The Art of the Human Phone Conversation

It's missing in a variety of situations these days, from having friends, to meeting singles, to these so called quick businesses that you can run without even having a brain. You've seen them, so "turn-key" that you could literally purchase one for your pet monkey. Today, advanced technology has saved literally millions of "man hours," and dollars by using automated phone systems. Gone are the days of Lily Tomlin and "one ringy dingy." We can do everything from pay our bills to refill prescriptions, without even a human transaction. Of course some people prefer it that way, especially when they are giving out financial information. But is automation really better than a human?

Today the online community is global. You can run a business without leaving your home, and do most of what you need with a computer. Email, which just a few short years ago, seemed like a futuristic way to communicate "in the moment," has now been upgraded with "instant messaging." Literally having a real- time conversation with someone without ever speaking a word.

As far as normal business operation is concerned, this type of communication is fine. Just as communicating with your family and friends this way is fine too. However, people are taking this modern technological marvel and using it in other ways.

There are the people who are trying to meet other people. So they build these online "profiles" to describe themselves and to network in communities where there are others like themselves. This can be so extremely deceptive, as we know from the countless news stories of predators waiting to attack unknowing children.

How about in business. Maybe you are trying to start your own home or online business. You do tons of research amidst the ocean of endless possibilities being offered. You go to what looks like a beautifully designed professional website. It seems to have all of the things you're looking for. Will you plunk down a chunk of change on what seems to be that golden opportunity? It looks great, right? whether it's an Ebay business, or Ebooks, or affiliating products, such as health supplements, the promises are out there. The testimonials are there too. It must be the thing!

But alas, as experience would show, it seldom works out that way. There may be different reasons for failure, and these reasons may be as unique as the individual. Or it may be as simple as not taking the time to make phone contact.

The art of the human phone conversation is not difficult, nor does it require a certain etiquette. It's as simple as making contact, asking a few questions, and then observing both your gut feeling and your hind site. It is the best way to find out what you are getting yourself into. With time and practice it WILL show you the difference between a scam, and a real company trying help you, the customer, and make a living too. Anybody can get a website. They can be deceptive and misleading. If they don't offer a contact phone number, that should be a red flag right away. If you email some companies you can generally get an idea of how their customer service works (or doesn't) but when you are about to make a substantial investment, you really want to check further.

It's not always so much what you ask, as it is just asking anything. When the phone rings, does anybody answer? Do they have a voice mail, that is on all the time. This might not be your best opportunity. Especially if part of your business is to refer other people.

Remember Columbo? The TV detective in the 1970's with the trench coat, who, just before leaving an investigation would always say "just one more thing..." That always seemed to be the question that helped him figure out the case. Sometimes the question is irrelevant, you may just be looking for the reaction or response. That's the key. The response.

When you call, are they pleasant? Are they knowledgeable? Do they seem to enjoy where they are? Remember you are both professionals communicating in business. You have a right to make the call and inquire. If the business is a nutritional affiliate, you might ask about side effects, or dosages or even shelf life. No question is a stupid question. If this is a legitimate business they will welcome any question you have.

Another wonderful thing about the human phone conversation is, you can find some wonderful human to human connection. If you work at home, it can sometimes get lonely. An upbeat conversation can really make your day. You got to experience the life of a fellow human being. It's an opportunity to say something nice and even make their day. Communication is how things get done, period. It is always a step toward your goal.

It can get even better. If you are in any type of wholesaling or dropshipping business, and you do everything in automated fashion, you may be missing out on some bargains or discounts. Sometimes all it takes is some pleasant communication and you'll find someone who will go out of their way for you. You will build relationships and limitless possibilities. You will feel proud, accomplished and like a real business owner. As opposed to the guy or girl in "their underwear" and "isolation" at the kitchen table. Do you want to be in your underwear all day long with no one but yourself to talk to? A great phone conversation is a mood elevator and a catalyst to a chain reaction you may not even see for days or weeks, or even months. None of those possibilities apply if you try to do things the automated "turn-key" way.

You can start out by making calls to anyone. Call local businesses and ask about things in their store or business. Find a name of a business that might be confusing, and just call and ask what they do. Not everyone will be nice, but it's all experience, and they don't know you anyway! Some will be quick and others will take the time with you, even helping with something other than what they do.

So as you can see, with just practice, you can develop the art of the human phone conversation. The questions are all your own, and the answers will enlighten your way. You may find bargains, you may find wonderful words of encouragement, you may find new relationships. You may find that you can be of some help to someone else too. And isn't that always a great feeling? What you definitely will find is gains in valuable knowledge and experience, that you can teach others or even keep to yourself!

So go work on your art to the human phone conversation, you still have some anonymity, so you don't have to be embarrassed, just go, and keep going. You will develop a business (and personal) tool that will be invaluable.

A Home Business Requires Discipline

Choosing to have a home business is a great step towards achieving self-reliance and financial independence. But often times when people start working from home their level of productivity drops. Why is this and what can be done to change it?

Most people's productivity at work is a direct reflection of their pier group there. At work you had many people on which to compare your level of productivity against. Now that you are working from your house you often have no measure of how productive you are, so most people's activity levels drop.

Also, while at home there are many distractions during the day, which can lead you astray. Television, newspapers, internet, phone calls, and laundry all lead you astray from your good intentions to get work done.

On key thing you can do to increase your productivity is to plan your day out, and write what you want to achieve for that day and stick to your plan. Some activities require a certain amount of time to be put into it, while for other activities you need to achieve a specific outcome. Often times it is better to set daily goals as specific outcomes, otherwise if you just set time limits, the level of importance for that activity swells to fit the time you gave it when instead you might have been finished earlier with better results if you had focused on the outcome rather than the time put in.

Another tip to feel more productive at home is to dress like you are going to the office. Every morning, get up, shower, and put on office clothes. Wearing your work clothes will put you into a different state of mind and will make you more productive. This will be a clue to your mind that now it is time to work.

Having a designated office area is another important thing. If you can have a room that doesn't have a bed in it that would be great. Also, make sure your office is clean neat and try to work with the door closed.

Also, many people who work from home feel shut in. It is important to get out of the house a couple of times during the day and go for a walk or drive. Going to the mall is great for a quick walk and seeing people.

If you decide you really can't work from home; look into renting cheap office space somewhere. In many office buildings you can find a room to rent somewhere, which is much cheaper than renting a whole office.

Working from home is great if you have the discipline to keep at it. It takes consistency and drive just like any other job, but it can be a great experience. Start by making your to do list for tomorrow, today.

Reaching the Top, One Step at a Time!

What do your dreams and goals look like?

Are they so immense that they make your stomach hurt a little? Or are they small, reachable goals that bore you when you think of them?

Dreams and goals can run the gamut from being larger than life to small and humble. Which type of goal is better? There are actually good reasons to have both types of goals.

Having huge goals that "scare" you a little is important. Goals and dreams are supposed to stretch your imagination, your abilities and your character to transform you into someone new. Your goals should help you live the ideal life that you want to live, no matter how far away the goal may seem.

History tells us about individuals who dreamed big, despite people around them who told them to get their head out of the clouds. In fact, most successful people, whether they are politicians, business people, authors, athletes or humanitarians, have been told at some time throughout life that they were dreaming too big.

Don't be afraid to have big dreams and goals. Set your sights on something that at the present time seems so far out of your reach, that you know you were absolutely successful when you achieved that goal. Thinking of your big goal should make you nervous and excited at the same time.

On the other hand, it is also important to set small reachable goals for yourself. Your success depends heavily on your belief in yourself. If your big goal seems too out of reach, start setting smaller goals. By reaching those smaller goals you prove to yourself that you can achieve more.

Small reachable goals can be something as simple as working out a certain number of times per week, or reading a certain list of books. When you reach any type of goal, it feels good and gives you a boost in your self-esteem. If you start with small goals like these, while keeping your eye on the big goal in the future, you will build the confidence that you need to achieve that big goal.

As you achieve the small goals and check them off your list, your confidence and the belief in yourself will grow to the point where you look at the small goals as stepping stones, that will take you to the top.

Success comes from setting goals of both types. You need the big goals to motivate you toward success, and you need the little goals to help you gain confidence and discipline along the way.

Try Outsourcing

For many people, working from home in an online "virtual office" can be a tedious chore with many jobs being very technically challenging.

If some jobs are out of your comfort zone why struggle trying to accomplish them when you can outsource the work and better spend your time working on the things which you are most competent at doing. You will also enjoy your work much more.

If your talent is for writing but building websites is an utter mystery find someone to build the sites and you can supply them with the content for the sites or at least source and rewrite plr articles to make them your own. Similarly you can find people to promote and market your web site and probably far more effectively than you ever could yourself.

Cost can be off putting but then how many hours can you waste trying and often failing to get your site up and running correctly. Especially when you want all the extras like videos and pop ups and all the rest. Probably your time is much better spent on producing good quality content and ideas.

The cost does not have to be great though. An advert in your local paper will very likely uncover a teenage genius who is a whiz on computers. They will probably be happy to jump at the chance to earn more than they earn working at the local fast food store. The advantage of using somebody local is that you have easy access to them and the chance of good face to face communication.

There are of course all the online resources with contractors from all over the world looking for work in every aspect of online business. The prices can vary hugely and English may not be their first language but you can generally question their competence and ability to understand English well enough for you to communicate with them. Try to get some testimonials from previous employers and if you do employ them be sure to watch the progress of your project to see that your instructions are adhered to.

A quick Google search should uncover a number of outsourcing companies with very reasonable rates.

Well if nothing else it is an idea worth exploring because so many people get bogged down in all the technology that they do not achieve anything. This is just part of getting yourself organized. Being organized is essential for getting action.

Blogging: Some Thoughts for the Beginner

The derivation of the word blog comes from web logging, as it used to be known. It has changed a lot in its development and now blogging is a front line tool in the Internet promotion tool box. It is now used to promote products and services and presents another platform to to communicate with the visitor and develop a lasting relationship with them.

Having created the the business blog you can then monetize it as well as personalize it to your own requirements. Once created, you can make money out of the blog by syndicating it through RSS to your business website. If you have decided that you will set up a blog for business, below are a few tips on how to make it one of the more interesting and popular blogs.

1 - Your audience.

You are writing your blog post for your audience to read, so don't forget that what you write is of interest to them. They have searched for through a keyword, or keyword phrase, and arrived at your blog. So, make sure they are happy with what they find and even interested enough to look a little further into your blog, and maybe visit your website.

2 - Words fail - see sketch.

A large block of text can become very boring when reading, especially online. A picture or graphic or two placed within the text breaks up the strict framework of the post and keeps the reader interested through to the end. It is especially true if the picture is relevant to the subject of the post.

3 - The content needs to be relevant.

The posts made to your business blog need to be relevant to the subject of the blog. In other words the blog is set up around your niche market and with keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant to the subject. The intent is to draw traffic to your blog based on those keywords and keyword phrases. The business blog needs to create a special relationship with its visitors with the aim to sell products or services. If you consistently write good quality posts to your blog the visitor will return for more of the "good stuff," and will eventually trust that you know what you are talking about and buy one of your recommended products or services.

4 - Keep things simple.

The art of good communication is to keep things simple. Keep away from the technical jargon unless absolutely necessary and try to keep the sentences short and to the point.

5 - Make it interactive.

Audio and video are very good interactive methods, but all blogs come with a "comments" facility for each post made. Make sure that this feature is not turned off, and all comments must be approved before publishing them.

Before starting out with your blog you will need to do some pre-planning as to how you will personalize and monetize the blog, as well as how often you will post to it. An important fact to resolve is where will the content for each post come from. A good business blog needs a steady stream of interesting and relevant content in order to become a profitable venture - how will you complete this task? Remember that no plan is a plan to failure.