Model Agency 411

This week I did a radical thing. I bought a newspaper.

I bought it to read about the events happening in London. I lived there for many years and have friends I love there. It has a very special place in my heart.

We now live in a world where small numbers of people can cause havoc and create fear within the hearts of so many. This is now particularly true of people living in major cities of the world. Individually, we might wonder what the world is coming to. Individually, we may think that there is little or nothing we can do.

There are those in the world who will tell you that the present situation is a prelude to Armageddon. These are those who are caught in the illusion that the only reality is that of time and space.

They will tell you that there is to be a wonderful rapturous moment when the world will end on a day called “Judgement Day.” Then God will make it all OK by punishing the bad guys and gals.

This is not going to happen.

This denies the responsibility we each have to wake up. Without accepting individual responsibility we fail to see, as the beautiful Julian of Norwich reminds us, “that all is well and all manner of things shall be well.” This is the seeing of the one who knows.

Do not despair of terror in its many forms.

It is a symptom of our degree of separateness from the real world. The outer world is a manifestation of how much we have lost contact with our inner world. Yet there is much beauty in the world if we will choose to see it moment to moment.

I am not one who thinks there is little or nothing that can be done to stem the tide of violence.

I know how much any one of us can do. To think we can do nothing means we create exactly that. Each of us can do so much to change the present situation. Each of us has the responsibility to change the present situation. I use the word responsibility in its real sense. This is “the ability to respond.” This ability is often frozen by fear and anxiety about the future.

We are beings of light. We are beings of knowing and beings of eternity.

Our real work in this world of time and space is to make matter conscious. It is to bring the experience of heaven to earth now. It is to realise the experience of heaven within. This does not mean that we all learn to be “nice” people. It does not mean we walk around being like Miss Goody Two Shoes.

It means we have the courage to know and feel who we are in essence this very moment.

When you know and feel who you are “nice” goes out the window. You transcend ideas of duality. You realise that you are simply graced the blessing of being love in action. You become surrendered to the will of the Beloved.

You become totally responsible and able to respond to the world. You do not despair although you will be pained by the suffering that human beings visit upon themselves and each other.

The real wound that is in this world of time and space is the sense that we are separate from love. This is not the sentimental attachment often sung in songs or written about in romantic novels. This is the experience of love as spoken about by the mystics of all religious traditions and none. To glimpse this world of mystery is to see through the glass brightly.

As the wonderful mystic Ralph Waldo Trine reminds me

“If you would find the highest, the fullest and the richest life that not only this world but that any world can know, then do away with the sense of separateness of your life from the life of God.”

Use whatever word for God that you feel comfortable with.

I use the word “Love” or the word “Beloved.” The later reminds me that it is an instruction. I am instructed to “BE-LOVE-D.” I take this instruction sincerely. It reminds me that this is our true nature. It reminds me that despite all appearances there is one thing that will not change.

This is the reality that Love is eternally now. What needs to change is our individual knowing of this experience. This experience of knowing is not the same as belief. This knowing is beyond belief because it is so radically transformational. When you know there is no need for belief.

This week remember in your hearts all those who suffer outrage at the hands of others in whatever form. Remember that those who perpetrate these outrages are lost in the mist of separateness from love.

Love has its own laws. These do not operate solely in the sphere of time and space. The law of love operates in the realm of the timeless. Anyone who transgresses this law must pay the price. This is not because they are judged “good” or “bad” but because this is the law. This is the real law and no individual overrides it.

Those who are outraged may change the nature of the world in this realm of time and space. They cannot, however, change that which is eternal. They cannot change the reality that God is LOVE. They can change the form of energy but they can never destroy it.

I want to leave you with the beauty of Islam.

I lived in England during what were known as “the troubles.” As someone from Northern Ireland there were times I felt isolated and alone. This was because following bomb outrages in English cities all Irish and Northern Irish people were suspected terrorists

This is the power of labelling. It is important at this time that we are vigilant in how we judge others of different nationality, religion or any other way that increases our illusion of separateness from each other.

On my altar at home I keep the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273).

He is my favourite mystic. His is the true Islam. He is the surrendered one. This is from the wonderful book translated by Coleman Barks entitled “Birdsong.” I love the fact that this is the top selling poetry book in the U.S.A.

“Love lit a fire in my chest
and anything that wasn’t love
left: intellectual subtly, philosophy,
books, school.

All I want now to do
Or hear is poetry.”

Rumi.

In this poem Rumi use the word “poetry” as the metaphor for the experience of non-separateness from love.

This week in which outlaws from love have chosen to express their outrage on others remember that the Blessing is already here. You are it if only you take courage and would know.

Please feel free to share this article in anyway you wish.

It is important that each of us do not succumb to fear. In this world of time and space we have the blessing of free choice. We act from fear or we act from love. It is for each of us to learn how to respond and accept the total responsibility of love in action.

This is why we are incarnated here on this beautiful planet. When we learn this lesson we see beyond the mist of illusion. We get to glimpse the wonder of being here now. This is forever enough.

Know that this transcends anything that will ever be perpetrated through terror.

© Tony Cuckson 2005

Tony Cuckson is a writer, storyteller and Anamcara. This Celtic term means “Soul Friend.” He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony’s Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.

Get your free report called “7 ways to it’s a wonderful life” at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info/

You have lived on ground almost all your life so its about time to wake up to a new life on a boat. Houseboating has become a popular past time for both the young and old, especially attracted by the thrill of living on rivers and lakes and enjoying its green banks. Of late, housbeoating rental companies have tried to add a lot of incentives to this boating holiday to make visitors feel like they are in an urban setting. Some boats now feature fully connected satelite tv, gas cookers, radios, etc.

You can book a houseboat for a day, two weeks or a month as your plans require. Ther are several companies offering visitors the ability to rent their boats and explore rivers upstream or downstream, seeing lakes and rivers in all their beauty and scenery. For bird watchers and environmental enthusiasts, this is a great opportunity to combine a holiday with business exploration..

Going on a houseboating adventure differs not much from an ordinary camping. You need to take enough suplies but not bedding as the houseboats are equiped with beds and sitting room furniture to imitate everyday household living conditions. You may however need to take along food and drink supplies . Of late some people, send along water skis and some fishing rods to do some fishing.

One company at the forefront of houseboat renting is Sunset Marina & Resort, loacted at Sunset Marina & Resort Sunset Dock Rd.Byrdstown, TN and online at http://www.sunsetmarina.com. The company has a new 20′ wide boat which can be used to explore the entire Dale Hollow Lake at a great comfort. The boat has 6 private bedrooms with closets, 2 full baths and a fly bridge with canopy top and hot tubs.

If you intend to go on a houseboat vacation, you will have to know something about the high and low seasons. During the high seasosn, expect to pay as much as $1,500 to $3,000 a week depnding on facilities available. A low season price can be between $800 to $1500 depending on facilities again.

Find out from the boating company which routes the craft will pass. If you intend to go on environmental or eco holiday, you will need rivers with a lot of wild life scenery and game. If you intend to do fishing, you will need a river with a lot of fresh water fish.

Also, make a good assessment of how much space you will need so that you do not waste space or find yourself overcrowded.

Take along food supplies even if you are assured of sale by local stores. Though these stores will relieve you of the burden of carrying food all the way to the rivers, they cannot be counted on all the time as they may close for one reason or the other.

Houseboating is one holiday option you will love to patronise. Rivers, lakes and waterfronts all help to create an atmosphere of nature, quite relieving you from the concerns of urban neighborhoods.

About the Author

For more more information about houseboat rental please visit http://www.used-houseboats.net

Many credit card holders would like to obtain a higher credit card limit. The main purpose for this is that a higher credit card limit enables the purchase of otherwise unaffordable merchandise.

First of all, credit card holders need to remember that to get a higher credit card limit, they must abide by the terms and conditions of the issuing credit card company or bank.

Here are seven tips toward obtaining a higher credit card limit:

1. The most important thing to do toward getting a higher credit card limit is to prove your credit worthiness. This is the first thing that banks and companies look for when approving a higher credit limit.

2. Always spend within your credit card limit. Doing so communicates to your credit card lender that you are capable of controlling your expenses.

3. Use your credit card regularly. Don’t keep your credit cards for emergency use only. If you use your credit cards just occasionally, banks and credit card companies will be unable to understand your spending and payment behavior. By using your credit card minimally, most banks and credit card companies will be reluctant to give you a higher credit card limit.

4. Don’t make minimum payments. Instead, try to pay for the entire outstanding amount. This method of repayment will usually give you a better chance of getting a higher credit card limit.

5. Attract positive attention from the credit card company or bank by paying interest finance charges once in a while. Obviously, this is not advisable on a continual basis and should only be used as a last resort to increase your chances of getting a higher credit limit.

Proving to credit card companies and banks that you are good borrower can be a convincing way to get a higher credit limit. But be careful because this strategy also means that you will be paying finance charges which can accumulate in a hurry.

6. Avoid late payments. Not only will your payment increase, but you will also have to pay an additional fee for late payment. This will also decrease your chances of getting a higher credit card limit.

7. The best and simplest strategy for obtaining a higher credit card limit is to use your credit card wisely. Always keep in mind that credit card companies keep a record of your transactions and payment patterns, so always pay your credit card bill on time.

The bottom line is that your performance on record at your bank and credit card company will determine whether you’ll get a higher credit card limit or not.

And always remember, a higher credit card limit means greater purchasing power, but it also increases the risk of your having to pay greater interest charges and other processing and late fees if you have difficulty repaying the higher balances.

For additional credit card information visit http://www.yes-credit-cards.com.

Assuming you haven’t mastered betting establishment wagering, then do please read on.

For clarity’s sake: a betting saloon is a house that focuses on friendly gambling. Here, clients may have fun handling the coin-operated machines or alternative pastimes of luck. Betting hall games in the main have logically determined balances constituting them which safeguard the casino preserves dominion above the players.

Very many gambling saloon games can incite you into being addicted quickly. Let’s reflect on the archetypal slot machine, a cash operated machine with 3, sometimes more discs that rotate once a bar connected to it is pushed. This machine regularly renders with reference to a sequence of designs presented on the front panel of the instrument. Regrettably, betting house games tend to push a misconception of being in control, tricking the gambling devotee: the participant is granted decisions, but in reality they do not realistically match up the client’s negative odds. This is brought about by the the betting saloon never paying out the full sum as hoped for. This structured arrangement is generally found in acclaimed casino games like straight poker, dice, roulette or blackjack.

Five-card stud poker is indisputably an incredibly fashionable casino pastime. The gamblers, religiously guarding their either fully or partially screened hands, will wager in the pot which is ultimately bestowed onto the prevailing gamer enjoying the best set of cards. (And as eveyone knows, the coolest bluffing hand can easily win as well!)

free casino sign up bonus

Quite like Texas hold’em, blackjack too is an incredibly fashionable casino game. A great deal of its repute is a result of its peculiar mix of chance and smartness & choice making, and a method termed Card Counting. The aforementioned is a craft in which betting devotees will dramatically skew the odds of the game for their own ends by both wagering & systematic decisions correlating with the hands shown.

“Craps” is a well-known game utilizing the throw of 2 dice. Gamers have to place bets on the result of one roll, or on a succession of rolls of two dice. Quite unlike blackjack, there is no credible sustainable winning strategy you could utilize to boost the chances.

Roulette is another well-known pastime. Here a croupier will twist a roulette wheel that incorporates a set of thirtyseven (as applicable to classical roulette) or precisely 38 (American or Vegas roulette) differently numbered compartments in which the white ball will settle, thus establishing the winning number as well as the other chances that will go along with it. Supposing that the gamester wagers on a specific number which is successful, which is to say it’s their lucky day, the ward will be thirty-five to 1, the initial pledge proper being paid out. Ergo in totality it’s increased by 36.

One of the ways that credit card companies gain new customers is to set up reward systems that give customers a reason to sign up for their rewards credit cards, make purchases on those cards and shop at their affiliates’. The best rewards credit cards offer sweet perks will even come with an introductory period up to 15 months of 0% interest. This is a way to tempt people who might not normally pay with credit cards to use their rewards credit card. Frequency of use tends to go up with the amount of rewards receive. Because usage of these credit card profits the credit card companies involved, whether or not the balances are paid off monthly, the reward process benefits consumer and creditor.

Types of Reward Programs

Each rewards credit card company has a unique reward system. Some offer cash back for each purchase made using a particular card which could be done with each purchase, or on a monthly or annual basis. Cash back is the preferred choice by those who do not have time to track reward points or other reward system. Other rewards credit card programs focus on a selection of prizes, rather than cash or points.

Maximizing Your Program

The fastest way to accrue points, of course, is to use your rewards credit card, and to claim your reward when you earn it. If you pay off your balance every month, your reward will not be something that you end up paying for all over again because of your extra interest and fees. Many credit card rewards go unclaimed and unused every year by customers who forgot to claim them. Unless your program is cash-based, you would often have to contact the credit card company to redeem your awards. Depending on your preferences, you would have to shop around to find the best rewards credit cards for yourself.

Rewards credit card systems are excellent for those who have credit liquidity. If your cards are close to the limit and you are only making minimum payments each month, your rewards would almost never increase, because finance charges and late fees eat up you rewards. You would only benefit from new purchases. Rewards credit cards would not be good for those who have a problem handling credit, but they can be a way to let good money managers stretch their spending dollars.

Once, rewards credit cards were only for the high rollers, and they required high fees on a yearly basis to take part. Because of the competitive nature of the current consumer credit market, almost anyone could afford to participate, and just about every credit card has a rewards program built in. If you can handle credit, you should be able to find the best rewards credit cards available to reward yourself.

It is however, always a smarter choice to run around, comparing a number of rewards credit cards before making a decision on the one. Take into consideration, the kind of rewards that you really need or want. Businessmen that travel a lot would be greatly suited for a rewards credit card that comes with miles rewards whenever they take a flight with the company stay at partner hotels or even renting cars at selected dealers. Home makers would also do well with rewards credit cards that allow prize redemptions of household items or instant cash backs. Whoever you are, there is sure to be a card that would prove to be tailor-made just for you.

How To Get Credit

Everyone needs a personal line of credit. Many people have credit issues that cause them problems when trying to secure loans or obtain a line of credit. In today’s world it is essential to have a personal line of credit. For those just starting out in the world of credit it is important to learn how to build and maintain their personal credit.

Frustrating, But Possible

Starting out a personal credit history can be difficult. Most often when you apply for a line of credit you will be told that you have an insufficient line of credit. This is like a “chicken and egg” scenario.

To get credit they want you to have credit, but you can’t have credit if they won’t give it you. Confusing and frustrating, isn’t it? There are some lines of credit that you can get without having to have a credit history first.

Start Small

The most common place to start on building your credit is with a department store card. These cards are not associated with a major credit card company and can only be used at the specific department store. They give you a small line of credit to start out. You should pay your bills on time and keep a small amount of free credit on the card. After some time they will review your account and give you more credit. All the time this is being reported to the credit bureaus and building you a personal credit history. Other ways of building a credit history are to get cable or satellite service in your name. Phone companies and some other utility companies also report to the credit bureaus. The key is to start small.

Pace Yourself, and Don’t Slip Up

Building your personal credit takes time and will not happen overnight. Building anything is hard work. Keep at it and do not slip on paying your bills in a timely manner. Once you get started it is easy to get carried away, so always be aware of your outstanding debt. Good credit can easily slip into bad credit and that is worse than no credit at all.

Gerald Washam is the owner of a website devoted to personal credit and credit repair issues. Learn the secrets to repairing, improving and maintaining your credit score. Secrets THEY don’t want you to know. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need before contacting the Credit Bureaus. Know what your rights are. Visit us here http://www.creditrepaird.com to find your way to personal credit freedom.

In Egypt the greyhounds were mummified and buried with their masters. The Egyptians viewed them as supreme among all animals. The greyhounds also find place in the literary works of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Homer.

In England, greyhound was considered as a status symbol back in 10th century. Only noblemen were permitted to hunt with them. Later, Queen Elizabeth I made rules regarding the use of greyhounds to chase hares. In early 1900s Patrick Owen became the first one to introduce the concept of greyhound racing. Later, the first circular track was made in California in 1919.

The greyhounds are kept in the paddock before the race begins. After the pre race tests and procedures, the greyhounds are put in individual compartments in the starting box, called traps. These traps have automated doors. When the race starts the dog is made to chase a lure. A lure is a mechanical device that moves around the track at a considerable distance from the dog. The lure resembles either a bone or a rabbit.

After the race, the greyhound is provided with water and an open area to walk. The winner is called in the winner’s circle.

The registration and identification of greyhounds is the duty of the National Greyhound Association. It is a non profit organization and carries its work in North America. Only registered owners can enter into an exclusive contract with a registered kennel. These kennel in turn contract with the tracks. The tracks decide the schedule for the race fro a season.

There are certain states like California and Maine that prohibit greyhound racing. Other States prohibit the use live rabbits and other small animals as a bait for the dogs in the race.

The way the greyhounds are handled and trained is also a matter of controversy. While some greyhounds are naturally fit to race, the others lack killer instinct. the dogs unfit for racing are either killed or given in laboratories for experimentation. In certain cases the dogs is starved in order to develop in him an impulse to kill the small animals for food.

The World Greyhound Racing Federation ( WGRF) was established in 1969. it is a non regulatory organization and is dedicated to providing information and promoting the sport nationally and internationally. Various nations participate in the Bi- annual World Greyhound Racing Conference. At the 2003 conference the organization has adopted a welfare charter which aims at promoting the mental and physical well being of the dogs.

Greyhound Pets of America is another non profit organization that finds home to the retired greyhounds. It advices the owners of these pets how to take care of the greyhounds and helps it fit in the new environment.

The American Greyhound Council is responsible for researching diseases that infect the greyhound and providing well trained professional and veterinarians to better take care of the dogs. It also employs inspectors to check any mistreatment of greyhounds.

Like in horse racing, betting in greyhound racing is also quite prevalent. The betting game has its own terminology like bookie, beards, quiniela etc. Betting, being a wager can never be foolproof, but one cam increase his chances to win by playing smart. For example, a dog with a consistent performance can be good to bet on. The medical history and the appearance of the dog can be another parameter. Success cannot be guaranteed in the game of betting, but doing a little homework never hurts.

About the Author

Mansi gupta writes about greyhound racing topics .

There is an old joke about a man who is walking home along the street in the early hours of a weekend and he sees another man, who is obviously very drunk, on his hands and knees, searching for something. “What are you looking for?” he asks the drunked man. “My house keys” the man replies. “Where did you drop them?” he asks. “Two streets away” he slurs. “Why aren’t you looking there then”, he asks, puzzled. “Because the light’s much better here.”

Now, during my initial training and learning, I was quite unsure about myself in many ways! Yes, even me, some may say that I have gone rather extremely the other direction now! I tried lots of the things I learned with self-hypnosis and different aspects of the standard NLP approaches to overcome this uncertainty and lack of confidence in my ability to do what I wanted to do, but none of them seemed to work for me. I still got the butterflies in my tummy and lacked a real sense of confidence, in fact I felt nervous about doing what I wanted to do (what if it all went wrong and I failed!!). I had spent some time fighting the anxious feeling, then one day I said to myself “Adam, just experience it, stop resisting it, stop fighting it; just feel it” and an amazing thing happened. I felt the nervous feeling, then it disappeared! I was shocked. All those previous months and years of fighting it, and all that I really needed to do was to feel it. I acknowledged it and stopped resisting.

Doing this is to heighten your own awareness of your own map of the world.

One of the presuppositions of NLP is ‘meet people at their map of the world’. This is a process of seeing things from their point of view or being aware of their experience and is a far depper discussion for another time. Now, I was fine at doing this with other people and my successful therapeutic consultancy is over the years has been solid proof to me of that, but before all that started, all those years ago, I suddenly realised that I had not been meeting myself at my map of the world. Whenever I felt feelings that I did not like, I would struggle, resist and fight them, and you know what they say: When you fight with yourself, someone always loses, and that someone is you. So I decided to stop fighting and resisting my feelings and instead to acknowledge them and start working with them.

WHere am I going with all this then? If there is a feeling that you find unpleasant or that seems unhelpful or that you just plain don’t like, firstly, map out the feeling. This is just a process of identifying where in your body that feeling is, really locate that feeling in your body. Now think about what size it is, how it moves; I used to have a fluttering feeling in the pit of my tummy that as I reisted it more would spread into my chest and back down again. Really be aware of the feeling physiologically, even think about what temperature it is, you can even take it a step further and think about what colour it would be if it had one etc.

While most people profess to know what they are feeling, you would be amazed at how many people have not got in the slightest bit acquainted with the physical characteristics of the emotions they are experiencing, they just let them happen passively without really getting an awareness of them. Emotions are physical (they are chemicals and all sorts of other things too), so the first step is to map out that physicality.

Next up, accept the feeling. Become OK with the fact that you are feeling it. For more on how to accept things in your life, again, dig out the article from a previous edition of “Adam Up” that was all about that, it is there in the archive on my website.

Of course, this can be a bit of a struggle for some people, who will no doubt say “But I don’t want to feel it” or “I shouldn’t be feeling it.” I know some of you are thinking that.

So here is the thing: you are feeling it, and if you want to change the feelings quickly, the most expedient way to do it is to meet yourself at your map of the world and accept that presenting feeling that you are having. If you refuse to do this, then you are just resisting it or fighting it as I was doing back then. Then any attempt to change it will involve starting from where you aren’t, and that rarely works out well (as our tipsy man looking for his keys on the wrong street can attest to.)

Then, you find the positive intent. What is your body or your unconscious trying to tell you? Sometimes feelings have a message of some sort for us. Other times, they’re just sensations that our body has some purpose for feeling. What (if anything) is this feeling doing for you or trying to tell you?

Then; feel it. Just feel it. Be sure not to struggle or fight, just feel it. Remember to breathe too

You don’t have to do this for long, but it is really good to feel something. Even if it feels bad, the fact that you can feel it means that you are alive (woo-hoo!) and it also means that you are in touch with how you feel. These are both good things to be able to acknowledge and realise within yourself. Often, just accepting and realising a feeling is putting it in a vast different perspective.

The final part of this process is to then play with the feeling.

Increase the feeling’s intensity. The reduce it. If it was one colour, make it another, if it was moving in a certain direction, move it in another, if it was a certain size, enlarge it or make it smaller, basically, have a play with it and discover just how much influence you have over this feeling. I think you will be surprised when you realise just how much influcence you really do have.

One of the things you’ll begin to find as you start to experience is just how much it’s possible for you to get a handle on your feelings. You may well discover for yourself that feelings aren’t true or false. They don’t really mean anything. They are just sensations that you are experiencing in your body. If you resist them, they’ll be there for some time, but if you accept them, you can start to play with them and change them. Does this mean you’ll not have a bad feeling ever again? No. Feelings will come and feelings will go, but what it does mean is that you can start to have more and more of the sorts of feelings you want to have. I know that whatever you are wanting to do in life, you’ll be wanting to punctuate your life with more and more good feelings, am I right?

So, enjoy your day today and make sure that you are spreading some good feelings into your life.

To receive Adam’s amazing bi-monthly ezine, packed with modern, innovative, psychological tips, techniques and information visit www.adam-eason.com You’ll also receive a free instantly downloadable hypnosis session to enjoy at home.

A conversation:

The Salesperson: “I don’t cold callI want to build relationships.”

Wendy: “Huh?”

Recently I’ve had a number of conversations with sales professionals and entrepreneurs who tell me they do not cold call because they want to build relationships with prospects.

I’m confused.

Who says the two are mutually exclusive?

Every relationship whether business or personal begins somewhere. Everyone whom you currently know, your significant other, your colleagues at work, your friends, or your neighbors were unknown to you at one time. Then, somehow, you met and over time formed a relationship. It takes time.

In sales there are many ways to contact and reach out to new prospects. There’s direct mail, networking, referrals, trade shows, the internet, public speaking and writing articles. And yes, there is calling prospects on the telephone. These are all ways to introduce yourself, your company and your product or service to potential customers.

The telephone introduction is incredibly direct, easy, efficient and inexpensive. First you target your market and then you introduce yourself to the decision-maker. That’s one of the reasons I prefer the term “introductory calling” to “cold calling.” The call is an introduction. It is not a sale or a relationship.

However you initially meet a prospect, after that introduction, you still must take all of the necessary steps to build a relationship. With every prospect that you encounter, however you first encounter them, at some point you will have to pick up the telephone and call them. If at that point you do not represent yourself effectively and articulately, you will not move to the next step. This means that even if you are calling a prospect who did not originate with a phone call, you will need to do all of the same preparation that you would do if that prospect were a total stranger and you were calling for the first time! You would still have to determine how you want to represent yourself, what points you want to make and what is the goal of your conversation.

Every sale has a cycle with four steps. The cycle could be longer or shorter depending on the product or service, the market and/or your skill level, but you must go through every step of your sales cycle. Most sales cycles go something like this: The first step is always the introduction. This could be a phone call, it could be a letter or an e-mail, but somehow the prospect must become aware of you. Usually the next step is a meeting (or sometimes a series of meetings) or an extended conversation (or a series of conversations.) You personally introduce yourself and whatever you are selling to your prospect and you learn more about the prospect company. From there, if all goes well, you move to the proposal step. This proposal can be verbal and as simple as explaining your services and fees or it could be a more complex written proposal. The last step of this particular cycle is the close, when your prospect accepts your proposal. This process could happen in a dayor it could take a year, but however long it takes you will never skip any of the steps.

The mistake most people make is in not understanding the steps of the sales cycle and that you must pass through each step to get to the next. The introductory call does not lead directly to the close. What that introductory call does is easily and quickly get you directly in front of your prospect to begin your sales cycle. You will still have to put in all of the work to show your prospect how you can help. And you will still have to put in all of the work to build a relationship with that prospect.

Many people do a lot of time-consuming, expensive things to first meet prospects so that they can later follow up with a phone call. My suggestion: Simply call. It saves time and it saves money.

© 2004 Wendy Weiss

Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling & Selling Success, is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. She is the author of Cold Calling for Women and the recently released Cold Calling College. Get her free e-zine at http://www.wendyweiss.com.

Cashback credit cards reward the cardholder for using the cards, by giving rebates and cashback incentives. Cashback credit cards are only given to those with good, very good or excellent credit ratings.

While there are variations on the offers of the cashback credit cards, the best of these have some typical features. Let’s look at two of these best cashback credit cards.

The first of these cashback credit cards we found has a zero percent annual percentage rate (APR) on purchase as well as transfer of balances from other high rate credit cards for the first year. Each purchase made with this cashback credit card earns one percent back. The earnings have no tier, no maximum or any hard to understand spending requirement. Other benefits of this cashback credit card offer include unlimited protection for purchases, extended warranty and accident insurance for travelers. There is no annual fee for this cashback
credit card. The regular APR after the introductory year is 10.74. Your credit must be good to be approved.

Cashback credit cards are also offered specific to vendors, such as one offered for an auto manufacturer. This card has no annual fee and zero percentage interest during the twelve-month introductory period. You earn rebates at the rate of one percent on any purchase, one percent on any vehicle purchase, but three percent on any make or model of the auto manufacturer sponsoring these cashback credit cards.

There are a number of restrictions and cautions on these cashback credit cards, however. As an example, let’s take a look at the fine print tied in to the auto
manufacturer cashback credit card offer.
The Introductory APR on this card cannot be applied to a cash advance, and that’s standard. In fact, cash advances are quite costly no matter what credit
card you choose.

During the twelve month introductory offer should your minimum or greater payment be late just once or should you twice exceed your designated credit limit, you’ll lose the right to the zero percentage interest rate. Depending on your credit worthiness, your interest rate would now be somewhere between 12.74 and 19.74 percent.

Balance transfer fees on these cashback credit cards are 3 percent, though the minimum charge would be $15 and the maximum $75.

The minimum finance charge is fifty cents per billing cycle for these cashback credit cards. What’s most disturbing about this particular cashback credit card, however, is the final fine print statement that the credit card issuer reserves the right to unilaterally make any change of fee, APR or other terms of the cashback credit card accounts at any time.