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Soon large corporate clients will be asking you if indeed you will be able to manage incase of a Bird Flu Pandemic. They will want to know if indeed your company will still be around to supply them in the event there is a Bird Flu Pandemic? What will you tell them? Are you even sure you will be around? Have you got a plan? You might wish to start thinking of one now. Meanwhile here is a sample letter response you can send back in case you are blind sided by such a readiness inquiry to such a question from a Corporate Client; Sample Response to Bird Flu Pandemic Inquiries

Subject: Bird Flu Pandemic Readiness

Thank you for your inquiry dated; (date) regarding our readiness to handle a Bird Flu Pandemic has been considered and we have our plan in place, there fore there should be no disruptions in our services or deliver of products to your company.

We recognize the Bird Flu Pandemic is a serious issue, and have been working to correct the problem for (amount of time). Plans are already in place and will be completed by: (will be in place by date). We are firmly committed to providing you our product(s) and service(s) without disruption caused by a Bird Flu Pandemic, and (have) (will have by date) people and resources in place to address the coming of the Bird Flu Pandemic.

We (are already Bird Flu Pandemic ready) (will be Bird Flu Pandemic ready ) in the following key areas of our business:

Area __________________ Date Ready_________________

Example:

Business Management

Production planning

Plant operations

Distribution and Delivery

Please call us with any concerns or questions.

——- ——- ——– ——– ——–

This should provide you with the proper timely response to the inquiry for your dedication to seeing the Bird Flu Pandemic thru, but you still need to develop an outline and a plan of how you are going to deal with all a Bird Flu Pandemic. Consider all of this in 2006.

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

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Difficulty sleeping can affect many aspects of life. People who don’t get the recommended amount of sleep for their age groups can have a myriad of negative affects.

Daytime crankiness, difficulty concentrating, frequent illness, depression, and accidents are all common problems associated with poor sleep habits.

For some people, getting more sleep is not as easy as going to bed earlier. If you suffer from insomnia, you know how wearisome it can be to lie in bed, unable to sleep.

Doctors can prescribe medication to help, but these medications have undesirable side effects. Stomach problems, dizziness, daytime drowsiness, difficulty awakening, accidents, and poor coordination are all common.

Not only do prescription sleep medications have negative side effects, they also don’t cause healthy sleep. They cause sedation or unconsiousness–not the restful, healing sleep you need.

But you don’t have to choose between sleep deprivation and unwanted medication–nature has provided us with many natural remedies for sleeplessness.

Whether you want a little help falling asleep occasionally or a long-term supplement that will help restore your body’s natural sleep rhythms, you should be able to find an herbal sleep aid that will work for you.

Chamomile

Chamomile is one of nature’s oldest and gentlest herbal sleep aids. It is most often drunk as a tea, which has a mild and pleasant taste. In addition to promoting calm and restfulness, chamomile is also used in cases of stomach irritation.

The benefits of chamomile works when taken occasionally, and is mild enough that it can be used daily for extended periods of time. It doesn’t cause dependency, and has no side effects. It may, though, be an allergen for people who are allergic to daisies.

Experts are not sure how chamomile works to induce sleep. US Pharmacist reports that apigenin, a flavonoid in chamomile, may help to promote sleep, but that other components are probably also involved.

Valerian

Valerian is a root that has long been used as an herbal sleep aid. It has a characteristic smell, like old socks, which comes from isovaleric acid. Valerian can be used to help occasional sleeplessness, but is also particularly helpful taken long-term.

Many studies have shown valerian root to be an extremely safe and effective way to promote sleep. Patients who take valerian report that they feel less anxious and nervous, and have better rest at night.

Clearly, there are many benefits of valerian, and it causes none of the negative effects on concentration and alertness that prescription medications, thereby making it an excellent choice for people who suffer from chronic insomnia. Very high doses may cause certain side effects such as nausea, headaches, and dizziness.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that the body produces at night. It is sometimes called the “sleep hormone” because it is so important to healthy sleep. People who are blind, who suffer from jet lag, or who live in places with extended sunlight hours may have trouble sleeping because their bodies do not produce enough melatonin.

Patients looking for a short-term sleep solution may be helped by taking melatonin supplements, as will persons whose natural wake/sleep cycles have been disturbed. Melatonin is also helpful to people who are trying to wean themselves off of sleep medications.

SAMe

SAMe (S-adenosyl-methionine) is an amino acid derivative, and is found normally in the body. It is typically used as an antidepressant, but is also commonly used to treat chronic fatigue syndrome or as an herbal sleep aid. Its actions in the body help to promote healthy sleep cycles, especially when taken daily for several weeks.

Mario Kyriazis, M.D, author of The Anti-Aging Plan (Element, 2000) explains that SAMe helps to promote sleep by increasing serotonin, a nerotransmitter important to sleep and mood. SAMe also works with the hormone melatonin to harmonize the body’s natural day/night rhythms. SAMe is extremely safe, with no known serious side effects. Minor possible side effects in high dosages may include nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort.

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is an amino acid that is a precursor to seratonin. Low seratonin levels can cause irritability, anxiety, and sleeplessness, so adding more tryptophan to your diet can help you relax and will promote healthier sleep patterns.

Many foods naturally contain tryptophan. Increasing the amount of turkey, cottage cheese, peanuts, soy, brown rice, or milk in your diet will help your body to manufacture seratonin. Tryptophan supplements are also available.

Choosing your supplement

With all of the natural and herbal sleep aids available, it can seem tough to choose one. The choices don’t have to be overwhelming, though.

Some supplements are meant to be used only occasionally, while others work better when used long-term. Many supplements have additional benefits, so it’s often easy to pick one supplement to meet several needs. Naturopathic physicians, dieticians, and herbalists can help you choose the best herbal sleep aid for you.

References:

Cauffield, Jacintha S., Pharm.D., BCPS. “Supplements Used to Treat Sleep Disorders.” http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/Comp/sleep.htm&pub_id=8&article_id=729

Kyriazis, Marios, M.D. “Depression and SAMe.” http://www.smart-drugs.com/depression-SAMe.htm.

Dan Ho is chief editor of Nutritional Supplement Info Spotlight, which offers unconventional and unique solutions for common health issues. Claim your FREE subscription to his newsletter now at his Nutritional Supplement and Herbal Supplement Guide Site

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All of us you have ever played online poker know that your online poker game depends as much on your internet connection as on your cards. I can’t tell you how many times I have been holding an amazing hand- only to have my cards wiped when my internet crashed. Most casinos have systems in place to protect your hand if you have a legitimate internet crash, but not all do. Poker games are particularly difficult for casinos to handle because the play has to go on while you are away. Some casinos will fold your cards, other will remove you from the game, and still other will automatically press the pass button. You should really check the particular policy of your casino before you play on a notoriously spotty internet connection.

One of the flaws with these kind of disconnection proof systems is that they can be abused by players. Some players, in order to get out of an unfavorable hand, will fake an internet crash. Casino technology is getting better at recognizing intentional internet disconnections and repeated computer crash patterns, but there is still room for improvement. It’s a particularly low and dishonorable form of cheating that you don’t want to be associated with. If you have a bad internet connection, you may want to consider playing in a different location so repeated crashes don’t make you look suspicious to the computer tracking system.

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I deal with many questions from curious website owners everyday. One question I have a new answer for is, “Should I use META tags on my site when do search engine optimization?” Old Answer: It couldn’t hurt, but don’t worry about them, the search engines ignore them for the most part. New answer? Read on…

Should I really use a META tag? Really?

The new answer is yes, you should use META tags on your site. The keyword META tag is still not used by search engines but when submitting to directories, a valuable use of time by the way, the META keywords are used in many cases to automatically fill in the keywords for your site in that directory.

Even more amazingly, the META description tag has soared in importance. How so you ask? Google has started showing the META description in its search results when certain criteria are met.

The criteria being used appears to be very simple, unlike many of the other things Google does. When the keyword or search terms appear in the META description, the META description is used instead of the snippet of text containing the keyword on your page.

For example, if you do a search in Google for ‘Big Oak SEO’ you will see our site in the first listing and the description used is our META description tag. All three words being searched for are also in our META description.

If you do a search for ‘big oak client’ you will see the first listing is pulling a snippet of text from the page itself. Since ‘client’ is not in our META description, it uses a snippet of text from the page where all three words can be found.

Where should you use a META description tag?

Every website should use a META description tag on the home page at the very least. This way you can say exactly what you want and not worry the snippet of text being used is not best choice for your message. What this really means is Google is giving us some measure of control.

And now that we have this knowledge and control, how best to use it? This allows us to take off our search engine optimizer hats and don our search engine marketer hats. Think of what you can say in the brief sentence that will entice a user to click your link rather than the one above or below. You can put your phone number in the META description for starters or how about being really creative and offer a discount or advertise a sale. Tell them your unique selling proposition. It should be a one sentence phrase already in your head. The only caveat to remember is that your META description will only show if the search term is in the META description. While this can be tricky, it can be done with some forethought. You can do this for all of your targeted pages and have dozens of marketing messages.

Use the META description wisely: target your market and entice your customers. Do not abuse this control and put outlandish, untrue or slanderous statements as I am sure Google will be watching; and if this technique is abused the META description may have seen it last search result this time.

Shell Harris is a Search Engine Marketing Consultant and SEO Specialist.
His company, Big Oak, provides proven results for Website promotion. More articles can be found at http://www.bigoakinc.com/seo-articles/seo-articles.php

This article may be freely reprinted as long as all links and author information remain.

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BPH, or benign prostate hyperplasia, is a medical phrase commonly used for a swollen prostate gland. Put simply this means that the prostate, a gland which encloses the urethra and lies under the bladder, grows larger this can impair or maybe stop urinary flow. The prostate grows as the years pass and may create complaints such as trouble in micturition, reduced urinary stream, and also the holding of urine within the bladder. Night time frequency and recurring urinary tract infections are additional symptoms that may ensue from an enlarged prostate. BPH – Medical and Surgical Therapies: — Benign Prostate Hypertrophy is considered one of the most common medical conditions of males over 60. Recommendations are that males in their 50’s undergo an exam by their doctors on an annual basis, even if no symptoms seem to be observed, for the maintenance of prostate wellness. Get medical treatment directly if the urine contains blood or if unable to micturate.

Treatments for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia may be surgical procedures or the use of drugs. However, erectile dysfunction and even inability to control urination can be experienced after a surgical operation. An alpha blocker or drugs that reduce the enlarged prostate can also be given for better prostatic wellness, however, medicines frequently have unwanted repercussions. So which choices are recommended?

Suffering From a Swollen Prostate? Natures’s Way to Gain Improve Prostate

To promote better prostatic health and relieve the many problems brought on by an enlarged prostate gland, a few remedies can be recommended. Inflammation is significantly alleviated by Afican pygeum, bringing ease from any symptoms. A product of the fruit of an African evergreen plant, African pygeum has been used on a large scale in Europe as a holistic therapy to promote better prostate health. Dietary changes for example a reduction in the consumption of fat can improve symptoms, as well as increasing exercise, pressure in the prostate may be eased thru ejaculating more frequently, and trying to avoid sitting for a long time. Taking non prescription antihistamines and decongestant medicines may worsen any symptoms of a swollen prostate, consume these medicines with care. Reducing caffeinated drinks and alcoholic beverage intake, avoid drinking close to retiring for the night this may reduce frequent impulses to micturate during rest.

Moreover, there are additional natural supplements utilized for better prostatic function — these are saw palmetto extract, borage oil, the chemical element selenium, and lycopene, a molecule found in tomatoes. Do make sure to talk about your plans with your physician prior to setting out on the natural treatment of an enlarged prostate gland.

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Telemarketers: You can’t live with them, and you can’t kill them!

Seriously, starting and running an effective telemarketing unit is costly, more time and effort consuming than you ever imagined, and a grind, even when you’re getting positive results.

And when you’re failing, and it feels you’re pouring resources down a widening sinkhole, it is like a near-death experience, each and every shift.

To put a stop to the madness, management often thinks outsourcing is the answer, and on paper, it looks pretty good. First, these workers are never on your books, so you don’t run afoul of a lot of labor laws if they’re hired and fired in record time, which happens frequently in this field.

You don’t have to put up with the cultural clash that tele-people bring to an otherwise staid and starched environment. (See my article: “Having Telemarketers Aboard Will Create CULTURE SHOCK!”)

And usually, you’re quoted an all-in-one fee for their services, ranging from about $25 per hour, and up, providing you sign a minimal pilot program contract. Compared to your own costs of hiring, training, supervising, compensating, and housing these folks, the dollars seem to match up very well.

So, what’s the downside?

That’s easy: In my experience, most telemarketing outsource companies are barely capable of making “dumb calls.” And they’re almost all incompetent to make smart ones.

A dumb call is one aimed at preliminary lead development, in which the caller asks for some basic intelligence, such as “Who is the person who buys your office supplies?” or “What kind of sales software are you currently using?”

It could also be a call to residences that asks: “Are you thinking of selling your home, refinancing, or buying a new home in the next 6 months?”

These calls are then harvested for more experienced people to re-contact.

A smart call, typically, is business-to-business, that would sell consulting services via appointment. So, the phone rep has to (1) Get through screening or voice mail; (2) Determine and arouse needs in the decision maker; and (3) Get that person to agree to a meeting at a definite time; one that will not cancel.

Smart calls take linguistic, thinking, and persuasive capabilities, and most people who work for these outsource firms just don’t have these things going for them.

One of my former trainees at Xerox, who has developed outsource tele-units in the United States, India, and elsewhere, agrees with me. “They’re fine for some basic calls, but they just can’t do others,” he says.

So, take a hard look at what you need, and be realistic. Who do you really need to have working for you, to get the job done, and done right?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

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Marketing by Prospecting – a system of using marketing tools with prospecting skills.

It is a strategy designed primarily for the small to medium sized business that doesn’t have a large marketing budget. Also, for divisions within large companies that simply don’t get the big marketing dollars.

Marketing by Prospecting first involves preparing the variety of marketing tools we use to grow our business. Then, the means we use to get these marketing tools in front of our potential customers is Prospecting skills.

Because the lines between Marketing and Prospecting tend to blur quickly, why not just face facts – our Marketing work requires Prospecting skills -hence, Marketing by Prospecting.

By the way, the reverse also has implications here, Prospecting by Marketing©, but we will address that somewhat differently, more on that later.

As I have been writing for the last few weeks, our efforts for Prospecting in the Global Marketplace involve all the tools used in both our marketing and prospecting programs.

If you have a budget for running TV or mass media campaigns, this material is not for you.

By Marketing we are trying to get the world to know about the products and services we offer.

By Prospecting we are trying to reach the individuals in the world who can buy our products and services.

With small budgets, Marketing by Prospecting can be a very effective use of our marketing dollars.

The marketing materials tools that we create and use are usually – Flyers, Brochures, Pamphlets, Newsletters, Websites, and even PowerPoint presentations.

Two additional Marketing by Prospecting tools that you should consider areArticle writing and Public Speaking.

Writing articles and having them published is really easy these days with the internet.
Write about the various ways your products and services are being utilized to the benefit of your customers.

There are dozens of web article submission services that will publish your articles and provide them to e-zines along with your contact information including your website.

This may be the perfect way to get published, but realize there are 1,000’s of others doing this, so we aren’t alone in this market. But it does get your name and information out there. I have had 15 articles published on 6 different submission sites in the last week and they are popping up all over the place.

I entered my name in Google, and found a lot of my articles listed. I don’t have a feel yet for what this will generate business wise, but it is another marketing tool and it is absolutely FREE.

If you are able to get published in the “old style” standard media, newspapers and magazines I suggest you take advantage of them. I know these take time and effort, but pursue this route if you like.

The web submission can be done right now, so give both a shot.

Speaking to association meetings, trade show conferences, corporate meetings, and other events may not be for everybody, but it is a tool I personally really like.

You will need to prepare a speech, of course. Then your marketing materials will consist of a brief overview of the speech and short bio telling why you are the expert on this subject they should hear. Then you will need to use your Prospecting skills to get that one page document into the hands (or onto the computer screen) of the meeting planner, program chairman, or who ever books the speakers.

Start off with small local groups, maybe ones in which you may be a member.

So there you have it, the idea of Marketing by Prospecting. Hopefully it is something we can all use to grow our businesses using the tools of both skills. We will continue with this discussion in the coming weeks.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas so we can all share in this Brain Trust.

Sell Well and Often,

© Copyright 2006 WJ Truax

Blitz Call is a registered trademark of WJ Truax, Marketing by Prospecting and Prospecting by Marketing are trademarks of WJ Truax

About the Author:

Bill Truax
Bill@BlitzCall.com

Bill Truax is a Sales Management and Field Operations Consultant living in Cleveland, Oh. He conducts Sales Team Assessments, Management and Leadership programs, and works with Field Sales Professionals and Managers both in the field and in workshops. He has written 3 books and recorded 2 CD’s on Prospecting and Making Cold Calls and conducts a variety of skill based seminars, workshops, and train the trainer programs.

Bill has spent literally thousands of hours in the field making cold calls with sales professionals to teach his BLITZ CALL System. When Bill is in the field he actually makes many of the BLITZ CALLs himself, regardless of the industry. This is to demonstrate that anyone can prospect, you just need to know how.

Bill writes a Free weekly Prospecting Succes Tip for subscribers at his website http://www.BlitzCall.com The site also details all the materials and programs Trufield offers.

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Efficient lead management is the cornerstone to good sales. Without some sort of lead management system, keeping track of follow-up calls, meetings, and details relating to prospective clients can be nearly impossible. With proper lead management tools, all the information you will ever need to convert prospects into clients will be at your finger tips.

One of the first things necessary for good lead management is an efficient tool to organize records with. Whether a company is a one man shop, or a multinational organization, the efficiency of lead management can be essential to the health of the business.

A good lead management system allows business owners to organize and streamline the process of converting potential customers into clients. From the moment of contact, a sales representative should be able to add personal data and notes to client records. Follow up scheduling should be as easy as possible. Making a sale is often a matter of remembering the details and doing what you say you’ll do when you say you’ll do it.

After a good lead management tool has been selected, learn it and use it to follow up quickly. In the instant world of Internet, email and phones, a quick follow-up can make or break a sale. Having a good stock of marketing materials handy to close a deal is also very helpful. Ideally, your lead management software will allow for the sending of marketing material with a few key strokes.

Before you can use your lead management tool, a plan to generate leads is needed. Perhaps it’s an online request form, an 800 number, a catalog, a magazine ad or maybe all of the above. With the right software, Internet leads are easy to track, allowing business owners to see what is working and what is not. Magazine and TV ads are also very effective, but can be harder to track.

When ever you contact a potential client, use your lead management tool to keep track of the details of your conversations. The more personal details you include, the easier it will be to connect with your potential client in the future. Making a personal connection to your client is often the key to making a sale.

Once you make initial contact with a potential client, you’ll want to follow-up. Keep in front of your potential client. Even if the potential client doesn’t need your product or service now, maybe he or she will down the road. If you can manage to get in front of your audience enough for them to remember your company when it comes time to make the purchase decision, they will be likely to choose your company.

Proper lead management without the right tool can be an overwhelming task. With a tool to organize and prioritize all of your lead management tasks, following up with potential customers can be a real pleasure. All their information will be right in front of you, and you will be able to provide them any information they need instantaneously.

Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm – www.marketingtitan.com – a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company offering automated web site systems through www.businesscreatorpro.com.

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After several visits, many people consider Egypt to be a suitable place to increase the business of land and real estate investment. But the market for property in Egypt is immensely resourceful and able to support the development of land-related business.

Egypt has always been a key place in history; presently the country still reflects the past as well as the modern world. Therefore, Egypt has great historical bonding with the western states for the purpose of trade. The presence of the Red-sea, and the Mediterranean and the stunning sun sets still retain the beauty and mystery of the place. A considerable increase in the number of travelers every year has added to the potential revenues.

Building new Dahab hotels and enhancing the real estate business is supported by the assistance of laws aimed at streamlining purchase. The Egyptian governments have cut the taxes on land; therefore, land and apartments are easily accessible for all. Modern property-based companies like “Emaar” from Dubai have agreed to develop the business by contributing millions of dollars to the Egypt property investment market.

The tourist market continues to grow despite the world-wide economic downturn, and is expected to continue to flourish in the medium term

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If you have any personal information on your computer at all and access the Internet it is vitally important that you consider the benefits of a computer firewall. Many people lock their homes, lock their cars, keep a watchful eye on their children, and yet leave the bank accounts, personal information, and all kinds of other information vulnerable and exposed through their personal computers.

A virtual attack can be just as devastating financially and emotionally as someone breaking into your home. They are allowed access to secrets you may have shared in confidence with online friends or even offline friends that you correspond with online, they will have passwords for financial and banking accounts, they will know where you buy your coffee; they can learn where your children go to school. The information we have on our personal computers is staggering in terms of personal security nightmares and yet so many people take no steps to secure this information from prying eyes by investing in a simple computer firewall.

The amazing thing is that you can even find free computer firewalls available online if you know where to look. I highly recommend paying for a computer firewall though if you have little knowledge of the inner workings of your computer. If you’re going to secure your families secrets you may as well invest in a very good program with constant updates in order to do so.

A computer firewall isn’t just a nice thing to have on your computer; it is a vital line of defense for you and your family. Keep this in mind when choosing the best computer firewall for you. Remember you want to have a service that will provide updates and keep up with evolving technology that would harm your computer or steal your personal information.

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