Schuetz

Government statistics show that men succeed at quitting smoking almost twice as often as women do. Why is it harder for women to quit smoking than it is for men?

Most women started smoking during their teen years, to make them look more sophisticated, and appear older. Over the years, their wish came true. Female smokers look between five and ten years older than their actual age. This is because smoking harms the skin tissue that keeps it taunt and resilient, in addition to all the other ways smoking ages your body.

The Surgeon General first reported on smoking and health in 1964. At that time, about twice as many men were smoking than women were. Now, the roles have reversed, and there are more women smoking than men.

One of the reasons that more women are smoking, and that they find it harder to quit than men do, is that many women smoke for emotional reasons. In addition to the nicotine addiction, women must deal with the reasons why they smoke before they can successfully quit smoking for good.

Women have much greater responsibilities now than they did fifteen or twenty years ago. It is more challenging to raise children; there are job pressures and insecurities, as well as financial concerns to deal with. For many women, a cigarette gives them a five or ten minute break from the pressures of their daily life. That is hard to give up.

Another major concern of women smokers is that they will gain weight when they stop smoking. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia found that the average weight gain for women that stopped smoking was about five pounds. Women who quit as part of an overall health improvement program, that included regular exercise, a healthy diet, and stress management had no weight gain at all.

Next time you light up, take a minute and think about why you want that cigarette. Is it because of an addiction to nicotine? On the other hand, is it because you need a moment to escape from the daily race? Keep track of how many times you use your smoking habit as an escape route. Then, find another activity that you can use to get away from your stress. A five-minute walk around the office, a soothing cup of tea, or even a ten minute music break with relaxing music and headphones can provide a much needed break, without harming your health.

Once you incorporate better stress management methods into your day, you will find it much easier to deal with the nicotine addiction, and quit smoking for good.

Gerri Stone is an R.N. and ex-smoker who publishes resources and tips on stopping smoking at http://www.greatquitsmokinginfo.com

Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.

In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities. The time it takes prospects to align all of their internal stars and planets for a buying decision can create painfully long sales cycles.

In the audio book, Sound Advice on Sales Strategies, Sharon Drew Morgen maintains that conventional sales precepts are the underlying cause for this and the other problems salespeople are experiencing.

According to Morgen, we need to rethink effective sales skills. The new sales definition must help buyers make decisions.

Buyers no longer need us to sell product, they need help making sense of the ever increasing complexity within their environments, says Morgen. They need help understanding and supporting all of the elements that will face change when adopting a new solution.

When a group makes a purchase, it affects their system of rules, norms, relationships, and initiatives. Its vital that the inherent systems be maintained or it will fight to keep itself static, says Morgen. Buyers will wait until they understand how to maintain equilibrium before bringing in change.

The solution, says Morgen, is a new sales paradigm called Buying Facilitation. Buying Facilitation is a sequencing method that supports buyers in managing all of those idiosyncratic variables that make up a prospects status quo. Its basis is to expeditiously align systems the people, the management, the budget, the initiatives, and the partners in order to add a foreign element into the system without chaos.

Instead of basing your communications on discovering needs or pitching features to sell, teach buyers how to line up all of their unique decision variables and criteria to create a solution for themselves. In this way, youll become a true trusted advisor.

Sharon Drew Morgen, best-selling author of Selling with Integrity, offers sales advice each week in the free audio newsletter from Whats Working in Biz, http://www.whatsworking.biz/full_story.asp?ArtID=92

About The Author

Richard Cunningham is a principal of Whats Working in Biz, http://www.whatsworking.biz, a publisher of business audiobooks and online audio programs on marketing, sales, and small business strategies.

A Jeep mountain bike conjures up pictures of the rugged comfort, and performance with visual appeal, of the well-known vehicle. This is exactly what this bike range offers.

The company has created options in all different aspects of mountain biking, from children to adults, full suspension to hardtail, freeride and other models.

Jeep mountain bike frames are tough and good-looking, and have a limited lifetime warranty. Jeep only uses components from the most respected names in mountain biking. They have developed a range that will satisfy anyone who appreciates the Jeep tradition, but wants to use pedal power as a green option to energy consumption!

Young riders are catered for with the Jeep Mountain Bike Commando range. In the Commando TJ20, the exclusive T-Youth frame, hand brake, and coaster brake spells safety and control. A kickstand, fender, and padded frame are standard features. The Commando TSI model sports full suspension, with a twist shift 7-speed drive-train.

The adult range Jeep mountain bikes include Full, and Dual Suspension models.

The flagship is the New Jeep Rubicon All Wheel Drive line, designed to tackle the toughest terrain with tenacity. The Jeep Mountain Bike Rubicon Classic and Rubicon Sport harness the advanced innovative All Wheel Drive system, featuring an engagement clutch for a 'shift-on-the-fly' option.

The bottom-line is vastly improved front wheel traction on any terrain, come sand, snow, mud, or rain. The system can also be engaged when losing traction in the back wheel, and adds power to the front. Smooth power transmission are offered by spiral cut gears. This Jeep mountain bike offers all-round improvement in control. Whether climbing, or descending, you will feel the grip on the ground. Slippery slopes are no threat to these bikes.

Another toughie is the Wrangler SE Jeep Mountain Bike . This is built on Jeep's teardrop aluminum chassis, and has a solid Jeep shock fork. It is not a dual suspension bike, but a hardtail Jeep mountain bike, with the ability to climb effortlessly, and to cope equally well with light trails or city biking. Gear shifting is easy, and the brakes have strong and dependable stopping ability.

The Jeep Mountain Bike Cherokee Sahara Dual Suspension gives performance and comfort in a high-tech bike. It has a 21-speed drive-train, easy-twist gear shifter, and an all-aluminum linkage dual suspension, as well as extra frame gussets for strength. It has metal pedals, disc brakes, and Kenda knobbly tires for grip.

If you are battling to fit this Cherokee Jeep mountain bike into your suitcase, you should perhaps consider the Jeep Cherokee Folding Bike as an alternative...

The 20" folding mountain bike takes up only 8 cubic feet of space. It takes only a few seconds to have your ride ready for the trail. The full suspension frame makes for a smooth ride, and the 6-speed indexed gear shifting loves to take to the hills. It includes mudguards, and a kickstand.

In the past, the Jeep mountain bike range has been seen as a good, reasonably priced option for beginners.

Many improvements later, with the Rubicon at the ready, even the big boys may just start to glance furtively in the direction of these Jeep mountain bikes...

For more information visit Best-Mountain-Biking.com

Rika Susan of Article-Alert.com researches, writes, and publishes full-time on the Web.

Copyright of this article: 2006 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box and hyperlinks are left intact.

Okay, so your marketing has paid off - you have new customers. The key to growing your business is to effectively communicate and leverage these new customers into advocates for your products and services and purchasers of additional services.

This can be done in a variety of ways. However, some basics steps must be followed to ensure retention. Here are a few tips you can use to develop long-term relationships with newly acquired customers.

1. Proactively shape impressions about your business. Whether you're sending a welcome message, making the first contact via phone, or sending a letter, be sure to position you company for the long-term. Often times, individuals buy products without knowing a whole lot about the company their buying from.

A popular tactic is sending a welcome kit or an overview letter that introduces your company, your values, and the additional resources you have available for your customers including a support email address, 1-800 number and so on. This lets you control your company's image among newly acquired customers. Otherwise, your customers are free to form their own opinion without any guidance whatsoever.

2. Categorize your customer. Is your customer a high potential? Are they a transactional buyer that will likely never buy from you again unless you offer the lowest price? By segmenting your buyers based on your existing database or known behaviors, you can develop customized communication plans to retain them for years to come. Some communication plan may be focused on up-sell while others may only be focused on retention. The communication plan you implement should be based on the proper categorization of your customer.

3. Show your thanks. Once you've acquired a customer, don't forget to thank them. This may seem trite, but done properly, this goes a long way. Often a hand-written note or personalized email from a company president can do the trick. The real key is to make the customer feel good about the purchase they've made and the company they've chose.

4. Provide consistency among all touch points. Once you've acquired a new customer, you must make sure that you provide a consistent user experience. For example, if the prospect contacts your technical support rep the first day after they've purchased a product and receive an answer to their question, then call the following day only to receive a different answer, they're going to lose faith in your company's ability to provide consistent and reliable support.

You can benefit greatly by developing procedures that can be documented and delivered consistently - meeting customer expectations. This builds trust in your business and can minimize defections. If the consumer knows they can count on you to give them what they need/want, they'll be willing to forgo a better price or promise of a better deal elsewhere.

5. Share customer testimonials on future marketing pieces. Many marketers believe that testimonials are only for prospects. The truth is that testimonials can help retain customers, especially new ones, when they are exposed to positive experiences of individuals just like them. In addition to sharing testimonials, it is always a best practice to ask newly acquired customers (within 30 days of purchase) for their feedback/testimonials.

The benefit of reaching out to your customers is that if a problem exists, you can react to it and if they have something positive to say about your product or business, it can be used to reinforce your brand. (Note: be sure to get permission to publish a customers testimonial).

These techniques are very effective for maximizing lifetime customer value. By shaping the image of your company, providing a consistent experience, and sharing testimonials for similar customers, you can develop a positive, lasting impression with your marketplace.

Most importantly, keep it simple. Don't overwhelm your new customers with tons of email, or direct mail. Develop a well thought-out communication plan that has a definite purpose. And most importantly, remember to thank your customers for choosing your company, product or service.

Michael Fleischner is a marketing expert with more than 12 years marketing experience. He has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. For more free marketing articles like this one, visit http://www.marketingscoop.com

Ah, the magical dance of flirting and seduction. "Does she like me?" "Will he go out with me?"

And for the swinger crowd "Theyre hot! Do you think they like us that way? Lets ask them out."

The same age old question repeats itself over and over again. And the world round, young men, young ladies, and couples, repeat the same mistake - they walk up to this person or couple theyre infatuated with and ask their question. "Will you go out with me"?

STOP! Dont do it! That question has ended more relationships (before they even started) than perhaps any other factor in the history of mankind. That question forces the other person (or couple) into a corner, and makes them pick a yes or no choice, without knowing much of anything about you. Your odds are bleak to none.

Instead, get to know this person or this couple in a casual and non-threatening way. Give them a chance to get to like you. Attraction is a very complex set of feelings, emotions, urges, desires.

But how do you escape the swamp lands of the "friend zone"?

This is where subtle flirting and seduction comes in. Make the other person or couple feel your interest and desire instead of telling them about it. And heres a magical fun fact: if they feel the same way, youll just know. Youll FEEL it in the sparks that are flying around you, in the highly charged atmosphere, in the frequent casual touching, the unusual proximity, etc.

Enjoy the dance.

The danger of course, is if youre wrong, you risk losing your friends. They may get freaked out and run away. Or they may just think it was cute or even flattering. But you wont know unless you try.

So HOW can you tell if they like you in that way and want to play?

Dear Dan and Jennifer,

My husband and I recently became friends with a couple our age and we have a really great time together. Its just that lately there has seemed to be this unusual tension. Through comments here and there and an occasional look, we thing they want to swing. How should I go about finding out if this couple wants to swing with us? We really like them and dont want to lose them as friends but theyre really hot too and its hard to resist.

Please help! Im tormented thinking about it.

Ellen in Mississippi

Watch this short video for our thoughts on this very interesting question

Wait. Get more great dating tips and relationship advice at www.AskDanAndJennifer.com. Ask us your most pressing questions about Dating, Relationships, Love, and Sex. Copyright 2007, AskDanAndJennifer.com. All rights reserved.

With a revitalization of turn of the century and older homes, has come a number of concerns regarding the integrity of these older homes and the health concerns that are synonymous with older building materials. The increasing popularity of character homes has almost created a market unto itself. Heritage homes are selling for more and more money as buyers see the endless possibilities in renovating and restoring these beautiful homes. Be prepared if you decide to purchase such a home that there may be some things you will need to do to get the home into pristine condition if it has not been renovated recently.

The first thing that you want to do with an older home is to ensure that the home itself is on solid footing. This means having the foundation inspected. What you are going to want to be looking for in a foundation inspection is signs of deterioration and water damage. Deterioration can cause long-term problems because as the foundation deteriorates the home settles onto a base that is not stable. Water damage on the other hand, especially in the foundation can cause mold. The foundation of a home is dark and moist, a perfect breeding area for mold. It is absolutely imperative that the home's foundation is watertight.

Another important thing to check for in old homes is the presence of lead. Lead was extensively utilized in older homes in both piping for plumbing and in paints. As anyone now knows lead can be quite harmful if it is in our immediate environment. Another major concern in old buildings is the presence of asbestos. This material was used extensively in construction as a fire retardant and has been proven to be extremely harmful. If asbestos is present in a home it should be the highest priority to get rid of it. Take note that a special contractor who is licensed specifically for working with asbestos is required to remove this material.

Always be sure when purchasing an older home to have it inspected thoroughly and completely. Be sure that your investment is safe by today's standards before you make the purchase.

Jake Marsh is an experienced, professional real estate agent with a degree in marketing, who specializes in Denver, Colorado real estate For access to Denver MLS listings, contact Jake today.

We often spend large amount of money while buying an insurance policy. Therefore, we need to think in deep about the kind of the insurance policy which we want to take and the amount of money that we want to invest.

The travel insurance covers financial or other losses incurred while travelling, which can be within the country or internationally. The most common kind of the risks which are covered by the travel insurance is the loss, damage or theft to personal possessions and money including your travel documents, medical expenses, cancellation, curtailment, delayed departure, accidental death, overseas funeral expenses, emergency evacuation/repatriation disablement, legal assistance, personal liability and rental car damage.

In addition to this, you may even purchase specific insurance policy for the purposes like high risk sports (skiing, scuba-diving), travelling to high risk countries (due to natural disaster and war) and pre-existing medical conditions like (asthma or diabetes).

Now, as far as the travel insurance is concerned, our decision requires some more amount of planning. This is because this insurance is useful for us as we are away from our home. If you are planning to by an insurance policy then some tips may help you in buying the best insurance policy.

The Travel insurance should be sought at the time of booking a trip, so that it can cover exactly the insurance of that trip. You can seek a travel insurance policy from a travel agent, directly from any travel insurance companies or the travel suppliers such as cruise lines or the tour operators. In addition to this, the online brokers can also help you to find out a suitable insurance deal.

However, before buying an insurance policy, you should ensure that whether they are giving you 24-hours assistance or not. Before signing any document, you should read the documents carefully and thoroughly. If you have bought the travel insurance, then you should make sure that you have kept a copy of your insurance policy while travelling. It is advisable to possess all such documents as it would be easy to make urgent mediclaims and other claims as well.

Webmaster
compare insurance
travel insurance

Incase you do not know what Halitosis is, it is a chronic disease of bad breath. The degrees of severity depend on each different case. Sometimes you are on the verge of getting it, or already have a semi-small case of it. If you keep good and practical dental hygiene you will most likely not suffer or develop Halitosis. Basically the disease will spread by the means of left over debris of food in your mouth.

As we all know that if we do not brush our teeth for quite a while, our breath will start to smell very badly, as well as leave a rather disgusting after taste in it. It usually happens when you do not brush your teeth as much as recommended on a regular basis.

There are different recommendations for a good dental hygiene, but the most typical one, as I am sure that we all know by now, is brushing your teeth 3 times a day after every meal that you consume. Not only is it good dental hygiene brushing your teeth, but is also flossing and possible even using mouthwash, this will get the left over debris that cause Halitosis.

If you are honestly too lazy to floss your teeth (let us hope that you are not), you may want to get a toothbrush that has floss bristles (brands such as Reach or some brand like that have many toothbrushes with those qualities). Just make sure that you brush your teeth, even if it is only twice a day.

Maria writes for halibreath.com offering free advice on bad breath. Visit the site, get your free bad breath bible, and get rid of your bad breath now.