Allison Tolley's (amtolley) Blog

Weekly Market Insight August 1, 2008 NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS When the Stimulus Runs Dry Looking over the most recent US GDP report a person cannot help but be struck by two competing thoughts. On the one hand, one must marvel at the resiliency of the American economy, w...

Weekly Market Insight July 11, 2008 NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS The US stock market is officially in a bear market and the TSX lost more than 6% since the beginning of July. A year from now we will refer to the current period as the "bad times". But between now and then, wh...

Backgrounder Residential Mortgage Insurance Strength of the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Markets Canadian housing and mortgage markets are performing well:   • Current Canadian house prices are in line with economic factors such as low interest rates, rising incomes and a growing population, a ...

Ottawa tightens mortgage rules to avoid 'bubble' LORI MCLEOD AND KEVIN CARMICHAEL From Thursday's Globe and Mail July 9, 2008 at 8:16 PM EDT OTTAWA - The federal government is cracking down on the mortgage industry in a move that could help protect against a U.S.-style housing bubble, but will a...

Weekly Market Insight June 13, 2008 NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Shots Across the Bow It seems odd to look at a Canadian interest rate decision for clues on the thinking at the US Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank. What could possibly transpire in Ottawa's backwat...

Weekly Market Insight June 6, 2008 NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS Despite the fact that US mortgage foreclosure rates are still soaring and house prices continue to fall, there are some signs that the financial burden facing American financial institutions are starting to ease...

Weekly Market Insight May 30, 2008   NORTH AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS     Worst in the G-7? It won't qualify as the great recession of 2008, but it's certainly the great stall. Canadian real GDP growth has been close to zero for the last two quarters put together, and with outpu...

Objections - Part 4 5 Common Reasons for a Client's Objection Some sales professionals are better at closing deals than their colleagues because they have considered every possible objection the customer could throw at them. Here are five of some of the most common reasons why customers will resi...

Objections - Part 3 5 Strategies for Handling ‘Price' Objections Until you learn how to handle objections, you're not going to approach your true potential in sales. Extraordinary sales professionals understand that when they get an objection from a customer he/she is usually saying, "I am intere...

BODY LANGUAGE - PART 2 Customer service reps have a special need to be exceptionally conscious of the following body language. Clients can be easily offended, especially if they are already frustrated with a product, system or service. Keeping your current clients happy will maintain and even wid...