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Learning From a Native Speaker, Without Leaving Home | New York Times

I'm continually amazed by the impact of the internet on every day life, and this is no exception...

"In his book "The World is Flat", Thomas Friedman talked about how employees in call centers in India were working with people in Wisconsin, for example, to learn a regional dialect and improve their language skills over the internet so as to be more effective in their work. LiveMocha takes this opportunity to a new, personal level...

"THE best way to learn a foreign language may be to surround yourself with native speakers. But if you can’t manage a trip abroad the Internet and a broadband computer connection may do the job, too, bringing native speakers within electronic reach for hours of practice.

Web-based services now on the market let people download a daily lesson in French or Hindi, pop on their headsets, and then use Internet telephone service and the power of social networks to try their conversational skills with tutors or language partners from around the world.

For those who want to polish their high-school German before a vacation, or to master snippets of well-intoned Mandarin Chinese to charm a future business host in Shanghai, these sites offer alternatives to more traditional tools like textbooks and CD-ROMs. LiveMocha (livemocha.com), for example, is a free site where members can tackle 160 hours of beginning or intermediate lessons in French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi or English. There is no charge for tutoring; instead, members tutor one another, drawing on their expertise in their own native language.

As a poor German student in the late 70's, foreign language materials were hard to come by and therefore expensive and the opportunities to speak with native German speakers were far and few between. I remember making a special trip to the Europa Book Store on Clark Street in Chicago to spend $50 [a princely sum for a graduate student in those days] for the collected writings of Hermann Hesse, the author on whose works I was writing my doctoral dissertation. Copies of 'Der Spiegel' were like heroin and just as expensive...

Another challenge is the way that foreign language is taught [or should I say 'was taught' when I was at the University -- who knows what the state of the art is today] with two years of vocabulary and grammar and then, in my case, 8 years of Das Nibelungenlied, Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Grass, and Hesse -- none of which prepared me for doing business in Europe. I read all about Siegfried and Kriemhilde in mittelhochdeutsch [something which astounds most Germans I've met] but I can't handle a business phone call! So, unless you're luck enough to go the Thunderbird School, you're stuck...

As an adult in business, I've been blessed to have the opportunity to travel overseas and do business internationally, but the lack of daily practice or preparation with a live speaker ultimately means that I have to rely on the English speaking skills of the person with whom I'm dealing. Thank God for people like Jason Culotta of Rep. Roger Roth's office with whom I can occasionally chat in German, but the opportunities don't come often enough to prepare me to speak fluently with my good friend Michael Gottwald of Nayak and his significant other, the lovely Fah from Thailand with whom German is our only common language.

For the past couple of years I've had the opportunity to travel to Germany and Switzerland in my international aviation business. I've tried leveraging foreign exchange students from Algoma High School, but as frequently happens, they're more interested in practicing their English than helping me with my German. Usually some level of fluency returns by the last day of the trip and lingers for awhile after I've returned home. Perhaps if I give LiveMocha a chance, I'll be better prepared for my next trip but there's always the challenge of including a "Quadrant II" activity in my daily routine... ;-)

The Myth Of Differentiation (Part II) | RainToday

"Much as you might hear otherwise, being different isn't much of a factor in winning or keeping clients. Often times, the 'we're different' message affects them negatively. Consider the following scenario: Your tooth hurts and your dentist is out of town. You need an oral surgeon and you need one fast, so you ask a few trusted close friends, Trip and Beverly, if they know anyone." Click the title to read the full article online...

Why salespeople don't make more sales (and how to turn it around). | Company Activities & Management > Sales & Selling from AllBusiness.com

"The pressure to improve sales performance is very real both for salespeople and sales managers. Reducing sales costs, while maintaining proper customer service, is a continuing and challenging business." Click the title to read the full article online...

Aligning sales & marketing for dynamic growth | Company Activities & Management > Sales & Selling from AllBusiness.com

"One of the most intriguing issues that surfaces when working in organizations is the lack of effort to align sales and marketing. There are numerous companies that have sales and marketing groups that refuse to even talk or dialogue with each other. It is equally amusing that the leaders of these companies do not understand why their sales results are below expectations. There is a simple solution..." Click the title to read the full article online...

16 ways to increase your sales | AllBusiness.com

"'No one can be everywhere at once.' Wrong! The job today is to be in front of the customer when the need arises." Click the title to read the full article online...

How To Build A Better Brainstorm | RainToday

"How do you create a top-notch marketing idea when you need one? For many of us, the solution lies with brainstorming. We bring together our team, and a trusted advisor or two, in the hope that we'll craft something to make the market sit up and take notice.

There's a problem with that strategy, though.

Once we schedule the brainstorming session, we tend to throw all our attention to other projects, and back-burner any thoughts about creating a top-notch marketing idea. We assume that there'll be time enough for creative thinking at the session itself. The other participants will spark us with their suggestions, and something glorious will sprout.

Unfortunately, the other participants are likely working from a similar assumption. They receive an invitation to the brainstorm, and feel like they've been let off the hook. Any kind of hard thinking can now be put off for the future when others will be around to shoulder the burden."

Click the title to read the full article online...

7 Costly Marketing Mistakes Every Service Business Must Avoid | RainToday

"It is an open secret in the business world that most of the mistakes that can be committed in business have been committed. So, why not just learn from them, saving you from the agony of committing them yourself.

With that said, here are seven costly marketing mistakes every service business must avoid...

Click the title to read the full article online...

The Too 'Salesy' Paradox: Why Firms Can't Sell (And What To Do About It) | RainToday

"The distress is obvious. The complaints are frequent. The clear disdain for the activity is surprisingly unfiltered. What are we talking about? Selling, or more specifically, selling professional services." Click the title to read the full article online...

Top 10 Customer Service Mistakes | AllBusiness.com

"Strong customer service is a valuable asset, especially in today's high-tech-oriented, increasingly impersonal business world. Therefore, if you are aware of common customer service mistakes and avoid them, you may strengthen your position in a competitive market." Someone at WildBlue needs to read this -- click the title to read the full article online...

Buyer's Guide to CRM Software | AllBusiness.com

"The contact database is the key component of any CRM system, no matter how rudimentary. It should allow you to enter and maintain information about customers and prospects, such as name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address." Click the title to read the full article online...