II Career and Management tips for you to excel II

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Six Sigma Job Opportunities

Most of the reputed companies are laying emphasis on quality and managing costs with the improvement of processes kept as an underlying foundation. “Six sigma” is becoming very prominent because of its application in a business environment. All these factors have created a greater demand for six sigma professionals. Six sigma career opportunities are on the rise within the organization and outside the organization. It is especially beneficial for people who have excelled in their previous jobs, brilliant people are finding fulfilling and new career due to the six sigma methodology adopted by companies. To become a part of the six sigma implementation, the person should have great experience in various managerial positions and at least mastering one of them.

Growth opportunities within the organization:

Career enhancement is possible within the organization by getting a black belt or a green belt in six sigma methodology with an appropriate training in it. Companies which have decided to implement six sigma often hire a professional as a consultant initially although they will not be making any decisions in the strategy planning. Upper management normally would like to give opportunities to its existing employees beginning with a green belt at the execution level, a black belt professional for problem solving level and a master black belt at the uppermost position.

Opportunities outside the organization:

Job search portals will give a better idea of the need of six sigma professionals who are either fresh or experienced professionals with a black belt. Black belt professionals are higher in demand than the green belt professions due to their problem solving capabilities with solid experience.

Requisites and aptitude to become a six sigma professional:

Both the green belt and black belt candidates should have an open mind and strong analytical capabilities. They should be in a position to question everything with a view to make core contribution to the organization. Above all, high level of motivation and self confidence is very important and necessary. Black belt professionals have to focus on analytical and problem solving aspect while dedicating all their time in the process of implementing it. Green belts have to focus on routine responsibilities and may not be able to dedicate all the time. They are expected to be studious, flexible enough, understand statistical tools and have good interpersonal skills.

Six sigma training:

Six sigma training methodology is not standardized and are not universal. Hence organizations should research and recognize the right institute for training professionals. Many corporations have their own training facilities and are provided to people who will be working for them for quite sometime.

About the Author

Adam Boulton regularly contributes informative articles to web guides on career - http://www.positionadvice.info and http://www.careerservicesguide.info

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

How to Invest 25% of Your Income Without Losing Your Quality Of Life

John McCormack, in his excellent book "Self-Made in America" suggests that if you are investing less than 25% of your income then you aren't serious about becoming wealthy. But how do you afford to do this without suffering? The answer is here.

You can do this by eliminating waste and impulse spending from your spending habits. Studies have shown that the average American blows around 25% of their income in these two totally unnecessary areas; waste spend and impulse spending. Let's see what these two types of unnecessary spending are and how to eliminate them.

First I will define waste spending. There are two main types of waste. Firstly waste is when you spend more money than you need to in order to get the result that you want. Secondly waste is when you buy more than you need in order to get the result that you want.

Here are two examples around food.

An example of Type 1 Waste would be buying a sandwich for lunch for $5 when you could have made the same sandwich at home, and brought it with you, for only 50 cents. You are paying ten times the true value of that sandwich by buying it ready made. You probably also spent more time standing in line to be served than the time you would have required to make the sandwich at home.

An example of Type 2 Waste is when you buy more food than you need and then have to throw it away. Because you couldn't be bothered taking the time to calculate the amount that you really needed you overspent on your food bill.

The facts are that more Americans are regularly guilty of both type 1 and type 2 waste on a regular basis, and not just with food. Americans tend to buy without asking for discounts and they over buy in all areas of their life. I have singled out Americans here but these poor spending habits are not just the province of Americans they are true for all affluent societies.

Now let's define impulse spending. Impulse spending is when you buy something that you had no intention of buying until you saw it by chance. It is no coincidence that supermarkets put chocolate bars and magazines next to the checkouts. They are there because the supermarket is well aware of the profit potential for them from impulse spending.

Impulse spending does not enhance your lifestyle. You are simply buying something just because you saw it and quite often you don't even really want nor need these items. I was amazed to discover that most books purchased are never read. In fact the statistics are that 80% of books purchased are never even started and half of those that are started are never finished, People buy books on impulse, usually because they are attracted to the title and the cover design.

The main areas of impulse spending are sweets and magazines and anything that is "on sale". People also tend to impulse spend in their areas of interest or hobbies. Young women will impulse spend on clothes, shoes and makeup. Musicians will impulse spend in the music shop, and so on.

If you can eliminate waste spending and impulse spending then, if you are like the typical American, you will free up around 25% of your income that you can put to investing. But how do you cure yourself of these costly habits? You can do this easily by developing two new habits.

New Habit Number 1:

The self-made rich decide in advance where and how they are going to spend their money. The average person spends their money randomly as the urge seizes them. Deciding where you money is going to go, while you are still at home, eliminates impulse spending. Making a conscious decision as to the value you will receive for each dollar spent will help eliminate waste spending.

Develop the habit of deciding, on pay day, where your money is going to go, write this down and then read over it and ask yourself if any of that planned expenditure is in the waste spending category.

When you are going shopping take a list and stick to the list. This will help remove the impulse spending habit. Developing the habit of deciding in advance where your money will go is a great way to ensure that you still maintain your quality of life in the present, but you free up money for investing so that you can become rich and enjoy a much greater quality of life in the future,

New Habit Number 2:

The self made rich have the habit of writing down every cent that they spend, as they spend it, so that they are fully aware of where their money is going. The average person is surprised when their money runs out because they were not fully aware of how much they where spending. As a result, bad money managers find that they have too much month at the end of the money whereas good money managers find that they have too much money at the end of the month.

Develop the habit of recording your expenditure as you spend it. Become fully aware of where your money is going and always ask yourself if this particular transaction is going to truly enhance your life or not. If the answer is no then don't go through with that transaction.

Developing these two simple habits will free up a surprising amount of money for you to put to investing. So how should you invest that money in order to maximize your profits? Unfortunately this article is long enough already so that secret will have to be revealed on another day.

About the author:

James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his
ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind"
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Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com

Monday, January 28, 2008

How to use telemarketing effectively

Follow these simple rules, and you can make inbound or outbound telemarketing work more effectively for your business:

1. Think creatively about what your telemarketing can achieve. For example telemarketing can be used to generate leads, screen leads before follow up, arrange appointments for field sales staff, provide support, motivate resellers, research markets, test new offers, and of course gain sales.

2. Make sure the person making the call is properly briefed, knows all about your business and knows exactly what you are aiming to achieve. This is equally important whether your telemarketing is being handled by your receptionist, as by a professional call centre or telemarketing agency.

3. Try and match your telemarketing staff to the people they will be calling. For example many colleges and universities often employ and train current or recent students to call alumni to ask for their help in fundraising, because they are more likely to have something in common. If necessary, train your telemarketing staff to identify the type of person they are speaking to and adjust their tone and manner accordingly. Bouncy, jokey and over-familiar telesales staff are unlikely to make much headway with chartered accountants or financial directors.

4. Make sure the right technology is in place so that your telemarketing campaign can be adjusted quickly if it needs to be, and that results of calls can be logged effectively. All users need proper training in your technology system, and you need to have a back up in place in case the technology fails mid sales call.

5. If you are operating inbound telemarketing through a call centre, make sure that staff are trained and motivated to make the most of every opportunity, such as turning complaints into happy customers. An existing customer saved can often be far more valuable than a new customer gained.

6. Don't waste time and resources in calling prospects who are not likely to buy from you - this just smacks of desperation. You may think that if you call enough of them someone will buy, but this can do more damage than good amongst the larger numbers who really don't want to receive your call. Try and target to your telemarketing to people who may already know of your brand, and who are likely to have some interest in what you are selling.

7. Following on from the last point, train your staff to ask a few initial questions to identify if the prospect is actually a potential customer or not. Qualifying leads early on can save a lot of wasted time and frustration trying to convert someone who is simply never going to buy.

8. Make sure your administration and fulfilment operations are also of the same standard as your telemarketing - there's not point in a well trained caller convincing a prospect to have a sales rep call, if the appointment never reaches the rep's diary, or they forget to make the visit.

9. Test your outbound telemarketing results. After all telemarketing is a direct marketing activity with all the benefits that brings for testing, adapting and measuring results. If a script or approach is not working, don't be afraid to change the approach and try again.

10. Most importantly of all, always check if the telephone numbers you are about to call is already registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for consumers, or the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) for businesses. Call a registered number by mistake and your business could be reported, face legal action and even receive a fine.

About the Author: Steve Sellwood is from www.selectabase.co.uk, a UK provider of telemarketing b2b and b2c lists and data for use in your telemarketing campaigns. Selectabase also provide simple and affordable tools for checking TPS registered telephone numbers before you call, including 1check and Easycheck.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Manage your Debt

As for others, managing their debts is one of the hardest tasks that they can do. Some think that it is likely impossible to manage their own debts. But hold on and relax, because this article will help you to manage your own debt. Something that seems impossible before will now be possible.

Everything is a matter of self control, being organize and knowing how to use your budget wisely. Putting these things into practice can make your debit free. It is significant to keep track of your debts and contact all your creditors so that they would be aware that you want to settle your account as soon as possible. Doing so, your creditors can decrease your interest rates. In addition to that, if you are not that confident that you can do the monthly payment, let them know so they can design an agreement that will suit your needs. One of the best options for you is Debt Consolidation. This could help you manage your debts and eliminate it in a short period of time. If you own a home, you can consider applying for a home equity loan or putting a second mortgage to your house. You might think that this is extreme but if you have numerous high interest credit cards, bills, or loans, in realism, you are paying additional for these materials than they were valued when you bought them. This is the negative side of equity loans though.

Most loans requires your real estate as collateral and if you fail to make a payment you’ll be in risk of losing your home. Another way to arrange your debts is to make large monthly payments on your credit cards. This is because if you pay less, larger amount of interest will be place. Paying larger will be eventually lower your interest smaller until you are done with paying the bills.

If you add just a few extra dollars to your payment each month, it will increasingly condense the number of payments of all of the loans and credit cards you have increase. While you lesser the amount of payments that are made, this also decreases the balance a person will eventually end up paying in charges, interests, and fees. You may also consider Credit counseling. This is the process that will give you a service to assist you in determining a reliable form of action to help you mange and eliminate your debts. These organizations offer an ample variety of programs such as, guidance on debt management, and have workshops that are stanch to things like, managing money and budgeting.But more than anything else, the most powerful tool or solution to manage your debts is budgeting. As for this, you must know what you can only pay. So, get a debt that you can pay. Make a listing of the things that you need and prioritize the most important ones. Have a careful research and thinking before getting a debt. Know your budget well and you’ll be able to have manageable debts.

About the Author: Ray is the Owner & Developer of ReleaseMyDebt.com, A website which connects all of the financial industry together. May it be to network, share websites, videos, get questions answered, and much more. debt help