Instant messaging, text messaging, email, blogs, vlogs, and podcasts. With technology moving faster than a T1 connection, every day brings another way to keep in touch without actually having to show up in person.

What started as a fun pastime has turned into a modern-day obsession unlike any other. It seems that the more connected we are, the more disconnected we become. Because of the obsession, people have become more overweight and relationships of every kind have disintegrated under the spell of computer games and chat rooms.

In addition, people of all ages are developing at a staggering rate:

1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
2. Computer Vision Syndrome
3. Back problems
4. Financial problems
5. Circulation problems
And more

No longer are real communities connected. Instead, people choose to connect to online communities and have virtual friends and romantic “relationships” instead of face-to-face contact.

People hide behind their “defenses” (computers, cell phones, etc.) making their own version of a “real connection” with computer games that allow users to build and have a “relationship” with their idea of a perfect family or mate. Couples often jump faster into bed with their laptop than they do their partner.

How can we change the world we live in and start reconnecting with reality when we are so disconnected? Like any other addiction, the only way to conquer it is to take it one step at a time, one day at a time. Here are a few helpful suggestions to help you start on the path of reconnection without technology:

1. If you have family and friends that are far away, why not send them a real letter? Stamps are available at that place called the Post Office.
2. Have a conversation in the flesh with someone that does not involve hardware or software as an intervening third party. Walk to a friend or family member’s home and have a dialogue without email or texting. If you find that your verbal skills have become rusty, write a script of casual topics of discussion with questions like:

A. What did you do today?
B. How is your family?
C. How was school / work?
D. Ask general questions to get the conversation started and listen to what the other person has to say. If you really listen, you will be able to pick up additional questions you can ask along the way.

1. Parents, just say no. When did the word no become such an evil word? You are not abusing or depriving your child by using it. Disconnect the computer and safeguard your children. If they need to research a paper for school, take them down to the library or help them with their research on the Internet.

You can then monitor what they view and do online. When the work is done, disconnect and remove the computer when you aren’t around. Get your children involved in life so computers don’t become their life.

2. Stop playing computer games and get back into some of the classic board games such as Life, Monopoly, Yahtzee and other games.

3. Restless and bored? Go to a park and fly a kite. Head to the beach and take a picnic with you. The point is to get outside and start moving.

4. If you’re addicted to chat rooms, why not start a face-to-face chat room in your own home. Set up a theme night and invite family and friends over to partake in a real life chat room. No hardware, software, cell phones or wireless connections allowed.

If some of your guests become antsy about not using their cell phones, remind them that you have a landline they can use.

5. If most of your relationships live on the Internet, join a local social or sports club or become involved in a local charity. Learning to socialize in new ways can be fun.

These are just a few steps to help you get back into the game of life and away from meaningless connections.

The Internet, computers, wireless connections, cell phones, iPod’s, etc. are useful and can make life a lot easier and fun.

Technology is not the enemy; it’s the uncontrolled use of technology that’s ruining our society and our relationships.

Jaci Rae
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/internet-addiction-learn-how-to-connect-without-wireless-connections-112964.html

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced the kick-off times for the 48 matches of Rugby World Cup 2007 to be played in France in September and October.

Host nation France will kick-off the sixth Rugby World Cup Tournament against Argentina at the Stade de France Stadium in Paris at 9pm local time on Friday, September 7, while England will begin its defence of the Webb Ellis Cup against the USA in Lens the following day with the match kicking-off at 6pm local time.

The next Rugby World Cup will be hosted in France from 7 September to 20 October 2007.

The games will be held at several venues in France (Lens, Montpellier, St-Etienne, Montpellier, St-Denis, Nantes, Lyon, Bordeaux, Paris, Toulouse and Marseilles). Some of the key pool matches will be played in Cardiff (Wales) and in Edinburgh (Scotland).

Toulouse, in the Aude, Languedoc, is one of rugby’s major epicentres. The Stade Toulousain team, which has provided a good many international players down the years, has been champion of France 17 times and went down in the history of the sport by becoming the first European clubs champion in 1996, a title that it won again in 2003.

Students began playing rugby locally in 1890 and it was in 1907 that Stade Toulousain was established. It won the first French championship title two years later, in 1909.

Have a look at the French team.

Colours: Blue, white and red
Nicknames: Les Bleus, Les Tricolores
Honours: Six Nations Grand Slam (2004, 2002), Five Nations Grand Slam (1968, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1997, 1998), World Cup runners-up (1987, 1999).

Coach: Studious Bernard Laporte has endured a see-saw existence since taken the reigns prior to the 1999 Rugby World Cup. World Cup finalists to fifth in the Six Nations, Grand Slam champions to losing a Test series to Argentina. Laporte has brought discipline and organisation to a traditionally volatile and flamboyant side, but has had trouble trying to mix the perfect cocktail time after time.

Captain: Back in the captaincy saddle after the retirement of Fabien Galthié, Toulouse star Fabien Pelous is no stranger to leadership. A star performer in the second row or the back of the scrum, his presence in the French side is sometimes taken for granted.

Player(s) to watch: Toulouse centre Florian Fritz won both 2005 Player of the Year and 2005 Newcomer of the Year awards at the French ‘Night of Rugby’ in December 2005, and was first choice to partner Yannick Jauzion in both of November 2005’s high-profile Tests against Australia and South Africa. He is also Jauzion’s partner in the Toulouse centres as well, and Toulouse’s back-line creativity needs little embellishment.

Have a look at the current French Squad: ( Jan 2007)

Backs: Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse), Pierre Mignoni (Clermont), Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz), Benjamin Boyet (Bourgoin), David Skrela (Stade Français), Damien Traille (Biarritz), Romain Cabannes (Biarritz), Florian Fritz (Toulouse), Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse), David Marty (Perpignan), Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Christophe Dominici (Stade Français), Cédric Heymans (Toulouse), Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont), Thomas Castaignède (Saracens/ENG), Anthony Floch (Clermont), Clément Poitrenaud (Toulouse)



Forwards: Pieter de Villiers (Stade Français), Laurent Emmanuelli (Clermont), Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Français), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Olivier Milloud (Bourgoin), Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse), Benoît August (Biarritz), Sébastien Bruno (Sale/ENG), Raphaël Ibañez (Wasps/ENG), Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Français), Grégory Lamboley (Toulouse), Lionel Nallet (Castres), Pascal Papé (Castres), Fabien Pelous (Toulouse), Jerome Thion (Biarritz), Serge Betsen (Biarritz), Julien Bonnaire (Bourgoin), Sébastien Chabal (Sale/ENG), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Rémy Martin (Stade Français), Yannick Nyanga (Toulouse), Elvis Vermeulen (Clermont)

The south of France features very strongly- with well over half coming the region, and the majority of those coming from the Languedoc.

France is looking very strong to win in the RWC in 2007.

Tickets can be bought ahead of the match- mostly from Carrefour as well as many good web sites.

mike bowditch
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/rugby-world-cup-2007-france-96061.html

We have already looked at how to win at online gambling with games of chance but by their very nature they are games of chance and you only need to place the bets with the best odds of success.

Here we will look at 3 games to win at online gambling that involve a degree of skill where you can influence the outcome of the game.

Because skill is involved you can win more money, but which game is best for you. Let’s take a look.

1. Online Slots Video Poker

This is the perfect introduction to a skill game, bridging the gap between the pure games of chance and the more daunting table card games.

The reason video poker is so popular is that it has all the fun of slots but you can play with a strategy (different for each game) and tilts the odds a little in your favour.

When playing video poker its best to play high paying machines and a good place to start is with a jacks or better 9 / 6 machine.

The advantage of video poker are its fun, it’s easy and you get to tilt the odds in your favour.

It’s a good intro to games of skill but if you really want to win at online gambling you need to look at blackjack and poker.

2. Blackjack

Blackjack is a game where your choices really do make a difference to the amount you win and by using basic strategy and card counting, you can get the edge away from the casino and in your favour.

The advantages with card counting is that over the long term you can get the odds in your favour and make steady gains and card counting is not as complicated as it is made out to be.

The disadvantages of blackjack are, that at best the edge in your favour is about 2% and it’s a long term edge i.e. short term results can vary dramatically.

You can make good money but you won’t really get rich and playing it can lack excitement, as you are simply following a method.

3. Poker

The king of all online casino games and if you want to win at online gambling and win big this is game to focus on.

So why is poker so competitive and the winnings so large?

The answer lies in it’s an interactive game where you face other players and compete with them NOT The casino.

It is this that makes poker a game where the big money is.

It’s a game of skill, but it’s also a game of psychology. Keep in mind the beat hand does not always win in poker!

Here you need to play your opponent as much as your cards, this makes poker unpredictable and the ultimate test of skill.

Poker can make you far richer than any other game in the casino but you need to hone your skills, to win at online gambling with poker you need lots of practice and the traits of discipline, perseverance, cunning, patience and a cool head.

If you can adopt these traits and learn from your experiences, you can make huge gains and in today’s big money poker tournaments you’re talking 7 figure sums.

In poker you can’t just follow a system as you do in blackjack or video poker, you need to use psychology to win and thats the appeal.

It’s hard, it’s brutal but very satisfying when you win!

All the games above have reasons to recommend them and the one you play to win at online gambling will reflect your personality, your aspirations and how much money you want to win.

Which ever you choose to play to win at online gambling, have fun and good luck.

Sacha Tarkovsky
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/win-at-online-gambling-part-2-games-of-skill-56250.html

Christmas shopping – or lack of – sneaks up on me every year, no matter how good my intentions.

I am traditionally the original Scrooge at Christmas, the stress and pressure to try to make everything nice and find the perfect gift idea gets to me before the first ornament is out of the box, just the thought of it usually makes me grumble.

Sound familiar?

But this year I am kind of looking forward to it. Why?

Because I’m doing Christmas gift giving a little differently this year.

1. Instead of trying to do too much, I am cutting back and am determined to enjoy the experience (dammit :0)).

2. We picked names this year for the adults in the family rather than each of us buying for all of us. I can’t tell you how much my stress level has already gone down, and I especially like it because now I have time to do something really unique for my father in law (he was my pick).

3. Getting the jump on things in plenty of time. Gift planning and some shopping was done in October by being on the look out when I was out shopping – I bought a few really cute things here and there. This way instead of buying “en masse”, I am picking something fitting for each recipient.

4. Putting a limit on spending. As my sister said “I’m sick of the commercial crap of Christmas”, and aren’t we all. It isn’t in how much we spend, a small, well thought out gift is better received than a large one that was obviously tossed in the cart with no forethought.

5. Decluttering – I’ve been working on decluttering so that the decorations will look nice. If you can get going now, it will make Christmas even nicer when the time comes. The Christmas Spirit – Peace – Goodwill towards All – Love – They’re all buzzwords and shiny decorations that we hang on the wall at Christmas time – lets take the time to focus on what they mean – and then do it.

6. How about making this the season to “Pay It Forward”. These stories have made me cry sappy tears more than once but I’ve never done it. Why not give it a try? They have a fantastic website, if you follow the links you can get some great ideas http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/groups.html

I signed up for the “Be Nice or Else” newsletter – they have a book that is great for gift giving, what a great coffee table that would make – or a great book to donate to a hospital for the waiting room.

NOTE: This page lists some great Christmas gift ideas, one of them being – clean someone’s house. I will have more on that later, but meantime, why not think about it and brainstorm how you could make it happen.

http://www.giveitforwardtoday.org/index.php?page=ideas

I could think of no better gift! And it’s cheap!

7. Make an effort to throw a little something in the Food Bank Bin when you are out grocery shopping for your family, or buy a little extra for the donation box at the department store when you are out shopping for gifts.

8. Or buy some toys to donate to the local women’s shelter, some of the people there don’t have a penny to their names and it’s a sad and stressful time for the kids. Games and things to keep them busy are great, it can be a boring stay.

A FEW GENERAL IDEAS

1. Mystery Gift – My sister’s family does a nice twist on picking names. They all buy something wrap it and then they each exchange a gift, no one knows ahead of time who will be receiving. They set a comfortable price limit.

2. Make a tradition of tree ornament crafts. You can give these for gifts, they are always well received and can be cheap to make, but very nice. Put your name and date on it and give one every year – a great present for the kids to give. Or take a short cut and buy them at a craft sale and personalize them with fabric paint or markers.

3. Give pictures in a unique way. Most relatives and friends will enjoy pictures. Do something creative – make a tree ornament from a picture and a juice lid, they are great. Or make a twig frame – cost is nothing but a few twigs and some yarn plus the picture. If you get school pictures, you’ll have plenty. With digital cameras and software available now, you can do some really nifty stuff for plenty cheapola.

4. Baking/Cooking etc. If you are wanting to do something nice for someone, why not cook them a meal and take it to them? New mother’s are especially fond of this. When I first had my daughters, it was the best present that I received. Seniors will LOVE it if you eat with them.

5. A service. In our hussle and bussle world, don’t be surprised if someone really appreciates an hour of your time – run some errands, give rides (parents can really enjoy this if they have older kids – most of them spend their spare time in their car!), help clean up, declutter, clean something – use your imagination. Another great gift that the kids can give as well.

Make an effort to be creative this year. It’s more fun to give, and more fun to receive – and it can be easier on your pocket book too.

If you haven’t yet, get out your planner or notebook, make a page for Christmas gift ideas and start brainstorming.

Then make a date with yourself to clear some time blocks to get it done.

And enjoy Christmas.

Janice Ferrante
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/simple-christmas-gift-ideas-82363.html

While Male may be the capital of the Maldives – a place where visitors almost exclusively arrive into and leave from the country, it’s interesting that many visitors do not spend a single night in Male. This is because most visitors go directly to their resort island and spend most of their time there.

Many visitors still get to see Male via day trips organised by several of the resort islands.

Male isn’t particularly large – in fact it’s possible to walk around the island in slightly over an hour (it’s dimensions being approximately 2km long and 1km wide).

For its land mass, Male is pretty densely populated with around a 70,000 strong population. There are ongoing land reclamation projects in progress to increase the amount of space on the island.

Despite being a small city, Male offers the kind of services you would come to expect from any capital including books, post office, internet access, bookshops, travel agents, a myriad of eateries and so on.

There are a few points of interest for those who venture into Male to get a glimpse of life in the capital.

The Islamic centre & mosque is one of the grander structures in the city. Hukuru Miskiiy is the most ancient mosque in Male and dates back to the 1650’s.

There is a National Museum displaying various artefacts once owned by the Sultans (from clothing to weapons).

You may also enjoy visiting the Muleeaage (a structure initially built as a palace and also used as presidential residence in the past).

Shoppers will find quite a few places of interest in Male – for instance Chandanee Magu and Orchid Magu have a cluster of souvenir shops & cafes.

Male isn’t a place to go to for bars or clubs but other forms of entertainment do exist – there are a couple of cinemas (the Star & Olympus on Majeedi Magu). There are also opportunities to catch an outdoor concert at New Harbour.

For sports enthusiasts there is the National Stadium where football & cricket games are regularly contested.

Male has several hotels, guest-houses & inns to suit a wide range of budgets should you have the opportunity to spend a couple of nights.

Those who do get to visit Male for any length of time can enjoy a wide range of eateries serving many different types of international cuisine. Male has several small tea shops offering (non-alcoholic) drinks and small snacks or “short eats” (hedhikaa). Tea shops also offer “long eats”, which tend to be larger more filling dishes.

Tea shops in Male are on the whole cheap and chirpy affairs, serving simple foods at low prices. There are also several higher priced restaurants to choose from. These include cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Indian, American & Chinese. Most restaurants also have their own in-house restaurant.

Tuks Engineer
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/things-to-do-during-your-maldives-holiday-take-a-day-trip-to-male-88563.html

The idea of achieving a target by testing one’s skill(s), the feeling of being challenged to conquer some ordeal within constraints, an urge to prove oneself against all odds, a conquest to improve and polish reflexes and skills, the joy of emerging winner against a rival or even a dear friend, a simple getaway from the boredom of routine life or may be cleverly zooming out from one’s tensed mindset – the computer games just never miss to attract you for one reason or the other, or a combination of some!

The feasible nature of the online flash and shockwave games tempts the users to invariably try games as per individual inclinations and eventually get addicted/ helplessly attracted by the games as the financial issues do not bother. An online player of free of cost flash and shockwave games has to incur the expenses of an Internet connection and electricity bill at the most, in order to enjoy a good time.

The business of online flash and shockwave games is a full-fledged multi-billion dollar industry at present. The industry has grown at a tremendous rate in the last few years, so much so that the span of these games in terms of themes, technology and categories is close to exhaustive. And the industry is showing no signs of stagnation or content. In other words, the industry is growing, flourishing and grooming itself consistently, especially in the wake of increased competition and a never-ending series of technological breakthroughs in the field of multimedia, animation and overall computer technology.

The industry has evolved comprehensively over the years to leave no stone unturned for any potential customer. There are free online games for all age groups, not even leaving infants behind! You can easily find variety of fun online games for toddlers and preschoolers, ranging from animal sounds, matching games, find the difference, puzzles, coloring pages, odd one out and so on.

As the age grows upwards, the games are rendered more sophisticated with more complicated game plan, intriguing logic, better graphics and more discreet sound effects. Expert developers join hands with creative and talented designers who cater games to suit various age groups and the whole spectrum of inherent tastes in each age group. Indeed, these online games are creative signatures of the human brain, depicting horizons of creativity and imagination.

The online games offer an enchantingly magical world to each of its visitor, irrespective of the age group they fall in, comprising of some tempting categories, like action and adventure games, arcade games, board games, card games, casino games, puzzle games, word games, strategy games, sports games, detective theme based games, shooting games et al.

With a vast and strong fan following across age groups, the industry has already defied an age-old impression that these games are only for the teenagers. Bored of watching television serials, movies and following a hectic monotonous daily routine, all age groups equally look forward to the flash and shockwave games as a gust of fresh air. Especially in the wake of lack of time and inclination to go outside the house, the games offer ideal means of action-packed entertainment in the lazy confines of warm and comfortable home.

And now that it is an established fact that online games are not mere fun, but also boast of an educational value attached to them, all age groups are showing keen interest. Studies have revealed that online games of various calibers render the player sharpened, quicker and a more active mind.

Jonathan White
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/free-of-cost-fun-and-frolic-for-all-ages-134856.html

I recently was halfway around the world, meeting a new business partner, and found myself in the midst of a seller’s nightmare: I had to do an in-person prospecting call on one of the world’s largest banks, with an unfamiliar business partner, with no idea of the reason behind the cold call, or the people who would be there.

When I was picked up from the airport I was told of this meeting, and there was no one available to discuss anything with me until we were at the client site. Nightmare.

As we entered the building, I quickly asked the history of the prospect relationship, the expected outcome, and the level of the folks we were meeting with. The news wasn’t good: this was the first prospecting call and they weren’t sure who would be attending, but they hoped I could help them open the account by using my Buying Facilitation model to encourage a working relationship.

Great. Just great. Unprepared. No data. No strategic planning. The prospect would see an unknown vendor, coming for an unknown reason, dragging along a very tired – and unknown – foreigner. They’d most likely know nothing about my work, models, or books. They wouldn’t know how to differentiate me from the competition, or how to choose me.

What would success even look like? And other than what I’d read and heard about this Middle Eastern country I didn’t even understand the cultural norms of vendor/client communication, not to mention if my being a woman would be a negative.

THE NEED FOR FACE MEETINGS

When Dale Carnegie introduced the need for face meetings, face time was vital due to the difficulty in getting broad exposure for products. Now, we can take it for granted that the next seller who stands in front of our prospect – if we can even get an appointment! – will be just as charming, caring, well-dressed, smart, and professional. And if a personal relationship is the only criteria for a prospect choosing a vendor, then the seller has a truly long slog here, to find only those buyers with buying patterns and personalities that match the seller’s selling patterns and personality.

I don’t believe in using my body as a prospecting tool. I believe that if it’s important to a seller to have a face meeting, they should first become part of the prospect’s decision team and have already decided collaboratively, with the prospect, how they plan on working together and how best to use a face meeting. Then, a face meeting cements the relationship and brings together the rest of the decision team, even on the first meeting. Otherwise, the only prospects who will agree to a face meeting are those already in the market, and interviewing untold others. Not to mention that when several things seem the same, the only differentiator is price.

But I didn’t have much choice in this instance, and there was no agreement, action plan, or stated outcome that a prospecting call using Buying Facilitation would have ensured.

I realized that I would be out of control during this call, even if my training would solve their business problem: there was no prior decision on who should attend the meeting and an untold number of people from the decision team wouldn’t be present (and would need to be managed afterwards somehow); and if they were willing to see us on a cold call, they were certainly seeing others.

CASE STUDY OF A FACE-TO-FACE PROSPECTING CALL

Given that my choices were limited, our meeting proved interesting. I believe I made a difference in our ultimate outcome, but I’m not sure that a face meeting was any more successful than if I had used Facilitative Questions on the phone.

I’ll describe the face visit conversation, and then offer a mock Buying Facilitation conversation as to a phone call I might have had prior to the meeting.

Meeting

At the prospect’s site, a large man with a gentle persona, followed by a smaller, local, man, came out to bring us to a small office in which sat a very professionally attired woman. The large man sat down in a tiny chair, and the smaller man went behind a very large desk. As they introduced themselves, I barely had time to peruse the 2 business cards handed to me – the men gave me cards, but not the woman.

I addressed my first Facilitative Question to the man behind the desk: “How are you currently adding new sales skills to the ones you’re already offering your

staff?” I realized that I had addressed the question to the wrong man, as I noticed everyone looked to the large man in the small chair for an answer. I quickly glanced down at the business cards and noticed this man was the big big boss. He began telling a charming story of how he was just in the country for a few weeks, and newly brought in to head up this division and bring in new thinking. He said he was delighted that I asked that question.

OK. I was on the right track but there was a major problem: the local man at the big desk had been at the bank for a long time, and was the sales manager for 5 years. If he had been doing a good job, the new man wouldn’t have been brought in! Not to mention that the smaller man most likely had a team of loyal followers (in countries outside the US, folks stay at their jobs for decades) who would have some strong feelings about a new man, from another country, coming in with big ideas that would certainly change their status quo.

The problem was much, much bigger than needing new sales skills. All of the brilliance I offered would be moot if they couldn’t manage the internal politics that this problem created. And, obviously, I couldn’t manage the internal politics for them: while their Identified Problem was something I could solve with my product, until they could manage their internal politics, they weren’t going to take any action.

The internal problem

Once I recognized the elephant in the room, I decided to ask a tactical Facilitative Question to help my prospects begin to make sense of their main issue:

“Since you (the man at the desk) have been around for some time and have a loyal team behind you, how can you bring in new thinking (which he obviously had failed to do) that might represent change, and have the team remain loyal?”

The man behind the desk nodded:

“No problem. No problem. We can handle this. We are very excited to have someone new join us with new ideas. We look forward to change and hearing how you could help us.”

Right.

The boss quietly said:

“That is why I’m here: to bring in new thinking, and manage implementations. I’m sure that we can all get on board here and there shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve done this sort of thing in other banks, and we’ve been successful. I have met the folks here and they are great. It will be fine.”

OK. Now I had a larger problem. They were either really going to be fine, they were doing denial, or just giving me, the outsider, the company view. I had no way of knowing. I turned to the woman (turns out she was the training manager) seated, quietly, next to me and said to her:

“I’m so glad that everyone is getting on so well, and I’m sure that it will work out fine. I’m wondering what you would need from a vendor to ensure an easy implementation?”

She briefly opened her eyes wide, and quickly returned to her very very composed, professional behavior.

“Thanks for bringing that up and caring. I’m sure that there won’t be a problem, like the gentlemen said (smart woman). In case there is, maybe you could explain to us what you have done in the past when bringing in new material? And possibly give us a run-down on what you have that might be interesting to us to help us differentiate ourselves from our competitors, as I saw on your website (Ah. The woman had done her homework.)? If what you have has value for us, maybe you and I could have further conversations about the content. Along the way, if any internal issues come up – which I don’t think there will be – we can discuss them at the time.”

Good. I just got onto the decision team.

“Great. It seems to me there are several issues here. One: how will you all decide on the specific type of new thinking you would be willing to bring in; Two: how you’ll know that one specific set of skills would work better than another since you wouldn’t have a way to understand the outcome before you start; Three: how you could ensure, before you start, that a new skill set would work comfortably with that your folks are already using; Four: how will you know when it’s time to address implementation issues; Five: how would you know we would be the type of partner who could help you manage all of these issues?”

Follow-up action

The boss nodded vigorously and smiled. He asked me to write down the points I’d just made, email them to him, and contact him in two weeks to move the conversation forward. Sounded great – until I called him at the appropriate time, and he told me that he had handed everything over to the training manager. I had to ask permission to speak with her as no one had given me her number. I have left a message for her and have gotten no response yet.

I believe my ‘relationship’ with them all is as good as their memory. Did they like me? Appreciate me and my questions? Yes. Did that move the sale along? Not convinced – they still have too many internal issues to manage. And now I have to find ways to maintain the relationship and conversation, while living half-way around the world.

Because there was so much going on in the room, I’m not convinced they understood the difference between Buying Facilitation and a more conventional selling model. I have started a conversation, and we have developed some rapport. I believe they trust me a bit, and might consider a pilot – but I’m also sure they will pilot other programs as well.

Since I teach that it’s not necessary to make a face-to-face visit until the internal decision team has agreed to change and has a model for the specifics of how to bring in a new idea/product/vendor, I was curious if what happened in this interaction could have been managed better on the phone. I think so.

MOCK CONVERSATION OF TYPICAL BUYING FACILITATION SEQUENCE

I’ve never had a face meeting prior to signing a contract with a major corporation, and yet on a second or third conference call, I’ve met with the entire decision team and made collaborative decisions involving a great deal of buy-in and change. I will create a similar conversation here, much like I’ve done (literally) thousands of times before. Note the difference with the absence of the political issues, and how far I can get using these Facilitative Questions on the phone:

SDM: How are you currently offering new selling skills to your sales people?

Boss: We haven’t been. I’m just here a few weeks, and I was brought in to help us differentiate ourselves from the competition. I’m actually seeking new material to trial now as part of my purview.

SDM: That sounds exciting. What fun! What has stopped your group from achieving this until now?

Boss: The past manager was very good at keeping the status quo and managing the office politics. My job is to find new thinking and bring it in. Do you have something new for us?

SDM: Well, I’ve got a new sales model, but let’s discuss that in a few moments as I think there are other issues we’d need to manage first. I suspect you’ll have to manage some internal, personal issues with the old manager and his team with whatever material you choose. How would you need to work with a new vendor to ensure that you, the decision team, and the vendor, would all work well together while implementing a trial?

Boss: We’d all have to get on board here, make some team agreements, and monitor the implementation from the beginning. I would bring in the training manager to help with this as I believe her to be very committed to success. I’d also have to understand that your material, over the more conventional material, would bring me the new skills that I’m seeking while not creating too much confusion for our sales folks who have been using SPIN for a long time.

SDM: So as we move forward, we’d have to ensure that there is buy in from the decision team, and be aware of any danger signs. We could work that out between us. Before I give you data about my Buying Facilitation Method®, can you tell me what would new skills give you that you don’t have already?

Boss: We’re having great difficulty differentiating ourselves in this market: our products appear similar to our competitors, and clients don’t know how to buy us. We’ve tried educating them, but that doesn’t seem to make much of a difference in our numbers.

SDM: My model, Buying Facilitation, helps buyers know how to choose you over the competition. It’s a collaborative decision making model, rather than a product placement or problem solving model – it gives sellers the tools to teaches buyers how to buy, rather than approaching it through the product sale. How would you know, before we were to do a pilot, that you and the rest of the team would be willing to consider a model this unusual?

Boss: I’d have to understand it better, and the team would have to agree to consider it. How can we get a hold of material that would help us learn more about it?

SDM: In addition to sending you some reading material, I’m actually coming to that part of the world in a few weeks. I would love to stop in and meet with all of you. What would be the best use of our time together once I’m there? And, given all of the political issues you’re facing in your new assignment, who should be at the meeting, what would you need to see from me, and what sort of an outcome would we be seeking? I think it would be best to plan all of this before I get there.

Different outcomes

In my estimation, had I been able to use Facilitative Questions on the phone prior to our face meeting as I did in the mock conversation above, I could have helped the Boss recognize the internal issues (politics, relationship issues, and management issues, etc.) that needed to be managed outside of the purview of the Identified Problem and accelerate his decision cycle accordingly. I would have become his decision partner and eschewed the uncomfortable relationship issues that came up during our meeting. By the time it was relevant to discuss and pitch my product, he and the team would have been in a position to make a purchasing decision – or not, and I would have known that prior to making a face visit. [Note: Buy the book that breaks down the decision segment from the product sale segment: Buying Facilitation: the new way to sell that expands and influences decisions, at www.buyingfacilitation.com]

Use face-to-face meetings to cement the decisions the entire decision team needs to make with you; use the phone to help the early decisions get made and the decision teams coalesce and start taking the action they need to take anyway. It’s the internal, unique, and idiosyncratic systems end of the buying decision that’s been hidden from us for so long, but is now able to be managed with the Buying Facilitation Method®.

The time it takes buyers to come up with their own answers is the length of the sales cycle, whether it’s a decision to buy an insurance policy or a company-wide implementation. By leading the buyer through the entire range of necessary decisions, you can reduce the length of the sales cycle by 75% and you can do much of this on the phone. By sticking to Dale Carnegie’s belief that sales calls need to be face-to-face, you’re 1. helping delay the sales cycle, 2. not getting to partner with the decision team in a truly supportive way until farther into the sales cycle than necessary, 3. wasting unnecessary time on prospects who won’t buy, 4. keeping yourself solidly in a price, product, and service competition, and 5. waiting in the dark as the decision team figures out the decisions they need to make that you could have sequentially walked them through much more quickly.

Sharon Drew Morgen
http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/facetoface-vs-phone-sales-a-case-study-130481.html

It’s true that football, basketball and hockey have their fans, but the sports year begins in February and ends in October – preferably the end of October. And even during the other three and a half months, the hot stove league consumes the city’s consciousness, even eclipsing the Jets and Giants playoff runs.

This love for the game of baseball dates all the ways back to the 19th century as baseball was played throughout New York in its earliest forms. The birth of the National League in 1876 eventually brought the city the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants and when the American League set up shop in 1901, the New York Yankees soon set up shop.

Rooting for a baseball team in New York wasn’t about what team was better, it was an absolute birthright. People were born into a fan base and there was no switching side. As the Yankees established themselves, their fans came from the Bronx and also attracted the corporate visitor and tourists.

The Dodgers and Giants were different. Working class, blue collar fans in the first half of the 20th century tended to back one of the two National League teams. Giant fans were generally from Manhattan, while the city’s largest borough had their beloved Dodgers. Much like the class system of the early 19th century, which broke down people by nationality and religion, New Yorkers were identified with the teams they followed.

The best example of that came in 1951, where the Dodgers and Giants finished tied after the 154 game season. A three game playoff was ordered by the National League, which culminated with “The Shot Heard Around the World” by Giants’ Bobby Thompson. Fans fought with each other and until this day old Brooklyn Dodger fans still feel the pain.

After the Giant win, they proceeded to be swept by the Yankees, who had a young and talented Mickey Mantle in the outfield.

The Dodgers had their day in 1955, giving Brooklyn their only championship, but the days of the Boys of Summer ended two years later when the Bums and Giants upped and left for the West Coast.

With only one team in town, the fans of the Dodgers and Giants left behind did not back the Yankees, rather they followed their teams from afar or stopped watching all together. Only when the New York Mets were formed in 1962, did these spurned New Yorkers find a team.

Much like the their predecessors, the Amazins’ quickly established themselves as a people’s team. Although they were inept, fans flocked to the old Polo Grounds – and eventually Shea Stadium – to watch the Mets and root against the Dodgers and Giants when they came into town.

The Yankees, meanwhile, just kept winning. Champions in 1961 and 1962, they lost the Fall Classic the next two years. Then the bottom fell out. They finished close to the bottom or last for the rest of the decade, as the team aged and the mighty farm system went barren.

That gave the Amazing Mets a chance to take the city. And in 1969 they won the World Series against insurmountable odds. Led by young pitchers like Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, the Miracle Mets won their first the Series 4-1 over the Baltimore Orioles.

They stayed in contention for the next seven years, but never got back to the top.

The Yankees resurged after George Steinbrenner bought the team and through free agency built the 1977 and 1978 champs. But the Boss’s hands on approach eventually cost those Bombers due to too many bad moves.

As the Yankees went down, the Mets came back and in 1986 won the Series again, beating the Boston Red Sox in seven games. Much like the team of a generation before, these Mets were competitive until 1991, but never won the big game.

But like before, when the Mets faded, the Yankees came to the forefront. This time winning four crowns in five years (1996, 1998-2000). Unlike past teams, these Bombers were built from within, while cheery-picking the other talent through free agency and trades. Led by future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the Bombers remain a force in the American League.

The Mets enjoyed a resurgence in 1999 under controversial manager Bobby Valentine and catcher Mike Piazza. They even went to the Series in 2000, only to lose to the cross town Yankees. Then, after five years of mediocrity, the Mets came back in 2006 behind young stars David Wright and Jose Reyes and were one strike away from the World Series, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

What makes baseball in New York unique these days is the rivalry between the Mets and Yankees. The teams didn’t play each other in non-exhibition games until 1997 and the Subway Series is the highlight of every season. Both Shea and Yankee Stadiums get a mixed but behaved crowd when the two teams play each other. As both the Met and Yankee fans root for their teams, you can hear chants for both clubs back and forth for all nine innings.

And that’s unlike any other sport in the city. Hockey games tend to have more violent outbursts in the stands, while games between the Knicks and Nets and Jets vs. Giants matches could be played anywhere, since the intensity just isn’t there in comparison.

And that’s why New York, first and foremost, is a baseball town.

Jason Oconnor
http://www.articlesbase.com/baseball-articles/why-new-york-city-is-a-baseball-town-96896.html

After the popularity of the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean films, games, series, novel and theme park, almost anyone has dreamed on becoming a pirate at least once a life. Whether you are an enthusiastic pirate fan or your children like to play this role, pirate costumes are the closer opportunity to sail fantasy seven seals while having fun.

Although stories and legends of pirates come from centuries ago and are present in many cultures around the world, Walt Disney was the man who popularized one of the most famous pirates of all times, Captain James Hook, the villain depicted by the Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barries in his 19th century novel “Peter Pan”. Captain Hook was immortalized in the silver screen through his 1953 animated film “Peter Pan” and since then pirates – many other pirates appeared into the public media scene.

Behind all pirates costumes that you can imagine there are countless stories that you can use as plot for your pirate theme party. Children love to disguise and pirate costumes for girls and boys come in so many different sizes, colors and designs that it is advisable let your kids decide on the pirate outfit they will like to wear.

There is no party without a cake so place an order to your favorite bakery one that keep the party’s pirate theme up to round your event. Depending on your children’s age, however, take care with swords and other accessories that might accidentally hurt them or hurt your little guests, and do not miss flags with skulls and other pirate decorations put in place.

Nonetheless, pirate costumes are not only designed for children, but for adults as well. Retaking the story of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, this was the dream of an adult man that envisioned a walk-through wax museum with depictions of real pirates inside static scenes at Disneyland in the late 1950s. Walt Disney was a man with the capacity to think and feel like a child to make his dreams came true.

As an adult, you can also enjoy wearing pirate costumes at your birthday party, your friend’s bridal shower or any other adult event planned with an original theme in mind. Pirate parties for adults are especially popular as a part of team building activities that involve motivational games such as Treasure Hunting, the capture of imaginary seashore forts and many other coaching games.

Furthermore, browsing online costumes shops such as mooncostumes, you will discover sexy pirate costumes for woman, and man, that spice up bachelor and college parties, and many other times secret private dreams. Regardless the type of event, a pirate theme party is also an opportunity to break with the monotony of traditional celebrations that sometimes are really plain. It is very hard that you live a real pirate adventure experience, but so easy when dressing pirate costumes.

Erik Aronesty
http://www.articlesbase.com/fashion-articles/make-your-pirate-dream-come-true-612240.html

S.O.S.! Kindly share some of your ideas with regards to first day of school activities, games, art work and stories; which I will be presenting to kids ages 3-4 and 5-6 (Preschool). I wish to show and teach them something new. Classes start this coming Monday. Thanks.

Another fabulous website which gives great ideas in several different themes is
www.perpetualpreschool.com

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