Online Trade Winds

Online Trade Winds

by: Nicholas Dixon

A few bends ago on the online marketing road, I registered and got paid hosting for a website I have been marketing for years. Now some people may say that is minor step, but for someone who lives on a rock in the Caribbean Sea that is a privilege.

I happen to live in a society that is still grappling with technology but is slowly catching on. The average man on the street feels that you are a geek once you are into computers when in fact you were in the same mindset as him before you first started out.

Being on online marketer sets you up for a roller coaster ride which if you are not prepared for, can leave you throwing up before the ride ends. Online marketing is not a gokart race but is more akin to the Dayonta 500, so you better dig in for a long ride.

I built and ran my first website on someone else’s computer for years because I could not afford one. I did this using free hosting services until I could pay for hosting and upgrade my website. That made me feel so vulnerable at times of placing my best interests in the hand of another, but business is a gamble and I took my chances.

Instead of feeling disheartened, I used this as a catalyst for my growth. Here I was hearing complaints from others about the lack of opportunities, yet there was a goldmine right on the playground of the young the internet.

Online marketing is a great teacher for all. It forces you to forget about me and start thinking about us. It is not a game where you hide behind a computer screen and shoot off emails to thousands hoping that you will get rich. It is all about building relationships which will determine if you sink or float.

Personality is a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. It is an under used strategy that much has not been written about. Mark you though, just because you have a Brad Pitt personality that means you are already successful, instead it should compliment your other strengths.

The internet is a very powerful communicating and marketing tool that has changed several aspects of our lives. You can shoot off an email to someone halfway around the globe and it arrives quicker than an elevator ride to the first floor.

It pains me daily that persons who want a cheap business tool don’t know about it and some who have access to the net use it only to read emails and play Yahoo games. I happen to work at a computer lab and many of the persons who I have recommend the internet to as a business tool never even tried it once. Nothing baffling about that though.

Online marketing moreso the Net are fairly young when compared to most offline businesses and there is still plenty of time and space to hop on board. It will take you some amount of time, strength, courage and persistence to achieve your set goals. But at the end of the day you have something you can call your own.

Though I have not earned my first five figure check, these thoughts are what inspire me daily to help further the growth of the net. Strange huh, the net grows, my business grows, my bank balance grows, your business grows……..

Copyright © Nicholas Dixon

About The Author

Nicholas Dixon is the creator of Jamaica’s first article directory. Free content and information about a cool island town. Visit http://WWW.Oceanroc.com to learn more…

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 12, 2004

by Nicholas Dixon

Why Businesses Need to Start Nurturing Collective

Why Businesses Need to Start Nurturing Collective Wisdom

by: Marcus Goncalves

COLLECTIVE WISDOM CAN BE AN effective tool for solving the problem of knowledge deficit, or the underutilization of organizational knowledge. If you are a small, medium or large business, and you don’t have a method in place for harnessing and managing your organization’s collective knowledge, you may be losing opportunities for significant revenue enhancement. According to a study by the Delphi Group, less than 20 percent of knowledge available to an enterprise is actually used. Furthermore,

IDC predicts that Fortune 500 companies are currently operating at a $19 billion knowledge deficit, increasing to $31.5 billion by year’s end.

Such studies that quantify the value of knowledge deficit should give businesses a reason for viewing strategy meetings and other forms of brainstorm sessions (where employees across the organization are encouraged to freely share their own ideas) in a very different light. Such meetings are powerful tools in nurturing collective wisdom that transcends the corporate memory. These meetings should cover areas that are largely determined by the specific needs (gaps) of the organization and may range from developing a corporate quality mission statement to establishing practical methods for empowering employees, creating a new concept for a product or service, and so on.

The main idea is to tap into the collective knowledge of the organization as a whole (memory) and its members, inheriting the tacit knowledge that they carry with them. Unfortunately, most of the knowledge contained in an organization goes unused, and often gets lost through employee layoffs and resignations, even before it is acknowledged and captured, generating knowledge deficits (another form of gap!).

According to TMP Worldwide, it takes 1.5 times an employee’s annual salary to replace that employee. This is due to several factors, one of which is the loss of unrecorded information and data. Lost information may include internal business processes, external contacts/relationships, and proprietary data.

Knowledge deficit refers not only to knowhow, but to codified data as well. Knowledge deficit is caused when employees cannot access:

Databases

Documents

Email communications

Expertise of other employees/outside sources

Internet content

Therefore, as gaps are created and the organization attempts to fill them, employees should have at their disposal searching capabilities that enable them to search for codified data, as well as unrecorded tacit knowledge. Such a process fosters collective wisdom, which in turn fosters innovation, one of the prime goals in tapping into corporate instinct.

Expertise management, as Information Market accurately contends, enables the creation of knowledge superconductivity. For instance, strategy meetings can enable employees with business problems to tap into the minds of those experts who can at the very least add to their knowledge, and may even be able to solve the business problem at hand. However, these meetings should be moderated and include a variety of themes and dynamics that encourage freethinking, commitment, loyalty, and willingness to create.

Hence, these meetings play an important role in ensuring that any effort in developing new concepts, in innovation, is supported by the entire organization, top to bottom. These meetings can include topics such as:

Achieving unanimous agreement and commitment to a new concept from executives and senior management

Creating a comprehensive plan by which a new product or service concept can be implemented and become sustainable (remember, without sustainability, the new concept is only a great idea)

Crisis/contingency systems (dealing with major gaps in times of chaos)

Developing specific tactics by which new concepts and respective plans are to be realized establishing appropriate goals and benchmarks.

As well as these strategic and planning meetings, there are also some less apparent but equally important communication issues which can be addressed during the quest for collective wisdom, including:

Developing highprofile actions that communicate management’s commitment to change (creation of gaps) and innovation (bridging the gaps)

Developing ongoing means for communicating progress of the strategy meetings and developing a collective wisdom process for both internal and external customers

Effectively communicating the collective wisdom to managers, staff, and the entire organization as a whole.

About The Author

Marcus Goncalves, Founder & President, Marcus Goncalves Consulting Group, a MetroWest Bostonbased knowledge, change and project managementoriented international consulting firm, is the developer of the innovative knowledge management methodology Knowledge TornadoTM. Marcus has served as a Senior EAI and IT strategies professional at global market research firm, ARC Advisory Group and lectures at Boston University’s graduate CIS and MBA programs on subjects including Program and Project Management, and Information Systems Management, among others. Author of more than 28 books published on the subject, Marcus is a member of Who’s Who among US Executives and in the Computer Industry, an award conferred by the Rockefeller and Carnegie Foundation. Marcus can be contacted at [email protected]; 5084353087.

This article was posted on January 14, 2004

by Marcus Goncalves

The Power Of Niche Marketing

The Power Of Niche Marketing

by: Terry Stewart

Have you ever been over whelmed by all the competition on the internet. All the other companies going after the same customers that you are. Well panick not the world wide web is a MASSIVE market place and the best strategy is to create your own market.

Dont Compete Be Unique

The benifits of niche marketing

Dont dissappear in the crowd

The importance of a niche business

Ways of creating niches

Dont reinvent the wheel

1. Niche marketing is the best way for the smaller business person to level the playing field against the larger companies. Niche marketing is where you find a corner of your particular market which is exclusive to you. There are a few ways of finding your niche and this article is about some of the aspect concerning niche marketing

2. The great thing about having a niche business is the fact that you are not struggling to compete against established marketers. Therefore you will not be invisible and you wont disappear in the crowd.Recreating products and concepts is a vital business skill I would go as far as saying it will keep you ahead of the game. Most big companies hire developers to improve on their products and service. So it is no difernt for the small business person.

3. A way of developing a niche is to sell to people you are familiar with eg. You could be a ex chef selling Automatic self lighting ovens which cleaned itself every night.

Do you get it, if you are familiar with a certain business you can cater for it like no other company.

Also you can concerntrate on a smaller part of the market and become a specialist in that field. Like concentrating on helping diabetic people losing weight, instead of the whole weight loss market.

Just imagine for one moment that you were the only one selling automatic self cleaning cookers to the catering trade. You would corner the that market and make a fortune.

4. The japanese are great at taking otherกs ideas and improving on them and they are not doing to bad are they? Great inventors like Henry Ford and Edison have created great inventions and others have taken them to another level. The Japanese have shown the imortance of understanding the power niche business that is why they are one of the wealthier countries in the world today.

5. Creating niche business doesn’t require you to invent the wheel, it only requires thinking of ways to improve it. That is where you will get more sales, and more referals. So that in the end your business will grow without competing with the bigger companies.

In general you can see the benifits of niche marketing which is by cornering the market in your particular field,you differienciate your business. You avoid competing with the big boys. Therefore gaining your own exclusive market, which in turn will lead to more profits.

Stone Evans publishes home business tips a fresh and informative newsletter. Dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you are looking for the *Best Rated* home business opportunities, the lates time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business come by and grab a FREE subscription today at: http://www.telnelbiz.com

About The Author

Terry Stewat:

After years of doing different types of jobs I decided to go into the home based business field. I and I have not looked back since.I dont have all the answers but I do know what not to do, as I have learned from my many mistakes.

Http://www.extraemoney.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 16, 2004

by Terry Stewart

Product Positioning 4 Differentiation Tips

Product Positioning 4 Differentiation Tips

by: Daniel Levis

Here are 4 product positioning tips to differentiate your business.

Luckily, it’s not all that hard to stand out from the crowd, as long you realize the importance of product positioning. Positioning is the art of matching your marketing message, with the desires, feelings, & beliefs of the particular type of customer that you know you can service better than anybody else. You make yourself กvisibleก as the kind of business this individual would naturally be attracted to.

Why would I say that it’s not that hard?

Well, you really don’t have to look very far to see that effective product positioning is about as common as caviar at a McDonald’s outlet. Just look in the yellow pages, look on the net, and you’ll soon see what I mean.

It’s more of the same old same old, look at us were #1 for pricing, service & selection nonsense. It’s just meaningless drivel. Anyone can say these things & everyone does, & I ask you this.

Are you guilty of spouting these กbuy from us for no apparent reasonก platitudes? Don’t feel guilty if you are. Just take these product positioning tips to heart.

What happens when everybody in your industry says the same thing? Customers don’t know how to tell the difference between one product & another, so they make their decision based on price. And everybody loses. The customer doesn’t get the product that best fits their needs. You don’t make nearly as many sales as you could, and those that you do make, are at less margin than you would like.

Listen, if you can just get the principle that I’m about to reveal hammered into your head, you’ll have more business than you can handle, and you won’t worry about having to undercut the competition.

That sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

Here’s the secret. Just take the time to communicate, clearly, specifically, & thoroughly why you‘re different & how that difference makes a difference in your customer’s perception of his or her life. Such a simple concept, but so rare, it can’t help but differentiate you.

You see, people really don’t buy on price at all. They buy on value. If they bought a cheaper product, it’s because you didn’t demonstrate the value of yours. Admittedly, there is a certain percentage of the market that is best served by an inferior low end product, but this segment is much smaller than it appears. More often than not, people cannot differentiate, buy based on price, & live to regret it. This is a crying shame, & were not going to stand for it much longer, are we?

As you absorb this material you will become intimate with the following 4 product positioning principles that will set your business apart.

*** Unique Selling Proposition

Something unique, that you have to offer. Not necessarily entirely unique. You can appear unique by simply packaging your product or service in a unique way. For example, a lawyer, might advertise flat rate incorporation, and attract a lot of customers because the market fears the open ended legal bill. In reality, it is all of the other กback endก services that come about as a result of incorporation that generate incorporation revenues. But who do you think will end up getting more of that lucrative business, the flat rate USP savvy attorney, or Mr. Conventional?

*** Risk Reversal

Differentiate yourself with outrageously bold guarantees, that you’re competition don’t have the guts for. Most people are genuinely honest, and if your service is what you say it is, youกve got nothing to worry about. The increased sales volume will be well worth it.

*** Inordinate Value

Leverage your advertising, by offering to let complimentary businesses come along for the ride, in exchange for a free sample of their wares. Then bundle those into your offering. Cut the right deals, & your offer will appear กirresistibleก, compared to your competition.

*** Clear, Complete, & Concise Customer Education

Hereกs were most advertisers fall down, and you can stand head & shoulders above the crowd. Tell your full story. Don’t make people try to figure out on their own why they should be doing business with you. Spell it out for them.

Spend some time thinking deeply about these product positioning ideas, and how you can use them to your advantage. Your market share is predicated on how well you assimilate them, & apply them to the promotion of your business.

Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis

About The Author

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & worldrenowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author ขMillion Dollar Online Advertising Strategies – From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!ข, a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier.

Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell…Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters!

http://www.AdvertisingOnlineStrategies.com/adstrategies.html

This article was posted on February 26

by Daniel Levis

Running Your Own Website When You Have Chronic Fat

Running Your Own Website When You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia Is Easier Than You Think!

by: Claire Williams

Had you lived 100 years ago, it would have been much harder for you (practically impossible) to earn your own money from home as a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia sufferer.

BUT!!!

Today, we Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers are lucky enough to live in the age of the Internet where knowledge is power. Information, information, information. THATกs what people want.

So how does that apply to you?

Well, as I wrote in the กFocus Your Light: Earning Money From Home When You Have CFS/FMก article in Issue #001, you live in a day and age where you have great opportunities to work from home using your computer and the Internet.

As I wrote in that article, everyone knows something about something…

…including YOU!

SIDE NOTE

If you haven’t read the Focus Your Light: Earning Money From Home When You Have CFS/FMก article, then I thoroughly recommend that you take a look at it.

You can check it out in Issue #001 here:

http://www.sleepydust.net/issue001

SIDE NOTE

Find a topic that you LOVE (or at least are passionate about). Something that you find INTERESTING. Then your กworkก will become กplayก because it will be on a topic that you enjoy!

So what are you going to do once youกve found your topic?

You start your own moneymaking website.

**Claire watches as everyone runs and hides.**

Come back!

Itกs not as scary as you might think! I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise! At least give me a chance to explain!

Running your own website gives you THE BEST chance of making AS MUCH money as you want.

Why?

Because one of your websiteกs primary jobs is to ATTRACT VISITORS lots of them. And once youกve done that, all YOU have to do is choose how you will กmonetizeก it!

**Iกll be explaining the different ways that you can make money from your website in later issues.**

Whatกs more, you can work when you want, for how long you want, wherever you want!

Okay, now there are quite a few myths about running your own website that Iกd like to put straight at this point…

MYTH 1. Websites are expensive.

WRONG! Websites can be as cheap or as expensive to create and run as you want them to be!

You can actually run your own website for $0 if you want to. Plenty of people do.

So you don’t actually need to spend ANY money to start your own website if you don’t want to.

MYTH 2. You need to be a computer programmer to run your own website.

WRONG! You don’t need to know ANY computer programming languages at all, if you don’t want to!

These days, building your own website is so easy that you don’t even need to know any computer mumbo jumbo at all!

MYTH 3. Learning to program your own website is difficult.

WRONG! It takes less than 24 hours to learn how to program your own website! I learnt the basics of programming websites in ONE day, and was ready to build my own website within 2 days!

If you do want to program your own website, then the programming language you need to learn is called กhtmlก itกs very basic, and VERY simple.

Itกs THAT easy that even kids can do it!

So don’t be fooled by the myth! Programming your own website is easier than you think!

OK, so my point is that you CAN have your own moneymaking website. And itกs easier than you think. Itกs very achievable!

Think about it this way if it was THAT difficult to build and run your own website, then why are there so many millions of webmasters out there? They surely can’t ALL be rocket scientists!

Point taken?

Good. 🙂

So what are you waiting for then?…

Copyright, Claire Williams, 2004. All Rights Reserved.

** Reprinting of the article above is welcome! **

The article above may be freely reproduced provided that:

(1) you include the following resource box; and (2) you only mail to a 100% optin list.

Hereกs the resource box to use if reprinting the article above:

Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.net and has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.

She created กsleepydust.netก to help Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers to deal with the condition from handling their money worries, to recovering from their illness….

http://www.sleepydust.net

To subscribe to the newsletter in which this article was published, please go to:

http://www.sleepydust.net/ezine

About The Author

Copyright, Claire Williams, 2004. All Rights Reserved. Sleepydust.net Helping You To Deal With Post Viral & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, M.E. & Fibro.

To subscribe to the ezine in which this article was published, go to:

http://www.sleepydust.net/ezine

This article was posted on October 06, 2004

by Claire Williams

After the Speech

After the Speech

by: Stephen D. Boyd

Usually the emphasis on making an effective speech is what you do in preparation before the presentation begins. But if you speak very much, what you do after the speech can help you become a more effective speaker.

As soon as possible after the speech, write down impressions of how you felt the speech went. Answer at least two questions about the speech: What was the best part of the speech? What part of the speech can be improved the next time?

Some of your best ideas will come to you as you are speaking. Write them down as soon as the speech is over so you can be prepared to use those lines or ideas the next time you speak.

Think about the peaks and valleys in the speech. Consider when the audience seemed to listen best and when the audience seemed restless and disinterested. Write down your reactions while they are fresh on your mind.

Talk to someone about the speech within the first day after your presentation. Youกll remember best what you talked about and you might discover a better way of telling a story or making a point as you summarize your speech to a friend or colleague.

Keep track of stories you tell and case studies you include so youกll not repeat yourself if ou speak to that audience again. In addition, keep records of how long you spoke, what you wore, key people you met, and anything unusual about the speaking context. Occasionally look back over your records of individual speeches and look for trends in your speaking that you are unaware of. When you speak to this group again, this information will be the basis for your audience analysis. This is especially important if you speak frequently within your company and your audience will be made up of listeners who have heard you before. You don’t want to develop a reputation for telling the same stories over and over.

If the group has speaker evaluations, ask that a copy of the summary be sent to you. Look for any pattern in the comments as you analyze the summary. If one person said you talked too slowly, it may be a personal preference and you don’t need to give much consideration to the critique. If four or five people make that comment, however, then you might want to consider changing the pace of your speaking for the next speech.

Certainly your main concern should be with your preparation before the speech. However, don’t underestimate the effort of what you do in analyzing the speech after the audience has left the room.

About The Author

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is a professor of speech communication at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky. He works with organizations that want to speak and listen more effectively to increase personal and professional performance. He can be reached at 8007276520 or visit http://www.sboyd.com for free articles and resources to improve your communication skills.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 30, 2004

by Stephen D. Boyd

the Numbers Don’t Lie!ก

‘the Numbers Don’t Lie!ก

by: Damon G. Zahariades

Itกs true. They don’t.

Thatกs why you should look at the numbers whenever you’re searching for answers.

Let me explain…

A lot of times, Iกll start cruisinก the forums and Iกll notice folks saying their web sites aren’t selling.

Theyกll complain, กIกve had my site up for six months and have only sold four ebooks. This blows.ก

They’re right. That *does* blow.

Iกm not gonna go into all the things they should be testing and tweaking. Youกve heard it a thousand times and Iกm not in the mood to regurgitate it.

Instead, Iกm gonna simply list a process you should be following if you’re trying to sell something from a mini site.

Step by step. With a running example to drive the point home.

Step #1: Define success

Letกs say you want to sell 100 copies of your ebook, กSitting On Your Bum For Fun And Profit.ก

If you sell 101 copies this month, you win. If you sell 99 copies, you lose. Simple as that.

Thatกs why we define success. So, we can get rid of the flighty กwe almost made the goalก crap. You either make it or you don’t.

100 copies is the กline in the sand.ก

Step #2: Know your conversion ratios

You get 1,000 unique visitors from Overture. You sell 8 copies of กSitting On Your Bum For Fun And Profit.ก

Whatกs your conversion ratio?

Itกs 0.8%.

Letกs be honest. That ain’t so good. But, if you’re happy with it, your job just got easier. All you have to do is drive a tidal wave of traffic to your site.

Step #3: Do the math

Hereกs what you know…

You want to sell 100 copies of กSitting On Your Bum…ก each month.

You can sell 8 copies for every 1,000 unique visitors.

You need 12,500 visitors to move 100 copies.

Can you make money? Depends.

How much are those 12,500 visitors costing you? Letกs say you’re paying 10 cents per visitor. That means $1,250.

And how much are you selling your ebook for? Letกs say $29. 100 copies puts $2,900 in your pocket.

Now, subtract the amount you shelled out for traffic and you’re left with $1,650.

Sounds good, right? Trust me. It ain’t that good. You could be doing a lot better.

But, Iกll leave that for another article.

Run Your Affiliate Product Promotion Numbers

You need to do this for the affiliate products you promote, too.

Know your numbers.

Define your barometer for success. This is your กline in the sand.ก

Figure out your conversion ratio.

Do the math.

For example, letกs say I send 1,000 people to Michael Greenกs กCreate And Sell Products Onlineก site…

> http://www.damonz.com/green/

My goal is to turn 2.75% of that traffic into buyers. Or, at least put that traffic in the buying mood so that *Michael* can convert กem.

30 people end up buying his toolkit. Thatกs a conversion ratio of 3%.

WooHOO! I beat my goal.

What about my numbers?

I know my profit on Michaelกs toolkit. I know how much cash itกll take to get 1,000 people to his site. And I know what percentage of those folks I can turn into buyers.

Thatกs all I need to know to build an income stream that keeps chugginก along.

The rest is simple…

Go buy traffic. Send that traffic to Michael. Watch him convert 3% of that traffic to buyers.

Remember, the numbers don’t lie!

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Damon G. Zahariades

http://www.WebBusinessToday.com

Copyright (c) Damon G. Zahariades. All rights reserved.

About The Author

Damon G. Zahariades is a recognized expert in infoproduct creation and author of the criticallyacclaimed ebook, ‘the Special Report Bible.ก He will show you, stepbystep, how to create highlyprofitable Special Reports. To find out more, visit today! ===> http://www.ReportSecrets.com

This article was posted on April 12, 2003

by Damon G. Zahariades

Microsoft Business Solutions Navision Customizat

Microsoft Business Solutions Navision Customization: C/SIDE, C/ODBC, C/FRONT, XBRL

by: Robert Horowitz

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with Great Plains Software. Now Microsoft Business Solutions offers following ERP applications: Navision (former Navision Attain), Microsoft Great Plains (former Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise), Solomon, Axapta. Formerly Navision had strong positions in Europe. Now it is promoted in USA and Europe. Navision has pretty advanced manufacturing module.

We would like to give you: programmer, software developer, database administrator the orientation in Navision customization tools

C/SIDE (Client/Server Integrated Development Environment) The core of Navision is the C/SIDE. C/SIDE is the foundation for all the business management functionality of Navision. It is made up of five building blocks, called object types, which are used to create the application. These five object types are shared throughout Navision to create every application area, and give it a unified, consistent interface. This powerful language allows for the internal construction of new business logic and sophisticated reporting. Because of the internal nature of modifications it’s highly recommended that you develop all your code in ขprocessing onlyข report objects and called from the native code base. By grouping all your code in logical units, upgrades and additional modifications are easier to manage.

C/ODBC and C/FRONT Both C/ODBC and C/FRONT enable you to easily use information from Navision in familiar programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. The Open Database Connectivity driver for Navision (C/ODBC) is an application program interface (API) that provides a way for other applications, such as the entire Microsoft Office Suite, to send and retrieve data to and from the Navision database through the ODBC interface.

External Tool: Navision Developer’s Toolkit The Navision Developer’s Toolkit enables your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner to upgrade your Navision solution to the latest version. It is used to analyze and upgrade customer and vertical solutions

Reporting Options Aside from the powerful internal reporting tool which requires an indepth knowledge of C/SIDE to make it useful the other options are:

Jet Reports Jet Reports is a complete reporting package utilizing Microsoft Excel. Using Excel you can create reports on any table of data from within any granule in Navision.

C/ODBC Using the ODBC driver, the entire Microsoft office suite and programs such as Crystal Reports can access the database. I would recommend using this tool for occasional reporting requests only. If you need to pull data out of the Navision database on a regular basis one of the other options is a better choice

Business Analytics (SQL Server Required) Using Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) from Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000, Business Analytics organizes all of your business data into information units called cubes. Using a familiar Microsoft Outlook®style interface, Business Analytics presents this information to your desk top where easy to use analytical tools allow you to carry out targeted analysis that is tailored by you, for you

XBRL Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for Navision enables simple and dependable distribution of all a company’s financial information and ensures smooth and accurate data transfer. XBRL is an XMLbased specification that uses accepted financial reporting standards and practices to export financial reports across all software and technologies, including the Internet

Good luck in customizing and reports design and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job give us a call 18665280577 or 16309615918 worldwide! [email protected]

About The Author

Robert Horowitz is Certified Navision Specialist in Microsoft Business Solutions Partner Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Navision, Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Washington, Colorado, Canada, UK, Australia, Moscow and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com). You can contact Robert: [email protected].

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 22, 2004

by Robert Horowitz

10 Sensible Steps To Take Before Choosing Your Dom

10 Sensible Steps To Take Before Choosing Your Domain Name

by: Emma Kalson

With such a huge growth in the number of websites and the resulting difficulty in finding an available domain name, it is tempting to grab the first one that sounds like it might do the trick. However, a small amount of homework will pay big dividends – follow the ten steps below to obtain the optimal domain:

1. AVAILABILITY

If it’s not available you can’t have it – simple!

2. COPYRIGHT

Ensure that you do not breach copyright or infringe trademarks with your choice of domain.

3. EXTENSIONS

It’s widely acknowledged that the best TLD (top level domain) is .com. However, in the UK, web users are more than used to .co.uk so this is equally acceptable for UK websites. If .com isn’t available and you use .net instead (for example), check that .com isn’t either a competitor or that the .com site content is acceptable! Always try to get the .com, your country TLD or .net in that order. Web users are still not used to .biz or .info.

4. BE GREEDY!

If more than one TLD variant is available, buy as many as you can afford and set them all to point to your website. This is a form of brand protection and prevents unscrupulous competitors trying to cash in on your hardearned web traffic.

5. BE MEMORABLE

Make sure that potential web users will remember your domain name and that they can spell it properly.

6. BE PRONOUNCABLE

Try telling people your web address over the phone – can they understand what you tell them? Or do they give up and try someone else’s website.

7. BE DESCRIPTIVE

If you are a new business, very few people will remember or search for your domain name if it is your company name. Try choosing a domain name that is descriptive of your products instead e.g. cheap>.com. Try testing it with a hyphen as well as using just one word.

8. OFFLINE MARKETING

Use your domain name in your offline marketing literature and ensure that it is as visible as possible. However, if your domain name consists of more than one word, that isn’t hyphenated, try using capital letters e.g. which is easier to read – littlefishwebdesign.com or LittleFishWebDesign.com? Domain names are not case sensitive so your clients will find your site whichever version they use.

9. BUY YOUR DOMAIN FOR LONGER

Search engines are now looking at less obvious information such as how long you have bought your domain name for. Domain names owned for less than two years are though to be penalised, so buy your domain for as long as possible.

10. OWN YOUR DOMAIN NAME

If you use a web designer or third party for your domain names, ensure they are registered in your name and that you have a signed agreement with the company that they will release all the details (including password) to you, quibble free, if you choose to move to another design or hosting company.

About The Author

Emma Kalson is the owner of www.littlefishwebdesign.com and has been designing websites for about 10 years. She doesn’t believe in unnecessary bells and whistles on websites and wants to help remove some of the myths surrounding website design and search engine activity.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 03

by Emma Kalson

How To Get Rich ONE Site At A Time!

How To Get Rich ONE Site At A Time!

by: Dan Lok

Are you fickle? (Do you even know what กfickleก is?) According to MerriamWebster Online, กfickleก is defined as กgiven to erratic changeableness.ก

And when it comes to website success… If you’re fickle, you’re in a pickle!

One of the biggest problems that crops up with my clients is that they always to seem to be too focused on the *NEXT* กbig thingก…long before theyกve perfected the science of their *CURRENT* big thing their existing website.

As an entrepreneur, you should always be on the lookout for the next new ideas, the next challenges, the next possibility for success…but don’t be fickle!

Clients say to me, ขDan, what am I doing wrong? Iกve got 8 or 9 websites up right now and I am starting 3 more this month. But I don’t know why am I not making much money with any ONE of them.ก

Wake up and smell the coffee, you Fickle Fiend! You’re working on TOO MANY WEBSITES!

Iกve seen this so often it hurts…instead of putting effort into making their existing website more compelling, more effective, and more profitable, Fickle Folks are way too focused on that elusive กnext big thingก…

And when their first website doesn’t deliver on the promise, they don’t ask กWhy?ก… They don’t try to fix what may be broken…

They just change their focus and concentrate on building another website that they’re certain is going to be ‘the next big thing.ก

And when that doesn’t work…probably for the same reasons that Site #1 didn’t make any money…theyกll start another new site and another and another in an endless cycle of กno return on too much investment.ก

If thatกs not the fast track to bankruptandoutofbusiness, I don’t know what is!

As you know, I am a big believer in multiple streams of income. So, I am not saying you should be have multiple websites.

BUT…make sure your existing website is as strong, solid, and successful as you can make it before trying to grab the gold ring and the next กbig thing.ก

Don’t take the กfickleก path to the Poor House. Stay focused on promoting just one website …and promoting it effectively! Put on blinders to other distractions and keep your eye on the prize: making that ONE website as profitable as possible.

Dan Lok

6045834904

กCall me, I answer my own phone.ก

Copyright 2005 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

About The Author

Dan Lok is known as ‘the Worldกs #1 Website Conversion Expertก, with a proven track record of selling over $25.7 million dollars of merchandise and services. Dan has resuscitated copy that was previously in กcritical conditionก and helped his clients to double and triple their conversion rates… some as much as 417%!!! More than 200 websites have been กLokedก and loaded for Internet action. Go to: http://www.WebsiteConversionExpert.com.

This article was posted on April 06

by Dan Lok

Are You Marketing to Your Potential?

Are You Marketing to Your Potential?

by: Charlie Cook

Many small business owners struggle to grow their businesses only to find themselves stuck in a morass of marketing, management and delivery tasks. As your business becomes more complex and time consuming, the original vision of the business usually changes or gets lost, and it can become increasingly difficult to define and implement a marketing strategy that helps you achieve your business potential.

As a marketing coach I have many small business clients whose marketing is going nowhere because they haven’t clearly identified where they want to take their business/what they want their business to be/ and what role they want to play in it.

Whether you want to take your business to the next level or are just starting out, to be more successful at marketing you need to regularly clarify what you want your business to be and what your role in it is or should be. In order to develop a marketing strategy and plan that works for you, you need to first clarify:

What are your business passions and strengths

How do you want to spend your time

What work tasks you enjoy

What type of business you want to create

DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS PASSIONS AND STRENGTHS

The energy, determination and persistence it takes to build a business only makes sense if you are doing something you love or that at least gives you great satisfaction. What do you enjoy doing the most? What are you happy doing day in and day out?

What are your Strengths?

Identify your business passion, and then examine your strengths within that passion. How can you leverage your interest and knowledge to become a sought after expert in your field?

Say you love skiing and want to make a living in that industry, which you know well. Are you going to run a ski shop, be a ski instructor, or become a skiing guru, sought after by thousands, with your simple and innovate teaching techniques?

Which aspects of your passion suit your expertise and experience? How can you build a business around them?

SET GOALS FOR HOW YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME

Personality and interests vary. Some small business owners have a passion for hands on delivery, others enjoy focusing on growing their business and coordinating the delivery of products and services.

Some can’t stand being stuck in an office all day; others would prefer never to talk to a client or customer. What aspects of your business are you good at and which do you want to develop further?

Use the following questions to help you clarify how you want to spend your week.

Do you like being in charge of marketing, operations or service delivery?

Are you an educator, do you love sharing what you know or do you like inventing new products people can use without your involvement? Or both?

Do you prefer managing the business and delegating daily tasks to others?

Do you like to travel or prefer to work from an office or at home?

How important is flexibility in scheduling and work location?

Do you want to work less and earn the same?

Do you want to work part time or do you love your work so much that you could do it seven days a week?

Do you want to structure your work so it is more satisfying?

CLARIFY THE TASKS YOU ENJOY

We all like and dislike specific activities, excel at some and are better off delegating certain tasks to others. Clarifying what you like and dislike is essential to then defining the strategies and structures you need to create a more satisfying work environment.

Do you enjoy coming up with new products?

Do you enjoy selling your services and products?

Do you like to write or prefer public speaking?

Or both?

Is the phone your communication tool of preference?

Do you prefer to use email for most of your communication?

Do you enjoy public speaking and sharing your ideas?

Do you enjoy following up with employees to make sure theyกve done agreed on tasks?

SPECIFY THE TYPE OF BUSINESS YOU WANT TO CREATE

What have the answers to the questions above told you about your business and your role in it? Depending on the services and products you provide, does your business need additional staff, facilities, technology, geographic presence, or capital?

Would you prefer to be a successful one person business/sole proprietor? Would you like to grow your business to include five to fifty employees? Will profit or passion be the driving force? Or both? Are your markets local, regional, national or international?

Answer these questions to define your business goals and your role in your businessก growth. Once you have a clear and current idea of where you are going, you can define a marketing strategy to get there, to achieve your business potential.

2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

About The Author

The author, Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful with the 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Guide and the กMore Businessก newsletter, full of practical tips you can use at http://www.charliecook.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 28, 2004

by Charlie Cook

Why Doesn’t My Small Business Web Site Sell?

Why Doesn’t My Small Business Web Site Sell?

by: Jeremy Cohen

Many small business owners are disappointed by the ability of their web sites to generate new business. Simply having a web site does not guarantee its effectiveness as a marketing tool. If your web site is unable to consistently generate new leads and prospects you may well be disappointed in your investment in your web site. Does this sound familiar? If so, you may be making one of several common mistakes made by small business owners when they decide to turn to the web for more business. Here are five common mistakes that can hinder the marketing performance of your web site.

Failure to Measure Traffic

Every so often when I speak with someone who is dismayed at their web site’s ability to generate revenue I am surprised when they tell me they don’t know how many people visit their site each month, day, hour, etc. Measuring the traffic to and through your web site is critical for understanding the marketing prowess of your web design and the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.

If your web site enjoys lots of traffic, say over 1000 visitors a day, but generates one or two sales a month you can be pretty sure there is a deficiency in your web design. If you are not measuring traffic to your site you do not provide yourself an opportunity to identify and correct the problem. Your web design should lend itself to helping you get your visitors to take the action you want, buy something or provide you their valuable contact information.

On the other hand, if your web site generates a small amount of sales and you don’t know that only fifty people are visiting your site each month you deny yourself the ability to realize that you have a fantastic web site and that marketing it better will lead to a significant increase in revenue.

If you are not measuring your web site’s traffic you are missing opportunities to increase your ability to generate sales and be more successful. Two providers of web metrics are webtrends.com and webstat.com.

Poor marketing message

Another reason web sites fail to sell is that they do not do a good job of delivering a compelling marketing message. Without an excellent marketing message you risk your visitors hopping off to another web site because they do not know that you have what they want or need.

One sign that you may have a less than stellar marketing message is that it does not speak directly to the consumers who become your clients. Your marketing message should identify exactly whom you help. If you help more than one population you can easily cater your marketing message by changing just a word or two. Be sure your marketing message clearly indicates whom you help and you will notice an improvement in you sales success.

Another sign that your marketing message is not hitting a homerun is that it does not clearly demonstrate that you provide what your customers seek. If you sell handbags and your marketing message is ขglamour can be yoursข then you are missing the boat as this marketing message fails to indicate at all that you sell handbags.

To correct a dysfunctional marketing message make sure it clearly identifies your target market and the results they seek. Once you have a great marketing message you can use it in your web site and your other marketing material as well.

Don’t See Big Picture

Another common shortcoming of small business web sites is that many fail to realize a fundamental marketing concept: most consumers who make a decision to buy something make the decision to do so after 6 8 contacts with some form of marketing for a particular product or service. Failing to realize and act upon this marketing fact will hinder your ability to grow your business.

The purpose of marketing is to establish your business in the marketplace so that consumers think of you when they are ready to act to fill a need or desire. By regularly getting your marketing message in front of your market you can help them associate what you do with what they need. You can also attract more clients by demonstrating your expertise to clients in your marketing material.

Poor design

Do visitors to your web site do what you want them to do? If they are not it may be the design of your web site that is preventing your visitors from taking the action you want them to take. The design of each of your web pages is instrumental in guiding the actions of your visitors.

So what constitutes good design? Good design stems from the skillful integration of graphical and textual layout, color, shape and choice and flow of content. If your site does not have the content your visitors seek you will strike out each time someone visits your page. If your web pages don’t put what you want your visitors to see immediately in front of them you will miss opportunities to sell. If your choice of fonts and colors make your pages difficult to read your visitors will likely move along to another web site they can understand more easily.

To identify if your web pages suffer from poor design ask yourself the following questions:

Does my text stand out over my background color?

Does the design of my site focus my visitor’s attention where I want it?

Does my content give my users what they want?

If you answered ‘No’ to any of the questions above you can improve your ability to get your users to do what you want by taking steps to correct anything that may be wrong.

Failure to Focus on Client Needs

When people visit your web site you want them to read through the content of your site. By doing so your visitors develop a sense of how your product or service can help them. If your copy doesn’t focus on your clients’ needs and desires they will be off to another site in a blink.

If your visitors are quickly leaving your web site it may be because your copy does not focus on their needs. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Don’t focus on the process or method you use to do your job

Don’t focus on your existing clients

Don’t focus on your experience

Don’t focus on the quality of your product

By making any of the above mistakes you detract attention from the reasons that are going to help your clients make the decision to buy from you. You may be very proud of your accomplishments, and you should be, but focusing on them does not address your clientsก needs and will do little to help you sell more effectively.

About The Author

2004 © Optimize Promote Web Sites, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners attract more clients, grow their businesses and be more successful with his marketing services and free marketing guide, กJumpstart Marketing: More Prospects, Clients and Success.ก Get the guide at: www.bettermarketingresults.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 15, 2004

by Jeremy Cohen