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Pinellas Life
Newsletter Friday July 27, 2007
"The Portal with a Personality" online since
2001 !
|
Featured Member
|
 Massage
& Muscle Therapy by Vickie
(727) 483-0800 |
600 Bypass Drive Suite
107, Clearwater Florida 33764
Vickie Anderson, LMT,
MMT. Nationally certified, I am also a certified Master Massage Therapist,
which means that I have more experience than most therapists. I specialize
in amazing natural pain relief through unique stretching techniques for
connective tissue and muscles that are causing the discomfort. I
specialize in amazing natural pain relief through unique stretching
techniques for connective tissue and muscles that are causing the
discomfort. Deep tissue and neuromuscular release is applied, if
necessary. This is a very effective approach to lasting pain relief. I
also offer a customized relaxation massage, using complimentary hot stones
therapy and aromatherapy with every massage, unless the client prefers
otherwise. |
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What's New
PinellasLife.com has formed
strategic media partnerships with Accent on Tampa Bay Magazine, FightZone
Magazine, and the Bay Area Business Magazine. We currently partner with
Families on-the-go Magazine and Seminole Life Magazine. The addition of an
Entertainment, Sports, and Business Magazine allow us to cover everything in
Tampa Bay.
Print advertising is a very
effective way to promote your business and push customers to your "Web Site".
Tracking your print advertising in the 21st century is so easy your Web server
does it for you! Send your customers to a custom Web site address created
specifically for each media! For example: If you are placing an ad
in Families on-the-go Magazine your print ad could include www.yourbusiness/fotg.
The custom page can either redirect the user to the home page or offer them
specials. Either way your Web server will track your advertising dollars
with ease.
Internet Advertising
(PinellasLife.com) + Print (Magazine) Advertising + Web Site (SEO) = Customers
Tampa Bay ...
We have you Covered!
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Feature Article
The Power of Asking
7 Ways to Boost Your Business
by Jack Canfield
The gift called
“asking” has been around for a long, long time. One of life’s fundamental truths
states, “Ask and you shall receive.” Kids are masters at using this gift, but we
adults seem to have lost our ability to ask. We come up with all sorts of
excuses and reasons to avoid any possibility of rejection.
Yet the world
responds to those who ask. If you are not moving closer to what you want, you
probably aren’t doing enough asking. Here are seven asking strategies you can
implement in your business (and in life) to boost your results:
1. Ask for
Information
To win potential new
clients, you first need to know what their current challenges are, what they
want to accomplish and how they plan to do it. Only then can you proceed to
demonstrate the advantages of your unique product or service.
Ask questions
starting with the words
who,
why,
what,
where,
when
and
how to obtain the
information you need. Only when you truly understand and appreciate a prospect’s
needs can you offer a solution.
2. Ask for Business
Here’s an amazing
statistic: after giving a complete presentation about the benefits of their
product or service, more than 60 percent of the time salespeople never ask for
the order! That’s a bad habit, and one that could ultimately put you out of
business.
Always ask a closing
question to secure the business. Don’t waffle or talk around it—or worse, wait
for your prospect to ask you. No doubt you have heard of many good ways to ask
the question, “Would you like to give it a try?” The point is,
ask.
3. Ask for Written
Endorsements
Well-written,
results-oriented testimonials from highly respected people are powerful for
future sales. They solidify the quality of your product or service and leverage
you as a person who has integrity, is trustworthy and gets the job done on time.
When is the best
time to ask? Right after you have provided excellent service, gone the extra
mile to help out, or in any other way made your customer really happy.
Simply ask if your
customer would be willing to give you a testimonial about the value of your
product or service, plus any other helpful comments.
4. Ask for
Top-Quality Referrals
Just about everyone
in business knows the importance of referrals. It’s the easiest, least expensive
way of ensuring your growth and success in the marketplace.
Your core clients
will gladly give you referrals because you treat them so well. So why not ask
all of them for referrals? It’s a habit that will dramatically increase your
income. Like any other habit, the more you do it the easier it becomes.
5. Ask for More
Business
Look for other
products or services you can provide your customers. Devise a system that tells
you when your clients will require more of your products. The simplest way is to
ask your customers when you should contact them to reorder. It’s often easier to
sell your existing clients more than to go looking for new ones.
6. Ask to
Renegotiate
Regular business
activities include negotiation. Many networkers get
stuck because they lack skills in negotiation, yet this is simply another form
of asking that can save a lot of time and money. All sorts of contracts can be
renegotiated in your personal life, too, such as changing your mortgage terms
and rate. As long as you negotiate ethically and in the spirit of win-win, you
can enjoy a lot of flexibility. Nothing is ever cast in stone.
7. Ask for Feedback
This is an important
component of asking that is often overlooked. How do you really know if your
product or service is meeting your customers’ needs? Ask them, “How are we
doing? What can we do to improve our service to you? Please share what you like
or don’t like about our products.” Set up regular customer surveys that ask good
questions and tough questions. It’s a powerful way to fine-tune your business.
How
to Ask
Some people don’t
enjoy the fruits of asking because they don't ask effectively. If you use vague
language you will not be clearly understood. Here are five ways to ensure that
your asking gets results.
• Ask Clearly
Be precise. Think
clearly about your request. Take time to prepare. Use a note pad to pick words
that have the greatest impact. Words are powerful, so choose them carefully.
• Ask with
Confidence
People who ask
confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you’ve
figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and
confidence.
• Ask Consistently
Some people fold
after making one timid request. They quit too soon. Keep asking until you find
the answers. In prospecting there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get
a “yes.” Top producers understand this. When you find a way to ask that works,
keep on asking it.
• Ask Creatively
In this age of
global competition, your asking may get lost in the crowd, unheard by the
decision-makers you hope to reach. There is a way around this. If you want
someone’s attention, don’t ask the ordinary way. Use your creativity to dream up
a high-impact presentation.
• Ask Sincerely
When you really need
help, people will respond. Sincerity means dropping the image facade and showing
a willingness to be vulnerable. Tell it the way it is, lumps and all. Don’t
worry if your presentation isn’t perfect; ask from your heart. Keep it simple
and people will open up to you.
© 2007 Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield,
America’s Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the
billion-dollar book brand
Chicken Soup for the Soul
and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your
life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your
FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at:
www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
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Recipe - Shrimp Marnier Appetizer
SHRIMP MARNIER APPETIZER- Feeds 4
12 Jumbo Shrimp
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 Thin Slices Jamon Serrano (sliced down the center, yielding 12 slices)
16 Basil Leaves
1 Cup OJ
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier
1/2 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt
Place a basil leaf on each Shrimp and wrap it in a slice of Serrano ham. In a
large pan heat the olive oil, place the shrimp in the hot pan and sear for 1
minute on each side.
Add the OJ, Grand Marnier, black
pepper and salt and cook the shrimp till done (another 2-3 minutes).
Plate the shrimp on mixed greens,
chop the last 4 basil leaves and top the shrimp.
For a Main Course double the recipe
and serve this dish over rice.
Jose Luis and Catherine Pawelek,
Chefs/Proprietors
ELEMENTS GLOBAL CUISINE
- Coupon Available
3121 Beach Blvd, Gulfport, Fl. 33707
Tel 727-343-9894
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Book
of the Week
You
Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
Introduction
Every human being has been "Born Rich", it's just that most people are
temporarily a little short of money! This book has been written in an attempt to
bridge the gap between where you currently are and where you want to be. Step by
step, chapter by chapter, it will help you piece together the puzzle we most
often refer to as "life," so you can build a picture of prosperity in your mind,
and then go on to create the prosperity in your life. Indeed, life is very much
like the Rubic's Cube because we have all the right pieces, and all the right
colors, but is a frustrating, never-ending process, trying to get them to fit
together. Inevitably, it seems, there are always at least on or two pieces we
have left out.
Download Bob's Book for FREE
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PinellasLife.com Stats
It is not just about
the Search Engines its about who knows, likes, and trusts your Web site!
It is great to come up
at the top of the search engine but what is even more important to the success
of a Web site is the amount of users that know, like and trust your Web site.
PinellasLife.com gets more traffic from people that go "directly" to our site
than those that find us on the Big 4 Search Engines - Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.
July Visitors to
Date: Direct to PinellasLife.com 334,685 vs. 13,182 Google Referrals
That means that this
month over 300,000 people know, like, trust and use our Web site!
BUYER BEWARE! Before
spending money on Web site advertising find out how many “unique visitors” and
“page views” a Web site receives. Web sites that advertise “HITS” as a
measure of traffic are misleading consumers. One page can receive many hits
making it a inaccurate measure of Internet traffic. For example a Web page
loaded with pictures and graphic advertising banners will get a hit for each
graphic. You want to know how many people (unique visitors) frequent the site
and how many pages (page views) they visit.
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The Wild, Wild, Web
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
... Half Science / Half Marketing
Building a Web site without a
well planned SEO strategy is like building a house with no front door!
If your Web site is selling great products or services, you need to be found in
major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Ask.
Search Engine Optimization
is the process
of improving the quality and volume of traffic to a Web site from
search engines via "organic" search results (free clicks).
SEO never rests, much like your competition, and
requires in-depth knowledge (business, marketing, and technical) and a tremendous amount of
time and maintenance. An SEO expert understands the dynamics of the Search
Engine Algorithms and the dynamics of your customers.
Search Engine Optimization Facts
-
SEO should start during the planning phase of a Web site project, not as an
afterthought.
-
SEO is a sub-set of Search Engine Marketing.
-
SEO
is not about tricking the search engines!
-
SEO is an important factor in the success of a Web site regardless of its size.
-
SEO
delivers quality traffic for a maximum return on investment (ROI).
-
SEO is part of "pull" advertising.
People are actively seeking your products and/or services when using the search
engines.
-
SEO is the way to pull massive
amounts of "organic" free traffic to your site.
-
SEO produces a higher rate of
return (ROI) than almost any other form of traditional (offline) and online
advertising or marketing.
-
SEO without targeting the right
keywords & keyphrases is a waste of keystrokes and money.
-
SEO used to be easy! The search engines are dynamic and evolving making
this one of the biggest challenges of the century.
-
SEO is such a technical and ever-changing field that it demands specialization.
-
SEO is NOT simply adding META tags and submitting a Web Site to a million search
engines.
-
Over 85% of high income and highly
educated adults use search engines as their major source to find new Web sites
and search for information.
The practice of guiding the
development or redevelopment of a website so that it will naturally attract
visitors by winning top "organic" ranking on the major search engines for
selected keyword phrases is SEO in a nutshell.
SEO is critical to Web site success!
Call 727-517-8450 for a FREE SEO Analysis of your Web site. Visit
www.kissmarketing.com for more
information, to view our portfolio, and to read our client testimonials!
Deirdre Cavener, MCP is President and CEO of K.I.S.S.
Marketing, Inc. and founder of PinellasLife.com. She has lived in the Tampa Bay
area for 23 years and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of South
Florida in 1996 with a degree in Management Information Systems from the College
of Business.
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Marketing
20 Marketing Ideas
By Jay Conrad Levinson, Author,
"Guerrilla Marketing"
Guerrilla Rick Crandall, who is a marketing consultant, editor, author, and
newsletter publisher, gives us 20 simple and inexpensive marketing ideas:
-
Send unusual postcards.
-
Request testimonials from good
clients.
-
Go on a local talk show.
-
Refer business to a client.
-
Test offers with small classified
ads.
-
Put a "take a card" holder in a
neighborhood business.
-
Give a guest lecture at a local
school.
-
Send a lottery ticket with a note:
"If you want better odds, talk to us."
-
Find a new online discussion group.
-
Have a contest for the best and
worst of something related to your area.
-
Try to bring back an ex-client.
-
Give evening seminars in your
offices.
-
Create a flier and pay kids to pass
out copies of it.
-
Approach a competitor about mutual
referrals.
-
Sponsor a talk by a visiting expert
on a topic for your clients.
-
Call ten people you've been meaning
to talk to.
-
Find a marketing mentor and meet
with that person regularly.
-
Put a company logo or sign on your
car.
-
Change your phone greeting to "How
can I help you?"
-
Take a client to a ballgame.
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Health Corner
Chiropractic and Pregnancy?
People are often surprised to hear that pregnant women can even be adjusted,
when in fact Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent
common discomforts in pregnancy. Sciatic pain, hip discomfort, thoracic
tightness can all be reduced while a women is pregnant.
What is even more important,
however, is Chiropractic can help make the birthing process easier on both the
baby and mother. Chiropractors work with the pelvis to help normalize it and
allow it to be in the most favorable position for the baby, to help encourage a
natural birth with less stress. Specific Tables are used to adjust a pregnant
mother at any stage of her pregnancy. The adjustments are safe and comfortable
and, thanks to hormones that are released during pregnancy, movement of the
spine and pelvis is relatively easy.
Pregnancy and birth need our
respect, not intervention. Chiropractic is a natural approach to help the mother
to be able to accomplish her goals of minimal interference in this natural
process.
From Dr. Teri Hohl Balance Chiropractic Wellness Centre
2469 Sunset Point Road Suite 170
Clearwater, Fl 33765
727-791-4002 thohl@msn.com
Dr. Teri Hohl is an honor graduate from the University of Florida. She
graduated Magna Cum Laude from Life University in 2001. She has performed well
over 20,000 adjustments and is proficient in Thompson Drop, Diversified,
Activator, Arthrostim, and Upper Cervical techniques. She has been awarded the
Chiropractic International Honorary Award, Who's Who, and the Pinellas County
emerging Entrepreneur Award. Her memberships include the International
Chiropractic Society, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, and the
Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Teri has been married since 1996 and has
one son.
