Direct Marketing Tips – Ultimate Direct Mail Marketing Guide!

Everyone seems to hate direct mail, and most companies have tried to use it without success. But with these direct marketing tips I want to transform your direct mail marketing from junk and spam to something that is really effective that the customer wants to receive.Let’s look that this is 3 phases…PHASE 1 – Think about your mailing list.Is the data very old and are you confident that the source of the data is reliable?I can’t tell you how important having a good list is. It does not matter if you already own it or are going to buy one you need to make sure that it’s up to date.PHASE 2 – Targeting.No set of direct marketing tips would be complete without talking about the idea of targeting.Always keep one thing in mind:”If you want to sell a ton of burgers, all you need is a hungry crowd” – Gary Halbert.You should target the factors below:* The persons age* Location* Lifestyle* Schooling* Likes and dislikes* Buying behavior.PHASE 3 – Market research.You need to find out how the market think and the pain they are feeling which you can help to solve.Luckily this is much easier today with online forums focused on each market niche.PHASE 4 – Your marketing message.You should make your message clear, persuasive and easy to understand. Don’t try and fill your direct mail with a load of information and products because you will just end up confusing your customers and will not get any sales.Have one goal for each piece and do everything you can to achieve that goal.Final thoughts.Direct mail can be a great tool for your business if you go about it in the right way.If you just follow these tips an 8.0% conversion rate is not uncommon.Good luck.For more ideas, tips and articles click here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off

Quality Management System in Pharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the heavily regulated manufacturing firms. Quality management systems have a direct impact on the ultimate quality of finished products. The quality of these products, however, does not only reflect on legislative requirements but the essence and efficiency of the pharmaceutical practitioner.Because of the significance attached to pharmaceutical industries, just like the food industries, they are directly used by consumers either for local application or internal consumption. The quality, safety, and efficacy attributes of these pharmaceutical products must, for this reason, be guaranteed so that the consumer’s health is not compromised. To ensure that high quality and safety is guaranteed, there is a need for high-quality pharmaceutical industries.Pharmaceutical industries are bound to comply with the global life science quality standards while engaging either in the production, supply, or consumption of pharmaceutical products. There are globally recognized bodies that regulate the quality of drug substances and drug products.Having a good understanding as well as implementing appropriate quality management system is a prerequisite for every kind of dealer in this pharmaceutical sector in to fulfill the regulatory as well as the ethical responsibility of incorporating management of identity, safety, purity, quality, and efficacy of the finished medicinal products.For most biotech and pharmaceutical companies, however, management of training, business processes, and documents are nightmares to them. In this article, we are going to explore the quality management systems and how one should explore them and manage the operations successfully.Application The component of the quality manufacturing system in pharmaceutical products can be applied in the pharmaceutical Development for:• Formulation development (container/closure system)• Manufacture of investigational products.• Drug substance development• Development of analytical method• Delivery system development (where needed)• Manufacturing process scale-up and developmentBeneficiaries of Pharmaceutical Quality SystemsR&D Document Authors: In addition, efficient quality management systems easily issues out author documents from compliant templates. The authors need not to worry about reworking the documents to match the templates. Word 2007 users can create, revise, and even redline the documents without having to leave Word while using the new systems’ toolbar. R&D Managers (Clinical, Regulatory, and Pre-Clinical): They can use the different types of quality management pharmaceutical software systems like master control, to search, organize, and take inventory of different study documents within the secure, and centralized quality management system. With the automated routing and approval functionality of quality systems, managers can with ease oversee the project teams comprised of resources from the various departments, as much as the teams might be working on various projects at the same time. The advanced pharmaceutical quality management systems also enhance correspondence from different regulatory agencies, suppliers, and CROs, linked with the appropriate documentation. With effective quality management systems, the PDFs having content bookmarks can be automatically generated for either document control functions or regulatory submissions. Since most of the pharmaceutical quality management software is complete and connected systems, authors don’t need to constantly cycle across the different disparate systems (from word to e-mail and then to document management system, and so forth) so as to locate or revise a document, and then submit it for review or approval – quality management systems such as master control permits such actions to be undertaken within the single integrated system.Management: On part of life science organizations, pharmaceutical quality systems are known in providing comprehensive solutions disregard of the existing in-house capabilities. Should it be that the organization is in need of training on the system’s functionality or needs assistance on system configuration to match the specific needs, pharmaceutical quality management systems can be modeled with any service level required, or the support the organization needs. An organization in need of expert knowledge can have quality management’s skilled advisory team to analyze the circumstances so as to clearly map and develop these requirements.Manufacturing/Operations: These systems easily tracks all specifications, nonconformance, and deviations throughout the development cycle. Pharmaceutical management systems provide that all appropriate personnel gains training on the most up-to-date work instructions and SOPs. Equally, these systems automate training tasks and facilitate the ease locating of training records within the centralized system.Clinical Personnel: Within the clinical precincts, the pharmaceutical quality management systems rids the management from the cases of paper filing backlogs that result in “black holes ” of documents which are almost impossible to find. Now that the quality management systems are electronic and automated, the searching of archives for trial documentation (IRB information, or protocols) is simple. CVs, electronic document copies, e-mails, etc., from different study sites, can be readily accessed in a single and centralized system.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

The Future of Educational Technology and Education 3.0

Thinking of what education might look like in the next decade, one quickly realizes that the trends in technology are leaving a large number of our students behind. We no longer live in an age of visible movement when it comes to progress and innovation. Today is an age of exponential change. New and ever-improving technologies are popping up every day and in every corner of society.Educating the best and the brightest in this brave new world will take a new and improved educational paradigm. Allowing our educational tools to age in the corner of the classroom will be the mistake that may cost us our future. Throwing away masses of children to inequitable access will ensure that we languish at the bottom of the global pool of employable workers for decades to come.The New ToolboxI was at an auction a few years ago and noticed a few old woodworking tools that I thought I could use. For a few bucks, I was able to snag an assortment of hand tools that may have been in someone’s toolbox for a generation or more. As the next decade passed, I used these tools in my shop for a wide variety of projects until my projects outgrew these old, dull tools. My woodworking creations continued to improve as did my skills and artistry. I quickly discovered that using improved tools would translate into improved craftsmanship. As any woodworker will tell you, new tools require new skills.Woodworking is a great metaphor for shaping and molding students. There is simply no good substitute for a sharp tool. If you want to build the best projects possible, you need to use the best tools possible. Thinking in terms of the next decade for our country, we will be sorely disappointed in our projects if we fail to improve our tools.Within this article, I will try to paint a picture of how technology will shape the way we educate students in the next decade. I will attempt to show the amazing possibilities that lay before us if we will simply walk through the doorway of opportunity that is open to us. My focus will be this idea: Transforming the student from being a passenger to becoming a “user.” You may be wondering what I mean by this. Let me explain.Ask yourself what it means to be a “user.” A user is not simply a person who uses. For the student, being a user should involve using the latest technology in a free and autonomous manner. This new-found freedom will allow the student to become an active participant in his/her education instead of a passive passenger. No other time in history have we been so able to make this a reality.In our current technological society, being a user also means being tracked. Tracking has become a major part of our daily lives and is precisely the engine that should drive our educational process for the foreseeable future. Tracking a student means having the ability to target education toward weaknesses and strengths. The ability to accurately customize curriculum to the individual has been the holy grail of educational philosophy for many years. This golden age of technological development may soon enable this dream to become a reality.Current educational curriculum and individual assessment is arbitrary at best. Being able to accurately asses a student can only be achieved by using modern tracking and database technologies. The means by which we can make this a reality is readily available and only needs to be taken off the shelf to be used. If Congress is looking for a shovel-ready project, this may be the one.Imagine a world where every child has a tablet computer with ready access to the App of virtual photographic memory (internet). Further, imagine that every student can access all the knowledge of humankind freely at any moment in time. Continue to imagine a world where a misspelled word brings up a spelling challenge application instead of an auto correction. Try to contemplate what it would mean for a teacher to have a database of every misspelled word, every misunderstood concept or every missed equation for each of their students. Try to envision a teacher with the ability to customize the experience of the individual “user” with minimal effort. Imagine the curriculum being automatically targeted to the user through an intuitive educational platform that knows every strength and each unique weakness. I could go on, but I think you get the point.The company that makes this standard available to the educational community will be the company that shapes the future of humankind. Will it be Google, Apple, Microsoft, or some other yet unknown pioneer?Continuing from the thoughts in my last post, I would like to elaborate on the idea of the student as a user of a new standardized educational platform. It is obvious to me that the future of education will always mirror our everyday lives in one way or another. If you examine how technology has influenced your daily life already, you begin to put together a snapshot of what it will mean to be educated in the next decade.In the last few hundred years, most individuals would consider an education as something you receive. You often hear the question asked, “Where did you receive your education?” As we proceed through the next decade, education will slowly move away from reception and toward being custom designed for the individual user. New technology will not only allow us to receive an education, but also develop an education. The question we might ask in 10 years is, “How did you develop your education?” The question of where will still be important, but the how of the matter will be the focus that defines the individual.To make this a reality we will need a standardized platform from which to develop a student’s unique education. This standardized platform will allow us to tailor a custom curriculum that will be matched to talents, interests and life goals. For the educator, a standardized platform will create a way to assist the student in discovering a true purpose in life through a unique educational experience. The basics of reading, writing and arithmetic will not be taught as much as they will be discovered and used. Learning will become a reciprocal experience between the teacher, the student and the machine.Under a standardized platform, each of these three participants will have a role to play. The teacher will be the facilitator, assisting the development of the curriculum and inspiring the direction the student takes. The student will be the user, gathering resources, skills and knowledge in an efficient and measured sequence. The machine will do the work of data gathering and analysis, which will assist the teacher and student in refining the curriculum. This data gathering work of the machine will also free the teacher from the burden of record-keeping and tedious tasks that currently distract from the real job of teaching and learning.Under a standardized system, grade level will be far less important. Achievement and progression will be measured by accomplishment and intelligence as a benchmark for success. The question of failure or success will be irrelevant and replaced with a standard and consistent measurement of potential and overall intelligence. Information will no longer be missed but continually rehearsed and monitored for retention by the machine.In our current educational paradigm, the teacher is in charge of arbitrarily constructing curriculum. This approach to curriculum development is based on inexperience in some cases, outdated materials, inadequate funding and a shortage of time. Measuring the success of a specific curriculum is currently impossible. With a standardized system, comparisons of curricular success can be made across the entire spectrum of education and then continually reformulated and enhanced by the machine.Sadly, teachers today are bogged down with an assortment of mind-numbing tasks that would be better suited to an off-the-shelf automated system. Tasks such as data tracking, reporting and record keeping are currently accomplished manually. These tasks could easily be delegated to an intuitive database. Developing a standard to follow would eliminate these tasks and free the teacher to do their main job of teaching students.Education 3.0Throughout history, man has sought to pass on knowledge to the next generation. This process started with oral tradition, storytelling and writing. With the advent of the printing press, knowledge and information slowly became available to the masses. The amount of information that could be gained by one human in a lifetime was severely limited by his access to printed materials and wealth. The majority of learning was gained through observation and imitation. We can call this Education 1.0.Education 2.0 starts around the late eighteen hundreds with universal literacy movements throughout newly industrialized regions of the world. Improvements in education slowly transitioned from apprenticeship to formal education and training. Despite our movements toward universal education, access to knowledge and opportunity continues to be inequitable throughout the world. Even with the arrival of the computer revolution, access to the tools of learning continues to define the learner.The next decade may mark the moment in history when all men are granted equal access to the greatest treasure a soul can possess. I use the word may in the last sentence because there is the chance that we will miss this golden opportunity. Access to Education 3.0 will only be gained through investment and universal standardization. If we continue to divert wealth toward fruitless goals and corporate greed, this opportunity will be lost or hopelessly delayed.Education 3.0, when it arrives, will be the age of universal enlightenment. Platforms for education and learning will slowly standardize and become globally accessible and affordable. The poorest to the wealthiest will have access to the machine that runs the platform.The thought on your mind at this point is most likely wondering what machine I keep referring to. The machine in question is the one we have been so busy teaching and training since roughly 1969. You’ve probably guessed it by now that I am referring to the internet. The great cloud of knowledge that we call the internet is precisely the mechanism that we will use to build the platform of Education 3.0. When the platform is finally in place, the decade to follow will see the greatest amount of wealth, discoveries and use of human potential that we have witnessed during our time on this earth. The only question that remains to be answered is the point at which I will leave this article.When will we allow the user to use the machine to its potential?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Loan Originator Compensation January 2013

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final rules regarding Loan Originator Compensation Requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), on January 20, 2013. The final rule implements requirements and restrictions imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act concerning loan originator compensation; qualifications of, and registration or licensing of loan originators; compliance procedures for depository institutions; mandatory arbitration; and the financing of single-premium credit insurance. I am going to focus on how the new amendments will affect mortgage brokers and correspondent lenders.There are only a few real changes, but you can tell our policy makers valued the input of our industry this time. The most dramatic change is the ability for mortgage brokers to do borrower paid loans AND be able to compensate their loan officers. The ban on dual compensation is still in effect for brokers, making them less competitive against their correspondent peers. It was an uninformed decision by our policy makers to let this happen to begin with, and they have corrected it. Only problem, it doesn’t go into effect until January of 2013.Clarification on retirement plans has been included. It was unclear whether the contribution to employee retirement plans was allowed or not. It is clear now. Yes, mortgage loan originators can now have a retirement program without the worry of violating federal law. Employers are now able to contribute to a designated tax-advantaged plan for their employees, as defined by the IRS.Also included with a few stipulations, is a profit based non-deferred compensation allowance. It basically allows a bonus up to 10% of a loan officer’s total compensation.Here is a breakdown of all the changes:Note: Originator is defined as a loan officer ( a person who takes applications and negotiates terms) and a mortgage broker ( an entity that does not fund loans from its own funds or warehouse line), not a depository bank employee or a correspondent lender.Record RetentionCorrespondent: Requires the retention of records regarding all compensation paid to your loan officers, the loan officer compensation agreements, for a period of three years from the date of the transaction.Broker: Requires the retention of records regarding all compensation paid to your loan officers, the loan officer compensation agreements, compensation received from your Investors, your agreements with them, compensation received from a consumer or other person (borrower paid transactions), for a period of three years from the date of the transaction.Payments based on terms of a transaction.(Broker/Correspondent)You cannot compensate your loan officers based on any term (rate, profit, YSP, etc.) on a single transaction, multiple transactions, or a “pool” of transactions. You cannot pay them based on a “proxy” for a term either. A factor, although not an obvious loan term, is considered a “proxy” for a term of the transaction if the factor consistently varies with that term over a significant number of transactions, and the loan originator has the ability, directly or indirectly, to add, drop, or change the factor in originating the transaction. It is allowable to pay your loan officers a “fixed percentage of the loan amount”, and if needed, setting a minimum and maximum commission amount.You are allowed to make contributions to a “designated tax-advantaged plan” as compensation. A designated tax-advantaged plan means any plan that meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 401(a), 26 U.S.C. 401(a); employee annuity plan described in Internal Revenue Code section 403(a), 26 U.S.C. 403(a); simple retirement account, as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 408(p), 26 U.S.C. 408(p); simplified employee pension described in Internal Revenue Code section 408(k), 26 U.S.C. 408(k); annuity contract described in Internal Revenue Code section 403(b), 26 U.S.C. 403(b); or eligible deferred compensation plan, as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 457(b), 26 U.S.C. 457(b). The contribution cannot be directly or indirectly based on the terms of that individual loan originator’s transactions.A bonus can be paid under a non-deferred profits-based compensation plan based on the profits earned by the loan officer if the non-deferred compensation is not based on a loan term or condition and at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:The compensation paid to an individual loan originator does not, exceed 10 percent of the individual loan originator’s total compensation corresponding to the time period for which the compensation under the non-deferred profits-based compensation plan is paid; orThe individual loan originator was a loan originator for ten or fewer transactions during the 12-month period preceding the date of the compensation determination.Dual Compensation (Brokers)Dual Compensation (receiving funds from the borrower and creditor) is still not allowed for mortgage brokers.Originators who are employed by a Mortgage Broker have been unable to receive compensation when the borrower paid origination fees and discount points (Borrower Paid). Beginning January 20th, 2014, a mortgage broker will be able to compensate their loan officers on these transactions, as long as the compensation is not based on terms or conditions of the loan.Safe Harbor (Brokers)When meeting the Safe Harbor requirement, some verbiage has changed as far as the options you must present to the customer:The option that stated “The loan with the lowest total dollar amount for origination points or fees and discount points.” Has been changed to:”The loan with the lowest total dollar amount of discount points, origination points or origination fees (or, if two or more loans have the same total dollar amount of discount points, origination points or origination fees, the loan with the lowest interest rate that has the lowest total dollar amount of discount points, origination points or origination fees).”Loan officer requirements and hiring standards.(Correspondent/Broker)All of the new requirements are already covered by the SAFE Act and applied when a loan officer registers for NMLS and State licensing.Name and NMLSR ID on loan documents.(Correspondent/Broker)This requires the originators name and NMLS number on the credit application, the note or loan contract, and the security instrument.Effective June 1, 2013Mandatory Arbitration.(Broker/Correspondent)Eliminates the use of mandatory arbitration clauses, waivers of Federal statutory causes of action, and waivers of consumer rights. Arbitration can be used, but not required in a contract.Prohibition on financing single-premium credit insurance.(Broker/ Correspondent)Credit insurance can be paid monthly, but cannot be financed as a “single premium”.Read the final rule here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/regulations/loan-originator-compensation-requirements-under-the-truth-in-lending-act-regulation-z/In my humble opinion, the amendments released on January 20, 2013 are well thought out and take a step forward this time in accomplishing regulation that will curtail the bad actors in our industry. Although, I think 99% of them left 4 years ago! Regulation can be costly and a burden, but it does go a long way in preventing the problems we have experienced in past years. I encourage everyone in our industry to be involved in the law making procedures through public comment, contact with The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and your local politicians. It does make a difference as these new regulations suggest.

Posted in loans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Getting A Business Financing Loan

Business financing loans are a line of credit which help people who are in business. There are different kinds of business financing loans that are offered to different lenders either to raise funds or loan capital to your business in order to expand your company.Although there are many ways also to finance your business and one should have sufficient cash flow within the existing business you have so that the lender will be able to finance the growth of your company by its own means or you can turn to a bank or other financial institutions that can provide different variety of loans.Having a business financing loan is not as easy since they have some criteria or financing programs where in you meet the following criteria such as:Your business must have commercial customers
Your business must be established and must have consumers or customers.
They don’t finance on real estate projectsSome of the business financing programs:Business are available of every size
Easy to obtain
Have many advantages over conventional business loans
Can be set up in a few daysThere are some business financial loans that don’t require you to have a good personal credit or showing countless financial statements since their financing program or loan allows being flexible to help your business grow but before looking for a business financing loan, you need to know how business loans work and used.You can see that there are many sources of financing loans that are geared to types of businesses but the sources have certain criteria for investment and loan but that depend to the area which they participate.These are some of the areas of Business Financing Loan:Commercial Property
Start-up Financing for business
Loans for Government
Purchase Order Advances
Leasing Equipment
Commercial Financing
Invoice Factoring
Asset Sales Leaseback
Investment Banking
Angel Investor s which is known as informal investor
Venture Capital known as Private Equity CapitalBut private money business financing loan is different since it includes equity loan, hard money as well as private money loans. They limit only to small business investment companies, private investors, business angels, ventures capital firms and commercial lenders.The loans have two types for you to choose when in regards of terms in payment. There is the short term and as well as long term which suits your budget and you will notice also that there are lots of commercial lenders, business loan brokers and business financing companies had gone out of business due to global crisis and many people were having loans anywhere and everywhere in order to survive.If you need financing for your business, you need to plan and study hard of it since financial institutions requires business plan that includes detailed start up cost, marketing plans, monthly expenses, projected profit, etc. Remember that having a business one should do hard work, passion, and determination and have dedicated workers who desired to have the business of their boss grow with success.So If you think that your business is doing good and need some additional capital for expansion, then you need to plan for that and think it over to have a successful business.

Posted in Finance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off