Improving Your Sales Results - Successful in Making Sales Appointments

Making sales appointments is an essential part of the sales process in all direct selling situations. You need a sales appointment to give us a platform where you can apply your excellent consultative sales skills to the advantage of both parties. But making those awful sales appointment calls! Who wants that much rejection? They do not even give you a chance!


Secret Number 1 – Use Active Motivators

You do not like making sales appointments? No-one does, and you never will! Do not even TRY to like making sales appointments. Appointment selling will never give you the pleasure that a good sales meeting can generate. You will never get that satisfying buzz of sales skills well used. Even a successful sales appointment call, where the prospect is happy to see you, will be a brief and an unsatisfying telephone call. This means that a successful sales appointment call is not in itself a motivator. You must look for other ways to motivate yourself to make these calls.


Plan each batch of appointment calls carefully. Make a list of prospects, and make sure it is long enough to allow for the multitude of no answer or voice mails. Set yourself very clear goals for each session, and vary the goals from one session to the next. Variety in goal focus is more motivating than always having the same target. For example you might set a target of 60 dials in one session, 20 contacts in the next and 3 appointments in the third. Work efficiently and effectively until you achieve your target, and then give yourself a nice reward! Again vary the reward, a different reward for each day or each week. The idea is to really work at giving you active motivators to foster success.



Secret Number 2 – Sell the Appointment, not the Product

Most direct sales people work on a consultative sales type approach, where you are doing a thorough fact find and offering which of your products or services will add value to your client’s needs. There are lots of questions, and a good deal of selling the value of your products. In direct selling, this is good. In selling an appointment, this is NOT good.

Remember that when the phone rings at your prospect’s desk, you will drop in unannounced. It would be totally inappropriate, therefore, to begin the conversation with a load of questions. This will trigger a justifiable negative reaction. Equally, if you try to sell the benefits of your products on the telephone call, why should the prospect bother seeing you? Remember your skills lie in the direct sales meeting, and you really need that sales appointment to perform. What this means is, do not attempt to sell your products. Sell the appointment. The value statements you will make are the benefits to the prospect of YOU sitting in front of him.

To prepare for your batch of calls, prepare a list of benefits of the APPOINTMENT. Why is it good for the prospect to spend 30 minutes of his time with you? What will he gain? Why will he be better off? Practice each one of these aloud, using strong positive benefit language. Then choose the right ones to use on your calls today.



Secret Number 3 – This is a Short Focussed Call

The successful sales appointment call is short. By that we do not mean rushed. On the contrary, the beginning of the call, as you introduce yourself, should be confident and gently paced. Your typical call structure should be something like -

1. Who you are, your name

2. Who your Company is, your Company name together with a one line promotion statement. Here we are impressing the prospect, giving them a positive reason why they should bother taking the call from that Company.

3. Your reason for calling today. You have wonderful products, or you are in the neighborhood, are NOT good reasons why a busy person should see you. You want to present a one line teaser that will be of benefit to this Customer. It could be as simple as, we have just launched a new range of products, or, we have revised our pricing schedule to offer more cost effective solutions. The reason you are calling today, HAS to be a definite reason.

4. Engaging question. You have done all the talking up to now, so it is time for the prospect to be involved. You want one question open question that will illicit some information, but will not allow the prospect to shut down the call. This must be a very specific question for your line of business, and you really only want to get the prospect to say a one line response.

5. Sell the benefits of the Meeting. Here we ask for 30 minutes of their time, and give 2 to 3 benefits of this meeting.

6. Go straight to gain agreement. Move immediately to a close, offering a range of times and days

Practice your sales appointment calls until you get the timing right. Remember it is short, driving towards the close very quickly. When you get it right, record it so that you can capture the language and feel of the successful appointment call.

Useful Tips For A Business Presentation

Presently, business presentations are tougher since most of the clients want something contemporary and more creative. Meeting the clients’ expectations would be a laborious task and an arduous responsibility.

But you have nothing to worry if you yourself know the product or concept that you are selling to your client. Business presentation is majorly knowing your material. As long as you are knowledgeable and piles of information lingers in your head about your product, you are for sure that you are on the right track.



Moreover, the presentation itself does matter a lot. Are your slide shows eye-catching? Are the things projected in your screen interesting enough? Are the information concrete and relevant? These are just among the questions that you need to ask your self. Additionally, your presentation would not be as outstanding and as appealing as you hope it to be without the correct equipment. The right projector does matter a lot and especially the right screen. Various screens could be utilized in every presentation but one should make the right choice. Whether it is hung flat or placed on the ceiling, various equipment such as rear projection shows the content in high definition. These screens have the capacity to feature vibrant colors that would give more life to your videos and pictures. This is also one of the major advances of technology with models featuring durability and portability which are great for daily business meetings.

Furthermore, using of simple slides and avoiding too much words in your slide-shows are helpful tips. It would be way more helpful and interesting if you place pictures or graphs on your screens. This would aid you in a better explanation of your concept or product.

In addition to that, it is best that you practice your delivery. Make sure that you will sound confident. Think of some ways to get rid of that nervousness and be spontaneous in your delivery. These would contribute a lot in igniting the interest in your clients. Additionally, choosing the right words are very important. It is essential that you are in the same page as your clients. It is not necessary to throw big words. The simpler and the more definite your choice of words are, the better.

Besides that, it is vital that you also point out the relevant facts about your product or your concept. It is imperative that you dig deeper and make your clients understand how that material of yours can create a change and make a contribution to the society and its people.

Be professional with your clients all the time. If they disagree or ask questions about something, be courteous enough to answer them. Entertain their ideas, too, which is a big help in your business. Address your clients properly, and never give them a reason to feel disrespected.

Punctuality is very important. Being on time for your business presentation shows how professional you are. Giving allowance of an hour before the big event gives room for contingency and helps you in preparing yourself better. Tardiness is a no-no and very improper. It is a major offense to keep your clients waiting, so make sure to always be there on time.

8 Steps To An Organized Financial Life

Lack of organization can harm your finances as much or more than being short on cash. Losing bills can lead to late fees, and not keeping track of your bank account could cause overdraft fees. The following are some tips that will help you stay on top of your bills and accounts, and will lead to greater organization and, most importantly, less spending.

1. Pull Out Your Budget at Least Once Per Month

Your bills could change on a monthly basis. Revise your budget as bills come in and adjust other expenses to make up for it, so you don't accidentally overdraw your bank account. For instance, some months and seasons bring higher electrical bills than others. Let's say your electric bill is a $100 more in June than it was in May. Your budget may be based on spring electricity usage or the usage from a month where you had a lower electric bill. Since June's electric bill signals a change in expenses, you take out your monthly budget to see what other area of your budget you could adjust so you can pay your electric bill.

To save $100, you exchange two dinners out for a bike ride with a packed lunch. You might also grab self-made or deli-made sandwiches to bring to a concert in the park instead of going out for pricey drinks. The best part about having to cut down on one expense to pay for another is it will force you to break traditions and try something different.

What if you don't have a budget? Create one today! Start by writing down your budget the way you'd like your expenses to unfold. At the end of the month, start tweaking your budget by adjusting other expenses when one expense is more than you expected. (For more budgeting tips, check out Get Your Budget Into Fighting Shape and 6 Months To A Better Budget.)

2. Use Financial Software

Financial software isn't just for investments. You can find free, scaled-down financial software on the web to help you keep track of your daily expenses. Within the programs, you can get detailed information as to where your money is actually going. When choosing budgeting software, verify on the Better Business Bureau website that the service you consider has good customer service records.

3. Have One Place for Bills

Even if most of your bills arrive electronically, you still need a place for bills that come by mail. Why would you have bills show up by mail? Homeowners may not get property tax or homeowners insurance bills electronically because these bills are paid on an annual basis.

For storage, keep your bills wherever you normally write checks or pay bills online. Throw out bills once they are paid, preferably after shredding them for privacy and identity theft protection.

You can also keep scanned copies in your computer. If you don't like filing bills by hand, scan them and save a copy in file format. Give the file a name that says exactly what the bill is and keep all bills in a file labeled bills.

4. Open Bills and Pay Them the Same Day You Receive Them

If you have money available in your bank account and you don't have other debit card or bill pay charges coming through that could cause an overdraft, pay your bills the same day they are received.

Pay extra attention to paper bills that normally come electronically. You don't want to pay a bill twice because you received a duplicate by mail. Always call your creditor when a paper bill arrives when you think you have an automatic payment scheduled or electronic billing set up.

5. Have a Checklist for Bills You Are Expecting

Neither mail nor email is perfect. Create a checklist at the beginning of the month with every bill you are expecting. You can keep it on your desk, bill paying area or create a file on your computer.

6. Consult with Anyone with Whom You Share Accounts

Whether it's your spouse, significant other or relative, you can easily bounce a check or debit card payment if you don't know how much the other has been spending.

Example: Your spouse has the day off and decides to go to lunch and golfing with a buddy. When you get home, you're told about a great game of golf. What you're not told is the $150 spent amidst day-off festivities. You end up bouncing a direct-debited student loan payment because your bank account had $100 less in it than you thought.

7. Verify that Your Paycheck is Direct Deposited

If you have direct deposit, you get used to your paycheck being there on paydays. However,sometimes your check may not arrive electronically on the correct date. Don't start spending your paycheck until you've checked your account balance.

8. Have Two Bank Accounts

Use one account for spending. Use one for bills. This way you can prevent yourself from accidentally spending bill money on a night out that should have gone towards rent.

Conclusion

Missing bill payments because of lack of organization is the easiest financial problem to fix. You don't have to use all eight of these tips, as long as you pick an organizational system that you can stick to every month.

Identity Theft: How To Avoid It

Identity theft occurs so frequently that the Federal Bureau of Investigation cites it as "America's fastest growing crime problem." Thieves steal and fraudulently use the names, addresses, Social Security numbers (SSNs), bank account information, credit card numbers and other personal information of some 10 million Americans each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Learning about how thieves get your personal information is the first step toward protecting yourself from this devastating attack on your financial well-being.

At the Corporate Level

Thieves make headlines when they break into large consumer databases and steal hundreds or thousands of names, but that's not the only way identity theft occurs on a corporate level. It can occur also from the inside. Insiders may use an employer's access to credit reporting information to get a hold of confidential personal data, or steal information directly from the employer's files or trash. Employees can also be conned or bribed by an outsider to obtain information.

At the Personal Level

Identity theft is less publicized when it occurs on the individual level, but the number of ways that fraud can occur on this level is just as distressing. The simplest method involves stealing or finding your wallet, or digging through your trash. Identity theft can also be as simple and easy as peering over someone's shoulder as they use the ATM at the local bank.

More sophisticated methods include targeting the information of the deceased through the use of obituaries, stealing or diverting your mail and obtaining credit card or bank account information via skimming. This is a high-tech theft that uses an electronic device to steal credit card or bank account information. Skimming generally occurs when your credit card is used to make a purchase, and the person processing your card uses a skimmer to capture personalized access information. It has also been found on ATMs.

Phishing is one of the most widely publicized methods of personal identity theft. Phishers create a website that looks very similar to the site of a legitimate enterprise, sending emails out to lure unsuspecting individuals to enter their personal data, which is then used by the thieves.

Once Your Identity Is Stolen

When an identity thief steals your personal data, the thief "becomes" you by assuming your financial identity. The less sophisticated criminals go on a spending spree with your credit cards, sometimes opening new credit cards in your name, writing checks or establishing cell phone accounts.

The more sophisticated thieves will do more than simply spend your money; they'll use your name and identity to do anything they want or need. They'll obtain personal identification, such as a driver's license, and use it to take out car loans, open bank accounts and even file for bankruptcy to, say, avoid eviction from a house or apartment, or get out of making payments on debts they've created in their victim's name. Some of these thieves will also use your identity when they're arrested.

Offense Is the Best Defense

While high-profile hackings of corporate databases demonstrate that nobody is completely safe from identity theft, there are precautions that can minimize the odds of being victimized.

* Protect Your Social Security Number

You SSN is a critical piece of personal information. Do not print it on any form of personal identification. Never have it printed on your checks; simply write it on the check in the rare occasions it's needed. Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet, and avoid using your SSN as a personal identifier if at all possible. Although colleges, medical clinics, purveyors of hunting/fishing licenses, employers and other entities often request your SSN, think twice before giving it out. You don't know who will have access to that data when you're not around.

* Protect Your Mail

To make your mailbox a less attractive target for identity thieves, try to reduce the amount of unsolicited offers. Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers and insurance by calling 888-5OPT-OUT or by logging onto https://www.optoutprescreen.com. Choose five-year or permanent opt out. When you do receive offers in the mail, shred them before you discard them.

Remember to cancel mail delivery when you go on vacation. If you don't, that mountain of mail makes a tempting target. Outgoing mail requires protection too. When you write a check and mail it to your credit card company, don't include information that is complete enough for someone to use: only write the last four digits of your account number - your credit card company has all the information they need to identify you.

* Protect Your Trash

The items you discard, including credit card offers, ATM receipts, bank statements, credit statements/receipts and utility bills, all contain personal information. With a bit of effort, thieves can collect this information and use it to steal your identity. To minimize this possibility, buy a shredder and use it. Similarly, when you discard of old credit cards, be sure to destroy them completely first.

* Beware of the Telephone

High-pressure callers often demand personal information with scams such as the promise of an extravagant vacation at an attractive price if only you will act now or lose the offer. To avoid these scams, never provide personal information over the phone if you did not initiate the call. To limit the number of these calls you receive, ask the callers if you can join the do-not-call list. When you do receive a call, simply hang up.

* Safeguard Your Computer

Never respond to unsolicited requests for personal information and always use virus protection. Protect your computer with a password, change it frequently and don't share your password with anyone. From time to time, search the internet for your name and the last four digits of your SSN. You never know what you might find.

* Protect Your Wallet

On the backs of your credit cards, write "photo ID required" in place of the signature. If your credit cards are stolen, it will be more difficult for a thief to make purchases. Photocopy everything in your wallet, including credit card numbers and the contact numbers of the issuers, and store this information in a secure location. If your wallet is lost or stolen, all the information you'll need to cancel your credit cards will be readily accessible.

* Protect Deceased Relatives

It's a sad fact of life that even the dead are not immune to identity theft. When a loved one passes away, obtain a dozen copies of the official death certificate, and notify all financial institutions, insurance companies, credit card companies, loan holders, etc. Be sure to remove the deceased relative's name from all joint accounts. Finally, contact the credit reporting agencies and request a deceased alert. This places a notice on the deceased's credit report, telling companies that the person has died and cannot be issued credit.

* Report Suspicious Activity

Review your credit report at least once a year and contact your creditors immediately if you note suspicious activity. If, at anytime, you suspect that an attempt has been made to steal your identity, contact the authorities. File a police report, and file a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, whom you can reach at 1-877-IDTHEFT.

Conclusion

Being the victim of identity theft can be extremely devastating not only because it's your money being stolen, but your name. Identity thieves can be very skilled at finding their targets and then exploiting their findings. For this reason, to protect yourself you need to stay all the more alert and knowledgeable.

How To Avoid Emotional Investing

Investors have a knack for piling into investments at the top and selling at the bottom. Many investors get caught up in media hype or fear and buy or sell investments at the peaks and valleys of the cycle. Why does this type of emotional investing happen and how can investors avoid both the euphoric and depressive investment traps? Read on for some tips on how to keep an even keel - and keep your investments on track.

Investor Behavior

The behavior of investors has been well documented; there are numerous theories that attempt to explain the regret and overreaction that buyers and sellers experience when it comes to money and the potential gains and losses on that money. Investors' psyche overpowers rational thinking during times of stress, whether that stress is a result of euphoria or fear.

The typical non-professional investor is putting his hard-earned cash at stake and, while hoping for a gain, wants to protect that cash against losses. Investors get investment "information" from many sources, such as mainstream media, financial news, friends, family and co-workers. Oftentimes investors get enticed by the market during periods of market calm (low volatility) and prolonged bull markets.

Bull markets are periods when the market tends to go up indiscriminately. During such times of market exuberance, investors tend to listen to stories from friends or family members about how much money they are making in the market, creating a stir and compelling those not invested to test the waters. Likewise, when investors read stories about a bad economy or hear reports about a volatile or negative market period, fear takes over and they sell at the bottom. (Not all investors are mentally prepared for when a much-awaited bull market finally comes charging in.

Bad Timing

The lag between when an event occurs and when it is reported is what typically causes investors to lose money. The media will report a bull market only once it has already hit; unless the trend continues, stocks will retract in upcoming periods. Investors, influenced by the reports, often choose these times of premium valuations to build up their portfolios. It is worrisome when the daily stock market report leads off the mainstream news because it creates a buzz and investors make decisions based on "opinions" that are often outdated. Market uncertainty creates fear and brings about an atmosphere of emotional investing.

Time Tested Theory

The theory that many market participants buy at the top and sell at the bottom has proved to be true based on historical money flow analysis. Money flow analysis looks at the net flow of funds for mutual funds. Over a period from 1988 through 2009, money flow analysis showed that when the market hit its peak or valley, money flows were at the highest levels.

Money continued to flow into funds until the market hit bottom, and only then did investors start to pull money out of the market and money flows turned negative. The net outflows peaked at market bottoms and continued to be negative even as the market moved into an upward trend. Because the market was shown to fall before funds were sold, and funds were often reinvested after the market had alreayd moved up, it's clear htat investors often fail to time their trades in the most beneficial manner.

A Bright Spot

Despite the strong tendencies that investors portray at the peaks and valleys, they have gotten other periods correct. Throughout the 1990s, there was a steady flow of funds into the market during a period when the market was on a prolonged bull run. Likewise from 2004 to 2007, during another strong bull market, investors poured money into the market. So it can be hypothesized that during periods of very little volatility (such as prolonged bull markets), investors become more comfortable in the market and begin to invest. However, during periods of volatility, or when bull or bear markets begin and end regularly, money flows tend to reflect confusion and the timing of the flows becomes mismatched with actual market movement.

Strategies to Take the Emotion Out of Investing

A 2009 study of investment behavior by DALBAR showed that over the 20-year period from January 1989 to December 2008, the S&P 500 returned an average annual 8.4% but the average stock investor returned only 1.9% annually. The evidence suggests that emotional investing gets the best of the typical investor during periods of uncertainty. There are strategies, however, that can alleviate the guess-work and reduce the effect of poorly timing fund flows.

The most effective tends to be the dollar-cost averaging of investment dollars. Dollar cost averaging is a strategy where equal amounts of dollars are invested at a regular, predetermined interval. This strategy is good during all market conditions. During a downward trend, investors are purchasing shares at cheaper and cheaper prices. During an upward trend, the shares previously held in the portfolio are producing capital gains and fewer shares are being added at the higher price. The key to this strategy is to stay the course- set the strategy and don't tamper with it unless a major change warrants revisiting and rebalancing the established course.

Another technique to diminish the emotional response to market investing is to diversify a portfolio. There have been only a handful of times in history when all markets have moved in unison and diversification provided little protection. In most normal market cycles, the use of a diversification strategy provides downward protection. Diversifying a portfolio can take many forms - investing in different industries, different geographies, different types of investments and even hedging with alternative investments like real estate and private equity. There are distinctive market conditions that favor each of these subsectors of the market, so a portfolio made up of all these various types of investments should provide protection in a range of market conditions.

Conclusion

Investing without emotion is easier said than done, especially because uncertainty rules the market and the media. Evidence suggests that most investors are emotional and maximize money flows at the wrong times - a surefire way to reduce potential returns. Strategies that eliminate the emotional response to investing should produce returns that are significantly greater than those indicated by the typical investor responding to the market rather than proactively investing in the market. Dollar-cost averaging and diversification are two proven strategies within a multitude of other alternatives to reduce an investors emotional reaction to the market.

Why is the Camel's Neck Crooked?

As you all know, Emperor Akbar was very impressed with Birbal�s wisdom and greatly enjoyed his quick wit. One fine morning when Akbar was especially pleased with Birbal, as a gesture of appreciation, he promised to reward him with many valuable and beautiful gifts.

However, many days passed, and still there was no sign of even one gift. Birbal was quite disappointed with the king. Then one day, when Akbar was strolling down the banks of River Yamuna with his ever faithful Birbal at his side, he happened to notice a camel passing by. He asked Birbal why the neck of the camel was crooked. Birbal thought for a second and promptly replied that it might be because the camel may have forgotten to honour a promise. The holy books mention that those who break their word get punished with a crooked neck; perhaps that was the reason for the camel's crooked neck.

Akbar soon realised his folly of making a promise to Birbal for gifts and not honouring it. He was ashamed of himself. As soon as they returned to the palace he immediately gave Birbal his justly deserved reward. As you can see, Birbal always managed to get what he wanted without directly asking for it.

Is e-commerce the future of retail?

As online and in-store retailing converges with the growth of mobile networks, the daydream could become a reality. Via their smartphones, shoppers at retail stores will have the capability to check the Internet for online promotions, product descriptions and reviews by past customers. Meanwhile, online customers will have access to software that allows them to “try on” clothing, or discuss a buying decision with contacts on social networking sites.

New mobile capability, social networks and better analytics will play an important role in the future of the retail industry, according to speakers on a recent Wharton Retail Conference panel titled, ‘E-Commerce: Is It the Future of Retail?’ “Mobile will be a critical piece of retailing, even more so than shopping online,” said Dave Larkins, vice president of NetPlus Marketing in Conshohocken, Pa., and a co-creator of The Colony online boutique.

Mobile technology has not advanced to its full capability, Larkins noted, but continues to evolve due to expanded bandwidth and increasing consumer adoption of smartphones. As networks get better, it becomes easier for retailers to target customers based on where they live or shop, and to communicate with them in real time. Location-based social networks such as Foursquare, which essentially ask users to share their retail patterns with friends, are viewed as another way for brands to link to communities, he added.

The history and visibility of bricks-and-mortar stores helped retailers achieve immediate brand identification for new Internet ventures. But the support is now moving in the other direction, from the Internet to physical stores, said Kris Roberts, divisional merchandise manager of Target.com. She pointed out that consumers are eager to use mobile devices to inform in-store decisions because accessing online information on the spot is more convenient than having to research an item later via computer. “This brings the two [retail modes] together, and I think it will transform how people shop,” Roberts stated.

Cross Channels

Most retailers continue to view online customers and shoppers at physical stores as two separate entities, panelists said. Roberts noted that Minnesota-based Target is trying to develop “cross channels” that would link the offline and online experience, and reach consumers more effectively.

Mobile Matters

But she added that cross channeling is often an overused buzzword that presents many obstacles for retailers, including the need to update organizational systems to integrate in-store operations with Internet retailing. “We will need to see a generation or two of management changeover to really leverage the power [of cross-channeling].” Successful integration, said Larkins, will require top managers to embrace new technology systems.

“It begins with leadership,” he said. “It is all about philosophy and how much the C-level executives are going to embrace these channels as one.” Retail executives need to reduce divisions in their organizations and bring together people working in catalog, stores and online operations to create new added value. “It’s tricky,” noted Larkins.

“The point is to have everyone at the table thinking about things and not just in silos, from stores to online to mobile and social media, beginning [with] the idea process and the planning process and the thought process.”

Roberts suggested that the web is the ‘ultimate’ branding opportunity for companies because it is available anytime and anywhere. Buying an item in a store is a ‘primal’ experience that will never go away, she said, but online shopping can deliver new levels of information and convenience for consumers. Roberts predicted that as online retailers interact more with consumers, shoppers themselves will take a role in shaping brands.

Top 13 Worst & Funny Marketing Slogan Translations Ever

Language translation is not an easy task. And sometimes, a slight mistake in the translation can create a huge difference in the meaning of the original content. It can be funny and tragic at the very same time. And here I am gonna share few of the translation mistakes of the marketing slogans which are funny to us but tragic to the brands.Here are few of the worst ever translation of the marketing slogans of the few of the biggest brands of the world.



1. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” The company thought that the word “embarazar” (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”

2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: “Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux.”

3. Clairol introduced the “Mist Stick,” a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that “mist” is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the “Manure Stick.”

4. Coors put its slogan, “Turn It Loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer From Diarrhea.”

5. Pepsi’s “Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave” in Chinese.

6. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what’s inside, since many people can’t read.

7. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

8. Frank Perdue’s chicken slogan, “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken,” was translated into Spanish as “it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.”

9. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its “Fly In Leather” campaign literally, which meant “Fly Naked” (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.

10. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I Saw the Potato” (la papa).

11. The Dairy Association’s huge success with the campaign “Got Milk?” prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read “Are You Lactating?”

12. General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to market the Nova car in Central and South America. “No va” in Spanish means, “It Doesn’t Go”.

13. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as “Kekoukela”, meaning “Bite the Wax Tadpole” or “Female Horse Stuffed with Wax”, depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent “kokoukole”, translating into “Happiness in the Mouth.”

Top most Firing IT companies in India

Top most Firing IT companies in India


1) IBM --- Right now this is the most firing company for IT professionals. In the last 6 months, this company has fired nearly 20% of their employees because of BG check and performance issues. This is the most insecure company from an IT professional's point of view. They don't have any strategic plans at HR policies regarding employee security. No appraisals (maximum 10%).

2)TCS --- Previously its an government IT Company . Now a days TCS also becoming firing IT company. Recently they fired on 500 people.( the people below 2 years of experience) and TCS losts so many projects recently( especially British Telecom Projects).

3) Accenture --- This is second top most firing company. The firing rate is around 5%. This depends upon outsourced projects; they have a unique system where Accenture development centers around the world bid for a project coming into the company. Currently Philippinescentre is taking the cake and the Indian centers are in a firing mode.

4) WIPRO --- Firing people with very frequent back ground checks and firing them with out even experience letters and relieving letters (will mention as terminated from services)but will promise the employees that they will retain them. After the project is over they will fire away. Will threaten of criminal cases against such employees if they oppose the move and has also filed against some.

6) Intel --- Recently joined the league. Running in heavy losses, hence firing 3000 employees in the Bangalore center in a phased out manner.

7) CTS --- Has a steady firing policy (checking the Educational background and previous employment and also employee performance in work). In a Recent HCL walk-in, around 50% attendees were from this company. Sadly the I-pods have not helped them.

8) CSC --- Excellent package but fires folks in Background check and those on bench regularly. Recently fired 400+ employees from its subsidiary Covansys.

9) Satyam --- Currently stopped firing. The Attrition rate is very high. No firing from 2005 until now when 1000 employees were fired in Hyderabad.

10) Patni ---- They fired so many employees that currently they are facing understaffing and deficiency with number of employees. Very high attrition rate.

11) Keane India ---- This USA based company is always involved in firing employees. Although they proudly say that they don't have hire and fire policy. Recently they fired Java and as 400 professionals after which most of the employees have started to pack their bags. Employees change this company within 1 year.

So take care before accepting offers from these companies.



Secure IT companies in India

1) Microsoft --- Has projects till 2050.

2) EDS --- Most secure company in India. Not laid off any of its employees even during 2001. Has lots of projects in Defense and financial areas

3) HP --- Dream Company. In-house and outsourced projects

4) Infosys --- Dream Job. On a way to achieve the status of a secured, stable Govt. company.

5) AOL, Google and Yahoo - Best companies to work with, great job satisfaction as well as great salary and work environment. Rarely fires an employee. As they are internet based companies' they offer lots of opportunities to grow.

6) HCL -- A good company to be in. Called as a "retirement company."

7) HSBC--- This is the most secure company. It has never fired any employee, even when they know that the employee is showing fake experience.

8) Aricent--- a communication based software company, has never fired any employee and gives great perks & incentives, lot of projects in kitty. Minimal level of attrition.

9) KPIT Cumminns Infosystems Limited ---- This is the most secure company not known to many. It has presently acquired CG Smith, Bangalore and has lots of projects in pipe line. Acquisitions plans will continue.

3 Keys to Successful Green Marketing

Green Marketing Can Win More Customers If You Do It Right

Show potential customers that you follow green business practices and you could reap more green on your bottom line. Green marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more customers and make more money. But only if you do it right.

For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your customers, and give them the opportunity to participate.

1) Being genuine means that
a) that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and
b) that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green marketing campaign to succeed.

2) Educating your customers isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?" and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere.

3) Giving your customers an opportunity to participate means personalizing the benefits of your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in positive environmental action.

Let's put the three essential elements of a successful green marketing campaign together by looking at an example.

Suppose that you have decided that your business will no longer use plastic bags to wrap customer purchases. You know that the traditional plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose (cbc.ca) and want to do your part to stop the proliferation of plastic bags in landfills. You feel that this is the kind of environmental action that will be popular with potential customers and a good opportunity to do some green marketing.

To be genuine, you have to ensure that none of your business practices contradict your decision not to use plastic bags. What if customers who happen to walk behind your store see an overflowing trash bin filled with paper, cardboard and plastic bottles? Obviously, he or she will decide that you don't care as much about recycling as you say you do in your green marketing.

Not using plastic bags appears to be environmental no-brainer, but you will still need to educate your target market. Did you know that a single use plastic bag takes about one thousand years to decompose? I didn’t until I researched this article and probably a fair number of otherwise environmentally conscious people don't either. This one little factoid about plastic bags could be used as part of your green marketing campaign - all by itself it lets the public know why single use plastic bags are environmentally disastrous and that you and your business care about the environment.

And the third element? By shopping at your store, the customer is taking action to protect the environment by preventing at least one single use plastic bag from going into a landfill. It doesn't sound like much, but he or she gets the satisfaction of physically doing something that fulfills their beliefs. You can also reinforce your customers’ green decisions and increase their participation by offering them additional related actions, such as buying cloth bags to use for future purchases.

Sometimes the best thing to do with a bandwagon is jump on it. You have to walk the talk and actually implement green policies and act in environmentally friendly ways for green marketing to work, but if you do, you've got a powerful selling point with those who are environmentally conscious and want to act to make the world a greener place - a market that's growing exponentially right now.

Green Marketing

Definition:

What is green marketing? Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.

The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product - an assumption that, in our opinion, has not been proven conclusively.

While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company's other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called greenwashing.

Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. See Three Keys to Successful Green Marketing.

Also Known As: Environmental Marketing, Ecological Marketing, Eco-Marketing.

Common Misspellings: Geen marketing, gren marketing.

Examples:
Chad’s green marketing campaign bombed because he made the mistake of packaging his environmentally friendly product in styrofoam.

The Five Teams Every Organization Needs

Team work, effective work teams, and team building are popular topics in today’s organizations. Successful teams and team work fuel the accomplishment of your strategic goals. Effective work teams magnify the accomplishments of individual employees and enable you to better serve customers.

If you're experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organization can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time. Your teams are most effective when:

* a diverse group of employees is able to participate,
* you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate
* the teams establish a regular meeting schedule,
* you require periodic team goal setting,
* minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and
* teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.

There are five work teams that every organization needs. We’ve seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organizations may also group responsibilities differently. As an example, We asked the safety committee to take on employee wellness responsibilities in one organization. The team refused, preferring instead to add environmental responsibilities. With this in mind, these are the five teams We most frequently recommend.

Leadership Team

Often an organization’s senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organization. The leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organization, The leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organization.

Motivation or Employee Morale Team

Known by different names in various organizations, the Employee Morale Team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees. The team’s responsibilities can include activities such as hosting employee lunches, planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones, employee birthdays, and the arrival of new babies. The team sponsors company sports teams. You can have fun with this team as the team’s only limit is the imagination of the team members.

Safety and Environmental Team

The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organization. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.

Employee Wellness Team

The wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products – not investment advice.

Culture and Communication Team

The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organization. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organization to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.

Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.

Ten Powerful Marketing Tips for the Small Business

#1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market.

People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

#2. No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach.

Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don't be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.

#3. Use buddy marketing to promote your business.

For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers

#4. Answer Your Phone Differently.

Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, "Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer." The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you're tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven't heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller's urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.

#5. Stick It!

Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.

#6. Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They've Purchased

Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with "this note" they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.

#7. Newsletters

Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.

#8. Seminars/ open house

Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you'll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it's a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.

#9. Bartering

This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company's product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.

#10. Mail Outs

Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn't cost any additional postage and you'll be surprised at who could use what you're offering.

Celebrate Earth Day at Work

While you still have a chance to plan a celebration, or an ongoing commitment in your workplace to all things "green," here's a heads up. April 22 is Earth Day. In honor of Earth Day, We have expanded this blog post into a full article with twenty tips to get a green team started in your workplace.

In honor of this year's celebration of Earth Day, form a green team at work. While debate exists about recycling and other aspects of environmentalism - try to get an answer to paper bags or plastic in the grocery stores, as an example - a green team is motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.

And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas, develop employee leadership and planning skills, and involve employees who might not be engaged by other team topics.

Ten Tips: Get Your Work Green Team Started

Here are ten ideas your green team can start out with as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas (the article offers more):

* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.
* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.
* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.
* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.
* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, magazines, and electronic equipment such as computers.
--Computer Recycling in the U.S..
--Computer Recycling in Canada.
* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.
* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.
* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.
* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.
* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees rather than throwing it away.

Form a Green Team to Improve Your Work Environment

o raise employee awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy work environment, form a green team at work. While debate exists about recycling and other aspects of environmentalism, a green team is motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.

And, the team may even save energy and time, keep trash out of landfills, opt for reuseable dishes, share books in a library, and more for your work environment. A team is a great way to brainstorm and develop ideas.

Twenty Ideas to Get Your Green Team Started

In addition, here are twenty ideas to get your green team members started as they brainstorm and implement their own ideas:

* Keep room temperatures at 68 degrees in the winter and 55 degrees at night.

* Experiment, because employees have to be comfortable, but use air conditioning with discretion.

* Turn off your office lights while you attend meetings and at night and over the weekend.

* Limit the use of space heaters. Ask employees to dress more warmly instead.

* Recycle cans, bottles, newspapers, and magazines.

* Limit the use of disposable products at company supplied lunches and events.

* Put your computer and printer on energy saving settings when you know you'll be away for awhile.

* Purchase energy efficient appliances for your offices.

* Turn lights off in restrooms, conference rooms, libraries, and so forth when the room is not in use.

* Send extra food from company events and lunches home with employees or deliver the food to a local charity rather than throwing it away.

* Email advisories about how employees can use less paper. Examples include: set printers to duplex by default; print on both sides of paper for internal or personal use documents.

* Purchase large or refillable containers of creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, and butter instead of individual containers.

* Suggest lighting changes and use more energy efficient bulbs.

* Buy all employees a "green team" sweatshirt that they can leave in their offices or cubicles to wear when feeling cold.

* Evaluate packaging, shipping, and marketing materials to eliminate waste.

* Ask vendors who supply company lunches not to deliver lunches in individual boxes.
* Encourage employee car pools.

* Encourage employees to recycle at home; provide a listing of recycling centers or reuse sites such as Freecycle.com.

* Donate unwanted cell phones to organizations such as Recellular, Inc. that will recycle, refurbish, and promote reuse to provide funding for charitable and environmental causes.

* Buy and sell used two-way radios, parts, and equipment at locations such as TalkFar.com and UsedRadios.com.

Quick Tips to Improve Self Confidence

Here are some quick tips to improve your Self Confidence. If we are committed to have a healthy self confidence there are many things you can do every day to boost your self confidence, each small steps that will help you to reach your goal. The good news is that self-esteem is not fixed and can be improved, try some of the steps below to boost your confidence and self-esteem.

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1) Identify your successes. Everyone is good at something, so discover the things at which you excel, then focus on your talents. Give yourself permission to take pride in them. Give yourself credit for your successes. Inferiority is a state of mind in which you've declared yourself a victim. Do not allow yourself to be victimized.

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2) Look in the mirror and smile. Studies surrounding what's called the "facial feedback theory" suggest that the expressions on your face can actually encourage your brain to register certain emotions. So by looking in the mirror and smiling every day, you might feel happier with yourself and more confident in the long run.

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3) Exercise and eat healthy. Exercise raises adrenaline and makes one feel happier and healthier. It is certainly an easy and effective way to boost your self-confidence.

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4) Turn feelings of envy or jealousy into a desire to achieve. Stop wanting what others have just because they have it; seek things simply because you want them, whether anybody else has them or not.

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10 Best Companies To Work For In India

Infosys Technologies has emerged as the best company to work for in India, according to the BT-Indicus-PeopleStrong 9th Annual Survey of India's Best Employers.

Even as the Indian IT major shone, many other biggies missed getting into the list of the 10 best companies to work for in India. These include L&T (11th), Hindustan Unilever (12th), ONGC (13th), Tata Motors (14th), ITC (15th), ICICI Bank (19th), and Tata Steel (20th).

About 9,000 employees from across 1,000 organisations across 800 cities participated in the survey.

They were asked to rate companies on six key parameters, namely, career and personal growth, prestige/company reputation, training/coaching/mentoring, financial compensation and benefits, job content, and merit-based performance evaluation.

While creative people in advertising and media gave little importance to the company's brand value, the administrative staff gave more value to the brand.

The Banking, Financial Services and Insurance and Services accounted for over 10 per cent of the respondents each, software over 14 per cent, manufacturing over 17 per cent, and ITeS accounted for 9 per cent.

Education/training, core sector, telecom and health accounted for 6.7 per cent, 5.7 per cent, 4.4 per cent, and 4.2 per cent, respectively.

The rankings are based on what employees think of their present, past and future employers.



1. Infosys Technologies



Infosys is in the No.1 position for the fifth time, out of the 9 surverys (the company did not particpate in two surveys), carried out by BT-Indicus.

Infosys Technologies was selected as the best employer to work for in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006. Infosys and its subsidiaries have 105,453 employees as on September 30, 2009.

Infosys, which hired 18,000 people in 2009-10, scores 100 on all parameters. Infosys is one of the most sought after companies in campuses. The rate of attrition at Infosys is 11.6 per cent, according to Business Today.

Index score: 100

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2. Google India



Google India, which boasts of giving freedom to its employees, has been chosen as the second best employer in India. Google employees believe that 'work is fun'.

On a worldwide basis, Google employed 19,835 full-time employees as of December 31, 2009, up from 19,665 full-time employees as of September 30, 2009.

In India, Google has 2000 employees. The rate of attrition is less than 5 per cent.The company scores the highest on job content and financial compensation.

Index score: 52

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3. Tata Consultancy Services



India's largest employer TCS is ranked 3rd in the survey of best employers. TCS has over 143,000 IT professionals in 42 countries.

The company scores high on job content and financial compensation. According to the survey, TCS is also the most preferred company among IT professionals.

TCS hired 8,000 people in 2009-10 and the rate of attrition is 11.4 per cent.

Index score: 46

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4. IBM



IT seems to be the hot choice for employees with IBM also in the top league. IBM offers freedom and flexibility, according to the survey.

Ranked 4th, IBM figures among the top 5 for the first time. IBM scores high on job content and financial compensation. The company also has the highest retention rates.

IBM re-entered the Indian market through a joint venture in 1992. It has 398,455 employees worldwide. IBM India employs 74,000 professionals.

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5. Microsoft India



Microsoft India, which was at the top of the employee charts in 2007 and 2008, has been pushed to the fifth position.

Microsoft has over 5,000 employees in India. It scores high on job content and financial compensation.
Index score: 36

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6. Wipro



IT giant Wipro is 6th among India's top employers. The company has 102,746 employees as of December 31, 2009, an increase of 4,855 people.

According to the survey, Wipro is considered a secure and flexible company.

Index score: 33

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7. State Bank of India



Breaking the monopoly of IT companies in the list of the best employers is public sector bank, SBI.

India's largest PSU bank, SBI is the 7th best employer in India. SBI, the largest recruiter after IT firm TCS has over two lakh employees.

About 28 per cent of the employees surveyed were above 33 years and 48 per cent were above 28 years.

Index score: 32

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8. Bharti Airtel



Along with the steady progress in its business, Bharti Airtel has won the hearts of the employees as well. It is ranked 8th among the best employers. The company has 18,201 employees.

The rate of attrition is 10.5 to 11 per cent. It scores high on career and personal growth and company reputation.

The company believes that people are its biggest assets.

Index score: 29

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9. HP India



HP India was established in 1988. Ranked 9th among the top 10 employers in India, HP has about 321,000 employees worldwide and 31,000 employees in India.

It scores high on job content and financial compensation. One of the best aspects about HP India is that it allows employees to move across jobs internally, says the survey.

Index score: 28

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10. HDFC Bank



HDFC Bank has been chosen as the tenth best company to work for in India . The company has over 47,000 employees. The bank hired 4,500 employees as of December 2009 and its attrition rate is 15 per cent.

Employees find the company transparent and friendly. It scores high on job content and company reputation.

Index score: 27

Forex or Currency Futures?

Currencies are the money of different countries, and currency trading is the buying and selling of these currencies. There are almost as many different currencies as there are countries, but the most popular currencies for trading are the US Dollar, the Euro, the British Pound (Sterling), and the Japanese Yen. The currency markets are some of the most popular day trading markets, and they therefore have some of the highest volume (number of contracts) and liquidity. This high volume and liquidity makes the currency markets attractive to all types of traders, including individual day traders, trading companies, financial and non financial companies, banks, and governments.

There are several different ways of trading currencies, and even non traders are familiar with one form of currency trading. When people go on holiday to a different country they often need to exchange their local currency for the currency of the destination country. For example, a tourist from the US would need to exchange their US Dollars for Mexican Pesos if they went to Mexico on holiday. This exchange would be processed via a currency broker (such as a bank), and the transaction would become part of the currency markets. This type of currency trading is not suitable for professional traders, so two other forms of currency trading are used by day traders.

Forex (FOReign EXchange)

Forex trading is one of the most popular ways of trading the currency markets. Forex markets trade the actual exchange rate between two currencies. For example, the most popular Forex market is the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate (EUR to USD), which trades the value of 1 Euro in US Dollars. There are Forex markets for most of the major currencies, including the following :

* EUR -> USD - The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate
* GBP -> USD - The British Pound (Sterling) to US Dollar exchange rate
* EUR -> GBP - The Euro to British Pound exchange rate
* CAD -> USD - The Canadian Dollar to US Dollar exchange rate
* AUD -> USD - The Australian Dollar to US Dollar exchange rate
* EUR -> CHF - The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate

As the Forex markets are global markets, they trade 24 hours per day from Monday morning in New Zealand (Sunday night in the US) until Friday night in Asia (also Friday night in the US). Forex markets are different from most day trading markets in that they are not provided by an exchange. Forex markets are decentralized markets, where all trades are directly between two traders (or a trader and a Forex broker). This means that there could be several different exchange rates for the same currencies, depending upon factors such as the location of the traders, and the brokers being used.

Forex markets trade the currencies directly (rather than trading contracts), and the minimum amount that can be traded is known as a lot. The size of a lot is dependant upon the Forex broker being used, but is commonly at least $25,000. This amount is usually margined, so individual traders do not need to have anywhere near the lot size in their trading account, and will borrow most of the lot size from their Forex broker instead.

Currency Futures

Currency futures are futures markets that are based upon the currency markets. Currency futures markets trade futures contracts that reflect the exchange rates of two currencies. For example, the most popular currency futures market is the EUR futures market, which is based upon the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate. The most popular currency futures are provided by the CME Group (formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange), and include the following futures markets :

* EUR - The Euro to US Dollar futures market
* GBP - The British Pound (Sterling) to US Dollar futures market
* CAD - The Canadian Dollar to US Dollar futures market
* CHF - The Swiss Franc to US Dollar futures market

As they are futures markets, currency futures are provided by an exchange. This means that they have centralized pricing (and clearing), so the market price is the same regardless of the brokerage being used. Currency futures markets also trade 24 hours per day from Sunday night until Friday night in the US, so they are accessible to traders worldwide, even though all of the trades go through the same exchange.

Currency futures trade futures contracts that are worth a specific amount of the underlying currency. For example, the EUR futures contract is worth $125,000. The contract specifications for each currency futures market specifies the contract value, and other trading information such as the minimum price change (tick size) and the price change value (tick value).

Forex or Futures

Even though both the Forex markets and the currency futures markets are based upon the same underlying financial markets, there are some significant differences that make one or the other the best choice for day trading. The Forex markets have very large liquidity (amount of money traded) so they can absorb very large trades (millions of dollars) without the market being affected, whereas the currency futures can only absorb a certain number of contracts (usually less than 100) before the market becomes affected by the trade. On the other hand, the currency futures markets are regulated markets, so they are not susceptible to price fixing (also known as market making).

Unless you have several million dollars that you want to trade with, or you want to convert one currency to another indefintely (i.e. not convert it back again), the currency futures markets are the best choice for individual day traders. The two most popular currency futures markets are the EUR (Euro to US Dollar futures market), and the GBP (British Pound to US Dollar futures market), and complete information about these (and other) markets (including their contract specifications) can be found in their market profiles.

Patience, Decisiveness, and Calmness

The idea of making a living as a day trader appeals to a large number of people, but not everybody has a personality suitable for day trading. Even people that are successful in other fields (even related fields), often find that they are not compatible with day trading. Day trading is a flexible profession (meaning that it can be adapted to suit different styles), but there are a few qualities that all day traders need to have in their personalities, in order to be successful (profitable), and avoid becoming a nervous wreck in the process.

Patience

When non traders imagine day traders, many people think of traders in a trading pit, wearing brightly colored jackets, shouting and waving their arms about. While this may have been true once, it is no longer an accurate image of day trading. Modern day trading is performed by sitting quietly in front of a computer, waiting anywhere from a few minutes, to several hours, or even days, for the next trade to come along. Being able to wait patiently is a necessity, otherwise you will find yourself taking trades that are not part of your trading system (known as making up a trade), and most likely losing money on them. Waiting patiently does not necessarily mean doing nothing, and there are many things that you can do while you are waiting for your next trade. Some day traders join live trading rooms where they can interact with other traders, some traders play computer games and watch movies, and many day traders eat their meals while they are trading (breakfast often coincides nicely with the market open).

Decisiveness

Deciding when to enter and exit trades is one of the most basic functions of a day trader, and it is important that these decisions are made as efficiently as possible. Being decisive is vital to successful day trading, otherwise you will only sit and watch trades that you should have actually taken. Being decisive does not mean being rash, and taking trades that you are not sure about, but it does mean acting promptly when a trade does come along. A common pitfall that many beginning day traders come across is seeing a trade occuring, but hesitating and waiting for the trade to start moving into profit before entering (waiting for confirmation that the trade is going to be a winning trade before they enter it). This always results in an entry price that is not as good as it would have been with a prompt entry, and can turn a winning trade into a losing trade.

Calmness

Remaining calm during trading is one of the most important personality traits for a day trader, but it is also one of the most difficult to obtain and practice. As humans, the natural reactions to a winning trade are excitement and joy, and the natural reactions to a losing trade are panic and sadness, but day traders need to control these emotions, otherwise they will adversely affect their trading decisions (particularly the negative emotions). For example, the panic that occurs after a losing trade might make you take a new trade almost immediately in an attempt to make the money back, even though there was no trade according to your trading system.

Trading in Simulation

Trading in simulation is a good way to practice your patience, decisiveness, and calmness during trading, without risking any real money. After many hours, days, or weeks of simulation, you will have a good idea of how your personality and your emotions will affect your day trading, but even then, there will still be an emotional response when you start trading live.

Choosing a Trading Style

There are four main styles of trading, namely scalping, day trading, swing trading, and position trading. Technically, scalping is a type of trading within day trading, but scalping is so different from all other forms of day trading, that I consider it to be a separate style. The difference between the styles is based upon the length of time that trades are held for. Scalping trades are only held for a few seconds, or at most a few minutes. Day trading trades are held for anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of hours. Swing trading trades are usually held for a few days. Position trading trades are held for anywhere from a few days to several years.

Choosing the trading style that best suits their personality can be a difficult task for new traders, but is absolutely necessary to their long term success as a professional trader. If you are a new trader (or even an experienced trader) that does not yet feel as though you have found your trading style, the following are some of the personality traits that are compatible with the different styles of trading. By choosing the trading style that best suits your personality, you will have a better chance of being a profitable trader, so be honest, even if you don't like some of the personality traits that are listed.

Scalping

Scalping is a very rapid trading style. Scalpers often make trades within just a few seconds of each other, and often in opposite directions (i.e. they are long one minute, but short the next). Scalping is best suited to active traders that can make immediate decisions and act on those decisions without hesitation. Impatient people often make the best scalpers because they expect their trades to become profitable immediately, and will exit the trade promptly if it goes against them. Being a successful scalper requires focus and concentration, so it is not a suitable trading style for people who are easily distracted or who often find themselves day dreaming (i.e. if you've been thinking about something else while reading this, then scalping is not for you).

Day Trading

Day trading as a style is more suitable for traders that prefer starting and completing a task in the same day. For example, if you were painting your kitchen, and you would not go to bed until the kitchen was finished, even if that meant staying up until 3:00 AM. Many day traders would not consider making swing or position trades because they would not be able to sleep at night knowing that they had an active trade that could be affected by price movements during the night (such as those that cause opening gaps).

Swing Trading

Swing trading is compatible with people that have patience to wait for a trade, but once they have entered a trade they want it to become profitable quite quickly. Swing traders almost always hold their trades overnight, so it is not suitable for people that would be nervous holding a trade while they were away from their computer (i.e. overnight, in the shower, at the movies, etc.). Swing trading generally requires a larger stop loss than day trading, so the ability to keep calm when a trade is against you is a necessity.

Position Trading

Position trading is the longest term trading of all, and often has trades that last for several years. Therefore, position trading is only suitable for the most patient and least excitable traders. Position trading targets are often several thousand ticks, so if your heart starts beating fast when a trade is 25 ticks in profit, position trading is probably not suitable for you. Position trading also requires the ability to ignore popular opinion because a single position trade will often hold through both bull and bear markets. For example, a long position trade may need to be held through an entire year when the general public is convinced that the economy is in a recession. If you are easily swayed by other people, then position trading is going to be difficult for you.

Being Faithful to your Trading Style

Choosing a trading style requires the flexibility to know when a trading style is not working for you, but also requires the consistency to stick with the right trading style even when it is not performing optimally. One of the biggest mistakes that new traders often make is to change trading styles (and trading systems) at the first sign of trouble. Constantly changing your trading style or trading system is a sure way to catch every losing streak. Once you are comfortable with a particular trading style, remain faithful to it, and it will reward you for your loyalty in the long run.