I have personally known Scotty Carter for more than 20 years. He is a well-respected waterman along the Laguna/Dana Point Coastline. After many years of knowing him, I was introduced to his mini-wave art in the mid 2000's and I was taken aback by the striking beauty of his work. I already found myself fascinated by the ocean but Scotty was able to capture an element of the ocean that you and I would walk by and not even think twice about what we saw. With the naked eye we would not be captivated by what we saw. Scotty's magic is that he can take things that aren't magic at all but spin it in a way where it is nothing but magic. He would tell you, that making something out of nothing and being surprised and mesmerized is absolutely the magic!
How does he do it you ask? Let's just say Scotty Carter likes mysteries!!! One day Scotty will release secrets to the world and it will be an amazing day. Until then, we are left to enjoy the beauty of his images that would make a fine addition to any modern and stylish homes decore.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sick Again After Surfing-No Surprise At All
The bottom line is the Southern California Coast is dirty. It is aggravating to get sick doing something you love. If I am getting sick after being in the water what about all the poor things that live in the ocean. Dolphins, Migrating Whales, Crabs, Lobsters, Star Fish, Sharks, Seals and Fish. They all have to be a little sick.
Human beings apparently can't keep sewage out of the water. Additionally we can't live without pesticides and fertizlizers. It is a wonder we aren't all sick. I was thinking back to a discussion I had with a lifeguard in Laguna Beach. He was telling families and kids to keep their kids out of the water due to sewage. Now there is a comforting thought! We don't care enough about our ocean to create local beaches that are safe for recreation. Meanwhile, we are poisoning the food chain in our local waters that may be making consumption of local fish a gamble at best. We have to stop this madness before Mother Ocean is unforgiving. Reality is we are killing the ocean and while the consequences of destroying the ocean aren't crystal clear just yet, it is obvious that with incidents all over the world that we are well on our way to finding out what it all means.
My hope for the future is a sewage and oil free ocean, where I or any other recreational user of the ocean does not get sick after trying to enjoy the only stress-free place on the planet that we know of. I also hope for a clean home for our friends of the sea as they are innocent bystanders suffering due to our complacency and ignorance. If we don't fix this now, what will we leave to future generations? It does not look good!
Human beings apparently can't keep sewage out of the water. Additionally we can't live without pesticides and fertizlizers. It is a wonder we aren't all sick. I was thinking back to a discussion I had with a lifeguard in Laguna Beach. He was telling families and kids to keep their kids out of the water due to sewage. Now there is a comforting thought! We don't care enough about our ocean to create local beaches that are safe for recreation. Meanwhile, we are poisoning the food chain in our local waters that may be making consumption of local fish a gamble at best. We have to stop this madness before Mother Ocean is unforgiving. Reality is we are killing the ocean and while the consequences of destroying the ocean aren't crystal clear just yet, it is obvious that with incidents all over the world that we are well on our way to finding out what it all means.
My hope for the future is a sewage and oil free ocean, where I or any other recreational user of the ocean does not get sick after trying to enjoy the only stress-free place on the planet that we know of. I also hope for a clean home for our friends of the sea as they are innocent bystanders suffering due to our complacency and ignorance. If we don't fix this now, what will we leave to future generations? It does not look good!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Attributes of A Knowlegeable Data Provider For Direct Mail and Telemarketing Campaigns
Who cares anyway? Well, companies that depend on their mailing and telemarketing results should care because their success is predicated on return on investment and keeping cost per acquisition down.
Purchasing Agents are out there acquiring data looking for the best price. Hey, I get! But, what if that strategy was creating ineffective mailing and telemarketing campaigns?
Do we tell the purchaser, " Great job, you saved us money on data", when the results were horrible. Heck No!!! You simply cannot allow this to happen.
Data has too many facets and attributes to discuss in a small blog. From experience, I can tell you it is challenging and involved. I spend off hours all week vacuuming up knowledge from compilers that have spent their entire working lives in the data business. I could not put a price on that.
I would love to help companies out there get more out of their targeting. There are filtering strategies out there that companies just aren't aware of. Like many industries, data has buyers and sellers of data that are so myopic that the the combination of this type of purchaser and seller is a recipe for "DATA DISASTER"!
To avoid common calamities in your data purchase, consider Rob Brack at Lead Research Group. 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430. My pledge to you is that I will lose sleep figuring out how to best filter your data.
Purchasing Agents are out there acquiring data looking for the best price. Hey, I get! But, what if that strategy was creating ineffective mailing and telemarketing campaigns?
Do we tell the purchaser, " Great job, you saved us money on data", when the results were horrible. Heck No!!! You simply cannot allow this to happen.
Data has too many facets and attributes to discuss in a small blog. From experience, I can tell you it is challenging and involved. I spend off hours all week vacuuming up knowledge from compilers that have spent their entire working lives in the data business. I could not put a price on that.
I would love to help companies out there get more out of their targeting. There are filtering strategies out there that companies just aren't aware of. Like many industries, data has buyers and sellers of data that are so myopic that the the combination of this type of purchaser and seller is a recipe for "DATA DISASTER"!
To avoid common calamities in your data purchase, consider Rob Brack at Lead Research Group. 800-884-8371 Ext. 5430. My pledge to you is that I will lose sleep figuring out how to best filter your data.
Scripting: Avoiding The Fast Food Drive Thru Approach
If I were a call center manager and my livelihood depended on the sales of my agents, then scripting would be worked on daily. At Lead Research Group, I work with companies small, medium and large in the debt settlement and loan modification industries.
I have the ability with many of our campaigns to listen to recorded calls and consult on the quality of scripting. After listening to thousands of calls, the idea that companies lose money due to poor scripting has been cemented in my mind as a problem that would not go away.
Fast Food Drive Thru Scripting: XYZ Company, this is John, How Can I Help You?
If I were hired in an organization to manage sales, the first thing I would do is announce that the next person to ask "How Can I Help You"as an opening to an inbound call will be sent home for the day.
Why am I so fired up about this? Pretty simple really! I hear potential customers in recorded calls every day tell the person answering the call things like the following: " Yes John, you sent me a mailer, you don't know how you can help me?" or "Its your Television Commerical, so you tell me how you can help me."
They are calling because they need help. Do not insult people with " How Can I Help YouItis!!!!!!! If it is not these very sarcastic responses it is long sighs and exasperations and muttering under their breath. Prospects calling in on a product or service hate this and it is clear as day.
The best way to gain control of a conversation is something to the effect of:
XYZ Company, this is John, How are you doing today?
Why???? Because it is an ice breaker that gets a prospect answering questions from the onset of the call. In the sales equation, reps that get people to answer questions properly qualify people more than reps that do not.
Proper surveying requires you ask questions. When you have a prospect answering questions they are doing more of the talking than the rep is and that is the idea.
Help your reps by requiring them to ask every inbound call which advertisement they were responding to and what was it about the piece that has them calling in today. This is highly effective and gets them engaged in the process and more easily walked into a sale.
For effective direct mail and inbound tv campaigns for debt settlement and loan modification companies, Call Rob Brack Lead Research Group. A Free Webinar on call approach is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am Pst. www.explodeyourphones.com. Go to the site click on shortcut to the direct response webinar. Hope to have you there!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
I have the ability with many of our campaigns to listen to recorded calls and consult on the quality of scripting. After listening to thousands of calls, the idea that companies lose money due to poor scripting has been cemented in my mind as a problem that would not go away.
Fast Food Drive Thru Scripting: XYZ Company, this is John, How Can I Help You?
If I were hired in an organization to manage sales, the first thing I would do is announce that the next person to ask "How Can I Help You"as an opening to an inbound call will be sent home for the day.
Why am I so fired up about this? Pretty simple really! I hear potential customers in recorded calls every day tell the person answering the call things like the following: " Yes John, you sent me a mailer, you don't know how you can help me?" or "Its your Television Commerical, so you tell me how you can help me."
They are calling because they need help. Do not insult people with " How Can I Help YouItis!!!!!!! If it is not these very sarcastic responses it is long sighs and exasperations and muttering under their breath. Prospects calling in on a product or service hate this and it is clear as day.
The best way to gain control of a conversation is something to the effect of:
XYZ Company, this is John, How are you doing today?
Why???? Because it is an ice breaker that gets a prospect answering questions from the onset of the call. In the sales equation, reps that get people to answer questions properly qualify people more than reps that do not.
Proper surveying requires you ask questions. When you have a prospect answering questions they are doing more of the talking than the rep is and that is the idea.
Help your reps by requiring them to ask every inbound call which advertisement they were responding to and what was it about the piece that has them calling in today. This is highly effective and gets them engaged in the process and more easily walked into a sale.
For effective direct mail and inbound tv campaigns for debt settlement and loan modification companies, Call Rob Brack Lead Research Group. A Free Webinar on call approach is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am Pst. www.explodeyourphones.com. Go to the site click on shortcut to the direct response webinar. Hope to have you there!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
Data Nostalgia-Cold Calling Sees Upswing
While many companies tussel with the ins and outs of media purchases for radio and television and sophisticated online ad word type campaigns, telemarketing seems to be on an upswing lately.
With a good phone script and transfer of enthusiasm from the rep to the prospect, telemarketing can be quite effective. That is where data comes in!
Lead Research Group is a wholesale data provider with a gnack for understanding ideal prospects and helping customers understand data filteration in a way that helps them reach their target market faster.
The data universe is so vast that you need people that work with it daily to truly consult your business. Sure, data may be a commodity. Many people sell it, but few sell it with the business acumen and customer centric approach of Lead Research Group.
While data and telemarketing will never be the "sexiest" or most "tantalizing" Sales Strategy Employed, it still represents a cost effective way to grow business.
Call Robert Brack of Lead Research Group to discuss your campaign needs. If you have an ideal target, let's talk!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
With a good phone script and transfer of enthusiasm from the rep to the prospect, telemarketing can be quite effective. That is where data comes in!
Lead Research Group is a wholesale data provider with a gnack for understanding ideal prospects and helping customers understand data filteration in a way that helps them reach their target market faster.
The data universe is so vast that you need people that work with it daily to truly consult your business. Sure, data may be a commodity. Many people sell it, but few sell it with the business acumen and customer centric approach of Lead Research Group.
While data and telemarketing will never be the "sexiest" or most "tantalizing" Sales Strategy Employed, it still represents a cost effective way to grow business.
Call Robert Brack of Lead Research Group to discuss your campaign needs. If you have an ideal target, let's talk!!!
800-884-8371 Ext. 5430
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Manage Sales in the Holiday Mind Set
Just like any other employee, sales representatives are prone to drifting into the unproductive holiday zone. Some would call taking the foot off the pedal being festive and enjoying the holiday season. Many believe it is a rite of passage and earned in a year of hard work.
The question is can you afford to have employees mentally and emotionally check out for the holidays. My humble opinion is NO!! I too am thankful for the extra day off and family time but all sales are built on a pipeline. Maintaining a pipeline means consistent effort and not taking days off.
For Managers and Owners it is important that you show gratitude to your salesman and staff while reinforcing the need to stay on course and grow into the first quarter of 2010. The economy, unemployment and stagnant GDP growth means now more than ever we cannot take the foot off the gas.
No matter what your business does for marketing during the holidays, much of your competition will pack it in for the end of the year. Golden opportunities are out there to take advantage of a competitive battlefield with less players. Grab extra opportunity where you can and sail full steam ahead into 2010. Some companies will be kicking themselves for not heeding this advice.
The question is can you afford to have employees mentally and emotionally check out for the holidays. My humble opinion is NO!! I too am thankful for the extra day off and family time but all sales are built on a pipeline. Maintaining a pipeline means consistent effort and not taking days off.
For Managers and Owners it is important that you show gratitude to your salesman and staff while reinforcing the need to stay on course and grow into the first quarter of 2010. The economy, unemployment and stagnant GDP growth means now more than ever we cannot take the foot off the gas.
No matter what your business does for marketing during the holidays, much of your competition will pack it in for the end of the year. Golden opportunities are out there to take advantage of a competitive battlefield with less players. Grab extra opportunity where you can and sail full steam ahead into 2010. Some companies will be kicking themselves for not heeding this advice.
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