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Many cheap and free audio conference call services use access numbers beginning with 08xx. The more common are 0871, 0870, 0844 and 0845 numbers. These number ranges are known as non-geographic or ‘NGN’ numbers. Whilst these are accessible from most landlines and mobile networks in the UK, there is no guarantee that you will be able to connect to them from overseas. There are a number of reasons for this, which are documented in this article.

NGNs and telecoms interconnect agreements
International telephone carriers such as British Telecom in the UK, AT and T in the US, Telefonica in Spain, and Deutsche Telekom in Germany sign up to agreements as to what type of traffic they will pass between each other. These are complex commercial and technical contracts called telecoms interconnect agreements.

All telecoms interconnect agreements include interconnection between ‘normal’ geographical numbers in the respective countries. For instance, you will definitely be able to call, say, a London number beginning with 0207 from any country in the world. It would not make economic sense for calls to London not to be supported.

In reality calls to all numbers beginning with 01 and 02 are supported as these cover almost all the standard phone numbers in the UK.However, calls to 08xx numbers are often NOT included in these agreements. Even when they are, the prices charged to connect are often outrageously high.

In Summary: There is no guarantee you will be able to connect to an 0871, 0870, 0844 or 0845 number from abroad and even if you can, you are likely to be charged an extortionate fee for the privilege.

The overseas NGN connection rip-off
One of the main reasons why overseas telephone operators do not like to connect to NGNs is the revenue sharing model around which they are based. When you call an NGN, your telephone company charges you and then passes on a percentage of what they make on the call to the owner (or renter) of the NGN in commission.The amount of commission varies considerably by number range from a few pennies a minute on the 0871 numbers down to a few fractions of a penny (or even nothing at all) on the 0845 numbers.

This mechanism works well within the UK since all the UK operators work within UK law and are able to pass commission payments around easily.The sums involved are often very small and hence it would be difficult to do this economically when you have overseas transactions or currency exchange to consider.

This cost and complexity when dealing with NGNs lead many overseas telecoms operators to not bother providing connections to UK NGNs. Those that do often charge very high rates for the calls to cover the extra costs and risks involved.

In Summary: Overseas operators often charge rip-off rates to connect to NGNs in the UK or simply don’t connect your call.

What are the implications for audio conferencing?
If you are using an audio conference provider which requires overseas participants to call a non-geographic number in the UK, i.e. 0871, 0870, 0844 or 0845 there is no guarantee that their connection will work and no way of telling how much it will cost without first checking with the telephone company in the country you are calling from.

Please note, it makes no difference which conference call provider you use. If they issue you with an 08xx access number, you will run into the issues above. If you need reliable overseas access then you must use a service offering which provides local and freephone access to overseas participants via our global virtual private network (VPN). A VPN can be thought of as a private telephone network for the use of our customers only.

Peter Bennett is CEO of Ozone Conferencing Limited. This article is taken from the resources section of the Ozone Conferencing website. Other recent articles includeCheap Conference Calls
and Free Audio Conferencing.

We have all heard the expression “there is no such thing as a free lunch” but with so many companies purporting to offer free conference call services is the famous idiom outdated?

The answer depends on how you define the term “free”. After much research into this subject I have managed to come to some interesting conclusions. I have looked at the following available options to assess their effectiveness for business conference calls.

1. Free conference calls using Skype
2. Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN’s)

Free conference calls using Skype

Many of you reading this will have heard of Skype which allows you to make free voice calls over the internet (Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP for short). If have a PC or laptop and a good quality headset connected to a broadband internet service with sufficient bandwidth then you can hold a conference call with a limited number of participants without paying a thing.

The incremental cost of the conference call is zero, but the setup costs are considerable unless you already have the equipment described above. As the cost of computer equipment falls and bandwidths get better, more people than ever now have the required platform and hence Skype is an ideal solution for some people.

Our experiences with in call quality with Skype vary considerably. During quiet times when our internet connection is not busy we get excellent results in call quality, however it can be somewhat unreliable so we don’t consider it robust enough for important business calls or ones where there are a large number of people.

Skype summary: The actual conference calls are free, but you need to have invested in the computer equipment and internet connection first. Limited number of participants and lack of reliability make it unsuitable for key business conference calls, where reliability is a must. There are other VOIP services that may be more reliable and economical then Skype, here are some other VOIP services compared

Free telephone conferencing using non-geographic numbers (NGN’s)

This type of free telephone conferencing allows audio conferencing participants to dial into a non-geographic telephone number to hold their conference call. It’s important that you understand what a non-geographic number is and how telephone operators - or “telcos” - charge for calls to them.

As the name suggests, a non-geographic telephone number (NGN) is a telephone number that does not terminate at any fixed location. Instead, when you call an NGN, the telco redirects the call to a “real” telephone number. In the USA the most famous type of NGN is the 1-800 free phone number. When you call a 1-800 number you have no idea where the operator who takes your call is located, they could be anywhere in the world.

Of course, telcos are not in the business of giving away free calls, so someone somewhere has to pay. In the case of the 1-800 number, the company you are calling pays the telco for the cost of the call.

Another type of NGN is a premium rate number. In the UK there are an array of different number ranges some of which cost callers as much as 1.50GBP (nearly 3.00USD!) per minute per call, such as this service. These are often used for “adult” services and chat lines. Companies wishing to promote a premium rate service hire a premium rate number from the telco and advertise their services with the intention of generating large numbers of calls to that number.

When customers call the premium NGN, the telco bills the customer for the call and gives a percentage of the call revenue back to the company who rents the NGN from them. In effect the telco and the company renting the NGN are sharing the revenue from the call. The important point to note here is that customers pay the telco not the company who is renting the premium NGN.

Teleconferencing companies who offer free telephone conference call services use this mode. The commission which the telco pays the audio conference service provider is used to pay for running the conference bridge, advertise the service and (sometimes) to make a profit.

Some telephone conferencing companies advertise this type of audio conference as being a totally free service. But there is almost certainly a charge for the call taking place. Therefore, to benefit from this type of conference call service you need to find an operator who can host a call at an affordable rate with a reliable connection.

This is the closest thing you can get to a truly free telephone conferencing, as they use the cheapest type of revenue generating NGN available in the UK. Namely, one that begins with the dialling code 0844. Some other companies use 0870 or 0871 numbers which are more expensive.

NGN summary: NGN based free teleconferencing services can be useful for small companies and individuals with moderate audio conferencing requirements, however these type of services are usually very basic and not suitable for larger organisations. For larger businesses, supporting greater numbers of participants, teleconferencing services tend to be a better option. As they are more likely to offer the support needed to make the call run uninterrupted on a clear line.

Peter Bennett is CEO of a large UK teleconferencing company;Ozone Conferencing. Peter took extracts from OzoneConferencing’s free conference calls service for this article.

The bottom line in Network Marketing is all about gaining successful outcomes in a network marketing business that you create for yourself. That means working in your own choice of time, space and methods that you feel comfortable with. Most people don’t actually like their day jobs at all, but they do want to earn great incomes if possible, and despite that dislike they have will often stay with that job for years. Having a job you love, and creating that great income too, is entirely possible within the realm of Network Marketing, provided you have a strong network marketing strategy in place. Thoughtful and focused effort!

Average people like you and I are bringing in large incomes through the right network marketing strategy, and are leading their dream lives by working from their home or own office in their own space and time, and spending as much time with their family as they want to. This can be made to happen only through proper network marketing strategy. Thoughtful and focused effort!

In this amazing technological era we now live in, people and events are easily connected through the capabilities of the internet. You can be living in one country and working happily for a company in another, and managing your entire team which may be spread over three continents. The scope of network marketing today is this world-wide global scene! All you need to manage the whole scene is through developing a great network marketing strategy. This strategy needs to fit the needs of your entire global team and product guidelines. Thoughtful and focused effort!

Most network marketing companies and their distributors teach and support their people well. This has become easier than ever before through the use of the Internet. As a new era network marketer, one must fully employ the potential that technology offers, by achieving more in less time and by communicating to the downline more efficiently. In this way you can take your network marketing strategy to greater heights, and far greater success levels.

Network marketing has become all the more efficient these days with companies dealing more and more in products and services that the average people use. Simply by making a strong downline of success-hungry people, you can relax and see your global network marketing business developing. All you need to put in is, a sharp network marketing strategy. Yes, you need to develop a strategy which fills those needs spoken about above, and to stay completely focused on achieving them!

What some network marketing companies say about getting rich quickly isn’t all hype and rubbish. It’s entirely possible to start earning serious money in a short period of time. These days, distributors don’t have to dedicate much time to a single sale, but can be much more efficient if focused on developing a strong downline through using tactics and strategies which are based on integrity and smart systems. Test and measure; test and measure; and then test and measure again!

Without any doubt, you will have to work hard at getting established, and in getting used to developing posistive habits which work for you and your team. At least at the start, just as in any other business, you will need to put that extra effort into getting off the ground by developing a sound Network Marketing Strategy, and sticking with it as you develop its effectiveness through the process of testing and measuring results as you go.

Adam Price is a business networking specialist, focussing on helping business owners to exponentially grow their companies. Adam is also the co-founder of Synergy Biz Net. To learn more visit: http://www.SynergyBizNet.com

Finding an “effective” online business network strategy that you can fully trust and rely on to bring you real, profitable leads and business referrals is rather hard to come by online.

While there are many free network hubs online that you can easily join, you have to first look at their effectiveness. Some of the things I believe they need to be effective are:

1. An easy way to spread your business and brand throughout the network via an intuitive interface that pushes your business and what you do, out through the network automatically.

2. Extremely good training as part of the service, so you know without a shadow of a doubt that the steps you follow are going to be successful for you, because their built on proven strategies from real experts in business who have “done it” before.

3. A way to connect with other members in “real life” if you wish, you see there’s a tonne of online business network hubs about, but hardly any have a local chapter, or member you can connect with live. And live one-on-one connection is the key to bringing in business for your company or business.

4. Engulfing of all other online business network hubs, business networks, and marketing methods, so that it compliments the other businesses, rather than is seen as a competitor and when you apply for membership, you’re restricted in your access due to membership in other business networks.

5. Access to referral partners, that are highly qualified in their chosen area, who have been accepted as members because of their expertise, not just because their out there trying to flog their services / products to everyone. This is extremely important when running a “high quality” online business network operation, as trust and effectiveness is the key.

So as you can see, some of the most important feedback I’ve had from people in certain online business networks and local hubs is that the members are being “sold to” too much and feeling pressured by their clubs, or their club has too many “restrictions” or “rigid rules”, and finally that they simply aren’t getting the results from their investment. Which of course means they aren’t making and investment in their business but rather, discovering their network membership is a “liability” instead.

I don’t want this for you and your business, but just saying it isn’t enough. You need to fully research and explore your network hub before joining, read testimonials of real results, if they can’t give you any, think long and hard before you invest any money.

The same goes for so called free online business network hubs, if their free, but you get no results, it’s a liability in eating up your time and effort in building your business network. And because there’s already so many other activities all competing for your time, you only want to invest your time into the ones that return you the best value.

I hope this helps you to “open your eyes” so that you can grow your business and learn the art of attraction marketing online.

Adam Price is a professional online business networker and author around effective referral networking & attraction marketing. Learn how tap into the powerful online world of networking by visiting: http://www.Law-Of-Attraction-And-Success.com/BusinessNetwork.html

One of the objections I often hear from people is “I don’t have time to network online!” but do you have time to

* Professionally Network
* Find a new friend
* Share your ideas
* Build your business
* Market yourself
* De-stress?

What about:

* Elevate yourself as an industry expert
* Establish connections in other industries
* Increase the efficiency of your networking
* Offer introductions to your niche-experience on a daily basis?

While online networking is not the “end all, be all” of making personal connections, it has one valuable strengths that very few real world venues have- economy of scale.

If you have the time to introduce yourself to one new person a day, wouldn’t it make sense from a business perspective to take that same amount of time and be introduced to fifty?

When I write this article or post to a forum, my thoughts are communicated to dozens of potential contacts, perhaps even thousands. If I went into a coffee shop with the expectation that I would have to say the same phrase over and over again to a hundred different people as I look for a good connection, it would take me days of effort. I would spend the entire time trying to expand my network with little result. In my best real world opportunity, I would attend a networking event where I may have the chance to meet people in groups and who are willing to listen to my message.

Considering how much time I wasted in the real world trying to connect with a hundred people as I restated my statements and repeatedly asked for permission, the basis of networking online is that readers have given me permission to talk to them and they assemble in groups for me. If I am sharing thoughts of interest, they are actively engaged with what I am saying. I don’t have to approach them and get a cold shoulder, its more like I am talking to a group of people at a cocktail party and they come into the conversation by their own choice.

The beauty is, this cocktail party is happening 24/7, 365 days a year.

That has amazing relevancy. Readers choose to join the conversation. I don’t bend their arm to listen. If they find value, they start talking. If they don’t, they move on. For decades marketing has tried to force the idea of “opt-in mailing lists” for physical and electronic mail, as well as frustrating us with the need of “do not call” lists to maintain our sanity on our personal phones.

Case in point- Right now, I have no control over whether you are reading.

As an industry expert, imagine the power of sharing your ideas and thoughts. People who are interested find little bits and pieces of inspiration and insight, and they either join the conversation or move on. Blogging attracts people as it is one of the only true “opt in” medias. If you don’t like what I’m saying, go Google someone else!

If you are interested, join my conversation.

Take Biznik as an example of “economy of scale”. There are 10,000 members browsing through the site and pondering different ways to connect. If I had to assemble 10,000 people in real life, my first challenge would be to actually listen to all 10,000 people.

30 seconds per introduction X 10k members = 80+ hours of introductions.

When I think about that time, I realize that my elevator pitch needs to be refined to an exact art and that I need to remember to pack a few bottles of water.

Now compare that to writing on the community forum or blogging this article. It took me thirty minutes to write this. Over the next few weeks several hundred people will read it.

Every single person who actually strikes up a conversation with me after reading it is pre-screened and wants to have a more in-depth discussion. On top of that- they can look at my existing social media testimonials to discover even more about me, and when they do contact me they have taken the burden of responsibility to find out who I am, rather than me taking the responsibility to tell them.

By taking the time to put myself out there in the online world, every real life interaction coming from this conversation is pre-qualified and interested in what I do. As time goes on, every introduction I have online becomes a growing archive that adds to who I am. Unlike a conversation I had over dinner last night, this very article will attract interest from readers six months later. Even when I am sleeping peacefully, someone may be introducing themselves to who I am.

Whether or not you find me personally or professionally interesting, I have no control over. Yet I will never know until the introduction has occurred.

My question to you-

Will you take the time to give me the information I need to find an introduction to you?

Barry Hurd is President, author, speaker, and voice of 123 Social Media - Social Media Training. He has a history of over fifteen years working on numerous innovative efforts with online business models: past projects have included NIKE, REI, TMP Worldwide, Monster.com, Verizon Superpages, Intuit, and RIS Media.

It doesn’t matter what you sell. You can still leverage social media to attract more buyers to your site, build a customer list and sell more often.

One of the biggest issues most marketers face is knowing how to attract the right type of traffic for their products, services and affiliate programs. Social marketing and Web 2.0 are here to stay for they have impacted more lives, and reached many times more people than tools such as search engines and web pages. Social networking sites are based on getting likeminded people to do good and it is possible to use the platforms to just talk to people and in the process “sell goods without selling”.

I am giving you some basic “Social Networking” tips that you can tap into them which I find work pretty well. With any marketing, it’s important to stay on top of it as much as possible. However with social networking, it’s almost a job in of itself as you have to maintain so many sites. Don’t get me wrong, the work you put in to some social networking sites can be worth your time to gain friends, followers and etc if you apply what you’re doing appropriately.

You know that what you offer is spectacular, but if other people don’t know that, you’re going to have a really difficult time growing your business. Social networking platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and HubPages allow you to form relationships with people instantaneously. In social networking your connection with people is permission based and you establish your global presence. This is just another form of advertising you and your business and for free. The advantage you have with social media marketing over the traditional marketing is that your potential customer gets to know who you are and you begin to build trust. People buy from those they trust. Thus if they do buy, it is because of you, not the company you represent nor the products they don’t desire.

Here are some basic tips to help you get started to position yourself as an expert within your business niche.

1. You would want to consider choosing a few social networks you enjoy and/or who rank the highest and stick to those. Don’t try to do them all. Otherwise you have another full time job! MySpace is number one at the moment and falling in second place is Facebook. Hubpages, Linkedin and StumbleUpon are other ones high up there to consider. A few of my friends recommend Twitter. Apparently it is rated high in the U.S. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform where you can send out short messages to your readers. You can get flashy with Squidoo where you can create fantastic looking photos or videos on your lens.

2. Don’t just sign up without planning to participate to some degree. It is your participation that gets people to know you and build trust.

3. Make sure to fill out your profile information, the real personal you so that your potential customer gets to know who you are and you begin to build trust. Photo and web links are very important.

4. Once you have set yourself up, now it is time to socialize. You may post an article that is factual, relevant and helpful to your readers on some sites.

5. Surf around for others in the same field as you and make some friendships.

6. Give positive comments or shout about their blogs or sites.

7. Post a few ’shouts’ a week and keep them public.

8. When someone follows you and asks for friendship, use your best judgment to do it back to them.

9. Keep your social networks fresh and don’t leave them outdated. I confess I fail to do this sometimes.

10. When you ’shout’ or post updates don’t make them about “come buy or view my products or business”. Instead give some relevant free tips or advice that are helpful for others to participate.

11. Set up a blog and post articles (best to write your own articles) so that others are aware of your websites. You can use Wordpress or Blogger (both are free) to shine your expertise. A blog allows you to write short articles on topics pertinent to your customer base. Just make sure you write articles that have useful content to the readers so that they will keep coming back for more.

12. Participate in community forums that you enjoy. This will drive you some traffic.

Hope this helps.

Jackie Khor is a leader in Network Marketing. She is best known for her down-to-earth, no-nonsense training. Get your FREE 10-Day email Boot Camp on at WorkAtHomeBusiness

Blog Attraction Marketing

Check out at Set up home business on the Internet

Social bookmarking is optimized for documenting and sharing lists of links to useful information. In contrast, blogs are optimized for creating and sharing content, allowing for commentary while keeping the original content intact.

It is an all-out phenomena and is growing at a sonic boom clip. Understanding social bookmarking gives you the ability to reach millions of users you might otherwise miss. Social bookmarking is the sharing of websites within an online community. Here is how I like to think of it.

This is the process of moving your “favorites” or “bookmarks” (links to web sites you visit on the web) to a web-based service like del.icio.us , magnolia , or Yahoo or Google . These services allow you to capture these links or (URLs) to their service and provide you with settings to keep the link private or to share it with others (make it public). Social bookmarking is a way for Internet users to store, share, classify, and search Internet bookmarks.

There is some debate over how important social bookmarking is in SEO, but the consensus seems to be leaning toward the idea that social bookmarking, along with many other social media optimization (SMO) strategies, is quickly becoming a serious consideration for SEO. Social bookmarking is a great way to make your posts public. There are various places to go for you to post your articles.

Social bookmarking is all about the collective voice. Most of the social bookmarking networks increase the profile of items that receive numerous bookmarks. Social Bookmarking is the flagship of the web 2.0 movement. The basic concept behind social bookmarking is similar to Add to Favorites or Bookmarks that you are most familiar with using your web browsers like Firefox or Explorer.

It is a term for allowing people to publish, categorise and share their bookmarks. Del.ici.ous uses a non-hierarchical keyword categorisation system, know as folksonomy, where user tag their links with one or more freely chosen keyword.

Social Bookmarking is definitely getting a lot easier lately, but there seems to be too many of them. Sometimes social bookmarking sites can get boring if there are not enough of good links. Social bookmarking is becoming the newest and most effective way of producing quality traffic. Social bookmarking is all about the collective voice. Most of the social bookmarking networks increase the profile of items that receive numerous bookmarks.

This is all about labeling the web, making it easier to find the content that you’re looking for by passing on what you’ve found. The labels applied to web sites are commonly known as tags, and over time a kind of taxonomy grows, whereby persistent tags help information to be aggregated and mined for information.

Social bookmarking is a free and easy way to get loads of traffic to your website. It is a new trend in search engine optimization, which has gained recognition as part of a new type of website optimization, termed social media optimization (SMO).? Social Bookmarking, also referred to sometimes as social bookmarketing, is the term used for bookmarking sites on the web and sharing them with friends.

This is certainly the wave of the future. Maybe another video on which sites to use and which sites to avoid. Social bookmarking is an emerging type of a Web service that helps users share, classify, and discover interesting resources.

The concept of an enhanced search, in which data from social bookmarking systems is exploited for enhancing search in the Web. Social bookmarking is a new fashion developed by webmaster today in search engine optimization which has brought up a new type of optimization trend called social media optimization. The idea of marketing your website through social bookmarking is also called social bookmarketing.

Todd Ash Is An Entrepreneur and A Master Of Network Marketing.To Find Out More About Succeeding Online Click Here To Visit Toddash.com For Free Information

Social bookmarking is done by definition by amateurs. If these amateurs do not understand the importance of right tags the whole system may fail. Social bookmarking is a way for you to save your favorite bookmarks and pass them on to others. The more people in who bookmark a particular URL in a certain period of time, the more popular that bookmark becomes and the more people who will visit that URL. Social bookmarking is fine, if everyone follows the rules.

It is rocking big time these days! If you are not aware of it by any chance, read this . Social bookmarking is just one of the “newest things” sweeping the Internet. In essence, social bookmarking lets you maintain a personal collection of links online, similar to the bookmarks or favorites in your browser, but they are also accessible to others on your own personal archive page.

It is a great way to save pages you like and help others find articles, blog posts, lenses and sites you create. But what sites should you use?

Share your favorites with friends and get access to community public views. Works better than anything I have found, and compared to a normal linear list is a very easy system of drag and drop menus. Share This plugin also allows you to email the article to your friends. Below every post you will find a Share This link. Share it on a social news site. Not every article you write is going to get on the front page.

Share, discover, bookmark, and promote stuff thats important to you! Using bookmarklets, you can add bookmarks to your list and categorize them Reddit: Reddit is a source for whats new and popular online.

Tag and full text search with filter tags! User tag list and cloud. Tagging allows you to share the benefit of your research and favorite sites by allowing others to find them. However, if you wish, you can also choose to keep your bookmarks private.

Tagging, clipping, and saving are all great ways to save a group of select webpages. However, what good is all that great information if you cannot effectively showcase your findings in a concise and organized structure? Tags are simply keywords that you include when you bookmark a site. The secret to tags is that they can be searched/filtered and then filtered again and again in a hierarchical fashion as needed.

Tags may be used to organize bookmarks.

Web sites usually appreciate unexpected spikes in traffic. But if your server isn’t prepared, it can cause the site to go down. Web-based social bookmarking sites have already taken hold, especially in the consumer space with sites such as del.icio.us (pronounced delicious,) a service that was acquired by Yahoo last year. Other online social bookmarking sites offer more specialized services. Websites are marked by users of specific (bookmark) service. Some services give you access to tiny icons or buttons that can be integrated into your browser.

Web sites focusing on topics explored during the semester could be shared. Using social bookmarking to label, categorize and organize Web sites is a beneficial tool that goes beyond search engines and Web indexes for browsing the Internet and retaining important information.

Todd Ash Is An Entrepreneur and A Master Of Network Marketing.To Find Out More About Succeeding Online Click Here To Visit Toddash.com For Free Information

Do you track the referrals you give to find customer satisfaction?

We each strive for a referral-based business, but at times it becomes a two-edged sword. Are you aware that the person you recommend is a reflection on how you believe business should be conducted? For this very reason, it is wise to follow-up with the person to whom you gave the referral.

Ask your associate the following questions:

1. Were they contacted promptly
2. Was the initial contact friendly and professional
3. Did the referral listen, add extra insight to the conversation, and take time to understand their challenges, strengths and goals to the point of being able to help?

The implication of being the referring party is the people you refer meet your standards of professionalism. Your associates will continue to look to you for leadership and advice. In return, they will refer your services to their associates. The better the referrals you provide, the stronger the likelihood of you being referred.

However the referral system is not always the picture of perfection. Sometimes the person you trusted to be an excellent resource proves to be not so.

Compounding the bad news, the person you were trying to help may become upset with your referral. If you are not active on follow-up, it will reflect badly on you. The end result will make you wish you never volunteered to help.

Do not treat the gesture of referral lightly. Following up with both parties is highly recommended. You can correct a glitch in a timely manner by asking for feedback on your referral. Your associate will be glad you checked in and care about the treatment they received.

You will quickly learn whether to keep the referral for future requests and whether or not you personally wish to continue doing business with the person you referred.

My Story
In the past several years, I was given two poor referrals. In both cases, the referring parties were contacted to let them know what transpired. The service was so inadequate I did not want anyone else to suffer the same. My feedback was greeted at opposite ends of the spectrum by each referring party.

Knowing I am a woman owned and certified business, I was referred to a consultant as being able to help me secure government and corporate contracts. The consultant spoke with me, offered to review my website and make recommendation for attracting large contracts along with a proposal.

When the proposal arrived, I was dismayed. The recommendations were based upon incorrect assumptions. Although the consultant asked for thousands of dollars for his service, he could not find the time to research my website. I viewed his deliverables as unprofessional.

I called the referring party to give my feedback on the situation. Undaunted by our conversation, he proceeded to sign a joint venture agreement with the consultant in question.

The second referral was that of our accountant who referred another service provider some years ago. Our experience was abysmal and we relayed our incident. What is most interesting is the accountant referred the same person to a mutual friend prior to us. The friend had a similar miserable experience but was too embarrassed to say anything. If this friend had provided feedback, we would not have similarly suffered.

The good news was our accountant, without any hesitancy, assured all of us he would never recommend that person again. To this day, we are loyal clients and good friends with our accountant.

Make a commitment to begin following-up on the referrals you provide, take the feedback seriously, and you may see a jump in the referrals you receive!

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC and author of Nice Girls DO Get the Sale trains others on her proven relationship selling techniques through services and products. Her book sells worldwide. Services include training, coaching, and speaking. Her products suit all learning styles.
Visit Smooth Sale or call 800-704-1499.

Equestrian sport is a fascinating subject. However, these days I have to indulge my passion in front of the television, because my mare is “indisposed”. After three years of trying, getting more desperate with every passing year, my gorgeous pure-bred Friesian mare has finally managed to get herself pregnant. At the grand old age of eight, she is expecting her first foal in the spring.

Of course, insemination by one of the breath-taking registered Friesian stallions was just not good enough for her. She had to fall for an unregistered pure-bred stud, probably because he was on-hand and available. Never mind, she is in foal at last, and had lots of fun getting there.

Somewhere along the line (it may have been due to all the vet’s bills while she was trying to conceive) it dawned on me that this was going to be an expensive undertaking. Not one to be daunted by such an insignificant obstacle to my mare’s happiness, I decided to find a way to earn some extra cash.

The internet seemed to provide the ideal opportunity. Lots of scope, on first examination. Everywhere you surf there are promises about making loads of money in the shortest time. Strangely enough, it always involves investing a fair amount of money in either a product or a service first. Not having a lot of money to start off with, protected me from the internet sharks, but also forced me to learn the hard way.

I found out that:

1. There is no miraculous bullet; no magic wand that will make you rich overnight and that earning money online involves as much work as it does off-line.

2. There is a lot to learn and figure out and all this takes a lot of time.

3. Contrary to all the get-rich-quick claims, earning money online is not about following a “secret” formula, but about coming up with your own original idea ASAP.

4. Funding a mare and foal is a very expensive enterprise indeed.

5. It is very difficult to find accurate up-to-date information that doesn’t cost a fortune.

6. Advice and support from other internet marketers is worth its weight in gold.

7. Unless you are passionate about your subject, you are wasting your time.

Horseback riders are passionate about their horses and often enthusiastic about helping other people. All the internet gurus say that to be successful online you have to over-deliver. It is certainly no effort to over-deliver to horse people. To make money online you have to invest more than you get out. And I do not mean money! You must invest your time and some of yourself. Stamp your business with your own personality. Make it unique and characteristic. That shouldn’t be too difficult for most horse riders.

We all need the support and advice of our mentors, but eventually we have to come up with our own ideas. Just as learning to understand your horse is fundamentally down to your own insight, ideas and efforts, so is building a successful business on the internet.

The most effective way for equestrians to learn the ropes online is to join an online community of equestrians that are interested in either starting a business online or taking their off-line business online. Currently the choice is limited, but there are a few excellent websites, blogs and membership sites that specialise in providing horse people who want to earn an income online with accurate information and a place to network with other equestrians.

Dr Margarethe de Clermont is the founder of the Millionaire Equestrian Information Membership Site MEIMS and author of the “I want a Horse!” equestrian magazine that provides horse people with the information and support they need to earn serious money online. Find out more at www.equestrian-life-coaching.com