Customer Service Comes First!

Customers always appreciate businesses that go out of their way to make their customers feel special. If possible send them a card on their birthday or anniversary. Or send them a holiday card along with a special discount or sample. Customers love freebies and chances are they will leave your customers wanting more of your wonderful products. An added bonus to keeping in touch with your customers is that it keeps your business fresh in their minds. Taking extra steps in customer service will make your customer feel special.

If you deal with customers face to face always remember to dress professionally, greet them with a firm hand shake and most importantly SMILE! There is nothing more comforting than a warm friendly smile. When speaking with customers on the telephone make sure you are using a friendly, pleasant tone in your voice. Even if your only communication is through emails you can still come across as being friendly by the choice of words that you use such as a kind greeting or wishing them a wonderful day.

Always be easily accessible to your customers. There is nothing more frustrating than having a problem with an order only to reach a voicemail or receive an auto responder instead of an actual email from you. Make sure your customers can reach you right away should they need to contact you. Make it a habit to check and reply to your emails several times a day. And if you must use voicemail for your telephone be sure to check messages regularly and return phone calls promptly. Its also a good idea to post your contact information where your customers can easily find it. Knowing that you are easy to reach and when they should expect a reply is always comforting to customers.

In this day and age, where everything is automated, and you cannot speak to an actual customer service person on the phone unless you endure half an hour of easy listening tunes and a never ending series of press this and press that recordings, its a welcome relief for customers when they come across a business that puts customer service as their number one priority. When you go above and beyond to treat your customers the way they would like to be treated you will be rewarded with a very satisfied customer for life.

Career Objective Examples For Resumes How To Instantly Grab Any Employers Attention

When writing your resume, one of the first things you have to consider is your career objective. Ive been there before and I know how challenging it can be to come up with something note-worthy. In this case, it doesnt hurt to look for outstanding career objective examples for resumes you can base on.

You might wonder why your resume needs to have an attractive career objective. How does a sentence or two affect the long list of achievements in your resume?

Well, for starters, the career objective is usually the first line your potential employers will see once they scan your resume. From that one line, they would most likely recognize which candidates have creativity and spunk; and which candidates are simply just like the rest.

Unless you want your resume to be stuck with the rest of the commoners stash, youd better take these career objective examples for resumes a little more seriously.

Example # 1: To use my graphic design skills in creating attention-grabbing graphics that sell.

Most career objective examples for resumes start out with to rather than I. In a way, this makes your career objective less about yourself, and more about the job and company youre applying for.

Remember, your potential employer is always asking Whats in it for me? So you better come up with benefits that speak directly to their mind and emotion.

If youre a fresh graduate, using to to begin your sentence is a safe choice.

Example # 2: Feature editor offering four years of experience in magazine story line-ups and special reports.

This second career objective example is mostly used by those have been there and done that. They now have the experience and the gall to state their position and what they specialize in.

If youre a reputable person or authority while attending college, and would like to use this particular objective form, you need only to replace Feature editor with something like Former Writers Club President or Cum Laude Graduate. Then show them how they could benefit from your academic know-how and experience.

Example # 3: Seeking an entry-level position in pharmaceutical management to utilize my communication skills and Degree in Pharmacy.

This last example shows how important it is to be specific about what you want and what you can offer.

However, you cant be overly specific, for it might only give your potential employers the impression that your skills are limited to a particular set or limited to operating specific programs only.

Knowing which of the various career objective examples for resumes to base your own ideas on, helps you stand out from the rest of the applicants. It gives others the impression that you know exactly what job you want and how your skills come into the picture.

Silk Business Cards And The Material They Use

Silk Business Cards are normally coated using silk material. If you need these type of card coated with silk, they could cost much higher but the material used to coat them is just thin plastic film. This material is usually brushed so that it may create that smooth and luxurious feel and look. When the material is laminated its made in such a way that the thin film is completely bonded to that card stock such that the final product is usually water proof and also tears proof. Silk lamination as well comes with several other advantages; these may include some advantages like:

One of the most advantages is durability, and this makes your business cards very durable and last for a much longer time as compared to other type of business cards. The durability coating also gives them that expensive finish. Most of the silk laminated business cards also had a good thickness of 16pt and is usually printed full color using quality inks. The entire process of doing the cards usually encases the cards giving them that expensive look. The cards also make a very popular base and this is by adding other premium types of business cards features.

How to print any of your business brochures

Printing Brochures is not far much from printing business cards. This is because; most of the information which is put on business cards is the same which is put on a brochure. The only thing which should change is design and this is because brochures do not contain some little e information contained on business cards. There are many advantages which come with printing of brochures and this is because they can be a very reliable promotional item to your business. The many advantages with brochures usually include:

The layout option; the layout option in a brochure is usually up to you to decide. This is where you can choose from the many options available and make sure the one you choose is for the advantage of your company.

The folding options: The folding option for any brochure you have to depend most on the interest of your company. There are popular folding options like double fold, single sheet which do allow you to include four panels and display your information clearly on both sides.

For any brochure printing they do enjoy the advantage of bulk printing also, and this means that if you print more brochures, the; less they will cost you.

They do promote your message also even when you are not there. This is because they have all the information concerning your business and thus they promote any all over the world where they are used. Low cost type of brochures also will ensure that they continue even to prosper in rational times. This is because buying advertising space is comparatively very expensive and does not always offer returns. So if you are doing any brochure for your business, make sure that they are done in the right way.

Benefits of using property management companies

Investment on real estate may be extremely stressful but at the same time it is a great way to hike the wealth through capital appreciation. A landlord has to consider a lot of things while buying or renting his residential properties besides the benefits and risks of renting out the residential real estates. Therefore taking the help of property management companies can cut down the pain and hurdles in the process of property management.

With the help of property management companies, the landlords can save a lot of time in the evaluation of the property reviews. The task handled by the property management companies includes the background check of the tenants, rent collection and maintenance of the property. Getting deeper into their task they deal with the property inspection, take care of the buildings and the grounds, screen the tenants, collect the rent on time and are always available at the time of emergency. For this their charges vary as per the companys reputation and responsibilities handled.

The property management reviews are highly helpful especially to those landlords who stay a long distance away from their property. The money spent on these companies by the landlords is well worth the cost of the maintenance of their property. To get a good manager for the property management it is wise to go through the online list of the residential property managers, reading the reviews and then taking a decision about a particular property management company that would suitably increase the capital appreciates of the property.

Most of the Denver property management companies specialize in single family homes, small rental properties and home owners association. Their mission is to increase the quality and effectiveness of managing different types of rental properties. They have in-depth understanding in property management and use the cutting edge technology to make the system easier for them.

The Dallas property management makes every effort to save the time, energy and money of their clients. They manage the property of their client as if their own. They have proved themselves as good in the property management reviews of both the first time landlord and of the seasonal real estate investors. Their focus has been mainly towards enhancing the lives of the people they serve.

The Los Angeles property management companies efficiently work for their clients to achieve the above market rents. Their primary concern being the success of the company, they employ innovative techniques to reach the highest occupancy and get good property management ratings for themselves. Their successful track record indicates their honesty, integrity and professionalism.

With rapidly increasing prices, high demands and no risk to the property while taking the help of property management companies, there is definitely no reason for the client to resist the cooperation of the property management company. They strive for excellence in the property management ratings. Providing personalized and professional service, the property management companies are trying to give a full-service community management at present.

Knowledge Management Strategy Beyond Change Management

Knowledge Management (KM) is a relatively young concept, having been introduced less than 30 years ago. For many business management practitioners, KM is evolving into a proven strategy for their organizational success. But there are still many leaders out there that are struggling to understand the power of KM.

In order to clarify this ongoing struggle, it’s important to define what KM means in today’s business setting. An extremely important question is: What is Knowledge Management and how can it help my organization?

There are many definitions for knowledge management, including Wikipedia’s that states KM comprises of a range of practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. I’m partial to a definition I found in a thesis paper written by Dr. Michael Kull that simply defines KM as a business model for which companies can move from an industrial age of running a business into the information age. I don’t know which one of Dr Kull’s interviewees stated this definition, but for me, it sums up my feelings on how KM is changing the way businesses ought to be run today and into the future.

KM is a relatively new model and has only been around since the mid 1980s. There have been may pioneers who have written and spoken about KM, and Peter Drucker,a business management expert and author, has been on of the most influential and prolific thinkers about the KM movement.

The pioneers describe KM as having three phases from its inception. The approximate phase dates reflect the first phase occurring from 1985 to 1994. This phase was centered on collaboration and information sharing. The second phase, from 1994 to 2002, centered on information management and software advancements. The third phase, from 2002 to the present, centers knowledge innovation and the management of intellectual capital and intellectual assets as the primary business strategy.

Phase three will continue to impact how leaders conduct business processes such as customer management, marketing management, information management and performance management. For example, with the advancement of Web 2.0 technologies, workers are able to communicate and share in multiple formats like the popular social media sites or in company blogs, wikis or private web portals known as intranets.

The KM movement is shifting from the old school process of team meetings and water cooler discussions to the online world of instant messaging, emails, twitter (a micro blogging platform), Facebook and online virtual meetings. It is a larger model than just implementing change management initiatives seen during the total quality movement and six sigma days.

As workers and business processes continue to evolve with these technology enablers,leaders are being challenged to re-tool how they lead knowledge workers. The old management process of building organization charts in a hierarchy fashion is being enveloped by empowered workers who don’t want to be controlled, but rather allowed to be innovative and creative to build customer value. The 20th century business leadership curriculum is in conflict with how 21st century workers expect to be lead. KM is at the heart of this leadership evolution being witnessed today. KM as a management strategy is definitely gaining traction and is here to stay.

Innovation in Business -Change as The Game Changes

In
today’s times with new ways of working, better manufacturing processes
etc. coming up , the need for business innovation has risen greatly,
with the world becoming a unified marketplace and globalisation,
liberalisation etc. making trade and commerce and basically any and
every kind of exchange of information raw materials, data etc. very
easy, it has become very important for an organisation to keep
reinventing and changing itself to help tackle the increase in
competition. Also, it becomes very important that companies keep trying
to find out better and more advanced ways to cut down costs, get better
profits and at the same time help in deliver better and better value to
the customer.

Business
innovation now a days doesn’t only mean making the product development
better but it also means that the companies should keep in mind in
inventing themselves in ways so that the internal and external customers
goodwill towards the company increases.

Kinds of innovation that a company can make

Basically there are two kinds of levels where the company can make innovations:

� For the internal customer: This includes bringing in more advanced
technology, making the work processes, the way of working for the
company, making innovations in the company which help increase the
internal customer loyalty as well as his interest to work.

� For
the External customer: this includes making better and technologically
advanced products, increasing safety standards for the various products
better, giving the external customer more value for money.

A
company can try and achieve the type of innovation required to beat
competition by using the ‘Innovation Life Cycle’ effectively. This is
basically a step by step way of innovating in your business, it
includes:


The first step is where the overall innovation idea is formulated,
thought about in its infant form, in this various basic pros and cons of
the innovation are thought about and then any irregularities are
smoothed out.

� The second step is where the overall advanced
concept is developed, in this the idea is usually tested out or
simulated against real time market conditions and then the final
blueprint of how the idea looks, where should it be implemented etc. is
made.

� The third step simply is checking out the idea against
real market conditions (with the help of test runs), it helps know how
the concept fares against changes in the business environment and helps
understand the market better also.
� Business innovation strategy plans are then prepared out and then the final commercialization is done.


It becomes very important that the company keep following up closely
with the plan, in fact innovation consulting says that it is only
through constantly performing these kind of control measures that an
organisation can remove out any chinks or flaws in their plans.

Online Investment – Timing Is Everything

They say that ‘timing is everything’ and it’s never more than true when looking committing to an online investment. For the comedian, actor, athlete and politician timing is a key skill in success. Being in the right place at the right time is part of the skill (or luck) of any kind of success. The basketball or football player needs to be doing the right thing when the scout is about. The busker singing on the street can have their lives changed if a record producer happens to be walking past.

So is success down to luck – well yes and no. I’m a big believer in creating your own luck. If you put yourself about, take risks (albeit calculated ones) and put yourself in situations where opportunity can be seized.

The most common piece of investment advice given is ‘get into property’ and as a general rule it’s sound advice. Property in general appreciates in value over time and delivers a return on investment significantly better than any bank or savings scheme can offer. However – timing can make or break the investment opportunity. Many have been caught short by entering the property market at the wrong time and making very little – and in some sad cases ending up in negative equity. If you buy in a town that is on the rise – then you’ll make money from your investment. If you buy in town and a factory then lays of 1,000 employees causing widespread unemployment – there’s a good chance that you could lose money, see very little growth or have to wait a long time to see a return on your investment.

If I could give only one piece of investment advice it would be to develop the skill of being able to spot opportunities. Broaden your perspective think laterally and learn how to read how events will shape things financially and then make calculated decisions based on those factors. If you can learn this new kind of thinking then you will see investment opportunities others miss and most importantly you will see them in time to get in early.

Anger Management How It Can Save Your Life

A study dating from 2003 by Suarez, et al. looked at the levels of a protein called Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF). Functionally, TNF is just as delightful a protein as the name implies. It is primarily released by immune cells and its main job is to mark inflammation of the arteries or other tissue so that immune cells know where to target themselves. Atherosclerosis, also known as clogging of the arteries (a prime precursor to heart disease and heart attacks) is a particularly favorite target of this protein.

What does this have to do with taking an anger management class? Well, it turns out that people who have a high level of hostility and physical aggression have a significantly higher level of TNF in their bloodstream. Even those who had moderate or low levels of hostility and aggression were found to have an elevated level of this precursor in their bloodstream. What this means is that you are much more likely to have hardening of the arteries if you walk around with even a relatively low level of anger. People with atherosclerosis are more likely to suffer a heart attack than those without so this has serious implications.

This is only part of the picture. Anger management issues also trigger the release of stress hormone called cortisol. In small doses cortisol can be a good thing as it gives you a quick burst of energy. It’s a survival function, when stressed you need energy to be on your toes and to fight or flee if need be.

Unfortunately prolonged exposure to cortisol (which is typical of people who experience continuous or frequent high levels of stress or anger) can cause your blood sugar to become unbalanced. Unbalanced blood sugar levels have the effect of impairing your ability to think clearly. This can cause a perpetuation of the stress cycle as the less clear you are able to think the more likely you are to experience something as stressful or threatening which keeps your blood sugar off balance.

In the long run elevated cortisol levels can lead to diabetes, a weakened immune system decrease bone density, impaired thyroid function and high blood pressure. Anger management classes can not only change your life; they can literally save it.

Cascading Strategy Map The Better Method To Attain Results

The strategy map has been a typical part of the business framework and this is all because it really has the ability to motivate the employees. When the workers know what they will achieve and what will be the outcome of those achievements, they will learn that they need to cooperate with the whole company so that they can attain success. However, there is a more effective way for the business to flourish and this is through cascading strategy map. This is a method that enables a strategy focused organization to achieve better results easily.

When you would like to start cascading strategy map, you will first know about strategic planning. This way, you will be able to manage the plans and initiatives of the organizations properly. There is a great chance that your business strategy will fail but when you cascade the strategy map, you will be able to improve strategy management and eventually obtain triumph. Strategic planning may not be quite easy to understand especially for the newbies but there is a great need for everyone who is in the world of business to fully grasp the meaning of this. This is one off the best techniques that will allow them to comprehend why there is a need for the strategy map as well as the balanced scorecard.

When you look at the businesses that have succeeded in the industry, most of them make use of the traditional way of mapping out their strategies. Nevertheless, those that remain in the most prominent state are those that are able to cascade their map from the highest level of the organization up to the lowest. There are a lot of executives that neglect the necessity of cascading strategy map because they think that those that are running the business are only the ones that should know about the strategy of the company and how to implement such to achieve the goals. This is a typical problem but now it has a solution. To put the strategy map in front of your employees is the answer. They will be constantly reminded of their duties and responsibilities. In addition, they can also see the cause and effect relationship between the plans and the objectives of the company.

In order to successfully cascade the map for strategy there is a need to know the components of it and apart from that one should also become aware that there should be themes in the strategic objectives of the company. If the right pieces of information have been acquired by those who are in charge of the strategy map, it will be easy to cascade this throughout the organization.

When you start cascading strategy map, you will be able to bring to life the cause and effect relationships between the strategies and objectives. You will need to determine first the right strategy map framework for your company and you should also define the core values of your organization. The mission and vision should also be specified as well as the strategic objectives of each of the departments in the company.

Thinking About A Career In Forensic Ballistics

If you’re searching for a career in forensic ballistics you’re obviously interested in forensics itself and firearms. This exciting division of forensics was probably first employed in Court to steer towards a conviction in London in 1835. Since then, this science has certainly become considerably more challenging.

Forensic ballistics involves the collection, identification, classification and analysis of evidence in relation to firearms in criminal investigations. This may involve identifying tool marks (or breech marks) that can be transferred from the weapon to a fired bullet and bullet fragments as well as the trajectory of the bullets fired. Other areas include gun powder residue analysis, fingerprints, fibres and blood associated with the weapon or bullets. As with many areas of forensic science, ballistics works closely with other departments including the law enforcement agencies.

The firearm itself does not need to be located to obtain a match, and indeed, this match doesn’t always require a lot of effort on the part of the forensic ballistics expert. The FBI and the specialist Firearms-Toolmarks Unit, keep a fully integrated national database referred to as Drugfire. When facts are put into the database, it will seek a match with other information and flag this up to the user.

If you’re considering a career in forensic ballistics and expecting a top salary, forget it! Once you leave college, and depending on any past experience you may have, you may expect an average of between 22000 to 35000 dollars in the United States. Increments are typically paid every six months or so depending on how you advance. The income is low as you continue to be in training for a minimum of a couple of years after you start, so dont expect to be heavily associated with anything too serious to begin with.

Your on-going training will involve a considerable amount of further reading on all relevant areas of law such as identifying firearms, wound analysis, different ammunition etc. You will also need to attend seminars and courses to make sure you understand how to handle evidence, the best way to safety assemble and disassemble firearms and microscope techniques. You will end up amply trained in how guns and ammunition are manufactured, how to give expert testimony in court and also attend many more lectures and seminars – much like being back in college! As with any forensics career, learning is dynamic as new approaches and machinery is constantly evolving.

A career in forensic ballistics is just that, a career for life. If you’re a bit uncertain, think hard before going down this road as it is a long one. It will be your job to thoroughly investigate the evidence and try and keep a pace ahead, and when required, to give clear and explicate evidence in court.