The Dart Maker Blog

As you prospect, do you long for a real live person to answer your phone calls?

Are the phrases, “I’m not able to answer your call in person right now …” “I’m in a meeting right now or talking with another client …” and “If you want help with this, please press #2, #1, …” starting to wear on your last nerve … like nails on a chalkboard?

Are you feeling trapped by the very technology that was supposed to serve you?

Well, you’re in good company.

Our informal survey shows the overwhelming majority of sales professionals share your frustration. One of the most frequently asked questions asked by our clients is, “I leave a lot of voice mail messages without getting any personal contact–ever. Do you have any tips for me?”

Yes, I do!

There are simple, yet effective steps to take that will get you around voice mail so you can make contact with a human!

Whether the recording indicates it or not, many systems will reroute your calls to a human being if you press the “0″ Operator button on your phone.

Then when your prospect’s operator/receptionist answers, you can honestly say, “I was connected to the executive’s voice mail and I’m looking for a real, live, breathing, speaking human to talk to directly. Is the executive or the executive assistant in today?”

Chances are that you’ll get an empathetic chuckle from the receptionist. Those folks understand how annoying pre-recorded messages can be.

If your prospect isn’t readily available in person, the operator often knows that and will be glad to offer to reroute your call to another human being within the company, such as the executive’s assistant, who can tell you the whereabouts of your prospect.

Equally as import as circumventing voice mail jail is knowing what to say when you succeed and make contact with your prospects operator/receptionist!

In many companies, the operator is authorized to page the prospect for you or to connect you to direct lineif you do one thing in particular …

What’s the key to “authorizing” the operator to search for your prospect on your behalf?

You must ask for your prospect by first and last name and pronounce both correctly.

Here’s an Insider’s secret peek into the mechanics of the executive suites that will equip you to understand what’s going on in their world. Really good executive assistants, with the approval of their executives, talk with receptionists and give them specific guidelines for handling inbound callers who ask for the President’s office.

There are so many calls each day that they must come up with a system of handling them. Or never get any work done! Executive assistants direct receptionists to divert inbound callers who say, “I’d like to be connected to the President’s office please.” The preferred method of handling such callers is to politely reroute them to voice mail jail.

With your new knowledge of this Insider’s secret you’ll want to call and say, “I’m calling to speak to Jack Doe or his assistant, Mary.” You’ll find you receive a different kind of treatment when you use these words. Because of their “in-house” system for handling inbound calls, the operator/receptionist will be more likely to give you the inside scoop as to their whereabouts.

Then, because your words indicate that you “know the rules” the receptionist is far more likely to be forthcoming with information that will help you, information such as whether or not the executive is in the office and the best time to call back to reach them in person.

Those executives and their assistants are early risers!

They frequently slip into the office between 7:00 and 7:30 AM. Executives take advantage of the still of the morning to work through the ever-present to-do list without interruption.

Knowing this about the habits of executives, many a successful sales professional will make prospecting calls during those times and connect with their high-level prospects on the first ring.

Use these tips to circumvent voice mail, be relentless in your pursuit for a human, and get ready to smile as you make personal contact with a real, live, person who wants to do business with you!

Forward this article to friendsthey’ll thank you for it!

For your FREE mini-course “Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company Presidents” visit http://www.ColdCallingExecutives.com! Or call Your Sales Coach for Extreme Profitability, author/speaker Leslie Buterin (like butterin’ bread) at (816) 554-3674 9-3 CST (that’s Kansas City/Chicago Time).

The easiest way to get your kids out the door is to turn off any device that plugs into your kid’s brain. Therefore, the number 1 way to get our kids to exercise is:

1. Turn off the TV, the computer and the X- Box.
“Over the past two decades, the percentage of overweight children has doubled and sedentary behaviors such as watching television and playing video games have become a part of everyday life.” (Family Community Health 2002; 25:10.) To make matters worse, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that a significant portion of children’s daily caloric intake is consumed while watching television. I can guarantee you that the majority of calories consumed during unsupervised television viewing come from pure junk food.

2. Set a Good Example:
Instead of sending your kids outside to play go with them! Set a good example. Initiate family bike rides or walks in the park as often as schedules will allow. The best opportunity to get your family to exercise is right after dinner! Try it and you will all have fun!

3. Little Kids Need Exercise Too:
According to the National Association for sport and physical activity, simple but targeted activities are recommended for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Each day, toddlers should have at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity and pre-schoolers should have at least an hour. Examples for toddlers include follow-along songs or chasing a ball; and for older children, balancing games or tumbling. (Child Health Alert2002:2) “Exercise should be a routine part of daily life and parents should join in, not just sit on the sidelines and watch their children romp.”

4. Get Your Kids Involved in Sports:
One of the best things my dad ever did for me was to sign me up for football. It is amazing to me that by the age of 10, I had already decided that I was too small and not good enough to play football. Dad thought otherwise and he was right. I just loved to play that game and I played until I was 18 years old. Being involved in sports is a great way for your children to get in shape, build confidence, make new friends and have fun. I recently had the privilege of getting a gleeful phone call from my girlfriend’s 11 year old son, Taylor. He was so excited and happy to hear that he had been chosen to be on our district’s “rep” soccer team. Becoming involved in your kids’ activities has just as many benefits for the parents! The key is to encourage but not force your child’s participation in sports. Try exposing them to a number of different sports and activities and then allow them to choose the one that interests them the most.

5. Girls Should Play as Much as Boys:
By the age of six, girls already exercise less than boys. There is absolutely no physiological reason for this to happen according to Neil Armstrong of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Center at the University of Exeter, Great Britain. He feels parents should encourage girls to enjoy the same level of physical activity and sports as the boys. If we are truly living in an age of equality and equal opportunity, let’s start with the children. It is important not to distinguish between girl games and boy games especially when it comes to exercise. Girls should be allowed and encouraged to learn how to throw a baseball, play hockey and perform traditional male household duties such as washing the car and cleaning out the garage.

6. The Family that Plays Together Stays Together:
Many of my most cherished moments in life have been physical activities involving the whole family. I am not talking about the big competitive sports match either. My mom, dad, sister and I still laugh hysterically when we talk about the Smith family dart game at Uncle Dick’s cabana. I feel that many strong and enduring emotional bonds come through the joy of playing together as a family. I have had many great teachers throughout my life including those much older and much younger than me. When I was in elementary school I was in tears one night because I could not do a simple forward somersault that they taught us in school. Let me tell you that my dad changed my world of crying and tears into laughter and joy by teaching me how to do a somersault in five minutes. Another special moment for me was watching Taylor sink his first ball in the basketball hoop at age eight. He must have taken a hundred shots before he finally got it in the hoop.

I sincerely believe that the family that plays together stays together!

Dr. Larry Smith Chiropractor and co-author of
Inside the Minds: The Art and Science of Sports Medicine

FREE DVD (Value $97)! Click below for Instant Access to the popular, innovative and enlightening Fitness Prescription DVD.
Take charge of your own health and develop remarkable, energy, stamina and zest for life!
http://chiropracticfamilyfitness.com/

Finding the right swimsuit can be a tall order for some of us.
Not because we are tall, because we don’t fit the
run-of-the-mill swimsuits. But, atlas, with a little patience
you can find the perfect suit to flatter your body.

Here are a few tips.

How about a one-piece or a two-piece? There are plenty of sexy
one-piece suits being worn on the beach. They do not reveal it
all, just enough to keep things interesting. The trick is to
find one that fits your body type.

Are you swimming or sunbathing? If you are into swimming, a
one-piece definitely is for you. Find one that doesn’t cut into
the shoulders, comfortable with stretchy fabric. Don’t get
anything that ties. You don’t want anything to come undone while
doing laps!

If you are small on top, you may want a little swimsuit from
Brazil. Their swimsuits are cut for the smaller bust line. Also
look for one with some padding, underwire or demi-bra style.
These help to enhance the bust line. Avoid tops with too much
fabric or poor fit. Opt for separates where you can choose your
top and bottom separately.

If you are well endowed, you may need some extra support.
Underwire tops work well and look great. Also, halter-tops are a
good choice by offering support. One piece swimsuits with some
structure in the bust work well. Avoid strapless tops and those
with tiny tops that offer minimal coverage. And again, make sure
you choose your top and bottoms separately.

Those with short legs can flatter their figures with suits cut
high on the thigh. This will make your leg look much longer. One
trick is to wear a solid bottom bikini with a printed top. This
will draw the eye upward and give you a longer look. Avoid boy
shorts and skirted bikinis as they draw the eye downward and
make you look shorter.

Clothes look good on the long body shape but you need to make
sure you don’t look like a bean pole! Bright colors and
horizontal strips work well with this body type. Boys short are
perfect for slimming your hips. Avoid horizontal stripes, high
necklines and solid dark colors.

More or less a decade ago the belief of a wall-hung TV may have looked like a fantasy. It was out of the reach of most avid consumers, with especially fees that requested taking out a second mortgage to these especially stylistic televisions. Nevertheless, over time, these brilliant TV sets reached the level of attainability. Nonetheless, still not something you could just go out and buy, it has in recent time little by little become much more of a chance. Costs for these flat panel High-Definition Television sets are at the present decreasing more rapidly than new residential house values, & have made the fantasy a certainty. Digital Direct - Great offers on Digital TV’s.

These Days there are 2 contending flat-panel equipment; plasma & LCD. Despite the fact that each model offers a good picture & these TV sets may appear alike from the front, the equipment on the inside is quite different. And although LCD televisions have been limited to 37-inches & below, TV sets with the liquid crystal display technology are at this instance in sizes as large as plasma.

Yet, regardless of that, several consumers consider plasma to supply more than a few essential improvements over LCD TVs. The largest benefit is that plasma television sets usually feature deeper black levels-denoting that the blacks are really black and not merely a dark type of gray. This in turn means that the colours are much more vivid and authentic. The most recent models from Sharp & Wharfedale have in truth taken the black levels to incredible depths, and in consequence have given the best images we have viewed to date.

Despite the rumours that plasma television sets “needs to be recharged” after ten thousand hours, nothing can be far more from the fact. Today’s flat panel plasma TVs would often work for sixty-thousand hours or more, giving years of immense viewing. Despite the fact that there has been an apprehension over problems like that of burn-in (fittingly so, as this may well ruin that expensive plasma TV). the current TV’s include technology to manage picture retention, offering pixel shift techniques that slowly move the whole display, and more decisively, remove any ghosting should static pictures in fact “stick” the picture. This includes a white wash mode besides an inverse mode to remove all the burn-in.