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In the early 1900s, Reverend Russell Conwell - founder of Temple University - gave a popular speech called “Acres of Diamonds.” In it, he said:

“Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas. They are in your own backyard if you but dig for them.”

Whether you are a business owner, marketing professional, or other entrepreneur, it is crucial to remember your backyard diamonds are your past and present satisfied customers. You may currently be focusing most of your efforts on front-end sales. Once a sale is over, many businesses move on to getting the next new customer.

The big mistake is not developing a continuing stream of sales from existing customers - ignoring their lifetime value.

Your real diamond mine is in the continuing stream of sales that can be realized over the lifetime of your existing and past customers. Plus, it costs much more to acquire a new customer than maintaining a relationship. When you ignore customers you’ve already served, it’s like throwing money away.

Once you’ve made a sale, your customers know, like, and trust you and are more likely to buy from you a second time.

Here are some tips for you to effectively mine your “acres of diamonds:”

1. Organize Contacts: You have to be able to get back in touch with your customers again to be able to market and sell to them. Maintain a centralized database to organize names, addresses, and phone numbers. Keep track of purchase histories and interests.

2. Collect Information: Depending on your business, there are a variety of ways you can collect customer data such as sign-up sheets, website forms, postcards, and so on. Be creative - use free offers, VIP programs, and contests to provide incentives.

3. Regularly Communicate: No matter what business you are in, find methods to stay in regular communication with your customers. Ideas include a newsletter, ezine, holiday cards, coupons, and special offers. For some businesses, it may work to take a client out to lunch or send a hand-written note. And, don’t forget the telephone!

4. Offer Proof: Provide case studies and testimonials to show how you have helped other customers. In your communication, you can provide helpful information, offer seminars, and provide useful tips to keep your business on the top of your customers’ minds and to remind them of how your company can help them.

5. Testimonials Sell: For word-of-mouth, there is no one that can sing your praises like a satisfied customer! Nothing speaks louder to a potential customer that a peer. Ask for testimonials. Post these on your website or feature them in your newsletter. Remember, if you don’t think to ask, they may not think to offer.

6. Cross-sell and Up-sell: Make sure customers know the entire range of your products or services. Once your customer is in your sales funnel, they are much more likely to buy larger-ticket items from you. Based on their past buying habits, offer them the deluxe model, more options, or premium services.

As you start to work your backyard diamond mine, I can’t emphasize this enough - take good care of it. Appreciate your loyal customers by offering them special deals and incentives. You need customers more than they need your business.

There will always be about 20% of your customers who will give you 80% of your business. These are the people whom should receive most of your attention, energy, and time. By concentrating on your best customers, your marketing efforts will become more efficient and cost effective. It also rewards these customers because they are getting the most personal attention.

Keep in contact with your customers and keep them delighted. In return, they will continue to give you their business.

Wendy Maynard, your friendly Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE MARKETING, a weekly ezine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to skyrocket your sales, easily attract customers, and have more fun, subscribe now to get your FREE REPORT Five Top Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them! at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com

Different lenders charge different fees. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.

To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 11 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 9 percentage. Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 3 percent. Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 6 percent. Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 5 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 11 percent offered by competitors will change.

See which lenders are charging fees 3 percent and for how much. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.

So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust? In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 10 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.

While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 6 percent. Buy a new house with hypotheek met bkr registratie, 152336 euro in 24 hours.

Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown.

Every year statistics show that there is an overwheming increase for consumers shopping online , shopping online is no more a commodity for many people its a “necessity”

Today with a click of a button you can have goods shipped to your doorsteps in no time from half way around the world , who could of imangined this 20 years ago.

There are billions of people buying online everyday but we all share one thing in common ,whether im shopping online for gift baskets and you are shopping for jelly beans and mary your next door neighbor is looking for the right book for her schooling

we all want “THE BEST PRICE POSSIBLE”

Heres just a few out many ways you can shop and save online.

1. Dont buy in a hurry

Impatience can cost you ,before you buy your goods online from a store always check the competition , make sure you are not overpaying the item. A good way of doing this is BY typing the item + price in the google search box - for example ” vacume cleaner + price ” google will show you a list of pages that have that particular item with the prices.

2. Join the Newsletter

90% of big stores online have newsletters ,before you buy take 2 minutes of your time and join their newsletters, in many cases you will receive an e-mail within 24 hrs with a promotional code OR SALE that you can save 10 or 20% on your first purchase .

3. free Catalogs

if you have a couple of favorite stores dont hesitate to order their free catalogs if they offer them , you have nothing to loose but TO gain . You’d be surprised on how many DISCOUNT coupons you can find in their catalogs, and not to mention some catalogs are beautiful .

4. Coupon Codes ( most important )

Many stores do not advertise their coupon codes on their web sites , so lets say you want to buy a baby crib from walmart ,before you buy always type ” walmart coupon codes ” in google ,make sure theres no coupon code for walmart available and lingering somewhere online that you can use .

Sometimes with a little know how ,some internet savvy tips and patience you can save quite a few dollars , hey ! if you can save a dollar

— why not —

The laptop computer market has gone from strength to strength recently. Those searching for the new intel centrino 2 platform could be kept waiting as manufacturers have given warning of potential shipment shortages. Regardless of credit crunches and other financial conditions laptop shipments have increased year on year and it doesn’t seem to slip any time soon. The technology is advancing in all directions simultaneously too.

Laptops are becoming more suitable for gaming due to continuing speed increases. I think gaming laptops have never been at such low prices. You can hunt down some extremely good deals out there that will get you gaming. With the introduction of dual core cpus, laptops are worthy of gaming. With the newly discovered speed also came along more slicker designs. Power of desktops should always be a step ahead of laptops but its still encouraging to see. Gaming laptops are always challenging the speed boundaries of laptop compputers so its always a good benchmark of how far the technology has come in those terms.

Sometimes the usual mass market laptops just are not adequate for what we require them for so custom laptops will forever be here. The main benefits here are the fact that you can usually get advanced 3rd party components in custom laptops. It just allows the end user more choice at the end of the day. Mass market laptops are not made with niche buyers in mind and this could create a problem. You get over this by getting a laptop built to . I think you also get improved customer care when buying a custom laptop. Yet another great reason.

It will exciting to see what gets next. The tiny $500 laptops are moving like crazy at the moment. total new sector has been made suddenly it looks. People would like to have big screen ultra portables if that makes sense. Manufacturers must be engaged on an answer to this by now. Gauging from whats occuring it seems like we’ll start seeing ultra mobile gaming models. Every year we witness new innovations so who’s guessing what we’ll see next.

Check out some gaming laptops at http://www.rizeon.com/gaming_laptops/page.php

The medical term for pattern baldness is alopecia. The very most common kind of hair loss is male pattern baldness and affects roughly one third of men and girls. This sort of hair loss is traditionally forever.

Permanent hair loss comes in 3 types. Male pattern baldness can often start to show in the exceedingly early stage of a gents life, with hair loss beginning to happen as quickly as 19 years old. The normal very first signs will include loss of hair surrounding the top part of the scalp and furthermore at the forehead. The result can be partial or full total baldness.

Girl pattern baldness is nearly similar to male pattern baldness resulting in permanent hair follicle loss. This type of hair loss is usually developed after a girl gives birth to a child. The hormone imbalance generates hair loss although girls do not commonly experience whole hair loss.

The last kind of permanent hair loss is by Cicatricial. This starts when some inflammation in the scalp causes scaring and the hair follicles fall out forever and never come back. The male can often lose hair in different sections, or even spread all over the scalp.

With forever hair loss the fantastic solution for tons of men and women can often be to visit a hair loss centre in order to gain back hair. For the best hair growth techiniques visit Advanced Hair Studio and get back your confidence.

Ever since the first baby of the post-Second World War generation arrived in the world, the ‘boomers’ have influenced every aspect of society and have pretty much had and done things their own way. Even now, as the leading edge of the generation has passed 55 years of age, nothing has changed, as affluent boomers are raising the bar on how and where they plan to live in their retirement years. According to a report of the Urban Futures Institute the aging Canadian population will consistently dominate real estate markets just about everywhere in the country.

Unlike previous generations who were more likely to move into smaller homes, eliminate mortgages and cash in their equity as retirement approached, the Freedom 55 generation, as it is sometimes called, is more likely to upgrade to more expensive properties, while assuming new mortgages. In 1999, 59% of Canadian homeowners between 45 and 54 years of age and 35% of those between 55 and 64 years of age held mortgages. In 2001, according to Statistics Canada information, those figures had risen to 61.6% and 39.1% respectively. In 2003 the ratio was 64.2%and 35.1%.

More expensive but not bigger properties, though not in all cases. There is a trend identified by the Institute for the boomers to make their way out of the suburbs and back into the city. And what do they want to find in the city? Fitness centres, fine restaurants, dancing and … yes, lots of people. The leading characteristic of the Freedom 55 generation is, according to the Institute, that they hate to be left alone. They are also going to be the happiest and heathiest generation of their age group in a long time, with a highly remarked hypocritical spirit. And who is going to be at the center of their hypocritical attention? The Federal Government (politicians beware ….), with women being the most vociferous.

The Urban Futures Institute prognosticates that in about twenty-five years one in three Canadians will be over the age of 65. As by then they will have become empty-nesters, they will trade down their 3,500 square-foot homes in the suburbs for high-class downtown condo living, thus driving prices upwards especially in the most expensive category. More and more the adult lifestyle component will be the major force impacting how condominium complexes will be conceived and built. It will impact developers, architects and contractors alike. And since the boomers are - and will continue to be tech savvy - high speed Internet, fiberoptics circuitry, satellite connections and electronic wizardry will be must-have accessories.
The Urban Futures Institute report concludes that it is going to be both a lifestyle and financial choice closer to downtown means closer to established shopping, restaurants and entertainment and boomers are of the mind the location will offer more liquidity in the long-term.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Not only we are always busy in doing works and studying hard, but also we are feeling bored and stressed in most times. However, experts advise to take care of our body and soul and recovering from issue of troubles as well. Actually, we are still eager to obtain some recreation, fun, safe, and comfort as well. Uncountable ways are available to spend our space-time accordingly. In addition, those ways may be like doing arranged exercises or playing beloved games whereas at home or out. It is preferred in most times to go out to be able to feel with fresh and pure air and get recovery from stress and boring. Presently, nowadays, many homes have lovely gardens, where the family can be gathered there to play games or eat their meals. If we insist to eat meals in the garden it must got the suitable outdoor barbecue.

Outdoor barbecue is available in local market and can be found online. Selecting among endless categories is not an easy way. It must firstly, think of getting that one, which suits the budget of the family. Some categories of them are electrically or working with heating coals. While purchasing the suitable barbecue, it must select one is not too heavy or too light. Getting its warranty is advised too. Most of those barbecues are made of stainless steel. Getting your suitable one will reflect your skill in cooking fried chicken too!

Did you know that Macy’s has been around since 1858? That’s right and with a business like this that keeps growing someone obviously knows what they are doing. But I think their best idea was making one of the world’s largest signs outside their store, the second would be their Macy Coupon. I just love coupons and I think just about everyone else does too.

Macy’s is one of the world’s largest department stores with tons of inventory in it. They’ve got stuff for men, women and children. Clothes, shoes, beauty, bed, bathroom, a baby area, jewelry department and of course their outdoors side of the house. Hey, no man is complete with a BBQ or a ride on lawn mower is he? I can only imagine how Macy himself would’ve felt had he known his business was going to get this big.

Macy’s also has their own wedding channel that comes complete with the registry you can do online or walk in and do. If you really feel like it you can view everything in their store by using the online catalog. But don’t forget to use you macy coupon codes when the time comes for checkout. What are you waiting for? Get shopping!

If you are a sociopath it means you do not follow rules of society and it probably means your mind works much different too. In fact it also probably means you have not been brainwashed into the political correctness of the forward progression of society. If so, then why is that a bad thing? Well in many ways it is not.

Yet the word sociopath is often used in a negative way. What is even more interesting is that there is a trend in the United States of many people breaking the political correctness and telling society to stick it when it comes to expected norms of society?

Being a sociopath means you do not follow the rules of society. Many people say that sociopaths are bad? Not so really, well they could be bad if they go around breaking laws and hurting people. But those who buck the trends of political correctness; artists, comedians, actors, writers and musicians are hardly unneeded in society.

In fact we need them very much to prevent our civilization from turning into a socialist beehive. For those whose brains work differently, we should be thanking you all.

Yet society, academia and those who think they are helping society by trying to be professional and then condemn others by using “Sociopath” in a negative connotation are not helping our civilization, as they use this as a tool to control and manipulate independent thinkers into their linear thought process.

And actually well nothing on Earth could be more damaging to the over all society than that. Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

When you spend money on an advertisement you want to get the best return possible. To do that you need to get people to STOP and LOOK at your ad.

Remember, people are busy and they’re bombarded with thousands of commercial messages every day. So the odds of them giving your ad much attention are very small unless you give them a good reason to look.

The tool you can use to get people to look is called a disruptor. It disrupts what the reader is doing so they stop and look at your ad. It’s not complicated but it is critical if you want the best results from your ads.

What can you use as a disruptor?

In print advertising the ad headline and graphic are the primary disruptors.

The key is to put something in your ad that stands out, either visually or because of the meaning the words convey.

For example, graphics that have people in them or that show activity are good for this. People’s eyes are drawn to people and activity.

To make your headline stand out you might make it clever, funny or shocking. Or you might make an offer that people find attractive. Offer something better than the competition does and you’ll get people to stop and look at your ad.

As you plan your marketing material remember this idea. Put a disruptor in your visual marketing pieces and you’ll get better results without spending more money.

Kevin Stirtz is a successful entrepreneur, writer, trainer, speaker and mentor. He is a published author of over 150 business articles and he has been featured in local, regional, national and international business publications. He currently writes a marketing column for AllBusiness.com and he is writing his first book, which is due to be published in March of 2006. He can be reached at 1-952-212-4681 or http://www.KevinStirtz.com