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Casual Articles - 22 Questions to Ask Before You Use Any Shopping Cart System
Here we go.. hope these tips will help:Raise Your Salary Tip 1: Make sure you deserve a salary raise. And learn how to prove it. Write down your skills and your accomplishments. Is there anything really unique about you or the service you offer to your employer? Write it down. Make sure you know everything about your contributions to the company.Raise Your Salary Tip 2: Do you know what's the normal salary raise for someone like you? Seek that information. Learn everything about the salary range in your area of expertise. Ask co-workers or other people who do the same job. What is their salary?Raise Your Salary Tip 3: Timing matters especially when you are about to ask for a raise. The idea is to choose the right time and the right place to give it a go. Does your supervisor looks happy today? Is he/she in a bad mood? Is he/she ready to listen to you? Is he/she ready to pay attention to what you have to say?. Your boss is just another human being and you don't want to ask for a raise when he/she is in a bad mood.Raise Your Salary Tip 4: You know there are days when you feel you really worked hard. This always reflects to everybody in your working environment. There are days when you accomplis
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percent
Until recently, software giant, Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser enjoyed a relatively unchallenged position as the most popular Web browser in the world.Despite lawsuits and charges of unfair competition from the likes of Netscape and others, Microsoft dominates browser software with over 90% market share.Microsoft's dominance of the browser market stems mainly from the simple fact that the majority of computers get delivered with Microsoft Windows as the default operating system.Internet Explorer (IE) comes standard with all Windows software and, thus, virtually everyone automatically gets the IE browser.By default, Microsoft owns the browser market because they catch consumers early, get them conditioned to using the IE software, and, until recently, no other software offered a compelling enough reason to switch.However, with a seemingly endless rash of security problems, consumers started looking elsewhere for alternative Web browser options.This consumer demand may well spell the end of Microsoft's dominance in the browser marketplace.In response to severe security vulnerabilities, several alternative Web browsers recently gained significant market share.** Opera
You can use traditional methods to sell products such as direct mail, catalogs and advertising. However, if you have a great online presence, the entire world is your marketplace at a fraction of the cost of most traditional methods. To easily sell to this worldwide marketplace, you need a great shopping cart system.
Choosing a shopping cart system is perhaps the most important single decision you'll make in your online marketing career.
This is because:
You're stuck with the decision for a long time.
If you buy into a system that isn't adequate, it can cost you money--big money- because it won't maximize the amount of money spent by each visitor.
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of off-the-shelf, free and alternative products out there vying for your money, time or both. And most of them are junk.
Don't suffer like I did I learned the hard way. When I started on the Internet I couldn't find a decent shopping cart program, so I took one that was highly recommended by my ISP (I now know the only reason they suggested it was because it made them the most money. They didn't care if it was the best one for me or not). What a headache! The system wouldn't do anything but take the order, but you had to have a PhD in computer science to work on it.
Here are 21 questions you absolutely, unfailingly must ask anyone trying to sell you a shopping cart. If you don't hear positive answers to the majority of these questions, put your wallet back into your pocket and evaluate the next option. Don't get stuck with a crappy shopping cart, even if they give it to you free.
If you have a poor shopping cart, get rid of it. I know that hurts, because you may have spent lots of time and money getting it going, but a bad one will cost you many thousands of dollars by waiting to replace it later rather than sooner.
Oh, and one more thing: if you hear the shopping cart programmer answer one of the questions below by saying, "Well, we could make it do that," run away even faster, because you're going to get stuck with a big custom programming bill with no guarantees that the cart is going to work the way you expected.
Every question below is very important when it comes to having a quality shopping cart system that gets more money out of the same number of visitors.
1. Will it calculate shipping and tax?
2. Does it handle specialized shipping like FedEx and UPS?
3. Will it automatically deliver hard goods and soft goods (e- books and other digital products) in the same transaction?
4. Does it offer customizable "Return to Shopping" pages without needing custom programming? This is important so you can send your customers to the most likely product they will buy next. Standard carts just send customers back to the main catalog, which forces them to search for related products. This is both irritating and time-consuming. Any delays in finding what they want could mean a lost sale, when they finally throw their hands up in disgust and move on to your competitor's site.
5. Does it offer customizable "Thank You" pages based on what the customer just bought? These are pages where savvy marketers put affiliate links and other offers specifically related to the customer's interests. When a customer clicks on one of these links and buys something from someone else, you get a commission.
6. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation e-mails automatically? The customer wants to know immediately that the order went through. If he or she is unsure, you are going to have to field many wasted e-mails and phone calls letting the customer know everything is OK.
7. Does it allow multiple order and dropship e-mails? In many cases, several different people in your organization and/or outside your organization need notice of an order. Again, you don't want to have to do this manually.
8. Does it have a Web-based administration page so you can work on your cart from any computer that has Internet access?
9. Does it include encryption technology and a secure server? Many companies make a fortune by sucking you in with a cheap or free cart and then make money on selling you an overpriced secure server.
10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software? You want to be able to import and export data easily between the cart and whatever programs you have that need to share the customer and sales information.
11. Does it have its own associate/affiliate program or is it easily compatible with other major brands of associate software? An affiliate program lets other people promote and sell your products on their Web sites. You don't pay them unless they sell something. When I tried to get an associate/affiliate program to work with my old cart, it cost me six months of down time and untold amounts of money lost because it wouldn't work. The associate program people blamed the shopping cart people and vice versa. But ultimately I was left holding the bag.
12. Does it have integrated up-sell modules? The ability to offer more related products to customers making a purchase makes me a small fortune each month. We call it, "Do you want fries with that?" If you don't have this ability, you are leaving many thousands of dollars on the table from people who would have spent more if your cart just gave them the chance.
13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database? In the old days I would have to print out orders and then retype them into ACT or some other database program. A good shopping cart system eliminates all this hassle and potential for error and gives you instant access to your sales reports and clients.
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percenta
Since the first mass production car ever to emerge from a car factory, technology has improved greatly if not tremendously. From the early spooks wheel we have now alloy rims, from simple 2 stroke engines we now have 8 L v engines that tear up the road, not to mention about the luxury that a car can now offer the driver and passengers. In our present day technology is moving at an even increased rate than it was 140 years ago. But with all complicated things complications and problems are bound to appear. In this short paper we shall talk a few of them and those will be mileage adjustment, correction and reset.Mileage is the amount of miles that a car has gone and that is indicated on a special designated place on the dashboard of the car. As with other components of the car problems and defections may appear to the system that tells us the correct distance we are making will driving the car.For one reason or another parts on the odometer, the part that tells as the number of miles driven so far, may fail to function properly. Problems may also occur in the engine or to the gears that are used to tell the mileage. Because of this the number that the driver sees is most certainly wrong. In this cases a mileage adjustment or correction
Here are 21 questions you absolutely, unfailingly must ask anyone trying to sell you a shopping cart. If you don't hear positive answers to the majority of these questions, put your wallet back into your pocket and evaluate the next option. Don't get stuck with a crappy shopping cart, even if they give it to you free.
If you have a poor shopping cart, get rid of it. I know that hurts, because you may have spent lots of time and money getting it going, but a bad one will cost you many thousands of dollars by waiting to replace it later rather than sooner.
Oh, and one more thing: if you hear the shopping cart programmer answer one of the questions below by saying, "Well, we could make it do that," run away even faster, because you're going to get stuck with a big custom programming bill with no guarantees that the cart is going to work the way you expected.
Every question below is very important when it comes to having a quality shopping cart system that gets more money out of the same number of visitors.
1. Will it calculate shipping and tax?
2. Does it handle specialized shipping like FedEx and UPS?
3. Will it automatically deliver hard goods and soft goods (e- books and other digital products) in the same transaction?
4. Does it offer customizable "Return to Shopping" pages without needing custom programming? This is important so you can send your customers to the most likely product they will buy next. Standard carts just send customers back to the main catalog, which forces them to search for related products. This is both irritating and time-consuming. Any delays in finding what they want could mean a lost sale, when they finally throw their hands up in disgust and move on to your competitor's site.
5. Does it offer customizable "Thank You" pages based on what the customer just bought? These are pages where savvy marketers put affiliate links and other offers specifically related to the customer's interests. When a customer clicks on one of these links and buys something from someone else, you get a commission.
6. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation e-mails automatically? The customer wants to know immediately that the order went through. If he or she is unsure, you are going to have to field many wasted e-mails and phone calls letting the customer know everything is OK.
7. Does it allow multiple order and dropship e-mails? In many cases, several different people in your organization and/or outside your organization need notice of an order. Again, you don't want to have to do this manually.
8. Does it have a Web-based administration page so you can work on your cart from any computer that has Internet access?
9. Does it include encryption technology and a secure server? Many companies make a fortune by sucking you in with a cheap or free cart and then make money on selling you an overpriced secure server.
10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software? You want to be able to import and export data easily between the cart and whatever programs you have that need to share the customer and sales information.
11. Does it have its own associate/affiliate program or is it easily compatible with other major brands of associate software? An affiliate program lets other people promote and sell your products on their Web sites. You don't pay them unless they sell something. When I tried to get an associate/affiliate program to work with my old cart, it cost me six months of down time and untold amounts of money lost because it wouldn't work. The associate program people blamed the shopping cart people and vice versa. But ultimately I was left holding the bag.
12. Does it have integrated up-sell modules? The ability to offer more related products to customers making a purchase makes me a small fortune each month. We call it, "Do you want fries with that?" If you don't have this ability, you are leaving many thousands of dollars on the table from people who would have spent more if your cart just gave them the chance.
13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database? In the old days I would have to print out orders and then retype them into ACT or some other database program. A good shopping cart system eliminates all this hassle and potential for error and gives you instant access to your sales reports and clients.
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percent
This tactic of the game was hard for me to master and at first I failed many times. I carried my business cards only in my briefcase, because I thought they were only used in business. Wrong! I missed quite a few opportunities to toot my horn because of that misconception. Not only did I miss the opportunity, but when it did arise, I looked like an amateur. Here’s what happen on one of those occasions.One day while standing in a bank line waiting to make a deposit – by the way, it was the merchant bank line; a nicely dressed gentleman noticed I had several checks from different companies. He asked about my occupation. I cheerfully explained my business and qualifications. He stated that he was impressed and promptly asked for my business card. Oops! I didn’t have one in my possession. I had to meekly admit that I did not have one with me. He now realized I was new to the game and in a teaching tone, he suggested I should carry them in my wallet. He went on to explain, that I should never be without one. I was too embarrassed to ask for his business card and was elated when the teller said “next.”New to the game, I truly didn’t think people would just ask you for a business card. When I related this incident to my boyfr
5. Does it offer customizable "Thank You" pages based on what the customer just bought? These are pages where savvy marketers put affiliate links and other offers specifically related to the customer's interests. When a customer clicks on one of these links and buys something from someone else, you get a commission.
6. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation e-mails automatically? The customer wants to know immediately that the order went through. If he or she is unsure, you are going to have to field many wasted e-mails and phone calls letting the customer know everything is OK.
7. Does it allow multiple order and dropship e-mails? In many cases, several different people in your organization and/or outside your organization need notice of an order. Again, you don't want to have to do this manually.
8. Does it have a Web-based administration page so you can work on your cart from any computer that has Internet access?
9. Does it include encryption technology and a secure server? Many companies make a fortune by sucking you in with a cheap or free cart and then make money on selling you an overpriced secure server.
10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software? You want to be able to import and export data easily between the cart and whatever programs you have that need to share the customer and sales information.
11. Does it have its own associate/affiliate program or is it easily compatible with other major brands of associate software? An affiliate program lets other people promote and sell your products on their Web sites. You don't pay them unless they sell something. When I tried to get an associate/affiliate program to work with my old cart, it cost me six months of down time and untold amounts of money lost because it wouldn't work. The associate program people blamed the shopping cart people and vice versa. But ultimately I was left holding the bag.
12. Does it have integrated up-sell modules? The ability to offer more related products to customers making a purchase makes me a small fortune each month. We call it, "Do you want fries with that?" If you don't have this ability, you are leaving many thousands of dollars on the table from people who would have spent more if your cart just gave them the chance.
13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database? In the old days I would have to print out orders and then retype them into ACT or some other database program. A good shopping cart system eliminates all this hassle and potential for error and gives you instant access to your sales reports and clients.
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percent
Of course you know that a company's reputation is also influenced by the people leaving the organization. But did you also know that within 90 days of a major change announcement more than 25% of a company's top performers may voluntarily leave the organization?*As unusual as it sounds, a responsible terminated policy can not only positively influence a company's external imagine, but strengthen the internal reputation as well.More and more outplacement and transition support aimed at assisting terminated employees in their concrete search for a suitable new position is being provided, and will be increasingly part future of termination packages. A recent study by Reed Consulting*, UK, discovered the following:• 78 % of those questioned think that responsible outplacement policies can improve the reputation of an organization• 55 % of those questioned feel that a responsible outplacement program make an organization more attractive as an employer• 87 % of those questioned also view outplacement provisions as concrete support for managers having to deal with the difficult task of terminating employees.Is there a way to make YOUR company's termination efforts even more efficient and less painful for all invo
9. Does it include encryption technology and a secure server? Many companies make a fortune by sucking you in with a cheap or free cart and then make money on selling you an overpriced secure server.
10. Does it deliver easy output to your accounting software? You want to be able to import and export data easily between the cart and whatever programs you have that need to share the customer and sales information.
11. Does it have its own associate/affiliate program or is it easily compatible with other major brands of associate software? An affiliate program lets other people promote and sell your products on their Web sites. You don't pay them unless they sell something. When I tried to get an associate/affiliate program to work with my old cart, it cost me six months of down time and untold amounts of money lost because it wouldn't work. The associate program people blamed the shopping cart people and vice versa. But ultimately I was left holding the bag.
12. Does it have integrated up-sell modules? The ability to offer more related products to customers making a purchase makes me a small fortune each month. We call it, "Do you want fries with that?" If you don't have this ability, you are leaving many thousands of dollars on the table from people who would have spent more if your cart just gave them the chance.
13. Does it have an integrated sales and prospect database? In the old days I would have to print out orders and then retype them into ACT or some other database program. A good shopping cart system eliminates all this hassle and potential for error and gives you instant access to your sales reports and clients.
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percent
The Law of Attraction is something I’ve always known but as I have become aware of how it works what a change in my life. It has impacted every avenue of my life. Learning to be grateful has been the biggest obstacle. How can I accept the growth and knowledge I have acquired and not get so wrapped up in what I don’t have? Wow that blew my mind. All of the obstacles in my way were of my own doing. Again I was knocked for a loop. This awakening served me well.When you awaken the world becomes your giant storeroom with all you desires in front of you. You control when, how and how fast you achieve them. That is power. Soak that in. You create your own destiny. Thoughts become things.Well what do you want? Is it in alignment with your present path? Are you willing to take the steps to obtain it? It's all in your power. Look inside and make a clear picture of exactly what you want. Yes exactly! Not just I want a Hummer, but rather I will have a 2007 Grey Hummer with every gadget known to the car industry in the next 6 months. Be specific as possible. Feel the feeling. Live in the moment of reveling in the beauty of your imagination.Whatever your faith this is a simple truth. Man is an incredible creation with unlimited potential in
14. Does it have broadcast e-mail capability? Good shopping cart systems are able to manipulate your customer database instantly and send e-mails to any segment or sub-segment of your clients and handle unlimited e-mail magazines. Again, in the old days I would have to be genius enough to pick out segments of the database, export them to a file, import them into a mail program and then an hour later send the darn e-mail. Now this is all done in a few seconds.
15. Does it have mail merge capability? The e-mails sent are personalized to the recipients in any number of ways. Their names can be popped in to the subject line and in various portions of the body of the e-mail. You can merge "what they bought," "when they bought," "where they live" or just about anything that will make them feel the e-mail was just for them. Virtually all studies show that mail merge gets a much higher response than plain broadcast e-mail.
16. Can it handle coupons and other discounts? You can make a deal with Joe Blow that everyone coming from his Web site gets an automatic discount -- either a percentage or dollar amount. This makes Joe look great to his visitors and makes more sales for you. Here's a secret: Joe is your affiliate and makes money on the sale too, so he's got a great incentive to keep your discounts and coupons in front of his visitors. Good shopping cart systems can automate all of this and also handle any quantity discounts you offer.
17. Can it work for multiple Web sites with no extra fees? When I first started I had to get a separate (and expensive) license for each site and a separate merchant account too. Not only was this a great deal of expense, the hassle with installation every time you wanted a new site to go up was enormous. Modern carts can sell bras on one site and bibles on another, and no one knows the difference. The carts run on their own servers so there is no expensive installation and set-up is immediate.
18. Does it have unlimited and fully integrated "sequential" autoresponders? This is one of the most powerful features when it comes to Internet marketing. This feature follows up automatically over and over again to your clients and prospects to provide them customer care and to sell them more products and services. You can even provide free or paid e-mail courses, and each part of the course is delivered automatically.
19. Does it have ad tracking tied into actual sales? Simple ad tracking can be had all over the 'Net, but it is pretty much worthless unless it is tied to actual sales. This is called the "conversion ratio." Your cart system should be able to tell you how many people clicked on a particular promotion and how many people bought. This is the only way you can determine if an ad paid off. Good carts will also automatically split test one of your sales pages against another and tell you which page sells more. You keep the page that sells more and get rid of the page that sells less.
20. Does it have a pop-up box builder? Even though many people hate popup boxes, they work. I use them judiciously to make all kinds of offers, and I have the sales figures to prove they get more money out of the same number of people. If you know how to use them properly, no one gets upset.
21. Does it have a printable off-line order form? Believe it or not, many people are still afraid to put their credit card numbers into a Web site. I still get lots of fax orders and phone orders. If you want to maximize your sales, your cart must take these kinds of orders easily.
22. Does it provide free training? You'll need training in both the basic set up of using your shopping cart and determining your online sales strategy, so that you maximize the amount of money spent by each customer.
You may not understand what all the above questions mean right now, but I can assure you they are important in putting more money into your bank account. If you want to know even more about this subject, you can download a free e-book, How to Pick a Shopping Cart System That Makes You Money at www.public- speaking.org/ebook.htm.
What shopping cart system do I use? I have my own private label called www.KickStartCart.com.
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