Improving Your Football Skills    

Conventional wisdom in the old days stated that God-given talent was the be all and end all for a successful career in football. Training was only a necessary supplement to what was already imbued within a particular individual. Today, while the term ‘talent’ is still bandied about, developments in coaching have allowed youngsters to emulate the greats with increasing ease. Indeed, such is the importance of coaching at both amateur and professional level, you can even utilise hypnosis to supposedly improve your ability on the field, and the top clubs all make use of ‘sports psychologists’ to help the star players perform.
A decisive moment in coaching was the rise of the Coerver Method in the 1970s, named after Wiel Coerver, the Dutch former manager of Feyenoord. Coerver claimed that by analysing tapes of great players in action, you could break down their technique and trademark skills and use this knowledge to teach young players. The fundamentals of this method are enshrined in coaching today, and certain moves are still referred to as ‘Coerver moves’.
The depth and complexity of football coaching is such that any guide will fall short. However, here are a few notable manoeuvres to get you started, a number of which are identified with footballing greats:

The Cruyff Turn

  1. Facing your opponent with the ball, position your body to feign a cross or shot.
  2. Then drag the ball with your foot behind your standing leg.
  3. Turn and be on your way while the opponent is left flat-footed.
The Cruyff Turn The Cruyff Turn


The Cruyff Turn


The Zidane Roulette/Maradona’s 360º Spin Move

  1. While dribbling with the ball close to your body, turn to shield the ball as you reach an opponent face-to-face.
  2. With your back to the player, in the same movement, put your foot on the ball and delicately bring it around with you.
  3. Leave the opponent trailing as you turn around his body.
The 360 Spin Move 360 Spin


360 Spin


The Shoulder Feint

  1. Feign to go one way by dropping one shoulder as if moving in that direction.
  2. Then quickly go the other way and wrong-foot your marker. This is best achieved with your back to the opponent.

Stepover

Popularised initially by Pelé, this move is extremely popular in modern football and expertly utilised by individuals like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho:
  1. Feign to move on way by flicking your foot fully over the ball in that direction, but without actually touching the ball at any point.
  2. Then push the ball in the opposite direction and skip past your marker.
The Stepover Stepover

The Matthews Move

Named after one of the most influential wingers in football, Stanley Matthews, who was pivotal in establishing wing play as a vital part of attacking. The Matthews move is today a fundamental weapon in any winger’s arsenal:
  1. When facing a defender, push the ball slightly forward to his standing foot.
  2. Then instantly flick it horizontally down the wing and, as he’s wrong-footed, use your speed to waltz past him.
The Matthews Move Matthews Move


Matthews Move


The Nutmeg

The nutmeg is the ultimate insult to an opponent and a great, easy trick for beginners to learn:
  1. When facing your opponent, allow him to set himself to cover your attack.
  2. Then take advantage of the gap between his legs, pass the ball through them and skip around his body.
The Nutmeg Nutmegged

The Puskás Move/The V-Move

Associated with the famous Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás, the v-move is perfect for improving your dribbling and close control, as well as a great way for evading tackles:
  1. While in possession of the ball, drag the ball back with your foot.
  2. In the same movement, flick it forward at a 45º degree angle (works particularly well if your opponent dives in for a tackle).

The Elastico/Flip-Flap

Actually invented in the 1970s by the Brazilian Rivelino, the move today is popularly associated with his countryman Ronaldinho. The trick requires incredible speed and flexibility, so don’t expect to pick it up quickly!
  1. Facing an opponent, flick the ball up to one side.
  2. In mid-air, cushion the ball with the inside of your ball, taking it the other way past your marker.
The Flip Flap The Flip Flap


The Flip Flap


Websites on football training, skills and exercises

  1. ExpertFootball Soccer Techniques & Skills - Sections on coaching, fitness and in-game tactics, but especially good on skills and techniques (hosting a number of excellent videos).
  2. BBC Sport: Football Skills - Instructional videos on football basics and advanced skills and techniques.
  3. Master Sport Soccer Skills & Techniques - Similar to ExpertFootball, but with more emphasis on the basics.
  4. Soccer Training Info - Good on advanced skills and contains plenty of videos of famous players in action.

Further Skills

 skills check out our detailed look at a many varirty of skills elsewhere on the site:
  • Attacking Header
  • Backheel
  • Bending a Ball
  • Block Tackle
  • Body Swerve
  • Chest Control
  • Chip
  • Close Control
  • Defensive Header
  • Direct Free Kicks
  • Diving Header
  • Dribbling
  • Dummying
  • Flick-on
  • Foot Control
  • Glancing Header
  • Head Control
  • Indirect Free Kicks
  • Juggling a Ball
  • Kicking Technique
  • Lofted Kick
  • One-Two
  • Overhead Kick
  • Side Volley
  • Sliding Tackle
  • Thigh Control
  • Volleying



  1. Clear, beautiful and healthy looking eyes. Eyes provide an insight on the level of health of the individual, and healthy eyes indicate a healthy mate. It was also surveyed as the most attractive feature according to various women’s magazines.
  2. A confident attitude towards life. Confidence indicates that you are successful and are to be trusted. When you trust yourself, others will as well. Women will trust you with themselves
  3. Physical height. Height provides a sense of security and comfort which is very attractive to women. Being taller is also a dominant trait which is attractive. Ultimately, if you are short but can provide a feeling of security and comfort, this will be equivalent to height.
    The best guide to creating attraction regardless of height is Double Your Dating.
  4. Physical strength, muscles. Being muscular provides a sense of excitement and security in women. It also alludes to dominance which will seduce most women.
  5. Being funny. Laughter makes people feel more comfortable and happy. Also, when people are laughing at your jokes, you immediately gain social status which is attractive. If you can make her laugh, you’re half way there. Read how to make a girl smile.
  6. Being witty. This is very attractive as it alludes to being smart, and intelligence is attractive to women. If you are dating then wit will be a big part of your evening.
  7. Being wealthy.Wealth indicates power, security, comfort and even excitement. This is very attractive to women whom crave all these feelings.
  8. Being playful. Playfulness means that you are fun to be with, consequently triggering feelings of attraction in women.
  9. Being touchy. Human touch is a powerful way to trigger feelings of attraction. Naturally touchy people have a lot more sex than people whom refrain from human contact. This is important when you flirt with a girl.
  10. Bravery. Being brave, alert in emergency situations is very attractive and indicates that you will be able to protect her from danger.
  11. Being excited about life. The energy that people emit when they are excited about living is contagious and very attractive.
  12. Being unavailable. People want what they can’t get. Being hard ( but not impossible! ) to get is attractive.
  13. A cocky smile is attractive. Cocky smiles, demonstrated in movies such as James Bond and Top Gun triggers feelings of confidence and dominance which is extremely arousing. Read up on how to pick up girls for more information.
  14. Genuine smiles in general are attractive. As long as they are a reaction to something that occurred and not because you are being polite or awkward.
  15. Being concentrated on a task is attractive to women. If a woman can watch you while you are completely involved in a task, then she is likely to be attracted to you. Examples of this can be her watching you paint, play an instrument, anything you do well that requires full absolute concentration on your part.
  16. Playing an instrument is attractive to women. Wonder why the rock stars get the girls… there are many reasons but those whom play music are automatically ranked more attractive than those who don’t.
  17. Being famous.If you’re famous, then by definition a lot of people know you. If a lot of people know you, you are therefore important. Being important is very attractive to women.
  18. Not caring. A care free attitude is liberating and very attractive.
  19. Being well dressed. Wearing nice clothes demonstrate social status; accentuate your physical features and shows that you take care of yourself.
  20. Unique accessories that match our personality. In our society, accessories that stand out provoke curiosity, confidence and will attract women. “What’s that necklace you are wearing”, says the girl at the bar. That is one of the dating tips for how to attract women.
  21. Shoes that are in style. The first thing that most girls notice in guys is what kind of shoes they are wearing. Shoes speak more about you than all clothes. You can be wearing a diaper on your head, jeans from the 80’s… but if you’re wearing brand new shoes that are in style, girls will automatically see you as attractive. If you don’t have the shoes… get them.
  22. Well fitting shirts. Baggy shirts are out! Shirts should complement your body and show off your features. Now I’m not talking about spandex, but regular well fitting shirts. You know why suits look good? Because they are tailored to fit you perfectly. This is attractive to women.
  23. A deep, commanding voice. Your voice says a lot about you, literally. The next time you strike up a chat with a woman, don’t sound squeaky.
  24. Body posture. Within 1 second, just from how you stand, women will judge you as attractive or not. Good body posture indicates that you are a healthy mate and is very attractive to women. Lean back.
  25. Human smell. Sweat, at a very basic level, is very attractive to women. It triggers feeling of arousal in women. However, don’t go too far and stink. That’s repelling.
  26. Some light, musky cologne. These smells will mimic the natural smell that males produce and used lightly, will arouse some females.
  27. Leadership. Being a leader is very attractive to women, it demonstrates social status and importance. Make decisions, lead the pack.
  28. Being dominant. Women are naturally submissive, and men should be naturally dominant. Unfortunately with all our yoga classes and hormonal milk, this has changed in the past century.
  29. Being dangerous. Danger is hot, exciting, energising and can be very addictive. Women love the bad boy.
  30. Being intelligent. Intelligence, demonstrated by high grades, an impressive line of studies or career is very attractive.
  31. Being good with animals. Being good with living things indicates that you will be a good mate, capable of protecting and caring for any offspring you could potentially have. This is very attractive.
  32. Being good with kids. Same as above.
  33. Being genuinely interested in her. People love people whom are interested in them. If you genuinely want to know what makes her tick, this will be attractive.
  34. Being the best, in a group of men. If you are the best out of the competing men, then out of that group, you will be the most attractive to women.
  35. Being disciplined. People want to be surrounded by competent individuals. If you are able to control yourself when she can’t, she will see you as having a lot of willpower. This demonstrates that you are in control of your life.
  36. Not taking life too seriously. Having the gift to be able to laugh at life and embrace it as an enjoyable experience. You don’t have to think about marriage every time you talk to a girl.
  37. Being positive. Positive people are attractive. If you can show her the sunny side of things, she will thank you for it.
  38. Being a little selfish. Being slightly selfish indicates that you care a lot about yourself and your well being. This relates to confidence and importance which are attractive. Don’t be a martyr.
  39. Being generous. The complete opposite of being selfish, being generous can be attractive as well because it demonstrates that you are not needy and that you are wealthy. Note! Being generous does NOT mean you should buy things for people so they like you… this is not attractive. A good example of being generous would be, if you’re with friends, you could purchase the pitcher of drinks. This subconsciously communicates that you are in charge, dominant and wealthy.
  40. Spontaneity. Very attractive, alludes to excitement.
  41. Good hair. Having nice, healthy and well groomed hair shows that you take care of yourself.
  42. Trimmed nails. Women notice, if you take care of yourself, she’ll appreciate it.
  43. A slight tan. These days, a tan indicates that you wealthy and physically healthy.
  44. Relaxed attitude. Being relaxed shows a lot of confidence.
  45. Being driven. If you know what you want in life, and you’re pursuing it, this is attractive.
  46. Nice teeth. It is very important to have nice teeth, women think about it every time they consider kissing you.


  47. Having nice possessions, such as a car, house or a boat. These indicate wealth, excitement and power, all of which are attractive.
  48. A sense of adventure. If you’re curious about life, and are willing to take risks. You can lure her into your world and she’ll be happy to follow you past her limits.
  49. Honesty. Being able to speak the truth is difficult and shows that you have accepted who you are as a person. It also shows that you don’t care what others think, which is very attractive.
  50. Whispering in her ear. The sense of secrecy, mysteriousness and excitement that comes from a whisper is very attractive.
  51. Being busy. If you are busy, then you are important, independent and have a life.
  52. Being a man. Women love men who do manly things, stop doing yoga and go play a sport, hit the gym and get dirty.
  53. Having a nice butt. A sexy fitness indicator, attainable through the gym.
  54. Pre-selection. If other women want you, then there must be a reason. Having many people want you makes you attractive. You aren’t a guy who has time to look at personals.
  55. Being genuine. Say what you mean and do what you say. This is hard, but attractive.
  56. Physically picking her up. Ever heard of sweeping her off her feet? This is it.
  57. Touching her hair. There is something about having your hair touched that is relaxing and arousing at the same time.
  58. A nice face. Women love men with an attractive face. That’s what she’ll be kissing and you better believe it makes a difference.
  59. Originality. Women crave excitement, originality provides that. Seduction is never the same and being original is an essential part of it.
  60. Experience. Maturity can be very arousing; if you know what you’re doing she’ll appreciate it and you’ll get laid more often.
  61. Speaking to her true self. If you can see past the walls that most people put and truly speak to the real person inside of them, you’ll be one of the few that understands them. This makes you very important.
  62. Independence. People don’t like neediness, being independent shows that you are self sufficient and can take care of yourself.
  63. Teasing her. Playfulness, excitement, she loves it.
  64. Composure. If you can keep your cool under stressful situations, she’ll notice.
  65. Being selective. If you are selective, then it implies that you aren’t needy and are valuable enough to want many people want you.
  66. Being challenging. Playing hard to get is as true for women as it is for men. People want what they can’t have, and if they have to work for something, they’ll appreciate it much more.
  67. Focus. If you know what you want, and are determined to get it, then that’s attractive.
  68. Modesty. No one likes a show-off. Being modest is great, and attractive. There is nothing better than a girl finding out something good about you through a friend.
  69. Muscular abs. An indicator of health.
  70. Being natural. If you’re genuine about how you feel, without caring what others think, then that’s attractive. You want to know if people can handle the real you.
  71. Charismatic. If your spoken words and gestures can warm up a room, she’ll notice and be warmed up as well. If she doesn’t, her matchmaking friend will tell her about you.
  72. Sensual. Some people are frigid and cold. Some people are warm and very alert to their senses. If you are in tune with your body, you’ll likely be in tune with hers as well.
  73. A man that loves to have fun. Everyone wants to be around a guy who enjoys himself, be that guy.
  74. Goes against the rest of society. No one likes a follower. If you have a conviction about something, stick with it. Make up your own mind about things and people will respect you.
  75. Caring. Compassion and caring show that you will be a good father and is therefore very attractive.
  76. Persistent. If you go after your goals, other will notice. This is very attractive as it shows will power that not many people have.
  77. Being respected. If your entourage respects you, then she will as well.
  78. Loyal. People do not want to get hurt, and will avoid you if aren’t loyal. It is better to remain single than to get into a relationship you don’t plan on staying in.
  79. Romance. Spicing it up in a relationship is critical and attractive. Don’t always do the same thing because it will get boring really fast.
  80. Drama. Ever wonder why women love soap opera’s? It is because they crave drama, gossip, secrets. It is exciting and attractive. If you have an eventful life, people will be attracted to it.
  81. The way you move. If you have calm, controlled and relaxed gestures, then you will be seen as someone that is confident.
  82. A mysterious grin. There’s something about a grin that arouses curiosity and intrigue.
  83. Being extravagant. Sometimes going over the top is good, if you can let yourself go from time to time, people will notice.
  84. Loving yourself. If you truly love yourself for who you are, then others will as well.
  85. Being a teacher. Have you ever wondered why so many girls have crushes on their teachers? It is because being a teacher is a sign of power and knowledge, be a teacher.
  86. Clean, clear skin. Physically, nice skin is a health indicator and women will naturally be attracted to healthy looking skin.
  87. Being energetic. Have you ever heard the expression, “he was the life of the party” This is energy, its contagious and most people don’t have enough of it. It is very attractive.
  88. Being passionate. Be in the moment and enjoy life every day. It’s not about the destination, but about the journey. You’ll find your true love along the way.
  89. Quick mind. If you can think on your feet, and are quick to reply to her playful teases, you’ll be seen as smart and alert. A woman would rather be with a man that stimulates her intellectually rather than someone who is brain dead. It is much better to find something original to say on the spot rather than to use pick up lines.
  90. Attentive to details. It’s the little things that matter, if you notice that she’s done something different with her hair when no one else does, she will appreciate and be attracted to that.
  91. Convicted and has strong beliefs. Be opinionated about things. If you ask someone a question about a topic and they have something interested to say about it, that’s attractive. Be opinionated.
  92. Being in tune with her. Being in tune with someone is one of the biggest factors in relationships. Have you ever felt chemistry? Have you ever felt like you were on the same wavelength? If you and your partner are similar (and you should!) this will come naturally and will be one of the most attractive traits. The same applies for meeting women during the day or night. If you’re picking up a girl in a club, then high energy is appropriate because your energy will be matching hers. If you arrive with high energy during the day and she is reading in the library, this will clash. Read the article on how to approach girls for more information.
  93. Being attentive to details in your life. Are you meticulous? Being attentive to the details in your life will mean that you will pay attention to the details in her life.
  94. Being knowledgeable about various subjects. If you are versatile, then you’ll never be short of conversational topics. Being flexible and able to adapt to all kinds of situations is attractive. Go read some books.
  95. Innocence. It’s no fun when you know everything, have tried everything and have been to the edge and back. A little bit of innocence is attractive because it makes you more human. There’s always something that you haven’t tried, let her know and invite you to try it with you. Asking for her advice is alright as well.
  96. Challenging her. Forcing her to be on her toes, teasing her, is exciting and attractive.
  97. Be a planner. If you are always organising events, you are automatically the leader that has a high social status and a lot of energy. This is very attractive; everyone wants to be invited to outings.
  98. Being open. Tell her about your life, the real one. Cut the B.S. and you’ll stand out as someone who’s not trying to prove anything to anyone.
  99. Being direct. Being direct is very powerful and attractive. People use indirect methods because they want to ‘feel things out’ and not get hurt. Being direct shows that you are confident, bold and not scared of rejection.
  100. Be yourself, the good yourself. You shouldn’t try to pretend to be something that you aren’t. You should grow and continually improve, but remain genuine. Don’t hide your faults, everyone has them. The old saying,” be yourself” is very true and is ultimately what will attract the woman of your dreams.
Does it mean that you have to be all these things in order to attract beautiful women into your life? No way! The universe has a weird way of working and you’ll be attracted to the one you were meant to be with. She’ll love your faults, your weaknesses and your strengths. Have faith, believe in destiny and you shall meet your soul mate. You’ll know it when it happens.



Below are the online forex brokers that are highly recommended. Why do we highly recommend these forex brokers? Well first of all, we don't. The retail forex traders of the world do. Our opinion plays no role in deciding which brokers make this list. See our notes below the list for details on how this list was compiled.

There are 10 online forex brokers on this list and we have over 400 brokers identified on this website. This is therefore, in the collective opinion of the world's retail forex traders, the cream of the crop, the top 2.5%. Want more choices? Check out our Recommended Forex Brokers List, our Top Rated Online Forex Brokers List, which currently includes almost 100 online forex brokers along with their independent trader ratings, our Most Popular Online Forex Brokers List or for the ultimate in choice, our Alphabetical List of Brokers which contains more than 400 forex brokers with links to their sites.

(The number in parenthesis behind the broker name is their independent trader rating)
Hot Forex (8.49)
Headquarters: Port Louis, Mauritius Founded: 2007
Business Model: ECN / STP Forex Online Since: 2010
Regulated by: FSC Platform: Metatrader 4, Currenex
Minimium Account: $25 Typical Spread on Majors: 0.3-2 pips
Minimum Transaction: 1000 units Maximum Leverage: 500:1

Trading Point (8.47)
Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus Founded: 2009
Business Model: STP Forex Online Since: 2009
Regulated by: FSA, BaFin, CySec Platform: Metatrader 4
Minimium Account: $1 Typical Spread on Majors: 1-3 pips
Minimum Transaction: 10 units Maximum Leverage: 500:1

Delta Stock AD (8.46)
Headquarters: Sofia, Bulgaria Founded: 1998
Business Model: Market Maker Forex Online Since: 2001
Regulated by: FSA, FSC, BNB, & CNVM Platform: Delta Trading
Minimium Account: $100 Typical Spread on Majors: 0.1–2 pips
Minimum Transaction: 1000 units Maximum Leverage:   200:1

eToro (6.92)
Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus Founded:  2006
Business Model:  STP Forex Online Since:  2007
Regulated by:  CySEC, ASIC, NFA, CFTC Platform:  eToro
Minimium Account: $50 Typical Spread on Majors: 3-4 pips
Minimum Transaction:  10,000 units Maximum Leverage:  400:1

FastBrokers (Fast Trading Services LLC) (6.89)
Headquarters: Glendale, CA, USA Founded: 2004
Business Model: ECN/NDD Forex Online Since: 2005
Regulated by: NFA, CFTC Platform: Meta Trader 4, Currenex ECN, PathFinder Trader ECN
Minimium Account: $1000 Typical Spread on Majors: 1 pip (variable)
Minimum Transaction: 10,000 units Maximum Leverage: 200:1 (50:1 US)

Tadawul FX (TDFX) (6.85)


Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus Founded: 2006
Business Model: STP Forex Online Since: 2006
Regulated by: CySec, FSA, BaFin Platform: MetaTrader 4
Minimium Account: $500 Typical Spread on Majors: 1-4 pips
Minimum Transaction: 5000 units Maximum Leverage: 500:1

MB Trading (MBTFS) (8.02)
Headquarters: El Segundo, CA, USA Founded: 1999
Business Model: ECN Forex Online Since: 2004
Regulated by: CFTC, NFA, FCM, SPIC, FINRA Platform: MBT Navigator
Minimium Account: $400 Typical Spread on Majors: 1-2 pips
Minimum Transaction: 1000 units Maximum Leverage: 100:1

Windsor Brokers,Ltd. (8.03)
Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus Founded: 1998
Business Model: Market Maker Forex Online Since: 2005
Regulated by: FSA, CySEC Platform: Windsor Direct 4
Minimium Account: $300 Typical Spread on Majors: 2-5 pips
Minimum Transaction: 10,000 units Maximum Leverage: 200:1

Dukascopy (7.06)
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Founded: 1998
Business Model: ECN Forex Online Since: 2004
Regulated by: ARIF Platform: Swiss FX Marketplace, JForex
Minimium Account: $1,000 Typical Spread on Majors: 0.5-1 pip
Minimum Transaction: 1,000 units Maximum Leverage: 100:1

Alpari (UK) Limited (7.41)
Headquarters: London, UK Founded: 1998
Business Model: Market Maker Forex Online Since: 2004
Regulated by: FSA Platform: Metatrader 4/5, Qtrader, Alpari Direct, Systematic, L2 Dealer
Minimium Account: $200 Typical Spread on Majors: 1.6-3 pips
Minimum Transaction: 1,000 units Maximum Leverage: 500:1

Criteria for Inclusion on the Best Forex Brokers List


Here is the criteria that is used to determine which brokers make this list -

The forex broker must have an independent trader rating of at least 6.8 (out of 10) based upon the data we have collected from individual forex traders from numerous websites worldwide. Please see our Top Rated Online Forex Brokers page for a full listing and details of our rating methodology. The broker must also be one of the 50 most popular online forex brokers per our popularity rankings. You can see the entire popularity rankings and a detailed explanation of how we determine these rankings on our Most Popular Online Forex Brokers page.

Each forex broker on our Best Online Forex Brokers List must show solid evidence of being regulated by at least one legitimate government regulatory agency overseeing the retail forex trade and must not have been sanctioned in any way in the past by regulatory agencies. The final requirement is that they must have provided us with at least the miminum required set of information for the broker snapshots above.

Orlando Law Firm Files Class Action Lawsuits Against FXCM and FXDD


A class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan Division) on February 8, 1011 by the Business Trial Group of Morgan & Morgan, P.A. against Forex Capital Markets, LLC (FXCM). Another suit was filed by the same law firm in the same court on February 11, 2011 against FXDirectDealer, LLC (FXDD).

In both cases the suit alleges fraud, deceptive trade practices, and racketeering and that both FXCM and FXDD have defrauded thousands of customers with unfair and deceptive practices with systems designed to systematically defraud customers out of their money and that they presented their forex trading platforms as fair and transparent when essentially it was a "rigged game".

The complaints accuse FXCM and FXDD of fraud by misrepresenting their trading platforms, saying the they were free from dealer intervention or manipulation but that they instead through their software systems used a number of tricks to interfere with customers' trades.

Among other things, these two very large forex brokerage houses are accused of -

Routing profitable customer trades to slow servers or sending false error messages when customers tried to close profitable trades.

Lured customers to the trading platform through a demo account which provided true market pricing but once the customers opened a live account, the true market pricing was no more.

Printed bogus "flash trades" to falsely trigger customers stop orders for given trades.

Manipulated slippage, which is the change in price between the time of a price quote and when the order is placed. Natural slippage should be roughly 50/50 in whether it benefitted the broker or the trader. The complaint alleges that documented proof of the great percentage of incidents of slippage that benefitted the brokers is proof of price manipulation.

Many of these practices are not new to experienced forex traders as they have been practiced by unscrupulous forex brokers for many years. We at Best Online Forex Brokers applaud the law firm of Morgan & Morgan for bringing these lawsuits. No matter the outcome, it will be interesting to see these practices be shown in the light of day for all to see.

This may just be the beginning of more lawsuits to come as Lead Trial Counsel Tucker H. Byrd said "We are continuing to bring legal action for redress of wrongs that we believe have occurred to thousands of Forex customers for years by dealers who have been entrusted with their customers' money. Unfortunately, many Forex dealers engage in questionable practices, and we intend to pursue any and all of them until we have put an end to these abuses."

And there is also this - The law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr. have filed a class action suit against FXCM. This class action is on behalf of FXCM stockholders and states that FXCM and the underwriters involved in their IPO, Credit Suisse, CitiGroup and J.P. Morgan, are each charged with "including or allowing the inclusion of materially false and misleading statements in the Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with the IPO, in direct violation of the Securities Act of 1933."

The fact that FXCM and FXDD are the two brokers named in these cases is also really no surprise given their independent trader ratings of 3.46 and 4.38, respectively. You see, experienced and profitable traders will pick up on these deceptive practices and bring their business elsewhere. This is why companies like these advertise so heavily. They are always in need of new clients because the good traders go elsewhere and the others lose all their money. So, as a word of caution, trust your fellow traders and stick with the brokers on this site that have a good independent trader rating. They can be found on our Top Rated Online Forex Brokers page.



In today’s crowded market place, you cannot prosper without providing expertise to your customers.  You must have some form of proficiency.  Why?
q       Because today’s customers have so many buying options, they want to buy from an expert.
q       Because your expertise will separate you from your competitors.  
q       Because customers pay more for expert products and services.  Who gets more, a heart surgeon or a general practice doctor?
How Do You Develop The Expertise You Need?
Here are six tips you can use to develop your expertise.
1.  Be Different
Being different starts with focusing on one element that separates you from other businesses that offer what you offer.  You can focus on a special group of people—you choose to work only with the elderly.  You can focus on a product difference—your product is faster and more convenient.  You can focus on a business process—you have the best guarantee in the industry.  Focus on one element that is important to your customers.
2.  Go Deep Not Wide
Specialize.  If it’s a product feature, be the best at providing that product feature.  If it’s a target population, learn everything about the target group.  If it’s a business process, specialize and be the best.
You must go deep.  Wide will not work in today’s crowded market.  Here’s an example from my own small business.  I started with a small business marketing focus.  I‘ve now shifted to focusing on the critical area of the small business pricing trap.  I help small business owners overcome their pricing fears to use higher prices to get better customers.
With this shift, I had to leave some things behind.  I also embraced new things.  Deep is the only way to go in today’s crowded market place.
3.  Go to the Edge
You must go to the edge.  Sounds scary, but if you stay in the middle of the road, you’ll be run over.  Your goal is to take your business to the edge.  Push on it; take it further than others take their businesses.  When you do this, customers notice you and are attracted to you.  Whatever the difference you have as your focal point, take it to the edge.
4.  Be Enthusiastic
Any sales book will tell you that customers love buying from enthusiastic sales people.  You will be more successful if you chose a business or product difference for which you have enthusiasm and passion.  Do you really believe in what you are doing?  Does it inspire you to go the extra mile?  Your passion and enthusiasm will sustain you when you meet the bumps in the road.
5.  Get Organized
It has been said that an expert is someone who is better organized than others.  Organize your materials and business.  Read, write materials, and get testimonials about your expertise.  Then watch how many people judge you to be an expert in your field.
6.  Start Promoting
Promote your expertise.  If you promoted your business in the past, promote your expertise now.  Make this the focal point of your marketing efforts.  Sing your praises.  Use your promotional skills to focus on your “expertise” as the new marketing efforts to attract different customers to your business.
It’s Not Difficult to Enhance Your Expertise
Traditional styles of learning require you to go back to school to become an expert.  Today you can use amazon.com to search and get the five leading books on your subject.  You can use Google to identify the key articles that will give you a wealth of knowledge.  Dig into your industry statistics.  You can go to seminars and take home study courses to acquire a tremendous amount of information.   Immerse yourself and in a short period of time, you can be an expert.
Conclusion
In today’s crowded market place, you cannot prosper without having expertise.  Take the steps now to bring an “expert” quality to your business.   Shifting your business to focus on your expertise is not a difference transition.  It’s exciting and profitable.
If you want to learn more details about creating your own expertise, send me an email and I’ll send you a free report that provides in-depth information on how you can turn an ordinary business into an extraordinary business.
Bringing Your Expertise to the Market Place

I hope that I have made the case why you need to become and expert and bring that expertise to the market place.  In today’s crowded markets, it’s the only way to prosper.  Let me now show you how you can become an expert and bring that expertise to your customers.

I will share a five step formula.  
1.     Commitment to Becoming an  Expert
2.     The Viability of Your Expertise in the Market Place
3.     Enhancing your Expertise
4.     Establishing the Credibility of Your Expertise
5.     Promoting your Expertise
To make it easy to understand this process of becoming and expert and bring your expertise to your customers, you can follow the success story of Mary who completed this formula in her own business.  Mary was a mortgage broker who became frustrated with mortgage business when the bottom fell out with the real estate business.   Mary realized that she must become an expert if she was going to succeed in today’s depressed real estate market.
As I illustrate each step in the formula, I will also share how and what Mary did with each of these steps in her own business.  Let’s begin.
Commitment to Becoming An Expert
Make a decision; make a commitment to becoming an expert.  Everything starts and begins to happen when you make a decision and commitment about the expertise you want to bring to the market place.
You may have been working as a generalist in your business area.  Now you must choose what specific area, subset, or niche you want to specialize with a form of expertise.  You can focus on a specific target population.  You can focus on a selective products or services.  You can focus on a process within your business. 
Nothing will happen until you make a decision and commitment to become an expert and bring that expertise to the market place.  Let’s look at some characteristics that should be part of your decision.
Characteristic of Becoming an Expert
Contribution
You must believe that by sharing your new expertise you can make a real difference in the lives of your customers.   Your expertise is your contribution to them. 
Passion and Enthusiasm
You should love sharing your expertise with your customers.  By having passion and enthusiasm, you will be able to overcome the daily bumps in the road.  Your customers will also feel your enthusiasm for the expertise you bring. 
Go The Extra Mile
Are there ways you can use your expertise to go beyond what others in your industry already do?  Identify two or three different ways you can use your expertise to go the extra mile.
Overcome your fears
You biggest fear will be leaving customers behind when you move forward with your new expertise.  You will need to say “No” to some customers.  You will say “Yes” to some new customers.
Go To the Edge
If you want to be different from your competition, go to the edge.  As you develop your expertise, push it as far as possible in finding benefits for the customer.
Your Transition
You have several options as you move from a generalist to becoming an expert.  You can make a cold turkey move--stop everything you are doing right now and start new with your expertise.  There are advantages and disadvantages of doing cold turkey changes.
Or, you can use the second option of a gradual transition from generalist to becoming an expert.  During this time you will gradually leave behind some things you are now doing and embrace new expertise items.  During this process, you can divide your marketing efforts between the old and the new.
Most people select the second option because it allows them the time they need to make the changes.  You have a choice!
Mary decided that she wanted to change from a mortgage generalist to specialize in first time home buyers with her mortgage business.  She had recently become a first time home buyer.  She loves working with first time buyers and helping them realizes the American dream of owning their own home.  She finds this group of people to be more loyal than other mortgage customers.   She still has some fear about leaving behind some customers who do not fit into the first-time home buyer category of customers.
She decided to take three months to make the transition from being a generalist in the mortgage business to a specialist with first time home buyers.  This would give her the time to enhance her expertise and promote it with the appropriate people.
2.  The Viability of Your Expertise
Beyond your preferences and personal commitment to becoming an expert in the market place, you must ask some business questions about your new target group.  What type of viability is there for your market expertise?  You will become an expert in solving a specific set of problems for a specific group of customers.  If there are only a limited number of these customers, this may not be enough to support your business.  If the customers with the particular problem you are solving have no money, you’ll have a business problem.
To determine the strength for the expertise you want to bring to the market, ask the following questions about the potential groups of customers who have the specific problems you have identified as part of your niche or expertise.
1       Do they really want to solve this
problem?


2       Are they willing to spend money to solve this problem?
3       Are there enough people with this problem so you can make a profit?
4       Will it be easy to contact the group of people about the problem?
Answers to these questions will give you better perspective on the viability of the expertise you want to bring to your customers.
Mary, our mortgage broker reviewed some of her industry statistics to determine the viability of her new expertise.  She found the following facts:
ü     Owing a home continues to be part of the American dream for most families
ü     The population trends continue to show a large number of young adults in the primary home owning age group.
ü     Mortgage companies and lending institutions have become increasingly creative in freeing up lending monies for first time home buyers.
ü     With the complexity of rates and funding options, it is even more important for first time home buying prospects to find mortgage people who know the ins and outs of the business.
  Armed with this review of her new market niche, Mary felt first time home buyers were a viable and fruitful market for her to pursue with expertise.
3.  Enhancing your Expertise
Many small business owners think developing their expertise means academic expertise or other extensive training, education or degrees.  This is a mistake.  There are simple and easy ways to enhance the expertise you have decided to bring to the market place.
Every niche will have its own form of expertise.  Customers are looking for people and businesses that have an expertise about their problems, their solutions, and the alternatives they have to solve their problems.  This is the type of expertise you want to bring to the market place.  I call this practical business expertise. 
Your Industry
Start with your industry.  What information is available from your industry about your selected area of expertise?  Who in you industry has been focusing on this area?  Find as much information as possible.  Your industry’s association or professional group has already assembled useful information you can use, tap into it. 
Do a Google Search
Do a Google search on your area of expertise.  Type in “Articles about (your area of expertise)” You will get a large number of articles on your subject.  Immerse yourself in reading them.  You will begin to identify trends and key areas about your expertise.  You can then pursue other Google searches to refine the information you are finding.  In a short time you can begin building a knowledge base and making yourself an expert.
In the course of your Google search, you learn about the leading experts on your subject.  Who’s writing the articles? Who’s getting quoted?  What are the key areas of concerns that surface in the article search?  What books are people talking about?
Use the Google System To Check Websites
Check out the business websites in your area of expertise.  When you are reviewing the Google articles you will see business websites on the right side of your search pages.  These are businesses in your same area or niche.  You want to click on their sites and begin to learn from them what they are offering.
The purpose of these website searches is to learn from others so you can further refine your own expertise for the market place.  Becoming a copy cat of others would defeat your purpose in bringing a form of expertise to the market place.   Learn from others and bring your own difference.
Don’t be discouraged if you find others already doing what you want to do with your expertise.  Competition is a sign that there is business to be had in this area.  If there is no one offering any products or services to your specific category of people you want to serve with your expertise, it could be a sign that your buyers are not looking for what you are selling
Book Search
Go to Amazon.com and type in key words from your selected niche into the “Book Search” area.  Amazon provides you with a list of the popular books and authors on your subject area. 
Many of the popular books will have reviews and comments about the book.  Read these reviews.  Some are written by national experts in the field.  This will give you another snap shot into whether the book is good and how it relates to the key issues of your subject area.  Buy and read the top five books in the subject area.
Contact the Experts
If you have identified key people, authors, leaders in the field you have chosen for your expertise, don’t be afraid to contact them.  Ask your questions, show you enthusiasm.  Most businesses rarely take advantage of the experts in their industries.  Experts love to talk about the expertise.
Think how powerful it would be to have a conversation with one of the experts in your niche and then share this information as part of your promotional materials—“in my conversation with XZY, the leading expert in the country, here is what they suggest…”
Your Customer

Don’t overlook the most valuable information from your customers and prospects.  Ultimately they are the experts on your niche area.  It is their reason for buying products and services that is the most important information you need to know to enhance your expertise.  
If you are already working with some customers in your niche, prepare a set of questions for them.  Who are they?  What are their demographics?  What problems do they want solved?  Where do they look for solutions to these problems?  What are their psychographics (why they buy and what motivates them)?  How do they hear about your type of business?  What was their motivation for buying?   
You can add to this information by selectively interviewing a number of people in your target niche.  This is critical information.  You will want to create a profile of the best customers that want your expertise.  This first hand information is extremely valuable. 
If you don’t have time to do this, there are businesses that will do this work for you and provide you with essential first hand customer information.
Mary interviewed several of her former first time home buyers to get better information about how and why they selected their mortgage broker. From the many different lending options in the mortgage business, she selected those options best suited to first time home buyers.  She studied these options and talked with more experienced mortgage brokers about how they used these options.
She did a Google Search.  Google listed over 15,000 thousand articles on the subject.  They also had dozens of website that specialize in first time home buying.  She spent several hours reviewing these sources and taking notes.  She also went to Amazon.com and found dozens of books with instructions for first time home buyers.  She purchased and read several of these books to add to her knowledge base.
4.  Establishing the Credibility of Your Expertise
You must establish credibility about your expert status.  You do this in a number of ways.  The fundamental question for all buyers is, “Can the business owner deliver on what they promise—your credibility.
Outside Authorization
Credentials
We are familiar with the outside form of credibility.  These are the tests you pass; the degree you receive; the certification provided by some outside authority. 
Awards
Another form of credibility are the awards you have been given.  You were the top sales person in your company.  Your company was voted small business of the year.  Your product won an award for outstanding quality.  Customers perceive that if you received these types of awards for your efforts, you are more credible.
Alliance with Other Businesses
By linking yourself with other businesses that already have credibility with customers, you ride their coat tails.  You see this often in political elections.  Ride the coat tails of other businesses.
Testimonials
Get some testimonials from customers who have received your expertise.  If you don’t have your own testimonials, gather industry testimonials from others who have received the same type of expertise.  Customers expect you to say good things about your business.  When they hear from others how you have used your expertise, they are more likely to buy that same expertise from you.
  Internal Generated Credibility
There are things you can to do to build up credibility for your expert status. 
Unique Selling Proposition
A clear, unique selling proposition makes you more credible.  Being clear and distinct from your competitors gives the customer less to compare with makes you more credibility than being a copy cat business.
Being Organized
Sounds silly?  People perceive those individuals and businesses that are organized to have more credibility than those who are unorganized.  Think of a sales person who called on your business and was totally disorganized in their presentation to you.  Did you think as kindly of this individual as another sales person who was well organized and classy in their presentation?
Write Articles
A great way to add credibility to your new expertise is to write and publish articles.  People grant status to those who are in print.  It is an easy task to get articles published on the web—it gives you almost instant credibility.  Those same articles can be used off line with local press.
Guarantees
Most small businesses are afraid of giving guarantees.  They fear customers will abuse their offers.  Add a guarantee to your offering and you improve your credibility with your customers.
Public Presentations
Hold a seminar, chair a meeting group—stand up in front of a group of people.  Those who put on seminars and do this form of public speaking are considered to have expert status.  People give you more credibility.
Mary did several things to improve her credibility.  She took a special class offered by her mortgage association on first time home buyer lending options.  She received a certification from doing this class.  She joined a well respected real estate company in her area.
She developed a Consumer’s Guide to First Time Home Buyers.  She gave this guide to prospects as well as real estate agents and used it as a brochure for her business.  She taught a two hour class adult education class on first time home buyer at her local community college.
 She developed a five step process that simplified all the paper work involved in first time lending.  She also guaranteed her customers that she would return all phone calls within 8 hours or she would buy them a dinner.  In short, she put to good use the knowledge she had accumulated about first time home buyers.
5.  Promoting your Expertise
In your current business you have already been using marketing efforts with your existing business.  By becoming an expert, enhancing your expertise, building your credibility about your expertise, you now must promote your expertise.
Think of this as a new business, in fact it is a new business.  This will help inject new energy into your promotional efforts.   You can use a variety of efforts to promote your status as an expert and your new expertise.
Personal Network—Your Base of 250 People
Contact your base of 250 people.  They say each of us has a base of 250 people we know.  These are friends, relatives, business contacts, social contacts, etc.  You now have a “good excuse” to contact them with the news of your new efforts.  Then keep in contact with them.   Remember the key ingredient in buying—we buy from people we know like and trust.  These people already know you, now you need to share with them details about your new expertise.
Redo Your Promotional Tools
Redo your promotional tools.  This would include your yellow page ad, business card, your elevator speech, your stationary, your logo.  Make all of these express the expertise you are bringing to the market place. 
PR
This is an excellent time for PR articles to the local press.  Remember their purpose is to attract more readers.  Give them information that will help with their purposes.  You have a new product a new expertise, how will their readers benefit from this expertise.  Show how this can benefit the readers and they will give you the PR. 
Business Networking
You have networking skills you have used in the past to promote your generalized business.  Now focus those skills on a tighter network of people.  Instead of networking in general, network with others who specially deal with your customers or who can provide support to your business. 
Identify who you want to network with and go get them.  You now have an expertise that you can offer and make your networking that much more effective.  Make a plan of who you want to network with, what contributions you can make to them.
Boast about your expertise
If you don’t tell the world about the expertise you bring to the market place, who will?  Self proclaim your expert status.  It is what customers want.   You are not a board of certification.  You are now a business that is marketing and promoting a special skill or expertise.  Promote it.  Even if all the pieces are not 100% in place, they will come together as you grow in your expertise.
Mary, our mortgage broker did some of the following things to promote her new expertise.  She created a friends, relatives, business networking letter to announce her new emphasis on first time home buyers.  She told them what she could do to help others and how others could help her.  She promised to stay in touch with them.
Mary formed her own networking group.   This was made up of a real estate agent, a lawyer, financial advisors and several other people.  They meet every two weeks to help promote each other’s business and share a common data base of customers.
She wrote an article for her local newspaper on the five things a new home buyer should watch for when they begin the home buying process. (This was just another version of the materials she used in her community-ed class and her Consumer’s Guide brochure)   The editor found this to be a helpful piece of information he could use in his business section.  Mary had a bio about herself at the end of the article.
She changed her business cards and business logo to reflect her abilities to help first time home buyers.  She has changed her elevator speech to reflect her ability to help first time home buyers. 
She now has a newsletter she sends to all of her customers with helpful hints about home ownership. 
Conclusion
As you can see from Mary’s story and the five step formula, making a transition from being a generalist in your business to becoming an expert is not difficult.  If you focus on what the customer needs and wants as your goal, it’s easy to develop the expertise in the market place that will allow you to prosper.  Those who have developed expertise don’t fear the crowded market place.


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