Zig Ziglar: Memorable Quotes to Live By

Attitude Makes a Difference

Your attitude, particularly in business, makes a difference. Life is not perfect and every now and then we all get throw a curve ball or two. How you deal with these situations can make or break the success of your business. Successful business owners do not focus on the negative, but instead channel their energy on what they can do to move their business forward. 

(Photo courtesy of
http://winthecustomer.com/customer-service-attitude)

Having a positive attitude and staying motivated takes patience and practice. The father of motivational speaking, Zig Ziglar said it best, 

“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”
 
A World War II veteran, Ziglar became the top sales person in several organizations before going out on his own as a motivational speaker and author. Ziglar wrote over two dozen books and enchanted millions with his lessons in positivity and leading a balanced life. Passing away at 86, Ziglar will be remembered as a man who inspired millions of people to believe in themselves and their dreams.

So the next time you need a little positive push, think of some of these memorable and reassuring Zig Ziglar quotes.

• “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
• “Remember that failure is an event, not a person."
• “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”
• “Attitude, not Aptitude, determines Altitude.”
• “Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on regular basis.”
• “Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.”
• “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”
• “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”
•  “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.”
• “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
• “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere."

Increase Sales Without Spending a Lot of Money

One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to increase sales is to keep your current customers happy. Sounds pretty obvious, right? However, as simple as it seems you'd be surprised by just how many companies don’t  execute a retention strategy.  If you haven't already implemented a retention plan or are looking to improve the one you already have, we've included a few simple and effective tactics.

3 Reasons Why to Implement a Retention Strategy Today

• It is 6-7 times more costly to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer.  (White House Office of Consumer Affairs).
•  A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murph).
•  Depending on your industry, reducing your customer defection rate by 5% can increase your profitability by 25-125%. (Leading on the Edge of Chaos, Emmet Murphy & Mark Murph)

Simple & Effective Customer Retention Strategies

• Start a VIP Program. VIP programs make people feel special and give them a sense of status. Identify top customers and offer them specialized services, special promotions, incentives, or exclusive access to new products and services. 
• Exceptional Customer Service. Fact: 89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service. (RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report). Besides having representatives that are knowledgeable and courteous, it is also important that your customers can reach you when they need to. Advancements in technology offer businesses of any size (big or small) the ability to look bigger and sound more professional overnight. If you don’t already have a business VoIP solution installed in your office/business, it’s time you looked at some of the benefits it can bring – such as cost savings and Fortune 500 calling features such as Virtual Receptionist, Voicemail to Email and Find Me Follow Me (which allows your customers  to reach you anytime, anywhere and from any device).
• Implement customer feedback surveys. Price is not the main reason for customer churn, it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service. (Accenture global customer satisfaction report 2008). Surveys can help you find out what your customers’ expectations are, what you are doing well, 
• Start a blog. A blog can be a great place to not only keep your current customers happy, but also attract new ones. Everyday people search the Web for answers – become an expert in your field. Cover topics that your audience would find of value and become the 'go-to-guy' in your industry. 
• Build relationships through social media. These days, people are glued to their computer screens and smartphones. You can use this opportunity to connect with your customers through social media venues like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can post things such as company news and pictures, promotions, tips, and contests.
• Referral programs. Start a program that rewards both your customers as well as their referrals. Show your customers that you not only appreciate their business, but that their referrals make a big difference in your business as well. 

Why SMBs are making the switch to Business VoIP

Many SMBs and home offices are walking away from their traditional phone service (AKA POTS) and embracing VoIP for its functionality and ability support their growing (and demanding) business needs.

Traditional phones systems can be complex and expensive. VoIP technology allows companies to cut costs, make offices and employees more efficient, and simplify IT management. Business VoIP delivers a complete office phone system including voice, dozens of Fortune 500 features, and IP phones for one low price (depending on your needs, many providers offer both an unlimited calling and metered/pay per minute plans).

How Business VoIP Works

Business VoIP is a hosted PBX solution that uses the Internet to transit calls. VoIP technology converts voice into little packets of data so that it can be sent over the Internet using high-speed or fiber connection.

Why Businesses are Choosing to Make the Switch

Saves money!
Saving money does not only mean getting great deals and discounts. It also means making smart business decisions that can save you more (both money and headaches!) in the long run.
 

• Lines and Service Fees - Business VoIP uses the Internet to transmit calls, which is significantly cheaper than standard phone lines (which average $50/per line per month). This doesn’t include any hardware or maintenance fees. With a business VoIP solution you’ll typically pay $24.99 per extension per month for an unlimited calling plan (and as low as $12.99/month for a metered plan), and $34.99 for unlimited calling and rental of an IP phone. 
• Hardware - Voice is provided over an IP backbone ("the cloud"). Since both the service and PBX are fully managed (“hosted”) off-site, companies don't have to install and manage complicated and costly equipment.
• Support and maintenance fees – Since the PBX does not reside at the customer’s location, any upgrades and updates are automatically provided by the service provider in the background so there aren't any costs to you.

Scalability
VoIP grows as your business grows.  Unlike traditional phone service, VoIP allows you to quickly (and inexpensively) add or remove users (lines), and enable and disable features as needed. While cost savings is a motivating factor for making the switch, business VoIP also allows businesses to connect remote employees and multiple locations under one calling group.

Features
Business VoIP delivers big business presence on a small business budget. You don’t have to break the bank to receive dozens of Fortune 500 features like Find Me Follow Me, Auto Attendant, Hunt Groups, Conference Calling, Hold Music, Time of Day Routing and much more. Even the smallest companies can look bigger and sound more professional overnight.

Conclusion
Many companies have already adopted VoIP technology to lower their overall office expenses, for its ability set up quickly and easily, and for its flexible configuration. We understand though that it can be difficult to make the switch to something unfamiliar. If you have any questions about business VoIP, one of our VoIP Specialists will be happy to assist you. To speak with a VoIP Specialist call 1-800-900-5474, or e-mail business.support@touchtone.net. 

Christmas Fun Facts!

• Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
• The world’s largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty. The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weighs 225 tons. Talk about a big gift!
• The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
• The name Santa Claus was created by the Dutch who settled in the New York region of America, the term Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for St. Nicholas, was Americanized to produce the name Santa Claus.
• Over 45,000 multi-colored LED lights adorn the 76 foot tall Norway Spruce in Rockefeller Center. Interestingly, the very first tree at Rockefeller Center was unadorned. Construction workers placed a bare tree there at the center of a construction site in 1931.
• Approximately 30-35 million living Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.  And on that note, Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
• Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
• According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
• Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870. Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836, and Oklahoma was the last to declare it in 1907.

Proverbs to Live by in Business

5 Ways to Kill a Business Deal

He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail.
Let’s face it, ‘winging it’ hasn’t worked since high school and even then I can recount the numerous times I’ve flopped a big presentation or bombed a quiz because I wasn't fully prepared. When it comes to business lack of preparation only leads to embarrassment, angry customers, and empty pockets.

VP of Sales Ken McCormack says it best, "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight." First impressions count so always put your best foot forward. Whether you are sending out a quote or attending a sales meeting, sometimes you only get one chance to make or break a sale. It is important that you not only understand your customer's needs, but also address any potential concerns. When you are prepared, you appear more professional, intelligent and competent.

For example, if you are meeting with a CTO or CIO, make sure you bring a sales engineer; if you are meeting with a Fortune 500 company, then bring your VP. Use your resources as a competitive advantage.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Kids are question-kings and masters of nagging. They are resilient and will stop at nothing until they get what they want. So what happened to that courage, that no holds barred, ask anything attitude? Now, as adults, we’d rather spend countless hours spinning our wheels and coming up with excuses rather than to simply 'just ask'. So why the hesitation? For some it may be fear of rejection or embarrassment, and for others, just plain ego. Regardless, I bet for every ‘no’ you've received, you've received triple, if not quadruple, the yes’es. So the next time you want something or have a question, what’s the harm in asking? Asking is a skill that functions like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger you get.

The early bird catches the worm.
Does ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ sound all too familiar'? Don’t let procrastination run your life. Success comes to those who act on what they want today, not tomorrow. Some opportunities are only available to the first competitors.

Honesty is the best policy.
Don't make promises unless you can keep them. Reliability is critical to any good relationship. It is important that you deliver on your promise and if you cannot for any reason, address the situation (be honest and upfront no matter how difficult it can be), and determine why you failed so it can be prevented in the future.

Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect is perhaps the most important component in any successful relationship, whether business or personal. Respect is not given, it is earned.

Read more articles from TouchTone's Partner Newsletter

One-Touch Conference Calling

Building on its experience of telecom and computer technology, ZipBridge has partnered with TouchTone Communications, a full-service voice and data provider, to deliver a highly unique outbound conference calling service. Powered by TouchTone Communications, ZipBridge provides users the ability to launch a conference call or send a SMS or text message to a group of people simultaneously from their smartphone, tablet, or computer.

For a limited time, ZipBridge is offering a free trial at http://ZipBridge.net/TouchTone.

“There is no conference bridge number to call into. At the touch of a button and from the convenience of any device, ZipBridge calls everyone in the group for you. It’s that easy,” said Leidy Smith, President of ZipBridge. “


ZipBridge not only provides a way to make conference calls quickly and easily, but allows users to communicate instantly in case of an emergency.”

As part of the partnership, ZipBridge will co-locate its servers to TouchTone’s geographically diverse data centers and exclusively utilize TouchTone’s carrier network for call completion. ZipBridge will continue to provide its own billing, while TouchTone will provide all the network services.

The inspiration for ZipBridge came after a conversation the company’s president had with a college IT director whose biggest frustration was trying to get key people on the phone right away during an emergency.

“We searched for a conference calling service that called the parties rather than the other way around, but couldn’t find one. So we built one ourselves,” said Smith.

TouchTone will offer ZipBridge outbound conferencing solutions to customers through its network of authorized agents, who are located throughout the United States.

“At TouchTone, we continually strive to bring our agents differentiated service offerings that can solve problems for their clients. ZipBridge is an excellent example of that because it offers a better and easier way to do something most of our end-user clients do every day – make and host conference calls,” said Pino Bio, President of TouchTone Communications.

About the partnership, Smith shared, “We are very excited to be working so closely with a carrier with the depth and resources of TouchTone. This partnership will help launch ZipBridge in the commercial market while solidifying our position in the Disaster Recovery market by giving us a geographically diverse serving infrastructure.”

What's Trending In Telecom

In this day in age, it is technology that stimulates our senses and gives us a feeling of innovation and creativity. In the world of telecom, innovation increases year-by-year.

Over the past 25 years, technology, especially in the world of telecom, has changed the way we work and play almost beyond recognition. We want, and expect, more powerful devices and applications to help us do things faster, better and with more ease. 

But keeping up with technology trends can be overwhelming, and you may find yourself asking, "which technology trends are for me."

The obvious answers are to determine your needs, read and research (we've helped you with that one, read below!), try it out (many companies offer free trials), and if you don't understand it, don't be afraid to ask questions. 

Here's a list of some of today's trending topics in telecom and technology. 

Telecom Trends

1. IP services- More and more companies are moving away from TDM and switching to IP services, such as SIP. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) provides many benefits for businesses including lower calling costs and a large capacity to serve an entire organization regardless of its size.    
2. Mobile Device Management (MDM)- As the use of personal devices in the workforce increases, the need for businesses to incorporate mobile device management becomes a necessity in order to protect corporate information and reduce security risks. If you’re looking for a MDM vendor, here is a list of the 10 leading vendors in the market today, drawn from the leaders and visionaries in Gartner's 2013. Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software.
3. Apps, apps and more apps- Chances are that you have a smartphone, a tablet or maybe even both. These devices have transformed the way we communicate, especially in businesses. Mobile apps prove to be especially useful in businesses because they can help manage day-to-day activities (schedule meetings, manage contacts, set reminders, money/account-managing, etc.). If you haven’t done so already check out these great apps: Brewster (personal address book), Contactually (contact management), Asana (plan, organize and stay in sync with your team), and Basecamp (project management). There is an app for almost anything nowadays!
4. The Cloud- With today’s dynamic office environments, cloud services are proving to be a surefire way to reduce costs and streamline operations. So what does it mean exactly ‘to move to the cloud’? 

For some, the cloud means a storage locker in the sky; a place to save documents, pictures and videos online so that they can be stored, accessed and even shared whenever and from where ever there is Internet connection.

Not only has this made our personal lives easier (we no longer need to e-mail documents to ourselves or burn a CD of vacation pictures for family and friends), but businesses are looking into cloud-based data storage in support of protection efforts such as replication, backup, archiving, and disaster recovery. 

For others, the cloud serves as a way to provide cost effective and scalable voice and data services. Commonly known as hosted communications or business VoIP, voice is provided over an IP backbone (the cloud) – the PBX and service is fully managed offsite by the provider. Cloud-based phone service provides more robust functionality beginning with crisp, clear voice quality and an abundance of features not available with traditional phone service. Since the service is completely outsourced and the PBX does not reside at the customer’s premises, upgrades are automatically provided by the provider in the background so there aren't any costs to upgrade. Learn more about cloud-based phone service.