Many organizations depend on fundraising to get the things they need. People fundraise to get a new swimming pool for their town, or to get special facilities for their school. Sometimes people fundraise to get money for people who need special health care or to help disabled or disadvantaged people. Fundraising is always for a good cause and helps people or organizations in their hour of need.

Once you take on the role of fundraiser, the first thing to do is set a specific goal. Whether it’s a large goal or a small one, it needs to be phrased in a way that people can relate to before they will get involved. Naturally the fundraising is to raise money, but what is the money actually for? Does the school need 10 new computers? How would this change the lives of the children attending that school?

The children won’t just learn how to play games on these computers, but they will learn skills that they will need all through their working lives. It will benefit them because they will be more employable if they are computer literate. They will learn to do things on their school computers that they would never learn just by having one at home.

Once people can see exactly how they - or their children - would benefit from these computers, they will get behind the project and offer help wherever possible. This goal will benefit teachers by making their work more interesting and easier. It will motivate the children to learn since most children love using a computer.

The next goal - or the sub-goal - will be to find out the amount of money that is needed to achieve our goal. To do this, we need to know how many computers are needed and what sort they will be. Will there be printers and scanners to go with them? Should they be networked? Who will install them and see that they are running properly? There may even need to be blinds installed to reduce the screen glare. The money raised will need to cover all costs, not just the purchase price of the computers. Each sub-goal should be itemized with an approximate cost.

Other questions that need to be addressed for your fundraising campaign are what specific activities you will use to will accomplish your goal, and when they will take place. A timeframe needs to be established, too. If there is no time frame, the fundraising could drag on until everyone is sick and tired of hearing about it. To have specific goal of raising a certain amount of money by a certain date gives people something to work towards and a sense of satisfaction when it is accomplished.

Learn more at http://techoss.com/tp/howtofundraising.php

Gregory L. Burrus, Business Coach and Technologist and Author of building a Profitable Business with IOVC Strategy and Technology teaches small nonprofit organizations how to implement processes and systems to remove the obstacles of technology and put their nonprofit mission and goals on autopilot.

There are five product characteristics that influence how attitudes are created towards new products and services.

Ø Relative Advantages
Ø Compatibility
Ø Complexity
Ø Trialability
Ø Observability

Relative Advantage

This is the extent to which a given consumer sees a certain attribute of a new product or service to be better than the attributes of similar existing products or services. If a consumer sees the new product attribute as better than existing ones, it does not necessarily mean that that attribute is actually better. This means that this product characteristic is based on consumer perception.

There is a direct relationship between positive relative advantage and new product adoption rates. The more a consumer views a certain attribute as being better than those of existing product attributes, the more rapid the rate of adoption. A new product’s/service’s relative disadvantages (such as increased prices and the increased time it might take to learn how to operate the new product) will, of course, have an opposite effect on the adoption rate.

Compatibility

Compatibility is how the consumer perceives the new product or service into the person’s lifestyle choices. When the product or service closely matches the individual’s needs, wants, beliefs, values, and consumptions patterns, the innovation can be considered highly compatible with the consumer. For example even though a coke substitute might have an almost identical flavor to the real thing, consumer’s who are loyal to the Coke brand are unlikely to purchase the substitutes. This is because in the consumer’s mind the real Coke is the only Coke, and anything else is considered “junk” or worthless. In this case the coke substitute would be considered incompatible with the loyal Coke drinkers.

Complexity

The extent to which the consumer considers the innovation to be difficult utilize in known as the innovation’s complexity. If the innovation has a high level of complexity, it will have a lower level of adoption. If the innovation is perceived as being less complex than it’s existing counterparts, a marketer can sometimes use the advantage to gain a price premium on the new product or service.

Trialability

If the new product or service can be tried out for limited time period before an actual outlaying of money, the product adoption rates will rise substantially. Trialability reduces the consumer’s perceived risk of making a purchase of the product. By letting your customer try your product before the purchase, you are showing your customer that you are confident enough in your product to allow them to try it before they make a purchase. Of course, the trial offering has to be tailored to appropriately fit with your product offering. For example if you own a website that offers paid subscription based financial services, you might want to try to offer a free one month subscription.

Observability

The extent to which a potential consumer can observe the innovation and it’s positive effects is known as observability. The more the positive effects are sensed, the more observable the effects are to the consumer. For example, if you are running an online gaming website and you come out with a new edition of a game with that has 20 more guns than in the last edition, this addition would be considered an easily observable positive attribute; you can see them in the game when you are playing it. But if you made the little tree in the corner move a little, that would be considered a less observable positive attribute.

For more information on marketing communication strategies visit my blog (http://advertisingadvice.blogspot.com/). Advertising and promotion is essential to your business. My blog has free marketing information that will help you do it right.

Fundraising for a mission trip is a great way to get active and keep involved in your church. Mission trips are mutually beneficial. Both the group receiving the help and the group providing the help come out feeling good about the whole experience.

In the months prior to your mission trip begin to advertise your event with posters and flyers. You can distribute the fundraising posters in your local neighborhood, at grocery stores and around your own church. This will help to raise awareness of your mission.

The next step is to write letters about your mission trip. Your letters should be very specific about your mission and that you are asking for fundraising donation to help support the mission. Also be sure to ask each letter recipient to pass the letter along to a friend or relative. It is easy to raise thousands of dollars from a simple letter campaign.

An open meeting or forum where you give a speech with the details of your mission event is also a great way to get parishioners involved in your fundraising. This will allow people to learn what your mission is about and give them an opportunity to ask questions about the mission. This allows people to feel a real part of the event which in turn will help fundraising donations soar.

Advertising in local newspapers, magazines, on radio stations and on TV is another great way to get the word out about your mission. When you advertise you should be very clear about the mission and place a call to action in the ad. Your call to action should encourage people to give time or money to your fundraiser for your mission.

Remember to thank everyone involved in your mission fundraising. It is key to thank in two ways. First thank volunteers and donors before the mission. Let them know how grateful you are that they were able to help. Second is to thank donors and volunteers after the mission is complete. Give them an update on the mission so that they know their hard work and fundraising money truly went to a good cause.

Shauna Hanus of http://www.laetans.com builds and maintains fundraising websites for churches and small ministries. Shauna has years of experience building websites and internet marketing. For more information on how to get a free fundraising website for your church visit http://www.laetans.com

Do you think sales starts at the appointment? If you do you’re short-changing yourself and working far harder than you need to. Your sales results are far less than they could be.

The first two steps in the sales process happen long before the appointment. Step one is to get the attention and interest of the highly qualified prospects you want to work with. Step two is to provide those prospects with a highly motivating reason to reach out to you.

When you properly perform these first two steps everything after that gets a whole lot easier. In step one you’re filtering for the right people, and that means you aren’t meeting with people who aren’t likely to do business with you in the first place. In step two you’re allowing them to raise their hand as a ready buyer.

Now when it comes time for the appointment the appointment will go something like this. The prospect meets with you at the agreed upon time and location. You start the appointment by discussing an agenda for the meeting and begin gathering the information you need to help the prospect.

The prospect readily shares their wants with you making it easy for you to progress to a sales solution. By the end of the appointment both you and the prospect know if the solution you have is the one they want, and you either agree to do business together or you agree to the next step in the sales process to get to the point of doing business together.

Is that how the bulk of your appointments go now? When you struggle to even agree as to why you’re meeting, when the prospect doesn’t want to open up and share what you need to know, when they just can’t seem to move forward these are all signs that spending more time on steps one and two will produce greater results with less time than what you’re doing now. Steps one and two take you and the prospect through the most difficult phases of the selling process; moving a stranger from knowing nothing about you, to knowing who you are, to knowing a little about you, to having an experience with you, to wanting to know more about what you do and how that can help them.

Enjoy the time and financial freedom you deserve: “7 Secrets Top Producers Know that You Can Put to Use in the Next 9 Days”

Get a daily boost to increase your sales: the blog for Top Producers and Future Top Producers

As we could see quite a few homes have a carpet in at least one of the rooms of the house. And they would also have to be cleaned minimum once a year. Towards this, carpet cleaning is a small and profitable business.

Nowadays, people are prone to be allergic towards dust and pet dander. Although regular cleaning and vacuuming the carpet can help solve the problem, but it would have to be done in between the root of the fiber of the carpeting. Dust related allergies generally occur only if the frequency of cleaning is not followed. These kinds of problems crop up due to the proximity of pets and children who invariably drop and spill onto the carpet.

Some among the innumerable occupations is the carpet cleaning business. There are quite a few well known carpet cleaning agencies that have a strong presence in the field. One option is to start by purchasing a franchisee, this step would benefit the company as this franchisee opportunity provides both you and the company of providing profitable, quickest and easiest way of cleaning the carpet to the customer. This is usually possible when the companies are looking to extend their business.

This infers that in case you are interested, you can buy the right to use the brand name and provide services with a fee. Towards this, you would normally have to undergo guidance and training from the company and fees of some sort could also be charged.

With regard to the investment, you would have to purchase the kind of carpet cleaning machine that is used by the other franchisees. Also you will have to buy the associated equipment as well. The money that has been invested will hopefully be realized in very short time depending on the kind of business attractability and the service provided.

For any market or business to survive and thrive, the first and foremost thing is aggressive marketing. This could be done in case we are not interested in acquiring franchisee and would like to embark into our own business enterprise. Then probably, you would have to hire the services of a person who has good marketing skills and is also adept in operational strategies, this is in addition to you operating the cleaning machine.

No venture is successful if there are no customers to provide business. You would have to get someone to do the promotional aspect of your carpet cleaning business. New promotional offers could be introduced for your business with the catch lines advertising “For the price of cleaning carpets in two rooms, get the carpet in the third room cleaned for free”.

The money that is invested would definitely have better chances of success if the above are looked into. It could also prove to be a profitable and an enterprise filled with fun.

Have you enjoyed this article on cleaning berber carpets? Adam Peters contributes adding content to http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com . A website with tips on carpet cleaning methods and carpet cleaning.

When a TV News crew goes out on a story, almost always the photographer drives the news vehicle. This is nice for the reporter in that he or she can take a few minutes to do things like review notes. Most of the time, the drive is pretty unremarkable but with one photographer we’ll call, Dennis, I noticed there was always a lot of drama involved in the trip.

“Dog gone it,” he’d yell, “No one is letting me into the left lane.”

I’d notice that he was frantically looking into the car’s mirrors as well as out the windows. Sure enough, no one was letting him cut over. But then I realized something and I asked an important question:

“Why don’t you use your turn signal?”

Dennis looked at me with disgust. Evidently, he believed it was possible to let other drivers know where you want to go without giving them any indication.

“I just need to get over,” he spat out.

At that point I decided my notes were more interesting than the discussion. But I’ve remembered the exchange for many years. How many times do we assume that people know what we want without our telling them? How many times are we upset by people not acting in a way we expect? And how much time do we lose by making these kinds of assumptions?

Most of the time you can get away with not using a turn signal. But often asking people for help is the easiest way to make progress down life’s twisting roads.

Ken Okel is a communications expert who uses real life broadcasting experiences to help successful organizations communicate better, reduce stress, and laugh more. For his free newsletter and special report, 7 Communication Mistakes that are Costing You Money, go to http://www.kenokel.com

And to see video of Ken presenting the FAMOUS POLICE DOG ATTACK STORY go to http://www.kenokel.com/video.html

ID Badge and Card Printers are easy to use devices, which compare well with consumer printers in their ability to be used straight out of the box. However, as most card printers work quite differently from ink-jet and laser printers, it’s worth understanding a bit about their technology.

Dye Sublimation

Dye sublimation or dye-sub, is the most common technology used.Thermal printing is used to place layers of dye into the ID badge surface. In dye sublimation printing, colors are not laid down as individual dots, as is done in inkjet printers. Dye sublimation makes photos in particular look more realistic.

Inside a dye sublimation printer is a roll of transparent film that resembles sheets of red, blue, yellow, and gray colored cellophane stuck together end to end. Embedded in this film are solid dyes corresponding to the four basic colors used in printing: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The print head heats up as it passes over the film, causing the dyes to vaporize and permeate the glossy surface of the card before they return to solid form. The vaporized colors permeate the surface of the card, creating a gentle gradation at the edges of each pixel, instead of the conspicuous border between dye and card produced by inkjets. And because the color infuses the card, it is also less vulnerable to fading and distortion over time.

YMCKO

The printer creates the ID badges by placing layers of dye in the following order:

Yellow: (Y)

Magenta: (M)

Cyan: (C)

Black: (K) or Resin black

Clear: (O) or Overcoat

The colored image is a combination of the Y, M, & C layers which also produce a form of black. The K Resin layer allows very sharp defined black text, barcodes etc. to be added. The Overcoat layer acts as a protective film against wear and fading and can also carry a secure image, which cannot be photocopied - e.g. the Magicard Holokote security watermark.

Reverse Transfer

With reverse transfer, the printer prints on the reverse of a transparent PVC re-transfer film, which is then laminated onto the ID Cards & Photo Badges. This protects the image from handling damage and produces a brilliant edge-to-edge image. The quality and durability of the finished card is similar to that achieved by an off-set printing process but with the advantage that every card can be different.

Because the re-transfer film is laminated onto the face of the card, it is possible to print right to the edge, unlike dye sublimation printers which print almost to the edge leaving a small (less than 0.5mm) white border.

Lamination

ID badge and card lamination involves putting a clear layer of PVC over the card surface. Lamination is used to protect the card image, particularly where the card is regularly swiped through a magnetic stripe reader, where lamination will allow 10,000’s of swipes before any visible wear of the image occurs.

ID card Lamination is either done at the same time as printing (with reverse transfer printers) or separately with a dedicated laminator. For added security, laminate films containing an optical security logo or hologram are available.

ID Badges

ID Cards & Photo Badges

When a parent sends their son or daughter off to college the major concerns that they have involve safety and security. Many colleges and universities put a major emphasis on the safety of their campus to use as a selling point when recruiting potential students. There are many systems and processes put in place to ensure that campus security is effective and adequate for potential situations that may arise.

Campuses have placed alerting systems at the top of their priority list to protect students and staff in case of an emergency or threat. The main concern for schools is the threat of terror and criminal acts, as well as fires, accidents and extreme weather such as earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis. Warning thousands of individuals quickly about the situation and delivering clear instructions for action help ensure a quick, effective and safe response.

There are many individuals at a school that can influence and decide which type of alerting system should be installed and for what level emergency it will be implemented. The potential people at a college that should be concerned with the safety and security of its students include:

• Campus emergency managers

• Security managers

• Crisis management teams

• Fire and safety personnel

• IT managers and,

• Campus executives

Making sure that all of the people mentioned below are a part of the decision making process when it comes to putting security precautions into place will enable the school to choose and implement the best alerting system possible.

One of the solutions available is the IWSAlert, which is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solution that turns a schools’ existing IP network into a comprehensive emergency notification system. IWSAlerts integrates with other alerting channels such as PA communication, sirens, telephony and text-messaging services and provides a single, unified console for managing, triggering and controlling the emergency notification process across all delivery devices. This allows campuses to quickly and efficiently communicate a consistent yet individually tailored alert to students, personnel, first responders, senior management, security managers, parents and surrounding communities. The information is sent via multiple and redundant means, including desktops and laptops, cell phones, PDA’s, Blackberries, landline phones, PA systems and sirens.

Some of the major benefits of a campus alert and warning system are:

• Quick notification using existing IP network

• Sends alerts to emergency responders and neighboring facilities

• Many different channels can be used to notify people (PDA, computer, sirens etc.)

• Integrates with sources of emergency notification such as the National Weather Service

There are many additional benefits to this system, and reasons why every campus should have such a system. When the safety of students is concerned, it is best to be best suited for an emergency situation than to get caught without the proper security alerts and precautions in place.

AtHoc is a recognized leader in providing enterprise-class, network-centric emergency notification systems to organizations across a variety of industry sectors for physical security, force protection and personnel accountability. Millions of end users worldwide, in leading organizations rely on AtHoc’s unified management systems for their emergency alerting and critical communication needs. Find out more information at http://www.athoc.com/solutions/campusemergencynotificationsystem.aspx

While the window washing business may sound easy, there are actually a number of methods you can use which will give you an edge over your competition. The first thing you must remember is that window washing is an industry that has low start up costs, combined with a very high income potential.

What this means is that no matter what area you’re operating in, you’re bound to have some competition. Getting the edge on this competition is incredibly important. Before you jump into this business, you will first need to plan. You need to set up a structure for how the business will operate, and you will need to plan your advertising, finances, and strategy for growth.

Once your company becomes established, and you’re generating a large income, you will want to purchase a pole that is water fed, along with a di-ionized water piece. The reason you will want to do this is because it will dramatically increase your profits and allow you to finish jobs faster. In addition to this, your jobs will be completed with a high level of quality. However, I should mention that both these products can be pricey, so if you don’t have a large enough customer base to generate money from, it is best to avoid buying this until you’ve grown your business.

Another important tip that you will always want to remember is to never purchase low quality equipment. Your equipment is the bread and butter of your window washing operation. Being cheap with your equipment will lead to jobs that are low in quality. My best advice to you is to purchase the best equipment you can afford at the lowest possible price.

Always be on the look out for high quality squeegees and other window washing equipment. A good piece of equipment can last for years before it needs to be replaced. Another window washing trick to be used As you clean, you will also want to avoid cleaning under sunlight, because it can dry the solution quickly, and this can lead to streaks which are undesirable.

Tanner Larsson is a window cleaning expert and author. He has released a controversial special report titled “The Ugly Truth About The Window Cleaning Business” that has shocked many people. For Your Free Copy visit: http://WindowCleaningSuccess.com/truth.htm

Have you ever entered a store, looked around and walked out because it was messy or claustrophobic?

Or been in a store, searching for a product feeling confused or frustrated because you can’t find it?

Maybe you returned to a store, in search of your favorite product, only to find the merchandise completely re-arranged.

Customer confusion is a continuum.

If the customer is conscious of feelings of frustration or confusion, the store layout and merchandising are clearly ineffective. At the other end of the continuum, the shopping experience is a joy to the senses. Most shopping experiences are somewhere in between.

Customers won’t complain if they are confused. They’ll just turn around and walk back out.

Customers will tolerate a mild level of confusion. Maybe even buy an item or two.

But they won’t become raving fans. They may not return. They may express their frustration to their friends.

So, what can you do to reduce customer confusion?

Make it easy

An effective store layout is easy for the customer to understand. It has a natural flow and visual cues to help shoppers find their way through the store. Store departments, or product groupings are clearly separated to guide shoppers to the merchandise they need.

When the shopper enters, there is enough open space for the shopper to slow down her pace, look around and transition into the store. As she slows down she scans the layout for clues to help her find what she needs.

The front area on the right is one of the prime locations in your store. IT is a key area for sales, and for establishing the identity of the store. The fixtures and merchandise in this space need to grab people and draw them in.

This section right in front of the door, should entice shoppers with its dynamic display. It should announce that the store is brimming with new and exciting offerings.

Balance new products and basics.

A general rule to use when organizing the store, is to keep major departments and staple items on walls, and in lower traffic areas.

Shoppers want to know that the basics will not move around. They want to find these things easily each time they return. Seasonal and high margin merchandise should be in high traffic areas.

Take a walk in the shoppers’ shoes.

It is important to consider what the shopper sees, the ‘vistas’ from different points in the store. To examine how the layout can be improved, take a look at a large section of the store at a time. One of the best ways to do this is through photos.

For example, what does the customer see at the back of the store, when she comes in the store? Treat that view like a display or a piece of art that you are creating. Is there a strong, appealing focal point? Is there balance and symmetry? Is there anything obstructing the view?

A rule of thumb is to use shorter fixtures towards the front of the store, or department, with taller ones further to the back. The customer is able to take in an overall view of the store, without obstructions. It also keeps the front of the store from feeling closed in. The shorter fixtures lead shoppers into each area.

The back wall also needs a strong focal point. It is another high impact area, or prime location. It needs to be one of the strongest points of the store.

Shoppers want to look around the store and understand the layout in a glance. Creating clear focal points and moving obstructions is one step towards reducing customer confusion.

Plan first.

Before you get all excited and start moving things around, make a plan. On paper. Not in your head. A helpful tool is a planogram.

A planogram is a floor plan of the entire store with fixtures and merchandise placement, including quantities of merchandise. It enables you to work out a layout on paper, making merchandise or fixture moves quicker and easier.

Even if only a small section of the store is moved, it is helpful to plan the move on paper first. A clear plan is easy to delegate to team members. The move becomes more efficient and effective.

A well-planned and organized store will convert your customer confusion to customer enjoyment.

Melanie McIntosh is a retail consultant and owner of Inspire Retail Solutions. She helps independent retailers who are struggling to attract customers because they need to improve their merchandising and visual identity.

Is your store appearance actually turning customers away? Find out more here: http://www.inspire.bc.ca

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