BLUE THING #3: Amazing New Facts and Statistics

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HERE'S MY AMAZING FACT, STATISTIC OR STORY!

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HEY YOU! Yes you. Since you are now a subscriber to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER NEWSLETTER, you are invited to submit your own favorite amazing fact or statistic. If you’d like, we’ll even publish your name (or your organization’s name) and give you credit for your contribution. Note: Unless you are particularly dense, you will recognize that we are actually offering you FREE PUBLICITY in exchange for a mere tidbit of information.

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A compilation of utterly useless information brought to you by AmericanWest.com and THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER™.

Following is a veritable cesspool teeming with trivial items to use in pick-up lines in bars, to fill awkward silences in credit committee meetings, and to forward (via email) to the spam filters of Oprah, Bill O’Reilly, Bono, Paris Hilton, Harry Potter [either one], any member of the board of directors of Bank of America, the president or prime minister of your home nation, or one or more of your many friends, family members and people who have far too much time on their hands.

Here goes:

In honor of the 1st Pony Express reaching Sacramento, CA on April 13, 1860, we proudly present:

Interesting Facts About The Pony Express

Purpose:

To provide the fastest mail delivery between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. To draw public attention to the central route in hope of gaining the million dollar government mail contract for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company.

Date:

April 3, 1860 to late October 1861.

Mechanics:

Relay of mail by horses and riders. The Pony Express ran day and night, summer and winter.

Riders:

183 men are known to have ridden for the Pony Express during its operation of just over 18 months.

Rider Qualifications:

Ad in California newspaper read: "Wanted. Young, skinny, wiry fellows. Not over 18. Must be expert riders. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred." Most riders were around 20. Youngest was 11. Oldest was mid-40s. Not many were orphans. Usually weighed around 120 pounds.

Riders Pay

$100 per month.

First Riders:

Johnny Fry was first westbound rider from St. Joseph. Billy Hamilton was first eastbound driver from Sacramento.

Rider Relay:

New riders took over every 75 to 100 miles.

Horse Relay:

Riders got a fresh horse every 10 to 15 miles.

Speed:

Horses traveled an average of 10 miles per hour.

Horses:

400 horses purchased to stock the Pony Express route. Thoroughbreds, mustangs, pintos, and Morgans were often used.

Stations:

Approximately 165 stations.

Trail Length:

Almost 2,000 miles.

Route:

St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Through the present day states of Kansas, Nebraska, northeast corner of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California.

Departure:

Once a week from April 3 to mid-June 1860. Twice a week from mid-June to late October 1861. Departures were from both the east and the west.

Schedule:

10 days in summer. 12 to 16 days in winter.

Fastest Delivery:

7 days and 17 hours between telegraph lines. Lincoln's Inaugural Address.

Longest Drive:

Pony Bob Haslam rode 370 miles (Friday's station to Smith Creek and back. This is in present-day Nevada.)

Cost of Mail:

$5.00 per 1/2 ounce at the beginning. By the end of the Pony Express, the price had dropped to $1.00 per 1/2 ounce.

Founders:

William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell. The company was the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. The Pony Express was a subsidiary of the famous freight and stage company.

Other Mail Routes:

Water route from New York to San Francisco and across Panama by pack mule. Southern or Butterfield route from St. Louis and Memphis to El Paso to Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Telegraph Completed:

October 24, 1861. Official end of the Pony Express.

Failures:

Financially, the owners spent $700,000 on the Pony Express and had a $200,000 deficit. The company failed to get the million dollar government contract because of political pressures and the outbreak of the Civil War.

Successes:

Improved communication between east and west. Proved the central route could be traveled all winter. Supported the central route for the transcontinental railroad. Kept communication open to California at the beginning of the Civil War. Provided the fastest communication between east and west until the telegraph. Captured the hearts and the imagination of people all over the world.

Folklore:

One mochila lost and one rider killed. Location, date and names have not been verified. [Mochila is Spanish for the leather saddlebag with four locked pouches.]

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BLUE THING #3: Amazing New Facts and Statistics

BLUE THING #2: TNNWC Product/Service of the Week

Think about it. The way to survive and to thrive through a recession is to increase revenues through sales. At THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES we have the most powerful, most cost-effective and most highly proven tools available for accessing the largest audience, multiplying market share, and bringing in paying clients and customers.

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*EXTRA! EXTRA! The Brand New TNNW Blogworks site (a fabulous service suggested by Brenda Krueger Huffman) is up and live at http://tnnwc-tnnwblogworks.blogspot.com/. Visit now!

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Other newsletters would give you only one product/service of the week. Some might extend themselves a bit to give you two. However, here at The National Networker, we offer you THREE.

For those of you who are arithmophiles (a lingovation), this is 300% of what the competition offers.

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1. NEWS RELEASES and a vastly-expanded PR capability: The most cost-effective way of immediately reaching a giant audience.

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We do not simply offer you what PR Web and PR Newswire offer you. They are merely broadcast media, unless you request that they do a great deal more. Then, watch your wallet! We are a full-service, full-focus operation.

We do it all: headline it, get it written, get it edited, stuff it with keywords and hyperlinks, submit it to the right geographical and vertical markets, track it, re-publish it, and more! We use those other newswire services as broadcasters, too. (They have a tremendous market domination.) But we get to your target market with a surgical strike, and maximum MEANINGFUL exposure. We will not send out a useless raft of press releases which will either be ignored or unpublished. We get you published in the right places so that you get the optimal results. We do not "scatter gun." We help you structure a meaningful thematic news release campaign, and we strike with precision.

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Not to worry. We will give you an url. In fact, we might just give you both the actual url and the shortened url. That’s two urls for each Subscriber. Picture it. An url on each arm! At TNNW, we’re always happy to tell our Subscribers where to go, and in no uncertain terms.

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BLUE THING #2: TNNWC Product/Service of the Week

BLUE THING #1: TNNWC Surveys, Analyses and Findings

Why? Because people are absolutely obsessed with what other people are thinking.

Why? Because feedback helps us to refine our strategies and change our trajectories.

Why? Because The National Networker Companies want you and your business to know your client audience and to constantly monitor changes in their attitudes, buying habits and needs.

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Take TNNW SURVEY #6

(Polls open 3/9, and close on 4/15)

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TNNW Survey #6: Take Your Own Personal "Human Asset Value" Inventory.

You bring your automobile in for an inspection to determine if it needs repairs. You check your investment portfolio to see how well your assets are performing. You review your bank statement to be certain that you can cover your bills. You appraise your property. You prepare balance sheets for your businesses. Comment: It might be a good idea to take a Personal Asset Value Inventory -- a self-appraisal -- from time to time. Start today. Invest a bit of time in taking an honest look at yourself... strong points, weak points, all points. What you reveal to yourself in this exercise might help you to make some refinements, and to better plan for a happier, more fulfilling and prosperous future.

We have not assigned "weights" or "priorities" to any factors, and there is no grading. Once the results are in, we will conduct another survey to assign weights to the various factors, so that you will have a means of rating yourself in comparison to others. But for the moment, your answers to the survey will just provide you with some food for thought... and thinking is good exercise. The more you use your mind, the stronger it becomes.

You'll be glad that you made this self-investment. And we at THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES thank you for your participation. Now let's get on with the collaborative process of helping each other to be more successful.

It is self-evaluation time. We must do this before we can evaluate others effectively.

Please be advised that the survey contains 45 questions. So be prepared to dedicate some time to thinking about each question, and answer honestly. Never try to fool yourself.

Relax, focus and enjoy the adventure of self-discovery.

Faithfully,

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THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES
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Note: This Survey #6 will be closing on April 15th at 12:00am Eastern Time, out next week. After the Survey is closed and the results have been published, if you have some of your own additional self-assessment tools or criteria to share and you would like to include them in a follow-up to the Survey, please write to us at http://bit.ly/contactTNNW, being sure to include the words “Survey #6 Suggestion” in the subject line of your correspondence. If you would like, we will give you credit for your suggested question right in the Survey itself. And when the results are published, just let us know if you’d like to be listed as a Contributor in your letter to us.

If you’d like, join The National Networker Companies for free at http://bit.ly/JoinTNNW.

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BLUE THING #1: TNNWC Surveys, Analyses and Findings

JETNETTING: The First Impression Factor XXIII: Reliable... You Are, or You Are Not!

JetNetting with Heshie Segal

A short story about Sarah and Jack, how life works when you do not keep your word, and the lesson you take from it, if you want to be successful.

Sarah was annoyed. “You said you were going to the event. You know I did not know a single person, and you promised you would be there to guide and introduce me. I trusted you to be your word. This is the second time you have done something like this. What I have learned is that you are just not reliable. And to think I was going to talk to you about joining my team. That has now changed.”

Jack was uncomfortable and responded with excuses. “Something came up at the last minute. My son needed the car for an appointment that was really important to him . . . and . . . I, uh, well, I gave in and let him use it. You know how kids beg and beg until they get what they want. He put me on such a guilt trip. I just couldn’t say no. It left me without transportation so I could not get to the event.”

Sarah was no longer annoyed. She was angry. “Just a minute. Let me get this straight. What I am hearing is that OUR appointment, your commitment to me, was not important enough for you to keep your word, knowing I was apprehensive. You did not even consider calling, to at least let me know!"

Jack was digging deeper. “I know you. You are great at meeting new people. I knew you would be able to handle it. You do really well under pressure. I bet you met a lot of people and had a really enjoyable time.”

Sarah realized the pointlessness of the conversation and said, “Jack, you know, you are right. I did meet a lot of people. I went to the registration desk, told them it was my first time and the person I was supposed to meet had not arrived. 'Could they help by introducing me to some of the members?' Of course, they were delighted. Then they asked whose guest I was and of course I told them I was yours.

"One of them replied, 'That’s strange. He said he was coming and did not call to say otherwise. We had counted on him to be one of our ambassadors.'

"I asked them to let me know if you called.

As the evening progressed, I met a gentleman who reminded me a bit of you, Jack. He was well dressed, cordial, obviously very bright, a smooth talker, confident and interesting. He asked a lot of questions, and at one point, mentioned he was looking for a position that was more challenging. I became very still and started to evaluate the possibilities. I was impressed. I was entertaining the idea of inviting him to take a look at our company with the possibility of joining our team, if things went well. Thinking about your not showing up and not having the courtesy to even call, I did tell him that one of the qualities I wanted in a team member was reliability. That was a must!”

Sarah hesitated and wanted to hear what Jack would say.

Jack again became defensive.

Sarah unequivocally knew it was for the best that Jack had not shown up because she could have hired him and made a costly mistake. Jack made a commitment. What went wrong?

• Jack did not keep his word.
• He did not show up.
• He did not even call.
• He chose his priorities. We all know that our children are important to us. In this case, there was an opportunity for Jack to teach his son about responsibility and reliability via keeping a commitment. What a missed opportunity for a lesson.
• Jack’s child learned how to become an even better manipulator. Sarah was offended and in the business world it only takes a few offenses before word spreads and business is lost.
• Jack had proven his lack of reliability. That translates into a lack of integrity, dependability honesty, and the list goes on.
  

When you are not reliable, you are also saying:

• I am more important than you.
• It’s all about me.
• I get caught up in my own interests, don’t have to be responsible to you and that’s OK.
• There are rules for other people and I can go by my own rules.

I don’t care about others. If you want the job, the respect, the position, the . . . whatever it is you want, then reliability has to become a part of your process. Be reliable and you win, be unreliable and you lose. It’s almost as simple as that.

How do you show you are a reliable person?

Do what you say you will do. Evaluate what you are asked to do and only commit to what you know you will do. Think about it as a promise and as integrity dictating, “You don’t break promises.” Have a track record of consistency and reliability. Learn to say “no.” Clarify the commitment. You are, or you are not reliable. Normally, there is room for a little flexibility as long as the violation is situational and not a pattern. Don’t be a Jack. Just be reliable.

Be your word! Relationships flourish on reliability. Make your life overflow with a wide circle of reliable people with you standing out as the model "citizen."

For more information, please visit Hershie's TNNWC Bio.

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JETNETTING: The First Impression Factor XXIII: Reliable... You Are, or You Are Not!

CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH: The Power that Lies Within

Connecting Is Not Enough with Andy Lopata

I have held my personal account with one major UK High Street Bank for over fifteen years now. My business account is currently with the same bank, but this wasn’t always the case.

It used to be that our business would bank with one of their competitors. Our offices were close to a small town with one main street in which all of the major banks had a branch. Quite often I would go into the main street and visit one or both branches of the two banks I dealt with. I was known by the staff at both.

Occasionally I would be asked by my personal bank to verify my details. One of the questions they would always ask me was to confirm that my occupation was still "Managing Director." They never asked me where my business banked.

The staff in the branch for our business account knew that I would come in to pay in cheques for the business or for other related matters. They never asked me where my personal account was held.

Hundreds of millions of pounds worth of business must be lost every single year by employees not looking out for opportunities for their colleagues elsewhere in the same company.

Go to a referral-focused networking group and listen to the presentation given by the solicitor present. In most groups of this nature they will have locked out any other solicitors from joining. Yet if they are an employment lawyer, it is highly unlikely that you will hear them talk about litigation, mergers and acquisition, or family law. Week after week they will only focus on their own area of speciality, not referring to other divisions within their firm.

I have discussed elsewhere how trust, understanding and opportunity to refer are the key foundations to enable good quality referrals. Then where better to start than within your own firm? Yet, cross-selling is overlooked by many firms whose staff are more likely to compete than look out for each other.


Trust and Understanding

Part of the problem lies in the relationships between different parts of the same company. While team-building and meetings may be in vogue, less effort is spent encouraging different sections of the same company to interact. We talk about trust and understanding between people across your network, how strong are those relationships with people working under the same roof as you?

After I left university, I spent four years working in the Civil Service. The culture of the large departments within which I worked was very much one of silos. Each team worked in a sectioned off area. When lunchtime came my colleagues would put their work to one side, open up a pack of sandwiches and eat in the same seat in which they’d been working all morning. They would spend all of their time not just in the same department but with the same person with whom they’d worked with all day.

I bucked the trend. It’s funny to look back now at my behavior considering what I do for my living now. While all of my colleagues remained in their seats during lunch, I would go out with friends from other departments. I was considered quite odd, yet it was ironic how I would get more support from elsewhere in the department when I needed it!

On Wednesday mornings our offices would open to the public thirty minutes later than normal for "staff training." Traditionally these sessions would see each team in its own silo covering areas of consequence to them. I started visiting other teams and telling them about what we were doing and we invited them to join our meetings to do the same.

In my experience, too little of this happens in business now. Teams are kept apart from each other with people generally socializing with others within their own department. Even in smaller businesses where people from across the company sit close together and are more likely to socialize with each other, it’s not common for people to discuss their jobs and goals.

Companies who focus on building connections between different parts of the business and educating their staff in more than just their own job will be able to tap into a wealth of opportunities.

Social events within the firm are great opportunities to mix. Working with a property development company I asked the participants on my workshop to list the networks they belonged to. A number of them had the company’s "Sports and Social Club" at the top of their list.

Internal networking events, such as women’s networks, also offer great opportunities for staff to mix and learn about each other. If you have the opportunity, go to these and make sure you speak to people from other parts of the business, rather than just those you know. Find out about their role, their challenges, and who they deal with.

Most importantly, find out if there are opportunities for you to learn from each other, share experiences, work on the same projects and whether you are targeting similar clients.

Communal areas such as the staff canteen also offer the opportunity to build your internal network. If you are in the habit of finding the empty table and eating on your own, or sitting with your colleagues all of the time, break that habit and ask others if you can join them. Get to know other people in your own firm and find out how you can help them achieve their goals.


The Trouble with Targets

Another big block on generating referrals internally is the way people are rewarded for new business. Although a number of companies are now changing, in many cases it is just the salesman responsible for the client who gets rewarded for the business.

If the targets and rewards are dependent on just one area of work, why would you focus any time and effort elsewhere? Companies need to recognize and reward efforts to create connections that may impact another department or division if they want to stimulate more referrals internally.

This highlights one of the main reasons why so few referrals come in from clients. In many businesses the roles of new business generation and account management are separated. The person who deals with the client on a day-to -day basis and who is best placed to ask for referrals has no responsibility and receives no reward for asking for those referrals. Meanwhile, the person who does have the focus and stands to benefit has no further influence with that client.

Put simply, personal goals lead to selfish behavior and restrict the flow of referrals internally. This problem gets reinforced in times of economic turbulence, as people become more concerned with protecting their own job and meeting their own targets, perhaps at the expense of the firm’s wider interests.

Personal targets and rewards also reinforce narrow "tunnel" thinking, with people solely focused just on their own sale and bonuses.

Companies need to break out of this narrow thinking and inspire their staff to refer each other. Bonuses and commissions should be in place for introductions to other departments, a share offered in business won to everyone involved irrespective of their job description.

It’s not just the sales team who should be included. PAs (personal assistants), receptionists and customer service representatives all have jobs where they deal with the company’s clients and suppliers. Everyone who works there has their own personal network.

Whenever I work on referral strategy with companies, I try to encourage them to send staff from across the business on workshops, not just the people targeting new business. In one case the Financial Director came on a workshop. He had never passed a referral over to the sales team before that session. In the next two months he passed seven.

Cross-sales and cross-referrals need to be taken seriously and encouraged in any referral strategy. Without it, companies are just throwing money away.

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Are you struggling to put an effective networking or referral strategy into place? Do you want to know more about how to ensure you get the maximum possible return from your networking?

Andy's new Audio programme, "Networking in Ninety Minutes," will give you the tools you need to make the most from your networking. Available in CD or mp3 format here.
Andy Lopata's newsletter archive
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Join Connecting is not Enough - Andy Lopata's Facebook Page


For more information, please visit Andy's TNNW Bio.

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CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH: The Power that Lies Within

Update Bulletin - New Developments - The National Networker Companies - 04.04.2010

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Update Bulletin - New Developments - The National Networker Companies - 04.04.2010

*An Important Person To Watch: Sandra Levitin


Sandra Levitin, Founder of Kalön Women and Kalön Women’s Magazine has joined forces with The National Networker Companies.


Kalön Women reaches a growing and increasingly receptive market audience of women, age 40 and over. This particular group is the heart, soul and spirit of what The Global Futurist has termed “Generation XX”.

These women are not only re-inventing themselves…they are fast becoming the dominant and driving force in business, the professions, entrepreneurship, consumerism and activism. They are innovators, fast-learners, early-adopters and thought leaders.

Ms. Levitin offers information, product and service reviews, social and business resources, group forums, advice, mentoring, writing opportunities and access to virtually everything for this amazing segment of the market.

Learn more. Visit the website. Subscribe to the magazine. Oh, and if you’re male, learn to be very, very accommodating. Kalön readers may well be your future bosses, vendors, clients and partners. Investigate. Visit http://kalon-women.com/ .

Women, particularly those 40 and over, are rising to power and influence. Don't be left behind.




*TAKE the Self-Evaluation Survey (TNNW Survey #6)!  The polls are closing on April 15th, and we'd like your responses, feedback and creative suggestions. The survey is anonymous, unless you wish to give us your name. This self-evaluation is a crucial tool for improvement in every aspect of your business, social and spiritual life. You will learn a great deal about yourself simply by taking this amazing survey. Guaranteed.

Take the Survey and invest in yourself. TNNW Survey #6 can be accessed easily by clicking on either http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6  or http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TNNWsurvey6 .



*The National Newspicker Page is undergoing an upgrade.

The National Newspicker Page, which is located at http://thenationalnewspickerpage.blogspot.com/ is the world's most efficient way to get all of the news, info and intel that you need in just 20 minutes per day in order to sound like the smartest person in the room.

Grab this gadget at http://thenationalnewspickerpage.blogspot.com/ if you don't already have it, or simply make the page a favorite, for instant reference. We are switching servers, increasing content and re-formatting access -- this is great news! Sadly, until this process is finished on or about April 15th, some of the links to sources might be sporatically disconnected. Stay with us. It will be worth your while.

*Left, Right and Center is undergoing an upgrade.

The latest addition to our info-sourcing, Left, Right and Center, is located at http://newspickerleftrightandcenter.blogspot.com/ is also undergoing the same process. This device, which accesses the the most extremist political news and views from right to left, will be available as a free-standing widget (soon!), and will also be added as an additional tab to the National Newspicker. This process should be completed on or about April 15th. We would suggest that you get this widget in addition to The National Newspicker Widget.

You'll get every bit of edgy news from the far right, the Conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, militias, survivalists, far-left Liberals, Constitutionalists, Progressives, Internationalists, Cultists....Limbaugh to Franken...Maher to Palin...Centrists to Anarchists -- even the gossip amongst the blue-haired ladies playing Mah Jong in North Miami Beach! This stuff is absolutely fascinating, and is the ideal compliment to everything that you read in the mainstream media. We cover Mother Jones as well as the Spectator. You must get this widget the instant that it becomes available. It doesn't matter what YOUR politics are...find out about what everyone is thinking!

*Rick Itzkowich, Founder of QuoteActions and the acknowledged guru of "Keeping In Touch" has officially launched his much- heralded and critically acclaimed QuoteActions Product and Program:


The QuoteActions program is an incredibly simple tool which allows you to continuously keep in touch with your important relationships (your entire, growing email list of clients, subscribers, associates) daily. It operates on autopilot! Your name and your brand will always be in front of any prospect who needs your services...and being in the right place at the right time are crucial elements in the success of any business. QuoteActions allows you to always be there when it counts. More...

QuoteActions is a fabulous tool for managing your contacts and relationships. Nothing can match it.



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We crave your comments and feedback on every article. Be heard!

The buttons are provided for you to 1) comment on articles and to view other readers' comments on the articles, and to 2) let you forward, share, rate, promote and do other social media stuff with any article which you find to be of interest.

One button pops open to a screen which allows you to read other readers' comments, and to leave your own [the more comments you leave on the greatest number of articles by the greatest number of authors, the better your personal branding and SEO - Fact!]. The other gives you a means of forwarding or sharing, either by email or by posting to any one (or all) of your social media. Here's what they look like:




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Use these buttons or our Management Team will take them away! Our Management Team is ruthless (we had to let Ruth go), cold-hearted, hard-heading and demanding!



*TNNWC Client, Affiliate and Supporter, Bonnie Ross-Parker, published author and creator of The Joy Of Connecting recently received some NEW press coverage. Bonnie has created a proprietary system for women in business to network person-to-person in a completely unthreatening, inviting atmosphere that produces more actual ACTIVE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS than any other networking method.


If you are female (you must be sure!), you should consider becoming a JOC licensee. It is the most powerful in-home, real-touch relationship and network-building tool ever conceived by the mind of man....er....ah....woman. Ms. Ross-Parker provides a fabulous system to her Licensees, along with live training, constant upgrading, publicity, service and ongoing support. JOC Licensees (and now, The Latina Joy Of Connecting "LJOC" Licensees, too) promote their own businesses while they help other invitees to promote theirs. As Paula Fellingham would say, it is a genuine "WIN - WIN" for every Licensee and attendee. In fact, you might want to look at Paula's site: http://www.thewinonline.com/.

Bottom line: Female? In business? Want fast-track growth without an enormous budgetary outlay and without pressure? Get a License -- While you can.


To learn more about this revolutionary and efficient sytem for instantly building meaningful business relationships without "speed-dating stress" or polishing up your 30-second (gulp!) "elevator pitch," download TNNWC's Public Announcement about Ms. Ross-Parker and The Joy Of Connecting by clicking on either:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzmixjmtywm  (for those of you who prefer long, hard urls) or  by clicking on this one:

http://bit.ly/TheJOCNewsbrief (for those of you who like catchier, truncated urls which are more easily remembered) .  Do it now.

*Have you reviewed any of the blogs authored or administered by TNNWC Vice-Chairman Douglas Castle? He's even got a new one.

The new blog features music to take you away from the stresses of building and growing entrepreneurial and emerging enterprises. A music break is brief, but it allows your intellectual and creative batteries to restore themselves so that you can actually be more productive. Click on and join up (it's free, but the price is due to double on June 1st):

http://RadioDAZZ.blogspot.com  Go there.

Every other blog in this brilliant constellation, and every social media link is under the TNNWC Umbrella (which is not to be confused with the Traveller's Insurance Company Umbrella, which cannot be folded or put into your attache case):

The National Networker Companies - Networking is only the beginning...

Braintenance - Stay razor sharp.

The Internationalist Page - A world without barriers.

The Global Futurist - Revealing trends.

Taking Command! - Mastering your fate.

LINKS 4 LIFE - Help in any emergency.

Follow Castle on Twitter

Follow TNNW on Twitter

Follow Braintenance on Twitter

Follow GetGlobalEdge on Twitter

Follow GICBC on Twitter

Grab the National Newspicker Page Gadget - All the news, trends and intel you need...in 20 minutes per day.

Note: Douglas Castle is perhaps one of the greatest social and economic visionaries of our time -- then again, there are those who think that he is a ranting fool. He is neither humble nor tactful. His mother loves him...almost nobody else does. [Adam j. Kovitz, the creator of the notion of Relationship Capital, merely tolerates Castle].

With all of the best yet to come,

Adam J. Kovitz and Douglas Castle

The National Networker Companies

Join our GICBC and receive our free news, info, intelligence and publications at http://bit.ly/JoinTNNW . You will absolutely want access to our suite of services, too. Join.

_________________

Tags, Terms and Labels: Sandra Levitin, Bonnie Ross-Parker, Kalön Women, The Joy Of Connecting, Paula Fellingham, The Women's Information Network, The Win Online, QuoteActions, Rick Itzkowich, empowered women, The National Networker Companies.
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Update Bulletin - New Developments - The National Networker Companies - 04.04.2010

BLUE THING #1: TNNWC Surveys, Analyses and Findings

Why? Because people are absolutely obsessed with what other people are thinking.

Why? Because feedback helps us to refine our strategies and change our trajectories.

Why? Because The National Networker Companies want you and your business to know your client audience and to constantly monitor changes in their attitudes, buying habits and needs.

(cue drum roll...)

Take TNNW SURVEY #6

(Polls open 3/9, and close on 4/15)

Click to Take Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6

TNNW Survey #6: Take Your Own Personal "Human Asset Value" Inventory.

You bring your automobile in for an inspection to determine if it needs repairs. You check your investment portfolio to see how well your assets are performing. You review your bank statement to be certain that you can cover your bills. You appraise your property. You prepare balance sheets for your businesses. Comment: It might be a good idea to take a Personal Asset Value Inventory -- a self-appraisal -- from time to time. Start today. Invest a bit of time in taking an honest look at yourself... strong points, weak points, all points. What you reveal to yourself in this exercise might help you to make some refinements, and to better plan for a happier, more fulfilling and prosperous future.

We have not assigned "weights" or "priorities" to any factors, and there is no grading. Once the results are in, we will conduct another survey to assign weights to the various factors, so that you will have a means of rating yourself in comparison to others. But for the moment, your answers to the survey will just provide you with some food for thought... and thinking is good exercise. The more you use your mind, the stronger it becomes.

You'll be glad that you made this self-investment. And we at THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES thank you for your participation. Now let's get on with the collaborative process of helping each other to be more successful.

It is self-evaluation time. We must do this before we can evaluate others effectively.

Please be advised that the survey contains 45 questions. So be prepared to dedicate some time to thinking about each question, and answer honestly. Never try to fool yourself.

Relax, focus and enjoy the adventure of self-discovery.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES
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Click to Take Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6

Note: This Survey #6 will be closing on April 15th at 12:00am Eastern Time, out next week. After the Survey is closed and the results have been published, if you have some of your own additional self-assessment tools or criteria to share and you would like to include them in a follow-up to the Survey, please write to us at http://bit.ly/contactTNNW, being sure to include the words “Survey #6 Suggestion” in the subject line of your correspondence. If you would like, we will give you credit for your suggested question right in the Survey itself. And when the results are published, just let us know if you’d like to be listed as a Contributor in your letter to us.

If you’d like, join The National Networker Companies for free at http://bit.ly/JoinTNNW.

Click to Take Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6

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The National Networker Companies

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BLUE THING #1: TNNWC Surveys, Analyses and Findings

BLUE THING #2: TNNWC Product/Service of the Week

Think about it. The way to survive and to thrive through a recession is to increase revenues through sales. At THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES we have the most powerful, most cost-effective and most highly proven tools available for accessing the largest audience, multiplying market share, and bringing in paying clients and customers.

Now that you've come to your senses, keep reading:

*EXTRA! EXTRA! The Buzzworks site is up and live at http://tnnwc-tnnwbuzzworks.blogspot.com/ . Visit now!




*EXTRA! EXTRA! The Brand New TNNW Blogworks site (a fabulous service suggested by Brenda Krueger Huffman) is up and live at http://tnnwc-tnnwblogworks.blogspot.com/. Visit now!

####


Other newsletters would give you only one product/service of the week. Some might extend themselves a bit to give you two. However, here at The National Networker, we offer you THREE.

For those of you who are arithmophiles (a lingovation), this is 300% of what the competition offers.

Here they are:

1. NEWS RELEASES and a vastly-expanded PR capability: The most cost-effective way of immediately reaching a giant audience.

Click on http://tnnwcservices1.blogspot.com/. *NOTE: THIS PAGE WILL BE RE-FORMATTED BY February 1st, barring any Act of God or Force Majeure (that's French, but may well be misspelled; we fired our editor to save some money so that the TNNW Executives could drive bigger, fancier cars).

We do not simply offer you what PR Web and PR Newswire offer you. They are merely broadcast media, unless you request that they do a great deal more. Then, watch your wallet! We are a full-service, full-focus operation.

We do it all: headline it, get it written, get it edited, stuff it with keywords and hyperlinks, submit it to the right geographical and vertical markets, track it, re-publish it, and more! We use those other newswire services as broadcasters, too. (They have a tremendous market domination.) But we get to your target market with a surgical strike, and maximum MEANINGFUL exposure. We will not send out a useless raft of press releases which will either be ignored or unpublished. We get you published in the right places so that you get the optimal results. We do not "scatter gun." We help you structure a meaningful thematic news release campaign, and we strike with precision.

2. THE NATIONAL NEWSPICKER: Get this gadget now. Get the jump on everything you need to know every day – in 20 minutes. You can pick your friends. You can pick your news. At TNNW, we have done the unthinkable. Click on http://thenationalnewspickerpage.blogspot.com/. The actual button is so unsightly that we have chosen not to show it here in it's full-sized version.

NOTE: THIS GADGET IS PERMANENTLY AVAILABLE FOR POSTING ON YOUR HOMEPAGES, WEBSITES, BLOGS, NEWSLETTERS AND ALL SOCIAL MEDIA. IT HAS BEEN SPICED UP, JUICED UP AND HAS EVEN MORE ADDITIONAL NEWS AND INTEL SOURCES. It can now even be re-sized to fit the format of your page better than ever before!

GRAB THE GADGET AT: http://TheNationalNewspickerPage.blogspot.com .

3. BUZZWORKS - SOCIAL MEDIA DOMINATION: This service is the ultimate BUZZ machine. It is live and up at http://tnnwc-tnnwbuzzworks.blogspot.com . Learn more. Visit the site. This service can energize your brand, your image, your credibility, your internet presence, your website traffic, your conversion rate and your sales.

Not to worry. We will give you an url. In fact, we might just give you both the actual url and the shortened url. That’s two urls for each Subscriber. Picture it. An url on each arm! At TNNW, we’re always happy to tell our Subscribers where to go, and in no uncertain terms.

--The Duke of Urls

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The National Networker Companies

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BLUE THING #2: TNNWC Product/Service of the Week