Build Your Coaching Business – How Many Calls a Week Do You Get from Your Website? Zero?

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There are three key things to know in any marketing and that includes your website.

  • How many people see it;
  • What Percentage of those that see it actually act on it;
  • And How many did you want to act on it.

Statistically over 99% of all websites don’t deliver what you, the coach, running a coaching business, wanted…..more clients.

The reason is very simple: very few manage the key measurements, How many see the website (your traffic); What is the conversion of the website (the percentage that are COMPELLED to act, to call you, to sign up, or whatever the action you designed…or did you design it?); And how many you wanted to call you each and every week. By the way, did you know that you COULD design your website, or any marketing for that matter, to deliver exactly what you wanted each and every week? Well you can….if you manage those three key measurements.

Do you have any idea why it hasn’t worked up until now? I mean, after all, didn’t you pay some web developer a lot of money to make that happen? Or did you do it yourself? The results are probably still the same….zero clients (or very very few anyway) from the website.

Let’s say, just for the fun of it, that you want 10 calls a week for your coaching. And, let’s also say that you close 50% of those. That would be 5 coaching sales a week. By the way, do any of those numbers sound familiar, or achievable? Maybe you’re doing something wrong, or ….not even managing the numbers?

If you want 10 calls a week, and let’s assume that your website converts 5% (do you even know what your website conversion is? Or are you managing it so that you get something like that? I’ve seen some websites hit 40% when they work on the conversion. In any case, 5% is our current target.) Wanting 10 calls a week, and with a 5% conversion, that means you have to deliver 200 people, your traffic to your site. So, how do you do that?

Let’s start with: Do you know how many people are looking for your coaching services every week on the internet? Go to http://inventory.overture.com , type in your type of coaching, and find out. (By the way, that site has a LOT of traffic, and may time out just waiting for your turn. If you get a “website not found” warning, or something similar, just keep trying. It will come up eventually. This is a very popular site.) The results your see will show you how many people are searching for that search phrase in a month on Yahoo. If you want to know how many are searching on Google, it’s approximately 2 times as many. So, the totals for the two most popular search engines are apprxoimately 3 times the numbers showing.

Here are some examples (just for Yahoo):

  • Business Coach 5,487
  • Life Coach 16,174
  • Career coach 2,508

There are a lot of other types of coaches, and different ways to search for each type of coach, so play with the search terms to see how many people are looking for you in what way. It might be a pretty big eye opener.

Now, let’s pick Life Coach with 16,174 people searching in a month. Let’s say that when those 16,174 people search they come across your listing on a major search engine, and if you are on page 1 of that search engine you get 5% of those searches, that’s 808 that end up on your website. And, if your website converts at 5%, that’s around 40 people giving you a call a month. Neat huh?

Do you come even close to that? Don’t forget that whatever you found, multiply that by 3 to get how many are searching on both Yahoo and Google.

There are lots of ways of capturing that 16,174 people, or at least directing them toward your website. Search engine optimization (consciously writing your website correctly so that the search engines put you on page one….not as hard as it may sound), using pay-per-click (sponsored advertising), article writing on ezines (you’re reading this aren’t you…that’s how you got here, and there’s a link at the bottom of the page to my website…see it does work!), and lots of other ways.

In any case, let’s look at a formula that explains this.

# people who see website X Percent converted = # calls, leads or whatever you want to call them.

You can either just wait for something to happen, which most coaches have been doing, or you can actively manage the three numbers to deliver exactly how many calls, or leads you want each and every week or month.

How?

For number of people seeing your website — actively work on search engine position, start up a pay-per-click campaign (only after making sure you have the conversion on the website), start article marketing campaign, and lots of others. Make sure you track the actual traffic to your website weekly, and manage it to get the results you want.

For Conversion – Write the website content that is targeted on your target audience’s pain or problems. Most coaches make the mistakes of “selling coaching” when the prospect is only interested in “do you understand his pain and problems” and “do you have a solution”. Therefore, when the website starts out: “I am a coach. Been in business 20 years.” or Company name, logo all at the top it takes 3 seconds for the prospect to flip to another website because he didn’t see anything about his pain, his problem, his solution. Notice the use of HIS here. It isn’t about you, your coaching, or anything about you. It is ONLY about your client’s problems, pains, solutions, results. They’d better be the first and only thing he sees in that first 3 seconds…..or he’s gone. In any case, measure your website conversion weekly and manage it to get 5% or greater conversion. If you’re not getting that, and most coaches report zero traffic and zero conversion to me before they start.

For number of leads or calls you want – Well … manage the other numbers. You can literally design the system, your website, your traffic, to deliver exactly what you want, and sometimes the surprise is that there are so many people looking but finding no one, that your chances are pretty good…..only after you start managing these key numbers.

So, coach, are you getting the potential calls per week or per month from your website?

So You Want A Career Change, But How Do You Decide Your Next Move?

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Competition for jobs has never been more fierce, so ensure you have decided on what you really want to do next in your ideal career before jumping from the frying pan to the fire (whether you’re currently working or not working). This requires taking a step back from browsing the vacancies, to ensure that you’re pursuing the best career path for you. Have you considered a fresh start? Lacking in new career ideas? So where do you begin?

Take a deep breath, and take the time to get a complete picture of yourself; likes, dislikes, strengths, values, goals… It can take time, because the natural urge is to just job hunt, but it’s vital to take a look at all of ‘you’ before careering (no pun intended!) into looking at specific jobs. How do you do this? I suggest you get started by writing a short biography, and to look at your highs and lows over the past, so that we can have as full a picture as possible of “you”. What have you achieved in your career that you’re proud of? What did you really enjoy? What problems or challenges have you encountered over the years, and how did you overcome these? Following these suggestions will give you as full a picture as possible of “you”. Some tips during this process would be:

• Be positive throughout – if it’s difficult, write down ten things that you like about yourself. This is often a challenge, but will help your mindset

• When writing your biography, look for clues to your values, and write them down.

• Think about whether you’re naturally a risk taker career-wise. If so what happened when you took risks? What happened when you didn’t?

• In tandem with the above, start to generate career traits/ideas/factors that appeal to you. Keep them as a list, collage, whatever works for you. Keep updating this list with new ideas as you go about your day. Be in a constant mode of enquiry.

The last point above is vital, and worthy of repeating. I understand the natural urge is to just job hunt, and focus on career ideas. I suggest that you generate factors about jobs you might like. Factors, not necessarily the job itself; so you could see a job advertised on a hoarding that you’d never consider, but an aspect of that role appeals – note it down. Don’t “edit” your ideas at this stage.

The exploration of oneself can also be a fun stage where I see “light bulbs” going on regularly, as realizations about past errors in career strategy are realised, and a plan to move forward is gradually laid down. This is a thorough process, and I urge you to take the time to explore all of your values, strengths, likes, and desires before rushing into job search per se.

After the exploration stage, I suggest that you enter what I call the “dream” phase. This is an exciting stage where you get to think outside of the box, be expansive, really go for it! What careers have you ever dreamt of doing? What jobs did you dream about when you were 5 years old? 10 years old? 15 years old? – No, don’t “edit” yourself”.

After this process you may have generated many many different job ideas (this process could happen over a few weeks, so you will hopefully have accumulated lots of ideas. By using the exercises you’ve done previously, and your own intuition, try to get to three possibilities. All three possibilities should meet your values, skills and abilities, and be something you feel truly passionate about. All three ideas should also stack up against all of the aspects of Life and Work, which you will have been recording throughout the process. After we have those three ideas, through the coaching process we then get to one idea! It’s this idea which you will take forward and formulate a plan of action to get you there! How do you get from three options to one? I suggest you ask yourself some searching questions:

• Referring back to the previous exercises, really drill deep down into each choice. Which makes you feel really enthusiastic?
• Ask yourself the potential pro’s and con’s for each choice
• Paint a “Word Picture” for each choice; see yourself doing the role in the future – write it down. How does it feel? What are you doing? Why do you love it so much? Could it be better?
• What results would you like to create for each possibility?
• Your final choice should be the one that’s most “alive” for you

Finally, I suggest that you create a practical, detailed, time bound action plan, which is a list of actions required to move you toward your career goal. Decide who you need to contact (or other action required), by when, and for what reason.

This detailed list of action points is vital to carry the whole process forward.

Whatever path or strategy you take with regard to career change planning, I hope that you will take that ‘step back’ to ensure that your needs and values are being fully served by your new career choice.

Careers After 50: The Value of a Temp Job!

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Careers after 50: developing appropriate experience to qualify for a planned career.

You’ve researched and studied a variety of proposed new careers. After speaking to others working in the field you’ve narrowed your list down to one or two possible new careers. However, you’ve found both require specific experience that you need to acquire.

Other qualifications for a new career after 50, for example, can be learned through self-study, distance learning, formal education and working with mentors. However, now you have the dilemma of getting the necessary experience to qualify for new career.

Let’s suggest a way to put you in a position to successfully compete for job in the new changed career. You might want to consider working for a temp agency, to get some desired experience or to discover if the suggested career is right for you.

Ask around for referrals to the right temp agency. Some temp agencies are specialists only working with specific careers and industries.

Re-draft your resume to put your best foot forward depending on the career and job. For each career you might want to restrict only signing up with two or three temp agencies. As you progress and learn more about specific temp agencies you can adjust your focus so you are only working with the best agency relative to the planned career.

Make it a point to see the temp agency recruiter, have a face-to-face interview and learn all you can about their services. Don’t forget this is a job interview and you want to show the recruiter how you would present yourself to a prospective employer.

Find out in advance if you are required to show specific technical skills at the temp interview and spend some time brushing up on the required skills prior to the interview.

Do some research regarding prospective wages you might expect. You’ll probably be asked what wage range you would accept. Also, you should learn what possible benefits might be available.

Many times temp assignments can last six months or longer. Be sure to tell the temp agency the length of assignment you would accept.

If the temp job is in a career you wish to qualify for, you may leverage yourself into being offered a full- time position. Or you gain enough relevant experience to qualify for a full-time career with another employer.

Don’t expect that you’ll be immediately moved into a desired temp position. Continue to contact the temp agency, at least once a week, to let them know you’re available for placement.

So the value to you using a temp agency in qualifying for a new career after 50 is: (1) Gaining required work experience, (2) Possibly being offered a job in the desired new career, (3) Bringing in some income while you prepare to change careers, or (4) Finding out the new career is not for you so you can research additional opportunities.

Thoughtful Ebook Writing – Construct Appealing Ebook Topic Goals

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Where Are You Going During Your eBook Trip?

When you plan a trip, in your mind you picture certain places you’d like to visit while on that trip. You desire to achieve certain goals. That same thing applies to writing an ebook. To interest your target market and yourself while writing the ebook, write out a plan and then enact that plan.

Professional writers first create a general topic outline of the article or book they’re about to write. If you do the same thing before you begin to write the e-book, you can decide pertinent information to put in the ebook. Knowing what you would like to achieve before you get started, you can make a highly targeted effort for your ebook.

Are You Writing Solely for Financial Gain?

Research shows that it’s best to write just because you want to share information. If you write mainly for financial gain, writing your eBook may seem very tedious. So decide if you’re going to write solely for financial gain. If you can, it’s always best to write just because you prefer to write. If you do what you love, the money will follow.

Are You Writing Your eBook to Help Your Online Target Audience?

Imagine just for a moment your online target audience consists of your brothers and sisters. They’ve asked you to help them solve a pressing problem. You know the answer and they’re craving your valuable information.

Writing your eBook to help your online target audience becomes a project instead of a problem if you write simply because you prefer to write. Projects are fun. Problems are, well, a problem. So if you dislike writing, hire a ghostwriter. Or simply change your attitude and realize that by writing an eBook that will help your brothers and sisters or friends, you can turn eBook writing into a fun project.

Are You Writing Your eBook to Drive Traffic to Your Website?

When you write an eBook to drive traffic to your website, it can be a great giveaway to build your list. If you’re writing an eBook to increase traffic to your site, you still want to provide valuable information for your readers. However you feel moved to write and publish your books, be sure to write it down. If you feel you’re getting lost in the process, review the ideas you wrote on your list. That’s a great way to keep you on track.

How To House Train A Dog

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How nice it is to own a pet dog. But taking care of them would not be as easy as it seem. Dogs should be trained accordingly so that taking care of them would not be a hassle to you or your housemates. To house train a dog, we first should know what could motivate our dog. Carefully look at your dog’s behavior and you would know exactly what makes them follow. In such time you already know what prompts your dog, you may now start house training your dog.

A four-month-old puppy is the best age to start house training a dog. Basic obedience is the primary training a puppy should learn. At first, you should also learn how to properly train your dog. Dogs are commonly motivated with toys or games and snacks. Number one motivational trick is offering snack to them. House training a dog may takes patience to you and your dog. As much as you hate getting them trained, the dogs hate it as well. Rewarding them with snacks right after doing something right will push them on doing it often. Combining rewards can enhance the dogs interest, mixing snack rewarding with games would entice them to remember and get use to doing the good deed. In that manner, dogs will always look forward on each of your training sessions.

Training time for beginners is two times per day at 15 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes. For starters, this time frame is good enough not to bore them and make them feel contained. To get all the dogs attention, seek a place where there’s no noise or any form of distraction that would divert their attention. They should focus on every aspect of the training so they would absorb the training fast. As you go along with the training, you may slowly introduce him to distractions. Unleashing the dog is necessary for house training, since mostly these dogs just wonder and roam around. Make sure before that before you let them free, see to it that the whole area is covered or fenced. And that the near end of the training you may now get train him outdoor with all the usual noise and people the dog may live around.

After training spare at least another 3 to five minutes of playing time. Letting the dog play with rubber toys, balls or any squeaky toys would reward all the attention they gave during your training. Food rewards is also good but it should only be in small amount so it would not ruin his appetite for his or her main meal. But is recommended that training sessions would before mealtime so they would treat their meal as their big reward.

Before house training a dog, be sure to at least have a collar and a leash. This will hold your dog near you. The three basic dog house training exercise is ” to come, sit and down”

To come – standing few feet away in front of the dog, still leashed, signal him the treat. As he reaches you, say, “come” and hand a treat in a joyous manner. This will show your dog that his first moves are praised. Repeat the exercise as you slowly drop-off treats. If the dog gets tired or bored, pet or reward them fast. Shouting is never valid in training a dog because it would enforce fear. Repeat the deed until the dog learns how to “come”, and then slowly introduce the command “sit”.

To sit – While standing, call the dog while with your hand holding a treat, raise hand over the dog’s head and signal to sit. The dog will responsively look up as you prompt you’re your hand up over its head. That act will force him to sit. As soon as he sits, reward him with a treat while saying, “sit”. Repeat this until he has learned how to sit. It is not necessary to always hand a treat. If the dog already understands how to sit then the exercise to “down” would be next.

To down – starting at the Sit position, place your hand on the dogs collar, hold a treat in front of his face then promptly move treat downward unto the floor. Instinctively, they will conform to your hand. Again, give him a treat once chest reaches the floor. Slowly decrease the amount of treat as you go along with the command.

USA High School Track & Field Records And The Current Best 2008 Performances

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Performance results in track and field are easily understandable through time zones and cultures around the world. Unlike words and their pronunciation in different languages, numbers need no explanation to understand. It also helps that the metric system of measurement for distances is dominate worldwide.

Track and field competitors around the world are interested in comparing their performances with the performances of athletes in other countries. Here are the current United States high school track and field records through 2007 followed by the best current performances by high school competitors in 2008:

USA Boys High School Track and Field Records

100 Meters: 10.08 – 10.17 by Jeff Demps of South Lake High School in Groveland (FL).

200 Meters: 20.13 – 20.80 by Markus Henderson of Lewisville (TX) High School.

400 Meters: 44.69 – 46.41 by Tavaris Tate of Starkville (MS).

800 Meters: 1:46.45 – 1:48.97 by Joseph Franklin of Godby in Tallahassee (FL).

1,500 Meters: 3:38.26 – 3:52:63 indoors by Colby Lowe of Carroll in Southlake (TX)

1,600 Meters: 3:53.43 record set at equivalent yards distance – 4:05.57 by German Fernandez of Riverbank (CA).

3,000 Meters: 8:03.67 – 8:16.0 by Luke Puskedra of Judge Memorial Catholic in Salt Lake City (UT).

3,200 Meters: 8:36.3 2-Mile) – 8:46.40 by Luke Puskedra of Judge Memorial Catholic.

5,000 Meters: 13:37.91 – 13:55.96 by Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley in Naperville (IL) – (Derrick’s time is the USA record for a high-school-only race).

110-Meter High Hurdles: 13.22 record set at equivalent yards distance – 13.51 by Spencer Adams of Butler in Charlotte (NC).

300-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 35.28 – 36.28 by William Wynne of McEachern in Powder Springs (GA).

400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 49.38 – 50.46 by Reggie Wyatt of La Sierra in Riverside (CA).

4×100-Meter Relay: 39.76 – 40.26 by Rowlett (TX) High School.

4×200-Meter Relay: 1:23.31 – 1:24.06 – Hightower in Sugar Land (TX).

4×400-Meter Relay: 3:07.40 – 3:11.87 by Dominguez in Compton (CA).

4×800 Meter Relay: 7:32.89 – 7:44.39 by North Penn in Lansdale (PA).

Sprint Medley Relay: 3:21.1 – 3:26.16 by Mid-Prairie Community in Wellman (IA).

Distance Medley Relay: 9:49.78 – 10:02.47 by Carroll in Southlake (TX).

High Jump: 7-7 – 7-3.75 indoors by Eric Kynard of Rogers in Toledo (OH).

Pole Vault: 18-3 – 17-4.5 by Nico Weiler in Los Gatos (CA).

Long Jump: 26-9.25 – 25-6.75 indoors by Christian Taylor of Sandy Creek in Tyrone (GA).

Triple Jump: 54-10.25 – 52-4.75 by Will Claye of Mountain Pointe in Phoenix (AZ).

Shot Put: 81-3.5 – 70-6 by Jordan Clarke of Bartlett in Anchorage, AK.

Discus Throw: 234-3 – 222-1 by Mason Finley of Buena Vista (CO). (No. 3 all-time performer).

Hammer Throw: 255-11 – 244-8 by Trent Kraychir of Twentynine Palms (CA). (No. 3 all-time performer).

Javelin Throw: 241-11 – 223-8 by Kyle Smith of Daphne (AL).

(Note: Leaders based upon marks verified as wind legal in sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps. Only fully automatic times are listed for sprints and high hurdles.)

USA Girls High School Track and Field Records

100 Meters: 11.11 – 11.16 by Victoria Jordan of Dunbar High School in Fort Worth (TX).

200 Meters: 22.11 – 23.43 indoors by Ashton Purvis of St. Elizabeth in Oakland (CA).

400 Meters: 50.69 – 52.83 indoors by Nadonnia Rodriques of Boys & Girls in Brooklyn (NY).

800 Meters: 2:00.07 – 2:03.20 by Chanelle Price is Easton (PA).

1,500 Meters: 4:16.6 – 4:17.46 by Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo (CA). (No. 7 all-time performance; Hasay also has the No. 4 and No. 5 all-time performances run in 2007 and is a threat to break the USA high school record.)

Mile: 4:35.24 – 4:41.22 by Stephanie Morgan of Barnesville (OH).

3,000 Meters: 9:08.06 – 9:23.90 by Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo.

3,200 Meters – 9:48.59 – 10:03.07 by Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep.

5,000 Meters: 15:52.88 – 17:03.79 indoors by Chelsea Ley of Kingsway in Woolwich Township (NJ).

100-Meter High Hurdles: 12.95 – 13.26 by Jacquelyn Coward of West in Knoxville (TN).

300-Meter Hurdles: 39.98 – 40.96 by Donique Flemings of Saginaw (TX).

400-Meter Hurdles: 55.20 – 58.96 by Ryann Krais of Methacton in Norristown (PA).

4×100-Meter Relay: 44.50 – 45.17 by Dunbar in Fort Worth (TX).

4×200-Meter Relay: 1:33.87 – 1:35.94 by Dunbar in Fort Worth (TX).

4×400-Meter Relay: 3:35.49 – 3:37.16 by Roosevelt in Greenbelt (MD).

4×800-Meter Relay: 8:50.41 – 8:43.12 by Roosevelt in Greenbelt (MD). (New USA High School Record set this year.)

4xMile Relay: 19:56.75 – 20:10.76 by Saugus in La Crescenta (CA). (No. 3 all-time performance).

Distance Medley Relay: 11:33.42 – 11:42.16 by Roxbury in Succasunna (NJ).

High Jump: 6-4 – 6-0.25 by Victoria Lucas in Midland (TX).

Pole Vault: 14-1.25 – 14-0 by Rachel Laurent of Vanderbilt Catholic in Houma (LA). (No. 2 all-time performer and a threat to break the USA high school record.)

Long Jump: 22-3 – 20-3.5 by Jacinda Evans of Southern in Durham (NC).

Triple Jump: 44-11.75 – 42-8.75 indoors by Vashti Thomas of Mt. Pleasant in San Jose (CA).

Shot Put: 54-10.75 – 52-4 indoors by Karen Shump of Penncrest in Media (PA).

Discus Throw: 188-4 – 183-11 by Anastasia Jelmini of Shafter (CA).

Hammer Throw: 201-7 – 179-0 by Victoria Flowers of Classical in Providence (RI).

Javelin Throw: 176-5 – 167-11 by Hannah Carson of Rhodes Junior High School in Mesa (AZ). (New USA high school freshman record.)

(Note: Leaders based upon marks verified as wind legal in sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps. Only fully automatic times are listed for sprints and high hurdles.)

2008 Boys and Girls Highlights Thus Far:

All of the highlights in 2008 have thus far been produced by the girls, led by Roosevelt High School’s new USA high school record of 8:43.12 in the 4×800-Meter Relay, breaking the current 8:50.41 record. Roosevelt is located in Greenbelt (MD). Think for a moment about how difficult it would be to find 4 girls on a high school track team that could AVERAGE less than 2:11 for the 800-meter run.

Second best effort comes from Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep in San Luis Obispo (CA). Hasay has run 4:17.46 for the 1,500 Meter and has run two races faster at the same distance in 2007. The USA high school record for the 1,500 is 4:16.6, less than a second away.

Will she set a new USA high school record? The odds say yes. She also has the current best times nationally in the 3,000-Meter and 3,200-Meter runs as well. She has to be the premier girls high school middle distance runner in the country.

Rachel Laurent of Vanderbilt Catholic High School in Houma (LA) is only 1.25 inches shy of matching the USA high school record of 14-feet-1.25 inches in the pole vault. Her best height so far is 14-feet even. Can she set the national record? I say yes, she can.

Watch out for Hannah Carson of Rhodes Junior High School in Mesa (AZ). She has thrown the javelin 167-feet-11-inches to set a new USA high school freshman record. The national record is 176-feet-5-inches. Wow, she has an incredible chance to garner a national record before she graduates from high school.

We will keep you posted on the final 2008 results after the high school district and state meet competitions are held. I am sensing some more new national records from these outstanding young women.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Creating a Vision in Adult Learning Environments

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Do adults learn better when they understand why they need to learn the subject matter?

Do they learn better when they see the content as directly relevant to their lives?

Despite the recent breakthroughs in research on how the brain actually learns, no one can answer these questions with 100% certainty. In the middle of the twentieth century, educational theorists began to believe there were differences between the way adults learn and the way children learn. They believed adults had a “need to know” why learning a body of knowledge was important to them. They further believed the more relevant the material was to the personal experience of the learner, the more motivated they are to learn.

An employee who has just been promoted to a managerial position is supposedly more motivated to learn management principles and techniques than a learner who sees a management job as nothing more than a remote and distant possibility.

Brain-based learning research appears to indicate the differences are not as significant as once thought, varying more by degree than substance. As an example, in their 1994 book Understanding a Brain-Based Approach to Teaching and Learning, researchers Renate and Geoffrey Caine claimed that the brain searches for meaning and that search is “hard-wired” or innate.

There is still much debate about the real effectiveness of different educational approaches, and to a working training professional, the challenge of converting theories that sound wonderful into instructional techniques in a real seminar setting can be overwhelming.

Some wisely choose to simply forget about the research. It just sounds logical that anyone would be more eager to learn something he or she will be able to put to use immediately. It also sounds logical that students will be more eager to learn something if they can see the reason for it.

But how do you translate that into something practical? Especially in situations where the learner has no choice in what they are learning. Professional certificate or licensing training is a case in point.

Learners enroll in often expensive programs that someday will lead to a Professional certificate of some kind. Depending on the situation, the process could take years and the content of the licensing or certificate education is not up to the student.

As the instructor, you are the one who knows what professional life might be like at the end of the program. Create that vision and share it with the participants on the first day.

Vision is a powerful tool and a key ingredient of leadership. Here is a standard dictionary definition of vision: the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be.

Although you may have read again and again to use student-centered approaches, never forget that when it comes to the content of the workshop, you have more experience than the students do. You are in a position to describe for your students in vivid tones what their lives can be like once they complete their training.

The 70-647 MCTS Exam and Why You Need It

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More and more candidates are attempting the 70-647 exams and getting their MCITP certifications, in fact getting certified has become a hot trend these days. Those who pass this exam, qualify for various techie jobs like network administrator, information systems administrator, systems engineer, systems administrator, tech support engineers, systems analysts, technical consultants and network analysts.

Who needs this test?

This test is mainly for those who are interested in getting into a hi-tech computing environment of a medium or large sized company. Hence, it is suggested that you get at least a year’s experience in the implementing & administering of any desktop operating system in a network setting.

The makeup of the test

This test as usual has the multiple choice questions, build a tree, drag and drop, hot area, and build list & reorder questions. However, you should also be ready to handle simulation type ones.

If you are interested in preparing for this MCTS exam or getting hands on experience as an Enterprise Administrator for Windows Server 2008, then you can make use of preparatory courses available on the web. If you want to get into an IT job or want to get promoted to a senior tech position, then you should gain an in-depth understanding of Windows Server 2008.

To get certified the easy way you can make use of 70-647 preparation kits offered on the internet. In this way you will increase your chances of passing it in the first attempt itself.

However, the 70-647 is a tough nut to crack, and it can be tricky to do the preparation all by yourself. As it is with any Microsoft certification, this one too needs comprehensive homework. This is where the training courses on the web come in handy and help the candidates in a big way.

Continuing Education for Insurance Agents

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Insurance professionals must complete a minimum number of insurance continuing education hours every 1-2 years. Insurance agents must check with their state to see when they are due and how many hours are required. The requirement differs from state to state. The classes an agent must take also differ depending on the license(s) they hold. The most common licenses agents hold are health, life, and property and casualty. Each license allows a producer to sell a different line of insurance depending on their clients needs. Usually, for each license the producer must complete different continuing education requirements depending where they live and do business. Life and health is usually bundled, but property and casualty is selling to a completely different audience.

Insurance educational training is a great way for agents to keep current with industry trends and also learn about new and upcoming products. Many agents have been licensed for 10+ years now and of course rules and regulations have changed. An agent may be committing insurance fraud or a crime and not even know it! Continuing education requirements are meant to benefit the insurance agency, the insurance agent and of course the consumer. The agency knows the agent is being ethical when selling policies to clients. The agent is current with all laws and new products available to their client and the client knows they are getting the best product possible. It is a win/win situation for all parties involved.

Continuing education for insurance agents is very important because the state can revoke your license if you do not stay in compliance. Every agent should know exactly when their continuing education credits are due and how many hours they need to complete to avoid any fines. To find out how many credits you need and when they are due you should contact your state authority or an approved provider. An approved provider will be able to look up your information with the state and help you select online courses to take. Online continuing education is usually the fastest and easiest way to complete your insurance education, especially if you are nearing your compliance deadline. Just confirm with your state that online continuing education is an option. Some states require you complete your education in a classroom. The only real benefit of completing your education requirements in a classroom is there is no exam at the end of the class. The drawback is sitting in a classroom for up to 24 hours!

Las Vegas Golf Courses Designed By Golf’s Biggest Names

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Just like with everything in Las Vegas, when something is done in the city that glitters, it’s done B-I-G. And golf is no different. There are around 70 courses in the area, and many of them are designed and built by the biggest names in the history of golf. Nicklaus. Palmer. Jones. Dye. Weiskopf. Miller. Casper. Fazio. Robinson. The list goes on and on, with many of the biggest names etching their handiwork in the Las Vegas golfscape more than once.

Rees Jones, who is annually on the list of the most powerful men in the game of golf, is the designer of the Harrah’s-Owned Cascata Golf Club and Rio Secco Golf Club. Cascata was once called “golf’s toughest ticket” when it opened because of its exclusivity and greatness. And Rio Secco is a gem located in the hillls above Las Vegas, and is the home of the Butch Harmon School of Golf.

Johnny Miller co-designed The Badlands Golf Club, 27-holes of desert golf intrigue, with Chi Chi Rodriguez. “For several years there … everybody wanted their golf course to be better than the guy’s next door,” Miller once told VegasGolfer Magazine. “Vegas really became a golf crazy place. Vegas is the only place I know where you find every type golf course in the world. You don’t have to go to Scotland, Hawaii or Pinehurst to play. All of those type courses are in Vegas.”

Billy Casper teamed with architect Greg Nash to design the two Las Vegas golf courses at The Revere at Anthem (Concord and Lexington) in addition to Desert Willow Golf Club and the three courses of Golf Summerlin (Highland Falls, Palm Valley and Eagle Crest).

Arnold Palmer designed the two golf courses at Angel Park (The Mountain and the Palm), in addition to the golf courses at Red Rock Country Club and the Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite.

Tom Fazio created Las Vegas golf course Shadow Creek Golf Club, the two golf courses at Primm Valley Golf Club (Lakes, Desert) and the new WYNN Las Vegas. Fazio is currently working on Rainbow Canyon at Lake Las Vegas Resort. “The Las Vegas Region has always had a tremendous allure, and the addition of so many quality golf facilities over the last 20 years has truly added another variable to its tremendous entertainment and recreation portfolio,” says Fazio, also in VegasGolfer Magazine.

Jack Nicklaus designed the private SouthShore Golf Club and the resort Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas Resort, Bear’s Best Las Vegas, and is currently designing courses at the new Coyote Springs project north of Las Vegas.

Ted Robinson designed both Rhodes Ranch Golf Club and Tuscany Golf Club, two fun, friendly courses with terrific par three holes.

Perry Dye designed Desert Pines Golf Club and Royal Links Golf Club while Lee Scmidt and Brian Curley designed Bali Hai Golf Club.

Pete Dye designed the three golf courses at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort.

Complete and easy Las Vegas golf vacation plans can be made by visiting http://www.GolfLasVegasNow.com, and you can also gain access to Las Vegas golf packages and Las Vegas golf tee times, and click easily to the official golf course websites of several Las Vegas golf courses.