Students Of Success

You have researched all of the MBA Online Degree Programs
available and have decided that the University of Phoenix is the
right choice for you. Now what should you do so that you can
begin earning that MBA degree?

If you haven’t already done so: it is recommended that you
request more information about the MBA Degree Program offered by
the University of Phoenix by submitting a “request more
information” form (found on their website.) Your request will be
followed-up with a phone call to you by an education counselor
from the UOP Online student services department. This counselor
will discuss your educational and career goals with you,
including education that you may have already completed. He or
she will use the information you provide to assist you in
deciding what courses you will need to complete your MBA degree.

Your education counselor will also help you with registering to
become a student at The University of Phoenix Online Campus.
Your counselor will aid you in requesting your educational
transcripts from other educational institutions, and they are
more than happy to assist you with filling out financial Aid
forms if you are in need of financial assistance to cover the
costs of tuition. The commitment to the student doesn’t stop
with registration, college transcripts, and help with financial
aid forms. Every member of the University of Phoenix team is
quite knowledgeable about every aspect of the campus and its
online programs, and they are a great source of information, and
guidance for the new student.

After you become a registered student and have all of your
financial aid forms filled out, you will be given your own
pin-protected student page. As a MBA degree student at
University of Phoenix Online you will be using this page quite
often. Your student page contains reports that you can refer to
and print out such as a schedule of all of the classes you need
to complete your MBA through UOP online. You can stay on top of
upcoming scheduled classes, order the books you will need, track
your grades, and tuition payments, and obtain progress reports
from your professors. You will find links to the online
classroom, and the UOP Library: which contains a wealth of
research databases for you to use to complete the various
assignments you will be given in your coursework. Further your
student page has a link to the student success center: visit the
center for career advice and practice skill tests in your area
of study. You can also find tutoring help here if you are having
difficulty with a particular subject. This and much more is
available to you in your student page.

Everything that is made available to you as a student of the
University of Phoenix Online MBA Degree Program: the counselors,
the student success center, your instructors, and your student
page, are all designed to help you in successfully reaching your
educational goals.

We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation between company marketing and sales departments is vital, but oh so elusive. Despite all the talk and more talk in the media and at national business gatherings, nothing significant ever seems to happen.

The reason nothing happens is that there is only one person who can truly make it happen: The Company CEO. Unfortunately, CEOs don’t seem to be getting the message.

Why is the CEO the key?

In virtually every company, the president or CEO is responsible for setting the primary direction and goals for all parts of that company’s operations. Many CEOs practice a macro style of management, delegating many of their responsibilities to others, which is usually good. But delegating does not absolve them of using their influence over major changes in the company. The CEO is ultimately the weathervane for determining what does and doesn’t get done – especially major changes, like getting better marketing and sales collaboration.

What is happening?

Left to their own devices, sales managers and marketing managers will continue to work separately while feigning collaboration. Numerous software providers have given these managers an easy way to avoid having to seriously collaborate person-to-person. These providers champion the solution of having a Customer Relationship Management program in place. CRM has its merits and some have found it successful, but the jury stills seems to be out on how applicable it is to this problem. While we wait for more data, I don’t see significant change in selling/marketing habits or department cooperation. There is still no serious collaboration on permanent change.

Other vendors say the answer is to develop new customer-centered messaging. This will bring success, they say, with both departments centered on knowing what the customer wants, needs and feels about the company. From what I hear, this idea hasn’t found great success either. Perhaps it’s not successful because it is left to each department to interpret how it sees and uses this messaging information. Perhaps it is because message-centering isn’t a strong enough mandate for permanent change in both departments’ behavior.

I maintain that if an idea, technology, or policy suggests a significant change in the importance, behavior or role of either department, it probably won’t get priority attention.

We can paint a new target color on prospects, describe them in different detail, or agree on new messages, but what will motivate marketing and sales departments to tear down their silos? What motivates them to overcome their own lack of knowledge and fears about the other’s role and importance? What’s in it for them? After all, it took decades to build these departments, and we don’t easily eliminate territorial imperatives in corporate America.

Do Marketing and/or Sales Vice Presidents see this problem?

Here are some interesting observations:

a. In a recent survey, 40% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) said they can’t/won’t measure the effectiveness of their own marketing programs.

b. In that same survey, 39% of these CMOs said their department doesn’t work well with their sales department.

c. Sales departments said 70% of their marketing materials end up in the trash. (If the marketing budget makes up 23% of the average company’s revenues, that’s a lot of money going down the drain.)

If Sales and Marketing Vice Presidents agree on this problem, why no action?

1. Nobody relishes accepting and addressing a major department behavioral change. This is hard, time-consuming and strange territory for most.

2. There is real career risk and fear in either person taking the initiative.

3. Most don’t have the depth of knowledge about how to make this type of change.

4. Day-to-day activities give good excuses for not focusing adequately on this.

Most importantly, why doesn’t the CEO get involved?

Several possibilities exist:

• Maybe the substantial dollar value of the results from this change isn’t clear enough.

• Maybe CEOs enjoy being “referee” for these two department squabbles.

• Maybe CEOs fear making a wrong decision.

• Maybe they believe some new technology will be the answer.

• Maybe CEOs don’t understand change in marketing and sales actions are essential in today’s marketplace.

What will work:

During my 25+ years of business development experience in 50 different industries, I’ve had a lot of first-hand experience with the “corporate silo issues” and bickering between marketing and sales departments. I’ve seen shocking, contradictory answers to the question of a company’s key competitive advantages as expressed by these two departments.

Buying new software or adopting some new pictures, slogans and buzz terms for prospect/customers is NOT the most important first step. The keys to solving this collaboration problem are simple and very doable:

1. The CEO must accept that bold change within these two departments is vital and that he or she must personally start this ball rolling.

2. The CEO must believe certain changes in behavior, attitude, knowledge base and work procedures are essential for any effort to be fruitful.

3. The CEO must initiate and set the expectations and measurements.

4. The CEO must expedite the hiring of an outside facilitator who can quickly establish credibility and leadership with both departments.

My approach is built on proven employee change techniques, tweaked to fit this current challenge. The key success components are:

- Getting both departments to see personal benefits in significantly changing their business behavior, activities and responsibilities

- Having department individuals build the plan for change together

- Moving both departments closer together physically

- Facilitating cross-training between departments

What’s in it for the CEO?

The CEO has a heavy stake in sales and marketing department collaboration. When these departments finally work together, the way they should:

1. ROI for both departments will improve and be much clearer.

2. Marketing and sales costs will be reduced.

3. Sales revenues will jump noticeably.

I believe most CEOs are tired of the mediocre sales growth that comes from departmental struggles and constant finger pointing. It is time they get the message: It doesn’t have to be this way.

###

Sidebar

What are the key considerations for successful implantation of this corporate change?

1. The outside facilitator must have balanced credibility in both the marketing and sales professions. Insiders can’t do it themselves (This has been tried but failed because one or the other department felt pressured to favor one department’s philosophy or the other).

2. The CEO must agree on what constitutes quantifiable measures of performance and return on investment. (A good facilitator will help here.)

3. The employees must design, agree and implement the new collaboration action plan. They must “own” and drive it, not management.

© Rick Wemmers 770-565-8727

Rick Wemmers
Rapid Business Development Expert

Rick brings 25 years of business development secrets, gathered from experience consulting companies in 50 different industries. Fortune 50 clients such as: Scott Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Seagram Distillers, Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific and Chap-stick, and a host of smaller, start-up technology companies.

He shows how to:
 find and use undiscovered competitive intelligence.
 focus energies/resources for more profitable selling.
 improve sales force productivity.
 create commanding sales presentations.
 leverage small budgets to achieve big results.

Rick is experienced with all types of sales channels: direct & rep sales force, wholesalers, distributors, direct sales, telemarketing, OEM, alliances, partnerships, retail, and Internet.
He is skilled in the use of all selling tools and tactics: all forms of paid advertising, public relations/publicity, direct mail, email, point-of-sale, contests, discounts, sales force incentives and one-on-one presentations.

Testimonials are widely used by internet marketers. You see them plastered all over sales pages and websites in a bid to make you feel more comfortable with whatever product or service is being promoted.

I expect that, like me, you’ve sometimes wondered if these testimonials are real. Some of them aren’t but the large majority of them are 100% genuine. Usually you can tell the real ones because they will have a link back to the originator’s website.

So what does this mean for you? Simple - the next time you use a product or service that you’re happy with think about sending the supplier a testimonial - and include a link to your website or blog. If the supplier decides to use it, it’s good for them and it’s good for you - you will get traffic from your link.

To give just one example, I wrote a review of an e-book and published it on my website. It was one of the few e-books that I have genuinely enjoyed and learned from this year so I gave it a good review. I also e-mailed the author to tell him how much I had enjoyed the book and pointed him at the web page where it was reviewed.

A couple of weeks later I found that a snippet from my review was being used as a testimonial (he asked permission first of course) and that a link to my site had been included. This was on a very high profile sales page.

Mine was one of 4 reviews and the other 3 were all by world famous internet “gurus”. I don’t mind admitting that I was mildly amused to see my name there along with the big dogs - but I was even happier when I checked my traffic stats later. I was receiving a steady trickle of traffic from the sales site. Obviously people who wanted to check that there was a real person behind the testimonial.

The traffic is pretty constant week in, week out, and I expect it will continue for as long as the e-book is promoted. It’s a nice payback for a testimonial which I wrote in all sincerity.

So, if you are really happy with something in future, write to the supplier and let them know - include a link to your site or blog. It’s nice to be nice.

Hamish Hayward
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Today’s students face monumental challenges to getting into top
colleges and paying for their education. Cutthroat student
competition and shrinking acceptance rates make it tough for
students to gain entry into the nation’s premier colleges and
universities. And with tuition costs soaring and federal aid
shrinking, many young graduates are facing six-figure student
loans when they are just beginning to start their careers.

Despite these challenges, long-term planning in high school and
college can make getting into elite programs much easier. And
scholarships and grants can go a long way toward lowering the
cost of college. Yet few parents and students know where to
begin.

Meet Jason Lum, founder of Scholarship Learning Company. A
Harvard and Berkeley graduate with work experience in the
Harvard Admissions Office, Jason is a winner of nearly $250,000
in scholarships and is dedicated to sharing what he has learned
with students and their parents to help them get into top
programs-and how to pay for it.

“An indispensable lecture for students looking to compete and
win in the scholarships sweepstakes.”

- Jimmy Ausemus, Financial Aid Counselor, UC Berkeley

“Jason’s experience proves that students can obtain
substantial amounts of free money, and thereby avoid the
long-term pressures of high student debt.”

- Maritza Hernandez, Associate Director of Enrollment
Services, Harvard University

Through comprehensive seminars and individual counseling, Jason
shows you how to develop winning applications for college
admissions and scholarship programs, how to locate hard-to-find
scholarships, and how to develop a long-term action plan to help
cut the costs of college. Whether you’re looking to get into
college or learning how to pay for it, Scholarship Learning
Company can help you.

These days people use their cars as floating living rooms and dining rooms as they drive around. This means that all kinds of things can get spilled on a car’s upholstery. When this happens, you’ve probably wondered how to clean car upholstery. Once you know how to clean car upholstery, you’ll enjoy your travels more.

Here are ideas on dealing with some of the most common problems. Using these simple tips will show you how to clean car upholstery to your satisfaction. Note that these techniques are for use on cloth upholstery. Other methods are needed for leather.

Removing common stains

All that eating and drinking in the car can result in stains from liquids. The first step is to blot the spill and absorb all excess liquid. Then apply an upholstery cleaner available from your local auto parts store. Spray a small amount of cleaner on your car upholstery and wait a few minutes. Scrub the stain a little with an old tooth brush. Then dry the soiled area with a clean cloth. Repeat until you no longer see the stain and the cloth you are using to dry the area shows no discoloration. If the stain is small, shaving cream may do the trick instead of commercial cleaner.

If ink stains your car seat, do not rub the stain as this can smear the ink and make the stain larger. Start by carefully blotting the area to remove any excess ink. Spray a small amount of hairspray on the stain and let it sit a few minutes. Take clean dry towels and wipe the area. Repeat as needed but use the minimum amount of cleaner necessary. Change your wiping cloths frequently to prevent soiling the material from cross contamination. Rubbing alcohol can also be used to clean ink on car upholstery. Dip a cotton swab into the alcohol and apply it only on the actual ink stained area. Then wipe with a clean cloth as above.
To remove lipstick stains from your car’s upholstery, try rubbing gently with a white, non-gel toothpaste. Then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

If there is a battery acid stain, rub a paste of baking soda and water into the spot right away. Leave this on for two hours and then wipe it off with a damp cloth. Repeat if any stain remains. Any remaining residue can be cleaned with a commercial upholstery cleaner. As an alternative, you can make your own cleaner by mixing 1/2 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent in a quart of warm water. Beat this with a mixer and clean the upholstery using only the suds. Work on a small area at a time, overlapping areas to avoid spotting. Change the rinse water frequently to keep it clean. Let dry thoroughly.

To remove a gasoline stain from your car’s interior, treat the stain with a mixture of one teaspoon each of vinegar and mild dish detergent in a quart of warm water. The vinegar will remove the odor while the detergent does the cleaning. Let the area dry. If any spotting remains, you may need to repeat the process. If this does not seem to be working, try using dry cleaning solvent.

If you have children, they may play with crayons in the car and may get some on the upholstery. To remove crayon marks, first scrape the excess crayon off with a dull-edge knife or metal spoon. Spray with WD-40 and let stand a few minutes. Using a small, stiff bristled brush, work on the crayon stain and then wipe the area with paper towels. Respray with WD-40 and apply liquid dishwashing detergent on the sprayed area. Work this material in with the brush and then wipe the stain away with a damp sponge. If any stain remains, repeat the procedure.

To remove mold, mildew and their odor from upholstered auto seats, products with peroxide and detergents will restore the car interior. This both removes the stain and deactivates the odor. Simply spray a citrus cleaner product on the soiled area. Wait about five minutes for it to penetrate. Using a clean white absorbent cloth, blot the area, pressing down firmly without rubbing for 30 seconds. Repeat this blotting process until the area is dry. If the stain or odor persists, repeat the process. As an alternative, you could create a cleaning mixture by combining 1/4 teaspoon of color safe bleach and 1/4 cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide. With a clean cloth, gently rub the stain until it is gone. Rinse the area with clear, warm water and dry thoroughly.

Clean upholstery helps your car keep its value

By keeping your car upholstery clean not only will it look better, it will also last longer. Nice looking upholstery maintains the value of your car. If your upholstery is stained or damaged beyond cleaning, replacement seat covers are available for most cars and trucks. People who know how to clean car upholstery won’t have to go to the expense of buying those replacements since their cars’ interiors will look like they just came from the showroom.

Jean Feingold is a copywriter for Catalogs.com. Catalogs.com is the Internet’s leading source for print and online catalog shopping - and a growing hub of original content and “how to” information at www.catalogs.com.

Monday, January 9, 2006

After a rally to new highs this spring, most of 2006 will be a
downward tilting year for stocks, as will much of 2007. Forward
looking into any new year can be dicey for an investor or
trader. We see several significant changes coming.

We hope this small effort at determining dates for Major
Market Turns helps you to plan for these events by building
expectations in your mind of potential changes. Below, we
proffer our opinion of the coming Market Turns.

Timing Market Turns

For those awaiting the next big crash, your patience and hopes
will be tried and crushed. For those expecting a glorious race
to new all time highs throughout all the broad indexes, your
exhilaration will be tempered by a sharp reversal from new all
time highs in the Dow Jones 30 Industrials and the New York
Stock Exchange Index (already at new highs). The Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index will not make it to a new all time high
this year. The Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index
will soon end their modest upward move.

The 3-Year Rally Ends Soon

Since the lows in October 2002, the broad market indexes have
rallied relentlessly for most of these 39 months. This upward
move will soon end. These first months of 2006, we believe
investors should be unwinding positions, taking profits and
going to cash or to interest rate sensitive models. We assume
most investors won’t be shorting stocks or indexes. Perhaps
investors will use the various inverse mutual funds that allow
for gains in this coming correction beginning soon.

Index and stock traders are sure to have an abundant year of
opportunities for making huge profits from the volatile swings
we foresee. Yes, volatility swings will be byword for 2006, as
are most market corrections.

Let’s begin with a caveat or what some people will wonder about,
“where we are coming from.” Long term, we are bullish on the
U.S. markets, the indomitable U.S. economy, and the American
people.

The Dates To Watch

As many of our readers know, the dates and times (intraday) that
our proprietary algorithms yield are independent of our bias for
what these dates will manifest, a low or a high. Our view that
October 21st and/or October 24th would mark the low to buy did
come true even though it wasn’t the exact low, which occurred on
October 12th. Those familiar with market structures ending like
that, such as Elliott Wave Theory, will understand a bit better
(though we aren’t wave theorists). We expect similar endings for
indexes this spring. That is, some will make new highs and
reverse from there while others will fail to make final highs.
Those failures to surpass recent highs are ideal locus points
for exiting bullish positions and establishing a bearish stance.
Essentially, these are the safest places in time to sell short
the indexes.

The dates to watch are as follows: January 23, March 13 and
April 11. More swing dates are interspersed between those, but
have not risen through the rigorous algorithms to show
themselves as significant enough to mention yet.

Our Bias

Our bias, at this time, for what these dates should manifest
shows the final high on April 11th as the high to sell. The
January 23rd date should mark the end of a move. Our view is
that it will be a high, IF a minor time locus date,
Wednesday, January 11th, strikes a low of a fast correction
beginning today, Monday, January 9th.

On the other hand, if the indexes continue their upward move
into Wednesday and Thursday, then we would change our bias to
the January 23rd date to arrive as a low. This date’s result
further colours our bias for the March 13th date, even though we
tentatively expect it to be a high.

We will update as time passes on the sites listed below.

In July 2004, Good Housekeeping reported a small study of then-available skin-firming or anti-cellulite creams. The Good Housekeeping Institute sent a small group of test subjects to a well-known New York plastic surgeon. The women saw the doctor before starting treatment, after two weeks and after four weeks.

They were instructed to use one of three cellulite creams daily on one thigh only, providing a very reliable control for comparison. For example, if a woman gained or lost ten pounds during the study, the study would still reveal if the cream alone had any effect.

At each appointment, thighs were measured at three points above the knee, photos were taken and dimply skin was graded on a scale from “very noticeable” to “none at all”. Unfortunately, GHI did not reveal the names of the two losing cellulite creams; but they did report that only Avon’s Cellu-Sculpt significantly reduced the treated thighs’ circumference. The average loss – after just one month – was ¾ of an inch. The point is – firming creams, at least the effective ones, really can have an effect.

Fast forward two years …

Avon Cellu-Sculpt still has the same great ingredients and is still one of the most popular firming creams on the market. The key active ingredients are: caffeine and cornstarch for temporary tightening; glycerine and glycosaminoglycans as moisturizers and, most importantly, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3 which stimulates growth of new elastin and collagen.

In the meantime, the search for cosmetically active polypeptides has progressed by leaps and bounds. With the introduction of tetrapeptides, we finally have an ingredient that addresses sagging, loose skin.

Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 has been clinically shown to stop and even reverse glycation damage which causes skin to droop. Glycation is the process by which glucose links with proteins and causes them to bind together, thus stiffening tissues.

Glycation affects the skin’s support system – collagen, elastin and other proteins – and leads to wrinkles, sagging, uneven skin tone and loss of youthful contours.

Finally, in a class by themselves, are the neuropeptides. Neuropeptides are polypeptides that act as neuromodulators, neurotransmitters, neurohormones, and hormones. Probably the best-known proponent for the cosmetic use of neuropeptides is Dr. Nicholas Perricone. His previous anti-aging developments have met with broad acclaim and his three books have been on the New York Times Bestseller list.

Dr. Perricone explains his work with neuropeptides in his third book The Perricone Promise thus: “In The Wrinkle Cure and The Perricone Prescription, I introduced a major theme of my research: the Inflammation-Disease-Aging Connection. Because inflammation is a great contributor to accelerated aging, it has been an important focus of my ongoing scientific research. And we now know that neuropeptides and peptides play an important role in mediating inflammation.”

According to Dr. Perricone, neuropeptides provide the benefits of the above polypeptides as well as provide powerful anti-inflammatory (i.e. anti-aging) activity and maximum hydration to the skin.

We surveyed the market for creams that contain some or all of the ingredients you want for maximum firming. Then we ranked them for their firming effectiveness. The ideal firming cream would contain ingredient(s) from each category below.

Key Ingredients to Look For in a Cellulite Firming Cream

A. For Temporary Skin Tightening

Though the skin tightening effect is what most people are looking for in a firming cream, the effect is regrettably temporary. It’s literally like putting starch on fabric; and many of the temporary tighteners are starches. Look for cornstarch, hydrolyzed soy flour, hydrolyzed wheat protein, etc..

Starch is a natural polymer or combination of many sugar monomers. Working in similar fashion to natural starches are synthesized polymers. These include acrylates, acrylate crosspolymers and lauryl methacrylate.

Astringents are another class of temporary skin tightener. They work by removing oils and soap residue from the skin, leaving the skin smoother and tenser. Examples are alcohol, propylene glycol, witch hazel, and salicylic acid. Astringents are generally drying. If you already have dry skin, you may want to avoid firming lotions that contain them.

Anti-edema ingredients are yet another type of temporary skin tightener. They tighten the skin by reducing abnormal swelling and inflammation within the cells. Examples are aminophylline, caffeine, chamomile, centella, grapefruit, ivy, laminaria (seaweed) and rosemary.

B. Both Temporary and Restorative

Probably the most popular, but also most under-rated, skin care ingredients are good moisturizers. Many people don’t realize that the benefits are not just temporary. Keeping the skin well-hydrated not only feels good temporarily but also supports the skin’s matrix against collapsing with the passage of the years.

Recent studies suggest that skin moisturizers also accelerate the recovery of irritated or injured skin. The skin is the body’s largest organ and its first line of defense. The skin acts as a physical barrier against infection and injury. In a study from the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden, a moisturizing cream was tested for its effect on damaged skin with excellent results, including far less water loss and enhanced barrier recovery.

Better, more effective moisturizers are developed every year. Current top picks are: hyaluronic acid and other glycosaminoglycans; and imidazolidinyl or diazolidinyl urea. Other excellent moisturizers are collagen, elastin, glycerin, glycogen, glucose, polysaccharides, amino acids, cholesterol, lipids, ceramides and lecithin.

The above are all Natural Moisturizing Factors or NMF’s. For maximum benefit, NMF’s need to be combined with emollients such as silicone, lanolin and other animal oils, mineral and plant oils (shea butter, cocoa butter, petrolatum), cyclomethicone, cholesterol, stearates, mystirates, palmitates or triglycerides.

C. Turn-Back-the-Clock Restorative: The Polypeptides

Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3 (PP-3), Palmitoyl Tetra- (or variously Tera-) peptide-3 (PT-3), and Neuropeptides are truly active anti-aging ingredients. PP-3 stimulates the growth of new collagen and elastin to plump out wrinkles and dimpled skin from within. PT-3 stops and reverses glycation damage, thereby lifting the skin and refining body contours. Neuropeptides have been developed that do the work of PP-3 and PT-3 combined, as well as hydrate and fight inflammation that accelerates the skin’s aging.

For a comparison of ten popular cellulite firming creams or for more information on effective skin care products, visit ==>http://www.ageless-beauty.com/skin-care.html

By: Jean Bowler. For the latest in skin care products and cosmetic procedures, visit http://www.ageless-beauty.com/antiaging-skin-care.html

Divorce is certainly an emotional time for families. In fact, it ranks as one of the most stressful experiences in life. However, it is not only the adults who experience this stress. If the adults are parents, their children often suffer greatly. Their suffering can not be entirely eliminated. A certain amount of grief at the ‘death’ of their parents’ relationship is to be expected. Nevertheless, while the adults are going through typically arduous legal wrangling it is important for them to remember the needs of their children and put them first. Deciding to cooperate for their sake will help to protect the children’s emotional well being by maintaining their sense of security and need for unconditional love. Marital breakdown is difficult for everyone - especially children. There are several ways in which loving, responsible parents can cooperate for the good of their children. Even though the marriage may have broken down, the parental relationship is ’till death do us part’.

Child and youth counselors emphasize that children need lasting relationships with both parents. More often than not joint custody is granted because of this accepted understanding. Ideally, the relationship of the parents should be business-like and cooperative for the sake of the children. Children should not witness hostility between their parents and should not hear negative statements about either parent. It is recommended that parents commit to regularly scheduled meetings, in a neutral location for the purpose of discussing child-related issues. Education, medical, religious and moral issues that concern the children’s well- being need to be dealt with by both parents. If emotions prohibit calm conversation, there are often family justice counselors available in the community to facilitate these important meetings.

Children going through the divorce of their parents usually have many questions and worries. Compassionate responses are required and it certainly takes mature parents in order to put aside their own issues and help their children gain some understanding about a situation over which they have no control. Unfortunately, many children experience guilt and often blame themselves for the marital breakup of their parents. Counseling - whether group or individual - can be an effective way to lessen this destructive burden. The objectivity of the counselor may help the child open up and share his/her feelings. As children mature, their questions will differ so the issue of their parents’ divorce is never really over. A commitment on behalf of both parents to open communication with the children will reassure them greatly.

Divorce Attorney Jean Mahserjian makes it easier to make it through your divorce by providing you with the essential information you need to understand the divorce process. For more help and information on this topic, visit our site at: www.millenniumdivorce.com

When search engines pay website owners a percentage of the bid cost, you’re just looking for trouble. This is the problem with Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, especially with smaller named search engines. Many websites request or even pay there visitors to search a specific search engine and click on a result. This just sends advertisers fake leads and causes problems for the advertisers that paid for the keyword listing. Many PPC search engines offer webmasters up to 80% of the bid price. For example, let’s say I pay ‘Example Search Engine’ $1 for the keyword Viagra, they then pay webmasters $.80 per visitor they send that searches and clicks on a bided search term. You can see why PPC can be a problem.

Paid Inclusion offers a safer, less expensive form of search engine advertising. You pay one price to have your site listed in a specific search engine, often under a specific keyword. Your site will also be updated on the search engines data base more often then non paid sites. Paid Inclusion costs and average of $25 a year per URL submitted. Plus the cost goes down the more URL’s you submit at one time. PPC usually starts at $.01 per click being the cheapest bid per keyword, but you’d be lucky to find a keyword that low that would result in any clicks.

Something to be aware of when advertising on PPC search engines. Although you are paying for your site to be viewed in a search engine, many times your site will show up on other people websites. This is a common practice on both Google and Overture search engines. Advertisers have to opt out of this service if they only want to be shown in the search engine,. In my opinion, this will help reduce fraudulent clicks of your paid search term.

This isn’t to say every PPC search engine is bad. For example, Mamma.com offers a fixed price per website category. They then rotate all the websites in a category evenly. Websites big and small get their advertising site seen the same amount of time. Before spending money on a PPC search engine be sure to read how they protect advertisers against fraudulent clicks. This will help make sure you get more for your money.

If there was only a way to eliminate fraudulent clicks in PPC advertising. It would make using this method of search engine advertising well worth the extra costs. After all, you are getting targeted hits to your site by people searching for precise keywords.

About The Author

Kristian Pulz is the owner of http://www.Links2See.com an internet directory and http://www.barterNsave.com a direct partner of the First Barter Network. He can be reached at webmaster@links2see.com.

Good marketing positioning is like good lying. No, we’re not suggesting that you lie when creating your company and product positioning. Anything but, in fact. But, it’s remarkable how much the properties of good positioning resemble the properties of a good lie.

Like an effective lie, an effective positioning statement should be:

1. Believable. A lie that no one believes is rather pointless, isn’t it? Well, the same is true of your company or product’s positioning. If it’s not believable, then it’s useless. Ensure that the key elements of your positioning statement are rooted in truth, and that the assertions that you’re making about your company’s or product’s capabilities will pass the sniff test of a jaded observer who has seen it all before when it comes to the outlandish statements that a lot of software and information technology companies insist on making.

2. Consistent. A weak lie won’t stand up to scrutiny when judged on its consistency. Internal consistency – that is, ensuring that the various elements of the lie, or positioning statement, are not in direct conflict with one another - is very important to making sure that the listener won’t just turn off their eyes and ears to your message.

3. Simple. Remember being a kid and trying to tell a lie your Mom? You’d concocted a story so convoluted and complex that it was impossible to remember as you recounted it. A positioning statement is the same way. If it’s so complicated that even you and your sales reps can’t remember it, you’re guaranteed that your customers won’t either.

4. Compelling. What’s the point in telling someone something that isn’t interesting and doesn’t apply to them? If you’re taking the risk of lying, tell a lie that is at least somewhat captivating to the listener. In the case of your company or product’s positioning, it should mean something to your target audience. Which means you better have done your homework into their hot buttons beforehand. What’s important to them? What’s not? What benefits can they not do without? Find out, and ensure that your positioning hits those notes.

Keep these caveats in mind when it comes time to position or reposition your company or product, and we can assure you that your audience will sit up and take notice.

Ash Seha is a partner at The Launch Factory LLP, a consultancy specializing in marketing, sales, and product management strategy for software and IT companies. Their expertise, garnered from such IT highflyers as i2, webMethods, SAP, and Baan, is focused on breaking the growth bariers that stand between high-growth software and IT companies and their revenue and marketshare goals.