Alarm systems are meant to protect lives and belongings if they are positioned, used, and maintained properly.   Datum show that homes without a burglar alarm system (for example) are four times more likely to be targeted.  Alarm systems are also great for fires and other crises.  Alarm systems are installed strategically in consultation with home and building owners.   Another benefit of alarm systems is that insurance companies will render diminished rates for building and/or homeowners insurance if the proper burglar and/or fire alarm systems are installed.  And dont forget, Fire alarm systems are operational and on-duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

There are a throng of divergent applications for alarms.  The most frequent are of course the fire and trespass types, but other applications are being unfurled at a ardent pace.  Think of applications such as medical alarm systems (also called personal alarms, and medical alert devices).  These systems are conceived to activate the EMS service in the event that a sufferer becomes injured, sick or ill.

Alarm systems can be stand-alone (i.e. a acoustic device is set off in the case of an intrusion or fire event), or they may be monitored by an outer monitoring company.  Remote alarm systems are exploited to connect the control unit to a preset monitor of some sort, and they come in many different configurations.  Telecom lines are traditionally utilized to broadcast a sign when an alarm event (fire, break-in, etc.) occurs.  These systems are interfaced with an auto-dialer that will mechanically give notice to the fire or police departments in the event of burglary or fire.   Most monitored burglar alarm systems are equipped with hi-tech battery and/or mobile backup systems that kick in straight away should your power or phone connection fail.  This forestalls a would-be thief from cutting off the phone line to preclude the alarm system from notifying the monitoring service.

Some alarm systems are tied to video surveillance systems so that current video of an intrusion area can be instantly displayed on a remote monitor, not to mention recorded.  With new technology, alarm systems are not only available as hardwired devices, but also as wireless.  The introduction of wireless alarm technology means that new sensors can be added quickly and easily without the need to run wires back to a control panel.

One of the major downsides to alarm systems are false alarms.  When an alarm system is not properly installed, used or maintained, the number of calls for police and fire dispatches may increase.  In many municipalities the alarm owner may be fined or cited if the alarm system becomes a nuisance.  But this being said, in 1994 the International Association of Chiefs of Police passed a Board Resolution stating that professionally installed and monitored alarm systems are useful instruments to deter crime and provide peace of mind for residential and business owners.

So you’re after an usual venue, not the size of the Sydney Opera House, but something just as inspiring.

Of course London boasts it all for event organisers from magnificent Tall Ships and historic Sailing Barges on the Thames to Museums and royal palaces for extravagant receptions.

Meetings and conferences make a Ј10 billion-a-year contribution to the national economy and is an industry that supports 1.8 million jobs. But what’s on offer outside the Capital. Here are my top picks:

The Deep, Hull's Ј53 million Millennium Commission Lottery project is certainly a venue with a difference.  Providing the most spectacular aquarium displays to be found anywhere in Europe, the world’s only submarium is home to nearly 50 sharks and more then 3,500 fish, giving a spectacular backdrop for a variety of events. When you think about it, where else can you banquet with sharks.

A trip to an authentic Victorian fairground should certainly be on any events organiser’s list. Blists Hill Fun fair is part of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage site in Telford and this venue, complete with sideshows and rides can be hired independently. Alternatively, the entire Victorian Town can be booked for the evening, allowing guests to wander leisurely around the shops and cottages giving them an unforgettable taste of Victorian Shropshire.

Even its name suggests a sense of mystery and Sutton Hoo certainly doesn't disappoint.

Described as one of Britain’s most important archaeological sites, an Anglo-Saxon burial chamber and the remains of a 90 ft ship were discovered here at Woodbridge in

Suffolk in the Thirties, which lay untouched for more than one thousand three hundred years. A replica of the ship now forms a spectacular backdrop to a corporate event or drinks reception in the main Exhibition Hall at this National Trust property.

Set in the heart of the city of Manchester, the award winning Royal Exchange Theatre is one of the most exciting architectural achievements in the country, built within one of Manchester’s most prestigious historic buildings – the former Cotton Exchange, once the largest room in the world for commerce. Today it provides a WOW factor for conference delegates as the foyer integrates one of the more unusual Theatre spaces with seating on three levels and in-the-round facilities for up to 750 people.

Of all Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn is arguably the most famous and her headless ghost is still said to wander the corridors of Blicking Hall. With its Dutch turrets, gables and intricate red brick and Ketton limestone, Blickling Hall is a superb conference venue, a National Trust Jacobean house in the rolling Norfolk countryside representing all that is great about the English stately home.

A former residence of queens and ambassadors for more than four centuries, the Hall’s dramatic faзade conceals an exclusive suite of rooms offering the perfect area for corporate hospitality and meetings.

Leicester’s National Space Centre offers an out of this world venue where you can welcome your guests with a reception at the top of a rocket tower but if you’re looking for something that’s a little more down to earth, the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield fits the bill in more ways than one …historic 19th Century colliery buildings, exhibitions that bring the story of coal to life and a unique underground tour make the Museum an exceptional location…while Rheged in Penrith, Cumbria, Europe's largest grass covered building boasts stunning architecture.

But wherever you choose, remember the golden rule… that the conference venue you select is appropriately sized for your requirements. A venue without that right amount of space will be uncomfortable, yet it is often the factor that is underestimated.

It is a great temptation to display on your website a wide selection of products as it increases your chances to sell more products. But it can result in your customer’s complete dissatisfaction once you fail to fulfill most of approved orders.

As I know from my experience it happens quite regularly – a buyer places an order for 3-5 items, you check that with the merchant and discover that they have just 1-2 available form the entire order. You contact your buyer, apologize and say that you can fulfill just a part of his order offering him to choose replacement products or a partial refund.

THE BUYER WILL CANCEL THE ORDER IN 80% CASES. And will never visit to your website again. And will share his miserable experience with his family, co-workers, neighbors and everyone he knows.

With dropshipping, your relations with merchants are probably the key element to your failure or success. You should at least weekly (preferably daily) get their updated catalogs of the products they have in stock and update accordingly offers displayed at your website. For that you need:

- great relations with the merchant who will accept your request to daily e-mail you the stock list

- properly designed backend of your website that will make changes to the stock in minutes, not hours independently of the number of SKU’s.

Yes, promotion, product selection and prices are of great importance, but if you can’t fulfill the order then those two steps are useless – you do a lot of work, invest your time and money and then you discover that the merchant is out of stock of this product.

How to discover those great dropship merchants that will help you to run your stock properly updated? Firstly you need prescreened merchants (it is no secret that there is so much scam in this industry). This is why I recommend investing some money into dropship directories that do the work for you:

OneSource - dropship directory. FREE preview & video

Doba - 250,000 products to sell. FREE 7-day trial

SaleHoo - over 150 product categories. FREE tour & member forum

Real dropshippers REVEALED

Over 700,000 Products to choose from. FREE trial

See the detailed real dropshippers directories compared here.

Summary: fulfillment in dropshipping is as important as promotion, product selection and prices. In my opinion you should run your dropship business relying on the available product stock as a starting point. Once you are certain you have designed a system and relations to keep all offers on your website current you should move to the promotion and discussing the prices with the merchant.

Introduction - Our law firm gets contacted by people frequently who are interested in investing money into some project or with some entity in Panama. The question they have is how do they know the credibility of the people or entity they are investing their hard earned money with. We can help with these problems by conducting a due diligence investigation for you before you invest any money.

Due Diligence - If the people you are investing money with are real they should be able to provide some basic information like licenses, corporate filings etc. We can verify these in the Panama Public Registry. If you are buying something involving title we can verify that the title is clear and free of encumbrances and any taxes due are paid current. We can verify that a corporation or foundation is filed registered in the public registry and the taxes and fees are current thus ensuring it is in good standing with the government. We can check to see if there are any lawsuits on file for the persons or entities in question and if these are current or old lawsuits and the nature of the suits, parties involved etc. There are a number of things we could do to ensure you really know what you are getting into.

Physical Location - We can have someone go to the provided office address for the entity you are concerned about. We can determine if it is a mail drop, virtual office or a real office. We can also find out if there is staff working there or just a single office worker answering the phone and signing for packages. A picture of the building and the office from outside showing what name(s) are on the door can help. Many who say they are in Panama may not really be here after all.

Contracts - We can read a contract and advise you of our thoughts paragraph by paragraph with suggestions or better yet write one on your behalf to protect your interests. We can determine if the contract is one that needs to be in Spanish (additional certified Translations are available) and filed in a government registry or with a government agency to ensure the contract is enforceable.

Panama Lease Rental Agreements - We can first of all determine if the party you are intending to lease from has the legal right to lease you the property. There are a lot of scams like this going on with people taking advantage of foreigners. Then we can review and negotiate the rental agreement for you. We would also make sure a copy in Spanish is recorded with the housing ministry along with any security deposit. If the person who rented you the property has no legal right to do so you may find yourself facing a fast and speedy eviction since you are essentially a squatter. If you buy stolen property unknowingly it can still be taken away from you as stolen property, same concept here.

Panama Real Estate Purchase - We can do a complete due diligence on the property with clear title check. We start with the pre-purchase deposit agreement and follow through until the close of escrow. We can assist with a real solid appraisal, mortgage, dealing with brokers on both sides, the escrow, the title and recording of the change in ownership. We are also very good with asset protection for your real estate. See our real estate section.

Do you struggle with the process of cold calling? For many of us, it’s a grueling experience. That’s because we try to carry on a conversation from a rigid, linear place. We’re trying to follow a strategy or a script.

Thus, when it comes to having a relaxed and enjoyable cold calling conversation, it just doesn’t work very well.

Our "right brain" is very different from step-by-step, logical, linear processes. It’s organic and intuitive. The right brain is all about things like speech and relationships.

So why do we turn off this very skilled part of ourselves when we’re doing exactly that in cold calling -- having conversations and engaging in some kind of relationship with a fellow human? Well, we’ve been trained out of it. We’ve lost the normal flow of our intuitive, right brain abilities in cold calling. We’ve swapped it for sales scripts and strategies, opening and closing "lines."

In some ways, you could say that we’ve become less human in our cold calling. All the intuitive elements have been taken out of the cold calling process. We’re focused on the sale, not on the person. We’re reading a script rather than really talking. We’re making a pitch, not listening.

Doesn’t this sound kind of like a game to you? Make a pitch, counter objections, and offer a closing line -- all with the intention of acquiring a sale. This is why most of us associate cold calling with the worst of what selling is all about. It’s the "going to war" concept. You put on your armor and play a mind-and-word game with someone you’ve never met.

On the other hand, what if we engaged the power of our right brain to bring us out of that place into real person-to-person contact?  What would happen? Well, the first thing is that you would relax. Your right brain is more interested in the experience than in the goal. You would find yourself less rigid and less tense. Your cold calling speaking voice will have less of that telltale "salesperson" tone. You’ll feel more normal, speak more easily, and let a conversation move at its own pace and focus.

When you do this, others respond to you more naturally because they won’t feel chased. Many people really do genuinely enjoy the opportunity for pleasant connection, whether interested in buying or not.

Here are six keys to adjusting your mindset to tap into the power of your right brain when cold calling:

1. The right brain is interested in process, not outcomes.

Before you make a cold call, make sure your focus isn’t on making the sale. That’s the goal. Putting all of your focus on a goal sabotages your enjoyment of the process itself. Therefore, think to yourself, "My goal is not to make the sale but to create a conversation based on how I can help the other person."

2. The right brain is intuitive, not calculating or manipulative

When you’re making your cold call, avoid changing whom you are in order to secure the sale. Be your everyday relaxed self -- as if you’re calling a friend. There’s no need to be "on stage" or artificially enthusiastic.

The right brain is genuine, normal, relaxed, and decidedly non-artificial.

This is a great way to be when talking with potential clients. People know when you’re being genuine and when you’re not. Thus, they always respond much more positively to someone who’s being "real."

3. The right brain is flexible rather than linear

Throw out your linear sales script and strategies. Generate a spontaneous conversation based on the problems you can help the other person solve. Allow your cold calling conversations to "breathe." Allow the topic to wander a bit from time to time.

4. The right brain sees things holistically

View the person you’re calling as another person, not a "prospect." Let go of the "buyer-seller" mentality. You are not wanting to "get" a sale from somebody. Your focus is on the bigger picture, which includes the wellbeing of your prospect as well as yourself.

5. The right brain is open-ended, not rigid

Don’t worry about driving the cold calling conversation forward. Instead, open your call with a statement that focuses on a problem you can solve and invites a response like, "What do you mean?" or "Tell me more."

When you start tapping into the power of your right brain while cold calling, you’ll start to have fun. You’ll be amazed at how people respond to you. What’s more, at the end of the day you won’t be burned out. You’ll be energized and truly happy.

This is the power of your right brain.

Preparation

The eLearning is held live or on-line in which what we would correctly call a virtual class or recorded, in self training. In the case of a virtual class, voice is broadcasted through an audioconference or via Skype and for a broadcast only, it would be done through WEBcast directly on the WEB. The WEB page of a training center could display a list of courses for the registered WEBconferences that in fact constitutes the resume of the programs for the customized training. In the chapter regarding the personalized coaching, the presence indicator with Skype allows to be informed of the accessibility of a colleague, to ask for the opinion and to ask, by clicking, to share with the person your screen, to consult over a document.

Progress

The array of Conferenceware functionalities can contribute to help the training and sharing. The PowerPoint presentation and the screen sharing to make a demonstration or display Word or Excel documents are the privileged tools. Several presenters may interact while on a training, like a pedagogue accompanied by a contents specialist, no matter where they might be. The presenter might transmit to the participants an image or a file, such as a reference document finally, to make it more dynamic, the presenter may propose a quiz that the participants answer and to which he/she could display the results.

Follow up

As a follow-up for a WEBconference course, the participants might be subjected to an exhaustive exam. To do so, we offer a poll service in order to easily configure a multiple choice questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge acquired. The display report allows, in itself, the supervision of the completion of the self training program for each employee. In fact, the recording of the courses, actually meaning their edition to eliminate the superfluous segments, allows the conservation and the timely broadcasting.

One saves for several reasons such as for a college education, buying a new car, for a new TV set you wish to acquire in three to four months time, for down payment on a home, or to provide for yourself when retirement comes.

As much as there are several reasons for saving, there are likewise many methods in which one can save. In most instances, the best method can be determined by whatever plans you have for the future.

1.     Savings accounts. When saving for just a short period or for emergency purposes, consider opening a savings account passbook, as it is in this method that you can easily gain access to your funds.

Great for both long and short term savings, you can deposit and withdraw money to your account and earn interest, based on your average daily balance. A minimum balance is required to be maintained though, and you are charged with a penalty should you fail to maintain it.

2.     Checking account with interest.  Here one can benefit from checking account conveniences, while your deposits gain interests. Generally these types of accounts grants privileges such as limitless withdrawal and check writing, access to ATM and bill payments that can be done online.

This method typically requires a daily maintaining balance of at least $2,000.

3.     Money market insured accounts. For long-termed goals, this method is ideal, as it generally offers a much higher rate of interest compared to a regular or standard savings account.

The interest rate usually is dependent on the amount of money in your bank account; larger balance means higher interest.

4.     “CD” or Certificates of Deposit.  This is a savings method requiring you to “loan” your money to your financial agency for a certain time frame, usually ranging from thirty days up to five years. Here, the longer the time span again, means higher interest.

Keep in mind that usually insurance companies offer better deals on interests compared to banks, so before you invest, compare rates first!

At certain times, when your goal is many years away, it can be a wiser decision to save money in a certain way that you are not drawn on using it other than the main reason for saving it. Deciding on the right financial agency such as a bank, credit union or insurance firm can bring about a lot of benefit in your finances.

In the first article we looked at how many first time (and experienced!) sales people can be held back from achieving success because of the fears they may have on getting out there and selling.

In the previous article I highlighted 6 main selling-related fears: failure; image or self belief; rejection; lack of product knowledge; criticism; presentation. Each of theses fears on their own can cause a breakdown in the sales process and prevent you from confidently tackling another prospect.

In this article I will look at how you can address these fears head-on; what you can do to face your fears and banish them for life!

Fear of Failure

Undoubtedly the biggest fear most people in selling, and business have is the fear of failure. There is nothing more demoralising than a continual lack of success! Fear of failure has been ingrained from school – remember all those tests when the results were read out for all the class to hear? If you had a poor result, you never felt like trying again! But, don’t be like Homer Simpson when he tried to consol his son Bart who had failed in his bid to be class president,

“You tried and you failed. The lesson is … never try.”

So, what can you do to conquer your fear of failure? The bottom line is that you need a rock solid positive attitude. You must have an inner voice which is continually pushing you onto the next prospect and saying, “Come on, let’s find the one who’s going to say yes!”

Failure has to be seen as a learning opportunity. In every failure, there is a nugget of information, which next time, can point you in the direction of better success. James Dyson, the inventor of the revolutionary vacuum cleaner, summed up the need for a positive attitude, when he said, “Success is made up of 99% failure. You galvanise yourself and you keep going as a full optimist.”

Image Fear

Not everyone has boundless self-confidence. When you start out in business, there is sometimes a nagging doubt that you may have bitten off more than you can chew. This inner doubt chips away at your self confidence and soon you have a poor self image, which reflects in your sales pitch. To be a successful salesperson you have to have a strong self image.

To improve the image you have of yourself, follow these steps:

Write down the qualities which you believe a successful salesperson should possess. Try and limit the list to 4 or 5 key qualities

Find a quiet spot and relax your body and mind with deep and steady breathing

Once you are totally relaxed recite the strong, self image qualities you identified earlier

Imagine or visualise yourself possessing each of these qualities. See in your minds eye how you look, now that you have these qualities. See how successful you are, how you look, and the car you are driving, where you are living

Repeat to yourself that you are assuming each of these qualities and becoming a better person with each day that passes

Repeat this exercise first thing in the morning and last thing at night and you’ll soon find your self image and confidence levels increasing!

Fear of Rejection

Closely linked with the fear of failure is the fear of rejection. Hearing the response “No” is not a great motivator! The main way to deal with rejection is just to accept that it happens. Try and re-frame any rejection you get by saying to yourself that it’s the customer who loses out, not you. Walk away with a smug smile on your face and remind yourself that you are one step closer to someone who will say “Yes”.

Product Knowledge Fear

A lack of in depth knowledge about your product or service quickly finds its way to making for a poor presentation. There is only one solution … and that’s to get learning! Absorb yourself in the product. Understand all the features and benefits, so that you can confidently talk about all aspects of your offering. Banishing this fear is one of the easy ones to put right.

Criticism

No one likes to be criticised, especially if you have tried your hardest. Unless you are very thick-skinned, harsh criticism can knock you back. If you carry out the exercises on improving your self-image, your ability to take criticism will also improve. Decide to view criticism more as feedback than a direct attack on you. There is usually some element of truth in the majority of critical comments and it’s important that you take the opportunity to learn and change.

Presentation Fears

You may know all the features and benefits of your product but, like an actor, you suffer from stage fright! The presentation fear can be down to a lack of structure around your sales process. Write a basic outline on how you wish a perfect sales pitch to go. Prepare a script for the key parts of the presentation and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

Why not ask someone to help you role play a sales presentation? This will give you the opportunity to make all the mistakes you want but in a risk-free environment! You should also visit your local Business Link office and see what courses they are running on sales skills. Look out for books and tapes on effective selling. All of these actions will assist in improving your confidence and result in a more professional sales presentation.

Selling does not have to be a fearful experience! If you have the right attitude, a strong self belief, a full understanding of your product and plenty of practice, then you will have nothing to fear. So, take a look at each of these fears and put a plan in place to tackle them today!

An unbeaten carpet care program commences previous to installation and than keep on with the regular vacuuming, maintenance, clean-up and episodic renovation efforts. It calls for utmost care to shield it against wear and tear and the other hazards of every day use.

Here are some implications for upholding the carpets:

1.     Vacuuming the carpet repeatedly with a strong suction, rotating brush and tight filter will reduce the soil buildup.

2.     Examine the carpet before scrubbing, extracting or spotting for the fact that some carpets are very sensitive to acid type cleaners and lose their color in a great extent while other carpets are sensitive to harsh alkalis.

3.     Do not apply strong spotting agents if not required and always neutralize high alkaline or high acid cleaners after use. Make use of appropriate spotters starting with the mildest.

4.     Brushing the spot is not a solution for the cleaning. The correct method to do away with the spot is to rub it towards the middle and then compressing into the cloth by means of brush or the other tamping devices.

5.     Increasing quantities beyond the recommended solution levels is not going to boost the cleaning efficiency. It will result in residual left which will lead to a rapid re-soiling that thorough vacuuming also can’t eradicate. So, take extreme care with the detergents.

6.     Since over wetting can cause brownout, adhesion problems and carpet shrinkage so take care not to make it over wet in a tremendous amount.

7.     After cleaning, please ensure your carpet is dried within twelve hours, otherwise mold or mildew may grow on them. Careful use of good ventilation, central heating and air conditioning systems will help the drying process.

8.     The ideal way to get a fresh Chocolate Milk spill out of the light colored carpets is to use a product entitled--Simple Green (It is non-toxic).

Your carpet will last for a length of time, if clean-up procedure is applied accurately. How often you clean up the carpet will depend on the weather and traffic. Usually, carpets in light traffic region should be cleaned once in a year; in normal traffic areas, once in six months and in heavy traffic areas almost certainly once in a month.