Special Speech

I was recently speaking with a mutual friend who has been in
sales for several years about the benefits of CRM. (For the sake
of this newsletter, we’ll call him Jim) Jim was quick to comment
on how he didn’t like any of the current CRM software packages,
and had used several of them for his various employers. Jim told
me how he swore by Outlook and that he had used it for many
years, and had developed such efficiency that every other
solution was less effective for him.

**************************************** We will talk in a few
weeks about how important the CRM system end user experience is
to the success of any CRM deployment, but for today, I would
like to focus on another topic.
****************************************

You see, if “CRM” is only being implemented as a new contact and
appointment manager, then Outlook probably is an appropriate
tool. ACT! is the world’s leading contact manager and there are
tens of thousands around the world that swear by it. These are
both good, solid, workable tools for some remote salespeople.

However, Customer Relationship Management is a much more
comprehensive endeavor than simple contact management, or even
efforts to automate the sales force’s daily activities. It
requires integration of processes, software applications, and
databases.

**************************************** We are now talking
about strategically making the customer experience better,
across the organization…

When they interact with their salesperson… When they call the
finance department… When they need technical support… When
they visit your website… and when they are marketed to.
****************************************

Outlook cannot possibly enable such things, or capture
information to be analyzed.

When I began to dig a little deeper to understand why Jim had
this apprehension and distaste for CRM products, the picture
became a little clearer. You see, he really let me know that his
main problem was not necessarily the CRM products themselves,
but rather the executive team and sales management’s perception
of the system and what is was supposed to do.

Many times, management recognizes the need for CRM. Their
competition is “Implementing CRM”. The press is talking about
CRM. They know that they need to change something, increase
their sales, while reducing costs. But a lot of times, CRM is
reduced to just another contact manager, implemented with three
times as much administration for the sales team, so that
management can see what the heck they are doing. Tough sell? You
bet. Especially to salespeople who are used to working
autonomously, and earning six figures a year.

It is important for executives and senior managers to recognize
that CRM is more than just getting information for themselves.
This is a very critical requirement, and an essential gain for
any implementation. However, we must go back to positioning CRM
as an initiative focused around making the customer experience
better. One of the ways to do this is to arm the people who are
dealing with the customer with relevant, timely, easily
retrievable information. It is also important to empower them
with applications that make it easy for them to enter new
information they discover during their interaction. The next
step, the critical factor we are discussing today is to make
that information available to all parties within the
organization who might be able to take advantage of it -
executives, managers, sales reps, marketing, tech support reps,
finance, customer service, etc.

CRM truly is a mindset. It is the implementation of customer
centric business strategies and processes that are intended to
make the customer feel like they are the company’s first
priority. Implementing these strategies generally require the
proper technology as an enabler to successfully deploy and
implement the new systems and processes.

**************************************** If you missed my
article about customer centricity last month, take the time to
review it here “Why Customer Centricity?”
****************************************

My converation with Jim continued, and went something like this:

BRIAN: “I assume you don’t do any of the order processing, when
your prospects sign a purchase agreement for your products and
services.” JIM: “No, once I receive the signed contract, I fax
that back to headquarters, and they follow up with fulfillment
and billing”

BRIAN: “Are you ever aware of any issues that the customer has
after the order has shipped?” JIM: “Not always. Occasionally,
when they are really mad, or are having serious trouble, I’ll
get a call.”

BRIAN: “Have you ever gone to call on an existing customer, and
walked into a landmine because they have a nagging issue with
your tech support or finance department?” JIM: “Yeah, that
definitiely happens. It would be nice to know ahead of time
somehow, but unless tech support is really proactive and knows
our schedules, they really never notify us, especially because
we are in different timezones”

BRIAN: “So you have no idea what is going on with your customer
with other departments in your company, the other “touch points”
your customer has with your organization?” JIM: “Well, I try and
stay in touch with the customer as much as possible, but no, I
don’t generally know what is going on with them unless there is
a serious issue.”

BRIAN: “Is it fair to say that the rest of your organization
really has no visibility to what is going on with you and the
prospect/customer either?” JIM: “Pretty much. I sent in a report
monthly of my activity to my boss, but that is about it.”

BRIAN: “How about any financial information? Do you have access
to any of that?” JIM: “Quarterly we get a spreadsheet from
corporate. I compare my personal spreadsheet to theirs just to
make sure that my commission is right.”

Perhaps some of you can relate to this situation. It is not that
uncommon, but more and more companies are realizing the benefits
of moving towards being a customer centric organization through
a CRM initiative.

I went on to begin to paint a different picture for Jim about
how his life could be made a lot easier and how he could be more
productive with his time. Below are just 4 ways that integrating
department silos, and disparate applications and data could
improve a salesperson’s life. I could expand and share a similar
list about each end user of a CRM system, but I think that you
can probably draw some conclusions on your own about how
integrating information would help Sales Managers, Customer
Service Personnel, Technical Support representatives, and
Accounts Receivable specialists.

****************************************

1. What if you could turn a quote into an order with the push of
a button, and have it automatically inserted into your
ERP/Financial system? Wouldn’t that cut down on time and errors
spent entering orders in two systems?

2. What if you had visibility about all the open tech support or
other customer service issues that your customer had called
about, and you were able to proactively contact them, instead of
being blindsided when you are trying to sell them additional
products or services? Do you think they might be impressed with
your level of service and attentiveness? Do you think that your
unsolicited follow up might communicate to them that even when
things go wrong, you are truly interested in helping them?

3. What if you had access to see how much a customer had spent
over the past year, the products they had purchased, and whether
they were on time with their payments? Do you think this might
give you increased visibility to who your most valuable
customers are? Do you think it might help prioritze who you
should be calling on?

4. What if you could sort your customers easily by product line,
and easily market to them with complimentary products and
services that you offer? Do you think it might help enhance
collaboration between Sales and Marketing departments in cross
selling efforts? ****************************************

“An effective CRM implementation will have to be able to account
for an entire spectrum of customer-based systems and how they
interact with customers themselves. This is likely to include
conventional personal interactions, paper-based transactions,
Web site browsing, e-commerce, telephone contact or voice/data
interaction via wireless technology. Organizations must be able
to manage and maintain these multiple points of interaction to
say they have an effective CRM system.” says Charles Saunders in
the September 24, 2001 edition of EAI Journal.

Outlook can be effective for managing your day to day tasks. But
how much time is spent on the phone, through email, looking at 4
different spreadsheets to gather fragmented, out of date
information? No wonder so many people are frustrated.

To learn more about how Initium Technology can help integrate
your applications, data, and information silos into an efficient
customer relationship system, please call us at 1-800-250-5732,
or visit our website http://www.initiumtech.com/rfi.htm

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and President’s Day weekend! Be
sure and take the time to express your love to the special
people in your life!

Kind regards,

Brian Vellmure Initium Technology bvellmure@initiumtech.com

Copyright 2003 Initium, LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Imagine a pile of fresh-cooked chips, crisp outside, meltingly smooth and starchy inside. A soft, squidgey doughnut, oozing jam. A mound of ice-cream. A whole box of chocolates…just for you. A big bag of salty, crunchy crisps.

Hard for most of us to refuse — and for people with food cravings, almost impossible. Cravings are strong desires for particular foods or types of food, almost always high-fat and often high-sugar as well. These are danger foods, diet busters with a vengeance. Once you start eating them, it’s very difficult to stop, and the desire for them can seem irresistible and uncontrollable.

Cravings aren’t fuelled by hunger. They are often set off by emotional needs, and can also be caused by food allergy. Since many diets do leave you feeling hungry, how can you tell whether that sudden passion for chips is an emotionally-based craving or simple semi-starvation?

Craving

* Is in the mouth and mind. You long for the taste, texture, mouth-filling qualities and feel of a certain food:

* Is sudden and urgent

* Is specific, for a particular food or type of food

* Is semi-automatic; you just can’t stop shovelling it in

* You may go on eating past the point of physical discomfort

* Leaves you feeling ashamed

Real Hunger

* Is in the stomach, with rumbling, emptiness, discomfort

* Grows gradually

* A wide range of food would do

* Is under conscious control

* You stop when you’re full

* Leaves you feeling satisfied

Food cravings can make your life a continuing misery, trapped in a hideous vicious circle. You feel fat, unattractive and unlovable. So you binge to distract yourself, to fill the emptiness inside, to cheer yourself up. It doesn’t — or not for long. What it does do is make you feel out of control, disgustingly piggish and profoundly ashamed. Your self-esteem ends up even lower and your hips even larger.

Knowing the pointless harm you’re doing yourself doesn’t help you stop. Lecturing yourself, blaming yourself, hating yourself — these reactions not only don’t stop the cravings, the stress makes them worse.

There are three games your cravings play to make you feel it’s OK to give in to them — just this once.

*persuading yourself that giving in will positively improve things in the present situation — some chocolate will really energise you.

*telling yourself that bingeing will help relieve anxieties, depression or other discomforts … cream cake is so soothing.

*believing that you deserve it … you’ve stuck to a diet all week, you’re entitled to some chips tonight.

All harmless enough — unless you have food cravings and you know that once you start, you won’t stop. Obviously it’s a good idea to find other things which relieve stress, make you feel good and act as rewards.

Five ways to beat bingeing

Half the battle in learning to cope with cravings is realising that you CAN resist them. These six key tips will point the way.

* Keep things in proportion. Thinking of your cravings as ‘overpowering’ urges it would be ‘unbearable’ to resist, that you just ‘couldn’t live without’ chips or whatever is just so frightening and stressful that you’ll head straight for the fridge to calm down.

Such over-the-top descriptions are simply not true, so change your inner language. Is walking past the chip shop really unbearable — compared with breaking a leg? Use words like ‘uncomfortable’ to yourself instead. Remember that millions of people have overcome full-scale addictions — for drink, tobacco and drugs. You can certainly cope with chocolate. You can bear the feeling, you won’t go crazy.

It helps to remember past times when you’ve denied a strong urge. You survived then, you can survive now.

* Visualise the results of giving in. Counter the immediacy of the craving by making the long-term consequences very vivid. Urges are very shortsighted; it’s hard to see past that tub of ice cream. So ask yourself: How will I feel later if I give in?

Imagine someone whose opinion matters to you watching you stuff yourself, finding out you can’t control yourself. Imagine how you’ll feel once you’ve, yet again, proved to yourself that you’re a slob with no willpower? Now, feel the glow of achievement you’ll have when you walk away from the food. See yourself as a size 12, slipping easily into terrific clothes in a communal changing room.

Warnings on the fridge door can help. So can talking to yourself as if you were advising a friend. Use to yourself the arguments you would use to her.

* The Inner Beast! Think of the craving as something quite separate from yourself. Give it points on a ten point scale. Even a name, perhaps — one woman called her food cravings ‘the Beast’. Distancing it this way makes it easier to fight.

* Mental distraction. Create a vivid mental picture of a peaceful setting — a warm beach, perhaps — and use it to relax. This will help if you mainly overeat as a response to stress. However, if being relaxed just makes cravings stronger for you, choose some challenging mental activity … planning the perfect holiday, designing your dream house, creating a business, working out what makes your boss tick…

* Physical distraction. Leave the place where you feel the craving. Get out of the kitchen and take a walk or do some gardening. Monitor yourself to find out when and where you feel most tempted, and change or avoid those particular situations.

* Food allergy. If you mainly crave one type of food .. ie wheat (bread, pasta, pizza, cakes, biscuits) … suspect you may have a food allergy/addiction. Try stopping ANY wheat (read every label) for a week, then try a little again. If you’re allergic/addicted, you’ll feel bad as withdrawal kicks in, great after a week, craving again once you try the food again. If you stay off the wheat, you’ll be free of cravings. But having ‘just one biscuit’ is like an alcoholic having ‘just one drink’ … Be warned! And consult a nutritional professional.

Why haven’t I talked at all about understanding the emotional reasons behind food craving?

Because you can gain control of your eating without analysing the reasons. It’s so tempting to use introspection as a substitute for action and a way of finding excuses and justifications for going on giving in. ‘I have to binge, I had such a miserable childhood.’

You don’t have to, and you can learn not to. Good luck!

Jane Firbank’s site, http://www.secretsofchange.com/, has over 100 fascinating and helpful problem letter replies, plus scores of articles and book reviews.

Jane Firbank is a psychotherapist working from the new Human Givens approach to counselling. This unites cutting-edge psychological and brain research with the new insights of evolutionary psychology and the ancient insights of the traditional healing and spiritual disciplines. The Human Givens approach is powerfully and rapidly effective in helping people move on from depression, stress and anxiety, obsession, psychosis, relationship problems and addiction. Phobias, traumas and Post Traumatic Stress can often be removed in one or two sessions using the latest knowledge of how the brain works.

Jane Firbank, BSc (Psych), HG Dip, GHR, is in private practice in London, England where she also regularly writes and consults on psychological matters for the Press, TV and radio.

What does your dream dining room look like? Is it rich in color and texture, romantic, cozy, warm, comfortable and inviting all at the same time? Would you love to incorporate colorful fabrics and rich textures in your dining room’s décor but are not sure how to pull it off? You are not alone. The truth is: Many people long to incorporate the use of textured and patterned fabric into their decorating style but are not sure where they should begin.

One of the easiest and least expensive steps that can be taken to create a room that is rich in texture and exquisite color is to purchase a piece of dining room furniture such as a parsons chair. Parsons chairs are usually perfect for most people who are just beginning to experiment with decorating with fabrics because they are both beautiful and versatile. Parsons chairs are also very classy and appeal to those who are afraid to step out of the traditional norm.

With parsons chairs you can choose a piece of furniture that is truly unique and captivating without having to replace all of your room’s existing furniture or rearrange the room’s layout overmuch. If you are daring, you can choose a parsons chair with an interesting design or pattern which will bring that added flair to your room without having to commit to a huge change. If you are looking for a something a little more subtle, perhaps a parsons chair featuring a fabric similar in color but different in texture to your existing furnishings may be in order. Or if you prefer something with an Old World feel to it, perhaps you might like to incorporate the use of a parsons chair with a deep velvety fabric.

The bottom line is that there are numerous options when it comes to parsons chairs. And the beauty is that they can be placed in any dining room no matter what the style or existing furnishings.

Take for instance the Red Toile Roll Back parsons chair by Powell. This parsons chair features a roll back design and a box skirt with Red Toile 1907 Fabric. A set of these parsons chairs would be the perfect addition to any style dining room from traditional to casual contemporary.

As you can see from these few examples, there is a wide variety of decorating options associated with parsons chairs. So if you are looking to incorporate rich color and texture into your living space, perhaps you should browse the selection of parsons chairs. You may just find something that is perfect for you.

Jennifer Akre is a successful business owner of numerous furniture websites such as http://www.GourmetDecorStore.com. Her websites offer product and information about parsons chairs, bakers rack styles and other furniture and decor for your home and garden.

Your website is an important part of your business. Not only for your online but also for many offline business. Your online presence means that you can tap into the huge and growing market of the Internet. Many people think that having your own website and setting it up is complicated and expensive but it is not necessarily so. Here are some tips to have you up and running with ease.

1. Planning your website

1. Analyzing your desired visitors
2. How to attract them and warm them to the sale
3. Writing good content
4. Your sales letter
5. Your domain name
6. Optimizing content

Before you build a website you will need to put some thought and planning into it. Your first step will be to decide who are your most wanted visitors. Analyze them carefully, who are they? What interests them? Where do they go? Make a thumbnail sketch and write it down for reference.

Then list all the ways you will attract them and make them stay at your site. What info content are they looking for? What sort of newsletter will interest them? Most important of all find out their needs and wants, so that you can build your product/service to fulfill these needs. List all these and keep record of them.

Make a list of all the info articles that will interest them and warm potential buyers for the sale. Put a couple on your website and keep the rest for future newsletter material.

Your sales letter: This is the heart of your business and should be done right. If you are an experienced copywriter then go ahead and write a warm persuasive personal sales letter. If you do not have experience then it is worth hiring a professional to write one for you. You can hire professional writers at http://Elance.com for a reasonable price. You should place your sales letter on your home page and have your info articles link into it.

Your domain name: Should have at least 1-2 keywords or even be made up of your key phrase for your business. This will help with Search engine placement and will help to brand your business in your visitors minds.

Ideally your content should be optimized so that you can be placed well with the search engines.

2. Choosing an HTML editor.

1. Which one is right for you?
2. How to get a free one with hosting
3. Do it yourself VS having a website designed

There are 2 major HTML editors that are used commonly, Front Page and Dreamweaver. They can run you about $300-$400 but if you want to work on your site yourself will be worth it. Front page is a basic HTML editor but if your site requires PHP scripting is a little hard to work with. Dreamweaver does allow PHP scripts and is also easy to use. Do a comparison check and see which one will work for you.

If you have Yahoo hosting they provide a free HTML editor, which is quite easy to use.

If you have the funds you may want to have your site designed, especially if you have a service, where credibility is very important. Making your own website can be quite time consuming and although rewarding is not for everyone.

3. Designing your website

1. Your content-Preselling points
2. Free give a ways
3. Layout/Presentation
4. Use of graphics
5. Forms instead of email
6. Basic web promotion
7. Newsletter

When you write your web content you can use a couple of your best articles about your subject. Visitors will enjoy this and see you as an expert in your field. This boosts your credibility, wins trust and warms your potential buyer for the sale.Product reviews are also good selling points. Landing pages for direct advertising is always good; these can and should be optimized for search engine traffic.

Free info can be offered in the form of reports and e-courses. These can be given as a bonus for subscribing to your newsletter.

Your layout is important. Navigation should be simple and easy for your visitors, usually on the left hand side. Keep your layout professional and businesslike with normal font (Times Roman, Ariel or Veranda in normal size font). Black on white background is good for a business site. Try to use just 2 colors at the most to keep it looking businesslike. A simple template looks good for a business website. Try to find one that matches your topic.

Use graphics sparingly. Business websites should always look sober and professional. Small graphics are good to emphasize a point and book covers help to sell e-books and software.

Use forms instead of email addresses on your website for the contact us and about us section. This will cut down Spammers harvesting your email address.

Basic web promotion includes search engine submission, Pay-per-clicks, Google ad campaigns, and linking to related sites. Article distribution is also a powerful way to get targeted traffic to your site.

A free newsletter is a must for capturing visitors email addresses and building your business list.

Building your website can be a fun and rewarding task. However it does take time and good planning. With these few points you will be able to build a profit pulling website, that will continue to make you money for years to come.

I was born in September 20, 1955 in Romania, and I am a Romanian citizen. Married, 2 beautiful daughters 18 and 20 years.
I graduated Faculty of Automatics in 1983 becoming a System Engineer, with a full degree. I worked in Ultra Sonic and High Frequency Power Supply Converter research institute in Bucharest, Romania until 1990.
After the fall of Ceausescu’s regime, I have worked in sales since 1994. I now run my own company FOX I.E. in Romania. Starting in 1997 my company has dedicated its whole efforts to internet software activity.
In 2003 I founded my own US based corporation IT PRO VISION, Inc. Both companies have their own websites at FOX SOFTWARE and IT PRO VISION, Inc.
More articles can be found at marketing.itprovision.net