A Sample Issue

Here's a sample copy of my newsletter.

Welcome! In this month's issue, we'll begin a new series on customer service. This month's article will discuss listening skills. Whether you work for yourself or someone else (by the way, see the quotes below), whether you work in a fancy corner office, or you have a desk set aside in your spare room, everyone needs to have good phone etiquette.

There is also an axcellent article by Maria Marsala entitled "What's 200 Words Have To Do With Your Computer?"

Finally, don't forget to check out what Mrs. Computer is up to.

Developing the Fine Art of Listening

One of the most important skills you can have to build your business is seemingly, simple, but few people know how to do it effectively. If you can train yourself to really listen to those around you, you are ahead of most people.

How many times have you talked to someone on the phone while either:

You might think you're really listening, but you'd be hard pressed to repeat half of the details of the conversation. And before you judge, if you're at work, and you're trying to file, answer phones, and wait on customers at the same time, you're guilty too! We as a society have trained ourselves to multi-task to the point that we're never truly performing at our best.

Now granted, sometimes you must do more than one thing at a time, but talking to a customer or prospect (or family member or friend, for that matter) is something that deserves your full attention. After all, how many times have you felt the need to have someone just listen to you?

Some easy habits to develop when you need to listen when you're on the phone are as follows:

Next time, we'll tackle how to handle upset customers or prospects.

(To read this complete article in PDF format, click here. You must have a PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded here at no charge. )

Quotes to Consider

• Never let anyone convince you that you don't work for yourself. Anonymous
• Friends are the people who build their houses in your heart. Stephen King, IT
• "Eaten any good books lately, Mr. Worf?" Q, Star Trek, TNG
• Before I criticize someone, I walk a mile in his shoes. Then if he gets angry, he's a mile away with no shoes. Anonymous

Title: What's 200 Words Have To Do With Your Computer?
Author: Maria Marsala

When I worked on Wall Street, I considered a move from one type of bond department to a new type of department. Even though I had been successful in the industry for 7 years, I was still afraid I that I wouldn't know how to be successful in my new department. Then I spoke with one of the other traders, George Adelle, who was also moving to the new department, about my fears. He said I'd do fine... I'd just need to learn some new words and a different way to do the math on this security. This conversation forced me to think and what I ended up realizing was that all that separates one thing from another is learning 200 new words! That's not only true for securities... it's true for so many things in life.

Take computers. They come with 200 new words you need to learn. Using email means learning a list of 200 acronyms. Each new program comes with its own 200 words to learn. Actually each new "thing" in life seems to come with its own 200 words! Next time you're about to stress out as you learn something new, remember... its just 200 new words!

Use the resources below to learn the meanings of any words or acronyms you come across as you learn more about your computer.

About the author:

Maria Marsala is an internationally known coach, author, and speaker. A former Wall Street trader and manager, she is the author of the ebook Thinking of Starting a Business... Let's Talk About What's Next.

Subscribe to her free ezine "Helping You and Your Business Grow" at http://www.coachmaria.com/ebook/download.html

Ask Mrs. Computer

How can I prevent pop-up ads while I'm surfing the 'net? They're driving me crazy.

You've got several different options. The simplest is to download a pop-up killer. I use a free one called Pop-Up Stopper Companion, that I found at www.panicware.com. It's excellent, it doesn't interfere with my other programs, and the price is right! They have other versions that do more, and the price is competitive on those as well. You can also make donations via Paypal.

I have a question about Access - how can I build drop-down boxes in Access forms and tables?

This gives a nice touch to databases, especially when you have to type the same entry in several forms, or if you want to have your choices "pre-typed".

For each drop-down box you need, create a new table in datasheet view. In the first column, type each choice that you'd like to have. Name that table the same name that you have in your main table (for example, a city list would obviously be named city). You also want to rename the column the same name as well.

Then in the main table, go into the design view. Select the field name you want, then click on the "data type" box. A drop down menu will show - choose lookup wizard. Choose the first choice (look up values in table or query). Select the appropriate table for your field and click next. Click the field you want displayed and click next. In the next screen, you'll have the option of re-sizing the column. Click next and name the lookup column (this should be the same name you chose earlier. You should be able to click Finish and be done. When you open your database in either form or table view, you will have a drop down menu in that box.

This can be repeated for each field. You can even have the same choices in more than one field - again,just choose the appropriate table. It's also very easy to add items to the table later, so you have more choice. You can even have your choices sorted - either alphabetically or in the order you originally placed them. Just right-click the table column header and select the sort value.

Tip of the Month-

Did you know you should clean your hard drive of temporary files and cookies on a regular basis? There are several ways to do it, but the easiest is to simply look on your hard drive for files named "Temp", "Temporary Internet" and "Cookies". These can build up quickly, especially if you surf the net very much and they may cause your computer to run less efficiently, or even to lock up completely.

Simply open each folder and click CTRL-A to select all files. Then click your delete button, then "enter". All files should then be deleted. Don't forget to empty your trash bin as well. I usually do this right before I shut down my computer. Just make sure you're in the right folders before you delete!