A trade show is a non-stop series of beginnings. Every moment — from the second the doors open until they blink the lights signalling the end of the day — is a moment where you could be meeting customers for the very first time.

If all goes well, these crucial first moments will launch a mutually profitable relationship that will last for years. On the other hand, if the impression you create is not so positive, you’ve kissed a lifetime’s worth of business goodbye.

Beginning well’s means you’re half done. Once you’ve established a rapport with the client, once that positive foundation has been laid, the hard work of negotiating a deal and closing a sale becomes so much easier. Here’s what you need to know to create a favorable first impression time and time again, over the long hours and days that you’ll be at the trade show.

What’s for sale here?

Your company might make computers or luxury automobiles. You might sell scrub brushes. You could retail the finest gems found on the Indian sub-continent. It doesn’t really matter. When you’re at a trade show, what you’re selling is YOU.

Today’s buyers are nervous. They’ve been through the dot-com bubble. They’ve seen Enron blow up and corporate scandal follow corporate scandal. Yet they still have to do business. How do they know who they can trust?

There will always be a due-diligence component to business, but a surprising amount of decisions are made by people ‘trusting their gut.’ During those crucial first minutes where you’re checking out the attendee, they’re checking you out. They are, perhaps unconciously, assessing what they perceive as your intentions and motivations. Few people believe that they can get a good deal from someone they do not believe to be a good person.

Key Secret: People have to ‘buy’ you before they can buy your products.

Can you hear what I’m saying?

Non-verbal communication plays a huge role in creating first impressions. Attendees are constantly watching. If your body language conveys the fact that you don’t want to be at the show, would prefer not to engage with attendees, or are just going through the motions, they’ll pick up on that and go elsewhere.

Standing at the corner of your exhibit with your arms folded tells attendees “Stay away! I’m on guard.” Sitting down, flipping through a magazine, or chatting with colleagues says “I’ve got better things to do.” All togther, it means “You’re not important to me,” even if you ask the attendees what you can do for them today.

Secret: People won’t come in if your body language says “Go away!”

The Wall of Noise

You have to approach attendees, engage them, welcome them into your booths. Unfortunately, many staffers take this to mean that they must offer up a constant stream of conversation, from the welcoming hello to the assurances that “We’ll be in touch!” as the attendee hurries to a calmer, quieter exhibit.

Talking is important, but listening is more so. Shift the focus from your own sales spiel to actually listening to the customer and you’ll find your results immediately improve. Ask attendees questions, and listen to their answers. Give them your full attention. Hear what they’re saying and offer appropriate responses.

The fact that you’re focused on the attendee, wholly engaged with them, and committed, however briefly, to solving their problems, is one of the easiest, most effective ways to create a positive first impression. It sets a good precedent, establishing how you will do business with this client further down the road. You’re laying the foundation for that positive, profitable relationship.

Secret: Focus on the attendee for maximum results.

These three secrets will stand you well in the trade show environment. Remember that to begin new relationships, you must first create a positive impression. Being mindful of the fact that people need to trust you before they do business with you, avoiding off-putting body language, and listening more than you talk will help you do exactly that. And then you’ll be well begun — more than half done, well on the road to starting a new profitable relationship.

Begin at the Beginning: Secrets for Success is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

“Online job search resources provide a vital service to those in need of new job prospects and opportunities, and Americans are turning online for this assistance now more than ever,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore.

But are job seekers using Web tools to their best advantage? Here are several essential tips for making the Internet work you:

Diversify Your Search

You want to cast a wide net when looking for a job, so don’t limit yourself to one site or type of site. In addition to job boards like Monster.com, try sites associated with your relevant industry or professional associations, alumni career resources and local career centers.

Search Many Terms

Think about possible synonyms for the types of jobs you want. If you’re looking for a sales job, you should search on all relevant terms like “sales rep,” “account executive,” “sales associate” or “inside sales.”

Use a Job-Search Agent

Once you create a profile and do an online job search, many sites allow you to save your search parameters so you can be notified via email when new job postings arrive that fit the parameters of your search.

Research Every Promising Job Opportunity

The Web makes it very easy to learn about places you might want to work. For example:

• Check individual company sites to learn about the culture or corporate mission.
• Search news sites for relevant reports about a potential employer or follow its financial performance.
• Ask questions about certain employers through your online networking groups or other resources, like the Monster Career Advice forums.
• Prepare your salary expectations by using the Monster’s salary tools.

Connect with Social Networking Sites

You can use your profiles on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and ZoomInfo for professional benefits. The sites let you highlight your work experience and achievements, learn about new job openings from your contacts, or keep a mini blog about your accomplishments or job search.

These suggestions are just a few of the many creative ways people use these tools to network successfully. In addition, recruiters increasingly use these sites to search for information about candidates, so having an updated profile can boost your exposure.

But that exposure leads to a final caution, since most people also use those sites for recreational purposes:

Monitor Your Online Appearance, or Digital Footprint

Do an Internet search on your name, and examine the list of search results. Are there questionable photos you should “untag” or inappropriate comments you should delete? Use the privacy settings on your profiles, and be discreet about people you let into your networks and the information you share.

Getting hired is all about making a good impression, so make sure your online appearance enhances the impression you make.

The Online Essentials for Your Job Search is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

Young employees bring a lot to a business that can compliment an older work force and make the business much more vital.  Younger employees are savvy to the wants and needs of their peers.  So instead of trying to guess how to market to the current generation of 18-28 year olds who are the age segment with disposable income, by keeping such employees on staff, you have the inside track to the priorities of the current generation.  Further youthful employees are often optimistic and out to change the world.  Their sense of mission and belief in the system as a means to make the world a better place results not only in a better morale internally but in business philosophy that shares those values.

The tendency to name the upcoming generations can be a bit trite but it helps in knowing who the target group for recruitment are.  And that group of youthful future employees that will be hitting the job market in the next few years has been dubbed “the millennials”.  And despite the traumatizing events of world terrorism, war and the decay of the environment, the millennials come to you with that youthful enthusiasm and desire to make a big difference in the world that sets them apart from previous generations.

To lure the brightest minds coming from the nation’s colleges, some rethinking of what we put in front of these young people is in order.  They are not leaving academia strictly with the objective of making a lot of money.  So to turn the head of youth workers who can make a change for the better in your business…

§    Don’t just make the potential job about money or your recognizable business name.  The reputation of the company can be as much a negative as it can be a positive.  The millennial recruitee will look past the sign on the building at what the company is really all about.

§    The millennial is more internet savvy and wants to use modern technology to accomplish business goals.  It’s in our best interest to facilitate that goal because it will keep us in touch with the marketplace.

§    Corporate culture is an important factor for both recruiting and retaining good employees from this generation.  Millenials are looking for a business climate that is creative, able to change when new things become available, highly accessible upper management and responsive.

§    Corporate values mean a lot to the millennial crowd.   That means that those high minded values printed on posters and plastered all over the Human Resource department have to actually mean something.  By demonstrating that the business lives up to its ethics and values, that will appeal the idealistic side of youthful workers.

§    The values that the business supports must reflect a modern attitude toward diversity and “going green”.  If you walk a millennial around the office during his or her interview, they will notice the recycling bins scattered about.  They will notice the diversity of culture and race in the employee mix.

§    Be prepared to recruit from various disciplines.  Even if you are recruiting for a financial services function or some other specialization, keep your mind open to recruiting students with a focus on liberal arts or teaching.  These millennials can be trained to the specific job and they bring a fresh approach to the job description that comes from their college area of focus.

These are things that might take time to change if the corporate culture is behind the times.  But it’s worth the effort to start now to attract the kinds of workers that mean long term growth for the company.  By doing some serious analysis on how up to the date the business is, you can begin to affect change now so by this time next year, you will be in better shape to court the millennials.

Courting the Millenials is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

This scenario is your absolute worst nightmare in running a computer consulting business and can be the kiss of death to your client relationship.

The Need for Good Vendor Technical Support

Good vendor technical support will preserve your credibility as a computer consulting business during times of crisis. No matter how experienced you are at PC hardware troubleshooting, calling on a specialist is a necessity.

Understand What Is Offered

Rather than get an unpleasant surprise when you need help the most, get the lowdown on vendor technical support before you make the purchase recommendation. Although many top PC vendors have similar capabilities and services, ask about included technical support services, and preferably get a description of them in writing.

Ask Questions

As a computer consulting business, you will want to ask questions to determine the reliability of PC vendor technical support. Find out if they are available by phone, if the technical support phone number is toll-free and if the support is free or not.

Also, find out if there are different technical support phone numbers for different products.

In operating your computer consulting business, you will also want to know if vendor technical support has 24/7 support in case you have a need for emergency support. Ask if online tech support resources are available as well.

Deal With a Specialist

As a computer consulting business, you want direct, rapid access to a specialist who deals with nothing but that particular product all day. So test the technical support group’s responsiveness at a time when your heart isn’t racing in the heat of a client server-down emergency.

Also, PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/) regularly evaluates PC vendors’ technical support quality, so this is a good resource to look into.

Computer Consulting Business: Nail Down the Vendor Support Options is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

But if you look at the two business worlds, the internet business environment and that outside of cyberspace, there are some pretty big differences.  While many companies like bookstores or concert ticket promoters have learned to build what might be viewed as parallel universes in which their business operations are just as sophisticated online as outside of cyberspace, other businesses have just not found that balance.

But as the legitimacy of the internet as a valid marketplace and business tool becomes more understood, more and more businesses are learning that cyberspace can become another valuable part of an overall marketing plan that drives business to the store shelves directly from their internet web presence.

So just as that billboard or newspaper coupon program are just as much part of the businesses corporate plan, that online effort out there in on the corporate web site can become a vital part of the stores operation so much so that the store manager will come to depend on the sales driven by the internet.  To that store manager they will look for cyberspace on aisle five as a vital part of their plan for business success.

There is a systematic process that businesses go through to use the internet as a way of capturing web traffic and turning it into store traffic.  Make no mistake, there is one principle that should seem evident but is the key to turning cyber visitors to in store shoppers and that is that – Internet Shoppers are People Too!

When a businessperson looks at those strange internet traffic reports that show that they web site has X number of “hits” and that Z number of web browsers went to Y number of web pages, all of that cyberspace mumbo jumbo just means that X number of PEOPLE were on your web site and looked at Y number of products or web page advertisements or services.  And those PEOPLE are the same living and breathing humans who will walk in the front door of your store and buy products and services from you.

All we need to do is devise methods to drive those internet shoppers off of their computers and into the businesses retail operations.  And more and more you are seeing a businesses trend of internet promotions that are geared to put the customers feet down in the retail space.  Some great methods for doing that are…

*    Online coupons that can be redeemed only in the retail store.
*    Online sales that can be picked up in the store.  Many online shoppers might prefer to have the product shipped to them.  So you will have to “sweeten the pot” by making shipping charges out of the question or by adding a promotion if the customer picks up his or her purchase in person.
*    Contests.  Need we say more?
*    By promoting special events that will occur in the store.  You can stage a major cyberspace promotional campaign for a book signing of an author or celebrity that will occur live at the store itself.  The costs of the promotion and having the in store event will be offset by the increased sales.

If your web site routinely uses promotions that result in positive incentives to the customer to come to the store, before long a customer base of loyal consumers will get used to first going online to see what this week’s big deal is and then going to the store to cash in.  That kind of ongoing momentum is what makes such a synergy such a success and what makes even customers come to your retail outlet and look for “cyberspace on aisle five.”

Cyberspace on Aisle Five is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

1. Ask for a Letter of Reference. You can use this to help you land that new job because it will be beneficial to have a letter that praises you and your accomplishments. This will show future employers that your termination was a business decision and not because of any wrong-doing on your part. Most people forget to ask about this, and it is difficult to try to go back later and ask for one.

2. Ask about severance pay. You are not automatically guaranteed this unless it was stipulated in your employment contract when you were hired.. Typically, one week of severance is given for each year of service to the company, but this can be negotiable. And, especially if you’ve recently finished an important project, been honored or achieved a major goal, be sure to remind them. It may buy you another week of severance pay they weren’t planning on giving.

3. Are you entitled to unused vacation pay? In most cases, the answer is no. Some companies allow you to roll over your unused time from one year to the next, while others have a use it or lose it policy. Most companies will explain their rules in the employee handbook, but asking to be paid for your unused vacation pay just may earn you a few extra dollars you could use right now.

You may not get any severance or vacation pay, and you especially won’t if you don’t ask for it. Don’t forget, this is a very difficult situation for your boss, too, so he or she may be willing to give you more than had been planned on. You’ll never know unless you try, and the worst they can do is say no. If the moment passes, chances are you won’t have another opportunity to ask these questions again. Knowing ahead of time what to ask for may give you the confidence to speak up for yourself at this difficult time. Good luck!

3 Points You Should Negotiate When You Are Losing Your Job is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

* Convenient location in a high traffic areas
* Fully furnished offices and suites
* Individual Offices and/or Team Rooms
* Conference Rooms with services provided
* Business identity services or virtual offices
* Receptionist services
* Incredible phone and voice mail systems
* High speed Internet services
* Computer and networking support
* Copy, scanner, and fax systems
* LCD projectors
* Digital Camera
* Complementary coffee and water
* Convenient agreements that can range from 3 months to 5 years

There are top companies that specialize in these office centers all over the country. Corporations such as HQ Global Work Place, Corporate Suites, and SOS America offer these great services to those home business owners so they can broaden their horizons but not have to invest in more equipment or dismantle their home office space. This gives the owner the option of hiring others and still remaining at home if he or she so desires. There are even some companies that offer rental by the day or hour. Depending on what type of office space and the amenities you want you are looking at anywhere from a few hundred to few thousand per month. It truly depends on the location, services, and the office size you need.

The majority of these companies also offer virtual space as well. This is a low cost method of being able to provide a more business like atmosphere to your home office. You would be able to meet clients in a space a few times per week instead of in your living room. This gives your business a more professional look with out spending lots of money on an office space. There are mail programs offered that provide you with an address so you can receive and deliver business packages and mail. These virtual spaces also provide private offices and conference rooms. This will allow you to work from home primarily but meet with clients and get your mail at a business address to keep your home information private. Programs like this start at about $70 per month, which is extremely reasonable. There are also the virtual office packages that give you the same perks as the mail program but also give you a phone number, voice mail, live receptionist during business hours plus call-screening, forwarding, and patching. This type of offer starts at about $190 per month and you get your business name listed in the lobby for free. This is great for small home business owners who want to keep their personal information private.

Home Base Business is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

The project scope is the outline of the project. The project scope is considered the itinerary of an individual project program. The project scope is the step by step guide to determine who, what, why, when, and where. It will be able to define to the stakeholders what they want to have done. It will be able to list who will be doing which job. The project scope will list why each step is critical to success of the project. It will also address the time frame as to when the project should be completed.

The project scope will detail for the stakeholders outside resources being utilized for completion of individual tasks. Each development team will be able to view the project scope and see what is required of them. The project scope will also detail needs assessment and cost estimates.

Each project scope will be able to address technical constraints the stakeholders may or may not be aware of. Within the project scope a detailed report of end user requests will also be added. This will allow the stakeholders to understand why certain aspects of the project program are different than anticipated.

The project scope is an itinerary listing short term and long term expectations. Short term goals will be listed allowing the stakeholders to check each milestone. The project scope will also include a prioritized listing of essential requirements or features needed for short term and long term success of the project program.

One of the most critical reports in the project scope is the vision statement. The vision statement will define in clear and concise wording the project scope. The vision statement will allow the stakeholders to understand the problem and the solution needed. The vision statement will state the user needs in clear terms. The program features will be outlined in the vision statement.

The project scope is the “do to” list of the program. A sort of brainstorming, or in some cases, model storming which allows all parties involved to be able to follow along. Each department along with the stakeholders will be able to refer to the project scope throughout the completion of the project. Without the project scope the project has no start or end point. The project will most likely fail.

Defining a Project Scope is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

1. Keep An Eye On Your Best Customers
Yeah, wouldn’t be great if all of your customers were just like them? …easy to please, loyal, and ready to tell a friend about your wonderful service. Just maybe you can develop more customer just like them!

Think about it… what makes them so great? What are the traits they have in common? Direct your marketing campaign to people who are just like them. Focus on their niche! You’ll net new consumers and higher profits for your efforts.

2. Hurry It Up!
What’s the hurry? Todays customers are busily running helter skelter from work to day care to home to an event back home… They’re rushing through life, but trying to save a buck as they go. How much do you think they would appreciate the ability to do both in your shop?

Revise your advertising campaign to stress the time they’ll save and the money they’ll keep in their pockets while enjoying all of the wonderful benefits your products have to offer. Chip in a few specials where they can save even more moeny (with a deadline, of course). Deliver! Immediately! Let them save money and time… and hey, watch your sales explode!

3. Make it Easy to Buy
Convenience it the key to attracting buyers in today’s fast paced society. What will be the fastest and easiest for them… credit card, phone, fax, Internet, or cold hard cash? They say there are different strokes for different folks… your customers don’t all use the same methods to buy. It just makes sense that if the method they prefer is available, they’ll be more likely to take advantage of it.

Simplicy… ah, it makes life so much easier. Yeah, your harried customers are busy and tired. They don’t want to mess around. Most of the time, they just want to make the purchase and head home. Convenience stores testify to the fact that quick and easy often overrides a better price!

4. Follow Up
Following up with a customer who didn’t buy can be the determining factor between and “almost sale” and a satisfied, loyal customer. Simply contact them afterwards and let them know the product is still available or offer them further information they may find valuable.

One of my favorite catalog companies always closes out the sale with a special buy that is available only at the time of purchase. I’m not an impulsive shopper by any stretch of the imagination, but it stops me in my tracks every time. I know it’s a one-time shot, and I really consider whether I want or need it before I hang up the phone.

Expoding your current sales volume and profit margin may not be as difficult as you’ve been making it! Give these 4 tips a shot, and see what happens!

4 Explosive Tips To Dynamite Your Sales Volume is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips

Criminal offence has grown a lot over the years. This has led to a very big uncertainty when it comes to meeting new people and choosing who you’ll be working with. Employers (all over the world) have confronted with this problem when hiring someone. They have to verify this person’s background, but the criminal record check can be quite limited. When pursuing a criminal record check, employers don’t have access to governmental information. The first step of the process is to view that person’s job application. The criminal records offer information regarding the applicant’s past problems with the law. Then, they can consult the credit bureau’s registers from which they can find out addresses and social security numbers and check the past jobs as well. This way the employer finds out what the future employees have done before and whether there are any intentionally left out details in the applications. Many companies resort to hiring special services to conduct the criminal records search, but only if the applicant has given his written consent. If there are criminal records to be found, the employees should be given the chance to elucidate their case. The job applicants must be informed upon their legal rights before any decision to reject the job applications is made.

In the Internet era, the most accurate help you can find consists of the online services. Most companies offer their help in criminal record check, but their efforts are made using the Internet as well. These companies can give detailed information on how a criminal record check can be conducted. They know how a person can pursue a criminal record check by obtaining the information they need from the local courthouse and which criminal records can be granted by the specialized web sites in the criminal record check. Even so, this doesn’t mean it is the easiest or cheapest way to obtain the information you want. The problem is that criminal record check can’t be 100% accurate, because criminal records may suffer corrections along the years. There are also some limitations on how much information an employer can obtain about an applicant’s criminal background. Nationwide, the criminal database has a lot of lacks. But this doesn’t mean the employer’s strive to obtain a criminal background is useless, because most of the companies specialized in criminal records search have been book keeping all the changes conducted in one’s criminal records.

Another important issue may be whether the applicant with criminal records has a chance in being hired or not. An employer can not reject a job application due to criminal records search because it would be considered a discrimination against this category of persons. Nevertheless, the employer can check whether that person’s criminal background could interfere with the future job, whether they are related and how the applicant’s behavior has been ever since. This remains a very controversial matter because it is very difficult to prove that a person has been rejected for employment due to his criminal record check, which is in fact illegal.

In spite of all these issues, criminal record check is a very important step in hiring someone because of the problems that may occur in the future. Hiring someone can influence how your business will develop, so risks are involved. The employer should be able to conduct a criminal records search to minimize the risks, but he should not make a decision basing it only on the criminal records. There are web sites or companies specialized in criminal records search, which can offer you the most accurate information you need in the shortest period of time. Qualified personnel can simplify finding an applicant’s criminal background and the information obtained will help you make a balanced decision regarding your future employees.

All can go well in business with a criminal record check is a post from: Jobs 2 Ireland | Business, Jobs Search and Money Management Tips