Donnette

Like that scene from the horror flick, The Shining, when Jack Nicholson axes his way through Shelley Duvalls bathroom, telemarketing is just as dramatically asserting:

Im B A C K!

Taken for dead, this incredibly useful yet widely misunderstood and abused medium is assuming its rightful place in the pantheon of promotional tools.

And why shouldnt it?

The Web, for all of its sweeping grandeur and cascading impacts, simply isnt nearly as effective in SELLING as the humble, real-time, person to person phone conversation. As Ive said elsewhere, and as so many would-be dot com moguls can attest:

YOU MIGHT BUILD IT, BUT THEY STILL WONT COME.

This is to say INDIRECT marketing is problematic for a few reasons:

(1) Well, duh, its INDIRECT, for one thing. Wormholes aside, the shortest distance between two points is still a straight line. And if there was ever a medium filled with more curves, detours and dead ends, its the Internet. Hoping that the right clients will find us we do all kinds of bizarre, labyrinthine things, like seeding search engines with meta-tags, tons of articles, and anything else that will get is Googled at a high ranking.

Isnt it a whole lot easier to identify a qualified prospect and then to pitch him?

(2) Passivity doesnt pay; it costs a lot. Time is money, and while were hoping to be discovered, like an aspiring movie star sitting at a drug store soda fountain, others are beating the bushes and finding paying work to do.

(3) The phone creates clarity. You know whether you have a live one or have to cut bait in nanoseconds. If you prefer results over mere activity, then the phone is for you.

There has never been a better time to prospect or to cold call.

How come?

Fewer people are doing it now, proportionate to the population, than at any time in memory. Moreover, because of the Do Not Call Registry, eliminating tens of millions of names from telemarketers lists, the ones that do get called today have less sales resistance, at home or at the office, than ever before.

Given how cheap calls have become, landed and wireless, who can resist the call to REACH OUT & SELL SOMEONE for mere pennies?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. His seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UCLA Extension, where he has taught since 1999. Dynamic, experienced, and lots of fun, Gary brings more than two decades of solid management and consulting experience to the table, along with the best academic preparation and credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of five degrees, including a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a law degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies along with successful family owned and operated firms across America. Much more than a talking head, Gary is a top mind that youʼll enjoy working with and putting to use. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

To be blessed with a talent in cooking and taste is rare and to enhance that gift with a formal education in a reputable school that provide the highest quality of education will definitely take you to the top. Those people who want to have a career in culinary arts must carefully choose among the top culinary arts schools in the country, such as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami.

Miami culinary arts school, Le Cordon Bleu offers one of the best culinary degree programs that include classes taught by professional chefs with excellent teaching experience from different culinary schools and cooking schools. Not to mention the mere fact that they can provide the knowledge and real world experience most students wanted. Classrooms and laboratories are equipped with modern equipment to be able to copy real scenarios and help give the students the skills they need to become successful in their chosen career.

Le Cordon Bleu, the renowned Miami Culinary Arts School, make sure that their program is structured in order for the students to be exposed to a distinct education in culinary arts. With a unique combination of general education classes to help expand their awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and values, you absolutely have a place in the food service industry. The Associate of Science degree in Le Cordon Bleu is specially designed to provide the theoretical foundation and technical skills essential to become successful in the competitive world of culinary arts, which is actually developed in response to the students interest and industry demands.

Let us find out what makes Le Cordon Bleu, Miami Culinary Arts School, innovative program stand out from the others. First, their programs externship is designed to provide students with hands-on experience to help improve career skills in culinary arts. The extensive training with professional instruction in foundation skills, French techniques, classical cooking methods, as well as food preparation, nutrition, and sanitation in fully-equipped modern kitchens suited only for cooking professionals, is another. Also, culinary business training, management and leadership skills, corporate operations, and communication techniques, purchasing and cost control are part of versatile career training. And most importantly, it is the hands-on, practical courses in small classes, and demonstration classes that made learning very easy and what students really need.

If you choose to study in Miami Culinary Arts School, which is the Le Cordon Bleu, you will acquire the benefits of the best of Miami, Florida such as:

Exposure to ground-breaking cooking method

Rich in diversity

Home to some of the best restaurants in the country, and many more

Most of all, Miami culinary arts school students have access to some of the best dining, wine, and cuisine making your learning matter-of-fact and up-to-date. In other words, Le Cordon Bleu will turn your cooking talent into an amazing professional skills and respectabl

Milos Pesic is a successful webmaster and owner of popular and comprehensive Culinary Arts information site. For more articles and resources on Cooking and Culinary Arts related topics, visit his site at:

http://culinary.need-to-know.net

As a specialist in the Home Loans area in Australia I have been asked by a few clients recently about the range of "Special Offers" made by banks and lenders. Specifically, are they worth it?

First, banks may offer rate discounts of 0.7% or more depending on the amount you borrow. Usually the higher the loan amount, the greater the discount. Sometimes the offer is a little different, say 50 cents off a litre of petrol for a year.

My approach is simple, just work out the exact money savings to do the comparisons, don't just look at the rate or the offer itself. In other words, will I save money.

Here are some examples.

Say you are borrowing $300000 and the bank is offering a discount of 0.7% off the standard variable rate of 8.07%. This is offered as part of a professional package (all banks have their own name, but lets use this generic name), that attracts an annual fee of $300. At face value this means you get a rate of 7.37%.

Now, how does this translate into actual cash flow?

The monthly repayment on $300000 at 7.37% over 30 years is $2071
Add monthly component of package fee $ 25
Total $2096

Compare this with a similar loan from another bank at a rate of 7.4%

The monthly repayment on $300000 at 7.4% over 30 years is $2077
Nil monthly charge $ 0
Total $2077

This means that the loan at 7.37% is more than the loan at 7.4%! Another vital point about this is that the loan amount actually lessens as you pay it off, but the yearly fee does not, and so, the loan actually gets more expensive as the years roll by.

This is something to be very careful of.

I should mention, however, that with higher loan amounts the comparison may change in favour of the professional package, so the figures need to be worked out accurately for every loan scenario.

Now, what about cheap petrol?

One popular offer at the moment is that you will save 50 cents a litre for a year. The actual website quotes that you could save $2080 over a full year. Subject to the following conditions: Offer limited to 52 purchases over a 12 month period (maximum 4 per month except for December, March, June and August when a maximum of 5 purchases applies), up to a limit of 80 litres of fuel per individual purchase. Promotion applies to funded new money Standard Variable or Discount Variable loans of $150,000 or greater.

The petrol deal applies to loans currently quoted at either 7.99% or 7.59%, ie the Standard Variable Rate or the Discount Variable Rate respectively. Lets look at the best case scenario at 7.59%, and for the sake of comparison I will also assume there are no monthly fees.

Monthly repayments on $300,000 loan over 30 years at 7.59%: $2116.16
Monthly repayments on $300,000 loan over 30 years at 7.4%: $2077.14
Monthly cost of the free petrol: $ 39.02

On the strength of these figures it will take 4 and a half years until the cheaper loan starts to get ahead, so it looks like a reasonable deal, unless you dont use enough petrol! The bottom line is this. Dont just look at the rate or the money you might save. Do the figures accurately and compare apples with apples.

Michael is the owner of Home Loan Answers, the BEST site for Home Loan Information in Australia. You will also find great tips on how to get the best credit cards and personal loans plus an opportunity for you to get personally tailored information so you can choose the best deal to suit your circumstances.

If you have ever had a kidney stone before then you are part of a group of people that knows what it is like to feel a very high level of pain. Sometimes the pain comes and goes as the kidney stone finds it's way through your body, and at other times it comes and stays. I know a friend of mine had a kidney stone and ended up spending a week in the hospital because it was too big to pass. For me, I've had several kidney stones over the past few years. Thankfully all of them passed and I didn't have to spend any time in the hospital, but that wasn't much of a consolation because the pain was almost unbearable at times. If you are having problems with a stone and you want to know if there is a further problem then here are some symptoms of a kidney stone blockage.

Kidney stones are very common, but most of the time they pass through the kidney and are discharged without any noticeable pain or discomfort at all. However at times the kidney stones become so large that they are difficult to pass and some are even lodged in one of the tubes in the kidney. The symptoms of a kidney stone blockage are very similar to that of passing a kidney stone in that there is pain and associated nausea at times as the stone moves slightly. There is also at times a fever and chills and a frequent need to urinate that may have some burning associated with it.

Stop kidney stones and kidney stone pain before it starts. Download our Special Report at http://www.stop-kidney-stones.info/

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During the past 25 years, cancer plans have become increasingly popular. I applied for my first one about 21 years ago, right after I had my daughter. I was a single parent and wanted to be financially responsible. Since I had a new addition in my life, I also took out a new universal life insurance policy

Being young and naive myself, after a couple years I dropped the cancer plan thinking the money could be better spent on other needs for my little family. I did not take into consideration that my Grandmother, whom I'd never met, because she had died before I was born was a cancer victim. She died from colon cancer after a long fight and surgery to remove most of her colon which left her with a stoma and an ostomy bag to take care of for the remainder of her life.
Around the same time that I dropped my cancer plan, my UNCLE was diagnosed with BREAST CANCER and had a mastectomy. During this time his wife was also diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double radical mastectomy.

Several years later another aunt came down with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She is now a big advocate for breast cancer cures and treatment and she spends a lot of time doing volunteer work at her local cancer treatment facility.

I am happy to say that both my aunt and my uncle have remained cancer free after their first bout with the disease, but unfortunately they do spend time taking care of my uncle's wife who has not been so lucky. Her breast cancer has metastasized and turned into a stage 4 lung cancer, which is inoperable.

I also had another aunt by marriage, one that I looked up to so very much that I went into nursing because she WAS a nurse and an inspiration to me. I watched her go through the pain of chemotherapy and radiation. I saw my aunt, who was usually an outgoing and vibrant person, lying in that hospital bed covered with burns from the radiation and weak from the chemotherapy fighting for her life. Her cancer, which started out as lung cancer had metastasized into her liver and eventually took her from us.

Seeing all of this cancer in my family, some blood relatives and some not, I started to think about cancer and not only the devastating EFFECTS of cancer treatment on the patient, but also the FINANCIAL BURDENS that were created for family members. I learned this through personal family experience and later on as a nurse, seeing the effects and pressure the disease was putting on the families of the patients in my care.

While still in nursing school:

As a student nurse, my first patient was a cancer patient. When my instructor assigned her to me I was told that she was dying of cancer. I was scared, really scared. I was not sure if I was scared of her dying or scared of the cancer! I was terrified when I walked into her room, but there she was, aside from being a little frail she didn't even look sick. She had colon cancer, the same cancer that killed my grandmother. She was so nice and funny and pleasant. I worked with her week after week in my clinical training and came to really care about her and her husband. When her husband would leave the room, she would tell me that all she really wanted was to go home, but she didn't want to burden her husband with her care.

When I told my instructor this, she told me to find out about hospice care. At that time I had never heard of hospice care and so I had a lot of learning to do. I did all the research and the following week presented my findings to her husband and told him that I would arrange for a hospice nurse to come talk to them. Two days later when I came back to the hospital, she was gonenot deceasedbut had gone home to live out the rest of her life, where she wanted to be. I never saw her again. This was a bitter-sweet feeling that I will never forget. I had been with this patient through surgery, through chemo, and we spent many hours just talking.

Getting to know her was one of the reasons that I chose to go into long-term care as a nurse. I didn't want to see patients for 10 minutes and then they leave until the next sniffle brought them back to the doctor's office, and I didnt want to see them in hospitals where they were only there for a couple of days and then sent home.

As a nurse working in a long-term care facility, many of my patients had gone through cancer treatment and many still were in treatment. Many of them were hospice patients who were just being kept comfortable in their last few days.

This was a very hard job, both physically and mentally. There were days when I would leave work and cry in my car all the way home, then try to be a good wife and mother and act as if nothing were wrong. Many nurses go through that and it does take a toll on family life. Remember that!and thank a nurse next time you meet one.

Leaving nursing for another career:

Several years later, I left nursing in pursuit of another way to not only make a living, but to help others. After all, helping people is the main reason I became a nurse. After a couple of years, and a couple jobs later, I found what I was looking for. I got a job that the public perceives as one step above a used car salesman. Yep!... I became an insurance agent!

I went to work with an internationally recognized supplemental insurance company (Aflac) and started selling mainly cancer plans. (I even sold one to myself!) I continued reading and researching everything I could find about cancer and then one day my mom called me. She needed me to take her to see an oncologist. She had a bad pap and was recommended to see a specialist. I was REALLY scared now! This is not an aunt or uncle, THIS IS MY MOTHER!

At the appointment, the doctor ran some tests and then we had to come back the following week for the results. That was a VERY long week. The waiting and wondering and not knowing was about to drive me crazy. Finally, the day came for the results. My mother was cleared of cancer, but the oncologist sat me down and told me to pass this along also to my sister. She told me that having cancer in your family can be genetic, but having a male in your family with breast cancer makes the risk even greater. She told me to have my cancer testing done yearly and to make sure my sister does also. She also told me something that I always tell my clients when I am talking about the cancer plans that I offer. "Testing, early detection and treatment can save your life."

Just because you do not have a family history of cancer, does not make you immune to the disease. After all SOMEONE has to be FIRST and that someone could be you or a loved one. It is not just genetics that is a determining factor in cancer. At least once a week you hear of something new that causes cancer.

Now that I have related why you NEED a cancer plan, let me tell you how to choose the right plan!

Since not everyone has the same needs, there are different plans available. Here are a few basic questions you should ask when shopping for a cancer plan.

• Where is the insurance company ranked on the National Underwriters list?
• Is the company ranked "A" or higher with A.M. Best?
• What kind of rate increases have they had in the past?
• Do I like the representative of the company?

Why are these questions important?

National Underwriters rank companies by their assets, amount of paid premiums and amount of claims paid. This is important because a company who is paying out more than they are taking in may not be around in your time of need or they may be forced to increase rates to stay solvent. The financial security of a company you are going to be doing business with is very important!

A.M. Best is another objective look at the insurance company's financial strength. You should always look to make sure they are at least an "A" or an "A+" or higher rated company with A.M. Best. They set the "benchmark" in the international market.

Many companies have increased the rate of their cancer plans over the years. (I found out just how important this was when my mother asked my aunt "Do you still have your cancer plan with." And she said NO because they had raised the rate too much.) Make sure that the company you choose has rate stability and does not continually raise rates. Most companies have the right to raise rates by class, but that does not single you out as an individual to increase rates and some companies have NEVER raised the rates on their current policyholders.

It is also important to like the representative of the company you do business with, since that may be the person you speak with to make any changes to your plan or at the time of a claim. This may be someone with whom you will need to share personal information, so trust is important.

When you are searching for a cancer plan, I hope you remember the tips I have given you. You can learn more about cancer at our website, then click on the cancer page.

Also, to help fund free mammograms, please visit The Breast Cancer Site

And click on the Fund Free Mammograms Button. You can also sign up for email reminders on that site. Their sponsors donate everyday that you click.

As a former nurse, Sharron Hancock believes in Wellness programs and you can sign up for her Free monthly Health & Wellness Newsletter at http://www.lifesolutions.us/

Sharron Hancock is an independent insurance agent who represents numerous companies and one of the founders of Life Solutions, U.S. an agency that helps employers make their benefits dollars go farther. You may contact Sharron through the Life Solutions, U.S. website.

Copyright 2007 - Sharron G. Hancock. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, give author name credit and follow all of the EzineArticles terms of service for Publishers.

I have a quick question...What is the most valuable asset that you have in your business right now?

If you answered, "my clients," then give yourself a pat on the back. Your customers and clients are your most valuable asset.

But the sad fact is that most businesses totally neglect their clients and because they are doing that they are losing out on a slew of potential profits and letting their competitors steal then away.

The easiest way to instantly increase you referral business as well as your repeat business is by staying in contact with your clients on a consistent basis.

If you regularly contact your clients, they will always have you on the top of their mind, do more business with you and tell their friends about you.

Here is a big secret: You do NOT want to make every contact with your client only a sales contact. By that I mean that you do not only want to try and sell them something every time you get in touch with them. You need to send them good "content" that they will enjoy and look forward to receiving. Something that will benefit them, or hep them solve there problems. You can make on offer when you are sending these "content,

You must try to in stay in contact with your clients at least once a month. That gives you a minimum of 12 "touches" a year. You will get better results if you can stay in touch twice a month.

If you implement this once a month contact system, your sales and profits will soar...regardless of what business or industry you are in.

Online entrepreneur Joyce O. Oladipo, "The Business Growth Queen" publishes the award-winning 'Business Abundance Marketing' e-zine with 2750 subscribers. To Learn How To Grow Your Business in Less Time with Ease No Matter What Product or Service You Sell sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, at http://www.BeAWealthyEntrepreneur.com