Business Profile: V3 Life Transformations

By Susan Regier

V3 Life Transformations is kicking off its first outdoor workout boot camp on June 7, 2008 at the St. Thomas Aquinas High School track, 1360 Oxford Street West, for individuals who want to take their workouts to a new level. Complete with calisthenics and a circuit course geared for novices, this weekly one-hour Saturday morning challenge will set the standard for individual training during the week.

V3 Life Transformations was founded in 2007 by fitness guru, Mark Vockentanz, a former general manager with a London based multi-million dollar fitness chain. Over the past twenty years, Vockentanz, who is certified in many areas including fitness nutrition, holistic lifestyle coaching, natural health, metabolic typing, and holds a Human Kinetics degree has assisted hundreds of clients reach their health and wellness goals – including many fitness competitors and bodybuilders.

“At this time of year, many people abandon their gym workout routines in favour of fresh air…but now they can have the best of both,” said Vockentanz. The outdoor fitness boot camp will be the first time new participants and ongoing clients will be challenged to work together in small groups. Over twelve weeks, participants will learn to step up their workouts for optimal fitness.

Through V3 Life Transformations, Vockentanz works with clients in private in-home consultations…and they have experienced increased energy levels, reduced stress, better sleep patterns, and more focused attention at work – in addition to weight loss. But he is the first to acknowledge that his clients are ready for the change when they come to him.

Vockentanz considers multiple lifestyle factors when examining one’s overall health status including stress, sleep patterns, detoxification, nutrition, meal planning, and digestion. “By determining an individual’s metabolic chemistry, meal-planning is simplified to ensure success,” said Vockentanz. “This is not another fad diet…it is simply good eating. There is an abundance of food choices without calorie counting and weighing food.” And Vockentanz even accompanies his clients when grocery shopping to ensure they are buying the appropriate food for their individual requirements.

Vockentanz explained the premise behind V3 Life Transformations, “I believe that we all have a life goal – your Vision – and it can be better achieved if you have an abundance of energy – your Vitality – and with properly directed vitality you can do it – Victory.” www.v3lifetransformations.com

Susan Regier is the publisher of www.NetworkingToday.ca, London’s online business resource, and head writer of Vantage One Writing, a professional writing service for businesses. 519.471.8726 Email: susan@vantageone.ca Web site: www.vantageone.ca

Would You Like Fries With That?

By John Boe

While you may not have recognized it, the last time you ordered from a fast food restaurant or went to the post office, there is a good chance you experienced some form of cross-selling or up selling. Cross-selling and up selling are well-established and highly effective marketing practices utilized by a wide variety of industries.

What is cross-selling? It is a proactive, ongoing sales process designed to provide your customers with a full spectrum of your company's products and services. The good news is, cross-selling is one of the most profitable and least risky endeavors a sales rep can undertake.

My first exposure to cross selling was as a teenager in high school working part-time at McDonalds during summer vacation. Looking back on my brief tenure selling hamburgers, I can still hear my manager's daily refrain; be polite, keep the counter clean and always, always ask if they would like fries with their meal.

A couple of years later while attending college, I took a part-time job selling shoes at the mall. I was paid an hourly wage to sell the shoes but I received a commission whenever I cross sold any accessory items such as shoe polish, socks, or purses. This was my first taste of commission and as a starving college student I took to cross-selling and up selling like a duck to water. Some shortsighted salespeople might suggest that customers are irritated by cross selling and perceive it as an aggressive sales technique. Interestingly enough, consumer research indicates that the reverse is true. The majority of consumers surveyed actually preferred a full range of products and services and appreciate the convenience that is provided through a comprehensive cross-selling approach. Top producing salespeople understand the power of cross-selling and recognize it as a critical component for promoting both customer retention and revenue growth.

Not surprisingly, two of the key elements that make cross-selling and up selling work are trust and convenience. Your customers already possess a degree of trust in your company and this can be converted into additional sales that are not directly related to their existing
products.

The best place to introduce your customer to the concept of cross-selling is during your initial needs analysis meeting. Unfortunately, many salespeople fail to take the time to conduct a thorough needs analysis and as a result, do not uncover potential products and services that would be of benefit to their customer. Ask questions and take good notes. Effective cross-selling is all about guided self-discovery. Through a series of thought provoking, open-ended questions, successful salespeople assist their customers to uncover potential needs. During the needs analysis interview, I highly recommend the use of a checklist that incorporates all of your company's products and services. Relying on your memory alone is a poor business decision; so take the time to jot down key information.

Developing a systematic approach to cross-selling and up selling brings in additional revenue with relatively low expense and effort. As you prepare for your next client appointment, I challenge you to look for cross-selling and up selling opportunities that you can incorporate into your presentation. Sales reps who fail to implement an effective cross-selling program actually do a disservice to their customers and leave the back door open to their competitors.

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 877 725-3750. Free Newsletter available on website

.Published Networking Today June 2008

The Power of Asking Questions: 7 Strategies to Discovering What Your Prospects Really Need

By Susan Friedmann

Make no mistake – you’re in a rough spot. Exhibiting is a competitive environment. You’re vying for attendee’s attention, against companies that are larger, better-funded, with newer exhibits and cooler ideas than you’ve got.

What this means is that anything you can do to differentiate yourself from the crowd is a “Very Good Thing.” Being different gives you an edge over the masses. On the other hand, being different invariably costs money.

Or maybe not. You can differentiate yourself effectively by embracing the “power of questions.” Having a team that can ask the right people, the right questions, at the right time, is the single most cost effective thing you can do to guarantee fantastic show results.

Very few people know how to ask effective, powerful questions, and quite frankly, those who do, tend not to wind up working the show floor. Luckily, asking great questions is a skill that can be taught to those who don’t already have it. If you’re like me, and weren’t born with that great skill, here are seven strategies your team can start using today to make themselves better exhibitors:

Strategy #1: Listen

The best questions begin in silence. Train your people to embrace the 80/20 rule – they should be listening 80% of the time. Listening is more than not talking. It’s an opportunity to focus on the information the visitor is providing. The data they’re sharing is invaluable and helps frame more appropriate questions throughout the conversation. For sales people in particular, listening is a real challenge. Yet, if they conquer and embrace this skill, they could easily boost their performance in a flash!

Strategy #2: Determine Identities Quickly

One of the first questions your team should ask is some variation of “Who are you and what do you do?” Never, ever rely on badges. People can easily swap them. This is probably the most commonly used competitive intelligence gathering strategy.

You want to determine identity quickly for a number of reasons, but the primary one is this: knowing who you’re talking to allows you to deliver information in the most appropriate fashion: a buyer for a powerful chain is a very different attendee than an intern at a friendly competitor.

Strategy #3: Ask Open Ended Questions

The first question you ask a booth visitor should never be one that they can answer with a simple “Yes” or “No.” This is an easy way to give them permission to end the conversation quickly. Known as “closed questions,” yes or no answers don’t usually help you to understand your visitor’s needs. The better alternative is to focus on questions that invite attendees to tell you more about themselves, their challenges, or their particular situations (their stories). These include questions such as:

• What are you doing about X?
• How do you handle X?
• When do you need X?
  

Strategy #4: Follow Up With a Relevant Question

When a visitor spends time telling you his story about a particular situation or challenge, your very next question must relate to what he’s just told you. This demonstrates that you’re actually listening, and care about what he has to say. Failing to do this is likely to damage, if not destroy any credibility you may have established throughout the conversation so far.

Since this is such a common mistake exhibitors make, it’s well worth having your team practice this skill in pre-show role-playing exercises. Have them work at this until it’s automatic and starts to feels completely natural.

Strategy #5: Compliment Them

If you find yourself with a visitor who’s somewhat reluctant to talk about her situation, try complimenting her. It’s a subtle yet powerful way to stroke a person’s ego. A simple “I’d really like to know what you think about X,” or “What’s your opinion on Y” will often get people talking, especially those individuals who love to show off their knowledge. I’m sure you know the type. Remember, everyone likes to be valued and recognized.

Be careful with this. You always want to appear genuine, without seeming to fawn over your visitors.

Strategy #6: Get Off Topic

Exhibiting is not just about making those immediate sales. There’s far more that goes on with your booth visitor. Building long-lasting, profitable relationships is key. To do this effectively, you may need to take the conversation “off-topic.” Don’t be afraid to use questions to do this. Ask questions that allow you to get to know the visitor better. This can be as simple as “Where are you from?” Look to visual cues – clothing, jewelry, pin, etc. – anything that allows you to go further conversationally and further reinforce the relationship.

Strategy #7: Go After Low Lying Fruit

Visitors often indicate, and often unconsciously, what they want to talk about. If they mention a subject repeatedly, or devote considerable time in one particular area, that’s a good clue to let you know that this topic is important to them. Yet many times, either exhibitors don’t hear what’s being said, because they’re tuned into their own mind or they might shy away from a topic because it’s sensitive, or something they don’t know about. They might avoid the latter not to show their ignorance.

Speaking from experience, that’s not a good, solid plan of action. What it says to the visitor is that “you’re not interested” in him or his situation. It takes courage to “grab the bull by the horns” and frame questions directly around that topic, inviting visitors to elaborate further.

For example, “You seem to have concerns about our widget’s durability. Could you tell me what’s troubling you?” Addressing these concerns head on is the best way to build a prospect’s confidence in your products and services.

Asking questions is only half the battle. The other half of the equation concerns what you do with the answers they give you. If your team asks great questions, listen to the answers, and then responds with the standard boilerplate one-size-fits-all answer, you’ve accomplished nothing. Instead, answers must be customized on the spot – responsive not only to the client’s needs, but also to the tone and timing of the conversation.

Brief your people on the need to take things further than just the familiar, and often boring, sales pitch. Keeping the focus on relationship building and the lifetime value of the customer helps make this easier and takes a lot of pressure off of your team. It’s far easier to concentrate on having a meaningful, value-laden exchange if your team knows this isn’t their only chance at bat. With any luck, this is just the beginning. They’ll be asking your customers questions for years to come.

Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, internationally recognized expert working with companies to increase their profitability at tradeshows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market” and “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies.” www.thetradeshowcoach.com

Published Neworking Today June 2008

Multitasking Madness Decreases Productivity

By Barbara Bartlein

Caution all you multitaskers, you may not be as productive as you think. Researchers continue to find that multitasking decreases productivity, increases stress, and may cause physical discomforts such as stomach aches or headaches. In a recent study by Eric Horvitz and the University of Illinois, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming email or instant messages. They often strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports, or entertainment Web sites.

These findings are similar to those of David E. Meyer, a cognitive scientist and director of the Brain, Cognition, and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “Multitasking is going to slow you down, increasing the chances of mistakes,” said Meyer. “Disruptions and interruptions are a bad deal from the standpoint of our ability to process information.”

Meyer identifies three types of multitaskers. Some people do it out of desperation, for example talking on the phone while reviewing papers. They view it as the only way to be competitive. Others multitask impulsively without even realizing they do it. They will stop mid-sentence to do a quick check of their email or listen to voice mail. Hop scotching from one task to another; they don’t realize how their behavior leads to their lack of accomplishment.

The third group multitasks with pride. “Many people delusionally believe they’re good at this,” he says. “The problem is that we only have one brain and it doesn’t work that way. In reality, nobody can effectively do more than one remotely complicated thing at a time.”

Yet, multitasking in the workplace has reached epidemic proportions. A study by the Institute for the Future reported that employees of Fortune 1,000 companies send and receive 178 messages a day and are interrupted an average of at least three times an hour. The productivity lost by overtaxed multitaskers cannot be measured precisely, but it is probably a lot. Jonathan B. Spira, chief analyst at Basex, a business research firm, estimates the cost of interruptions to the American economy at nearly $650 billion a year.

Some employees take multitasking to the extreme by hypertasking. Hypertasking refers to the transfer of multitasking at work to other responsibilities. While we may be forced to multitask just to keep up at the job, for some, it becomes a habit in all areas of life. They are seen talking on the phone while weaving in and out of traffic, balancing their check book at their child’s soccer game, and cooking dinner while they assist with homework and make phone calls. This hypertasking becomes the drug of choice for those who thrive on doing more than one thing at a time.

Technology has added to the multitasking madness with people answering cell phones on the golf course and even in church. Rather than using technology to make our lives simpler, for many people it has become a “technology tether” that keeps us plugged in and turned on. Technological optimism has led to an eroding ability to accurately estimate the time needed for tasks and projects.

There are simple steps you can take to decrease your multitasking and increase productivity:

• Accurately estimate the time to complete tasks. For one day, write down all the tasks you have to accomplish and estimate the time needed. Then truthfully time yourself. You will be able to find the percentage that you routinely underestimate and can adjust your work schedule.
  
  
• Use external memory as much as possible. Albert Einstein once said that he keeps nothing in his mind that can be easily retrieved from paper. A cluttered brain makes it much more difficult to be creative and productive. External memory can be as simple as a pad of paper or using technology more effectively. Use the calendar on your computer to remind you of important dates or appointments and quick lists to organize your tasks.
  
  
• Batch your work. Rather than checking email multiple times per day, set times for reading and responding. Let your phone go to voice mail, if possible, and return phone calls during a specific time. Put similar tasks together, like paying bills and balancing your checking account, to increase efficiency.
  
  
• Remove distractions. Control interruptions and noise. If the workplace is loud, discuss with co-workers ways to control the volume. Set times for consultation or questions rather than allowing unlimited access to your time. And make sure you don’t “interrupt yourself” by running to get more coffee or making a quick phone call. Use “butt glue” until the task is completed.
  

Barbara Bartlein is The People Pro and President of Great Lakes Consulting Group. She offers keynotes, seminars and consulting to help you build your business and balance your life. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today June 2008

How NOT to Answer a Phone Call

By Nancy Friedman

Throughout the years, many of our Telephone Doctor® clients have taken the time to jot us a note letting us know about their good and bad experiences, both in person and on the phone. Judging from the amazing number of entries we received for our book Customer Service Nightmares, I suspect this is their way of venting and releasing frustration. We're always happy to receive your notes and emails. Keep 'em coming, please.

The recent email below gave us some good ammunition for an article. While the industry, as you can see, is in the legal profession, believe me, it happens all the time in every industry. Read on:

Around 1:00 p.m. today I returned opposing counsel's telephone call from this morning. The first person that answered the phone took my name and asked me to hold while he checked to see if she was back from lunch. After a short hold he came back on the line and transferred my call. At that point opposing counsel's assistant answered the phone. She took my name for the second time and put me back on hold. After holding a couple of minutes, opposing counsel's assistant came back on the line and asked if I could call back in twenty minutes! I am sure that her assistant is telling opposing counsel that I am a jerk because I answered, "No, I am calling her back now."

Let's say you're training a group. What usually happens is most of the group understands, learns and benefits from the information you've taught. Unfortunately, not everyone "gets it." What do we do about that small percentage of employees – often good, conscientious people – who may need personalized attention after training? Those are the ones who need coaching.

Unbelievable! Makes me wonder how they handle calls from their clients. It's not important to know the "who" in this story.

It's more important to learn the "why" it happened. And more importantly, how to fix it! That's what this article is about.

It's a well-known fact that first voice you hear when you call a company sets the tone, makes the first impression, and welcomes the caller. It starts the rapport-building factor. Few will argue that point.

While there are several "faux pas" in the above email note we received, which is the MAJOR one? Reread it and see if you don't agree with Telephone Doctor mentality, culture and philosophy. Our answer is at the end of this article.

In the meantime, it sounds as though the opposing counsel’s office can use a dose of our Basic Basic Telephone Skills program. Listed below are a few key points from our popular DVD program Basic Basic Telephone Skills. Know anyone else who might benefit from this list?

We're going to give you the Telephone Doctor® Four Step Model for effective coaching in a call center or business environment.

1. While we didn't get to find out HOW they answer the phone with their initial greeting, we hope they used the Telephone Doctor 3-part greeting. A buffer, the company name and then their name. Remember; "How can I help you" is NOT necessary in initial greetings. You are there to help. That is why you answered the phone.
   
   
2. Learn how to put a caller on hold. "Hold on," CLICK is not effective. Neither is "Hang on a second." Several years ago we ran a survey with USA Today to find out what frustrates the caller the most. YES, BEING PUT ON HOLD was the NUMBER ONE frustration of the American public. That was 12 years ago. Today, it's number 3 with, yup –- you guessed it – the automated attendant being number one!
   
   
3. Monogram the call. If the caller lets you know his/her name; USE IT. Immediately.
   
   
4. Leave a good lasting impression. Seems as the opposing counsel’s office didn't do that. Remember, we'll tell more people about a bad experience than we will a good one. Not sure why. But it's true.
   

What's the biggest Faux Pas? Asking a caller to call back! We never ask anyone to call back. That's like kicking a customer out of the door at the store.

When someone calls us, it's our job to return the call, or have it returned on our behalf. Asking someone to call back is just RUDE. Exception: there are times when the caller will say, "Let her know I called and I'll call back." That's fine if it's the caller's choice. But to ask a caller to please call back; Wow! BIG MISTAKE. That's a real NO NO!

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the Web site at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, June 2008

15 Customer Service No-Nos

By Nancy Friedman, the Telephone Doctor

When it comes to getting customer service, what’s your definition of rude? What unprofessional behavior irritates you the most when, as a consumer, you are interacting with another company?

Sometimes, customer service that is perceived as rude is not intentional and often is the result of absent-mindedness or carelessness on behalf of an employee. Either way, bad customer service can translate into lower sales and lost business.

Based on our surveys, Telephone Doctor has compiled the 15 biggest sins of customer service employees today. They are listed below, along with Telephone Doctor’s guidelines (in parentheses) on a more effective way to handle the situation.

If your company’s customer service managers and front-line employees are guilty of any of these, it’s time for action. Otherwise, you may have an image problem that could sabotage your effort to produce and market great products.

1. Your employees are having a bad day, and their foul mood carries over in conversations with customers. (Everyone has bad days, but customer service employees need to keep theirs to themselves.)
   
   
2. Your employees hang up on angry customers. (Ironclad rule: Never hang up on a customer.)
   
   
3. Your company doesn’t return phone calls or voice-mail messages, despite listing your phone number on your Web site and/or in ads and directories. (Call customers back as soon as you can, or have calls returned on your behalf.)
   
   
4. Your employees put callers on hold without asking them first, as a courtesy. (Ask customers politely if you can put them on hold; very few will complain or say "No way!")
   
   
5. Your employees put callers on a speakerphone without asking them first if it is okay. (Again: Ask first, as a courtesy.)
   
   
6. Your employees eat, drink, or chew gum while talking with customers on the phone. (A telephone mouthpiece is like a microphone; noises can easily be picked up. Employees need to eat their meals away from the phone. And save that stick of gum for break time.)
   
   
7. You have call waiting on your business lines, and your employees frequently interrupt existing calls to take new calls. (One interruption in a call might be excusable; beyond that, you are crossing the "rude" threshold. Do your best to be prepared with enough staff for peak calling times.)
   
   
8. Your employees refuse or forget to use the words "please," "thank you," or "you’re welcome." (Please use these words generously. Thank you.)
   
   
9. Your employees hold side conversations with friends or each other while talking to customers on the phone, or they make personal calls on cell phones in your call center. (Don’t do either of these.)
   
   
10. Your employees seem incapable of offering more than one-word answers. (One-word answers come across as rude and uncaring.)
    
    
11. Your employees do provide more than one-word answers, but a lot of the words are grounded in company or industry jargon that many customers don’t understand. (If you sell tech products, for example, don’t casually drop in abbreviations such as APIs, ISVs, SMTP or TCP/IP.)
    
    
12. Your employees request that customers call them back when the employees aren’t so busy. (Customers should never be told to call back. Request the customer’s number instead.)
    
    
13. Your employees rush through calls, forcing customers off the phone at the earliest opportunity. (Be a little more discreet. Politely suggest that you’ve got the information you need and you must move on to other calls.)
    
    
14. Your employees obnoxiously bellow, "What’s this in reference to?" effectively humbling customers and belittling their requests. (Screening techniques can be used with a little more warmth and finesse. If a caller has mistakenly come your way, do your best to point him or her in the right direction.)
    
    
15. Your employees freely admit to customers that they hate their jobs. (This simply makes the entire company look bad. And don’t think such a moment of candor or lapse in judgment won’t get back to the boss.)

Nancy Friedman is president of Telephone Doctor®, an international customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in customer service and telephone skills. She is a KEYNOTE speaker at association conferences and corporate gatherings and is the author of four best selling books. Call 314-291-1012 for more information or visit the Web site at www.telephonedoctor.com.

Published in Networking Today, June 2008

You Can Run…But You Can’t Hide

By Mark Vockentanz

Toxins are virtually everywhere! They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, in our homes, in cosmetic products, and in skin and hair products. Thankfully, our body is equipped with extraordinary mechanisms to deal with this toxic exposure. However, we need be nourishing our bodies adequately so that these systems/organs (lungs, skin, digestive system, kidneys, liver, lymph) can do their job!

That is where the problem starts...so many people today are not adopting healthy diets so the cells cannot be properly fueled and therefore cannot effectively engage tissues, organs and in turn, systems.

This leaves our bodies vulnerable to the cumulative effects of these toxins. One of the biggest culprits in shutting down many of these systems is sugar. We consume too much sugar – in other words, too many carbohydrate-rich foods.

Too much sugar will impede the body’s ability to repair and regenerate. Furthermore, it will lower your defenses against disease. Low starch vegetables, like cauliflower for example, have little effect on blood sugar.

Start by considerably reducing your starchy carbohydrates (pastas, cereals, breads, potatoes, etc.) and increase your low or non-starchy vegetables. The second factor in minimizing the effect of toxins is by reducing your exposure. Another way of saying this is simply; a reduction in your toxic load. By examining your points of contact you can then begin to determine strategies to reduce and/or eliminate these repeated exposures. Here is a list of things you can do today to help.

• Use only natural, biodegradable cleaning products
• Eat fresh organic food
• Use only natural skin and hair products
• Ventilate your home
• Use of house plants, air filters, and ionizers
  

Good for NASA, Good for Us…

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air is often more polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest, dirtiest cities. And the bad news gets worse: most of us spend about 90% of our time indoors.

During the 1973 Skylab III mission, NASA identified 107 volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) emitting (off gassing) from synthetic materials inside the spacecraft. They started researching various solutions and found that certain plants improved air quality by producing oxygen while removing carbon dioxide and other pollutants. They can’t cure all indoor pollution but they can offer an antidote for minor contamination and help lower the risk of asthma, allergies, and "sick building syndrome."

Lead NASA scientists, Dr. Wolverton, recommends at least one potted plant per 100 square feet, placed within 1.83 to 2.44 meters (six to eight feet) of your work, sleep, or leisure space in order to see results.

Pollutant: Benzene
Sources: inks, oils, paints, plastics, rubber, dyes, detergents, gasoline, tobacco smoke, and synthetic fibers.
Plants: Chrysanthemum, Dracaena, Massangeana, Janet Craig, Marginata, Warneckei, English Ivy, Gerbera Daisy, Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum, and Golden Pothos.

Pollutant: Formaldehyde
Sources: foam insulation, plywood, grocery bags, waxed paper, fire retardants, carpeting, cigarette smoke, and natural gas.
Plants: Azalea, Bamboo Palm, Chrysanthemum, Corn Plant, Devil's Ivy, Ficus Trees, Golden Pothos, Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Philodendron, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Boston Fern, Gerbera Daisy, and Dwarf Date Palm.

Pollutant: Trichloroethylene
Sources: printing inks, lacquers, varnishes, adhesives, typewriter correction fluids, paint strippers, spot removers, and rug-cleaning fluids.
Plants: Chrysanthemum, Dracaena, Marginata, Warneckei, Gerbera Daisy, Peace Lily.

Pollutant: Toluene/Xylene
Sources: gasoline, adhesives, ceiling tiles, computer screens, paints, inks used in photocopiers, stains and varnishes, and upholstery among other common household products and materials.
Plants: Areca Palm, Moth Orchid, and Dwarf Date Palm.

Pollutant: Carbon monoxide
Sources: Gas space heaters, leaking chimneys and furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces, gas stoves, gas powered generators, auto, truck, or bus exhaust from attached garages.
Plants: Philodendron, Spider Plant, Golden Pothos, Gerbera Daisy, Chrysanthemum (mum), Peace Lily, English Ivy, Chinese Evergreen, Bamboo Palm, Snake Plant (Mother-in-Law’s Tongue), Dracaena, (marginata) Corn Plant, and Janet Craig.

If you have small children or pets, check with your local garden center to choose plants that are non toxic or contact your local poison-control center for guidance.

Mark Vockentanz, is a wellness coach and owner of V3 Life Transformations, for Vision, Vitality, and Victory. He is based out of London, Ontario and can be reached at 519.777.6811 or email v3lifetransformations@sympatico.ca For more information about his fitness and health programs, visit www.v3lifetransformations.com.

Published in Networking Today June 2008