Bugorta Info

Have you ever wondered what it would cost you to attract just one qualified lead? You may have lots of inquiries, but not all inquiries become customers. How then would an inquiry be upgraded to a qualified lead?

Before we can calculate the cost, we need to know what a qualified lead is. A qualified lead will have to satisfy four different criteria.

a) The person must need your product or service. There absolutely has to be a use for the item.

b) The person has to be able to pay for the item.

c) The person is a decision maker. Or at least can exert a strong influence to make a purchase.

d) The person knows when to make the purchase

Anyone who satisfies any of these areas can be a potential customer. And chasing this customer is called lead development. So how much must you spend to generate a qualified lead from among the people you target? Some examples of expenses incurred may be in the form of advertisements, labor, postage, or phone bills. Whatever method of customer interaction you use, they all cost money. If a meeting is required before a lead can be qualified, regard that too as a cost. They can be in the form of transport cost, car parking fees, brochure and calling cards.

Not all inquiries can be qualified. The people that make these inquiries simply cannot be reached. They could be on vacation, ignoring you, too busy, not serious, or just didn’t meet the four criteria listed earlier. Assume, about 15% of all inquiries cannot be qualified. That leaves about 75% of the people you can reach. Of this 75% of the people you get in contact, let us assume that the average qualification rate would be about 20%. So we can safely say that 20% of those you interact will become qualified leads.

Example on how your calculated the cost of a qualified leads

Number of inquiries: 100
Number that qualify: 75
Cost of qualifying, per inquiry: $20
Number who turns out to be qualified leads (20%): 15
Total cost of qualifying ($20 X 75): $1,500
Campaign cost of $10,000 + qualifying cost = $11,500
Total cost of $11,500 divided by 15 qualified leads = $766.66

In short, you must invest $766.66 to attract each customer who needs your product or service. This amount varies from industry to industry, but its more a less a very significant amount and it is to your best interest to improve the percentage of qualified leads.

One great idea to improve your percentage of qualified leads is to offer a gift to the people that made an inquiry. Ensure you choose the gift that will enable people to remember you and has your contact printed on it. The gifts need not necessary be expensive as long as they can improve chances of qualified leads.

Assuming you budget $2.00 a lead, and decide to give promotional pens with your logo and contact printed on it. The calculation of cost of qualified leads will now look like this:

Number of inquiries: 100
Number that qualify: 75
Cost of qualifying, per inquiry: $20 + $2 (cost of pen) = $22
Number who turn out to be qualified leads (24%): 18 (Assume gifts improve your chances by 4%)
Total cost of qualifying ($22 X 75): $1,650
Campaign cost of $10,000 + qualifying cost = $11,650
Total cost of $11,650 divided by 18 qualified leads = $647.20

Wait a minute. Cost for 15 qualified leads without gifts was $766.66. Cost for 18 qualified leads with gifts is now $647.20 This is a $119.46 savings with extra 3 more qualified leads!

Now let us consider another angle of calculating the cost of chasing a lead. Suppose we need to qualify a lead by paying a customer a visit. This will incur transport, labor, and car parking cost. It is reasonable to assume that it will cost $50 per trip. Add the cost of the campaign, which includes brochures, marketing materials, samples and the cost of the name card. Assume these materials cost another $30. In total, the cost of qualifying this lead is $80.

If the customer is not sure if he or she needs this product or service, this trip can be totally be wasted. Once you walk away from the customer, your marketing materials may end up in the trash can. Your call card may end up buried under piles of name cards. But the situation can be salvaged when you leave a gift behind. Especially if it is a well chosen and practical gift, it almost never ends up in the trash can nor buried under piles of rubbish. It stays in front of the customer’s desk.

Immediately you chances of this customer turning into a qualified lead somewhere in the future increases! Assuming you choose the same $2.00 pen as a gift. With an extra 2.5% percent of the total cost, you have increased the odds by many times.

There are many angles of which you can analyze the cost of chasing a lead. But when you factor giving as part of your strategy, most of the time, you can drive down the cost of chasing a lead. In a recent American Express Survey conducted by OPEN, budgets for client and customer gifts rose 15% in 2005. This clearly demonstrates that businesses are realizing the value of gifts and are actively making giving as a priority in their marketing strategy.

This is the amazing value of gifts that will help you improve your lead qualification, but your lead generation as well. Practice giving today, and expect it to reduce cost and increase sales. It may just put you in a position never achieved before.

KS Ong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
KS Ong, is a corporate gift specialist consultant who helps businesses incorporate gifts and premiums into their marketing strategy. He runs a gift review site at http://www.netadv.com.my

Is your company on the right track? Are they, are you focused on the important things that will drive success in the future? Will the product you sell, the customer you serve remain the same five to ten years from now? How about your job, will the skills you have today serve you in tomorrow’s job market? Not likely!

Most of us know that there is something wrong with the way they work today. Yet we keep doing the same things naively expecting different results. Getting out of this rut and moving forward requires a new focus and new ideas. In the face of these ever-changing realities the only way that we can get ahead of the curve is by learning to clearly articulate goals, watching and predicting trends.

Did you know that?

• Experts estimate that 80% of products that we use today will be obsolete in 3-5 years.

• 50% of all jobs for the next six years have not been created.
• 50 years ago it took a lifetime for technology to make a job irrelevantnow it takes 2-3.
• A New York Times article reported that nearly 2,000 jobs are eliminated daily.
• 70% of workers experience stress related illnesses.

The good news is that “the value of human capital will be the most valuable resource in the 21st century.”

Companies are quick with the rallying cry that people are their most valuable asset. It’s not what you have but how you use it. Think 6 can help your company prepare for the future. Our message to every employer and every employee is that it is not just “people” but prepared people, people with focus and drive that will provide the competitive advantage.

Work of the future will not fit into the neatly defined boxes that we call jobs. If you are going to be successful in advancing and managing your career, you must adjust your way of thinking from getting a job to finding work that adds value to the company.

You add value to a company when you:

• Understand the needs of the business.

• Understand and separate your needs, wants, and desires.
• Balance the business needs, your needs, and the realities of work.

Understand The Needs Of The Business

The first rule of business is simple and can be stated with one word”PROFITABILITY”. Profit is the difference between sales revenue and costs. If a company is not profitable it will not succeed. Without profits there are no raises, no growth, no profit sharing, no bonuses, and eventually no jobs. Every business no matter the industry must add to the economic value of the enterprise. Our careers and our livelihood are dependant on understanding what drives profitability. To know how you and your talents positively impact the companies bottom-line puts you in the drivers seat.

In time of great uncertainty a company must work with a focused urgency and a unity of purpose. The focus and purpose is the bottom-line and requires balancing six equally important drivers. We call them The Business 6.

1. Increase Revenue

2. Increase Quality
3. Increase Productivity
4. Reduce Costs
5. Reduce Cycle-Time
6. Increase Customer Loyalty

If you are think that you are just a small fish in the big pond with no effect on profitability then you are swimming upstream. Every decision you make has an organizational impact. Some are small and some are great but if you think that you have NO impact on The Business 6 then you are swimming with no life jacket!

Understand And Separate Your Needs, Wants, And Desires

As important has it is for your organization to plan for the future and set strategic goals, so is true for you. Without knowing where you are going, you are constantly evaluating your life in retrospect. Working smart means working toward well established and articulated professional and organizational goals.

To begin examine your interests, abilities and experiences, and think about what you consider the ideal job. Based on this information, determine your goals and develop a plan for reaching them. Working smart means focusing on value-added activities that promote profitability. You can’t be an effective systems analyst, HR representative, trainer, or manager unless you understand how your role serves the business as a whole.

Defining your career goals within the context of business needs gives you a concrete way to increase and express your value to the organization. To be effective stay current on industry trends and prepare yourself for challenges you may face. Look for educational opportunities, such as earning an advanced certification, that enhance your expertise and sharpen new and existing skills. Knowing how your work contributes to the overall goals will lead to added confidence, boldness, and enthusiasm.

Balance The Business Needs, Your Needs, And The Realities Of Work

A job is a temporary way to package tasks that need to done for the department. These help the company achieve its overall mission. The more a job contributes to the organization or to customer satisfaction, the longer the job is likely to last. It is important to see your job in the context of the larger organization, industry and/or profession. You need to develop a clear line of sight between what you do everyday and how the company performs.

Never forget that every decision you make in the course of your career must be made in the context of the business’s goals. Always try and go above and beyond your job description. Don’t just do what’s asked of you, think of other ways you can contribute to the success of the team. Each company wanting to be profitable is constantly balancing The Business 6. It is that goal that should impact each and every business decision that you make.

The key to future success does not find its origins solely in the way we work, but also in the way we think. The ability to think differently is the key to creating innovative solutions to old problems. Our ability to move from stagnation to growth means that we must see challenges as obstacles that can be overcome, and have a confidence in our ability to remain focused on the goal.

That done, the success or failure of your mission will ultimately be determined by dozens of small decisions you make everyday. With each decision, ask yourself two simple questions.

Question #1: “Is this action going to lead me toward my goal?” If you answer “no” and if you are truthful with yourself, refocus, change and direct your behavior toward your goals.

Question #2: “Is the decision I am about to make in line with the organization’s goal and The Business 6?” If the answer is yes, proceed with full vigor! If the answer is no, rethink and develop a new course of action.

We will all face challenges in our lives personally and professionally. It is not what happens to us, it’s what we do about it that counts. Those who are great predictors of trends to come and those that set purposeful goals accordingly will be the victors.

Valarie is CEO of Think 6 Results — a knowledge broker passionate about learning and improving performance in organizations. She’s a writer, presenter, and executive coach on a mission to get every employee and organization focused on and thinking about the SIX business driving goals that matter.

Looking for just the right SPEAKER for your special meeting or event; we offer full-day presentations, training workshops, and keynote addresses. This high-energy presenter is ready to cover topics like: strategic thinking , career strategy,leadership, change management, teambuilding, employee engagement, or organizational learning. Let us customize a presentation for you. You won’t be disappointed.

We want you to share this article with others. Feel free to copy this article when you include the copyright and contact information listed below.

Contact Valarie at washington@think6results.com or by calling 630-705-1189. Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com

You’re a bright, dynamic executive. You’ve been scheduled to give a major company presentation. You’re sitting in the audience waiting your turn to speak. You hear your name and start walking stiffly to the lectern.

Suddenly you’re all alone and everyone is looking at you. You’re racked with symptoms of tension: Your hands are clammy, your knees feel wobbly, and your heart is pounding. You’ve developed a strange shortness of breath and your breakfast is staging an uprising. “If I can just get started,” you tell yourself, “everything will be fine.” So you open your mouth – and out comes a sound that is a cross between a squeaking balloon and a bad cough.

Twenty minutes later, you heave a sigh of relief and say weakly “Well, that’s it I guess,” and stagger back to your seat. It’s over. It’s all a blank. You have no sense of satisfaction from a job well done. And you tell yourself you’ll never go through such a shattering experience again.

Take heart, for you have plenty of company. Public speaking can be a terrifying experience, and few have the training and confidence required to overcome the symptoms of fear.

I work with managers and executives who want to be better public speakers. For almost everyone a key to their success means redirecting tension and nervousness into useful and productive energy the way actors do.

CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE

Don’t think about negative speaking experiences from your past. Instead, fantasize success. Imagine yourself speaking well.

Don’t worry about how you’re coming across, or about whether they’ll like you. Know that you have an important message to give. Your audience will pick up on your enthusiasm and will be rooting for you.

Accept that what you are feeling happens to everyone. After the first minute the worst of your symptoms will be over.

Eliminate “all or nothing” thinking. “If I’m not perfect, I’ve blown it.”

Think of public speaking as “enlarged conversation”.

Get things in perspective. “What’s the worst that can happen?” “Ten years from now who will remember this?” “I deserve to be here. I’m an expert on this subject.”

Recognize that people don’t listen well anyway. 48 hours from now they’ll only remember 25% of what you said.

DEVELOP “PUBLIC SOLITUDE”

This is an acting term that means you have rehearsed your talk so well, that nothing can break your concentration. When you know your talk well, you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to say next. You’re on automatic pilot.

Keep concentrating and keep going no matter what. The rule of improvisation means that no one will know you’ve made an error unless you stop and point it out.

BREATHE

Another actor’s technique can help you avoid shortness of breath and a shaky voice. Most people when nervous hold their breath, but oxygen is the fuel for your voice. So take four long, slow deep breaths before you speak.

During your talk, pause and take another deep breath whenever you feel shaky.

For an extra long sentence take a quick inhale in the middle. You will end your though without your voice trailing off.

WARM UP BEFORE YOU SPEAK

Physical movement releases nervous energy. Take a short walk before your speak. While walking recite the first minute of your speech a few times so that your voice is warmed up as well.

Get in the room early and practice walking up to the lectern. Look out at the room until you own it.

Roll your shoulders and lift them up to your ears

Shake your hands until they tingle, then swing them vigorously

Try these tips and turn your fear into the joy of speaking and connecting with an audience.

© Roberta Prescott

Roberta Prescott heads The Prescott Group, a communication firm specializing in Executive Development. Visit our web site at http://www.theprescottgroup.com for more information on speaking seminars and executive coaching.

Internet betting sites are modulated with the help of 3 administrations. These are OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association (the FTGA). bet money on sports game

The Offshore Gaming Association are a self controlling watchdog body that presently supervises the offshore betting business in an enterprise to also deliver gamblers the facility to readily select dependable internet organizations to play betting games with. It works to maintain consumer’s rights, and also they charge no particaption charges. The association is a professional and neutral third party association which asserts unprejudiced viewpoints, based around your feedback, nonpartisan study, phone chats, insider tips and in addition offers inside news.

The Interactive Gaming Council is a nonprofit agency. The organization was set up to furnish an arena for curious parties to talk about questions also to advance common matters in the multinational online betting business, in an effort to establish fair and dutiful professional guidelines and methods that enhance client confidence in net based betting merchandise and benefits, and in addition to function as the offshore gambling industry’s generic policy advocate and the IGC also works as an info base of operations.

The Interactive Gaming Council has built a reputation for trustworthiness, candor and believability by reason of its high ideals, and its allure for business enterprises of proper practise. The Interactive Gaming Council monitors offshore gaming by upholding a specific 10-step general procedure guide and charges gaming internet sites fees for featuring their logo. Unsatisfied gamers may also recount their differences of opinion to the IGC.

The FTGA has been founded in order to generate a benchmark to upgrade the actions of world wide web based sports betting trading operations. The agency understand that through affiliating entirely with respected enterprises, they are able to fabricate an alliance of the most honest and most efficient online gaming businesses internationally. So, in brief there are agencies which inspect the dealings of computer accessible sports gaming and which should hopefully aid to ease a lot of the uneasiness due to the apprehension experienced by detractors. Internet based sports gaming sites are actually harmless, in as much as private data should not be a requirement and the compensation and the gaming odds should be equivalent to your usual Vegas-type stake. They cut back on the traveling costs, but nevertheless preserve the underlying ethos, however today you are able to wager in the comfort of home.

A life insurance agent sits across the dining room table from a couple. The couple is middle class with two children ages 2 and 10. After conferring with the couple for 45 minutes the agent has designed a plan to protect the family against death of either the mother or father or both. The agent slides the proposal across the table to the parents. The parents glance at the proposal and see that the plan will cost them $50.00 a month. The couple hesitates then glances at each other.

The agent observes the hesitation. He anticipates an objection and reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out 2 quarters, 2dimes, 3nickels and 4 pennies. He then puts the change on the table and states that “The children’s future will be protected in the event that a tragedy takes the life of one of you or both for a little over a dollar a day or a cup of coffee.” In sales, the next one that speaks loses. The couple smiles and asks “Where do we sign?”

This is called “Reduce to the Ridiculous” and it is a form of “framing.” In the sales profession this is a very effective way to overcome the “monthly objection.” Millhouse framed his decision in the very same manner. The salesman reduced to the ridiculous and Millhouse bought. Forty cents a day sounds better than $12.40 a month. The couple in this example was faced with the dilemma of $50.00 a month. The children would still be taken care of financially in the event the parents died but $50.00 a month is a lot of money, that is $600.00 a year or just $1.61 a day. “Wait a minute, just $1.61 a day? We can do that! Where do we sign?” What does this say about our customer base?

People do not respond the same to prohibitions and allowances (Plouse, 1993). Take for instance the agent and the couple or Millhouse and the salesman, both were faced with a substantial amount of money out of pocket even though the need warranted it. When the agent and salesman turned the concept around to the point of value for only pennies a day, the customer’s frame was changed and the sale was made. The “framed” saw that the allowances far outweighed the prohibitions regardless of the fact that everything was the same. This is very powerful in the world of sales. “How you make a decision is often determined by how you view your choices or how you frame the questions around it” (Anderson, 1999).

In the Millhouse example the salesman framed the question around the future success of the company being worth “one can of soda.” This statement is pretty ridiculous to the point that anyone would say yes to that statement. If the salesman framed the question any other way, the possibility of a sale at that moment could have been greatly diminished. For example, if the salesman stated that the future success of the company depended upon the purchase of this product today, there is no value associated with the gain or loss. Millhouse didn’t see a can of soda being the reason the company is successful; rather Millhouse can easily validate that the decision could be made tomorrow and thusly rationalize against the purchase. For example, he could rationalize the overall cost versus gain, interest paid, and “Is it really a value.” People tend to be against risk and will look for reasons to talk themselves out of the situation when given the chance (Anderson, 1999).
The can of soda a day is not a loss compared to the future success of the company.

Framing in the business world can be a powerful ally to the salesman. Salesman are trained not to go into a sales pitch right away but rather “feel out” the prospect, gather information and find the hot spots. An experienced salesman knows his prospects as well as the product if not more. An experience salesman builds a relationship with the prospect. An experienced salesman asks the right questions. An experienced salesman frames the closing statement to the point that the prospect would be a fool not to buy.

A good listener as well as inquisitor can learn more about a person in one conversation than they think. The more the person knows the more power that person has to be an influence upon the decisions we make. In these cases knowledge is power. Successful businesses with products to sell have uncovered so much information about the people and markets to which their products are being sold to. Without this knowledge, the marketing departments would never know how to cleverly make that closing statement, or put that person there in that commercial or use those colors within the product they are marketing to sell. This is all a form of decision framing by influencing the way the customer sees the product, convinces themselves to purchase the product and rationalize that the purchase was a good decision. Framing a decision in part is controlled by the normalcy, habits and attributes of the decision maker (Plouse, 1993).

Morally, people must take the decisions they make into careful consideration and accountability. One can have a great influence over another when it is done right. We are all guilty in one way or another of framing, from the toy companies to convincing your boss you need a raise. The world is bought and sold face to face or across the airwaves using frames. Conflict and peace and the reasons for either one are thrust upon us by using frames. The key is to take time in making a decision.

Usually a decision can be made on a product or situation with a little bit of time in between. Will the decision be different? There is an extreme possibility that it will. If one was framed and took time to think about it, more than likely the decision will be different. Millhouse didn’t take time to analyze the total cost of the product on the extended payment plan and the difference that would make on the actual bottom line and whether it was worth it then. We are all guilty of framing and being framed. We all have a responsibility to take a few steps back and think about and realize the decisions we make. The fact of the matter is we would probably be surprised about how differently our lives might actually be.

Raul Ramirez

References
“Decision Making Traps We All Fall Into” Kare Anderson Canadian Womens Business Network 1999. retrieved 18 November 2005.

http://www.cdnbizwomen.com/articles/kare8.html

Plouse, Scott (1) (1993) “The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making” New Aster: McGraw-Hill

Raul Ramirez is a licensed agent in the state of Florida and is the owner of Gulf Breeze Insurance Inc.
http://www.gulfbreezeinsurance.com

Copyright 2006 Geoff Morris

London Feb 2006

It may come as no surprise to you, but hundreds of millions of Westerners are now clinically over weight. If you spend any time in America, you only have to go to any of the hundreds of fast food chains to see why this is such a problem; both the portions and the customers are getting way too big! And many parts of Europe and especially the UK are following fast on their heels.

Now, many visitors to weight lifting and body building sites are not particularly obese, but many of them are looking to reduce their body fat to its minimum while at the same time building up quite striking muscle tissue. They are well aware that to really rip and shred those muscles you have to be very lean already, since you can’t sculpt fat!

But of course, the other side effect that haunts body-builders, is that the minute they stop their exercise routines – for whatever reason – they worry that they will just pile on the pounds and so they often do.

So, body builder or not, here is a major problem for a load of people – how to control your weight whatever sort of lifestyle you deem to follow. Now, not many body builders have secret lives as couch potatoes, but sometimes it is good to relax and enjoy life.

If you look at a number of health-related problems facing society today -smoking, sex and obesity, are way at the top of the list. More and more of us are turning to drugs as a cure-all for our little (or big) problems.

Viagra has done a brilliant job to help impotence, and a combination of legislation and drugs has helped to reduce smoking. But millions – no trillions – have been spent on the war against obesity, with very little impact….until now.

In one of the most inhospitable parts of the world, in the Kalahari Desert, there is an ugly looking, foul tasting cactus plant called the Hoodia. As wild life is scattered across miles of inhospitable desert, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari have tended to use two natural drugs to make their lives more acceptable while on long extended hunting trips. Marijuana helps to offset long periods of boredom, but more importantly when they go on these hunting forays, they have been eating parts of the Hoodia cactus to suppress their pangs of hunger and thirst

Although there are over 20 species in the Hoodia family only the Hoodia Gordonii plant contains a natural appetite suppressant

When some South African scientists began doing some routine tests on this plant, they discovered a previously unknown sort of molecule, to which they gave the name P 57. This was then synthesized into a drug that emulated the Hoodia effects on appetite and thirst suppression.

P 57 – Not a very exciting name, but one which is going to have a massive effect on the lifestyle of millions of obese Westerners, and those living from one diet to the next, in the hope of finding the elixir of slimness.

The licence for this product, originally researched by a Cambridgeshire company, has now been purchased by the giant Pfizer Corporation.

Now as usual, if you buy products like this off the web, you have to be very careful to buy certified products. After all, when Viagra was released, a whole plethora of cheap imitation products flooded the market, almost destroying the real drug’s true benefits.

It is important that only 100% pure South African Hoodia from the Kalahari Desert is used for the best effects of this wonder drug, and the only way to ensure you have the real thing is to look to see if your supplier is displaying the certificates to prove it.

Don’t be surprised if the next fast food chain comes in the form of flavored Hoodia burghers – mind you – they won’t sell many as the appetite won’t be there…

As the automobile GPS units get better and the prices have come down it seems that more and more people are finally contemplating on installing them. In the past few years audio, satellite radio and SUV back seat video recorders and TV have been considered to be the cool thing to own. Yet as prices keep falling in the feature rich GPS auto market we are seeing it is becoming one hot item to have and it indeed did appear on many a Soccer Mom’s Christmas list as well.

Have you been considering a GPS unit? You know you need one and actually with high fuel prices the unit may just make up its costs in better trip planning and alternate routes in peak traffic times? Wouldn’t that be great; avoid the traffic and also save fuel? Now that is the ticket indeed and with the ticket prices coming down for the most sought after state-of-the-art and top of the line units with fully integrated features, voice activated commands and audio directions why wouldn’t you buy one today?

There are many new options and units, which do not need the CDROM in them and you do not have to change them to find what you are looking for if they do use a CDROM. Many of the new units have the latest hard drives with upgradeable memory and are still well under $1000, which is a great thing indeed. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

While novels do not usually attempt to convey concepts about the need to protect ourselves, this one does. For Sale By Owners:FSBO. As the author, I have been told that I have broken all of the rules. Crime, Police corruption, Sexual abuse, and Scams are exposed. The Trucking, Real Estate, and even Street~Prostitution industries are laid bare.

This story is dedicated to all those who did not recognize the dangers which lurked behind the friendly faces of evil.

When questioned about my reasoning for choosing this layout, I’ve repeatedly said, “I selected the novel format because it allowed the freedom to develop hypothetical scenarios, involving fictional characters, while forcing awareness of real dangers. I wanted to make a compelling case for right choices, not just in marketing ones home, but in all aspects of life.”

Perhaps it was due in part to some good advice I received when I was attempting to decide what to write. A book I read said that an author should choose a subject that he or she knows something about. Wow, that made sense. For someone who had been involved in several industries, had spent much of his life cleaning up mistakes made on personal levels, and feeling a need to convey ideas to people that might dissuade them from similar dangerous avenues, a novel would be more flexible than a self-help guide of some sort. Especially considering that often those who are most at risk, don’t have any idea that they are.

So how did I do it? Well, as an avid reader, I asked myself, “What type of novels do I enjoy reading?” Space does not permit listing all of the authors I enjoy. But John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Mary Higgins Clark, and Dean Koontz are at the top of my personal list. Steven King scares me real well.

Realizing that if I worked real hard, and maybe I live to be the age of Methuselah ~ if I hoped I might develop my own craft to one of their levels ~ I had better get busy. Even if the end result were a mediocre novel, it would be a fun thing to complete. Yet more importantly, perhaps I could reach some people who might not otherwise recognize the dangers that they place themselves in.

Poetry in a novel? Yup,~ in the form of a dozen songs ~ it is an intriguing aspect of, what has been called “This unique literary work.”

Mind illusions and abhorrent actions of a Serial Rapist add an eerie element that are in contrast to those actions of a male truck driver and a female real estate agent who become romantically involved.

The best rewards I have received ~ to date ~ are unsolicited e-mails and requests for permission to be linked to other’s websites. From a real estate broker with MS who ordered a copy from Amazon.com:
Hi Russ,

I’ve just finished, in your words, “a very good read”.

The name of the book is “FSBO” which I enjoyed thoroughly.

You covered it all, bureaucracy, politics, sex, crime and day-to-day real
estate activity.

You have a talent that MS can’t touch.

Even though I have a master’s in journalism and communications, and have read a lot, I think you could teach many published writers a thing or two about story telling.

I hope to hear more from you. Keep up the good work.

Very Best Regards!

Frank

Shadowy worlds surrounding the moving business, government housing, drugs, prostitution, real estate, organized crime, and the trucking industry are illuminated. Can a nave pregnant waitress, the young deputy, women abused, or an uneducated thief, fight the foes of darkness to learn the lessons of life? All, so involved in their own twisted lives, must make right choices or suffer the consequences.

To others of you talented Ezine Article Authors who have a desire to test the unchartered book~waters, I would have to say, “Come on in! ~ The water is fine.”

Russ Miles is the author of the novel, For Sale By Owners:FSBO.
Seasoned Real Estate NAR® Broker Disabled by Multiple Sclerosis,
FOR SALE BY OWNERS:FSBO ISBN 0-595-28703-4,in trade paperback,
is available by phone or Internet:1-800-Authors to order direct!
Very HOT-LINK Adobe e-book & hard cover editions also available
FSBO at Amazon.com at Barnes and Noble and other fine booksellers.
Comments: MilesRuss@Gmail.com. Personal referrals to his publisher
You can reach Russ at (360)694-6756. Or by email MilesRuss@Gmail.com

Thirty of the 30 salaried employees the company laid off were at least 53 years old. As long as the adverse action is based on reasonable factors other than age. In Meacham Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory was planning to lay off a number of employees. It then used those totals to decide who to lay off. The BFOQ defense states that it is not unlawful for an employer to take adverse employment actions otherwise prohibited by the ADEA where age is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business. In other words the ADEA permits employers to discriminate based on age considering age is legitimately necessary under the circumstances. Even if the employment action is otherwise prohibited by the ADEA. Knolls totaled those scores and gave the employees additional points based on their years of service. In reaching its conclusion that the employer has the burden to prove the reasonable factors other than age defense the Supreme Court looked at another provision of the ADEA the bona fide occupational qualification defense. Specifically the jury found that although the plaintiffs did not prove that Knolls intentionally discriminated against them they did prove that Knolls method of deciding who to lay off disproportionately harmed older workers. It has the burden to prove that its decision was based on a reasonable factor other than age. The Supreme Court ruled that if an employer seeks to rely on that defense. In that case Meacham versus Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory the Supreme Court interpreted a provision of the ADEA that permits an employer to take an adverse employment action against an employee. The Supreme Court then agreed to hear the case and eventually reversed the Second Circuit and reinstated the jurys finding that Knolls policy unlawfully discriminated because of age. For example it would not be illegal to consider criteria for a particular role in a movie that has a disparate impact on age if the part calls for someone of a particular age. A lawyer from Amstelveen won from a in Brownsville Texas The company had its supervisors rate their subordinates based on their performance flexibility and critical skills. At the trial a jury found Knolls had violated the ADEA because its layoff procedure had a disparate impact based on age. The Supreme Court has previously recognized that the employer has the burden to establish the BFOQ affirmative defense. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit initially affirmed the jurys findings but after the United States Supreme Court asked it to reconsider the Second Circuit reversed itself and ruled in favor of Knolls. Twenty-eight of those 22 employees sued under the ADEA claiming Knolls illegally fired them because of their age.

When trying to achieve good search engine results, remember that most search engines use a PR, or Page Rank system as a large factor in positioning.

This Page Rank system is mostly based on how many quality sites, or sites with a high pagerank, link to your site or blog, so getting as many high PR websites linking to your blog as possible is very important. The more that do (combined with other factors such as the quality of your content), the higher your blogs PR value will be, thus better search engine positioning.

The fastest and easiest way to get these high pagerank sites linking back to your blog is by joining forums that are based on your keywords. You can find the PR of any site, and you can narrow down your search to a certain set of keywords by using a free page rank tool at www.seochat.com/seo-tools/pagerank-search . They also have a bunch of other good free tools you should check out.

Anyways, go to the free page rank search tool and enter “keywords forum”, replacing “keywords” with your main keywords, or the ones you based your business on. Now go through the results and visit every site with a pagerank of 3 or better. When you visit each of these sites, look for a link to their forum, if you aren’t already in one, and register so you can post. There’s usually a link somewhere in the forum that says “register”.

Once you’re registered, edit your profile to include a signature at the end of your posts, and write a sentence to get interest in your blog. For example, my signature is usually something like:

http://make-money-with-no-money.blog-city.com – Watch me build a successful online business from scratch, with no money… and copy me so you can do it too!

Notice that I did a few things here… I linked to my blog, so now when I make a post to this forum, I’m getting a link back from a high PR site. Also, my main keywords are in the link since I named my blog using them (hopefully you did, too). Finally, I used a sentence that would spark interest in anyone reading it. And remember, you found this forum by searching for “your keywords”, so the people who visit this forum are already interested in your main topic… just try to make people want to click on your link by giving them a reason.

So now you have your signature set up. Next thing is to post to the forum. Whatever your do, though, don’t spam. Use the guidelines of the forum, and don’t ever blatently advertise. Nobody likes this, and you’ll never get clicks (you’ll probably lose your forum account too).

All you really need right now is 1 post to each forum, so maybe answer someones question in another post. This is the fastest and easiest way to get a ton of high PR links back to your site. But don’t stop there. When you have time, also keep up with your posts. Share your knowledge with others. Remember… “give and you shall receive”. If you share some good knowledge with one person, especially in a forum, others will see it too, and they’ll naturally follow you for more good information.

After you’ve gone through all of the high PR forums using your main keywords, go back to the free page rank tool and do a search for “other keywords forum”, replacing “other keywords” with some other keywords you use often throughout your content, or secondary keywords. Register and post to these forums just like you did with your main keywords.

As with directories, the more you post to, the better the results. If it helps, just do a few a day, or maybe just 10 per week. Do this for just one month and your blog will have over 40 links back from high PR sites, not including all the high PR links back from the directories you posted to. Immagine if you did 20 a week!

Keep your eye out for my next entry, Writing Articles For Exposure, where you’ll see the power that writing articles can have.

Like this article? I add new articles just like this one to my blog on a regular basis. check it out at http://make-money-with-no-money.blog-city.com and watch me as I build a successful online business from scratch, with no money… and copy me so you can do it too!