My 3 Year Hiatus

Exactly today three years ago, I posted my last blogpost. Can't imagine how time zooms by but upon my quick reflection, a lot of stuffs changed except this blog that has became obsolete and anemic.

I was really ashamed of having this unsuccessful endeavor of mine that I was even thinking of pulling this site in all of its entirety. But lo and behold - my conscience was telling me otherwise. Questions sprung up like what about all those hours spent putting all of those contents? Not to mention sleepless hours tweaking those pages just to appear exactly what I wanted it to.

Even though this blog didn't turned out as I wanted it to be but in my perspective, especially looking back towards some of those post - it gave me a little bit sense of an accomplishment.

What better thing to do than to continue and try another shot of attempting to make it a success!?

Where to Stay in Moalboal, Cebu? At Barefoot White Beach Resort

Where to Stay in Moalboal, Cebu? At Barefoot White Beach Resort

The town of Moalboal is located at the South-western part of Cebu. It is 89 kilometers from Cebu City and about 2.5 hours by bus or around 1 hour and 45 minutes through a private vehicle.

The place is famous among foreign and local tourists alike since it has some notable dive sites like the Pescador Island and a beautiful 2 kilometer stretch of white beach located at Brgy. Saavedra, the famous Basdaku Beach.

You can't find anywhere along the southern part of Cebu (or make it anywhere else in the island of Cebu) who have this nice strip of long white beach, a fine sand, accessible to the public, plenty of accommodation to choose from. And not to mention that it can accommodate a large number of beach-goers in one setting because the beach is long and wide.

A day isn't enough to enjoy the fun, sun, and sand so I would recommend an overnight stay. So where to stay in Moalboal, Cebu? Especially near the Basdaku Beach?

Well, there are a lot of resorts and plenty of accommodation type that you can choose from. From a very pricey and high-end resort like the Club Serena at Php6,000.00 a night or you can stay at a really cheap one (spartan type- for backpackers) for as low as Php1,500.00 a night- good for four pax already (perfect for barkada night-outs).

But if you're looking for a nice descent place where it's more private, budget-friendly but with complete basic amenities- then Barefoot White Beach Resort is perfect for you. Their published rate is at Php2,500.00 (at Super Deluxe) but during off-peak seasons- you can have their room for as low Php2,000.00 or if you are good at sales-talk (like me), I had it at a discounted rate of Php1,800.00 for an overnight stay.

Barefoot White Beach Resort: The Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach - Super Deluxe Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach - Super Deluxe Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach - Super Deluxe Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach - The Villa Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach Resort: A peek inside their Super Deluxe Room Accommodation

Their Super Deluxe Room is spacious with Filipiniana theme. Equipped with a standard TV with GSat Pinoy DTH service. It has a personal ref, a mini-kettle, and a coffee table for two. Their bed is cozy and their aircon unit works out fine.

Barefoot White Beach - Inside their Super Deluxe Room Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach - Inside their Super Deluxe Room Accommodation

Barefoot White Beach- Super Deluxe Room Accommodation: The Bathroom

Their bathroom although a bit small and functional but the water pressure is really frustrating. That is if you're not used to this common type of problem in cheap hotels/resorts. But considering that the water supply is really a challenge even at town proper plus the fact that the resort is very far from the water source. I think this is understandable or bearable if I might say.

Barefoot White Beach - Inside their Super Deluxe Room Accommodation: The Bathroom

Barefoot White Beach - Beachfront Cabana

Barefoot White Beach- this is it! The Beach!

The beach forms part of the two kilometer fine white sand stretch of Basdaku Beach. One downside truth is, their accommodation isn't located at the front of the beach but instead you have to take a little around  50 steps to get you there- from your accommodation room to the beachfront. One exception is their single Honeymoon Suite which is located just in front of the cabana.

The beachfront is located among the strip of high-end resorts in the area which is at the far-end of the stretch thus offering you the privacy or the exclusivity away from those prying eyes or the paparazzi type.

If you wanna explore the rest of Basdaku Beach (also best doing it on barefoot- as the name of the resort implies) and the excitement that is present in the area, you only have to walk a little less than 500 meters to the left. There you can see a lot of people enjoying different activities, swimming, snorkeling, preparing their dive, playing beach volleyball. Some souvenir shops, sari-sari stores, and videoke machines can also be found. You can dine there (a carenderia type is also available if you're on a budget) since the resort doesn't have any in-house cafe or kitchen. Some hawkers frequent the area selling you their wares and yes- some local delicacies and some of their fresh sea foods catch! They're fresh from the source and really cheap vs the city's market value. Just beware of buying the foods (those already prepared or cooked already) for you might catch diarrhea if your tummy isn't immune to these sort of stuffs.
 

Barefoot White Beach: The Beachfront

Barefoot White Beach: The Beachfront

Barefoot White Beach: The Beachfront

Barefoot White Beach: The Beachfront

Now to sum it all up, take these things into consideration:

Positive:

• Rates (Not too High - Mid-Range)
• Accommodation (spacious with cozy bed)
• Staff are friendly and accommodating
• Accepts major credit card
• Secluded white beach with fine sands

Negative:

• Location of the beach from the accommodation - around 50 Steps leading to the beachfront
• Eating/Dining is a challenge - the resort don't have an in-house restaurant nor a cafe
• Far from the main road - you have to walk a few distance like 100meters at least from the resort to its parking area
• Road is too narrow (in some area) and unpaved (difficult to walk at night)

The Path that will Lead You to the Beachfront

The Path that Leads You Back to Your Accommodation

The Resort's Parking (Around 200Meters Must Walk Distance to the Accommodation)

The Road to the Resort

The Path (Too Narrow) that Leads to the Resort

The Path that Leads to the Resort

My Verdict:

Over-all, Barefoot White Beach Resort is still a must-try if you want value for money, privacy, and the famous Basdaku Beach. Go check 'em out!

Here are the details of the Resort:

Address:
Barefoot White Beach Resort
Brgy. Saavedra, Moalboal, Cebu

Map:

How to Get to Barefoot White Beach Resort from Moalboal Town Proper

Getting there:

By Taxi Barefoot White Beach Resort is located in Moalboal, Cebu. To get there, take a taxi from Cebu City, the taxi ride takes about 2 hours and cost approximately Php3,000.00 (75 USD). They can also arrange airport pickup for you, just ask for your reservation. Driving If you are driving from Cebu City, take a right turn as you get into Moalboal town proper, following a big sign towards Saavedra and Club Serena. Follow the road for about six kilometers and soon after you pass the checkpoint to get into the White Beach area, take a right and follow the signs to Barefoot White Beach Resort. After taking a left after a couple of hundred meters you will find the entrance to Barefoot White Beach Resort next to Club Serena and Delgado’s Beach House. There is guarded parking available about 100m away from the resort entrance, so please drive all the way up and let us know that you have arrived so we can help with the luggage before you go to the parking area. It can be a little bit hard to find them, but it has some perks. You’ll love being away from the noise and the traffic. By Tricycle A tricycle from Moaboal town should cost no more than around Php200.00 (You can also make hangyo or tawad and make a pa-cute smile to the driver so you maybe given discounts). Caution: Beware that the drivers may try to charge you more, or bring you to a different resort to get a commission. This is quite a common practice here among the locals.

Website:www.barefoot.ph 

Email:
reservation@barefoot.ph


Contact Numbers:
0063 928 493 9798 (Globe)
0063 922 848 7497 (Sun)

Enjoy your adventure! ;D

World's Greatest Dad Starring Robin Williams: myWeekend Movie Review

World's Greatest Dad Starring Robin Williams: myWeekEnd Movie Review

This is a RePost from my FB Notes dated November 7, 2010. I think this is the right place where it belongs.

The World's Greatest Dad is a 2009 black comedy film starring Robin Williams (Jumanji), Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids), and Alexie Gilmore (The Devil Wears Prada). It was written & directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.

Image courtesy of www.vh1.com

Overall- I rate the film 4 Stars out of 5. It was well-written, unique, and having a good performance expected from one of myPersonal Fave comedic actor- Robin Williams. It does gave me a few laughs, a few scenarios- of which I can truly relate in my real life back during my teen years. And a few unexpected twists, and a nice I-feel-good ending.

But I think the most notable thing that I saw from this movie is the act called Erotic asphyxiation. It is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for a maximum sexual arousal. It is a kind of sexual disorder because it has the potential for death or may cause serious injury if not properly administered. A sort of BDSM, I suppose but only on its extreme sense.

According to author George Shuman, the effect as such "When the brain is deprived of oxygen, it induces a lucid, semi-hallucinogenic state called hypoxia. Combined with orgasm, the rush is said to be no less powerful than cocaine, and highly addictive". Please refer to this Wikipedia link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoerotic_asphyxiation

Heck, I never knew that a weird practice exists until I finished watching this movie.

Watch its official trailer here from YouTube

P.S. By the way I also learned here the acronym TILF or in other words- Teacher I Liked to F*ck.

Founders at Work: Stories of Startup's Early Days by Jessica Livingston

Founders at Work: Stories of Startup's Early Days by Jessica Livingston

The book is published by Apress in 2007 with a total of around 456 pages.

The book's contents are arranged in 32 chapters each dedicated to a particular founder with his corresponding company or companies' and some of the stories behind it.

Contents

Chapter 1:  Max Levchin - Paypal
Chapter 2:  Sabeer Bhatia - Hotmail
Chapter 3:  Steve Wozniak - Apple Computer
Chapter 4:  Joe Kraus - Excite
Chapter 5:  Dan Bricklin - Software Arts
Chapter 6:  Mitchell Kapor - Lotus Development
Chapter 7:  Ray Ozzie - Iris Associates, Groove Networks
Chapter 8:  Evan Williams - Pyra Labs (Blogger.com)
Chapter 9:  Tim Brady - Yahoo!
Chapter 10: Mike Lazaridis - Research in Motion
Chapter 11: Arthur Van Hoff - Marimba
Chapter 12: Paul Buchheit - Gmail
Chapter 13: Steve Perlman - WebTV
Chapter 14: Mike Ramsay - Tivo
Chapter 15: Paul Grahamam - Viaweb
Chapter 16: Joshua Schachter - del.i.cio.us
Chapter 17: Mark Fletcher - ONElist, Bloglines
Chapter 18: Craig Newmark - craigslist
Chapter 19: Caterina Fake - Flickr
Chapter 20: Brewster Kahle - WAIS, Internet Archive, Alexa Internet
Chapter 21: Charles Geschke - Adobe Systems
Chapter 22: Ann Winblad - Open Systems, Hummer Winblad
Chapter 23: David Heinemeier Hansson - 37signals
Chapter 24: Philip Greenspun - ArsDigita
Chapter 25: Joel Spolsky - Fog Creek Software
Chapter 26: Stephen Kaufer - TripAdvisor
Chapter 27: James Hong - HOT or NOT
Chapter 28: James Currier - Tickle
Chapter 29: Blake Ross - Firefox
Chapter 30: Mena Trott - Six Apart
Chapter 31: Bob Davis - Lycos
Chapter 32: Ron Gruner - Alliant Computer Systems, Shareholder.com

I was interested with the book since it talked about some bits and pieces on the early history of the Internet- the Information Age as what others might call it. About the successful companies (at
their time and some do still even up to this day) that dealth with both the software and the hardware. These companies have their visions that in one way or another shaped or influenced the industry of today.

But what's more important, are the people behind them - their motivation, their ideas, their success, their struggles and on how they overcome the different obstacles that came their way.

It was the experiences of these people, their story, on how they achieved their success and what we can learn from.


About the Author

Jessica Livingston is a founding partner of Y Combinator, a seed-stage venture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Mountain View, California. She was previously vice president of marketing at investment bank Adams Harkness. In addition to her work with startups at Y Combinator, she organizes Startup School (www.StartupSchool.org). She has a bachelor's degree in English from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

In early 2007, Livingston released Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days (published by Apress), a collection of interviews with famous startup founders, including Steve Wozniak, Mitch Kapor, Ray Ozzie, and Max Levchin.

In 2008, she married fellow Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham.


Additional information:

Buy the book at Amazon or read some of its book review there.
Guy Kiyosaki's blog about the book.
The book's website.
The book's Facebook Page.

Credits:

amazon.com
foundersatwork.com
bookstogreatness.com  
wikipedia.org

Top 6 Reasons Why I Blog

Top 6 Reasons Why I Blog

Image courtesy of pursuitoffunctionalhome.com

It has been one of my interest in the past to set-up and maintain a blog of my own. Although, I have tried it in the past but it has never been a success due partly after conducting my own research at that time- that everyone else is into blogging.

Facebook was just starting to gain ground here in the Philippines and Friendster was king. Social networking at that time then was just that - being social and having a network. The content isn't that lively and the only way of accessing it is through your desktop. Mobile internet at that time is somewhat too futuristic. As for my blog, around 90% of my time was spent on learning its intricacies, at tweaking its code to look good rather than putting much effort at building its content. Until finally my interest waned and my blog went into oblivion.

Five years later, I rediscovered it and was amazed that it was still alive lying idly in cyberspace. I entertained the thought of resurrecting it having my recollections on why I did it in the first place. Past forward to present, so many things in my life have changed. Unfortunately, quite a number of them already buried without any chance of recovering it (since my memory is a poor resource and all my hard-drives including its back-up has either been damaged, lost or corrupted). But for those things I posted across the web- I can still retrieve it. I can still access it through my Flicker and Photobucket accounts. And I think this is one small thing we fail to consider or probably just took for granted, precious memories we failed to store.

Luckily now, there is Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and a lot of other social networking platforms out there and you don't have to worry about the hassle of setting up a blog. Those sites existed primarily having the same reasons why blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress and MovableType came into being. 

But for those of you who wanted to know why I wanted a blog of my own?

Here's my Top 6 Reasons why I Blog.     

• Fun - Instead of wasting my time wandering around the web or playing addictive games like Candy Crush Saga or DOTA, I'd probably want to waste my time tinkering on how to set-up a blog and improve it's page ranking, master SEO and be an expert on keywords. Also try to figure out how to harness the power of social media and in return, probably earns me a new career as a Digital Marketing Manager in the future. 

• To Help people - I want to share a cent of my wisdom, my knowledge, and my experiences to anybody who probably upon reading my blog will see value on it. Maybe apply it in their own personal lives and just maybe- make a little bit of contribution to humankind.

• Build my network - Haha! This is easy, as simple as clicking the button on the Add Friend at Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. But I want more than that, I want to show people that I also contribute. Even a blog or two can tell how wide and vast my skills and interests are. In other words, I'm building my network not based solely on quantity but on the quality side as well.

• As my online Journal - An online repository of my thoughts, interests, ramblings, and some mundane stuffs probably. May also serve as a venue to hone my new skills acquisition strategies at self and career development, for some of my personal milestones, at my attempt at studies on life's mysteries and hidden powers.

• Passive Online Money-Making Machine - Yes, that's right! Through Google Adsense! The more I blog, the more I become creative. The more I become creative, the more people visit and read my blog. The more people visit and read my blog, the higher the page impressions of my blog becomes and the higher possible click-thrus I can expect. This means, more clicks is equal to more bucks (with my evil grin)! Not to mention, the improvement of my command on the English language, the expansion of my vocabulary, the pursuit of grammatical competence therefore making myself invaluable as a result.


• To give justice to my university degree - Having finished Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in one of the major Universities here in Cebu and I'm not sure whether this would still made any sense. I just felt that doing this blog made me use the computer of which it still involves a little bit of science. Lol!

5 Essential Knowledge for a Salesman to Close a Sale

5 Essential Knowledge for a Salesman to Close a Sale

Image courtesy of www.ioehope.com

Closing the Sale is the last part of the Sales Process. It is where the seller and the buyer have finally reached an agreement to proceed with the transaction. But before the seller or the agent or the salesperson can successfully do that. He must consider the following:

The 5 Essential Knowledge for a Salesman to Close a Sale:
1.Knowledge of Product
2.Knowledge of Inventory
3.Knowledge of Available Financing
4.Qualification of the Buyer
5.Knowledge on the Ability of the Buyer

Now what are these?

*Knowledge of Product - How can a Professional Salesperson recommend a product when he himself doesn't fully understand what the product does and what benefit it can bring to his customers? How can he convince his prospect if he can't even show the value or the importance of having it in the first place? It is really a must to master your product if you want to succeed.

*Knowledge of Inventory - You know how frustrating it can be when after all those times you've invested on searching the right product, going into fine details like how much does it cost, preparing your budget and then finally going into the store to personally check it. You talk to their sales clerk and discussed the details and the two of you agreed and she left to go get the product. She came back and then bang! You are told that they don't have the stock anymore!? So if you are the seller, you have to make sure that you are always updated of the inventory status of your product. Otherwise, not only that you are giving your competitor a chance but you're ill-prepared to do an up-sell or to offer a different but similar product.

*Knowledge of Available Financing - Oftentimes, you encountered some prospects that went to check out your product. Believing they're qualified, you proceed with your presentation. And you've done it in flying colors but when you tried to close the sale- you are told different kinds of stuffs like they'll go check the price on the other stores, go ask approval from their spouse or whatever different reasons they can think of. Of course they are absolutely interested with your product but without your knowing, their main objection is that they don't have the budget yet. In this situation, showing them the available financing scheme can likely increase your chances of closing the sale. As easy as telling them that you accept credit cards or you can arrange with your in-house financing facility can greatly help you get that sale. So go check out what are the available financing scheme that you can possibly offer to your customers.

*Qualification of the Buyer - Now this involves skill! This maybe tricky especially if you are new to sales. But this can be done thru asking the right questions. Find out their motivations, their desires, how high or low if you can identify it. Check out their background, their personal or professional needs, any gaps that you can spot and focus on it. Most important is to check out their financial capacity, from there you can offer the right product that are perfect for them and for their budget.

*Knowledge on the Ability of the Buyer - Like the one above, this isn't simple. This involves initiative and hard-work. Probably an A-Lister, the who's who among the society. A research might be needed on top of the usual information gathered thru questioning. Not only will you know the buying capacity of the prospect but as well as its ability- like a very sophisticated, well-informed, and well-connected buyer. If you know how to sell to these types of customers then its guaranteed you'll gonna make them your customer for life.

Ponder this!

*A doctor cannot tell you what's wrong with you unless he knows your sickness!
*A doctor does this - asks questions, eliminates areas of improbability, eliminates symptoms, arrives at a decision and prescribes the right medication. This is what a Professional Salesperson should do!
*Definition of a "Similar Situation close" - Everybody is doing it so it must be great!
*You don't tell people what they should do, you ask the right questions and when they answer - they tell you. When they tell you, they believe what they said is true. Now you lead them to the decision which is to own the right product or service.
*Whenever you have the temptation to go tell them what to do - Stop and think "As a professional, How can I ask it?".
*A sale is nothing more than a sum total of Yeses!
*A lot of people buy different products and services for different reasons. As the old saying went- "Different strokes for different folks". Thus, personalization is the key.
*The emotions are the things that you must arouse. You must get them to a point wherein they're emotionally ready to make a decision. You must arouse them to be emotionally involved = To get to the feeling that they must have the product.
*A professional doesn't really answers an objection, he asks the right question and leads them to answer their own objections.

Happy Selling!

Top 8 Reasons Why you should Use Questions in Closing a Sale

Top 8 Reasons Why you should Use Questions in Closing a Sale

Image courtesy of www.juliesbicycle.com

A professional salesperson is a consultant. He or she should guide the prospect make the right decision all throughout the buying process. What's important is for the salesperson to take charge, to take lead, to be in control and how to do it is through asking the right set of questions.

It has been said that the one in control is the one asking the right questions. A professional salesperson doesn't just tell people but he asks them. More often than not, if you tell people things- they tend to doubt it but if you relay the message through asking the right questions- they believe it. Or in other words, if you say it- they doubt it and if they say it- it's true. This holds true especially if you haven't established your credibility yet- either you're just starting out in the business or simply because you haven't known each other yet.

Top 8 reasons why you should use questions in closing a sale:

1.To gain control
2.Isolate areas of interest
3.Acknowledge of facts
4.To receive minor agreement
5.It defines the areas where there is most interest in their minds.
6.To arouse and control emotions.
7.To isolate objection
8.To answer objections

Here's why:

• To gain control - Not only this will keep the process smooth and orderly but as well as this saves you time by strictly following the Basic Steps in Selling.

• Isolate areas of interest - Basically forms part of the Needs Analysis stage. An excellent opportunity to get to know and understand your customer. Can also be a great way of making sure that the prospect is highly Qualified.

• Acknowledge of facts - Present ideas and make sure that you get a buy-in. Don't fight your prospect simply because you knew that he or she has the wrong knowledge or information. Your role here is to convince and it now depends on your creativity on how to present the facts so that you'll get the acknowledgement or the agreement that you need.

• To receive minor agreement - According to Tom Hopkins, the Number One American Sales Trainer- "A sale is nothing more than a sum total of yeses!" By asking the right questions at the right time, make sure that you and your prospect has some minor agreements established early on along the sales process. As you came closer to the final Closing Stage, this wouldn't be difficult for you.

• It defines the areas where there is most interest in their minds - The step where you use the FAB Selling (Features, Advantages, Benefits Selling). What are the benefits of your products compared with the competitors and the type or the quality of the service that  they're most interested in.

• To arouse and control emotions - By this time, you now have the idea on what could possibly be their "Hot Button or Buy Button". Through the use of questions, you may make emphasis around it and show the product's great benifits or reasons why they should have your product. This could also be used to deflect certain negative emotions or sentiments towards your product.

• To isolate objection - Through the use of questions, you may be able to identify certain negative perceptions about your product. This could happen through poor product understanding from the customers side or probably through negative reactions heard from somebody who weren't happy with the product. You can isolate their objection by presenting the right information thru influencing and by using the right question.

• To answer objection - Again, if you say it- they doubt it and if they say it- it's true. And you can effectively use this through using the appropriate question relevant at the timebeing. 

Ponder this!
*A professional asks questions and gives the right answer swiftly. Just in time before he hears a not-so-nice reply from the prospect.
*The basic premise of professional selling is - To lead them to make a decision of which you think is the best for them.
*I can't lead people to a decision until I make it.
*The saddest part of the selling profession is - the Average Salesperson lets them make the decision!
Example: What do a Doctor tells you when you are sick? Is he not telling you what to do for you to get healed? That's the same with Professional Salesperson. He tells you what to buy!
Another example: A taxi driver lets you drive to your destination or a Surgeon gives you a scalpel and let you try it on yourself for awhile.
*A professional makes the decision because that's the reason they're professional.
*Don't ask a question that you think the customer can't answer because it will make them feel stupid.
*If a customer don't like you then they will not buy from you.
*If your tactics are sound, they can't fight you.
*With questions - you are in absolute control.
 
Happy Selling! ;D

Where to Stay in Tagbilaran City, Bohol - Soledad Suites

Where to Stay in Tagbilaran City, Bohol - Soledad Suites

Soledad Suites is the first and only upscale boutique hotel in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. It's located along J.C. Borja cor. M. Parras St. Very accessible for its located at the heart of the city. Just a walking distance away from BQ Mall, Agora Terminal, and the St. Joseph Cathedral. Only 10 minutes away from the seaport, 15 minutes away from the airport and less than 30 minutes away from the famous white sand beaches of Panglao.

The hotel has a total of 20 rooms with different room type accommodations, ranging from as high as Php3,200 (Premiere Accommodation) and as low as Php2,000.00 (Business Suite). I got mine for a discounted rate of Php1,760.00 for their Business Suite, a perk for their regular customers.

The staff are very friendly and accommodating. The facilities are well-maintained. The room is spacious. The bathroom is nice. It has its own mini-bar/personal ref and mini-kettle in case you want some coffee or tea inside your room. By the way, a supplementary coffee, tea, and a bottle of mineral water is provided on a daily basis for free. 

                                                
They have an excellent internet connection speed although you have to request frontdesk to restart the router in case you'll experience hard time making connections. A free complimentary Philippine Star Newspaper is also available at their lounge. It's great for they accept major credit cards. They also provide free shuttle service to and from seaports/airports. An ample parking space if you have your car and a 24-hr coffee shop.

Brewpoint Coffee Club, their coffee shop - is located in the ground floor of which their food isn't that expensive and not at all memorable either. What's notable though is that their menu is somewhat like locally-inspired. I mean the ingredients that they use aren't those stuff which are too familiar commercially - those kinds wherein you can easily have from the leading grocery stores.

What I like about this hotel is that it really gives me a good night's sleep (compared with the other hotels in the city). I'm not quite sure why but probably because of their cozy bed and perfectly smooth pillow or probably because of the spacious room with matching lighting that is of extra-ordinary. Or probably because of their super-duper cool air-conditioning system. I don't know,
maybe probably because the hotel over-all is really quite homey or just because of me - too tired from the day's activities.Whatever is the reason, I really enjoyed my sleep here.

Over-all, I rate Soledad Suites as a 4 Star and would be more than happy to personally Recommend this to you!

You may visit their website at www.soledadsuites.com
Contact Number: +63 38 501 7421 / +(6338) 0917 633 3218

Full Address:

Lou Square

J.C. Borja cor. M. Parras Sts.

Tagbilaran, Bohol

Philippines 6300

Google Map Location:

Enjoy your Stay! ;D

Deconstructing a Pushy Salesperson

Deconstructing a Pushy Salesperson

Photo courtesy of saleshq.monster.com

Old school sales person are those type of sales people who are very pushy with their products that they almost have to literally shove their products (if they can) up close to into your face! They almost always into hurrying up to close the sale with you that instead of getting to love the product - you are actually being repelled by their actions.

This is a No-No for an aspiring Sales Pro!

Probably, you are a pushy sales person too and you didn't know that.

A pushy salesperson most of the time tells their customers this (or probably similar to this):

• This is the best product there is!
• This is absolutely what you need! 
• You should take advantage of this. 
• You better hurry, promo is about to end, inventory is getting low! 
• This is the best product available there is in the market today.

The above example all leads to a conclusion from the prospective buyer that the salesman benifits more than the buyer.

Things to Remember:
*A professional sales person doesn't tell people things but he can asks them.
*If I tell them things - they tend to doubt it, if I'll ask the right questions - they'll believe it. Or in other words- if I say it - they doubt it, if they say it - it's true.
*If you're just starting at sales - master the products first before finding the customers that needs it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:
*An average salesperson that is overwhelmed by their product - thinks that the best thing to do is to keep on talking and talking to a prospective customer and that its what all they have to do for them to make a sale.

Ponder this!
How many mouths do you have?
How many ears do you have?
A professional salesperson realizes that you have to use them according to its percentage.
You have to listen as twice as you need to talk.

Happy Selling!

Molave Milk Station at Barili, Cebu

Molave Milk Station at Barili, Cebu

Molave Milk Station is a perfect Spot where you could have some stop-over to refresh or to unwind for a few minutes from a long drive.

Situated just a few minutes drive from Brgy. Mantalongon, Barili - the junction that leads to the town of Aloguinsan (if you're coming from Cebu City) and around more or less 15mins. drive if you're coming from Barili town proper.

T

The place is cool since its surrounded with lots of trees, is located below a hill, and a beautiful mountain scenery nearby. I even think that the owner of this place is also the owner of the hacienda (farm) nearby. You can see a number of animals inside the farm. The most notable I saw were the ostriches.

 But more than that - Molave Milk Station is famous for their ICE CREAM! Yup, you've heard it right! They have their own special home-made ice cream wherein its main ingredient which is milk - is a fresh produce straight from the mooo! err, cow from the farm nearby! Really fresh and refreshing!

At Molave Milk Station, you can also have a fresh cow's milk for those health-conscious individuals. Aside from that, they also serve lunch, snacks, other refreshing products and of course - to those who loves lechon - yes! They also serve lechon baboy.

The place can be a good picnic area for the family. A week-end getaway if you want. It has a nice viewing deck, some kiddie activity area, and i think most important to travelers - are their comfort rooms. Generally clean though the water is a bit of a challenge.

So next time, if you happen to pass along the area. This place is definitely worth a try!

Tom Hopkins - America's Number One Sales Trainer

Tom Hopkins - America's #1 Sales Trainer

Photo courtesy of TheEpochtimes.com

Tom Hopkins wasn’t born to wealth and privilege. He lives a life full of struggle. He married early - at 19, with his own family to feed and without good decent job. He worked in construction carrying steel before trying his luck in sales.

Recognizing successful people in real estate who were dressed well and driving nice cars, he decided to pursue this type of career. It took him several attempts to pass his licensing exam before finally succeeded. During that time, real estate was considered an old man's profession.

His next problem was to find somebody who wants to hire him. After several visits from a number of real estate offices around town usually on his way home from his construction job, Tom realized that it was his first impressions he was making that is failing him.

Doing some readjustments and with his continued perseverance, one office manager eventually took pity on him and gave him a job. But he wasn't successful. One day he was invited to attend a three-day sales training seminar with J. Douglas Edwards. Desperate to try to improve his performance he decided to invest his last bit of savings in the program.

Out of it he realized that selling is a learned skill. Inspired by Mr. Edward's training, he became an avid student. He attended seminars, read books on selling and invested in some vinyl records on self-improvement.

Tom applied everything he learned and by the time he turned 27, he was a millionaire salesperson in real estate. He set records that remained unbroken until this century. His last year as a real estate agent, he sold 365 homes—the equivalent of one each day.

To know more about him:

Visit his website at http://www.tomhopkins.com

To know more of his books, visit his Amazon's Tom Hopkins Page

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich

This is a RePost from my FB Notes: March 5, 2011 - I think it should be posted here.

Photo courtesy from Wikipedia.org

I happen to have an interest with the book since Facebook has been a part of my life, although i had been a member for this social networking site for around four years already but I didn't got really serious logging-in until just last March of this year when I wanted to reconnect an old friend of mine.

I searched for him everywhere on the net, although I found quite a few traces of him, including of course from Friendster but I can't get any feedback or replies from the messages I sent him. I was about to get frustrated when I tried to find him here at Facebook as my last resort.

This site didn't fail me. I found him here. This is where his hang-out is. The place where he not only spend his boring hours but as well as his primary tool in reconnecting his friends and loved-ones back here in Pinas.

From that moment on, I was hooked with this site. This is almost like my prayer, wherein I logged-in before and after I went to bed. Facebook is now running in my blood. And it is just appropriate that I wanted to know the story behind it all. The founding of Facebook and how its co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg turned from an ordinary geek from Harvard, into the world's youngest self-made Billionaire.

 

The Average, the Good and the Great (Salesman)

The Average, the Good, and the Great (Salesman)

I'd like to quote Mr. Tom Hopkins from his book "How to Master the Art of Selling Anything". There's a comparison there between the Average, the Good and the Great salesman.

The following are the qualities of a Great Salesman: 

• Burning desire to Achieve!     
This is one thing that is hard to measure. If only there's a device that can measure a person's desire so that we could tell who will keep on moving, who will quit and when they give up then that would be great! Running a business wouldn't be that difficult. And we could have figured sooner and save a lot of our time.

• They do what they fear most!
They learn what their fears are - they attack them, they overcome them, they are successful at them. Once they've done that, they've develop the confidence that they radiate from overcoming that fear.

• They keep their Enthusiasm while they're failing.
  Some sales people are only good when things are good. A Great salesman no matter how bad the situation is - he never lost his enthusiasm. He never let himself be affected by the bad events that turn out in his life. He remains to be happy, excited about life, radiate with positivity. Usually, what he does is he will identify the problem, tries to solve it, take care of it and move on. Still keeping the enthusiasm even though at times he failed.

• They Love people.
  They have love-affair of the people they serve and that's why they take lots and lots of referrals. They enjoy meeting new people building lots of contacts and expanding their network.
 
• They don't take Rejections personally.
They knew that the customer or the prospect rejected the product, the price, the service, the company but not themselves. It has never been personal to them.

• They Invest in their Education and are Students of Techniques. 
Every great sales person, every great companies - they share a common characteristic - of believing in education. They tried to have their people to attend to seminars, encourage to read books, suggests to listen to audio recordings, etc. All in the name of education, acquiring new skills, getting updated. Thus, keeping their mind sharp.

 Points to Ponder:
 
*Only you personally can measure your desire - and you can do that by asking yourself this question: "How much pain can I handle until I quit?"
*We want to change our environment, and the way we change our environment is by changing the inner state of our mind.
*You put finer things in your mind and the finer things will gravitate towards you.
*Empty the coins in the purse of your mind and your mind will fill your purse with coins      - Benjamin Franklin

Happy Selling!

FloWer Beach & Diving Resort: Anda, Bohol

FloWer Beach and Diving Resort at Anda Bohol

FloWer Beach and Diving Resort is located at Virgen, Anda, Bohol. A two and a half (2 hrs. & 30 mins.) drive from Tagbilaran City. Anda, Bohol is for me by far better compared to Panglao Island and in fact much better versus the world-famous Boracay Island. Why? Because it's more peaceful there, more closer to nature and the place isn't that packed with so many people.

For budget-conscious people like me, after asking the question: Is it Nice? comes the second most important one - How Much Does it Cost? Well, to answer the first question - I'll show you some pics:

FloWer Beach - Private & Secluded

FloWer Beach - White Powdery Sands

FloWer Beach - Your Romantic Getaway

 

 FloWer Beach - Undiscovered Paradise

 FloWer Beach - Your Escape from Life's Hustle & Bustle

 FloWer Beach - Beachfront Cabana with WiFi Connection

I hope the above pictures answers your question whether its nice or not. Now, to answer the second question, here's the rate. Luckily, the lady at the Frontdesk gave in to my request - to Offer me the Lowest Rate possible. I reasoned that its a Late Check-in (since it's around 7PM in the evening when I came). Also, I reasoned out that its Off-Season so they better give me a good deal. I was lucky, they gave me a Discounted Rate of Php2,000.00. Not bad, a Discount of Php800.00 was given!

Now for the accommodations, their rooms are nice, its simple and spacious. I love their bed, its huge and comfy. Their air-conditioning is adequate. The room has a refrigerator though no complimentary drinks, it has an LCD TV though you have to add additional fee for an inferior Dream Satellite TV service. Their bathroom is fine,  especially the water supply - no problem except that they don't have a cold/hot shower but who cares? Each accommodation has its own veranda so you could see the sprawling greeneries around. Hey let's take a look:

FloWer Beach - One of their Villas
 

 FloWer Beach - Huge & Comfy Beds

FloWer Beach - Personal Ref & LCD TV (See those Booze Over there?)

FloWer Beach - T&B

FloWer Beach: A Must-Visit Place!

As soon as the first light of day came knocking-in. I hurriedly go outdoors to check the magnificent view. Truly, this place is non-other. Because the location is a cove, this place is perfect! Especially for the honeymooners and for the loners alike who commands privacy. This is a little spot of paradise! Peaceful and quite, high degree of relaxation can be expected here. Unlike some of the beaches out there where it connects to the other properties & sometimes frequented by non-guest. The reason why this place is extra special.

My verdict? This place is a Must-Visit! A patch of Paradise hidden far away from civilization. Perfect for those people who wanted privacy and complete relaxation.

By the way, below are their contact details:

For their website:
http://www.flower-beach.com
Here's their rates:
http://www.flower-beach.com/images/pdf/flower-beach-prices2012.pdf
Here's their email add:
info@flower-beach.com

Here's their Contact Number:
+63 918 579 6166
+49 177 687 9402