The Importance of Quality Banking Software

Perhaps as never before, the necessity for excellent banking software has become evident. Retail banking requires a client-focused approach that will attract new customers and maintain them in a long term business relationship. One way to ensure customer satisfaction has been to guarantee rapid response to questions as well as information-gathering for business transactions.

New banking software technology can provide broad retail functionality while it supports various multi-channel models simultaneously. Scalability and resilience are also important features in quality software for banking needs. New core banking applications need to be able to address and support merger and acquisitions activities.

A new concern has been raised by the recent financial collapses within the banking industry. Astute attention to collateral management may have played a positive role in averting some of the humiliating losses that occurred and adversely affected so many smaller banks and loan institutions as well as the customers they represented. Quality banking software is being developed to include systems that monitor contractual descriptions and types. It will have the capacity of maintaining customer information, contractual data, and credit count relationships. This will be a significant part of any core banking application program.

Excellent financial software is also available for corporate and correspondent banking requirements. This banking software can introduce new business models as it responds speedily to ever-changing market conditions. It can reduce costs and identify and manage the risk factors at work, as well. In contractual management, this feature will assist in recognizing contractual shifts in value before they can cause significant damage. An excellent banking computer program will be flexible enough to include new products as they become available and should improve the overall efficiency of the banking business. All of these improvements should add value to the customer relationship which, of course, is paramount.

When one thinks in terms of universal banking, the amount of information that must be collected, processed, re-calculated regularly, and stored is mind-boggling. More and more banks have chosen to simply out source some of this mass of data collections, including information in contractual management, rather than handle it in-house. New technology will allow for broader functionality in the banking service. Various different kinds of banking products will be able to move across all kinds of channels, especially on the international level. This agility will enable banks to compete with the large international financial institutions that venture into their markets.

When considering the best in banking software, one must look at its "functional richness" as well as its scalability and flexibility. It must be adaptable to the latest in open technology, and it should include a system- connectivity with bilateral management. Customers today want as close to real-time views as possible. They want quick access to their counter-party's collateral and exposures. The ability to function with broad and sweeping informational strokes will strengthen the attractiveness and competitiveness of banking operations for the approaching years.

6 Steps to Effective Customer Relationship Management

Nurture Your Customer Relationships

Simply put, customer relationship management is a way of tracking and nurturing your customer relationships throughout the customer's life-cycle, as they move from prospect to customer, to repeat-buyer. Once a customer buys from you, it is much more profitable to make efforts to keep that customer, than it is to acquire a new one, because there is now trust between you. If your customer is happy with your product, then that customer is much more likely to buy from you again in the future, much more likely than a new prospect would be. That's why customer relationship management is so crucial.

Don't badger your customers to death with every product and affiliate offer you come across, especially if the products are unrelated to the product the customer originally purchased. Email your customers ONLY when you have something good to give them, some really helpful information, or when you have a really good, high-quality offer that would interest that particular customer. For instance, don't email your Internet Marketing customer a "Free Gift Certificate" to your gift store.

Automate Your Customer Relationship Management

Well, how do you automate customer relationship management in your e-business? You use email, and a dynamic database. You use auto-responders to stay in touch. I'm not talking about your regular auto-responders that deliver a vacation or "out of office" messages while you're away, either. I'm talking about sequential auto-responders.

Use Sequential Auto-Responders In Your e-Business

Sequential auto-responders allow you to pre-format and load a series of pre-typed messages to your prospects and customers. You benefit by not having to follow-up with these customers manually each time. Instead, your auto-responder delivers your messages on a timed interval set by you. To your customer, it looks as if you sent out each message yourself. This way, you stay in touch with your customer and not let them forget about you. When they have a need for one your products or services, your business will hopefully come to mind first and they will re-visit your site directly or by clicking a link in one of your emails, as a loyal repeat customer.

Personalize Your Messages for a Warm Feel! (Mail Merge)

Most decent auto-responders have mail-merge capabilities. This is the ability to merge personal information into your emails, like your customer's first and/or last name or their email address, etc. This personalizes your email messages even further and gives your customer some "warm and fuzzies". What's more you set all this up just one time, and any new prospects or customers will get the same message series without you having to lift a finger.

If the sequential auto-responder you're using has mail-merge capabilities, then it will automatically take that customers name and incorporate it into the email series you have set up. Usually the auto-responder service you're using will have some sort of tokens set up for this purpose. Look at the example below. Let's say your customer or prospect's name is Bob.

Hello, $firstname, - That translates into: Hello, Bob.

You could also do this with a customers email address too, like "$email". The token would be replaced with the customer's email: bob@bob.tld













Do you see the power of mail-merge?

Use Lead Capture and Subscription Boxes

For instance, you could set up a simple box on your sales or download page that asks the customer for his/her name and email address in return for some free product, or simply just to subscribe to your newsletter. If you set up a page specifically for this purpose this is called a "lead capture page". The information entered by the customer into your subscription box can be mail merged into the follow-up messages sent by your auto-responder.

Stay In Touch

Keep in contact with your prospects and customers. Set your auto-responder series to deliver your messages over an extended interval. There are several e-books and articles dedicated to this topic; however, if you want the first, most informative and still the king of auto-responder help, get "AutoResponder Magic". This e-book once sold for about $17, but you should be able to find it free many places on the 'Net. It has a plethora of information regarding auto-responders, as well as many examples you can build from.

Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Web Designer for Your Business Web Site

How to Choose a Web Design Firm

Simple. You do your homework on them. Then, you start asking questions and taking notes. There are plenty of web designers available. You want to go with the best because, in fact, your web designer is in essence your partner. You want to choose a designer that takes YOUR business seriously.

What questions do you ask?

There are several important questions to ask when choosing a web designer for your business web site.

Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing the best web design firm for your business web site is a very important decision. And if your company is like most small businesses, you probably do not have a web design experience. Building your web site will take time and work. And working with a web designer is no easy task. So choose the right web design company from the start and avoid do-over's, which can be cost and time consuming.

1. What kind of web experience do you have?

For starters, find out what kind of design experience your potential design firm has. Do they have experience with content management systems such as Joomla or Drupal, do they have experience working with "raw" HTML? Has the web design company created web sites similar to yours? Do they have relevant industry experience? If you want to sell products through your web site and accept credit card payments, does the web design company you are considering have experience with ecommerce hosting?

2. Do you have a portfolio that I can review?

An experienced web design company will have a solid portfolio of web sites that they have created for other clients. Ask for links to other site the design company has created and reviewed each one. Do you like what you see? Do the sites have a style that appeals to you?

3. Do you have any references?

In addition to reviewing web sites, ask for customer references. Contact their clients and ask them about their experience with the web design company. Were they happy with the results? Did they get what they paid for? How much did they pay? Would they recommend them? How long did it take? What did not they like about the company? How responsive was the company when they had questions?

4. What are your prices?

The most important step in pricing is to make sure the potential design company outline all of the prices associated with the work and puts it all in writing. Never enter into a deal without all of the costs are well understood up front.

Ask them a bit about how they manage payments. If they respond in a very business-like and professional manner, this is a good sign. If they throw out answers like - "Do not worry, we'll manage" or "Whatever you are comfortable with", do not be fooled. This is trouble waiting to happen. Get the price in writing before you begin the project.

5. Do you have experience with search engine optimization?

Most small business owners do not have it in their budget to hire a separate marketing firm to work on search engine optimization (SEO), so it is imperative that your web designer have experience in SEO. A good designer will know that design and SEO go hand-in-hand. Designing a web site for search engines with "clean" code that utilizes cascading style sheets is essential to getting your content indexed in the leading search engines, such as Google and Bing.

6. Do you have experience with social media marketing?

Many marketing firms do know the first thing about social media marketing. These firms are stuck in the past and are not as effective as they pret to be. Be sure that you work with a designer that knows how to setup a Facebook fan page for your business and design a customized Twitter profile. This is important because you will want your social media properties to mesh with the design of your web site. The web site and social media pages should complement one-another.

7. What is your process for designing or building a web site?

Make sure you ask your potential web design company about the process that they use? Do they design a web site or do they build a web site? An experienced Internet professional should understand the difference between these two concepts. If they do not, they're probably not as experienced as they claim to be. Building a web site is a highly technical process, while designing a web site is a highly creative process. Many advertising firms specialize in web site design which does not necessarily require any web development skills whatever. At the same time, many firms design web sites, yet out-source the creative portion of the project. Find out from the beginning what the process if for the firm that you are considering.

8. How long will it take?

Perfectionism can be a huge stumbling block in the fast paced world of the Internet. Some designers are unable to compromise between quality and time to market needs. Test: See how long it takes until you receive a proposal.

9. What type of support is offered after web site launch?

If your design firm does not offer web site maintenance, you might want to continue looking. Most reputable design firms will offer "post-launch" maintenance for companies that do not have an in-house webmaster.

10. Which web hosting providers do you work with?

If your design firm does not know the first-names of the contact at their favorite web design firm, then this should raise a red flag. Most reputable web designers know not to choose a web host simply because they are the most popular or because they offer the cheapest web hosting. A reputable web design firm should know who to call and how to get results! Does your web designer work with a green hosting company? Environmentally-friendly web hosting is becoming more and more popular for business web sites looking to implement an eco-policy.

Getting a little recognition on the W3 is hard, even in a niche market (especially in a niche market). You have less than 10 seconds to convince a site visitor to stick around long enough to learn about the quality of your services, your products or your message. Web surfers are jagged out on information overload. If they do not see what they want to see on your home page or a landing page, they bounce. So, making a statement about your corporate culture and your business' core values ​​has to happen in the blink of an eye. Visitors will never even see the "About Us" page if you do not create a good impression - in 10 seconds. So, go green! An emblem or banner claiming that you employ green hosting makes an immediate statement about your on-line business. It says you care about the environment.

Do your homework when choosing a web design firm.

Good designers are creative people that need to think out of the box. Finding a good web designer is getting harder and harder. The good designers are being snatched by agencies and large projects. They are overloaded with work and often, you will not know about them because they do not have time (or need) to market themselves. Doing your homework and asking the right questions is important to decide if they are right for the job.

BOTS Companion of a Modern Revenue Manager

Bots have become an important part of human life both, at the personal and professional front and their involvement is climbing new peaks with every passing day. They surround us in our daily life in the form of Artificial Intelligence, Search Engines, and Software. Part of it has also paved way for smarter and efficient revenue management for hotels fueling the debt that if humans should be irrevocably replaced with bots for this complex round the clock function. Although the practice may be at a nascent stage to draw concluding, it has certainly made a mark in the real of the hospitality industry and has become an indispensable part of any hotel revenue management.

Artificial Intelligence powered robots can analyze and synthesize large chunks of hotel data collected at various touch points in a fraction of seconds to present meaningful insights about the booking pattern, demand, guest behavior which is impossible to be grouped or processed by any amount of human workforce with the same efficiency as bots. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the Artificial Intelligence has sort of revolutionized the hospitality industry across the globe, enabling every business to improve on multiple fronts like hotel pricing, price optimization, revenue management, guest experience management, booking management, demand and even capacity optimization of properties.

Furthermore, these bots are also capable of analyzing trends and trace upcoming events in the town to estimate the rise in demand, providing enough room for revenue managers to tweak the pricing and availability instead of fire fighting the situation at the last minute.

Leading hotels have already started betting big on AI powered bots and poised to explore new ways to make bots a part of their business operations. One significant advantage bots have over humans is that they can work tirelessly 24X7 with the same precision. Hotel industry requires attention 24X7 and is one of the most dynamic industries with continuous fluctuations in trends, demand, and prices. That is where these robust machines have huge value to add to the revenue management realm. These invisible machines can not only quickly determine the best rates at a particular time for your property, (room rate optimization) but also advise the revenue managers on which segment to target and the kind of promotional offers to be run to maximize the revenue.

Another major area where hotels continue to hustle is direct bookings. Hotels have been continuously trying to improve booking numbers on their own website since OTA missions are touching skies, eating up a major revenue share of hotels. Hotels would be surprised to know that even in this area, bots can improve their game and help increase the number of bookings by a decent percentage. With advanced learning capabilities and rigorous analysis of visitor's purchasing behavior, AI powered bots can refine the visitor experience and personalize every visitor's journey to their needs and interests. This increments visitor engagement and reduces the cycle time of purchase leading to conversion on the hotel website itself.

This again brings us to the joke that wherever revenue managers can be gradually replaced by bots completely risking their roles and jobs in the industry altogether. The answer is obviously NO since these micro machines can only process and analyze only a set number of parameters in their decision and often neglect external market implications that may not be considered by such bots but are easily identifiable only by human revenue managers and this acumen is gained by experience.

Therefore, the ideal mix should be machine results mediated and supervised by human revenue managers. For eg, Pricing is one area which could have been automated with a reasonable amount of diligence and control of the revenue manager. Similarly, online reputation management can also be monitored with technology; however, a personalized approach will take you a long way. The key is to automate the processes that require minimum human intervention and involve human where necessary. This will help revenue managers to don more hats at the same time like exploring more avenues to maximize per guest audience and focus on other revenue increasing strategies.

Thus, witnessing the scenarios discussed above, we can conclude that the status of the bots is of a companion to revenue managers instead of a successor who will complement them at every step with razor fast information and analysis of the market and competition, enabling revenue managers to take informed decisions in no time and help them optimize revenues and drive the hotel towards new millions of success.

Elevate Your Business With Data Entry Services

The sole aim of many organizations is to progress well in their objectives and hire people who are good and efficient in their work. However, sometimes, there are some work profiles that are mundane in nature but equally important like data entry services. You will be amazed to know that these services also play a crucial role in building the future of an organization.

In fact, with the coming of information technology, the data entry services have actually become a kind of industry, as various businesses need accurate and detailed information for various reasons. So they are relying on such services that not only help them in growing but they cost effective too. These data entry services are an asset for any organization irrespective of its size in both the terms of work, financial status and area. With the help of such services you are able to get the information on the market trends, your clients and moreover, about the status of your own business. Here, there is a lot of demand for data entry services in order to do great business.

As you must be aware of the fact that data data services can be time consuming; it it requires efficient work to execute various tasks perfectly and diligently. Every transaction has to be recorded, processed and analyzed so that the management or the decision-makers can have a clear picture of the actual financial standing of the company. In fact, there are many organizations that are interested in the data of the company so that they can strike a business deal with the company in the future; the competitors are also the one's who are constantly following the events of the company. However, the most important part that constituents group are the shareholders, employees, creditors, consumers and the market in general. Therefore, this service plays a significant role in determining the future of the company. Thus, it is taken very seriously by many business enterprises for various reasons that can elevate their businesses by many fractions.

In fact, data entry services are now being outsourced from various leading vendors to further simplify the requirements of every business. Well, these services cover many business activities like document and image processing, data conversion, image enhancement, image editing, catalog processing, and photo manipulation. In fact, you can use data entry services for transferring hard or soft copy to any database format; insurance claims entry; PDF document indexing; online data capture; product catalogs to web based systems; online order entry and follow up; creation of new databases. Moreover, banks, airlines, government agencies, direct marketing services and service providers are using these services for better businesses.

The data services are also utilized for mailing lists; data mining and warehousing; data cleansing; audio transcriptions; legal documents; indexing of vouchers and documents; hand written ballot or card entry; online completion of surveys and responses of customers for various companies. Now its up to the company to whether go for a vendor or hire in-house staff to accomplish tasks in a better way; the main purpose of this service is to offer convenience that can help in curbing time as well as other resources.

Logistics Software is the Ultimate Transportation Management Program

It's difficult to think of an area of ​​business that has not benefited from SaaS offerings. And if you own a manufacturing company or plan on starting one, you may be familiar with truckload transportation management software, a form of logistics software that is available on both a SaaS model and as an internal software solution. The value of logistics software is typically discussed in relation to third party logistics (3PL), with its main benefits being that it offers logistics solutions at a significantly lower price than 3PL while offering more shipping options.

Logistics software offers the same logistics expertise as 3PL providers for a lower price because it's priced as a software service and not as a logistics consulting service. It offers a broader range of shipping solutions because it does not act as a business entity that prefers its own shipping solutions or the solutions of its associates. But there are also other benefits of using logistics software instead of 3PL; Below, we take a look at three reasons why logistics software is the ultimate transportation management program.

Companies Can Become Their Own Logistics Providers

When shipping companies get large enough, they usually purchase their own flight fleet and hire a team of logistics professionals to oversee it. But for small to midsize shipping companies, the financial necessity of outsourcing logistics means that they have to maintain a relationship with a 3PL that 3PL clients regularly characterize as being distant and disconnected, and it's easy to see why. If you are not a logistics expert, it's difficult to maintain a business dialogue within someone who is. But logistics software effectively places the power of the logistics function in the hands of shipping companies by providing an easy to use customer interface, making it an ideal transportation management program.

Companies Receive a Comprehensive Logistical Approach

There are four types of 3PL providers: standard 3PL providers, service developers, customer adapters and customer developers. But only customer developers offer a comprehensive approach that results in new shipping solutions. The problem? Cost wise, hiring a customer developer is essentially like hiring your own team of logistics professionals. And if you can not afford that, then hiring a customer developer is a bad decision as well. Companies hire standard 3PL providers and service developers when they have a specific need, but not when they when they want the best systematic shipping process; and customer adapters are rented by companies that simply want their shipping process "managed".

Companies can Significantly Reduce their Annual Shipping Costs

Research shows that companies that implement logistics software can reduce their annual shipping costs by 10 percent at the end of the first year. With the aid of logistics software, shippers typically pay more than they need to in freight transport and a variety other costs commonly associated with the shipping process, including but not limited to: TMS software costs, annual software maintenance costs, gain shares, freight margins and common rate based licensing costs.

Drive Your Business With the Automotive CRM Tool

If you are always scrambling for active leads, future leads, dropped leads, or sold cars, then your CRM data management is up for a drastic overhaul. You can not give the lame excuse that you're not computer savvy that's why you can not make use of the automated CRM tool. This is suicide if you're in business.

Car Dealers, Sit Up!

A sale a day keeps the bankruptcy at bay. Car dealers have to reach a target sales quota monthly to reap their rewards from the wholesale purchase of cars. That's how they make a living. If you're in the car business, you know how important it is to keep your customer information updated and manageable. The automated CRM tool saves all the trouble of wading through messy files.

If you are not computer savvy, or if your CRM staff is not that clever with computers, you still can not give the reason that the technology is beyond your ken. Software architects had this in mind when designing the software. They have made the features easy to use, and they did not design a rubic-like puzzle just to confound users of the software.

The screen layout of the software has recognizable buttons and have different color codes for different files. You can even keep track of the weekly appointments you have scheduled, so there's no time wasted; you have the customers well within your speed and mileage meter. You can also send your customers emails or chat them up.

You can even do a quick inventory of supplies and spare parts in just one go. You do not have to get up and rifle through old files to update anything needing a quick touch up. This expediency is not limited to your customer databank, but also extends to your suppliers' info tank.

Easy collaboration with suppliers from all over the globe makes it effortless for you to be updated about their latest products and stocks. You can always have first hand and consistent information to share with customers and target leads. This improves your customer care and services, helping your business pick up speed.

Efficient Collaboration

The automated CRM tool enhances your accounting methods. It becomes easy for you to track customer accounts and company expenses. You do not need many workers to manage your CRM databank. A fully trained employee can do the job of three persons efficiently with the CRM tool for automotive dealership.

You still have the option to let a third party manage your system. This comes cheaper because you do not have to pay for add-ons that may be required later or measures for your data security. Instead of paying the wages for a worker to manage your CRM, the service provider does this competently and costs much less when expenses are summed up.

The technology gives you the edge in sharing information with different departments in the business and with the car makers, gives better communication links with customers and suppliers, and helps personalize customer interaction.

Improved Sales

When there is a ready and updated file on customer information, it is easy to track leads and consistently follow them up, especially when there are new car models or spare-parts that have become available.

The automated CRM tool contains modules for sales force computerization and customer communications administration. Collection of customer data becomes efficient and the information that is collected is organized for easy analysis, which determinates consequent action.

With prompt action on leads and better customer service, sales is improved. Automotive CRM tool gives the business the better drive.

5 Ways Blockchain Will Transform the Life of a Common Man

With all of the media set ablaze with news of prices of cryptocurrencies, you may wonder how it affects a common man. Right at the heart of cryptocurrency and other digital currencies is Blockchain technology.

There are various industrial and administrative problems that the technology can solve for the common man. Do you own a small business but often feel transparency is lacking because of traditional methods of communication? Have you ever ended up with higher than usual medical bills? As a business owner, is finding legitimate candidates a hassle for you? These problems affect entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses, individuals and Blockchain technology seeks to provide solutions to make the life of a common man much simpler through simplified solutions.

Banking

Banking in almost all countries is still very focused on paper-intensive transactions for any money transfer, recordkeeping or other back-end functions. Blockchain technology can replicate this in a digital format and create a decentralized ledger that allows not only the bankers but also the customers to access a single source of information. This system allows banks to eliminate chances of fraud as documentation and proof of ownership of assets can be checked digitally by bankers in the Blockchain ledger which can be accessed at any time in an unalterable format.

Identity theft is also a major problem in the banking sector, with citizens' information being stolen and used to open fraudulent accounts for illegal activities. According to the Federal Trade Commission's online database of complaints, there have been over 13 million complaints filed for card fraud and identity theft with 3 million of these complaints being filed in 2016 alone. Through a blockchain system, customers can directly view all accounts owned under their name and immediately notify their respective banks in case they spot any suspicious activity in their banking details. Some of the known examples include IBM-backed Hyperledger Fabric project and the Utility Settlement Coin by UBS.

Healthcare

Blockchain technology can simplify healthcare in incredible ways and make medical data management much simpler. Making patient records widely accessible can allow research on drug development much more convenient, and it also reduces the implications of counterfeit drugs. Clinical trials and their outcomes can be made available in a decentralized network, allowing healthcare specialists and researchers to conduct research and find solutions to better healthcare. Accenture is one of the biggest companies that have started offering innovative healthcare solutions for the medical care sector for secure and fraud-free transactions.

Medicare frauds can also be brought down through blockchain billing management as the billing system can be fully automated without any scope of intermediaries committing fraudulent activities. With over 56 million people under Medicare as of 2017, over $1.3 billion has been ripped off the government through fraudulent activities by rehabilitation facilities and home health care services. Blockchain systems can effectively safeguard citizens who seek medical assistance from healthcare providers that overcharge for services offered through fraudulent billing practices. The centralized data not only help medical professionals in offering treatment based on the history of the patient and his/her family but it also eliminates the chances of a patient incorrectly recollecting past symptoms or disorders.

Public Records

One of the most important civic administration functions of a government is to record all information about its citizens. This includes information about individuals and businesses with regards to their assets and activities. Most of the recorded information is recorded in paper databases, making data management extremely difficult even in developed countries.

Blockchain-based systems like Ubitiquity can encode all public records in a digital ledger to keep the data on citizens from being altered for fraudulent activities. Identity theft is a problem that can be very difficult to deal with for the administration and digitizing all public information to make it tamper-proof can help prevent such instances of criminal activity.

Voting

One of the biggest limitations of the voting system in almost every country is that even today, voters need to be physically present at polling booths to cast their votes and can make things difficult for people who need to travel on poll days. More importantly, there are no means of verifying the poll results for the average citizen.

Blockchain development companies like Followmyvote are coming up with solutions that seek to make online voting a reality. It will allow citizens to view accurate information on poll standings and results and various other statistics publicly. It also leads to safer voting for citizens of countries in internal or external conflict and criminal activities to coerce citizens into voting for specific candidates can be completely avoided.

Business Hiring

Businesses of all sizes have a hard time finding the right staff. Through blockchain technology, it is possible for businesses to verify credentials of all applicants through a digital database. Blockchain technology can be applied to create a decentralized database of professionals with verified qualifications in a secure ledger that businesses can refer to for hiring candidates. Learning Machine is a New-York based company that seeks to address this problem that focuses on recording verifiable information on workers.

Tax or employment-related frauds make up 34% of all identity theft as of 2016, and a blockchain system makes the hiring process for any business much more secure as a company would have access to valid candidates only, reducing the risk of hiring fraudulent employees. It also helps applicants by speeding up the hiring process and helping them to find jobs they are eligible for and have a hassle-free application process.

Use of blockchain technologies helps individuals and businesses alike, and it also protects personal information while making important data publicly visible. While blockchain has the best application in cryptocurrency, its use can spread to other sectors as well to provide meaningful solutions to citizens around the world.

7 Top Tips to Car Salesman's Or Saleswoman's Success

Given that car sales account for 19% of total US sales in 2000 (source: US Small Business Administration), a lot of people are buying cars which mean that they are a lot of people selling cars. Additionally, new car sales have dropped from 63.4% in 1989 to 60% in 1999. Selling cars is not easy given that many still have a negative perception of car salesmen or women. Hopefully, these 7 tips may help you to sell more cars.

1. First and Foremost YOU need to think of yourself as a business. Car sales people work for an auto dealership, but most work on a salary and commission basis. When your compensation is commission based, this means you have more control of your destiny and should view yourself as a business instead of just a sales person.
2. Adopt a Planning Attitude. If you do not have a plan, then you are on some else's plan - usually the successful car saleswoman or salesman. As a practicing performance improvement consultant or coach for the last 10 years, I have observed that most people plan less for their own lives than they do for a simple visit to the grocery store.
3. Learn how to prospect. There exists a fundamental belief that the auto dealership is responsible for bringing traffic through the door because the dealership owners have all those "big bucks" for media advertising. Given that 80% of all new sales comes from referrals, would it not make more sense to prospect individually rather than simply on outside resources to control your destination? Those media efforts usually bring in suspicions, not prospects. Use your time wisely by focusing on prospects those who have a need, dollars and are a decision-maker. Do not rely only on the auto dealer to send out letters. Take the time to write some handwritten notes.
4. Improve your sales skills to make more money. Today's buyers are far more savvy than years ago. Learn how to cultivate and develop long term relationships. Consider a proven buying / selling sales process where marketing and selling skills are united to deliver to the desired results of another sold car. New car sales to used car sales are far more relationship based selling than years ago when car sales was a commodity sale.
5. Establish your sales goals using your great planning attitude. If you are a car salesman or car saleswoman and have 300 customers and the industry average sales cycle is 3 years, then every year you should be selling 100 cars. Focus your efforts of those who will be buying a car this year, but remember to continue to touch those who will potentially be buying another car in 2 or 3 years. HINT: Use the WAYSMARTcriteria for goal setting.
6. Identify the attitudes or beliefs that are obstacles to your success. Working with those in the auto industry, I have heard countless reasons why sales can not be made. However, when these reviews are reviewed, they are usually unfounded reasons based upon existing attitudes and beliefs. For example, "corporate has ruined the car industry by posting prices on the Internet. Everyone knows everything about the car." My response is "if price was a real objection, then everyone would be driving a Yugo or a Chevette. HINT: When you change how you look at things, the things you look at will change.
7. Make managing yourself priority number one. You must learn how to maximize your time especially in the area of ​​time management, ongoing professional development such as through business coaching training and personal life balance. The auto industry is truly a 24/7 business given that cars are with us each and every day of our lives. However, it is important not to lose sight of your personal life including family, friends, physical health, etc.

Yes, you can be an incredible car salesperson who can increase sales through these 7 simple car salesman tips. Just remember, sales regardless of industry is all about knowing your numbers and then multiplying your activity to secure those desired results.

Advanced Mobile SEO TIPS For Mobile Marketing

In 2016, Google introduced the mobile-first index system to provide the best user experience for their mobile users by prioritizing mobile-friendly websites. This new indexing system will first look into the mobile version of your website to determine the ranking. Websites without a mobile version or poorly optimized mobile websites will drop out even further in search engine results pages (SERPs). But, the good news is this Mobile SEO is simple and easy to do yourself tasks.

Advanced Mobile SEO Tips for Mobile Marketers:

Mobile SEO is nothing than a conventional SEO, creating content and tagging to make it stand out online. These white-hat mobile SEO tips will help you to avoid search engine penalties and maintain better online visibility.

1. Google My Business: mobile online marketing.

One of the most important and effective mobile marketing move that business owners can do is signing up for Google My Business account. It is free and simple, by filling the information to the best of your ability and add more possible pictures of your business. When people searching for the keyword that is related to your business, there is more likely to visible your 2nd information first. So, think of using it for mobile marketing.

2. Using social media:

According to reports, average mobile users spending their 80% of the time on social media of the total times they are spending on the mobile. These social media sites bring a huge amount of traffic to your website. So, to improve visibility to mobile users, priorities your social media marketing strategy. The frequency of posting, Quality of content and optimized social media campaign will help your brand stands out. Also, read our Content Marketing Guide.

3. Take advantage of plug-ins for mobile SEO:

If your website uses WordPress or another content management system (CMS). you can use various plug-ins to improve your mobile site more user-friendly. One of the popular CMS, WordPress offers a large number of plug-ins to optimize images, improve speed and take care of other important mobile SEO factors.

WPtouch is the popular universal WordPress plug-in that will create a Google-approved mobile version of your website. If you can't afford a professional to update and optimize your website, try these plug-ins to build a mobile-friendly website and improve visibilities.

4. Use keywords for mobile users:

It is proven that mobile users search differently than other desktop users. Optimize your content for mobile keyword search phrases to show up your content to the right people. Find the right tools to find the right keywords for your content, you can find keyword comparisons by the device in Google's Search Console.

5. Improve page loading time:

When it comes to mobile SEO, page loading time is the most important issue. There are many factors that define the page loading time. Gzip compression, Image optimization and using Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), there are some tools and plug-ins to perform this tasks and improve the faster loading of mobile web pages.

Final Words:

Digital marketing trend changed the whole scenario of marketing. Mobile SEO is becoming a most essential task for all bloggers and webmasters for mobile marketing.

BYOD - A Device Responsive Practice

The unpresented growth of smartphones and laptops in an individual's life has made the gap between personal and professional life negligible. This de has led to a new revolution in the market which we know as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). BYOD is a practice that enables employees of an organization to use their own devices (ie smartphones, laptops, tablets and computers) at work. Like BYOD, businesses also implement Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) and Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), which fall under a greater umbrella of consumerization of IT. This is blending of the personal and professional workspace with help of the internet and smart devices, majorly pushed by the millennial these days.

" BYOD is making significant marks in the business world across the globe with about 75% of employees in higher growth markets such as India, Brazil and UAE and 44% in the developed markets using their own devices at work." - CXOUnplugged.

How BYOD can transform your business

BYOD has created various opportunities in the market and is making workplaces flexible than ever. Here is how BYOD will help you take your business to the next level.

• Enhanced productivity

When you allow all employees to use their own devices at the workplace, the comfort of working on a similar device increases the employees work efficiency. By making use of familiar technology and user interface the employees will not have to engage their time in understanding a new device.

• Reduced infrastructure cost

Many times for a company, major amount of capital goes into building IT infrastructure and maintaining it which can come from the cost by implementing BYOD. When a company implements BYOD, it automatically reduces its cost of procuring devices for each employee and instead can provide better connectivity services in the organization.

• Improved employee loyalty

When a company allows its employees to bring their own devices at work, absolutely gives them a sense of trust by the company on them. By giving the freedom to use a foreign device at work and giving them the access to company's confidential data on their device, you generate loyalty among the employees, which makes them give the better result at their work.

• Ease of transit management of employees

The best part of having a Bring Your Own Device Policy is that you do not have to keep a check on the physical devices when any employee joins or leaves the company. Any sort of configuration to the company's network can be done via the cloud. In case the employee is leaving the company, his device / devices can be simply removed from the company's cloud network. No hassles with LAN wires required.

"A recent survey by the handset manufacturer Blackberry stated that 41% of Indian organizations have a BYOD policy." - GadgetsNow

With such a huge percentage of Indian organizations implementing BYOD, the next question that needs to be answered is how to implement BYOD in a business. When implementing BYOD a company should also have a stringent policy to make sure the functioning is smooth. There should be no loopholes which can put the company's confidentiality in danger.

BYOD - How to implement it in your business

To have a seamless implementation of BYOD , an organization needs to have a strong policy in place. Here are the 7 things you need to consider while implementing BYOD.

• Payments for the devices and data usage

• Device support and access levels for everyone in the workplace (permanent employee, contractual employee, and guests)

• Data storage (Cloud / local storage)

• Employee data privacy (employee's personal data should not be leaked or shared across the network)

• Data authentication (type of data that an employee can view or edit while not at work)

• In case of theft, damage or missing device what steps need to be taken

• Restoring the data in case of the device is sold, disposed or is no more in use.

Finding Finance and Insurance Careers in the Automotive Industry

Interested in finance and insurance (F & I)? Love cars? Looking for a way to merge the two into a long-repeating and fulfilling career in the automotive industry? It's time to consider a career in auto sales and F & I management. Now is a great time to invest in F & I training, which can provide everything you need to succeed in this career. That means you will acquire excellent leadership and communication skills and have the expertise required to handle the financial and legal aspects of a sales transaction.

Automotive Business Manager programs are designed to teach the skills required to oversee the financial and legal aspects of the automotive industry. Students in these automated training programs are trained in finance and lease options, sale of after-market products and the use of specialized software.

Becoming an F & I manager means you will be in the center of the action. It also means you will have a direct impact on profitability and be rewarded accordingly. Need another reason to invest in F & I manager? Job Futures 2000 precedents that more than one-third of all jobs created in Canada will require a skilled trade design or a college diploma.

What about the extensive restructuring of the automotive industry? There has been a lot of change, but the automotive industry remains one of the world's largest and most important business sectors. Moreover, a surge in demand is expected as consumers make purchases that would normally have been made in the last two years and additional demand is created by increases in population, new consumer offerings and improved manufacturing technology. Employment prospects for automotive sales and F & I management are good for the following reasons:

• A growing shortage of well trained individuals to fill sales occupations
• Service Canada predicts there will be strong demand for qualified candidates in Sales and Service, Business, Finance and Administration "because this sector will account for more than 45% of all retirements over the next five years."
• Significant worldwide growth within the automotive industry

You know what happens when demand for a specific job goes up. Salaries also go up. That's exactly what is happening for F & I Professionals. Key elements of F & I training programs can include the following areas of study:

• Business Manager's Role in the Dealership
• Financial Institutions and Their Requirements
• Getting the Contracts Purchased
• Credit Reporting Overview
• Understanding Credit Scores and Risks
• Reading Credit Reports
• Prequalification Using Credit Reports
• Cash Conversions
• Bank Conversions
• Use a Customer-Friendly, Aggressive F & I Process
• Qualify Your Customer, Use The Right Words
• Product Knowledge
• Effective Selling Techniques
• Menu Selling Leasing Skills and Techniques

Choosing a Rack Mount Power Distribution Unit for Computers and Network Equipment

The power distribution unit (PDU) utilized in data centers has been enhanced from its original design. Numerous features have been integrated to keep pace with the ever evolving information and communications technology (ICT) industry. Moreover the popularity of personal computers and the internet generated a huge need for more data centers including devices to power all the hardware devices. Thus clever power management of power boards was an illustrating necessity for ICT staff to establish better practices in the implementation and the monitoring of electrical equipment.

A PDU can be referred to as a 'rack mount power board' in the ICT industry. The name rack is utilized because the PDU are installed inside internationally standardized cabinet housing equipment that conform to the same rack size. For instance the cabinet equipment such as servers, network devices and other power related equipment are manufactured to specific rack sizes. Moreover a common rack size is 19 inches (482.6mm) wide where the measurement is taken.

19 inch rack mount power strips have outlets to connect electrical power cords from servers and network equipment. Additionally, the power board can utilize, for example, 6 power outputs, or as many as 20 outputs integrated into the power board. Furthermore these units can be mounted horizontal, vertical and even floor mounted. A data center may require features like surge overload protection, thermal magnetic fuses and inbuilt power meter displays for monitoring purpose.

The remote device monitoring in data centers and server rooms enhances the daily-operations for energy management. Authorized ICT staff can remotely access and control PDU to ensure the computer network devices uptime is maximized. Furthermore remote power management allows staff to be alerted of problems promptly. Additionally power consumption can be monitored for analysis, stability, capacity planning and reporting purposes to senior management. The information gathered can provide valuable insight to power consumption for the network.

PDU aka power strips in some countries will have a specific power rating; this should be checked before interconnection between hardware. The power strips utilized in cabinets with multiple servers can draw high currents. Voltage, power and current ratings require attention during the planning process. In addition, even though manufacturers are becoming more environmental-friendly the actual power consumption of hardware in data centers is high.

The power strips can have mixed output socket configurations such as IEC sockets and general purpose outputs (GPO). Some suppliers can even customize the PDU for you in specific layouts for large orders. IEC power boards are ideal because they require a specific interface type for connection. IEC power cords can be connected to suitable IEC power strips, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and server equipment.

Some power strips are available with outlets on both sides ie front and rear surfaces of the power board. Additionally there are power boards rated to 10 amps and 15 amps. You'll find the earth pin on the 15 amps plugs will differ in size, for example the 15 amps earth pin will be larger.

There are clever power boards on the market which can improve stability for networks and save business money on energy costs everyday.

4 Steps To Building A Business Online

Did you know that there are well over 3 billion people online today and they are constantly searching for something and entering search phrases (keywords) into the search bar?

These people are searching to buy things, searching for information, and solutions to an unlimited number of problems. This is where you come in as the affiliate with your website to help these seekers and show them the solution, or the answer to their search. The affiliate helps people and earns a commission in the process.

In this article, I'll show you one of the most fundamental and the absolute best way of building up a steady, long-lasting and consistent income online.

Building A Business Online Is Easy

There is a system that 100,000's of affiliates use and believe to be the ultimate online money-making system that worked years ago, works now, and will work for many years to come. It's a system that will show you just how huge the online world is and the limitless potential that only depends on what you are setting as your goal.

But before any money is generated, a website needs to be built, in a specific niche, and a traffic flow of visitors needs to have begun. The # 1 attractant of visitors to your website is the quality content on each page. Five minute videos are also great to use on website pages. Until the website is built up with quality relevant content and drawing a flow of traffic, no money can be generated.

So there's no race pace, you'll get to feel the thrill of making online sales soon enough but a solid foundation first needs to be created. Then an empire can grow from there with a lot of hard work, dedication, and great management.

There are said to be almost 4 billion people using the internet and with that great number comes to a very large group of people who you can hook up with in any direction you choose to go.

A Quick Look at How To Build A Business Online

The 4 Steps to get rolling:

Step # 1 - Choose an interest. This can be anything and everything you can think of. So choose a niche that you will enjoy of any interest, or passion, something that you are an expert at or have no experience with at all.

Step # 2 - Build up a website which is the foundation of your online real estate store property. First, your site must be built up and filled with information and content that visitors are searching for. This is similar to opening a brick and mortar store, one would not open for business until the store was ready.

Step # 3 - Draw traffic to the site, attract visitors. There are many ways to do this so it's best to start out with the free traffic options. One basic strategy is that traffic from organic searches, social media or YouTube video drives traffic to your site blog page which then leads the viewer to a product offer or recommendation.

Article marketing is a great way to enter a lot of content online for the search engines to rank, and for the viewers globally searching for that content.

Another strategy is to put one or more of the paid traffic options to work to reach targeted groups of viewers from any niche and draw as many as possible into your funnel, or onto your website page.

Step # 4 - Earn Income - Once there is a traffic flow to the site you can start earning revenue. There are said to be over 50 ways to monetize a website, which shows an unlimited e-learning potential.

How Much Does It Cost To Invest In The Stock Market?

The answer to "how much does it cost to invest in the stock market?" depends on a number of factors including but not limited to the kind of investor you are, the type of stock you buy and the company you choose to invest in. The stock market is risky business because the probability of you losing money is high. That is the reason why you need to understand the fundamentals of the business before you invest. Before you can determine the cost of investing in the stock market, you will have to understand how it works.

What Is the Stock Market?

Stock market is the buying and selling of stock (shares) of a company. The shares are securities that are listed on the stock exchange. Once you buy the stocks of a company you automatically become a shareholder in the company. You will earn from the stock you bought in two ways; first through the dividends that are paid by the company to the shareholders. The second way you earn money is through the appreciation of the company. Depending on the type of stocks you bought, the dividends are usually calculated on a fixed rate or variable rate.

The Different Types Of Stocks Can Affect How Much It Costs

When it comes to calculating how much it costs to invest in the stock market, you will have to determine the type of stocks you are buying. There are different types of stocks and they all have different market value.

Common Stocks; These are securities that represent ownership of a company. Once you buy these stocks you will have a right to vote at any shareholder meeting. The common stock shareholders however, are usually at the bottom of the priority ladder. This means if the corporation goes bankrupt, the common shareholders will only receive their money after the creditors and the preferred shareholders. In terms of cost these stocks have a less yield.
Preferred Stocks; These stocks give you a little ownership of the company but you do not get any voting rights. The preferred stock shareholders usually receive dividends that are calculated on a fixed rate. The preferred stocks have a higher yield per stock as compared to the common stocks.
Penny Stocks; These are usually referred to as common stocks of the small public companies. The penny stocks are usually priced at $ 5 and below.
Factors That Affect Stock Prices

The price of a stock effects how much it will cost to invest in the stock market. It is thus important to understand the factors that affect the stock prices.

Company Performance

This is the major factor that impacts the stock prices. The company performance, returns to the company earnings, both current and future earnings. The performance of the company may be affected by factors like employees' layoff, change in company management, a new service or product, scandals and many more. These internal factors directly influence the price of a stock.

Inflation And Deflation

Both of these factors directly affect the stock market. Inflation is where the prices of goods and services rapidly go up. This causes the cost of manufacturing and transporting of goods to go up. In an event of inflation, the stock market drops due to the decrease in revenue. Deflation on the other hand is usually the drop in the prices of goods and services. While deflation is supposed to be a good relief, most investors do not invest in the stock market. This is because they believe that the economy is weak. This causes the stock market to drop.

Interest Rates And Foreign Markets

The interest rates that are imposed on a company while borrowing money from the financial institutions usually affect the prices of the stocks. Higher interest rates typically affect the company borrowing which will in turn reduce their profits and dividends. Foreign markets on the other hand affect the stock prices indirectly. When the economic status of the countries goes down, it affects the stock market negatively. Once the economic status changes, it influences how the foreign countries will trade with the said countries. This will in turn affect the stock market of the foreign countries.

Tips Of Determining the Cost Of Investing In the Stock Market

Time to invest; when it comes to the cost of investing in stock market, it is not only money that matters. The time you invest in financial market is also important. You need to determine the amount of time that you are willing to invest in the stock market.

The number of shares you are willing to buy; the number of shares that you are going to buy will determine the total amount of money you will use. If you are new to the business is advised you buy a few stocks as you learn about the business. Also remember not to buy all your stocks from one company, diversification is very important.

Top and Best-Selling Magento Extensions of 2018

In today's tech-savvy era, new technologies are emerging and Magento is undoubtedly one of the top entries in that list. This is an undeniable fact that since the time of its invention, Magento successfully paved new opportunities in the eCommerce development field with its time and cost-effectiveness, with its arrays of templates, themes, profit-driven functionalities, plugins and extensions. Here, in this article, you can get a detailed idea of the most popular Magento plugins of 2018.

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Keeping the aspect customer satisfaction in mind, if you are looking for options that will help you to make product delivery on the date mentioned by your buyer, Delivery Date Scheduler is just the perfect choice for you.

Once you get this extension on your e-store, you can offer your buyers with convenient product delivery dates among which they can choose their most preferred time. Adding the calendar view also becomes easier using it.

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  MageMob App Builder
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Want to build a customised mobile application for your Magento-built store? Here is the extension you would need!

Today, mobile apps are a vital part of eCommerce business. Making your business mobile would not only give you huge market but would increase your profit margin as well. Build native apps effortlessly and swiftly for both iOS and Android using MageMob App Builder and offer your online buyers an impressive and user-friendly buying experience.

Also, you can get your hands on the useful features such as Product Reviews, Product Scratch, admin and customer Notifications etc.

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  Language Translator
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Want to make your e-store multilingual? Without any second thought, opt for Language Translator. How can this extension help you to make your online store more effective and more user-engaging?

Well, suppose that your target audiences are not very comfortable with English. Now, with this plugin, you can easily translate as well as edit any part of the e-store making sure it can reach a broader customer base. You can effortlessly translate CMS page details, product details, store reviews etc. without any headache! Get Language Translator and say goodbye to language blues!

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  SEO Hub
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

An online store won't get the success it deserves until you apply some smart SEO strategies. The Magento extension SEO Hub can help you out in this case. With the effective help of it, you can manage data feeds, meta tags, canonical URLs along with many other things.

Moreover, this plugin offers a few remarkable value-added features such as giving notifications when anything goes wrong in execution, setting a limit for the metadata etc. Maintain a higher rank on most of the search engines with SEO Hub.

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  MageMob Inventory
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

As an online store owner, it is really troublesome and difficult to keep proper track of the detailed product stocks physically! MageMob Inventory is such a Magento extension that can rescue you from this burden by making the entire inventory management process smooth and transparent.

The different modules like supplier management, purchase order creation, inventory logs etc. offered by this inventory management plugin make the entire process easier and both time as well as cost-efficient. More interestingly, it is available in the mobile app format as well. You can get both the Android and the iOS version in the market.

Listing all the important plugins in this short span is really not possible. Hence, here is a list of some other business-driven plugins and extensions that you might like to check out.













→ Advance Product Designer













→ Fedex Smart Shipping













→ Quotation Manager













→ Shop By Brand













→ MageMob POS













→ MageMob Admin













→ Advance Search with Solr

Additionally, Australia Post Shipping and Australia Post eParcel are two smart Magento extensions available for Australia-based eCommerce businesses.

SAS for a Great Career

SAS certification has assisted thousands of candidates by enhancing their level of personal development. The popularity of SAS is noticeable as it deals with different types of structured and unstructured data belonging to different destinations. It is one of the customized integrated tools used for predictive modeling, data mining, and analyzing multivariate and forecasting purposes.

Working of SAS

The major industrial sectors using SAS are banking, pharmaceuticals, education, government and other commercial sectors. For users' convenience, the SAS data is saved in HTML, RTF and PDF formats. However, the original data is either available in SAS format or tabulated Excel format. The data in rows are referred to OBSERVATION and columns as VARIABLES. In addition, the data is comprised of two phases; compilation phase and execution phase. This business-intelligence-software programming offers the facilities to manage and analyze enormous data sets with just the click of a few buttons or programming.

The compatibility of SAS over flat and un-formatted files encourages users to use the software in various data analysis disciplines. Here are the industrial sectors listed below, which have explored SAS reliability:

• Financial analysis, Publication, Psychological testing, Sales forecasting













• Study consumer behavior, financial risk analysis, Academic research













• Website, Data analysis, Business Intelligence













• Banking and Pharmaceutical analysis

Participants, who have high career aspirations, can opt for a SAS Global Certification program. There are ten best reasons provided below to become SAS certified professional:

1. SAS certification helps to develop logical thinking and changes your perception when you look at the data.













2. It empowers your industry validation and SAS expertise.













3. Develops rapport with your employer and enhance the chance of personal growth in an organization.













4. It offers a good career and strengthens earning power.













5. SAS credential comes with a digital badge, which is easy to share documentation.













6. SAS certification makes you ready for immediate relevancy to real-world needs.













7. SAS is in high demand around the global industry.













8. Defined training paths and certification assist in easy preparation at affordable prices.













9. SAS certified individuals have the plethora of opportunities available in the field.













10. SAS certified participants are listed in the Directory of SAS Certified Professionals, which has the access to all employers that validate your credentials.

Acquiring a SAS certification validates SAS skills in Programming, Analytics, Data Science, Administration, Data Management and Enterprise Business Intelligence.

Aspirants keen to understand SAS, skill the programming, and want to master the technology, they must opt for SAS training course for the beginners. Later, opting for advanced SAS training and certification will assist them in finding a great and exciting career ahead.

Direct Sales Team Vs Distributor - Which is Better For an International Market?

If you're looking to expand your sales to new markets, then there's one big question you must ask: do I build a direct sales presence or use a distributor? Each method has its benefits and drawbacks, but we're going to make a strong case to use one method over the other in almost every instance.

What's the difference between direct sales and distributors?
A direct sales presence means that your company establishes, manages, and pays a sales team of one or more people in the target market.

An outside agent is any entity that will sell your product in exchange for a service fee. One example is a sales rep, who sells your product in exchange for a percentage of the sale. A distributor is similar to a rep, except they would buy product from your company and sell it directly to the end customer.

Is Direct Sales Better?
For most businesses expanding into new markets, especially international markets, hiring a distributor is a better decision-at least until there is enough return from the market to justify building a direct sales presence.

Sure, there is one major advantage to having a direct sales presence-control. Control over the day to day activities of your sales personnel is appealing to most business owners. But this control comes at a heavy price. To start, you'll need to spend the time to hire someone in that market, then train them, then equip them with sales material and management, if not office space and equipment. These costs are prohibitive for most small businesses looking to expand internationally.

And there are even more costs that we have not mentioned yet. Each market has it's own unique laws, cultures and customs that are essential to master if your company wants to establish a successful sales presence. Japan is a classic example of a marketplace with unique legal structures and business customs that, if not followed, guarantee the failure of any sales efforts. It's hard to pin down an exact monetary value to this learning, but ask yourself this: Can you afford to establish, manage, and pay a sales force in a foreign country for at least a year while they learn the routes and generate no revenue?

What about a Distributor? Is a distributor better for new markets?
Distributors are a cost effective means to enter a new marketplace successfully. Here are just a few of the reasons:

• No Overhead: Unlike running your own sales team, a distributor will take care of the hiring, managing, payment, and optimization of its channel. You're just borrowing their distribution, while they handle the maintenance.
• Established Channel with Local Knowledge: A good distributor will already know all the laws and customs of the market you're entering. You do not need to reinvent the wheel-you can use someone who already has local local knowledge.
• Understanding Pricing and Purchasing Power of Market: Along with knowledge of the laws and customs comes knowledge about the most successful ways to price and market your product locally.
• Cost Effective: Since you will not be paying for the above items, distributor relationships are much more within reach of a small business trying to enter a new market.

Using a distributor has some downsides as well, but they can be minimized by building a good relationship with a distributor.

• Not your own people: You will not be able to directly manage every step of the process. While it may make you nervous to lose some control over the sales process, you can manage the risk by building a transparent relationship with your distributor with constant updates and feedback from both ends.
• Distributor has many products to represent: You may not be the distributor's top priority at any given time, and you want to be sure your product is not getting shuffled to the back of the line. Once again, a well-established relationship with constant contact will ensure that your product is getting the attention it describes.
• Not a "turn key" solution: You can not just give the distributor your products and expect success. You'll have to manage the relationship. This takes time, but it's still less costly than trying to install a direct sales team from scratch.

So what do I do next?
If you are not convinced that a distributor would be better for your organization than acquiring a direct sales team, seek help from a consultant who has experience establishing a presence in new markets. A consultant can use his or her experience to analyze your opportunity and recommend the best course of action.

Before you choose a distributor, you need to know ....
Choosing the wrong distributor will set you up for failure. The wrong distributor simply will not generate sales, and you'll have wasted at least a year finding and setting up an unprofitable relationship.

There are certain things to look for in a distributor, and they are different for every market. The best thing to do is to find a professional, one with experience in distributor relationships, and hire that professional to help you search for and identify the right distributor.

Choosing a Web Designer

Many small business owners struggle with deciding on how to make the right choice for designing their website. They search the web for help with their website and find that the choice is harder than they thought. Currently there are (literally) millions of websites who claim to be professional web designers. However, one must be careful in choosing the right person or people in which to trust their company image. In this article, I will attempt to categorize web designers into manageable groups, and teach the reader the difference between the types.

Web designers fall into four general categories: freelance amateur, freelance professional, Web Design Company, Web Development Firm.

Freelance Amateur

The majority of web designers you will come across, especially searching the Internet, are freelancers. That is, individuals who do web design but are not employed by a web design company. Some are self-employed professionals but most of these freelancers are amateur-hobbyist types. They find a copy of FrontPage™ came with their MS Office™ Suite. They discovered how fun it could be to make web pages so they started telling their friends that they could "design" web pages.

The "pros" of using an amateur is that they are very cheap. The "cons" are too numerous to mention, but I'll point out a few. They have no training; they have little knowledge of what makes a good website work; they do not understand HTML code or CSS but only FrontPage point and click; they do not understand general design and layout concepts and they have little real experience. The biggest reason they should be avoided for the serious businessperson, is that their work looks amateurish, which makes your company look amateurish. Who wants that?

Freelance Professional

A professional is often defined by simply being paid. People think that if you are paid for something, then you are professional. Maybe that's true in the Olympics, but for the business services world, you are not a professional until you are established and respected as one by your clients and peers. Freelancer professional web designers are a giant leap from the amateur in that they have established a portfolio of respectable work. They have some sort of qualified training and experience and they have credentials that can be verified by contacting references. They have a good reputation with their clients and other professionals. In general, a good freelance professional web designer can be good person to have doing your site. But they are hard to distinguish from the amateur when you are just searching the web.

The upside is, if you find a good one they are significantly cheaper than a web design company. But that is usually the only upside. If the budget limits you, then a freelancer will do for a small project. But anything seriously important should be left to a professional company.

Some downsides to using a freelance pro are that they are usually part-time, meaning they are limited in how much time they can devote to your project. They are also limited in what they can do for you. Most freelancers are specialists in one area and generalists in everything else. Some have no skills in anything except their one specialty and often you will have to find others to fill roles. In addition, freelancers are not always cheap although many of them are aspiring to create their own company; some are highly sought after and charge $100 per hour or more for their work. My advice here is, if you have that much to spend, go with a company that has a team of professionals to get the job done in a timelier manner.

Web Design Company

This is the next step beyond a freelance professional. The web design company offers the "whole show". They provide real project management and have pulled together a team of web experts to get a wider range of jobs done. A company can provide a much higher level of expertise in web design, programming, content development and more.

Such a company is usually very small, yet large enough to handle larger scale projects. Compared to the most highly qualified freelancer, a company has a diversity of talent and collaboration working for them. The end-result is usually a much higher quality product.

The only real drawbacks are on the one hand, the web design company is more expensive than a freelancer because there are many more people on the job. However, you get what you pay for rings true. On the other hand, for very large projects or long term development, web design companies may be too small and usually do not have the human recourses to accommodate that $500,000 contract. In the end, for serious business people looking for quality and professionalism and who can't afford the big firm, this is the way to go.

Web Development Firm

As the title implies, a web development firm is like any traditional company. They have a staff of office workers, they have owners and officers, and they have a team of talented professionals who are paid a good salary for their work. They often have a sales force that do inside and outside sales. The quality of their work goes without saying, as you could not be so well-established by doing shoddy work. These firms offer teams of very talented professionals who work on your project and get the job done in a timely and extremely efficient manner. Additionally, they usually cover all aspects of website development including marketing and advertising. They may have teams of specialists that they can deploy to your location and work in-house under a temporary contract. The possibilities are endless.

If price is not an issue and the highest quality work is necessary, then this is who you want to do the job. For smaller budget businesses, a quote from an established web development firm might knock you off your chair, but know that companies who have project requirements that reach hundreds of thousands of dollars know the score. Thus, the only real drawback for a web development firm is that they are usually very expensive. Then again, cost is relative and bigger companies like to work with bigger companies.

In summary, the choice is yours. I would recommend for the serious businessperson, that you budget a decent amount of dollars to properly design and execute a professional website. I would avoid the amateur and outsource to an individual or company with good experience and reasonable rates to create my web presence. If money were no object, then I would only deal with established firms and pay the big bucks to get the job done right and done well.

Dangers Of Lacking Financial Education And Giving Value To Others

In this article, I am going to talk about the dangers of lacking financial and values education which are just as important as our school education which mainly and still focuses on theory and academic score having read and understood the books by Robert Kiyosaki like Rich Dad Poor Dad as well as watching all videos of Eben Pagan on what it takes to succeed in business, relationships, wealth and improving all areas of life as his subscriber and customer which are in contrary to what we have been taught and conditioned to think and do by our parents, grandparents and teachers.

Truth being said, most of us only think of making money for ourselves, families and loved ones if we are married and have kids without understanding that in order to make money, we need to give and deliver value to others which is just as important. That also ties in with what Zig Ziglar said that you can have everything you want in life if you give enough people what they want in life. The only knowledge we have is that we have to study hard to get good grades and qualification so that we can get great jobs with high pay in order to have our homes, marry, retire, and live happily ever after. While our parents - especially those from low and middle-income families - told us this out of concern, this sort of mentality is sadly outdated in the current 21st century. And even more so with digital technology looking to shape and change the way we live, study and work.

A rich parent - for instance the current US President Trump - will never tell his children that. Sure at first glance, they will tell their children to respect others in public and tell them off if they are disobedient and do not behave. But behind closed doors of their homes only known to family members and maid serving them, they will share with them other things that poor and average parents will never share with their kids.

Which is while making and saving money are important, delivering value and smart investing to maximize it are just as important.

According to Eben Pagan in his YouTube videos, he said after years of studying about business and wealth, he learnt two critical things. One is that people do not like to give away their hard-earned money without getting any value in return. When I say value, I am not talking about anything that sales and marketing people offered them. But what people really need and want for themselves and loved ones. Second is that money has a hole in its bucket and unless you know how to earn, you will lose every dollar you spent never mind on what things.

Here is another truth of life which I discovered after my very own study and research on other articles and blog posts besides reading and watching videos by those gurus. That is money is never given or distributed evenly all the time. It is only for those who delivered the most value as in helping and making a difference to others' lives as well as those that others feel closest to. Even if it is otherwise, most people will squander on things they like short-term but are not essential long-term. Especially luxury items such as cars, condos, gadgets and jewellery to name a few. And when they spend all their hard-earned money with little or no savings, they will usually resort to those things.

1. Taking on 1 to 2 part-time jobs on top of their main one just to be able to cope with the daily expenses and support their family.

2. Borrowing from families and friends,

3. Asking for loans from creditors, loan sharks and banks,

4. Applying for credit cards,

5. Gambling in casinos, lottery and sports betting

While there is nothing wrong with the first though it might put additional stress on individuals' health and well-being, there is everything wrong with the other four which I myself was guilty of in the second and fourth.

Because every time you borrowed, you needed to pay back as we Asians have a very strong ethnic and principle on it. If they are not carefully abided by, tragedies may occur. Not just on individuals who cannot pay back and lose everything but their families as in their parents, parents-in-laws, spouse and children as well.

And the saddest truth is when the family is poor, the spouse have to work or take extra job as well to bear the costs and the children will have to give up their passion, interest and even studies just to work early to copy with the family burden costs.

For the rich, it is another story. Suppose if one or both your parents are running the company as bosses or CEOs, you will be required to help them out upon completing your studies.

Otherwise they will be judged as "selfish and unfilial who only think of themselves, inconsiderate and uncaring about their families' well-being."

That is if they want to pursue their ambitions, interests and passions they once have as children but are dismissed by most parents as naive child words, play and who are just asking them what they like to be when they grow up simply to make fun of them.

It may sound weird to you but that is the situation in my country Singapore.

Which explains why most people are conditioned to study hard, work hard, save hard and retire comfortably with just one working job income they see as honest earnings.

Any income incurred outside are dismissed by baby boomers in particular - as fraud from cheating other people of their hard-earned money which is partially true with some entrepreneurs but it is wrong to dismiss every business owner because of a few rotten eggs.

Given the fact that government supports them because they are our pioneers, very little room is given for youth development not just in terms of creativity and innovation but in terms of money and wealth management be it creation, multiplication and preservation.

The only things they know are saving, working and borrowing money as well as buying insurance policies from financial advisors who may or may not be acting in the interest of their clients.

Hence their ignorance, overspending and not earning enough leads them to be over-dependence on government to the extent of asking more and blaming the government when things are not going the way they expected and wanted. That will cause serious implications on our economy and society well-being in general be it relationships and the daily essentials of life we, our families and future generations need.

I don't mean to sound arrogant but if I am in the shoes of Minister for Education, I will make financial education compulsory as one of the main subjects. Especially when it comes to generating, growing and saving money while still acting in the interest of others as in giving value.

Which most people need to know but in actual truth, they don't which is absolutely critical.

Except for a selected few.

Like Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki and Eben Pagan I earlier mentioned.