Business Ideas

Archive for October, 2010

Tips For A Successful Video Conference Call

Knowledge of correct etiquette is essential for survival in the business world. No matter what your business is managing it can be tricky. One essential requirement of management is the ability to handle conference calls correctly effectively and with grace.

Image is everything in business. It was possible in the past to maintain good relationships with your clients by a traditional meeting involving facetoface interaction. However everything has changed due to rapid technological developments in the past few decades. Instead of a customer base of your area you have to reach new customers based far away. You will often have to hold video conferences to reach them effectively.

This sort of virtual meeting is also referred as a teleconference. Teleconferences are needed when multiple groups of people from all over join each other through a video connection. The dynamics of such a virtual meeting are more or less similar to traditional sessions. In both cases the group of people discuss problems and exchange ideas directly and are able to see each other.

Conference calls are enough like other older means of communication to be governed by most of the same rules. Do not speak while another participant in the call is speaking because a brief “time lag” tends to be present due to unavoidable technological limits. Thus you should make certain that other participants are done speaking when you begin to talk.

You should also follow other traditional rules of decorum. Do not chew gum which can be viewed as disrespectful. You should also avoid eating or drinking. These activities might be part of conventional interaction but due to differences in cultural norms and time zones you should know that your colleagues may not expect this behavior.

“Appearance is everything” is more than just a slogan it’s a vital part of the etiquette of video teleconferencing. Business associates across the globe will probably never meet you in person so the only impression they will have about you will be based almost solely on the “you” they see during a conference call. It’s not enough to just be well groomed. Extreme styles and colors can be distorted by the teleconferencing equipment so subdued and classic may be a better fashion choice than hip and cutting edge.

As a general rule remember that conference call etiquette is generally the same as using good common sense. Always be respectful of your colleagues. Remember that they may have different cultural expectations than you and understand how your behavior might be interpreted differently. When you act appropriately and respectfully you’re sure to win your customers’ confidence and their business!

About the writer:  Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Consulting in Tampa Florida. To learn more about teleconference etiquette check out audioconferencecalling.info. While organizing your team check out our Team Building activities.

The Truth Abouth Renegade University Reviews

Network marketers are at the beginning of a revolution and most have no idea what’s about to take place.

The internet has been around for well over a decade now yet the majority of MLMers are still fumbling around in the dark trying to grow their stagnant businesses using outdated promotional and marketing techniques.

One of the main areas of consideration is in the area of generating targeted prospects. Targeted prospects are those people who want to hear your offer however while they are lukewarm when they first make contact with you the urge to push one’s primary business from the outset is huge yet this is a very big mistake.

The Art Of Attraction Marketing

Let’s take a look at some of the ways in turning a prospect from lukewarm to raging hot.

1. Never push your own agenda from the get go. It’s tempting to want to smother a prospect with all the great aspects about your business but resist this urge. If you don’t then you’ll lose them 99.9 of the time following your first meeting.

2. Once a prospect comes into your funnel the relationship begins and if you think anything other than relationship then you are better off simply cutting the umbilical chord between you and your prospect before you even begin.

3. Offering a prospect value from the outset is attraction marketing at it’s best. Value can come in many forms from a free eBook personal training or simply providing them with a means for contacting you directly.

4. Your prospect is more likely to follow you into business if you adopt the above approach. It won’t matter what you say when you’re ready to pitch your primary business offer to them because they will already have made up their minds about whether to do business with you or not. This will have simply been based on what has taken place in the lead up to your main offer.

InterNetwork Marketing

The new way of marketing an MLM business is to be honest not so new. It’s a combination of internet and network marketing with a heavy emphasis on the former.

When assessing Renegade University reviews be careful not to think of it as the big magic red button to solving your MLM woes. Building a networking business takes work but there is a difference between hard work and smart work. The secret is in getting your prospects coming to you; a concept the network marketing world struggles to come to terms with.

About the writer:  Get holdyoubythehand training today with the Renegade University . Join the top 5 of network marketers making money. Take a free tour of the Renegade University and put your network marketing lead generation on steroids!

The Israeli Diamond Industry Salutes The State Of Israel On Its Diamond Anniversary

The State of Israel is unquestionably proud of its diamond Industry one of the countrys leading and earliest exporters. The industrys indomitable spirit reflects the unique determination that has helped to make the State of Israel the unique country that it is today.nbsp;

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The Israeli Diamond Industry has an illustrious past whose foundations were laid in a beleaguered Land of Israel during the late 1930s and early 1940s. nbsp;At the time the winds of the Second World War were already blowing; many diamantaires fled from Belgium and other parts of Europe; some settled in places like the United States and Cuba. Others chose to come to the land that was then called Palestine.

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Yehezkel Goldman who was named an Israeli Diamond Industry Dignitary in 1994nbsp;began his career as a bruter in the Ophir factory on Tel Avivs Nahmani Street in 1941. nbsp;

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Shlomo Vainstein had attempted to establish a factory in 1910 with little success. In 1940 he finally set up a factory in Netanya called Mazal UBracha; together with Baruch Friedberg. Despite the difficult conditions the industry began to prosper: In 1940 there were only 5 factories but by 1941 there were already 12.

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The Mayor of Netanya Oved Ben Ami provided incentive to the fledgling diamond industry by providing land free of charge for diamond polishing factories. He gave the land and the factory owners provided the necessary equipment; explains Goldman.

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Those were difficult times; says Goldman. In one case The Irgun Resistance Group IZL proposed to a factory owner to stage a robbery so that the organization could use the diamonds to buy arms. The company was covered by insurance. In another instance the IZL robbed Barclays Bank on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. The British promptly came to the factorys offices to check for illegal activities.;

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One of the workers at the Ophir factory ndash; Yehiel Tresner ndash; was later arrested by the British and hanged for involvement in an illegal organization; he adds.

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Workers had to pay a daily fee for their seat in the factories. And if a worker wanted to transfer to another factory he had to receive authorization from the factory owner. Each worker was paid on a contracting basis according to the number of stones that he had cut or polished.;

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Goldman established his company in 1951 and was granted sightholder status by the DTC the Diamond Trading Company in 1954 until 1992 when he closed his factory.

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The industry underwent ups and downs: There were various crises for example in the mid40s and in the 80s but nevertheless the industry prospered.;

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Despite the various obstacles and problems Goldman looks back at those times with great nostalgia: There was a feeling of brotherhood among the workers. There were soccer teams in the factories and we played against each other. In 1948 the diamond industry was declared essential so key workers were not called up for duty but I did fight in the War of Independence.;

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Otto Birnbach one of the most veteran members of the Israeli Diamond Industry and also a Diamond Industry Dignitary recalls how over the years the industry moved from Netanya to Tel Aviv and finally to Ramat Gan. The Diamond Exchange was initially located at Tel Avivs Caf? Palatin and later moved to Ahuzat Bayit. How did the Diamond Exchange end up in Ramat Gan? The Mayor of Tel Aviv at the time Mayor Namir insisted that we pay a triple tax for owning a business an industrial plant and an office. Ramat Gans Mayor Krinitzi agreed to charge only one tax. It was that simple.; nbsp;

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He recalls that the first bank to finance the industry was Union Bank headed by a Dutch immigrant named Ehrenfeld.

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Birnbach was a member of the IZL along with his lifelong friend the late Moshe Schnitzer and many other colleagues. He vividly recalls the stormy Altalena Affair and the fact that an Egyptian bomb fell on his factory called Nova on the very first day of the War of Independence on May 14 1948.nbsp; The factory was completely demolished.

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After the War of Independence I rebuilt the polishing factory and business flourished; Birnbach says.;In 1947 the late Menachem Begin sent my brother Max Birnbach to the United States in order to raise funds for the resistance. He helped to raise funds in New York and also opened an office for the family diamond business.; Otto polished the stones here at the factory here in Bnei Brak and then sent them to his brother to be sold in New York.

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We were producing small stones at the time and large amounts were needed. We employed 250 workers at our factory; Birnbach notes.

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I look back with pride at the development of the industry and see great changes. We started out as bruters and polishers. Now the Israeli Diamond Industry deals mainly in marketing of polished. Rough diamonds are sent for polishing to the Far East due to cheap labor.;

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He continues: I love diamonds. To me each stone has a history a special intrinsic value. There was a special fraternity within the industry of comrades who followed a joint path for many many years; states Birnbach.

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Looking to the future Otto Birnbach summarizes: I cannot envision a Jewish state without a diamond industry and I am confident that the industry will continue to prosper. I firmly believe Am Yisrael Chai; ndash; the Jewish nation thrives!;

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Maurice Gl?ck was only a child when World War II broke out. His diamantaire father Yehuda had moved from Transylvania to Belgium in 1928 and was unable to evade the Nazi Occupation. Yehuda and his wife were taken to the death camps and little Maurice was left with a Christian family. Only Maurices father survived the camps. In 1950 Yehuda who had married his wifes sister decided to move to Israel with his new wife and young son.

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Yehuda opened a stone quarry near Rosh Haayin which eventually failed. He then returned to Belgium and only came back to live in Israel in 1970. Maurice began his diamond internship in Antwerp in 1965 and in 1967 the family opened a polishing plant in Ramle.

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In 1967 Maurices cousin Arie Efrat a partner in the company was mobilized during the Six Day War and Maurice stayed at the factory which was declared essential to the economy. Our company employed mostly new immigrants. We taught them bruting and polishing giving them a new profession.;

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Maurice adds: During the Six Day War the diamond community in Antwerp rose to the occasion and sent large donations to Israel. My father gave the first donation of 20000 a large amount of money at the time and others followed his example.;

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The diamond industrys financial contribution to Israel didnt stop there. Subsequently during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 the Israeli government urgently appealed to the Israeli Diamond Industry for much needed funds. The President of the Israeli Diamond Exchange then the late Moshe Schnitzer organized an appeal and substantial sums were handed over.

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Maurice notes that his father was a leading expert in large stones sometimes up to 100 carats or more. During the seventies Maurice travelled around the world particularly to Japan Hong Kong and Singapore to sell the family firm’s output which was quickly snapped up by wholesalers and a number of wellestablished jewelers. Throughout the seventies there was a great deal of interest in large stones sometimes seen as an investment sometimes as a hedge against troubled times.;

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He continues: During the eighties we would also sell diamonds at private parties in the United States. People would buy unset diamonds directly from us. In the late seventies the price for a one carat of D flawless diamond at the Israel Diamond Exchange would sell for 40000. A fourroom apartment in a good area in Tel Aviv at that time cost about the same. But within a short time the price per carat quickly dropped to 15000 and even 10000. Once the prices started dropping customers held off until the prices dropped still further. The industry was in trouble.;

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Maurice adds: Up to 1981 we thought that normal economic rules did not apply to the diamond industry. We thought that diamonds would always maintain their value. But then reality set in.;

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In 1989 Maurice started publishing lists of demands for the diamonds called ‘Kesher Yahalom’ or DiamondLink an innovation in the diamond industry. Those lists subsequently evolved into the IDEX the international diamond exchange online.

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The Israeli Diamond Industry is indeed subject to ups and downs and trends come and go. In the industrys early years only small stones were cut and polished in Israel. Then until the eighties large stones were popular and some of the biggest buyers came from the Far East. Thirty years later the Israeli Diamond Industry no longer cuts and polishes small stones but it again specializes in large stones. And once again it is seeking new markets in the Far East.

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Through it all the Israeli Diamond Industry has always risen to the occasion and adapted itself to the necessary changes ndash; much like the State of Israel.

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Photographs courtesy of the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum

By: Rachel Lieberman

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About the writer:  http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/English/index.aspx