating
time, but so far have proven to be negligible for many users.

Cooling pads normally do not have the fans, and are constructed
from some type of heat-dissipating material or designed a way
that your notebook would have extra clearance at the bottom to
promote natural air circulation. Despite the lack of fans, these
cooling pads do a surprisingly good job of cooling your notebook.
They are also much easier to carry with your notebook because
they are slimmer, lighter, and do not require power to do its job
therefore highly recommended.

Lynn Chan helps new owners learn about proper notebook care and use. To learn more, visit http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com For a limited time, get the free tutorial “5 Days To A Healthier Notebook Computer” at http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com/
5days-to-a-healthier-notebook.html

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Sweepstakes are generally much easier and faster to enter than fun websites. Contest websites are toughened much more indifferently than the people who win who are not chosen by risk but by an good piece of skill. Online actions advertised as funny online contests, still, can take an entry fee or certificate of bribe.

The Dutch translation says: Woon je in Maassluis of Bloemendaal en wil jij graag vaker prijzen winnen’ Winnen met Win de Prijsvraag is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest. Een prijs winnen met de windeprijsvraag.nl website‘ Op zijn minst 130 prijzen om de week. Van Zutphen tot Velsen, met Windeprijsvraag.nl winnen kan hier altijd. Een meneer van 21 heeft zojuist nog een LCD TV weten te winnen.

Entering internet sweepstakes by mail is declining in well known popularity at present. A lot more online contests are select to enter online online sweepstakes. 5 months ago also a European company has started with a funny online contest and is also legally different. Easy sweepstakes and online promotions are proscribed from demanding a buy to enter. Cyber sweepstakes are also legally different from the online game contests in Huntsville Alabama. That’s why there are great wakeboards to win at online contest and online sweepstakes this week. Anyone can win absolutely fantastic prizes now every 11 days even if you live in Elyria Ohio or in Hayward California, isn’t that marvelous. It should be fantastic to win MP3-players worth 7554 euro and that simple.

The real purpose of the IELTS Listening test is to determine a candidate’s preparedness to deal with actual situations in the study-abroad contexts that require accurate hearing of English. Accordingly, the test is in four sections, all of which represent actual kinds of conversation, public speech, and lectures that a foreign student doing advanced study abroad might encounter. They are:

– A social situation. Typically a conversation between two people about an everyday-life matter, such as travel events, planning to spend time together, making personal introductions, going to a restaurant, and the like. This section tests ability to hear key words, comprehend descriptions of locations and spoken directions about how to reach them, how to recognize and identify other people from physical descriptions, and comprehend ordinary language. Particular challenges are hearing English in a variety of accents, spoken quickly, and the speakers changing their minds and using slang.

– A single speaker in a nonacademic situation. Typically a talk by a school or other administrator about a program or service; sometimes an interview in which only one of the speakers provides information. Particular skills tested are the accurate hearing of information about things such as times, places, dates, names, and particular aspects of policy and the ability to complete forms.

– Multiple speakers in a nonacademic situation. Typically a campus tour or the orientation of new students to a particular campus facility; sometimes a simulated radio news report. Particular skills tested are the ability to hear information in a variety of accents and acoustical settings, hear key words, note phrases the change the meaning of other words heard, and comprehend information given from multiple points of view.

– A single speaker in an academic situation. Typically a portion of a lecture. The subject matter is not highly technical and requires no prior knowledge. Even so, candidates must demonstrate the ability to hear key word and concepts accurately, to distinguish between true and false statements and facts and opinions, and to recognize reported speech and other qualifiers that change the meaning of some phrases.

The four sections or the IELTS Listening test tend to increase in difficulty, but careful preparation is recommended. Some candidates find the first section hardest, simply because of the extensive use of slang and their difficulty in understanding words in unfamiliar accents. Some of the best preparation is free: extensive listening to radio and TV news on channels such as BBC, which naturally report news in British and Commonwealth accents. British, American and other English foreign movies and TV shows also give good exposure to English as spoken by natives and slang speech.

Svend Nelson is a university lecturer and Internet entrepreneur. He is director of UniRoute Limited, a Hong Kong based company with offices in Bangkok and London providing IELTS online preparation and a free online application service to study abroad in UK including courses like tourism management. Svend lived and worked in various countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia and currently lives in Thailand.

As with any sport or game that gets widespread coverage and television time, some of the participants involved with poker will always mug for the camera and showboat for the fans as a way to get attention, and perhaps score an endorsement deal or two.

I don’t like it. You should perform to the best of your abilities, and act dignified and gracious in victory and defeat.

Of course, as poker has received more television coverage in recent years, in better time slots, some players just feel the need to overreact to every hand.

You know the scene, some guy is all in, down to the river with only two outs in the whole deck and hits a miracle straight. He then jumps up, starts screaming and sometimes even running around as if he just scored the winning goal in the world cup.

I feel like grabbing these people and saying: Calm down buddy, you didn’t actually DO anything! The dealer turned over a card you needed, and the statistical odds were against you, and you got lucky. Be thankful. We all need luck to win in poker, despite what Phil Hellmuth says. You should be thankful you hit your miracle card, and the guy you just robbed of a huge pot on the river is disappointed enough, he doesn’t really need the further indignity seeing you pointing to the crowd and screaming at the top of your lungs. Just remember: there will be times in the future when you get sucked out on the river, and hearing the guy who just beat you screaming “Boo-yeah” won’t feel too good at all.

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Recently, while providing an up-and-coming Virtual Assistant (VA) and small business owner with some start-up information, she asked me a very interesting question, “Why do you and other VA’s join organizations?”

I guess I take for granted the reasons why I belong to several industry specific organizations. But, to those that are new to any industry, joining an organization made up of your competitors is a valid concern.

Some organizations have members that are from a variety of walks of life (i.e. small business organizations, etc.) while others are more specified and include only members from a specific industry (i.e. VA organizations).

I think the consensus among members of any organization is that the benefits of being involved with others in your industry are numerous.

So, why should you join industry specific organizations? Here are some of the best reasons:

1. Networking. This is one of the main reasons for joining any organization and is actually part in parcel with all the other reasons I will list here.

Networking with anyone and everyone is essential to the growth of any business, especially networking with those in your industry.

Some industries are still fairly young and by networking with your peers you can all work together to increase the exposure of your specific industry, thus increasing the visibility of each individual member’s businesses.

2. The opportunity to work with fellow members. With the increased exposure of various industries, many veteran members may be finding their workloads are getting to a point where they have to outsource some of their projects. If they don’t know about you they won’t even have the chance to consider sending you some of their overflow.

Not to mention, most members may specialize in certain procedures and, should a task come up for a client that is not one of their specialties, they may need to subcontract the project.

3. Learning from your fellow members. No matter if you are an experienced business professional or new to the industry, there is always something to learn from others.

Veteran members have been there and done that so they have the voice of experience to offer. Those new to the industry can sometimes be an excellent source of new & fresh ideas.

4. You have the chance to get involved in new ventures. Many veteran members collaborate to initiate new ventures and projects to help enhance their industry. Usually, during the start-up phase of these new ventures, it is common to work with those that you know and respect and have them involved in the process. By being a member of an organization and staying involved, you become visible to your fellow members and thus may be requested to become involved in the newest industry-boosting project

5. And finally, one of the perks of joining an organization is the joy of making new friends.

Many small business owners operate their businesses from home and isolation can become an issue. Being a member of any organization results in making friends with fellow members, reducing the isolation aspect. These friendships can also result in a mentor type relationship where the two (or more) of you share ideas that will help to boost each other’s businesses and even your personal lives. (Such is the case of myself and my best friend Kathy Ritchie of Ritchie Secretarial Service - www.thebestva.com - a fellow Virtual Assistant)

To sum it all up, being a member of an industry specific organization has many benefits and shouldn’t be viewed as associating with the enemy. Try to think of your relationship with your fellow industry members as ‘coopetition’ rather than ‘competition’. By working together you can build the industry as a whole, your own individual businesses, and even your personal lives.

About The Author

Janice Byer is a certified Master Virtual Assistant and owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net). See this and other articles on her website.

jbyer@docutype.net

There are numerous handy benefits to wall-mounting a flatpanel television, for example freeing up floor or counter space, but for individuals the main benefit is merely aesthetic - because let’s face it, a wall-attached television comes across very beautiful. And the magnificence of wall suspending telly is that any person with even the most negligible “Do It Yourself” (DIY) aptitude can do it.

Purchasing a television bracket, the beginning stage is to get the best matched bracket for your telly. There is an extensive number of brackets to plump from, obtainable for tellies of all shapes, dimensions and weights, therefore it is crucial that you make sure you’re armed with your television set’s key info ahead of setting off to the online TV retail shops. Also before purchasing, mull over what kind of suppleness you could want after the telly is fixed, as varying classes of LCD TV brackets provide distinctive amounts of lateral & vertical movement.

Permanent brackets hold the TV close to the wall, and don’t permit you to change the horizontal or vertical direction. Their lack of obstacles generally means that they are the most low-cost decision, nevertheless it can be awkward to access rear-suspended sockets.

Tilt brackets, however, let you to move the telly up or down to adjust the vertical viewing angle, where as ’tilt & swivel’ telly brackets let you tilt the display forward and rotate it from side to side.

Tiny screen LCD TVs can additionally be hanged using brackets with more complicated mechanisms for extra flexibility, making them perfect for either kitchen or bedroom fitting. You can pay for brackets with an arm that moves from left to right, or ones that tilt, swivel, pan and lengthen. These allow you to situate the telly at any possible angle and then push it away easily when you are done watching your favourite film. If you are looking to grab a bargain on Plasma TV Bracket then look no further than Digital Direct.