Bill’s Blogs

If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are you’ll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners don’t even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company. This prevailing ignorance of small business CRM (customer relationship management) usually stems from just a few basic causes.

Excuses not to invest in small business CRM
The first and most common reason for disinterest in small business CRM is the very nature of small business. With limited financial and personnel resources at their disposal, business owners believe they can’t afford the money or time that a small business CRM system would require to show a significant ROI. Often times the chief concern is just staying afloat long enough to sign that big contract or receive a large product order.

Still other owners of new businesses believe that they can build and maintain quality customer relations simply by the virtue of the their cordial personality or particular market niche. They see small business CRM as an unessential luxury to be enjoyed exclusively by their larger competitors. What these owners often find is that without sufficient small business CRM support their business will never expand beyond the number of customer names they can remember. The problem is compounded when the company expands into internet sales (an essential move by any growing company) and suddenly finds its present customer tracking system overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming customer information.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line, as all successful small business owners have learned, is that it takes more than one good idea to build long-term business growth and stability. You may be great at attracting new customers to your business, but if you fail to care for, track, and understand your customer base, not only will you hemorrhage your hard-won clientele, you will also fail to capitalize on future opportunities by not anticipating future market trends.

The Solution
The good news about small business CRM is that there is an increasing number of automated systems available at prices that most smaller companies can afford without too much difficulty, usually around $2000 a year. Some CRM companies, effectively eliminating the need for small business owners to micromanage their CRM system, largely manage newer small business CRM systems. Now small business owners can reap the benefits of a smooth running CRM system with a minimal time/financial investment.

Features to look for in a small business CRM system
There are many features available to small business CRM users designed to not only track sales, but also cause sales. Here are some features to look for.
· Power Dialing-This feature allows your outbound sales agents to place 300%-400% as many sales calls, effectively quadrupling your workforce.
· Voice Messaging System-Allows you to automatically record and send sales calls designed to elicit a customer call back.
· Custom Fax and Email-Following up on leads with timely fax and email can mean the difference between closing sales and missing out on potential revenue.

Other ‘must-have’ features include:

· Calendaring
· Marketing management
· Sales management
· Order and quote management
· Service management

With the ability to outsource these business functions, small business owners can concentrate on implementing strategies that they’ve had to hold off on due to lack of customer information and/or time.

About the Author

Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in phone”>www.insidesales.com/phone-sales.html”>phone sales. For more information on small”>www.insidesales.com/small-business-crm.html”>small business CRM, please visit Inside”>www.insidesales.com/lp_inside_sales.html”>Inside Sales.

Thanks to technological advances, experts in dermatology have been able to observe the effect that our diet has on our skin’s texture and appearance.

Many recent studies in dermatology confirm that the most significant factor in skincare does not only depend on the cosmetics that we apply (which, of course, do make a difference) but also largely on our diet.

So…which diet should we implement to look great?

WATER Our body is 70 percent water; therefore, it’s logical that any lack of sufficient water intake will affect our appearance.

That’s why drinking water is undoubtedly the easiest and most efficient way of preventing the signs of aging, maintaining the skin smooth and the body healthy.

HOW DOES WATER AFFECT OUR SKIN? Water eliminates the toxins in our body that are daily stored up through contact with pollutants, tobacco smoke, stress and other sources of free radical formation. Concretely, free radicals are the principal cause of skin diseases and premature aging.

Water not only gives skin a more youthful appearance but also eliminates all of these elements, which cause the appearance of acne. Acne is formed by the accumulation of bacteria, oil, dead skin and dirt on the skin. Even for those with oily skin and problems with acne, water is needed to wash away both internal and external impurities.

Additionally, water helps vitamins and nutrients to easily flow throughout the body. In particular, it collaborates with all of the body’s organs to distribute vitamins E, C and B12, which help maintain the skin smooth and young.

HOW MUCH WATER DO I NEED TO DRINK DAILY? Normally it’s recommended that a person drink at least a liter and a half of water, although many dermatologists recommend increasing the dose to two or three daily liters.

WHEN IS IT ESSENTIAL TO DRINK WATER? It’s very important to drink and recuperate lost fluid after exercising or sunbathing. Don’t forget that water is good not only for your organism but also for your outward appearance.

WATER INSIDE AND WATER OUTSIDE When cleansing facial skin or the body, it’s best that the water be lukewarm. Very hot water can dry out the skin excessively, but at an adequate temperature, its cleansing power is enormous.

BEAUTY TRICK Drink water in the morning; it will help eliminate a puffy or swollen face.

Who would have thought that water would end up being one of the most relevant beauty secrets in the new millennium?

About the author:

Maria Llorente is a qualified Make Up Artist who writes on health and beauty subjects.

Fitness through Aerobics (6th Edition) Written for an aerobics, step aerobics, or aerobic dance course, Fitness through Aerobics teaches steps and methodologies for performing all types of aerobic dance exercises, as well as the strength and flexibility exercises that contribute to proper technique. The book features thorough coverage of new trends in the aerobics and fitness fields, along with information on standard aerobic dance, warm-up/cool-down activities, flexibility, injury prevention, and methods for teaching …
Customer Review: Interesting Photos….
I’m only reviewing the 4th Edition here — and only a very small part, which is all I was able to glance at at the time…some photos of common exercises which the book advised against! Not just stuff like the sit-up which we now know to be bad for the back, but also side stretches, leg lifts, tilting/rolling the head backwards! Duck walks, the bridge…so many things which had been used during the tae kwon do training of my youth are listed as being dangerous here! You really must see the ph…

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies (For Dummies (Health & Fitness)) Includes 65 delicious gluten-free recipes plus tips on eating out Find out how easy and tasty it can be to go gluten free! If you have a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, celiac disease, or you just want to enjoy the benefits of a diet free of wheat, barley, and rye, then this guide is for you. Author Danna Korn explains the medical problems associated with gluten and shows you step by step how to make the transition to a gluten-free lifestyle – and love it! Discover how to Understand what you can and can’t eat Shop and decipher food labels Cook crowd-pleasing gluten-free meals Eat gluten-free at restaurants and parties Raise happy gluten-free kids
Customer Review: Living Gluten-Free For Dummies By Danna Korn
You won’t feel like a dummy after reading this book on Celeac Disease, you will feel well informed.
Customer Review: Living Gluten-Free for Dummies
Living Gluten-Free for Dummies is a foundation book which imparts important information with humor…something a Celiac needs.

The inital impact of the diagnosis is overwhelming. LGFFD’s provides the right now information the “new” Celiac needs.

Do you want to look stunning with out wasting too much money? If your answer is yes, then you should read this tips. They have past on from generations to generations. The best part of it, is that you may already have the ingredients at home!

Get rid of blemishes
Apply toothpaste to the required area, Leave on overnight.

Dried or chapped skin
Apply petroleum jelly(vaseline) affected area.

Falling hair
Pour cinnamon in to 12 or more ounces of water, let it boil for 5-10 minutes. After it cools down, apply to hair scalp for 10 -15 minutes. Then shampoo and rinse as usual.

Hot oil treatment
Heat any vegetable oil (do not over heat). Apply to hair cover with shower cap and leave on for 10-20 minutes.

Blackheads
Mix oatmeal and honey, apply to skin. Massage skin for 5-7 minutes then rinse off with warm water.

About the Author

Kenia Morales is the owner and publisher of online magazine ” For Every Aspect Of Today’s Woman”. To find beauty tips, recipes, home business resources and much more.. Visit her site

Aerobic Dance Exercise (Winning Edge S.) This is one of six new titles that begins a series of value-priced fitness and activity texts designed for anyone interested in getting in shape and learning a new sport. The titles are authored by many well-known educators and sport leaders, and each book covers all areas including history and trends, fundamental skills and drills, equipment and safety concerns, and rules and regulations.

Punk Rock Aerobics: 75 Killer Moves, 50 Punk Classics, and 25 Reasons to Get Off Your Ass and Exercise Would you flee in terror if confronted with a room full of sweaty people in spandex thongs?

Are you not immune to the occasional Joe Strummer-style air guitar jump?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, here at last is your workout book. As simple as throwing on that old Ramones (or even White Stripes) record, punk meets fitness in an exercise craze that is spreading like wildfire amongst teens and aging rockers alike: Punk Rock Aerobics. Though punk and aerobics may seem t…
Customer Review: minor sweat
I love this book! It doesn’t just give you the right movies, but gives you music/movie/book recommendations. This book is for any punk fan who wants to look as good as Henry Rollins.
Customer Review: Hell yeah!
Ok, I am NOT a person who exercises, but when I picked up this book, I knew that was all about to change. I always wanted a fit, trim body, but all the exercises that I ever did were boring, boring, boring. This book makes exerciseing fun. So pick up your copy today, blast some tunes, and get your ass up and groove!

The story of the emperor’s new clothes is a fairy tale about men who fooled the emperor into believing that they had made him a beautiful suit of clothes. In fact they had not made anything. The emperor went out in public wearing nothing but his underwear because he didn’t want to appear stupid since they had told him only the wisest people could see the fine fabrics.When the emperor went out in public a little child yelled…”The emperor isn’t wearing any clothes!” Today I am that child.

“CRM doesn’t cover your mistakes or fix your problems and you have been lied to about its ability to “manage” your client relationships!” CRM is a system that is based on faulty logic. The premise that companies can manage clients is foolish!

Business 101 will tell you that clients manage businesses. They tell the company what to sell, when to sell it, how to sell it, where to sell it, and will stop buying it on a whim depending upon a long list of uncontrollable situations (they are getting older, economic circumstances, politics, trends, health issues etc etc.)

What does CRM do? It lulls CEOs, sales and marketing department heads into believing that they can hold onto clients by using data alone. CRM bogs down sales & marketing teams and creates massive amounts of additional work, keeping them connected to their computers instead of visiting clients. CRM requires cleaning just like any other database and the larger the database the more time it takes to clean. The sharing of information within a company can, in some instances, actually slow down the process of customer service, since more people are now involved in decision making processes. The bottom line of customer service is pushed to the side and direct mail marketing moves forward. Direct mail marketing has abysmal response rates and even if it was improved is a poor alternative to actually communicating with clients.

Now is the time to go put on your clothes and fire the tailors!

You have spent a fortune in purchasing the software, you spent thousands of dollars on man-hours used up in training and retraining, sent memos and held staff meetings, paid tailors(I mean consultants), and still are no closer to getting customer loyalty than you were 6 months ago. As a matter of fact it may be worse because client services have suffered while you spent all this time getting CRM up and running. Cut your loses and run!

Now pull out a clean sheet of paper and write down this “to do” list…

1. Set goals for customer service that involve “WOW” customer service principles. Design a quality customer service program. Set a start date and end date for evaluation purposes.

2. Read a book a week on client relationship marketing and “WOW” customer service and give yourself a test to make sure you have retained the information. Then USE it! Make sure all your employees do the same to one degree or another.

3. Evaluate all your employees, are they happy, do the have a vested interest in your success, would they want to be your client? What is their body language on the job, enthusiastic, angry, indifferent, bored? Get rid of dead weight! If a customer is likely to meet your employees it MUST be a positive experience. Pay your front line employees what they are worth. Smiles and enthusiasm are worth at least $1.00 per hour.

3. Reduce advertising budget… increase marketing budget… understand the difference.

4. Cut out or reduce systems that tend to isolate you from your customers, voice mail mazes, advertising campaigns designed for the general public, autoresponders, self help kiosks or webpages, overseas customer service centers.

5. Increase communication through handwritten notes, visits with clients, feed back and brainstorming sessions that put the client and the business on the same side of the table as partners, reduce outsourcing, reward good clients frequently, use greeting cards with commerative stamps instead of postcards with bulk postage ( Customers think, “If I’m not worth 37 cents you don’t need my business.”), put some thought into client gifts (diabetics don’t appreciate candy) and finally ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, for referrals! Then ask for referrals again.

Don’t look to CRM to solve the problems of customer loyalty. Look at your relationships with your clients.

Meredith Gossland is owner of Lasting Impressions2, a Small business marketing service, specializing in multicultural marketing and high quality low cost customer service. she can be reached at info@lastingimpressions2.com. http://www.lastingimpressions2.com

About the Author

Owner Lasting Impressions 2 – Custom Business gift baskets, greeting cards, Customer Service Tips
www.lastingimpressions2.com

Nutrition for Health, Fitness and Sport This textbook provides the reader with thorough coverage of the role nutrition plays in enhancing one’s health, fitness and sport performance. Current research and practical activities are incorporated throughout.
Customer Review: Not for a typical student
This book might serve the purpose of an athlete, but may not be good for a typical student or non-student.
It has cited too many references, as if it is for a student pursuing a research program. An average undergraduate student has no time to scan through piles of references cited in this book.
It has little by way of visual aids.
Its contents do not present a straightforward methodology for an average person to deduce pros and cons of a food menu.
It has some biased opinions. For e…
Customer Review: Excellent textbook
I highly recommended “Nutrition for Health, Fitness and Sport” to exercise science and nutrition students. It s comprehesive yet not too technical.

You may also want to order “Creatine: The Power Supplement” by Williams et al. (Human Kinetics 1999).

PS. You may also want to read my article “Protein metabolism in exercising human with special reference to protein supplementation”:

Where do you buy your beauty supplies? If you buy them from a department store- you are paying way too much! I was a department store buyer for many years. I was hooked on a particular brand, and I thought that the products were only available at the department store. I was wrong. With a little bit of time and research, I was able to shave off 50% of my beauty supply bill. Imagine what you could do with the extra money. The process is actually really simple. All you have to do is find the right websites.

Many of us are hooked on a particular brand of beauty supplies. We have used them for years, and love the way that they make us look and feel. The price tag however isn t very pretty. Try doing a search online for your favorite beauty products. You may find that auction sites such as EBay.com have really good deals. Make sure to find out about shipping and return policies. I am a sucker for a free shipping deal, so try to find them whenever possible. You may also be able to purchase the product directly from the manufacturer s website. Look for online promotions that will give you discounts on the items you buy most. Coupon sites can give you even better discounts, so shop around.

If you are feeling adventurous and want to try a new cheaper brand, have no fear. Most websites will include a list of ingredients for all of their products. You can then compare this list with products that you have tried before. Look for products that have natural ingredients. If you can t produce anything on the label, chances are its not a good deal. There are many companies that focus on creating cheap designer knock-offs, so you may get a fragrance or cologne for much less than the name brand.

Buying beauty supplies online can be a lot of fun. You will be amazed at the level of savings, and pleased with the final product. Try getting together with friends and family members to compare beauty regimens. You may find a new product or item that you cannot live without. Always remember- beauty doesn t have to be expensive!

About the Author

Melanie Breeze, avid online shopper and user of , is always shopping around for the best deals. You can find beauty supply bargains and savings available around the web at CouponChief, all in one location. Always find an online coupon 1st before making ANY purchase!