Business Development, Internet, Online Marketing

Business Marketing with Google+

Google+ is the social networking platform of Google, and it can help significantly in marketing and brand building. Google+ is simple and free, tool allows you to connect with your audience, share information, conduct polls, and stream online content. Like other social networking sites, it can be used for marketing and brand building for your business. However, Google+ may offer some benefits to your brand that you can’t find anywhere else.

Create a Hangout
Google Hangouts is a free service that allows you to have conversations with up to ten people. You can also live stream recorded content to thousands of people. Google Hangouts makes it easy to handle small group conversations or large scale content initiatives. There are video chat is a valuable feature to connect better with people. It helps you strengthen your brand personality and voice. This can be particularly powerful for small business owners who have direct contact with their clients and prospects. Face-to-face conversations build relationships. Continue reading →

Faith

Talk About Faith

What is Faith?

 

Faith is one of those words that is difficult to tie down to one simple definition. The concept of faith is a broad one. Generally, ‘faith’ means much the same as ‘trust’. Faith has been defined in many ways (free online dictionary) as;

 

• Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing,

 

• An allegiance to duty or a person,

 

• Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence,

 

• Secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God’s will.

 

• A set of principles or beliefs.

 

Of course, there is no ‘established’ terminology for different meanings or definitions of faith.

 

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy gives a brief initial characterisation of the principal models of faith and their nomenclature which may nevertheless be helpful. These are:

 

the ‘purely affective’ model: faith as a feeling of existential confidence.

 

the ‘special knowledge’ model: faith as knowledge of specific truths, revealed by God.

 

the ‘belief’ model: faith as belief that God exists.

 

the ‘trust’ model: faith as belief in (trust in) God.

 

the ‘doxastic venture’ model: faith as practical commitment beyond the evidence to one’s belief that God exists.

 

the ‘sub-doxastic venture’ model: faith as practical commitment without belief.

 

the ‘hope’ model: faith as hoping or acting in the hope that the God who saves exists.

 

FAITH AND CHRISTIANITY

 

Many Bible students will give Hebrews 11:1 as the meaning of faith and leave it at that. It states that, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” – NLT. However, even though this is the form definitions are given in, this verse is more of an expression of the power and importance of faith than it is a definition of faith. In fact, one already needs to know what faith is before this verse will make much sense to them. This makes this verse a frustrating answer to someone who is trying to get a footing on the foundational meaning of faith.

 

Biblical Definition of Faith

 

If you want a short definition of faith, it could be this: taking God at His word. It is true that our faith is in God. But we do not properly know the God we should believe in or know how to believe in Him unless He tells us in His word. This is why Paul says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Biblical faith is not an “unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence” (Webster’s New World Dictionary). It is full confidence in God’s word. FAITH accepts God’s word (His promises and His warnings) as FACT and acts accordingly. Since there are many evidences that the word of God is true, this is not a blind leap of faith. It is rather an intelligent, holy reaction to the wondrous words of God.

 

Faith as a Concept to the Gospel

 

Faith is also a central concept taught by Jesus Christ. It is the culminating element in reference to the Gospel which the Biblical Writers termed as the “good news”, which is proclaimed by Christians to the entire world. This is found in the most famous of all Bible passages, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

 

(Mark 1:15). In the understanding of Jesus, faith is an act of trust and of self-abandonment by which a person no longer rely on his/her own strength and policies but commit himself/herself to the power and guiding word of him in whom he/she believes (Matthew 21:25,32; Luke 1:20, 45). Most of the definitions in the history of Christian knowledge and teachings still followed biblical principles as contained in Apostle Paul`s letter to Hebrews quoted above. As in other monotheistic faiths or religions, it includes a belief in God, a belief in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as His Kingdom from His Throne and in the benevolence of God’s will or plan for mankind and the World to Come.

 

Moreover, Faith in Christianity in the same vein differs from those Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the ministry of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (God the Son) from the dead by God the Father through God the Holy Spirit.

 

The precise understanding of the term “faith” differs among the various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally agree that faith in Jesus lies at the core of the Christian tradition, and that such faith is required in order to be a Christian. The Christian tradition is sometimes called “the faith”, since faith in Jesus is so central to the tradition. Faith and the word “belief” are often used synonymously, which has led to Christians being called ‘believers’ i.e. those who believes in the Lord Jesus and have endeared themselves to His ways and teachings.

 

We then conclude that it is true that faith is much more than a mental acceptance of something as true; it also involves a trust in or reliance on that something.

 

 

 

 

Advertising, Internet, New Media, Online Marketing

Using Twitter for Business

Twitter is a high impact Social Networking site, and messages can spread far and wide on it. There are about 250 million active users on Twitter worldwide and 100 million of them log into Twitter daily. So Twitter is one of the top sites in the social media space. So what exactly is Twitter? Its an online social networking and micro-blogging service that lets you send and read “tweets.” Tweets are text messages limited to 140 characters. However, within the context of any tweet you can embed hyperlinks which makes it a powerful marketing tool for anyone with a blog or a website. Being able to link to other URLs means you can share value and information. You can share links from your own site as well as promote your fellow business owners to build relationships with customers, prospects, and associates.

You can also make your tweets shareable by using the hashtag. The hashtag (#) identifies the keywords for your tweet or post. Here are a few examples:
* What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions? LINK #ThanksgivingMemories #ThanksgivingTraditions
* 10 tips for a relaxed Thanksgiving holiday LINK #NoMoreThanksgivingStress
People can search for your keywords and be led to your Twitter profile where they may follow you and/or share your links with others. Continue reading →

Business Development, Business Strategy, FAQ, Sales & Marketing, Start-ups

What To Expect When Selling Your Business

Building a successful business takes years of effort and attention. Having expended plenty of blood, sweat and tears over that time, business owners want to maximize their value when selling.

Many of the qualities that make a business owner successful will benefit a business seller, too. However, not many owners have much experience in selling a business. It is a long, complex process. Here are some of the major issues business owners should consider before, during and after a sale to secure the best value for their hard work.

Preparing For The Sale

No matter what sort of business you own or how big it is, determine why you are selling and what your priorities are. Do you want to hold out for an all-cash sale, which may be harder to successfully negotiate, or are you willing to consider an installment sale or taking equity in the acquiring company? Do you have a minimum price determined by factors other than the business’s value, such as your retirement plans? Do you want to preserve the jobs of family members or long-term employees? These and other considerations may seem obvious, but it is essential that you articulate them to yourself before you begin.

Continue reading →

Sales Coaching

The Myth of ‘See More People = Increased Sales’

Given the choice between buying activity management systems and implementing a true performance coaching system to bring out the best in salespeople, my unfortunate experience is that many senior sales management teams will inevitably choose activity management. The reason? It’s easy. Granted it works in the short term, and there’s even a place for it during field induction and as a mechanism for performers to appraise themselves, but as a sales coaching tool it is a non-starter.

You teach salespeople about activity, not force it on them. The danger with the latter is that you will have your salespeople deliver the activity without a corresponding increase in business. I have seen numerous examples of salespeople forging activity levels simply to keep the manager happy. In the meantime, the manager sinks into a quicksand of statistics trying to work out where it is going wrong.

I recently visited an area sales manager who was having problems with a non-performing salesperson. The manager showed me the charts he had put together showing the pattern of calls and results. It must have taken him quite some time. The problem was that the salesperson had falsified 80% of their activity. It wasn’t his fault. He was responsible, but it wasn’t entirely his fault.

You may produce a ratio which show that from a particular level of activity that a particular financial outcome is being achieved within the sales force. You may choose to ignore the fact that top salespeople see fewer customers than their lower performing colleagues. But you need to ask yourself the question – what is it you want from the salesperson? Activity or results? Forget the relationship between activity and performance – what is you want – activity or results? If it’s results then forget activity. If it’s activity, then perhaps you have lost the plot.

You teach people about working hard by going out on calls with them. It is the only way to find out what’s going on – with them and with customers. There isn’t a professional coach alive that doesn’t sit on the touchline; stand in the wings; sit in the auditorium; watch the actual performance as part of their coaching responsibilities.

You should accompany new salespeople for five days after foundation training. You will come up with all sorts of excuses why this can’t happen but these excuses will compromise the successful outcome of both training and coaching. Unless you meet people on day one in the field; unless you test that they have acquired the levels of knowledge, skills, and attitudes required; unless you accompany them immediately on live sales calls; unless you stay with them for their first five days in the field; you’ll have to rely on luck as to whether new salespeople make it or not. It’s during these first five days in the field that you teach new starters the activity game. Ideally you will have already arranged a number of sales appointments to go on in the first week.

In the first five days you will learn more about the new starter and they will learn more about you and your company then any other mechanism I know. You must know within those first five days whether the new starter will make it or not. If after five days you still don’t know, then chances are they won’t make it – and you need to think long and hard about your recruitment and selection processes. Or perhaps set them an activity target – that will sort it!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Frank_Salisbury/4756

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