Here are the next 3 winners of this year’s 2007 college football game results:

Capital One Bowl – Michigan tops Florida, 41-35, ace Lloyd Carr wins his last game

Had the Michigan Wolverines wrapped it up and put it under the tree, outgoing coach Lloyd Carr couldn’t have gotten a better Christmas present from his players as they overcame 4 turnovers to defeat No. 9 Florida , 41-35, in the Capital. A bowl.

The longtime popular Michigan coach announced his retirement after another loss to Ohio State in November. If he hadn’t backed out, they probably would have asked him to leave. Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez, who left his job as head coach at West Virginia to take over Michigan’s famed football program.

The win was huge for the Michigan seniors as they won their first bowl game in 4 attempts. Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns and Mike Hart had 129 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Gators kept the game close thanks to 4 Michigan turnovers and many big plays by second-year Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his speedy teammate Percy Harvin. Tebow was playing with a broken bone in his hand that he wasn’t throwing and was under constant blitz pressure, but he was still 17 of 33 for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 57 yards and another touchdown.

Harvin had 165 yards on 13 carries (12.6 yards per carry), scored once and also caught 9 passes for another 77 yards and a second touchdown. In the end, it wasn’t enough as Michigan won one for Carr.

The Gators couldn’t convert a fourth-down play at their 25-yard line and KC Lopata’s 41-yard field goal put Michigan ahead 41-35 with just 2:21 remaining. Florida got another shot, but Tebow threw 4 air balls in a row. Both Michigan and Florida finished the season with 9-4 records.

BCS Rose Bowl – Southern California crushes Illinois, 49-17, to make a statement

Pete Carroll and his Southern Cal players are still thinking about the BCS national championship game, but the Trojans will have to wait another year for that to happen. They may have finished 11-2, just like Louisiana State, which will play in the title game, but the Trojans lost at the wrong time to the wrong team: Stanford at home.

In a show of frustration and trepidation, Southern Cal literally stomped on Illinois 49-17 in the BCS Rose Bowl game to make a statement. Freshman running back Joe “Where do you find these guys?” McKnight tore through the Illini defense for 170 yards (125 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards). McKnight’s production was part of the Trojans’ 633 yards of offense.

The outing set a Rose Bowl record and the Trojans’ 49 points tied the record. The blowout game gave Southern Cal 11 wins for an unprecedented sixth straight year. Illinois coach Ron Zook finished the year 9-4, an unrealistic turnaround after a 2-19 record in his first two years at Illinois.

Make no mistake here, Illinois was a 13.5-point underdog going into it. Remember that it was Illinois that handed Ohio State its only loss, 28-21, and the Buckeyes will face LSU in the national championship game. Congratulations to Zook and his players for an amazing year.

BCS Sugar Bowl: Hawaii’s undefeated streak ends as Georgia wins easily, 41-10

The Georgia Bulldogs were furious that they weren’t invited to play in the BCS national championship game, and the Hawaii Warriors were the recipients of their discontent, losing 41-10 when their dream of a perfect season ended in the Sugar Bowl in BCS.

Hawaii entered the game 12-0, the only undefeated team among the 119 NCAA Division 1A schools. They did it with coach June Jones’ run-and-gun offense that averaged more than 46 points per game, junior quarterback Colt Brennan’s arm and some great receivers.

Brennan is the real deal. He has set more NCAA passing records than Carter has liver pills, but nothing seemed to impress Georgia, and especially Marcus Howard, who became the game’s MVP by having 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a deflected ball intercepted by teammate Dannell Ellerbe.

The truth is that Georgia was simply too big, too fast and too strong for the islanders this time.

Howard and his defensive teammates lived in the Hawaii backfield as Brennan was sacked 8 times, threw 3 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles, one of which Georgia recovered for a touchdown. Georgia’s defensive line pushed Hawaii all the way down the field; Brennan was lucky enough to get out of New Orleans alive and well enough to be drafted into the Sunday service in the NFL.

“It was the fastest team I’ve probably ever seen,” Brennan said. To be fair, they wouldn’t have been as quick on the Warriors’ offensive line if they had played better and given Brennan more protection so Hawaii’s offense could be effective.

It was a good but tough game for Hawaii to digest, but the Warriors will live to fight another day. They had to know that their 12-0 record was against much weaker competition than every other BCS team faced. They got away with it in the Western Athletic Conference, even defeating Boise State, which also lost its bowl game to lowly East Carolina 41-38. Even the Washington Huskies, who had a 21-point lead over Hawaii, couldn’t beat the Warriors as their game ended with Hawaii on top.

The citizens of Hawaii fell in love with their Warriors and so they should have. Hawaii had a landmark year. Other teams are now trying to steal June Jones away from Hawaii. It was worth the loss when it is learned that Hawaii expects to make a $4 million payout for her appearance in the BCS Sugar Bowl. For a team whose recruiting budget was $50,000 a year, that’s a lot of money. Hawaii now has the luxury of recruiting talent from the mainland.

June Jones has become an opportunity for some other teams. Her run-and-gun offense has resulted in a 76-41 record (64% winning percentage) in 9 seasons, including this year’s 12-1 mark and her BCS bowl appearance. Jones took over a Hawaii team she didn’t win in 1998 and went 9-4 in her first season. Translation: No need to stay up at night praying for Hawaii’s success; the Warriors and they are doing well, thank you.

(Editor’s note: This is the sixth article in a series on the results of the 2007 bowling game.)

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

While the Internet and other resources have led many prospective homeowners to believe that they can break into real estate on their own, there are actually many benefits to having a qualified and experienced agent on your client’s side. Entering real estate without a good agent is a lot like going to court without a good attorney, and the results can be extremely unpredictable.

The first issue to consider is that a qualified and experienced agent will have access to tools and networks that others simply don’t have. There are many listing tools that are only available for agency use, which means there are many homes that a prospective client will never see if they don’t use someone with access to them. Qualified agents are also extremely familiar with different types of purchases and different types of financing, which can open up many possibilities. Government programs in particular change from year to year and may improve different options at different times. Only experienced agents will be aware of these changes and what they mean for the customer.

When buying or selling property, a client needs to know that the person on the other side of the deal likely has an experienced agent with them. This means that an unrepresented client is operating at a disadvantage, because he is negotiating against a professional. This is never advisable because the professional knows exactly what he can ask for and how to tilt the transaction in favor of his own client. Having a qualified and experienced agent on both ends balances the transaction and makes it fair for both parties.

A good agent will also be able to spot potential hazards on properties. Because agents work largely on word of mouth, a good agent not only wants a client to walk into a home, but also wants them to stay satisfied in that home for a long time. This means that an agent will point out certain things that a client might miss, such as a high-traffic area that will spread dust into the house, or nearby development that will later reduce the value of the house. These items are things that someone new to the industry won’t notice, but an experienced agent will.

Finally, an experienced agent will follow all policies and rules. Someone new to the industry or an unrepresented client may skip things like an appraisal or home inspection, only to find out later that the home she bought or sold has a much different value than she imagined. Not doing a home inspection simply because the house looks perfect on the outside can lead to expensive internal repairs later on. These are things that an experienced agent will always recommend a client complete.

A qualified and experienced real estate agent is always in the best interest of the client. The real estate market is extremely complex and there are many different factors that can affect a sale. An experienced broker can also help a client assess the market and tell them when is the best time to buy or sell. An agent is always on the client’s side and is always looking for the best possible deal for the client.

Snapchat has introduced a unique new feature called ‘Snapchat Memories’ that allows users to keep their videos and photos for a little longer than before. It’s a shareable and searchable library of snapshots that can be accessed within the app. This feature saves snaps on Snapchat servers which are automatically put together as saved snaps which are then divided into different categories based on location.

Additionally, users can also search using a keyword such as hotel, food, and lounge.

The Snapchat Memories feature can be used next month when users update the app via Android and iOS respectively. As soon as it is available, the user will receive a snapshot from Team Snapchat.

The main camera interface of the Snapchat app now has a new additional icon that is present below the camera button. You have to swipe up to access Snapchat memories. The user can then see a series of tabs that will allow them to switch between viewing stories, snapshots, and even their camera content, respectively.

· How to make Memories?

To create a new memory, the user must develop a plugin using all the stickers and filters of their choice. Then you need to click the save icon to download the plugin to your gallery or camera roll. So instead of the plugin being saved to the roll, it will be stored in the Memories section.

Interestingly, a story can be remarkably created through the Memories feature. This can be done in the Memories section, where you’ll need to long-press on a particular plugin, then tap the ‘/My Plugin’ icon at the top of the screen. Once done, you need to tap on the ‘Create a story from this plugin’ icon and then choose any additional plugins you want to add as well. Lastly, you can easily submit or save this new plugin.

But one point to remember is that when a user posts a story snapshot that was taken in the last 24 hours; he will get the frame around it along with the timestamp. Also, photos of eggplant, if any, can be deleted in the ‘For My Eyes Only’ section within the Memories feature. For this, the user must press and then press and hold the plugin. Then you need to tap on ‘My Snap’ and choose ‘My Eyes Only’ respectively.

The best part of the Memories feature is that the snapshots that are saved from other devices can also be accessed.

Therefore, it can be said that Snapchat is good as long as it is used correctly. If parents do not regularly check on children, then they must bear the consequences.

If you want to renovate or build your kitchen, keep in mind that it will be a serious company. Before you choose new appliances, don’t forget to do your homework and find out exactly what you need. In this article, we are going to share with you some tips to help you shop for kitchen essentials. Keep reading to know more.

1. Plan your Menu

First of all, make sure you create a list of the items you really need. In other words, you may want to create your menu to get started. This will help you know what kind of essential items you need to invest in. This will include all the items you can’t manage without.

2. Set your budget

Without a doubt, you are going to pay a lot of money for new business equipment. If you’re going to renovate your kitchen, make sure you set a budget first. Once you’ve set your budget, don’t make the mistake of crossing the line.

What you have to do is strike a balance between price and quality. Although you can opt for high-quality appliances, make sure you don’t cross the limits of your budget. Spending a little more and getting quality items is another story. If you can’t afford an item, don’t go for it.

3. Measure your Space

Although it’s a no-brainer, most homeowners don’t measure their space. So what you need to do is measure your space to make sure the items you have purchased can fit in the available space,

Once you’ve made your space, you can request new equipment. You can measure the entrance to ensure that the desired equipment can enter.

4. Look for energy efficient items

When shopping for kitchen essentials, it can be difficult for you to decide what you need. You need to consider some important factors such as the cost of the equipment and the cost of operating the equipment. In other words, you need to make sure that the products you are going to buy are profitable.

In this case, you’re better off buying appliances that come with an energy star rating. The good thing about these products is that they are energy efficient and stand the test of time.

5. Stick to local codes

Be sure to follow all local codes or you can be hit with heavy fines. In other words, you should be familiar with all fire, building, and health rules and regulations in your area before purchasing kitchen essentials.

It is even better if you contact officials and inspectors before investing in new equipment. This will help you stay on the right track and search for the best products.

To sum it up, we suggest you follow these tips before shopping for kitchen essentials for your new kitchen. We hope that these tips will help you make the best decision.

A strong social media presence can be a challenge for B2B (business to business) insurance agencies. Many B2B companies struggle to display their professionalism and build an audience through social media marketing. Consider the following tips to ensure your agency maximizes its social media marketing efforts.

Create your persona online

Your presence on social networks must have a well-defined personality. Informative, helpful, engaging, timely, and relevant are all characteristics that top B2B social media accounts consider when building their online persona. Decide how your voice will sound online. Will you be formal or informal, speaking to individuals or companies, sounding like a reporter or contributor to an op-ed? Will you share company employee events, create contests, report on industry changes or regulations, or all of the above? Your agency’s goal is to create a relationship and a sense of community with clients and prospects. But first you need to determine your personality on social media.

Create a written strategy that includes the prospect scorecard and buyer persona

When creating your marketing strategy, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is your target audience online and how diverse is this group? Start by creating a prospect dashboard.
• Which social platforms will best target that audience? You may need to look across the different platforms to see which social media platforms are most applicable to your customers and prospects.
• What type of content will that target audience find most useful? Would it be infographics, long articles, technical support information, breaking news commentary, regulatory updates, or some combination of all of these?
• What are your short-term and long-term goals on social media? Perhaps your short-term goal is simply to share content consistently. And your long-term goal includes an ad budget for growth and lead engagement.
• How do your competitors use social networks? You can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do by studying your competitors.

Comment on news and regulations relevant to your target industries

Offering commentary on breaking news and changing industry regulations is a great way to demonstrate your knowledge in your industry and provide your customers with information on how to understand these updates. This can lead to higher levels of engagement and increased exposure to your social media pages. You can use Google alerts and social media alerts to monitor industry keywords and stay on top of dynamically changing events.

Organic Posts vs. Paid Posts

Once your insurance agency consistently posts quality content, you can consider posting and ads. You may want some guidance with this as budget can be quickly spent and multivariate split testing with attractive images and custom charts can dramatically improve your reach and ROI.

Build a respectable fan base

Looking professional and demonstrating a respectable number of followers and level of engagement is half the battle when starting your insurance social media marketing initiative. The main platforms your agency should be leveraging are: LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, probably in that order, although your target markets might affect this. LinkedIn and YouTube can be very valuable for B2B companies. LinkedIn is a good place to start, it’s very much a business-focused platform. Then take advantage of YouTube using videos, recorded webinars, or even simple voice updates in PowerPoint. Try to build your fan base as quickly as possible, to a respectable number. For example, this could be 500 followers on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Although 5,000 or more would be excellent, initially your agency is striving for a baseline of professionalism and credibility.

Can you be a best friend and a mother to your child? I remember as a kid I went through that phase where I wasn’t happy with my parents. I didn’t really talk to them about anything that was really going on in my life or share my feelings. Over time, I really found a best friend in my mother. What a gift this was to me! We went to many places together like shopping, to the movies and at home we watched television together. How angry I was with myself for having wasted so many years not treasuring her or sharing my life with her.

When I had my children I promised myself that I would do my best to be not only a good mother, but also a better friend. My mother passed away at a young age by today’s standards and I was heartbroken to think of the time lost in my younger years. This would mark the path I set out to follow and it would be for my children what my mother was for me, who was my best friend.

To understand and follow this concept, of course, parenting must come first. There still has to be discipline and rules. This does not mean that you always say yes to your child when he asks you for something. This goes far beyond his usual daily family life. I have made an effort to truly listen to my children, yes this can be difficult at times, especially now that I have my teenage daughter telling me things that must almost make my eyes pop out of my head. Ever since they were little, I made it a point to go into their rooms and talk to them about their day, not just about schoolwork and what they were feeling at the time. When they told me secrets, yes, for the most part I kept them, unless it was something that really needed to be shared.

Whenever I could, I made it a point to spend time alone with them outside of the house. This could be a trip to the store or a meal, with just one of them so they would have me to themselves and talk freely. For my teenage son, I go to his room and have what we call “Pow Wow’s” where he can ask me anything and I do my best to answer his questions honestly. Now his friends come over and invite me into the living room to ask them questions they’re afraid to ask their own mothers. By gaining my daughter’s trust, we would continue to grow closer and closer. She knew I was someone she could turn to and wouldn’t judge me, but would listen and really help with experienced advice. I also got to be the designated parent to do all the driving for them, sometimes at crazy times I might add.

This is something that I was lucky enough to start very early with my children, this is not to say that it doesn’t work when they are older, as I am living proof that it does, having lost so many years of time with my mother as my best friend as well. Personally, I think maybe it would have happened before her if I had been more comfortable with her during those difficult teenage years. The years go by very quickly and there is no better time than today to make the effort, take the necessary steps and choose to be part of your child’s life, instead of seeing it from outside her world. Of course, remember that you are still the father, but with trust, time, and love, you might as well be best friends with him.

Of all the systems in your body, your digestive system is the most important. Why? Because your digestive system helps pass the nutrients and energy you get from food into your body. If your digestive system isn’t working properly, you don’t get the nutrients you need to survive and function in daily life.

In many cases, people don’t realize they may have problems with digestion and are missing out on living life to its fullest potential. Most people see persistent heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation simply as the consequences of living a fast life or the downside of getting older. For many men, especially when their cast-iron stomachs seem to turn to tin, they just brush it off thinking that this is how life goes as they get older.

Your digestion actually begins inside your mouth as you chew your food. When food goes down your throat and into your stomach, stomach acid immediately begins to break down the food into the amino acids and nutrients you need. This is where the problems can start. If you eat too many processed foods, your body can develop a low amount of stomach acid. This will make it more difficult to get nutrients from the food you eat.

Digestive system and your love life

Having problems with your digestive system can also affect your love life. Many men with digestive system problems also have trouble getting and/or keeping an erection. The reason that problems with your digestion can cause you to have erectile dysfunction is due to the fact that when your body lacks nutrients, it retains nutrients from other body systems that are not needed for survival. Therefore, your reproductive system is the first to suffer from lack of nutrition.

There are many other reasons a person may have problems with their digestive system. Diseases like Cohen’s disease can wreak havoc on a person’s body. Diseases like these are said to be incurable, but there is a way to live with them and still restore your digestion.

Watching what you eat and how much you eat is one of the first ways to help restore your body’s natural functions. The first thing to stop eating is a lot of processed foods. Bologna, fast food, and many sugary sweets are processed foods and can cause a lot of trouble for your digestive system. The reasons these foods cause so much trouble is due to the chemicals used in processing that make these foods difficult to digest. They literally stay in the body, slowly poisoning you.

Switch to much more natural foods. Start eating more fruits and vegetables, and stay away from high-fat cooked foods. I know it seems difficult, but it’s the best thing to do. Eating healthy will allow your body to flush out all those toxins and begin to rebuild and restore your digestive system. Once these toxins are gone, you’ll have more energy and feel better.

Above all, eating right can help eliminate erection problems caused by poor digestion. Remember that the body will deprive other systems of nutrients if they are deemed to be unimportant to the body’s survival, so changing your eating habits is key to solving this problem. Once your body’s natural balance has been restored, your body will begin to restore nutrients to all parts and systems of the body. Of course, this will restore erectile function to its previous state.

It is vital that we take care of our health. Not just for our sake, but for the sake of those we love. Think of couples who are having problems with intimacy right now. All of this could be fixed with just a change in diet. Restore your health, restore your love life. All you have to do is restore your digestive system.

It’s no secret that a rather alarming number of UK students are making incorrect references to their homework. An article in the Sunday Times (Jones, 2006) claims that up to 10% of all grade level submissions commit some form of plagiarism – the act of copying or copying someone else’s work. That’s a significant number of cheaters, but here’s the deal: the majority of 10% have done so unintentionally. What happens is that they don’t reference their sources correctly and although it’s a harsh result, it counts as plagiarism.

There are various ways of referencing the sources of your research, but the main method in the UK, and the one used by 95% of universities, is the Harvard system. This is a style that gives importance to the author of the information and the date it was made available to the public. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple: more information about the source is required, and the order in which it appears is important. To get an idea, check out the following examples of the most popular referral types:

Books

Formula: Author, Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of the book, CityPublished: Publisher, p. pages

Example: Rowling, JK. (2006) Harry potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 24-25.

Website

Formula: Website (Year) Page title, [online] Available at: URL [Accessed: date].

Example: BBC News (2009) Apple’s iPhone overtakes Blackberry as smartphone sales soar, [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk [Accessed: 12 Oct 2010].

Newspaper

Formula: Author, Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of the article, newspaper title, Day and month of publication, p. pages

Example: Smith, J. (2008) Market Crashes as Inflation Rises, The Guardian, June 7, p. Four. Five.

In addition, they have to be arranged alphabetically by author, and also require italic style in some places. It’s not easy. It is, however, a necessity: Oxford Brookes University has its own team of 14 academic misconduct officers who investigate cases of plagiarism caused by incorrect or non-existent references (Jones, 2006), and automated software such as Copycatch and Turn It In will also detect a foul. Reference in seconds. If caught, students could face failure or expulsion.

So what is the answer? Fortunately, for those who don’t have an extreme memory for boring formulas, there are websites that can prepare your entire reference list in the right style and format for you; all you need to provide are the details that are easily found in the source of the information itself. There are several feature-rich tools available on the Internet, including Neil’s Toolbox, Scotchbib, and CiteThisForMe. They all follow the Harvard referencing style and will produce a correctly formatted reference if you enter the relevant data.

To conclude, don’t underestimate the importance of references: it seems like a trivial section at the end of an assignment, but without it most of your work might be worthless, and don’t wait to find out firsthand.

JONES, S. (2006) On the lookout for imitators, The Sunday Times, June 2006

One question I get asked repeatedly is “how do we know if we’re ready?” Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as doing it when you see a pop-up window like a well-done turkey indicator, or an alarm that goes off saying “it’s time” so you know it’s time to strip down and join in the fun.

It’s also important to note that sometimes “almost ready” is quite ready; if I had waited to do things until I was 100% sure, then there is a long list of things I would never have tried and many things I would have missed. Mr Wonderful wasn’t 100% swinging, but when we got into it, it got ready and now it’s part of our regular lives (if you can call it that).

So while it’s not a simple “yes, we’re ready,” there are signs to let you know that you can at least start dipping your toes in the shallow end of the spinning pool. Although these are not the only signs, they are the most important and must be present before making the final decision.

1. BOTH are curious! Let’s face it, if only one of you is interested in checking it out, then you as a couple are not ready. Entering this lifestyle for someone else, or dragging your partner into it (potentially kicking and screaming) is more likely to cause additional problems than keep everyone happy. Sometimes it takes a while for the second partner to arrive, but if you’re patient and allow them to do what they have to do so they’re comfortable with the idea of ​​trying, then when they’re ready, you. Both are ready to go (as long as the following two signs are present).

2. You can effectively communicate your thoughts AND feelings, and you both actively resolve problems as they arise. You are about to take your relationship into new territory and you will never know how you will react until you are. in the situation. You can’t account for everything that might make you feel frustrated, uncomfortable, or even jealous (trust me, even those who aren’t normally jealous have been jealous for one reason or another). If you have excellent communication skills and strategies together, no matter what comes up, you will be able to get through it, even if each experience strengthens your relationship instead of damaging it.

3. You can read your partner! If you have been together long enough, after a while you can tell what mood your partner is in by looking at them or observing their behavior. Being able to read each other can be a great relationship protector when you get involved in an exchange situation if one of you is not doing well. I think this is the criteria new couples often lack because they haven’t been together long enough to know each other’s signs or behaviors. It’s not enough to ask your partner if they’re okay and move on if they say yes, because sometimes they’re not. It takes maturity to realize that your partner is not okay and make the decision to leave the party and address their needs. Trust me, it can be hard to walk away from hot, wild, raunchy fun, and just as hard to tell your partner you’re not okay, so be able to read your partner and act on who you know they are. the truth about what they say will make all the difference.

Swinging is the ideal relationship builder when you have all the basic foundations in place, but at the end of the day your relationship has to be the number one priority, as well as your partner’s needs and desires. You’re a team as you go through this and as a team you deal with whatever comes up, so keeping that in mind as you head into new and exciting territory will be a saving grace in those moments when you have to choose between fun new and take a step back to help your partner work through the things that have come your way.

There’s a more complete relationship readiness test in The Essential Guide for Adventurous Couples Who Want to Explore Threesomes, Foursomes, and More, if you really want to be ready to take this step. It goes into detail about how to get started and answers many of the “what if” questions many new couples have about their relationship, the changes, and what to expect. Being informed is what takes away the fears and worries and arms you with the tools you need to make the transition as smooth as possible.

As long as you are interested and open, able to communicate and read yourself, then you will have the most important elements to cope with the transition from vanilla to swinger! Are you ready?

I talk a lot about establishing and maintaining control of sales calls: it’s important for us as sales professionals to direct the conversation in such a way that we get the information we need to determine if the prospect is a good fit for our offer, and if if so, what is the best way to position it for them. In this post, I’ll discuss one area where a small, easy-to-implement tweak can make a measurable difference in results: asking for permission.

Why bother asking permission?

On the surface, asking our prospects for permission seems like a weak move. We’re temporarily losing control, briefly handing over the reins of the conversation to the prospect and giving him an outlet if he’s really looking for one. So why do we do it? Before we look at the benefits, let’s take a look at the potential drawbacks to understand why they’re not so disastrous after all.

You are giving the prospect control of the call.

We are? Most of the time, asking for permission takes the form of a closed question (yes or no) to which we are pretty sure the answer will be yes. We’ve given the prospect control of the call in the same way that a McDonald’s employee has given a customer control of the menu by asking if “would you like fries with that.”

You’re giving the prospect an easy out!

Absolutely. This concept of ‘giving prospects a way out’ is outdated and worth walking away from altogether. Your call should strategically incorporate ways for the prospect to release if they are not interested for two reasons:

1. It’s a litmus test against prospect interest: If you’re looking for outlets, you haven’t done your job of arousing their interest.
2. The corollary is that if we’re giving the prospect opportunities and they don’t take them, we know they’re interested, and we’re subtly reinforcing that interest in the minds of our prospects by forcing them to demonstrate it repeatedly!

Having addressed the apparent drawbacks, let’s take a look at the benefits:

We reinforce our image of educated professional.

Asking permission is the polite thing to do, and with the vast majority of prospects, being polite will go a long way toward establishing trust and respect.

We give the prospect the ability to provide information while restricting their ability to divert the conversation.

Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a one-sided conversation. Even if the prospect has shown that he is okay with us taking the call, we still want him to feel included in that conversation. Open-ended questions also play a role, but a simple request for permission can go a long way in making the prospect feel engaged while keeping you in control of the wheel.

We’re engaging prospects more in the conversation and in our service offering by scaling the consent we seek.

This is the most important benefit: Closing a deal is simply the last step in a growing chain of consent. Ultimately, we need the prospect to say “yes” when we apply for the business; therefore, it works to our advantage to “get them used” to answering yes before closing that deal. Asking returns the potential customer’s attention to where you want it and makes them feel more interested in the call. Subtly, even subconsciously, they think to themselves, “Well, if I wasn’t interested, I might have said ‘no,’ so I should pay attention.” Ideally, asking for business should always be framed in a context of prior consent. We start by asking for their permission to introduce them: show them our website, do a live demo, send them a proposal, call them back on a specific date, and ultimately ask their permission to start working for them.

To illustrate these benefits, I’m going to go through a couple of examples of situations where a seller might ask for permission and highlight how it benefits them:

Opening of the call

Representative: Hi John, my name is Bill from XYZ Company. I am contacting you because I took a look at your website and I think I can help you improve your lead generation capabilities.

Prospect: Thanks, but I don’t have time for this right now.

Representative: I certainly understand, John. Is it okay if I take two minutes to briefly explain what we can do for you? If that sounds interesting, we can set up a follow-up call, and if not, I’ll leave you alone.

Prospect: Sure. Two minutes. Shoot.

It would have been easy here to gloss over the “I’m busy, call me later” objection and start pitching anyway. But of course, you’re not being very polite, are you? You also have no idea if the potential client is listening to you or if he is mentally thinking about going back to what he was doing before you called. Finally, we’re missing the opportunity to start establishing “yes momentum”: at the end of the day, if the prospect stands their ground and doesn’t give you two minutes, you haven’t lost anything, you can still call. come back later (maybe they were Really busy), or cross them off your list. There is practically no downside.

Going to the demo

Rep: John, are you in front of a computer?

John: I am.

Rep: What I’d like to do, John, is take you to a website that we’ve worked on for a client of mine. He is in his industry and I think he will give you a more concrete idea of ​​exactly what we can do for you. It sounds fair?

John: Sure, what’s the site?

Again, it would be easy to ask them if they’re in front of a computer and, if they are, direct them to the site, but we’d miss a great opportunity to ask permission. We make ourselves appear educated, we are not forcing anything on the prospect, simply suggesting a course of action that will allow them to better evaluate our service. Again, if the prospect rejects your request, it’s not because you haven’t intimidated them, but because you haven’t tried hard enough to generate interest early in the call before attempting the transition (or perhaps simply because of limitations). legitimate time slots, in which case they should be willing and eager to set up a follow-up call). Either way you’re doing them Lean on – engage more and admit to you (and for themselves) that Yesthey are interested in seeing a live demo. Subtle, but powerful.

the closure

John: Well this is all looking great, what are the next steps?

Representative: Glad to hear it, John. How about I pass you some packages and you can tell me which one makes the most sense? Works for you?

John: Sure, shoot.

This is just one example of a way to work permission in our closure. Here we can see that our intrepid hero has opted for a multiple choice closure (a form of closed closing question where we present the prospect with a series of options to choose from, none of which are “no thanks” or “give me some time”). It’s a powerful closure on its own, but adding a permission request is the perfect complement. One of the problems with close closing tools is that we can make the prospect feel boxed in: he becomes wary and even though everything lines up and I want to buyThat’s why they put up last-minute walls. In this case, we have circumvented that concern by giving them a way out. We said, “Hello, potential customer, I’d like to close it with multiple options. Is that ok?” And they have agreed. BOOM! That’s power. We’re also cutting the foreground into more digestible parts that will be easier for the client to swallow: “Yeah, that sounds good.” “Yes, I want to work with you.” “Yes, I would like to hear your options and choose one.” By scaling the consent we ask for slowly, we encourage prospects more and decrease the likelihood of scaring them away when applying for business.

These are just a few examples, but there are many more ways asking permission can be included in your sales calls. As with any tool, it should be sprinkled throughout the presentation so it doesn’t sound forced or scripted, but it’s an effective litmus test of potential client interest and helps us get closer to closing with minimal risk of rejection. Do you ask permission on your calls? What are some of the questions you like to ask and why? Any comments or questions are welcome in the section below, and as always, if you’ve found this information useful, please share it with anyone else who might also enjoy it!