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The price of gasoline is increasing and approaching $4.00 per gallon! Are you concerned about the rising cost of transportation? How much time do you spend on the road? Do you spend more time sitting in your car or in front of prospective clients? What can you do to protect your business and survive rising fuel costs? How can you remain profitable during times of increasing transportation costs?

Besides the cost of gas, what about your transit time to see potential clients? Has this ever happened to you? You drive thirty to forty-five minutes to get to your first appointment. You arrive at a prospective client's office and the CEO is not there! Here is another example. You are scheduled to talk with the president of a company that exactly fits your target market. Unfortunately, your appointment abruptly ends after only fifteen minutes! You thought that you had an hour! Here is a third example. Your first meeting begins twenty minutes late due to a phone call taken before your scheduled meeting with the vice-president!

How would you feel after these appointments? Of course, these situations never happen with you or your sales people! Right? Is it possible to manage your time more effectively?

There is a cost effective solution available! Now is the time to consider other options to connect with your prospective clients! What about using your computer as a business presentation tool?

If you want to find a way to reduce expenses, consider using technology to connect with prospects. This is a great alternative sales solution! You can reduce your transportation and travel costs by conducting online presentations to complete first call interviews.

Why not conduct an online meeting? You can use Citrix Go-To-Meeting technology. There is also a Webex application that you can use or perhaps other software. Large, mid-size and small companies use inside sales personnel to get new business successfully. You can too!

Realistically, do you really expect to pick up the check and complete the sale on the first appointment?

Does it make good sense to travel just to meet them for the first time? Your first meeting should be used is to better understand your prospect's needs, concerns and challenges. It is not to offer your solution after a few minutes of rapport building. Although, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows an expense for miles traveled by automobile, does it make financial sense to see every prospect face to face?

Instead of spending two to three hours in traffic every day, why not reduce your travel costs by using online presentations? You could realistically save at least four to six hours per week! What would you do with an extra four to six hours each week?

Using your computer not only reduces costs, but also it can generate more business! By using virtual presentations, you can personally connect, talk and engage more people! The more people you talk with, the more potential for business! You do not have to see somebody to do business. Why do you have to have an initial face-to-face meeting to start a business relationship? It is not uncommon that I have four, five or six meetings in one day --- without leaving my office! Can you get the same productivity driving in your car?

Of course, this means that you have to have excellent communication and superb sales skills! Additionally, you need great presentation materials to convey the right message! Third, your prospect must be comfortable with this new technology. Last, you must be well prepared and trained! Yes, this means that you and your employees must learn a new skill and adopt a new sales technology tool. However, your potential return on investment far outweighs the risk!

There are other advantages to using online presentations as sales tool:

Creates a visual picture to reinforce your value proposition!

Provides a guideline and helps to set the agenda for the first appointment!

Elevates your status with your prospect by using state-of-the-art-technology!

Allows you to become a better time manager and dedicate more time to work
on your business!

Spend more quality time with your best prospects

Commit more time to you and your company employees' own education and training!

Improves more productivity and efficiency by scheduling daily and weekly activities!

Promotes more personal time for individual needs and to spend with family and friends!

Allows more time to handle necessary administrative duties and responsibilities!

Reduces the wear and tear of company automobiles!

Reduces gasoline costs!

Reduces the impact on the environment due reduced use of company automobiles!

Increase your profit margin by lowering your company expenses!

Does it work? What is the bottom line?

Well, my profit margin is a healthy eighty percent! This means that for every dollar that my company collects, I keep eighty cents! Additionally, I have able to expand my business nationally! I have clients in Georgia, Colorado, Florida, New York and North Carolina. Some of my clients, I have never met! I conduct most of my meetings online versus face-to-face. Yes, it works for me! And, it can work for you too!

Increase your sales and profits! Conduct online first call presentations! Go virtual now!

Kenneth D. Brown is President and CEO of E3 Capital Resources, LLC (E3C), a business development company that specializes in business success systems, leadership, sales, communication and technology. Ken is a passionate entrepreneur and coach. He embraces the servant leadership philosophy and serves as a catalyst for free enterprise, small business and economic development. Ken works with growth-oriented companies in technology, health care, manufacturing, financial and business services industries. E3C stands for Entrepreneurship, Empowerment, Evolution, Connect, Collaborate and Create.... as in greater opportunities for all entrepreneurs worldwide!

Check out the company website: http://www.smartadvantagecoaching.com - Ken's Business Community website: http://www.my-business-community.com and Ken's Podcast: http://www.E3C.podOmatic.com

If you've been using design templates in PowerPoint 2003, you're going to love themes in PowerPoint 2007. Themes pull together color schemes, font styles, and effects into appealing design packages that you can apply to many types of presentations.

Sample Power Point Presentation65586

Communicating Bad News The Right Way

Its the rare executive who actually enjoys speaking before groups of people, even under the best of circumstances. Public speaking routinely ranks highest
on peoples list of fears. Add the pressure of having to deliver bad news to good people,
and even the most confident executive can stumble.

Every employee has a horror story about a managers inability to relate bad news. One new manager tried to quell questions from anxious employees about their jobs by denying the obvious: hed been hired to make changes. When that statement was met with skepticism, he explained, What I meant was that Im not going to make any changes that you dont already know have to be made. Not surprisingly, his words did little to stem fear, help employee morale, or change the speed with which resumes were readied, even among those spared the ax.

Another executive withheld information about necessary layoffs right up to and including the time those layoffs were being put into effect. As employees were summoned one by one into the executives office, word began to spread through the employee grapevine like wildfire. Rumors flew out of control. One fired employee began calling workers who were not present, with erroneous news they too were about to be fired. So badly had the executive handled the situation, security guards had to be called in to handle growing employee anger and frustration, right in the presence of visiting clients.

To be sure, these are extreme, real-life examples of bad news communicated badly. However, even the announcement of difficult changes can be handled well by executives, if those announcements are handled honestly, appropriately, and with open and clear communication.

It makes no sense for executives whose workplaces are filled with rumor to stay silent. Yet many executives do just that, fearing that anything they say will only add to the anxiety. The first rule of communicating about change in the workplace is the same rule used in crisis communications: tell what you know when you know it.

Even if what you do know, or are allowed to say is limited, you will do yourself and your employees a great deal of good by setting the stage for open communication early. This gives executives an opportunity to learn of employee concerns and to squelch unfounded rumors at the outset. Even more importantly, it allows executives to communicate an understanding of those concerns to employees.

That will go a long way in giving both employees who are impacted, and those who are not, more confidence that their interests are being taken into account.

Executives should also use care and attention with the words and tone they use, along with how those words are likely to be perceived. Executives uncomfortable with the emotions involved in delivering unpleasant news often choose to present a simple recitation of the facts, in a neutral tone. While its important to let employees know what is happening, and why, its equally important executives acknowledge the real pain those changes are causing. Dont assume workers know how you feel. Workers need to hear executives empathize about the impact of difficult decisions, and acknowledge their worth and contributions.

Executives need to find as many ways as possible to help ease the blow of bad news for all employees, those who might be downsized or reassigned, as well as those left behind. Communicating about any and all options available for employees helps ease the feelings of helplessness and frustration, among those most impacted by change. For those left behind, honest communication about new job duties or increased responsibilities will go a long way toward rebuilding morale and confidence.

Bad news doesnt have to be communicated badly. Honest, clear and powerful communication can help pave the way for a new beginning.

Aileen Pincus is president of The Pincus Group, a strategic communications training firm specializing in presentation skills, media training, speech and crisis communications. On the web at http://www.thepincusgroup.com

Digital signatures play a central role in software security. This article explains what a digital signature is, and how you can check to make sure that a digital signature is trustworthy.

Microsoft Power Point Software24897