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PRO MARTIAL ARTS Launches Worldwide Karate Franchise Development Program Philadelphia, PA. (September 08, 2008) /PRNewswire/ After much anticipation, the new karate studio franchise chain, PRO MARTIAL ARTS Franchise Corporation, rockets into the franchise market with great fanfare. Created by Grandmaster Samane, the PRO MARTIAL ARTS system is the "next generation" of child development and physical fitness training and is sparking the curiosity of children and adults with new ways to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Since the opening of his first karate studio in 1990, Ed Samane has attracted an incredible following and has now refined the Grandmaster Samane System into a unique franchise concept offering a profitable health and fitness business opportunity for those interested in truly changing their lives for the better. "We operate industry-leading personal development and life skills programs. These are supported by the disciplines associated with Martial Arts," said Grand Master Samane. "We are committed to providing students with the very best personal safety education available on the market today,” he added. "Our firm is extremely excited to have been retained by PRO MARTIAL ARTS Franchise Corporation to develop its franchise expansion program. Our strategic franchise development plan calls for selling 500 franchises in the next 5 years worldwide. The Company is very well capitalized and has the seasoned management talent to successfully operate and expand domestically and internationally," said Carl Kosnar, Managing Partner of The Kosnar Group, franchise development consultants for PRO MARTIAL ARTS Franchise Corporation. Sandler Training Offers Tips to Help Sales Teams Better Qualify Prospects OWINGS MILLS, Md. (Sept. 17, 2008) - The sales process usually starts by obtaining potential customer leads and qualifying them. To "qualify" means to determine through a selection process that a prospect has proven capable of or fit to meet the requirements to buy from you. In qualifying leads most organizations forget to ask one important question, are their salespeople qualified to qualify? Many salespeople rely on the underlying premise that a prospect will be able to accurately qualify themselves through a series of questions, but this is not always the case. The premise is that a prospect can understand their problems sufficiently to not only recognize what created them, but also, when aided by a few "probing" questions from salespeople, are able to identify suitable solutions. "That's almost like a patient going to the doctor with the ability to diagnose his own ailment and prescribe a treatment. If the patient could do that, he wouldn't need the doctor," says David Mattson, CEO of Sandler Training. "Likewise, if prospects could "diagnose" their problems and "prescribe" and implement their own solutions, they wouldn't need salespeople. Price schedules and order forms would suffice," Mattson also says. SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe Increase Direct Presence in Benelux Operations WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (U.S.) - (Sept.15, 2008) - SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe, the world’s largest full service sign centers and embroidery franchises, today announced their plans to increase their direct presence in their Benelux operations. Following several months of meetings, corporate franchise leadership and franchisees in Belgium and The Netherlands determined that a higher level of corporate assistance would prove conducive to franchisee success. After a week-long tour of stores in Belgium and The Netherlands, Jim Tatem, president of SIGNARAMA, said, "All the franchisees I spent time with coaching, listening to and formulating plans showed their commitment to taking their business to the next level. It all came together even more clearly at the recent franchisee conference where we established our first steering committee, unveiled plans for our online ordering systems, web advertising and promotions strategies and more. Their enthusiasm for the new structure and support is clearly demonstrated in their commitment to joining us in Switzerland in a few weeks at the SIGNARAMA and EmbroidMe Euro Expo." Initial plans call for support to be provided through the existing network of marketing, operations and technical staff from the U.S. and the U.K. through the end of 2008. "This allows us to reestablish our systems in each of the locations, focus them on following the proven steps and evaluate our next master partner and a new management team here in the Benelux," says Tatem. He adds that their systems, as part of United Franchise Group have been established in more than 50 countries worldwide through local master partners who are from the region, speak the country’s language, know the cultural differences and establish a local support and management team. Art Education Franchise Co-Founder Offers Expert Advice on Nickelodeon’s ParentsConnect (New Braunfels, TX, September 18, 2008)- Renowned artist, Ms. Chris Cruikshank, president and co-founder of KidzArt, is now offering "Expert Advice" on Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect.com Web site. The site strives to provide parents with daily tips, recipes, activities, product recommendations, expert (but nonjudgmental) parenting information as well as family-friendly resources in local communities. Cruikshank is one of many expert contributors who offers advice to parents in a question and answer format on topics ranging from health and development to activities and entertainment. As an artist and president of an international art education franchise company, Cruikshank offers tips and ideas on how to incorporate art and creativity into children’s lives for fun, academic benefits or even stress relief. "I’m proud to be able to offer my professional advice to support parents in encouraging their kids to be the creative problem solvers of tomorrow. Art is a fun way to stimulate imaginative thinking and creative solutions to everyday challenges that children face," says Cruikshank. "One of my roles at KidzArt is to develop art curriculum that will empower children and increase their perception and awareness of the world around them. I hope I can assist parents by conveying some of these principles on ParentsConnect." Updated: September 28, 2008 All information contained within BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES HANDBOOK: On-Line is copyrighted © 1995-2008. Reproduction of all or part by any means without express permission of the publisher is forbidden.