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Monday, April 28, 2008

Promotion and Relegation

In many sports leagues around the world with North American and Australian professional leagues being the most notable exceptions, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season in which teams are transferred between divisions. The best-ranked teams in each division are promoted to the next-highest division, and at the same time the worst ranked teams in the higher division are relegated or demoted to the lower division. This process may continue down through several levels, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and 3, levels 3 and 4, and so on.

The number of teams exchanged between each pair of divisions is normally identical, unless the higher division wishes to change the size of its membership or has lost one or more of its clubs and wishes to restore its previous membership size, in which case fewer teams may be relegated from that division, or accepted for promotion from the division below. Such variations will almost inevitably cause a knock-on effect through the lower divisions. For example, in 1995 the English Premier League voted to reduce its numbers by two and achieved the desired change by relegating four teams instead of the usual three, whilst only allowing two promotions from the Football League First Division.

The system is seen as the defining characteristic of the "European" form of professional sports league organization. Promotion and relegation have the effect of maintaining a hierarchy of leagues and divisions, according to the relative strength of their teams. They also maintain the importance of games played by many low-ranked teams near the end of the season, which may be at risk of relegation; in contrast, a low-ranked North American team's final games serve little purpose, and in fact losing may even be beneficial to such teams, yielding a better position in the next year's draft. The downside of relegation, however, is the potential severe economic hardship or even bankruptcy for demoted clubs. Some leagues most notably English football's Premier League offer "parachute payments" to its relegated teams for the following year(s), sums which often are higher than the prize money received by some non-relegated teams, in order to protect them from bankruptcy. There is of course a corresponding bonanza for owners of promoted clubs.

Teams in line for promotion may have to satisfy certain non-playing conditions in order to be accepted by the higher league, such as financial solvency, stadium capacity, and facilities. If these are not satisfied, a lower-ranked team may be promoted in their place, or a team in the league above may be saved from relegation.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Tele Marketing

Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson uses the telephone to solicit prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face-to-face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.

Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches programmed to be played over the phone via automatic dialing. To most, telemarketing is a disturbing annoyance. However, while there are many methods in which to block telemarketing calls, most residents with a telephone number receive these calls.

Categories and Sub-Categories
The two major categories of telemarketing are Business-to-business and Business-to-consumer.

Subcategories
  • Lead Generation, the gathering of information
  • Sales, using persuasion to sell a product or service
  • Outbound, proactive marketing in which prospective and preexisting customers are contacted directly
  • Inbound reactive reception of incoming orders and requests for information. Demand is generally created by advertising, publicity, or the efforts of outside salespeople.
Negative Perceptions and Criticisms of Telemarketing
Telemarketing has been negatively associated with various scams and frauds, such as pyramid schemes, and with deceptively overpriced products and services. Fraudulent telemarketing companies are frequently referred to as "telemarketing boiler rooms" or simply "boiler rooms." Telemarketing may also be criticized as an unethical business practice due to the perception of high-pressure sales techniques during unsolicited calls. Telemarketing calls are often considered an annoyance, especially when they occur during the dinner hour, early in the morning, or late in the evening.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Get prepared before hunting for an Apartment

Because of the spiraling costs of the home ownership, many people looking forward to take the rented apartment and make it as what they dreamt of having their own home. Rented apartments existing today's have come a long way, in offering more than the four walls with a roof. Many resources are available today on the Internet for apartments in atlanta and many other. The following tips can keep you in good stead while you start finding your own apartment.
  1. Always carry your checklist while apartment hunting.
  2. Once you see an apartment that suits your tastes and looks like your dream, cannot let it go by letting someone beat you to it.
  3. Good apartments are hard to find in the first place and have a very short shelf life in the market. Be decisive, no point repenting later.
  4. Always collect all local rental information before you commence your first apartment sighting.
  5. You may need to fill out a few applications. They are simple and comprehensive and most of the owners of the apartment accept them.
  6. Keep your credit report handy, it will come in use to ward off competition and will give you an edge over the others.
  7. Having the credit reports with you at the time of searching an apartment impresses owners of the apartment because of your honesty and preparedness.
  8. You will also save money by not getting into needless mailing of credit report to every owner you come across.
  9. Owners of the apartment tend to shortlist and select from it, so make sure the first impression counts.
  10. Apartment owners generally look for: A renter who is able and responsible enough to pay rent at a stipulated time every month.
  11. A renter or tenant who will treat the apartment owner and the home with proper care and respect.
  12. A tenant who is quiet and does not disturb other tenants or neighbors.
Be punctual and try not to cancel any appointments with the owners and never get de-motivated, finding your dream las vegas apartments is not easy, but is worth the effort.