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    Like It or Not... You're in SALES!
    Mention the word sales or salesman and two out of three people get a little clammy under the skin. “I hate sales people and I could never do what they do!” is what many say at the mere thought of having to sell something. How wrong they are.Here is the cold hard fact: From the time you are born to the time you die, you – regardless of your profession or what you do – are in sales.Appreciate that when a baby cries for the first time for its mother’s milk, he/she is attempting to close the new mom on the importance and benefits of doing what the child wants. In short, the baby is making its very first sale… The sale will be made. There will be plenty more.A child who makes its bed to get a cookie is selling ‘services’ for ‘profit’. In this case, the profit is a cookie. To explain to a teacher, “The dog ate my homework”, is to engage in the daunting task of persuasion. Is it selling? You bet it is.To invite someone
    ks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words t

    Small Business Secret #5: Choose Your Customers Carefully- They Are What Can Make Or Break You
    When you start out in small business pretty much every small business owner has the perception that everybody is their customer. In fact taking on this strategy can be the death knell of your business before you really get started. The key secret to small business is to carefully choose who you want to be a customer. Do not get trapped into believing that you have to have everyone as your customer.There are many reasons why you want to choose your customers, rather than they choosing you. One of the key reasons is money. Having too many companies that do not pay you within an acceptable period of time can in fact put such a financial burden on your business that they can bankrupt your business. Let me explain …I had a number of government clients a few years ago which had a policy of choosing when and if they were going to pay. These government clients used purchase orders to buy training from our company, but just beca
    It’s easy to place a listing on an Internet auction. Anyone can do it. Selling at online auctions is like fishing, its fun and sometimes addictive but only when you are catching something. Below just a few of the many tips to assist sellers in having the best auction experience.

    1. Listing Lessons

  • Category selection.
  • Take care when selecting categories. Go though the auction site and make a list of categories that best suit your product and situation. Narrow these down to one and its appropriate subcategories. Some auction sites allow two category listings for an additional fee. Avoid listing in categories that have less than 1000 listings, typically, these categories don’t get as much traffic. Aim for categories with 4,000 to 5,000 listings.

  • Research.
  • Take great pains to research the auction site’s terms and agreements and similar products on the website. See how much the starting price is and how much they are selling for. Start as low as possible. Products with low starting prices are more likely to be bid on first. Also, avoid reserve prices. People become wary of a product they are blindly bidding on; however, reserves are usually expected for high–ticket items like computers and televisions.

  • It’s all in the timing.
  • Carefully choose closing times and days. It’s best to close an auction during peak hours of the day, usually when people are at home and willing to spend money. Some higher traffic days are Sunday and Monday nights from about 5 to 10 PM or Saturday and Sunday mornings between 10 AM and 2 PM.

  • Find a niche.
  • Many major companies and department stores are flooding the online market and making it difficult for individual sellers to sell common goods like clothes and appliances. However, finding your niche in the auction world will benefit the buyer and seller. Focus on objects that department stores don’t usually carry like products from joke shops, magic shops or rare baseball cards.

  • Be up front and honest.
  • Always disclose shipping and handling arrangements and payment options. Don’t become over zealous in the shipping department. Be honest about how much the product really costs to ship. If someone buys an item for two dollars, they will not be willing to pay eight dollars for shipping and handling. Overcharging for shipping is considered price gauging and seriously frowned upon and can sometimes result in being kicked off the auction site.

    The more payment options the seller is willing to accepted the more likely the item will be bid on; however, make it very clear to the buyer that if paying by check or money order, the product will not be shipped until the check clears. Most people feel safe using third party payment companies like PayPal and many auction sites highly recommend using these services.

    2. Visually Speaking

  • A picture is worth a 1000 words.
  • Always include one or more photos of the product. Buyers feel more comfortable bidding on products they have seen. No matter how descriptive the details are about the item, always include a photograph of the item in the gallery page and on the details page.

  • Bold and Highlight.
  • Most auction sites offer additional listing upgrades; these often include bolding or highlighting item titles in the gallery or in features. These upgrades usually cost a little extra; however, they will help make your product stand out in the crowd. Remember, if the item is listed in two categories the fees will be double.

  • Include background.
  • Spice things up a little with background watermarks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words th

    Consultants - If We Can't Laugh At Ourselves?
    There are hundreds of varieties of Consultants these days. We can find Consultants to take care of our diets, our physical well being, our mental well being, and pretty much anything you can imagine when it comes to business.The story below might just indicate that we take ourselves a little too seriously sometimes.A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand new Beemer advanced out of the dust clouds towards him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses, and a Zegna tie, leaned out his window and asked the shepherd, “If I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?”The shepherd looked at the man, then looked at his peacefully grazing flock, and calmly answered, “Sure.”The yuppie parked his car, whipped out his IBM ThinkPad, connected it to a cell phone, and surfed to a NASA page on the Internet. He called up a G
    See how much the starting price is and how much they are selling for. Start as low as possible. Products with low starting prices are more likely to be bid on first. Also, avoid reserve prices. People become wary of a product they are blindly bidding on; however, reserves are usually expected for high–ticket items like computers and televisions.

  • It’s all in the timing.
  • Carefully choose closing times and days. It’s best to close an auction during peak hours of the day, usually when people are at home and willing to spend money. Some higher traffic days are Sunday and Monday nights from about 5 to 10 PM or Saturday and Sunday mornings between 10 AM and 2 PM.

  • Find a niche.
  • Many major companies and department stores are flooding the online market and making it difficult for individual sellers to sell common goods like clothes and appliances. However, finding your niche in the auction world will benefit the buyer and seller. Focus on objects that department stores don’t usually carry like products from joke shops, magic shops or rare baseball cards.

  • Be up front and honest.
  • Always disclose shipping and handling arrangements and payment options. Don’t become over zealous in the shipping department. Be honest about how much the product really costs to ship. If someone buys an item for two dollars, they will not be willing to pay eight dollars for shipping and handling. Overcharging for shipping is considered price gauging and seriously frowned upon and can sometimes result in being kicked off the auction site.

    The more payment options the seller is willing to accepted the more likely the item will be bid on; however, make it very clear to the buyer that if paying by check or money order, the product will not be shipped until the check clears. Most people feel safe using third party payment companies like PayPal and many auction sites highly recommend using these services.

    2. Visually Speaking

  • A picture is worth a 1000 words.
  • Always include one or more photos of the product. Buyers feel more comfortable bidding on products they have seen. No matter how descriptive the details are about the item, always include a photograph of the item in the gallery page and on the details page.

  • Bold and Highlight.
  • Most auction sites offer additional listing upgrades; these often include bolding or highlighting item titles in the gallery or in features. These upgrades usually cost a little extra; however, they will help make your product stand out in the crowd. Remember, if the item is listed in two categories the fees will be double.

  • Include background.
  • Spice things up a little with background watermarks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words t

    Are You Practicing On Your Best Prospects
    How much time do you spend practicing and developing your skills? Do you practice a new technique on a prospect or on a fellow salesperson or your supervisor first? Do you not practice at all, but just show up?Show me any athlete in any sport who achieves success, fame or even makes a decent living, and I will show you someone who spends more time practicing than in the performance of his/her sport. Here are a few examples.- Most Olympic athletes spend in excess of 3000 hours preparing for a 2, 3 or 10 minute race. -Most good golfers hit hundreds of golf balls every day to refine their swing, balance and performance. -Take baseball, basketball or football – teams practice 3-5 days a week (every week) for several hours for just a 2-3 hour game. I could go on, but I am confident you see my point. Are other careers different? No. Doctors, contractors, teachers, counselors spend time in research, discovery and experimenta
    n the auction world will benefit the buyer and seller. Focus on objects that department stores don’t usually carry like products from joke shops, magic shops or rare baseball cards.

  • Be up front and honest.
  • Always disclose shipping and handling arrangements and payment options. Don’t become over zealous in the shipping department. Be honest about how much the product really costs to ship. If someone buys an item for two dollars, they will not be willing to pay eight dollars for shipping and handling. Overcharging for shipping is considered price gauging and seriously frowned upon and can sometimes result in being kicked off the auction site.

    The more payment options the seller is willing to accepted the more likely the item will be bid on; however, make it very clear to the buyer that if paying by check or money order, the product will not be shipped until the check clears. Most people feel safe using third party payment companies like PayPal and many auction sites highly recommend using these services.

    2. Visually Speaking

  • A picture is worth a 1000 words.
  • Always include one or more photos of the product. Buyers feel more comfortable bidding on products they have seen. No matter how descriptive the details are about the item, always include a photograph of the item in the gallery page and on the details page.

  • Bold and Highlight.
  • Most auction sites offer additional listing upgrades; these often include bolding or highlighting item titles in the gallery or in features. These upgrades usually cost a little extra; however, they will help make your product stand out in the crowd. Remember, if the item is listed in two categories the fees will be double.

  • Include background.
  • Spice things up a little with background watermarks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words t

    Timber Exploitation in Cameroon
    The law n° 94-01 of January 20 1994 door system of the forests, wildlife and fishing foresaw in his item 71(1) the stop of the exportation of timber to the end of five years, the objective being to favor the economical development of Cameroon while creating value added by the local transformation of a first matter.Carrying research through the Cameroonian ministry of the environment and forests (MINEF), a study on the industrialisation of the system drinks to the Cameroon between 1994 and 1998. This study was realized by the CERNA, the economy center industrial of the school of the Paris expressions, and was presented to the administrations, to the silent partners and to the economical operators June 11 1999.The study, foreseen by the item 71(4) law n° 94-01 of January 20 1994, had for ambition to erect a state of the precise places of the body of the Cameroonian factories of first transformation of wood and of their evolu
    feel safe using third party payment companies like PayPal and many auction sites highly recommend using these services.

    2. Visually Speaking

  • A picture is worth a 1000 words.
  • Always include one or more photos of the product. Buyers feel more comfortable bidding on products they have seen. No matter how descriptive the details are about the item, always include a photograph of the item in the gallery page and on the details page.

  • Bold and Highlight.
  • Most auction sites offer additional listing upgrades; these often include bolding or highlighting item titles in the gallery or in features. These upgrades usually cost a little extra; however, they will help make your product stand out in the crowd. Remember, if the item is listed in two categories the fees will be double.

  • Include background.
  • Spice things up a little with background watermarks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words t

    Quick Comparison Conventional Brick and Mortar VS an Online Business
    You are undecided if you should start a conventional Brick and Mortar Business in a Heavily Trafficked Mall or a Online Home Based Business. This in depth Comparison should help you decide.Not too Long ago while on vacation in Palm Springs CA with my wife we decided to have some Ice Cream. We saw this ice cream store and the line was out the door and down the block. There was another Ice Cream store directly across the street with no line so we went there. The Ice Cream at this near empty Store was Really good. I said to my wife if the Ice Cream in this near empty store is this good and everyone else is on lined up across the street I have to know why?Over the course of the next few Months we were in various Cities in Southern California from San Diego to Santa Barbara and every time we saw that Ice Cream Store the Line was out the door and down the Block. Then one day while we were in Santa Barbara we finally saw that
    ks or textures. This gives the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. However, be careful when choosing a background. Don’t chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold.

    3. Choose Words Wisely

  • Headlines are advertisements.
  • The goal is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting ways to sell products. Use power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easy–to–use, money saving, ect.

    Included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words are words that get people’s attention without taking up too much space. Use a combination of attention–getting words with short detailed descriptions of what the product is in the title. Also, avoid strange characters like @@, $$$ or !!! These symbols are distracting and unprofessional. Remember lying about a product is illegal. Don’t advertise an item as rare if any Larry, Curly or Moe can get the same item at Wal–Mart.

  • Detailed descriptions.
  • The item descriptions section is the product’s place to shine. This is where the seller should include every detail they can think of about the item, important or otherwise.

    Include the product’s history, any defects, why it’s being sold and stories. Again, people like to know what they are buying. Be honest about cracks, bends, rips and imperfections. Additionally, if the item has a story attached to it, tell the story. This gives the item a personal touch and allows the buyer to know a little something about the seller. People are more likely to buy products from those they feel a connection with rather than strangers.

    4. Community Awareness

  • Always participate in the feedback program.
  • Buy a few small items before posting your own. This allows sellers to get their feet wet with positive feedback. Auction communities rely heavily on other’s remarks. Feedback helps build a reputation and creditability.

    Additionally, respond to emails and questions quickly and courteously. Auction sellers depend on good customer service for good feedback. Remember this is a business transaction and needs to be handled in a professional manner.

  • Create an About Me page.
  • If given the option, take a few moments to create an About Me page. Secrecy can be a seller's worst enemy. Buyers are more likely to trust people that are willing to disclose a little more information about themselves. This establishes a sense of stability and trust between the buyer and seller.

    Unfortunately, not all products listed at auction sell. Just like any business, placing items on an auction site needs to be taken with just as much care as if it were being sold in a regular store. For a positive selling experience many considerations and cautions need to be taken into account when listing products on auctions like eBay, Overstock.com and Yahoo! Auctions.

    Resources Microsoft Corporation. (2006). 5 tips for selling goods through eBay. Retrieved August 31, 2006, from http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/ecommerce/5_tips_for_selling_goods_through_ebay.mspx

    McGrath, S. (2006). 99 Tips for Buying and Selling on eBay. Vision. Retrieved August 31, 2006, from http://www.skipmcgrath.com/auction_sr/99tips.shtml

    Ward, S. (2006). 7 Tips For Selling On eBay - eBay Selling Tips to Help You Sell on eBay Successfully. About, Inc., A part of. Retrieved August 31, 2006, from http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/onlinebusiness/a/ebaysellingtips.htm

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