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The number one complaint that people have about scuba diving is that they just don't have enough money to do it as often as they like. Let's face it; scuba diving equipment is expensive. Add to that airfare, room and board, and fees charged by dive shops, and you may only be able to afford one or two short scuba diving excursions each year. But what if I told you that there was a place where you could go scuba diving for a month and only pay what you would for a week at other fancy dive locations around the world? I mean, would there really be any question? No doubt your reply would be something along the lines of, "Cool, where do I sign up?"

The answer is in Honduras, a Central American country bordering the Caribbean Sea. Here you will find an island, only a seven-minute flight from mainland, which is for the most part undiscovered by the world. This small island, Utila, is the smallest of three major Bay islands located off the east coast of Honduras and is home to some of the cheapest and best scuba diving to be found anywhere in the world. Just 18 miles from the mainland port of Le Ceiba, Utila is only 9.5 miles in length and 3 miles in width and its population is just around 2,500. But what Utila lacks in size, it makes up for in underwater, scuba diving adventures.

Once you arrive for your expedition to Honduras it won't take you long to figure out that this is a dive community. The streets are lined with dive shops, schools, and hotels catering to the dive enthusiast. And do you want to know what the best part is? Everything in Honduras is cheap. An average meal costs just around $3 with formal dinners costing as little as $6. Accommodations can be found for as little as $25 per night or maybe even lower if you know how to shop for deals. A mere $150 could buy you as much as a dozen scuba diving trips out into the Caribbean Sea. And don't let the numbers fool you, diving in Honduras is not second-rate. In fact, the beauty of this area surpasses many other sites found all over the world.

The best time for scuba diving is in the morning. And since there are no bad dive spots around Utila, you can choose to go just about anywhere and see a variety of wrecks, marine life, coral reefs, and more. Here are just a few of the creatures that you can spy in the waters: whale sharks, lobster, barracuda, octopus, sea turtles, scorpion fish, hog fish, large sting rays, corals, sea fans, and sponges of every color imaginable.

So if your looking for a scuba diving adventure that won't leave you broke, why not try Honduras? You might find that you never want to leave.

To obtain your 2 FREE Gifts: Special Report "Insider's Guide to Scuba Diving Gear" and Special Report "Top 10 Ways to Make Money while Scuba Diving", go to http://www.thatdivesite.com and sign up for the FREE Gifts.

Lilah Tusko is the editor of http://www.scubadivingsolutions.com

AP - Twice convicted of felonies, James Francis Barton Jr. faces charges of violating a federal law barring felons from owning guns after police found seven pistols, three shotguns and five rifles at his home south of Pittsburgh.

No sales professional ever intends to get stuck in one sale for a longer period than required. They would like to move on to the next prospect after closing a sale as soon as possible. That's the way to increase total sales volume. Closing techniques ensure that a sales conversation ends with a deal. Depending on the situation, sales professionals implement any one or more of the several closing techniques that are generally used.

Trial Closing

Before finally sealing the deal sales people often use trial closing techniques to test the buying readiness of the prospect during the sales demonstration. Using a trial close helps to test the interest of the prospect with regard to buying the product or service.

A trial close is an attempt to determine how close the prospect is to actual making a purchasing decision. Trial closing is a low risk method of gauging the prospect's interest and opinion. It's an opinion seeking tool and not a decision seeking one. Sales professionals use this technique to gauze the mood of the prospect and alter their presentations accordingly.

Without a trial closing a sales person may run in to trouble trying to close the deal. A negative answer to a close cannot turn into a positive one easily. A prospect may stick to his decision and defend it. A negative response to a trial closing question on the other hand is just a signal for the sales person to change strategy. Sometimes a trial close will actually result in a real close and even if it doesn't it will let the sales person know when or what needs to be done to close the deal.

The best solution is to try trial closing once or many times before the actual closing. A positive trial close will indicate when the prospect is ready to buy and will automatically lead to a close.

Closing Techniques

When the mood has been set for a possible deal with an excellent presentation and one or two good trial closings the order should be closed swiftly without wasting any further time and risking staleness in conversation. Without closing techniques a sales person would be shuttling between two zones: almost done deals to dithering by the prospect. There are several closing techniques that sales professionals apply. The most preferred method is the handshake closing. Generally, all successful business deals and discussions finish with a handshake marking the end of the proceedings.

There are also other methods of closing techniques such as: compliment close, calendar close, balance sheet close, economic close, best time close, conditional close etc. All these closing techniques aim at finishing the deal. The concession close is a technique where the sales person offers discounts with statements like, "if you buy today you will get a discount of 10%." These techniques prod the prospect to shed any hesitation and go ahead with the actual ordering for the product. Closing techniques effectively seal deals and allow sales persons to move on to the next prospect.

Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. http://www.dougdvorak.com

AP - Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record. Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, "The Dark Knight" set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday.