Microsoft Great Plains PM: Payables Management

Microsoft Great Plains PM: Payables Management

by: Vincent Ong

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for midsize companies as well as Navision (which has very good positions in Europe and emerging markets where it can be easily localized).

Great Plains Payables Management (PM) module improves control over your payables. With easy access to comprehensive vendor information, payment scheduling and tracking, and uptothe minute answer to your cash flow status, this module allows you to manage your expenses more effectively.

PM maximizes operational efficiency by empowering employees with advanced search capabilities that provide quick and easy access to the information they need. This module also simplifies expense allocation like deferring payments or costs over multiple periods with automatically managed calculations and journal entries customized to fit your business needs.

Features:

Extensive DrillDown – Crossmodule drilldown capabilities give you the ability to locate the exact details you need.

Comprehensive Vendor Information – Streamline your vendor information with vendor categories for consistent record maintenance and comprehensive data, including addresses, shipping methods, default purchase accounts, and userdefined information.

Installment Management – Automate your vendor installment payments by creating schedules, calculating interest, amortizing amounts, and forecasting the impact of variable interest rates, payment amounts, and installment changes.

Expenditure Control – Manage expenditures with full control over check runs and tracking of afterthefact payments that use manual check entries, credit cards, or cash for transactions.

Control Account Management – Manage your payables control accounts by reporting segments, such as cost center, division, department, program or fund, and display a breakdown by segment values of your central control payables account. Eliminate the need to manually reconcile reporting segments and get a true account of amounts owing by segment value.

Automatic Posting Automate posting for each vendor to designated General Ledger accounts for recurring transactions, or streamline distribution for vendors without specified purchase accounts.

Complete Payables Reporting – Create a comprehensive suite of payable reports that can be sorted by calendar or fiscal year with onscreen display and search, or combine with Microsoft® Business Solutions–Great Plains® applications such as Report Writer or Crystal Reports® for greater reporting flexibility.

Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job give us a call 16309615918 or 18665280577! [email protected]

About The Author

Vincent is a Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally

This article was posted on April 01

by Vincent Ong

A Quick and Simple Tip for Gaining Customers

A Quick and Simple Tip for Gaining Customers

by: V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.

In the course of my career, I’ve had to deal with a lot of vendors—software companies, sensor manufacturers, electronics distributors and more. Some of them have left lasting impressions on me, whereas others have been eminently forgettable. I’d like to talk about two of the more memorable vendors, and the simple technique that they used (perhaps unknowingly) which made them stand out in my memory.

As my byline shows, I have the letters ขPh.D.ข after my name; however, I seldom use that title, except in my various writings and official correspondence. For professional reasons, I do have these initials on my business cards and my email signature; however, I never expect people to call me ขDoctor,ข and if they do, I almost invariably insist that they call me by my first name instead. For most of my daily affairs, this title simply isn’t very important.

Most salespeople don’t mention this title either, which suits me just fine; after all, I’ve always been a fairly informal fellow. On two occasions though, a vendor actually took notice of my degree, and chose to address me using the ขDoctorข honorific. Even though I normally eschew that title, this was still a pleasant surprise. It was nice to see a prospective vendor take notice of such details, however unnecessary they may be.

Any good salesman knows that building rapport and making yourself pleasantly memorable are key elements in developing customer loyalty. This simple, trivial act made these particular salesmen stand out prominently in my memory, and in a pleasant way. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but I found that I almost wanted to send these people some of my business—perhaps because such deference is noticeably rare.

This simple tactic can be especially helpful when dealing with prospective customers of foreign descent. Remember that some cultures are more titleconscious than American society is. The failure to mention this title may prove offensive to some of these individuals—or at the very least, it may suggest a lack of attentiveness. Better to err on the side of caution, I would say.

This simple technique is exceedingly trivial to use, requiring no additional investment of time or effort. At the very least, it can be one way to make yourself stand out from the crowd of other vendors who are vying for someone’s attention. So why not try it? It costs nothing, it can’t possibly hurt, and it may just land you some new customers.

About The Author

V. Berba Velasco Jr. is a senior electrical and software engineer at Cellular Technology Ltd (http://www.immunospot.com, http://www.elispotanalyzers.de, http://www.elispot.cn) a biotechnology company with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.

This article was posted on November 04, 2004

by V. Berba Velasco Jr., Ph.D.

Negotiating Technology Contracts

Negotiating Technology Contracts

by: Andy Quick

Have you ever tried to negotiate a deal for software, computer equipment, or consulting services with a technology company? The task can be daunting. Unfortunately, the sales forces of most IT companies are armed to the hilt with techniques to get the best deal for them, and not necessarily the best deal for you. And even worse, most of us computer folk (like myself) have never been trained in the art of negotiation, so it can be difficult to spot a snake in the grass. Before you begin negotiating a technology deal, know what you’re getting in to.

Solicit, Don’t Be Solicited

I receive at least three calls each day from technology vendors interested in selling something: hardware equipment, software tools, consulting services, etc. Usually, these calls are กcoldก. My name somehow landed on a telemarketing list in the hands of some vendor who is calling me out of the clear blue sky hoping that what they sell somehow matches what I need. You can waste hours on the phone letting some nontechnical, scriptreading, telemarketer or sales representative chew your ear off about their latest and greatest gizmo. Very rarely do these types of calls ever translate into a real business opportunity.

The most popular cold call opening is กGood morning. This is Joe from the XYZ software company. We offer break through whatever solutions to help you reduce your total cost of ownership for whatever. Let me ask you, are your responsible for managing your companies whatever investment?ก I get so many of these calls that I can answer them in my sleep. Years ago, I used to engage in some level of discussion with these people and it always went nowhere. Unless you really think theyกve got something you might want to buy, cut them off immediately. And just like any telemarketer, they have a scripted response for anything. If you answer the above question with กNo. I am notก. The immediate response will be กCould you direct me to someone in the company that is responsible for whateverก. If you hand out a name and number, you’re just passing the buck to some other poor soul in your organization. My favorite response is กNo. We don’t respond to phone solicitations.ก Nine times out of ten, they will give up. Sometimes, the cold caller will make another run at it and restate their purpose or as they close the call, sneak in another sales pitch. กYes sir. I understand. We offer something really great for your company and would love to send you a free trial version at absolutely no cost. Its free to try.ก You could be tempted to say กFree? Tell me more.ก Again, this type of response will just open up the sales speech flood gates and you will be wasting your time trying to get a word in edgewise. Stick to your guns: กAs I said. We don’t respond to phone solicitations.ก is the proper response. If they make yet one more run at it, the final blow would be กNot sure if you’re deaf, but I said we don’t respond to phone solicitations. Tell me your name and transfer me to your supervisor.ก You will either hear apologies or a dial tone. Either way, youกve just gotten yourself off of a call list and will never be bothered again.

If you’re interested in buying something, you do the calling, not the other way around.

Put The Horse Before The Cart

Never begin looking for technology solutions without knowing what you’re looking for. Know the business problem you’re trying to solve. If you know you need a software package that automates statistical analysis, flush out a more detailed set of statistics requirements (types of model, sample sizes, etc.) before you begin to shop around. Usually, software products have bells and whistles that, although look cool, are not absolutely needed. Before you begin comparison shopping, define your basic technology and business requirements. Knowing what you really need will give you confidence and leverage in a negotiation.

Always Comparison Shop

No matter what, always evaluate multiple options. If you’re looking for software, don’t get excited and latch on to the first package that looks good. And certainly don’t give a sales rep. the impression that you’re overly interested in their solution. They will be less likely to move during a negotiation. The IT market is over abundant with hardware, software and services solutions. Probably, you will have many options to choose from. Be picky!

Create Your Game Plan

Before you begin negotiating a deal with any technology vendor, plan your negotiation carefully. I have included some general planning questions that you should answer in preparation for a negotiation. The questions I have listed below may not make sense for your negotiation, so feel free to modify them for the occasion. The point here is to prepare in advance. You don’t want to figure out the answers to these types of questions in the middle of a negotiation as it may give an inch to the sales person. I would even recommend writing the questions and answers on a sheet of paper for reference.

(Price) How much do you think you should pay for this software or service? What is the market rate or street price? What are you prepared to spend? What is the highest price you would be willing to pay?

(Features) What key features and capabilities are you looking for? Force rank the features. What does the prioritized list look like? Of the features you need, categorize them into two categories: กmust haveก and กnice to haveก.

(Service Levels) Do you expect some level of performance from the equipment, software, or service? Are there uptime requirements? Do you need 24×7 technical support? Do you expect the vendor to incur a penalty if they don’t perform up to your service levels?

(Trades) What is most important to you: price, features, or service level? Force rank these in order of importance. Would you be willing to trade items between categories? For example, would you be willing to give up a certain service level for a lower price?

(Suppliers) Which vendors offer something that you think could meet your needs? How long have these companies been in business? Are you doing business with them already? Do you have a good business relationship with them?

(Gravy) If you had your druthers, what extras would you like the vendor to throw in for free? Would you like training or extra manuals? Would you like special reporting?

You will probably have more questions in addition to the ones listed above. Take the time to write them down and create the answers. Once you have established your position, you will save a great deal of time evaluating your potential vendors and negotiations will be less painful.

Lead The Dance

When you are ready to face off with a vendor, do your best to drive the discussion. Get as much information about the vendor and their product and service before price enters into the discussion. Just like car buying, pick out your car (or choice of cars) before you negotiate a price. If you find that the discussion is prematurely heading toward pricing, bring the conversation back to understanding the product or service itself. If you’re not ready to talk price, say something like กRight now, I am just evaluating your product (or service). Unless I think thereกs a real opportunity, Iกm not prepared to negotiate price right now.ก

Pricing for hardware, software, and services follow very different models. Hardware prices are fairly standard unless the product is new. Usually, the markup on hardware is very small (115%). On the flip side, the markup for software is huge (100%+). Software is priced based on value, not the cost to the vendor so you can usually negotiate software prices down substantially. Services are usually based on labor rates and are marked up based on the demand for those skills (1550%).

When you are ready to discuss pricing, take the lead in the dance. Here are the steps to follow (in this order):

Make the vendor throw out the first offer. Never be the first one to suggest a price. Although rare, you could hear the question กhow much would you be willing to pay for our product?ก A good response would be กAs little as possible. Whatกs your offer?ก This response puts the ball firmly in the vendorกs court. Remember, if youกve done your planning, you really do have the answer to this question, but your job is get a price far below your maximum, so don’t tell the vendor up front!

Express concern. Never get excited about the first offer no matter what. If you’re considering other alternatives, you may be able to get a better price. My favorite tactic is to say nothing and simply make a nonverbal expression of concern. Usually, the vendor will come back with either กbut Iกm sure we could sharpen our pencilก, or กwe could probably come down lower if that price is too highก, or the ever popular กbut we’re willing to work with youก. You may also be prodded with กYou don’t seem to like that price. I seem to be out of the ball park. What price would you be comfortable with?ก Hereกs where the dance gets interesting.

Make the vendor throw out the second offer. This can be difficult, but by making the vendor throw out more prices, you are lowering the ceiling of the negotiation going forward. If, in step 2, the vendor says กwe could probably come down lower if that price is too high.ก, immediately respond with กHow much could you come down?ก or กIt seems you didn’t give me your best price to begin with. Whatกs your best price?ก. Latch on to what a vendor is saying and keep asking questions. Stay on this step as long as possible and try and keep the vendor to continue to provide better pricing.

Counter offer. Propose a different price than whatกs on the table. Be reasonable. If youกve done your homework and checked the going price for the product or service, you know what the range is. If you throw out a price that you know is ridiculous, it will look like you don’t know what you’re doing. However, if you counter with a price that demonstrates that youกve done your homework, the vendor will know you are serious. Justify for your counter offer. For example, you may want to reveal that youกve done some market analysis by saying กIกve researched the market a little and think my offer is more in line with market prices.ก Obviously, the vendor may disagree, but at least you’re backing up your counter price.

Trade. Unless you can land on a price outright, there will likely be gives and takes on both sides. Go back to your to plan and begin proposing trades. Always make trades that bring you little to no value but may be perceived as valuable by the vendor. This can be very difficult, but can pay huge dividends. Here is a perfect example. Letกs say you want a service contract to outsource your help desk (technical support phone service). Letกs say you really want the help desk to answer your calls within 1 minute (youกve already figured out this requirement in your plan) but the vendorกs first offer is to answer your calls within 30 seconds. Letกs also assume that price is more important to you than having your calls answered 30 seconds faster (remember the vendor doesn’t know this). And letกs say the offer on the table is $5 per call. A great trade proposal would be กYour price is too high for me. I can recognize that you need enough people to answer those calls within 30 seconds and that has value. I would be willing to sacrifice an extra 30 seconds on each call if you could bring your price down.ก If the vendor responds with a counteroffer, circle back to steps 4 and 5. Try and keep the counter offer / trade cycle going as long as possible.

Nibble. Just as you and the vendor are about to agree to terms and everyone starts smiling and shaking hands, start asking for the gravy. Letกs say youกve just negotiated a software deal and you would really like some training. Just when you think the vendor believes the negotiation is at its very end, you could say กI am really glad we could work this out. Iกm looking forward to using your software. One more thing would you mind spending a couple days showing me how to use your product. A little training could be useful. Is that ok with you?ก You run the risk of opening up the negotiation, but you stand a better chance of getting a few extras free of charge.

Walk The Talk. If youกve set your maximum price and you can’t seem to negotiate what you want even with trades, walk away. Be firm and truly be prepared to walk away. Be blunt. กIt seems we’re not getting anywhere. I think Iกll take my business elsewhere. Thanks for your time.ก Shutting the discussion down can sometimes break the log jam. If a vendor really thinks they’re going to loose the business, they may suddenly move.

Patience is a Virtue. Negotiations take time. Before you begin, know what your timeframe to make a decision is. Never act hurried or anxious. Come across to the vendor as relaxed and confident (but not cocky). The message you want to send to the vendor is กIกve got all the time in the world.ก

Never Lie. Although this happens in many negotiations, telling lies will hurt your reputation and could poison vendor relationships. I am not a proponent of outright fibbing. Be honest but don’t give away your hand.

Follow these steps, and you will strike better deals and build confidence in your ability to negotiate. What I have left out in the steps above are standard questions that vendors love to ask. Let me leave you with these questions, their underlying motive, and what you should say. The trick is to always put the ball back in the vendorกs court to better your position:

Question: กWhatกs your budget for this project?ก

Motive: Setting the price floor

Answer: ‘thatกs confidential. Why do you need to know that?ก

Question: กWhatกs most important to you? Price or service levels?ก

Motive : Prioritizing your trades

Answer : ‘they’re both important to me. Iกm looking for the best packageก

Question: กHow soon do you need to make a decision?ก

Motive: Setting the timeframe

Answer : กI will make a decision when I can get the overall best dealก

Question: กCan you make decision quickly. Iกve got to make my sales quota and our quarter is ending soon. I can’t guarantee I give you the same discountก

Motive : Apply pressure

Answer : กIกm not going to rush my decision because of your companyกs business calendar. We may need to rethink things…ก

There are others, but always maintain your control, patience and poise and always take the lead in the negotiating dance!

About The Author

Andy Quick is cofounder of Findmyhosting.com (http://www.findmyhosting.com), a free web hosting directory offering businesses and consumers a hassle free way to find the right hosting plan for their needs. Feel free to contact Andy at [email protected] in case you have any questions or comments regarding this article.

This article was posted on May 9, 2002

by Andy Quick

Best Practices in Offshore Software Development

Best Practices in Offshore Software Development

by: John Parker

A Software Model that emphasizes on global delivery of quality software build by talented pool of professionals at an economical cost from a development center that is located in a foreign land is Offshore Software Development.

The burgeoning competition to be branded as the Quality Offshore Software Development Company has signaled the requirement to implement the best of the resources and innovative strategies. After a jerk of the startup phase, HyTech Professionals has implemented the approach that encompasses the minutest details, which had been or may have been easily overlooked by the nascent businesses to win the client interest. Clearly, the enticing feature of Outsourcing is cost savings without compromising on quality. To achieve this objective, the initiative should begin with the Best possible approach by the offshore client and the Software vendor.

Huge cost savings, time optimization and talented technocrats in a minimal risk environment are often accompanied by some challenges such as communication gaps, decreased visibility to project status, unexpected spikes in budget allocation and cultural hindrances.

The opening channel to venture in Software Offshore Development is the Smooth flow of communication between the offshore client and the vendor. A constructive dialogue between the two sides is not limited to verbal communication, but is aggressively pursued in writing, meetings and conferences.

Seamless communication can be reinforced by working on a global clock, which is accomplished by implementing workschedules with a time overlap between the software offshore client and the vendor. Though, it may be expected that the offshore vendor works in accordance with the client suitability. Local presence of the offshore vendor can be of an added privilege to the client, as it guarantees direct and constant interfacing. The flexibility and ease to approach the offshore vendor strengthens the client confidence.

Another factor that should be taken care of is the Budget forecast for the project. The Technical and Business Analysts should take into consideration the following:

The vendor Rates: what is more suitable to the project requirement. Should the accepted rates be ขPer Projectข, ขper Hourข, ขper Monthข etc?

The Risks involved in accomplishing the task

Is the quality being compromised for an attractive price?

See through any hidden costs. For example: Change or modification in the Client specification, Redoing of any deliverable.

The Offshore Vendor Resource matrix that cover the attributes required by the Client

Once the offshore client is confident that the terms of engagement are clear, both the Teams coordinate the efforts and work on the project. The Engagement Model may be transparent to win the client interest and hence the one that adds value to the relationship.

To foster the nascent relation between the offshore client and the software vendor, it is imperative that the offshore vendor architects the design such that which ensures an uninterrupted workflow. Implementing a development environment that is a replication of the offshore client environment serves as a conduit to smooth accomplishment of tasks.

Apart from setting up an extension of the Client backdrop, the teams engaged from either side should delegate their tasks through a single point of contact to eliminate any ambiguities that could arise due to multiple interfacing channels. All the tasks relayed between the Offshore and the Domestic teams should be anchored on close communication and active follow up.

How much ever one decides to implement an errorfree design, some issues or unpredictable lags can reap up and slow down the workprocess. Such issues if handled with a mutual consensus and cooperation from both the parties can ramp up the process to successfully achieve the target.

In conclusion, a summary of the steps for the best practice in Offshore Software Development are:

Implement a Transparent Model that is customercentric

Conduct a proper survey to shortlist the best suitable vendor for the project

Finalize the contract that explicitly defines the Financial terms and states Service Level Agreement

Fragment the Software Lifecycle in phases from Inception to Delivery

Develop and deploy the accomplished tasks in a close collaboration with the Offshore Client.

Source: http://www.hytechpro.com/best_practices_in_offshore_software_development.html

About The Author

John Parker

This article is powered by A1 Technology, an offshore outsourcing company

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 26

by John Parker

Ten Tips for Affiliate Marketers Using Google AdWo

Ten Tips for Affiliate Marketers Using Google AdWords

by: Patrick Carlow

One of the hottest ways to sell affiliate products is using Google AdWords. Follow these tips and strategies to maximize your earning potential.

1. Seek out affiliate products that generate fifteen dollars or more in commission. Anything in the twentydollar range works well. Paying for clicks can add up quickly and when you do make a sell, it should be profitable.

2. The vendor must present a high quality website with firstrate graphics. If the site appears to be unprofessional, any potential buyer will loose confidence and leave before the sell is made.

3. Make it a requirement that the vendor website only displays one product or service on the referral page. Nothing kills a sell faster than having to many sells messages.

4. The vendor needs to include outstanding sales copy. Itกs easy to realize the importance of this principle; words are what turn shoppers into buyers on the Internet.

5. When evaluating a potential affiliate program ask yourself if this product or service is something you would feel comfortable buying. Put yourself in the place of the buyer. If you wouldn’t buy it, why would they?

6. Itกs preferable if the vendor site does not obviously advertise for the recruitment of more affiliates. An affiliate link is fine as long as it is low key.

7. The best affiliate programs will attempt to secure the email address of your referrals. Some prospects need to see a sales message at least seven times before they will buy. Make sure you still get credit for sales made during the follow up.

8. The vendor should provide testimonials. Testimonials create confidence and trust leading your prospects to make a purchase.

9. You will recognize a profitable affiliate program because at least one in fifty clicks creates a sell. Constantly monitor your expense versus profit for each set of keywords.

10. Track your keywords and delete any that do not get clicked on after two hundred impressions. The higher your click through rate, the higher position you receive in relation to your competitors.

About The Author

Patrick Carlow

Most Relevant Links Directory Reciprocal Link Exchange

http://www.mostrelevantlinks.com/

Free Internet marketing resources, traffic generators and reciprocal link exchange directory.

Permission is given for this article to be reprinted by anyone as long as the entire text up to and including the author information, the link and this statement are kept intact in its entirety.

This article was posted on April 26, 2004

by Patrick Carlow

Clickbank Vendors: Two Simple Ways You Can Help Af

Clickbank Vendors: Two Simple Ways You Can Help Affiliates Protect Their Sales.

by: John Hocking

1) How To Remove Your Affiliates Clickbank Id From The URL.
As a merchant, you can hide the clickbank affiliate id for your affiliates by creating a redirect page and pointing your default hoplink to the redirect.
When some uses your hoplink http://hop.clickbank.net/?affid/yourid, the cookie will be set and they will land on your redirect page.
The redirect will send them to your domain without adding the ?hop= information. The cookie is already set and does not need to be shown.
This will help protect your affiliates commission and give your site a more professional appearance.
In the code examples below, you will need to replace [ and ] with less then and greater then symbols.
Create a file called hoplink.php
Add the following code

[?php
header(กLocation: http://www.yourdomain.comก);
exit;
?]

Upload hoplink.php to the root of your domain.
Login into your clickbank account.
Click to view or modify your account settings.
Click to modify your account.
Under Business Info, change the url of your website to be http://www.yourdomain.com/hoplink.php
Click on save changes.
Now when a visitor clicks on a hoplink, it appears that they came directly to your site and the affiliateกs id is no longer exposed. For this technique to be completely effective, the affiliate needs to cloak the hoplink as well.
2) How to Cloak Your Clickbank Vendor Id Using PHP
Most clickbank affiliate theft is caused by the fact that is easy to rebuild a hoplink and get credit for your own purchase. All you really need to know is the vendor id.
All you have to do is look at the source code of a typical sales link and you will see the vendor id.
For example: http://www.clickbank.net/sell.cgi?YourVendorId/1/Product_Description
To rebuild the hoplink you simply use http://hop.clickbank.net/?AffiliatesId/YourVendorId
Now when you click on the hoplink and the original affiliate has lost a sale.
As you can see, without knowing the vendor id, you can not successfully rebuild the hoplink and the affiliates sale would be protected.
Below is an example of how to do this in PHP.
You will need to replace [ and ] with less then and greater then symbols.
Create a file called order.php
Add the following code

[?php
header(กLocation: http://www.clickbank.net/sell.cgi?YourVendorId/1/Product_Descriptionก);
exit;
?]

Just replace YourVendorID with your Clickbank ID
Replace 1 with your product number
Replace Product_Description with your Product Description
Upload order.php into the same folder as your sales page.
Now link to order.php instead of using the raw order link and your Vendor ID is never exposed
This will make it very hard for affiliates to rob other affiliates of their commissions.
I encourage you to make these simple changes to protect the commissions of your affiliates.
Copyright 2004 John Hocking

About The Author

John Hocking is the creator of http://www.guidetoebookmarketing.com, a resource site on creating and marketing ebooks. You will find hundreds of resources, articles and ebook reviews. Learn how to create viral ebooks at http://www.viralebook.com

This article was posted on May 14, 2004

by John Hocking

You Too Can Have an Amazing Website

You Too Can Have an Amazing Website

by: Cal Hyslop

It is a wellknown fact that a successful business depends greatly on how it is marketed. With an ever increasing dependence on the web, the use of a professional website is not only a necessity, but a priority. Although it is a common thought that only large businesses can have topnotch websites, with the tools available today what seemed impractical can now be a reality. Best of all, designing an extraordinary website can be done without hiring expensive web developers to create your site from scratch. Usually the first comment I get from my customers is, ขI have the idea, but not the tools.ข In this article, I will recommend which tools are the most helpful and where to find these tools so that you too can have an amazing website.

So you say, ขI have the idea, but not the tools. What are these tools and where do I get them?ข Let me answer that question with a question. Have you ever heard of web site templates? If not, they’re your answer to a professional website at a very reasonable price, usually around $60 to $70. A website template is a readymade website design created for you to use as the foundation for quick and highquality web development. There are thousands of templates available online so you are virtually guaranteed to find something that suits your design and format needs. It can be as easy as simply adding your text to the template or rearranging photos along with your text to produce the outcome you have been searching for.

Finding web site templates is easy, but be aware of the differences in template providers you will come across. Performing a Google or Yahoo search with the phrase ขweb site templatesข will yield several vendor choices and not all of them offer the quality you demand. They all promise the best templates around, but that is obviously not the case. So, how do you find the right template vendor? First, visit some of the sites you come across and examine their templates. You will know you are on the right track if you answer ขYesข to the question, ขAm I impressed with these templates?ข Always trust your taste.

Next, explore how many templates the vendor offers and how often their database is updated. As a rule of thumb, the more they have the better they are. This helps assure you that your choice will be more unique than otherwise. If you choose a template from a vendor who only offers a few select quality templates then the chances are that a great deal of other customers have chosen that same template. You certainly don’t want a website that is practically identical to dozens of others online. You will also want a vendor who updates their site on a regular basis. Weekly updates are good, but daily updates are even better. This guarantees that they will have fresh templates on a regular basis for you to choose from.

Finally, you want to make sure that your template is editable. This means that your template will come with the appropriate files (PSD, HTML, SWF, and FLA) that will allow you to make the necessary changes to your template. Ask you vendor before making your selection. Most templates come with these files, but it is better to be safe than sorry. You should be able to download your selection immediately or your vendor will provide a link to do so.

Great! Now you have a really impressive template and can’t wait to make the changes that will get you a completed website that blows away your competition. Well, you’re halfway there. You have one more important choice to make. Who will do the editing? You will either have someone internally run with the project or you can hire someone and outsource the job. If you decide to handle things internally make sure you have the necessary software to edit your files and someone who is somewhat familiar with how to do the editing. This is what your template vendor probably didn’t tell you. Certainly it isn’t as easy as purchasing a template and plugging in text. If it were then there wouldn’t be a market for web design and development companies. If you’re confident about handling it yourself then great, but be careful. You might find yourself investing a lot of time and money trying to get your desired results.

Your alternate choice, hiring a development firm, will almost certainly get your site looking and functioning the way you want it, but for a fee, of course. It is easy to find a development firm to handle your needs and you can find several online. Simply search with the keyphrase ขweb site designข. Call or email a few of them explaining your situation and needs and ask for a quote to perform the editing for you. Depending on the amount of editing you will require you should receive price quotes in the $500 $1500 range. This is a very reasonable price to pay for a professional website. Most likely, you will be glad you did.

About The Author

Cal Hyslop

I have a background in business and technology with a Masters in Business Administration and am an owner of a website design firm located in Houston, Texas. The mission of my company, WebChrysalis, is to help individuals and businesses look like a million dollars online through the use of web templates and expert design.

webchrysalis.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 20

by Cal Hyslop

High Quality Website at Low Cost

High Quality Website at Low Cost

by: James Berg

Although designing a great web site is an important part of developing a successful online business, it is often becomes a problem for newcomers to the internet business.
The vulgar problem is the lack of money. It usually costs from $500 up to $3000 or even more to develop a professional perfect looking website; but what to do if you don’t have such a lamp of money?
Of course you can make the site by yourself luckily there’re lot’s of tutorials and other related stuff that can be easily found on the web and sometimes is of great use.
Just one snag… Do you really think that it’s so easy to create a professionally looking website? Do you really think all these professionals at web design companies get their money just for nothing?
Just imagine that a few days after you will find yourself staring at the monitor with your fingers shaking over the keyboard but with no result on the monitor or with a really poor result. Do you like such a perspective? Is it an effective way to get a nice website?
STOP! Don’t panic! There’s a solution! You shouldn’t torture yourself anymore trying to get something on your monitor which exists only in your imagination and you don’t need to pay enormous sum to some guys who call themselves developers for doing something which bears a strong resemblance with design, programming and alchemy especially alchemy…
WEBSITE TEMPLATES! Have you heard about them?
If no – these tips are right for you. Be patient enough to reach the end of the article and you’ll find out what it is, how it works, looks like and how to choose the right one to get an impressive, professionally designed website which will suite your needs completely at a very LOW COST.
What it’s all about? (What is a Website Template?)
Website template is a readymade web design created for you to use as a basis for fast and highquality web development. With no more then just adding your text to the web template and you will have a functional and individual website ready for upload!
Where do I get one?
The place is the same just type in Google ขwebsite templatesข as keyword and spend some time looking through the results.
I guess you will be rather confused with search results. Really there’re lots of companies which offer you templates and of course promise that their templates are the best.
So the next step on your way to your website is choosing the right vendor. How to choose the right one?
There’re some simple recommendations that will help you to get the right template.
Quality
Examine the templates offered. Do they remind you some drawings of yourself when you just started master graphical option in MS Word? If yes try some other guys.
Trust your taste. Do you like the templates? Are you impressed? Then you’re at the right place.
Tip: Remember the first impression usually is the right one!
Price
Usually the price for a highquality website template starts at about $20 and goes up to $6070. Do not pay more! The price I’m telling you is real! But do not hurry to buy a template for just $5; remember that it’s your online office! That is the place which your visitors will come to. Make them come back! Impress them in order to make them your regular visitors/customers.
Tip: Do not save on your online office but do not pay more!
Product Database
Explore how many products the Company offers & how often the product database is updated. The more they have the better they are! Why? If they have a database which includes several thousands of products that mean that chances that your visitors will come to some other site which was built on the same template as yours are extremely low. If they update their database regularly at least weekly (but preferably – daily) that is the best evidence that they are reliable as they succeed to work with the great number of designers.
Tip: good vendors usually offer not only Website Templates but other related products such as Flash Templates, Flash Intros, Logo Templates, and Corporate Identities etc.
Membership vs. PayperDownload Basis
There’re companies which offer a bulk of 3000 templates or even more for just $25 and there’re other companies where you can buy a single template for $25. Confused again? Not sure what to choose? Calm down and think it over.
The company which offers a bulk of 3000 templates for low membership fee probably has about 10 templates of high quality which were downloaded by thousands of members. Do you want your site to be very much alike to thousands of other sites? Well? The choice is obvious, isn’t it?
Tip: Pay per download is the guarantee of quality.
Support
Check their support . The email support is not satisfactory any more! A reliable vendor will provide you with 24/7 support with ticket system, online chat and direct phone number so you get the needed help immediately.
Tip: Call them, chat with them before buying.
What Goes With the Template?
After you’ve made your purchase you can download the template directly from the site or you are sent an email with the link. When buying a template make sure that you’ve got PSD and HTML files plus SWF and FLA if you’ve purchased a template with flash. If there’re no such files you won’t be able to edit the template.
Besides, good vendor will provide you with lots of other bonuses like free hosting for a month or substantial discounts for related products of their partners.
Tip: Make sure that you’ve got PSD & HTML files plus SWF & FLA if you’ve purchased a Flash template.
Customizing the Template
The template it’s not a website of course but you can easily edit it in order to get your site. You can make the changes to HTML, Photoshop or Flash files fill it with your content and that’s it!
If you lack time or necessary skills for customizing the template you can go to the customization department of the vendor or to its partner who will do such a job for you. Such services usually cost much cheaper then to develop a totally new website.
That’s all you got your site!
Hope that these tips will help you to start your online business. And you won’t feel panic trying to master some Graphical Software or to find some guys who will develop you site for the money you plan to spend not they.

About The Author

James Berg (www.TemplateMonster.com)
Template Monster is the largest in the world website templates and flash templates producer and vendor that offers more than 5,000+ professional templates.
Copyright © TemplateMonster.com, 2004. All rights reserved
This article may be reprinted or published without the authors consent as long as the ขAboutข and ขweb linksข are kept intact.

This article was posted on June 11, 2004

by James Berg

Role of EffectiveCommunication in Offshore Engage

Role of EffectiveCommunication in Offshore Engagement

by: John Parker

Proliferation of Virtual world has minimized the gap among businesses in the Global village. But, the appealing factor of virtual development that is implemented in Offshore Model of ขHigh quality, low cost endeavorข is often wrapped up with the complexity of being able to understand the other side. A weak Communication between the Offshore Client and the Vendor can lead to problems such as

Productivity Loss

Mismatch of deliverables and expectations

Loss of valuable time

Redundancy of tasks

There is more to communication than merely conveying the content. Besides the semantics, which is the key to being at the same wavelength, Attitude and Diction with which the information is shared are equally important. Software development outsourcing is the main field which mainly depends on the communication. Apart from the problems that arise from differences in culture, language and time zone, the communication could be fudged if there are multiple people communicating from the offshore vendor side to the client. Such ambiguities can be alleviated by implementing appropriate Strategies for communication, as mentioned below:

A. Using Communication Tools:

Email

Instant Messenger

Phone calls

VOIP

Extranets

Web Meetings

Virtual Office Cabinets

Ticket Management System

Customized communication applications

B. Guidelines, Practices and Discipline

The two shores should communicate by following certain guidelines and practices

Design the Discussion Document that takes into account the perspective from the both the offshore client and the vendor. The Document should outline the following:

Tasks

Roles assigned for the tasks

Mode of communication between the client and the vendor

Mode of intracommunication between the Software Teams and the Business Teams

How to tackle or mitigate any unexpected Issues or Risks

Status Reports [Daily, Weekly]

To avoid any communication gap, the correspondence should take place with discipline according to the defined schedule.

Risk of information loss is eliminated if both the client and the offshore vendor delegate their tasks through the Project Managers from either side, which enables smooth information relay among the client and the vendor employees.

C. Techniques

Clarity of goals before any meeting or phone conversation

Concise tothepoint discussion

Documents with bullets and points

Send summary of discussion

Though EBusiness communication tools such as email, teleconferencing, fax, chat, video–conferencing all serve as a conduit to effective and efficient means of information transfer, their usage can be more productive if used with a planned approach. An effective communication does not end with a healthy initiation, but is sustained keeping the momentum by maintaining agile response loop. Hence, a proactive approach from both the client and the Offshore Vendor is mandatory to further the business goals.

Source: http://www.hytechpro.com/role_of_effective_communicatins_in_offshore_engagement.html

About The Author

John Parker

This article is powered by A1 Technology, an offshore outsourcing company.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 25

by John Parker

Can Walmart Make You Rich?

Can Walmart Make You Rich?

by: Cindy Jones

Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought… I need to get my products on those shelves. Did you spot the perfect place for your new product and think, Bingo, thatกs where my product will go. I think Iกll give them a call.

The truth is, Walmart receives hundreds of calls each day, asking the same question, กHow do I become a vendor?ก For many people getting your products on the shelves of Walmart is the pot at the end of the rainbow. Thoughts of millions of dollars race through their heads. For some, Walmart is the pot of gold they searched for. For others it will be another day in bankruptcy court.

The road to the corporate Walmart headquarters can be a long one, it can also be the best road ever traveled. Before even approaching such a large retailer, you must do your homework. The first step to being a Walmart vendor is to go online at www.walmartstores.com and submit detailed financial info about your company. You can also call corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas at (501) 2734000. Operators will refer you to the appropriate department for the information you need. You also must be listed with and order and pay for two Dun & Bradstreet reports. Walmart wants to know you can handle your biz. In addition to following these steps, you must apply for Universal Product Code (UPC), meet applicable liability and workers compensation insurance requirements, pass quality assurance testing, and meet Labeling and Packaging requirements. If you survive this round, you might just find yourself in the big ole parking lot filled with rental cars from fellow vendors… your competition. Don’t worry, there will be many scared faces to match yours.

Before you submit that questionaire remember you usually have ONE chance to sell those buyers. The buyers at Walmart have become even more demanding. In fact, these days, vendors have to prove they have what it takes to handle Walmart size returns long before negotiations begin. You can’t even get past the front door without showing proof that you have adequate financing.

Step two for potential vendors is to go to a Walmart Super Center and figure out where your product should be placed. If you find a spot you think should overtake then you best be ready to say, กWhy your product is better and can be sold cheaper.ก Get to know your competitors and who they are.

One of best kept secrets to Walmart is their LOCAL VENDOR PROGRAM. This program is one of the easiest ways to become a vendor. Your products usually need to be unique and have a local reference in some way. This program is the best way for small local business to set up shop with Walmart which allows smaller orders to be distributed in your local area. Starting at a slow pace can let you get a feel of how Walmart operates. What I did was call my local Walmart store and ask to speak with the general manager. We then set up a time for him to look over my product. After this meeting he gave me a local vendor application. I filled out the application and brought it back to him to send in with his referral. Store managers have the power to refer any new product they think would be good for their store. This usually pushes things along along easier and faster than going to headquarters.

Cindy Jones (C) 2005

About The Author

Walmart information contributed by Cindy Jones at http://www.howtosellyourproducttowalmart.com.

This article was posted on March 29

by Cindy Jones