I can put up with the miniscule cubical. I can live with the lack of natural light (although I feel like a cave troll). I can even do without the cafeteria, water cooler, and coffee maker. What I really miss is my old phone.

You see, my old phone was indeed, not an “old” phone. It was a multi-line handling, LCD displaying, caller IDing monster that gave me more options than a new car salesman. My “new” phone has none of those amenities. There is no transfer or hold button, no screen to display who is calling, no headset and no electronic directory. In short, the only difference between this phone and a Garfield phone you might buy at Spencer’s Gifts is that this phone isn’t shaped like a cartoon cat. My job would be so much easier and my days so much more productive if only we had a real office phone system in place. The current system is so poorly automated that only a very small percentage of the calls I get are actually meant for me. Likewise, I get several E-mails a day asking why I haven’t returned phone calls in regard to messages I never received.

I guess the old addage that “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” really holds true in this case.

Since I came here, I have actively lobbied to have the old phone system replaced, but to no avail. I think I may be the only one here who knows what he’s missing. Oh well…I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who has experienced this. Maybe you too have lost a beloved phone in a career move. I sympathize with you. I’d leave my number so we could comiserate, but you’d probably never reach me anyway.

I have no idea if the story he told me is true or not. He has played a practical joke or two in his day. Short of travelling to Africa, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if there is a bit of embellishment to the story, it is a great tell with an insightful message.

In Africa, as Charles tells it, the natives have a clever way to catch monkeys. They take a coconut shell, cut a small hole in one end, and hollow it out. The hole is just big enough to allow a monkey’s hand to enter.

Then they attach a string to the other end of the coconut shell, place some peanuts inside, put the shell in the middle of a clearing and hide themselves behind a tree until a monkey comes.

The monkey smells the peanuts inside the shell … it reaches in to grab the peanuts … but when it does, its fist, full with peanuts, is too large to pull back through the hole.

The natives start pulling on the string and reel the silly monkey in. Why, because the monkey will not let go of those peanuts to save his life. All the monkey would have to do is let go of the peanuts. He doesn’t, as he has to have the peanuts.

I’m thinking there may be some truth to his story. I did a Google search “catch a monkey using a coconut” and found one hit on a bladder cancer website that included an article on relaxation that references an African legend, where they do they catch monkeys using coconuts with a banana inside. Seriously!

So let’s assume this monkey catching technique works. Chances are if you’re like me, you’ll never get a chance to try it out. I don’t recommend you doing this at your local zoo!

So why tell the story? Do you find yourself grasping a fist full of peanuts? Do you ever get hold of something and not let go? Do you want the peanuts so badly that you fail to consider other alternatives to achieve your goal? Are you flexible and effective in your thinking? Are you prepared to try other methodologies and techniques? Do you seek out others for advice? Do you use your power of observation on those who are successful?

I believe one of Charles’ greatest strengths is his ability to make things simple. Once he has done this, he shares the basics for success with his team. He then walks the talk and leads by example. He believes in his people, they believe in him. He’s the type of leader that wouldn’t use coconuts to capture monkeys, he’d sit down with them, and using his big smile and power of persuasion, have them convinced they should simply follow him home. They probably would!

Charles goes on to offer some simple advice on how to “get the peanuts.” I wonder if this is the basics of sales success.

1.Always be prospecting. “Everyone is an opportunity for new business or a referral.”
2.Keep the calendar full of appointments. “A body in motion stays in motion, a body at rest stays at rest.”
3.Be proficient in your presentation skills. “Confidence sells.”
4.Your customers are a gold mine for future business. “Treat them right and they will take care of you.”
5.Set stretch goals. “Great things happen to those who make things happen.”
6.Hard work is just that. “Honest intelligent effort is always rewarded.”
7.Have fun. “Enjoy what you do and you’ll be good at it.”

Great advice Charles, thanks for sharing. Wishing you continued success!

Heres a way to get the word out and polish off your book before it hits the stores: sampling. Major corporations utilize focus groups, pollsters and other marketing experts to build up their brand name. This is similar to planting seeds to get a garden or orchard to grow. The more seeds you plant, the better your chances to grow vegetables or apple trees. As an author, you can use sampling or seeding, to build up awareness of your book. During the publishing process, we discovered a clever way to attract readers, and at the same time, we can upgrade our book.

Having been through the publishing process for many decades, we experimented with what every author secretly fears: a peer review. But, we did it with a twist. Instead of waiting until the book is published to read the reviews, we posted the book on our website to accept all criticism in advance. We called this a Public and Peer Review of our book, entitled Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market: A Practical Investors Guide to Uranium Stocks.

Before posting the first eight chapters of the electronic version of this book, we notified subscribers, several days earlier, that the book would be available on June 18th at 11:59 P.M for Open Review. In the email notification, we included a reminder to tell a friend about the books pre-publication.

By the time this book was ready to be electronically published, our large number of subscribers had jumped by nearly 10 percent! In less than one week, we had gained more new subscribers than we had in the previous few months. Our Alexa rating, for the week had also jumped ahead of nearly 1 million other websites. The one-week draw from the email notification had also increased the 3-month average by 267 percent!

This marketing opportunity provided us with greater readership. It might now offer us a broader range of opinions, helping us improve the book. Hopefully, there will be those annoying copy editor types, who will help point out grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Previous tests, similar to this, have also drawn experts from the industry we have written about. This adds more texture to our research, and ultimately creates a better product for our readers.

Stay tuned for our next publicity surprise, after we review the success of our public and peer review. The key is to plan out a series of teasers to keep drawing visitors to your website and intelligently persuade them that your book is something they absolutely have to read.

Considering the small bit of history mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it should come as no surprise that the founder of Facebook was a student at Harvard University. A man by the name of Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook and ran it for a very long time as a hobby project during his time at University.

There are many different ways that a person can get security but the one that has specifically been created to meet the demand for security is what is known as a Facebook proxy.

Now that facebook has become so popular, two of the three initial creators have dropped out of university and dedicated themselves full time to improving and maintaining href=”http://www.facebookinfo.com” title=”Facebook tips”>Face book layouts and all of its facilities. Today the Facebook website is used by people from thousands of University campuses across the English speaking world and is also enjoyed by a number of different companies and religious groups as well.
In terms of total users,
Facebook has approximately 18,000,000. This number places it amongst the top social networking websites in the world; not bad for a website that was started as a hobby project by a Harvard student. This 18,000,000 number is reputed to contain multiple accounts; in other words there is an assertion out there that there are not actually 18,000,000 people using the Facebook service but that many people have more than one account on it.

To end on a high note in this game of statistics, here is something that you might find very shocking. According to web traffic numbers and taking into account the 30 billion page views Facebook gets on a monthly basis, it is now the 7th most visited site within the United States.

Here’s how it works First, the customer leaves your store without making the purchase. Second, time causes the desire for the product to fade, and distracts them from making their way back. Finally, your “almost customer” totally forgets about making the purchase, and you can kiss potential profits good-bye.

Don’t let it happen to you! Make deals so irresistible they just can’t say no, and set an expiration date. Yes, put a little press on them to buy TODAY! Reward them for complying, and make sure they forfeit the deal if they don’t. Don’t be victimized by “almost sales” that could be turned into REAL profits!

2. Stay Off The Top Of Their Priority List
Hey, sometimes we need to be reminded of exactly what is and what isn’t important in life. Where we spend our money indicates its level of importance. Are your customers telling you that your product isn’t significant to them?

Put them where you want them to be with a dramatic word picture that evokes the emotions that drive purchases. Let me say it this way If you’re trying to sell them a home business let them feel the freedom of being their own boss, and setting their own schedule. Are you selling water skis? Get them on the water in the hot summer sun with the wind blowing their hair and water spraying around them. Let them FEEL the importance of the decision.

You CAN motivate buyers to put a high priority on your product!

3. Don’t Build Trust
Do your customers feel confident that your company will provide the services that it says it will? How many times have you raised an eyebrow at an offer that makes big promises? Yeah, if you don’t already know they are a reputable company, you’re likely to take claims with a grain of salt.

Unconditional guarantees give credence to your desire to please customers. Testimonials are evidence that you have a proven track record. Put some facts in front of your “almost customers.” Let them know a little bit about you and your staff. It’s always easier to trust a person, than a business.

Internet customers are at especially high risks for feeling a legitimate amount of distrust. After all, anyone can make grand claims, but who is responsible for upholding them? A personal photo, a little information, and a phone number where a contact can be reached go a long ways toward building trust on the Web.

How many “almost customers” have slipped through your fingers? You can effectively turn them into loyal customers who regularly frequent your place of business with the business savvy insights we’ve talked about in this article.

Words, gestures, even the expression on your face spell the difference in how an employee perceives your opinion of them. These unconscious actions tell the employee what they mean to you and how valuable they are to you as a manager and to the organization.

Letting the employee feel needed and appreciated is a key factor to maintaining maximum employee morale and motivation. If your employees feel that they play a key role in the company by the work they provide, then they are much more likely to say that they like their job and to strive to better themselves at that job. For many, feeling valued is just as important as high pay, and promotions.

Let’s build zest with these tactics:

1.Let them feel your presence. Coming to work and announcing your arrival is a great way to motivate employees and get them upbeat on the first hour of the day. Striding through the doors and simply saying good morning with a smile on your face can make all the difference in the world.

2. Verbal Acknowledgement. This kind of commendation doesnt have to be over dramatic or exaggerated, most times showing respect for your employees by saying simple things like please and thank you are easy and effective ways to motivate your employees.Praise like you did a great job when the employee deserves it is sure fire way that verbal praise can work to motivate employees.

3. Lay clear expectations. Communicating deadlines, milestones, and job objectives are essential to completing company mandates efficiently. Sometimes these things are reported very well but they may change. These changes may not be discussed in detail and therefore causes employees to feel that they are either not important enough to be told why the changes are taking place, or that the manager has made a mistake. Neither of these thoughts will lead to a motivated employee. One way to prevent this is to always get some kind of feedback from the employee about the job so that you are certain that he knows what is expected. If there is a change in a project, inform the employee why. Keep them part of the solution to the problem.

4. Provide employees regular feedback. Let the employee know when he is doing a commendable job. On the flip side, let the employee know when you are not pleased with the outcome and state your reasons. This is a great opportunity to let the employee know how they can do better next time. Ask the employee if there is anything that you as a manager can do to help with the change. Solicit feedback from the employee. Talk it over and enjoy a real discussion. This will make the employee feel like you are not offend about the job, but that you are genuinely concerned and willing to help rectify the problem.

5. Generate consequences. Make sure to not only tell the employee when you are satisfied with the work, but also provide recognition for marvelous work. A personally written thank you card is an effective and inexpensive way to do this. When an employee fails to meet company expectations, it is demotivating to other workers, after all, they may think, If he isnt doing it why should I? That is why it is so important to broadcast consequences for those who do not perform as expected. Be consistent with consequences among the staff.

Employees will love working with you and you will enjoy working with them as you take a few minutes out of your day to butter their emotions. Spend time with employees during and after work. Demonstrate that you care and value them as important members of the company.

Are you interested in starting your own home based business, but not sure where to begin? Why not start with yourself?

Here are a few steps you can take to determine what you really want to do. But first, have a pen and paper ready in front of you…

Done? Ok, here we go…

1) What Are Your Hobbies?

Write down all the things you love doing in your own free time. Don’t hold anything back, because I’m not here to examine your answer. There is no right or wrong here, only the truth, only what you feel straight from your heart.

Why do this? The answer is because hobbies are a great source of motivation and energy for anyone. If you’re willing to do something without being paid, you’d definately do it for money. The only difference is, money will only come second, as compared to the immediate satisfaction you get from doing what you love. Write everything on that pice of paper.

2) What Specialized Knowledge Do You Have?

In your current or past jobs, you would have accumulated a great deal of knowledge on a certain subject. Thanks to your boss, you may have become an expert at something. And this expertise, believe it or not, can help others around the world. Don’t let this go to waste.

So write down any specialized knowledge you have. Write down any specialized skills you may have developed too, and it could be in sales, event organization, public relations, accounting, counselling, etc.

3) What Corner of The Book Store Do You Go to First?

When I heard someone ask me that, I was like “What? What has that got to do with anything?”.

It has got to do with everything. Which corner of the bookstore you visit FIRST usually indicates which topics you love reading about. In a conversation with one of my team members a week ago, I asked him the same question, and his reply was “Well, Gobala, I never thought about it, but I actually go to the self-help section first, because I like reading about how I can improve myself to be a better human being.”

Ditto. Your sub-concious actions may hold the answer to your problem. Now we’re getting somewhere, so write YOUR favourite section down on that piece of paper.

4) What Did You Love Doing 5 Years Ago?

My life now is VERY different from what it was 5 years ago. How about yours? What did you love doing 5 years ago, but simply cannot find the time for it right now? Did you plan to start something new 5 years ago, but for some reason it never happened?

Our lives change all the time, but if there was something in your past that you’re still passionate about, write it down now.

5) What Are You Naturally Good At?

To answer this question, you MUST ask your friends, not yourself. Whatever you already know about yourself is not going to help. Only things you never knew you were good at are going to open doors to your own home based business. So go ahead, call 10 of your best friends, and ask them “What do think I’m good at?”

Make a mental note, or write all their opinions down on your piece of paper. The key to getting this right is to NEVER question or argue about their opinion of you. Take the good with the bad, take it all. By the time you’re done with number 10, I guarantee you’ll start discovering things about you that you never knew you were good at.

I found out that I’m good at teaching. I also found out that I can explain things in a simple way, and that I have patience when dealing with others. Trust me, I never knew that before I asked. It’s amazing what others know about you that you don’t know yourself.

The Road Becomes Clearer

When you’re done with your list of all the things you love, all the things you’ve become an expert at, and all the things you found out you’re naturally good at, have a good look at it. Does your dream home business seem a little more clear now? Do you see the begiining of an exciting journey, instead of an intimidating one?

You now have many ideas on what type of home based business you can do, and all you have to do is choose. Choose the one that you’re most excited about RIGHT NOW and are eager to start RIGHT NOW.

If you rushed through this article without the pen and paper, without taking notes and asking yourself these questions, then let me tell you the truth:

It takes YEARS to build a steady five or six figure income from your own home based business. You can’t do it in months, no matter what anyone else out there may say. The only way you’re going to get through the initial “make-or-break” years is if you’re doing something close to your heart. Something that will seem like fun, not hard work.

Seek the truth, for the truth shall set you free, and show you where you want to go. If you don’t know where you want to go, it’s no secret that you’ll never get there.

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Point #1 Find Your Niche.
You need to know about your topic or subject fully and be an at least knowledgeable on it. You write quality content, you get quality ads shown. It is as simple as that. If you really found profitable niche on but know nuts about it, you can always use free articles (like this one) and post them on your site with their links on them of course. It is a easy and quick way to get quality content to your site.

Point #2 Laser Focused Theme.
You need to fully concentrate on your topic and area of interest. Do not deviate from it even a single bit! The reason behind this is to get the MOST relevant ads to your content which in turn will be the most likely to interest the visitor and get clicked on.

Point #3 Website Navigation.
Do not trick the visitor, do not confuse the visitor, do not attempt to hide the ad but do not blast the ad at the same time. Create your navigation in such a way that your ads appear unobtrusive and yet viewable. It is advisable to put more then one ad but do not cramp your page with ads, it turns the visitor off.

Point #4 Key Word Density
Although Google doesn’t release exact details as to how they determine the ads to serve on a given page. We do know that content (and words) of the page that matters. Before serving ads on a page, then, you might want to check its keyword density to see what words pops up most frequently.

Point #5 Maintain Content Readability
Advertisements should not distract from your content, or else your visitors will be driven away. Make Adsense a cohesive part of your site design, not something slapped in at the last minute or some hastily put up page.

Point #6 Ask Them!
Google knows best about their own programs. If you have any doubt or any question at all, feel free to mail them. Please feel free to email us at adsense-tech@google.com if you have additional technical questions or concerns. For general program or account questions, please email adsense-support@google.com.

Point #7 Do Nots.
Do no click on your own ads neither should you ask others to click on your Google ads. Do not manually change or modify you ad code. Do not place Google ads on sites that include prohibited/questionable content (e.g.: adult sites, hate sites) Do not employ cloaking, hidden text or farm links. Do not create a site just because you think you found high paying keywords and throw content in just based on them just for the purpose of profiting from them.

A call to customer service can be an infuriating ending to a frustrating experience. Youre upset and looking for empathy, but all you encounter is disappointment. Could Company X have done something differently? Probably, but if you follow these tips when dealing with customer service, youll be in the drivers seat for the next dispute.

1. Be prepared.

Seems basic, right? Unless youve called Company X several times, youre probably not familiar with their required information. Have every tracking number, account number, itemized statement, and order number before you call. Customer service representatives are held responsible for torturous call-handling metrics designed by masochistic management. Length of call, resolution (if the customer calls back to the company within an allocated amount of time), and randomly monitored calls are measured stringently. Bottom line: they want to help you quickly and completely, lest a superior crack a whip.

2. Be nice.

Customer service representatives speak with upset, irritated, and/or irate people all day. Every day. You may not agree with a credit denial, but screaming the customer is always right, (expletive)! will not help. Be pleasant and the rules may be malleable. Be another unpleasant customer and the guidelines will be set in stone.

3. Know when to call, know when to write.

If you need to request a price quote, add/remove a feature, or ask for explanation of a bill, e-mail is the most efficient route for your correspondence. For repair concerns or credit requests, call customer service. Repair specialists will need to troubleshoot and get access information should a technician need to be dispatched. Credit requests can be handled via e-mail, however, it is easier to reply with a credit denied form letter than to deny credit to a real, live person.

4. Get on record.

If something is not working properly, call the company immediately. If there is a cable, satellite, or phone outage, Company X will only be able to diagnose and correct the problem if they are notified a problem exists. This also establishes a record of communication should you need to request a credit or refund at a later date.

5. Be persistent, but not obnoxious.

Many companies have guidelines for dispensing credit that require denial the first time for any request that is not a previously-reported out of service issue or a known billing error. The second time a credit request is made, these guidelines can be relaxed. If you have followed the be nice tip above, you may be rewarded with your credit request.

Following these five tips will help you get what you want in the most efficient manner possible. Stay tuned for the next installment to find out how you can aggravate the customer service experience and actually delay resolution!