Archive for May, 2007

CRM Made Easy With AIMpromote

CRM, or customer relationship management, is a term used to define a business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability. True CRM brings together information from all data sources within an organization. Businesses can make informed decisions when cross-selling and upselling opportunities arise, and it allows for more effective positioning relative to the competition.

Manage campaigns and track results with real-time reports.

Many companies deliver its CRM models through various applications. However, it costs time and money not only to acquire the software, but to implement it as well. It is important to keep a sales force focused on existing customers and prospects, and less on learning new software. AIMpromote is dedicated to liberating small and medium-sized businesses from the high failure rates, hidden costs, and expensive implementations of other lead management solutions. They understand how critical this information is to develop effective sales, marketing, and customer service strategies.

For more information, visit the AIMpromote forum or watch the online demonstration video.

This is a sponsored post.

Popularity: 1% [?]

NBA Playoffs — Spurs Host Rested Jazz

The day is upon us. The day the Spurs welcome a new and formidable foe: the Utah Jazz. Formidable? Yeah. I was over at Yahoo! Sports reading Steve Kerr’s Scorecard on today’s Game 1 matchup. I think I my confidence as a Spurs fan may be a little shaken by the last series, which was by far the most dramatic and physical series of the playoffs so far (yes, even more so than Dallas/Golden State); but I think Kerr, also a minority owner in the Phoenix Suns, is making up for being a Phoenix fan first in his estimations last series.

Derek Fisher left his mark in 2004. Chris Birck/Getty Images

No doubt about it — if there’s one thing we learned from Games 5 and 6 in the Phoenix Suns series, it’s that Manu Ginobili is the X-factor. Having poured in 26 and 33, respectively, in the last two games he may have found his stroke. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Jazz also have a player with a newly lit fire under his azz: Derek Fisher. He nailed that “impossible” shot with “0.4″ on the clock as a Laker in Game 5 of the 2003-04 Western Conference semi-finals. No one has left such a mark on San Antonio since Ozzy Osbourne urinated on the Alamo in 1982.

And both teams are on a roll. Advantage Spurs for starting the series in San Antonio. Most NBA analysts pick the Spurs in 6. They should be able to do it in 5. But because the Spurs tend to play to the skill of their opponent, they may be right. Ok…enough pessimism. How about a little optimism? Spurs in 5.

GAME 1. Over/Under: 185. Spurs by 6.5. I’m not a bettin’ man, but I’ll take that.

Fun fact: Steve Kerr and Robert Horry alternated NBA Championships for a decade, and combined to win 11 championships over a twelve-year period. Either Kerr or Horry was on the roster of every NBA Championship team from the 1993-94 season through the 2002-03 season. Kerr’s teams were winners in the NBA Finals in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003. Horry’s teams were victorious in the NBA Finals in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. Each won 3 titles playing for Phil Jackson-coached teams (the Lakers and Bulls), and every other championship with a team from Texas (the Spurs and Rockets).
Find [via Wikipedia]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Game 6 Spurs/Suns — A Message For The Phoenix Suns

Y’all better watch yo’ back!

GO SPURS!!!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Friday Finds — 05/18/2007

Yesterday I was over at The Wrong Advices reading Dan’s daily dose of d-d…uh…dlogging (sorry, it’s early and I haven’t had my coffee yet). He discusses how being a female on MyBlogLog has its advantages. I couldn’t agree with more with Dan’s assessment. So, I’m going to use his post to segue into this week’s Friday’s Finds. A fitting way to make up for missing last week.

• Danielle (that’s Ms. Danielle to you) shares with us her first golf experience with coach and fellow blogger, Gary Lee. Her performance reminded me of the time I shot a 72. Its only a matter of time before we meet on the course…and she whoops my butt.

• Jane has “winner” written all over her. Not only did her blog, CareerRamblings, win the first ever Bloggers Tournament but the popularity of her personal blog has skyrocketed in only a month. Consider buying a review from Jane today.

• In a related post, Ilker Yoldas over at The Thinking Blog discusses The Cute Factor and how it can benefit as a marketing tool. She would know. She has over 3,500 members in her MBL Community. (BTW, Ilker is a “he”. DOH!)

• In keeping with the “Chicks That Can Beat Me At Golf” motif, Patricia Hannigan, author of Golf Girl’s Diary, promotes golf as an effective tool for women in business. Do you offer lessons, Patricia? If you haven’t read by now, I need some.

Please don’t forget to visit a few of my other fav femme fatales…the good kind. Kelly Cho, Wendy Piersall, and Kumiko Suzuki. Have a great Friday!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Game 5: Short-Handed Suns vs. 1996-97 Spurs

Surreal. That’s how my friend, Brian, described the game as we watched going into the 4th quarter. It was like gazing into Tim Duncan’s bulging eyes after he is charged with a foul…or into T Mac’s eyes any time. Suns fans confused me further with their hockey ref outfits and bicycle helmets. I tried desperately to click my heels hoping to return to the days of Spurs dominance. No luck. So, I proceeded to order another Crown & Diet.

With the Spurs down by as many as 16, you would have never known the Suns were missing Stoudamire (sorry, Boris). The Suns must have read my blog, because they used my “Keys To The Game” for the Spurs.

• Set the tempo early. The Suns did just that. In fact, they held the Spurs to 13 measley points in the 1st quarter.
• Keep Timmy out of foul trouble. The Suns proceeded to draw a couple of fouls from Duncan to send him to the pine early on.
• Get Thomas in Foul Trouble. Well, I don’t have a good one for this “key”, but when Matt “Red Rocket” Bonner is in a key playoff game, you know the Spurs did something backwards.
• Rebound the friggen ball!!! A fairly even match-up in this category. Did I mention the Spurs only scored 13 points in the 1st quarter?

AP Photo/Jason Babyak

Despite having the ugliest shot in the history of the NBA, Shawn Marion contributed 24 points, and pulled down 17 boards. With the Spurs nearing certain defeat, they proceeded to chip away at the Suns’ lead with 3’s. Ginobili, 3. Ginobili, 3. Finley, 3. Ginobili, 3-point play (thanks, Nash). And from his signature sweet spot in the corner, Bowen nailed a 3-pointer with 36.4 seconds left putting the Spurs up 84-81 — the first Spurs lead since the first quarter.

So, the Spurs make it rain after going 3-for-17 from downtown. And although my eyes were glued to the TV, I didn’t even realize that Manu Ginobili scored 26 points. I spent more time yelling at him for missing layups and throwing the ball away that I failed to notice the wizard in action. Sorry, Manu…and thank you. You too, Bruce…even though you’re a dirty thug. *rollseyes* And please, guys — no more ‘96-’97 imitations. It just reminds me of the Gawd-awful fiesta logo.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Consolidate Your Student Loan Debt

The costs of college are increasing at a rate almost double that of the general inflation rate….on average about 8% per year. That means the cost of college doubles every nine years. If it’s too late for saving money with Upromise, you may want to be better prepared when it comes to managing your student loan debt. Luckily, I incurred very little student loan debt over my college tenure so I didn’t qualify for consolidation. And it only took me 3 years to pay off my student loans.

According to the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), the average student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,237 (excluding PLUS Loans but including Stafford and Perkins). So, to make things easy for the sake of calculation, let’s assume that you graduate with $19,000 in student loans at 6.8%, the current rate on Stafford loans, and you want to repay the loans in ten years. That would require a monthly payment of about $220. With FinancialAid.com, an interest rate as low as 5.375% is possible (calculated as the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent).

Student loan debt consolidation with FinancialAid.com.

There are consequences to student loan consolidation. Well, sort of. As with any loan, if you stretch the amount of time it takes to repay your debt, you will pay more interest over the duration of loan. However, because there are no prepayment penalties and it is a simple interest loan, and by maintaining the same payments you were making prior to loan consolidation, you will not pay more in interest. And you will pay off the loan more quickly than before.

Do you qualify? Find out securely.

Keep in mind that there is a slim possibility that you will not always get a lower rate when consolidating. One thing is certain with FinancialAid.com — you will turn multiple payments into one single payment not to mention enjoy other benefits (such as a 1% rate reduction after 48 consecutive on time payments and a 0.25% interest rate reduction for using auto debit to repay your loan). A student loan consolidation program such as FinancialAid.com can help significantly.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Stoudamire, Diaw Suspended — Don’t Speak Too Soon

Bahram Mark Sobhani/Express-News

Don’t expect the Phoenix Suns to sit down for tonight’s Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs because Amare’ Stoudamire and Boris Diaw were suspended. Yeah…so what if I don’t sound like a Spurs fan? Quite frankly, I think it is unfortunate that the NBA dished out the suspensions with no room for interpretation of the rule. They did not escalate the situation any further and therefore probably don’t deserve to be suspended. I think part of me just wants to see these teams go at one another each with a full arsenal. And don’t expect the Suns to sit down. Nash simply won’t allow it, and the Suns played a whole season without Amare’ before.

Where Are You, Manu?
Without the monster play of Manu Ginobili, the Spurs definitely don’t have Game 5 in the bag…not to mention we’re playing in their backyard. This is the perfect opportunity for Manu to regain some confidence going into the playoffs.

Keys to the game for the Spurs?

• Set the tempo early.
• Keep Timmy out of foul trouble
• Get Thomas in foul trouble
• Rebound the friggen ball!!!

Sorry. The last one is the most frustrating to me. I know the Spurs have confident shooters; but for some reason, there are never any silver and black jerseys picking up the missed attempts.

Side Note: Warriors/Jazz
Congratulations to the Utah Jazz for taking the high-strung Warriors out of the playoff mix. I can only imagine that a series between either the Spurs or the Suns and the Golden State Warriors would have resulted in a record number of technical fouls, ejections, and bruised body parts. Now, either team has to face Derek Fisher and his Horry-like shooting. Anyway, I was watching the game last night and noticed an attractive young woman in the camera shot. Did anyone else know there were extremely attractive women in Utah? No offense to Utahns, of course. I just had no idea. However, the image does bring a pet peave to mind.

GO SPURS!!!

Popularity: 1% [?]

BlogRoll

• Milk Was A Bad Choice
• CrackBerry.com
• Stock Trading 101
• For The Love Of Sports
• Project Spurs
• Busted Coverage
• WallStreetFighter

Sponsors