Benchmarking Specialists knows that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. The protection of your personal data, and compliance with GDPR is a very important concern. We therefore deal with your personal data in compliance with the applicable legal data protection provisions.

For information on specific aspects of our GDPR compliance, please scroll to the appropriate section below.

- Privacy Policy and Use of Website

- Cookie Policy

- How We Use and Share Your Data

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Benchmarking Specialists by emailing paul@paul-powell.com.

Benchmarking Specialists

PRIVACY NOTICE

Benchmarking Specialists knows that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. By visiting Benchmarking Specialists, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Notice.

Questions regarding this statement should be directed by e-mail to paul@paul-powell.com. You may also contact us at Benchmarking Specialists, LLC., 213 Lighthouse Dr, Dothan, AL 36305.

This Privacy Policy sets forth the policies and practices with respect to information or data that is received or gathered regarding members, visitors and users (collectively “you” and “your”). www.benchmarkingspecialists.com and all related sites of Benchmarking Specialists may be referred to collectively as “www.benchmarkingspecialists.com”, “Benchmarking Specialists”, “us”, “we”, “Site”, “Website” or “the Company” 

CAREFULLY READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY BECAUSE BY YOUR USE OF THIS SITE AND ITS SERVICES YOU WILL BE EXPRESSLY SIGNIFYING THAT YOU AGREE TO THIS POLICY AND THAT YOU ASSENT TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING THE USE OF ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU SUPPLY OR THAT IS COLLECTED ABOUT YOU AS DETAILED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT EXPRESSLY AGREE WITH ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY YOU SHOULD NOT USE THIS SITE OR ITS SERVICES.

HOW WE COLLECT MEMBER, VISITOR OR USER INFORMATION

The information we gather falls into two categories:

Information collected as a result of you navigating through the Site.

Personal information you voluntarily supply when you subscribe, order, post a message, photo, video or sound recording, send a message to another user, or participate in a chat room, complete a survey, leave a review, enter a contest, or apply for a promotional product.

The first type of information we collect can be thought of as “passive” information in that we collect certain details about your visit to our site without you actively inputting any identifying information. This type of passive information that we collect and store in our databases, may include one or more of the following types of information (“Data”): your Internet Protocol (IP) address; the name of the domain name from which you access the Internet; the IP address of the Website from which you linked to the Site or our network of sites; browser data; email address data; and the date and time you access our Site and its functions. For example, when a visitor, member, subscriber, or other Site user requests web pages from the Site’s server, clicks on banners or other links or otherwise uses or views the Site’s services, products or other functions, we or our agents may automatically collect some information (“Data”) about the visitor, member, subscriber or user. This information may include the IP address from which the Site is being accessed, the pages or links that were requested, the special preferences or requests of the user and cookie information received from the computer of the visitor, member, subscriber or user. While the collection of Data described above could be thought of as passive, the second way we collect information is more active.

For example, we may ask you to provide personal information. Whether or not you provide this personal information is completely optional. This “Optional Information” may include your name, username, e-mail address, physical address (or part of it such as your zip code), telephone number, gender, marital status, occupation, education and any special interests or affiliations. Additional “Optional Information,” such as a credit card number, expiration date, security code and billing address may be requested for participation in special promotions or offers, or for billing and shipping information. We may also use “Optional Information” to verify identity, and protect against fraud. When a subscriber, member or user of this Site sends any personal communication or correspondence, by any means, to the Site, another Site User, the Company or any employees, agents or representatives of Company or Site, we may collect and use any and all such information and all other Data regarding that communication including the I.P. address the communication originated from. Once you submit personal information to the Company or Site we may collect and store information about your activities on the Site.

COOKIES

This page covers the cookie policy for www.BenchmarkingSpecialists.com. We use cookies, IP addresses and other technologies to serve our users content and offerings that we think will help educate and entertain them or that we think they may interest them.

What are Cookies?

Cookies are small bits of data or code that we use to track and identify people and their devices that come to our website, www.BenchmarkingSpecialists.com. We also use them to remember your preferences and education history with us.

Why We Use Cookies:

We use cookies to try and offer content relevant to you. For instance, if you told us you were interested in coming to a June workshop by filling out a form, we will show you content and send you emails and information about that event. If you decided to download a guide about benchmarking your advisor we may send you other education and content about benchmarking your advisor and related investing content. Simply put, cookies help track where you are in your educational journey with us. They inform us as to what kind of content we should offer you.

The Importance of Cookies

Cookies are vital to us running our website, newsletter and online education offerings. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to properly track your experience on our website or make improvements to your experience.

KINDS OF COOKIES WE USE:

Analytics Cookies & Tracking

These cookies help us track your use of our website and help us improve the way it works. Analytics cookies let us know what content you find interesting or educational by letting us know how many people actually read it, how many people leave the page without reading it and so on. They also let us know when pages aren’t working technically. By looking at the data cookies provide us, we can ensure that our users are accessing our content easily and without frustration.

Advertising Cookies

Advertising or tracking cookies collect information regarding how you interact with our site and pages you have visited so that we can remind you of content and events that you have shown interest in previously through online advertising. Using cookies, we sometimes run paid advertising campaigns based on your history with our website. This is called “online behavioral advertising” (OBA).

Tracking URLs or UTMS

We sometimes create unique tracking links and use them to count how many clicks on our page and email content we get.

Web beacons

We use web beacons to count the number of users who visit our website or web pages. This technology allows us to see how successful our content has been including letting us know if our email or messaging has actually been delivered successfully to you. They track and verify clicks and links we place in emails. By measuring your clicks, we distinguish what content entertains and engages you best and then modify our messaging.

Flash cookies

Adobe Flash Player requires we use Adobe Flash cookies. They help us remember your settings and preferences.

Social Media Cookies

These cookies allow us to integrate social media functions into our Site and may also be used for advertising purposes.

Managing cookies

Most modern browsers are set to accept cookies by default, but you can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. Please consult the “Help” section of your browser.

Controlling OBA cookies

The “Your Online Choices” website youronlinechoices.com provides more information about controlling cookies. It also provides an easy way to opt out of behavioural advertising from each (or all) of the networks represented by the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices.

Controlling Flash cookies

You can manage the use of Flash technologies with the Flash management tools available at Adobe’s website, at adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/privacy.html.

Controlling web beacons

You can prevent web beacons from tracking your activity, although you won’t be able to decline receiving them in emails. For information about managing your cookie options, please click here.

Please note that by blocking any or all cookies you may not have access to certain features, content, or personalisation available on our websites, or apps.

Cookies are one of the tools that we use to passively collect Data.

Internet cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser and to provide personalized features and marketing. Cookies are used for authenticating, tracking and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences or shopping cart contents. Most Internet browsers allow the option to enable or disable cookies. You may disable cookies, but this may make portions of this Site unusable. Cookies are simple pieces of data unable to perform any operation by themselves. They are neither spyware nor viruses, despite the detection of cookies from certain sites by many anti-spyware products. This Site uses cookies to make the browsing experience of our members, subscribers and users more efficient and convenient. Our system will use cookies to remember your web preferences, and to assist us in tracking and targeting the interests, preferences and desires of our Site users to present the most appropriate messages, offers and other communications to our users, and to generally enhance their experience at our Site. Any and all information about Site visitors, members, subscribers or users collected by the Company, the Site or any agents or affiliates of Company or Site, through the use of cookies or other similar means may be included in our database and used in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

We use remarketing pixels from sites including, but not limited to, Google, Facebook, and Twitter to aid in customized, targeted follow-up advertising. These third-party vendors show our ads on sites across the Internet by using cookies based on past visits to our website. Anyone can opt-out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads Settings. Anyone can opt-out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

YOU MAY ENCOUNTER THIRD PARTIES ON OUR SITE

We want to inform you that third parties such as affiliates and advertisers use cookies on or in association with our Site. We often have no access or control over these cookies. We may also allow third party service providers to deliver special offers or services to Site users. We urge you to consult the privacy policies of any third party that you encounter on this Site.

CLEAR GIFS (“WEB BEACONS”)

Clear GIFs, also known as “web beacons” or “single-pixel GIF’s” are very small images (typically 1 x 1 pixel) that help websites understand their customers better. While any type of file can operate as a web beacon, clear GIFs are most popular because their very small file size prevents them from interfering in the websites’ operation. Clear GIFs function like cookies, in that they are used to track and measure online actions taken by website users. In contrast to cookies clear GIFs are not stored on a user’s hard drive, but are embedded into the graphics, text or other components of web pages. Web pages and graphical emails use codes that tell your computer what to do when a page is opened. While they typically contain text and graphics that you see on the screen, often web pages also contain instructions or tags’ that then ask the website’s server to send you further content (such as an image or a block of text that changes frequently). 

Web beacons are retrieved in the same way as the text and graphics that you see on a website or in an email, and the action of calling the material from another server allows the event to be counted. When a user’s browser requests information from our Site we may use GIFs to gather “passive” information such as the IP address of your computer; the time the material was viewed; the type of browser that retrieved the image; and the prior existence of cookies from our Site. This is information that could be gathered through the use of cookies. Web beacons do not give any “extra” information away. They are simply a convenient way for us to gather the simple statistics and manage cookies. Clear GIFs may be used by third parties to monitor activity on the Site. Turning off the browser’s cookies will prevent web beacons from tracking your specific activity, but web beacons may still record an anonymous visit from your IP address.

HOW WE USE AND SHARE DATA AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use the information described in the paragraphs above for a variety of functions. In addition to using cookies, Data and Optional Information in the ways described above, we use this information to measure the number of visitors to the Site, to measure how traffic is generated and where it comes from; to track the success of our affiliate program and its individual affiliates (with whom this information may be shared); to track the receipt and success of customer newsletters, promotional programs, special offers and advertisements; and to generate and provide our marketing partners, affiliates, licensees, purchasers and successors in interest with accurate statistics on the performance of the Site. We also use cookies, Data and Optional Information to track customer preferences and to adapt our products and services to those preferences. Any personal information that you supply to us remains your personal property. However, by submitting your information to the Website, you grant Benchmarking Specialists and any third party affiliates or subsidiaries of Benchmarking Specialists the right to use that information for marketing purposes, and agree to receive email marketing from the Website. We may maintain separate email lists for different purposes. In order to end your email subscription to a particular list, you must follow the instructions on how to unsubscribe contained in every email correspondence that you receive from Benchmarking Specialists. 

Unsubscribing from one list will not automatically unsubscribe you from all email lists. We only send email marketing to individuals that have agreed, whether by visiting this Website or through third party websites, to receive email marketing from Benchmarking Specialists or its affiliates and partners. Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may be required to disclose personal information in some instances, such as: 1) when required by law wherein we have a good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, and/or subpoena; 2) in the event that Benchmarking Specialists is sold or acquired; or 3) in the event that we believe that the Website is being, or has been, used in violation of our terms and conditions or to commit unlawful acts. Moreover, you hereby consent to the disclosure of any record or communication to any third party when Benchmarking Specialists, in its sole discretion, determines the disclosure to be appropriate including, without limitation, sharing your email address with other third parties for suppression purposes in compliance with the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, as amended from time-to-time. In the past our customers have requested we introduce them to other programs and offers that Benchmarking Specialists endorses and thinks its customers would benefit from; therefore, on occasion, Benchmarking Specialists may share, license or sell your information to third parties for various marketing purposes, including but not limited to e-mail marketing, telemarketing, text messaging, and direct mail.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy and to ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online. We shall continue to take reasonable steps to provide effective data protection at all times, however, no security technology can provide invulnerability to information compromise. Therefore Benchmarking Specialists cannot, and does not, guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us or to any third party affiliated with the Site. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer.

SECURITY

We work to protect the security of your information during transmission by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information you input.

We reveal only the last five digits of your credit card numbers when confirming an order. Of course, we transmit the entire credit card number to the appropriate credit card company during order processing. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer.

CHOICE/OPT-OUT

If you are a newsletter subscriber, you always have the option of no longer receiving them. At the bottom of each newsletter there is an opt-out option. Simply click on “Please click here to unsubscribe”.

CORRECT/UPDATE

Our customers can correct, access and update pertinent Personally Identifiable Information obtained through the site. Mechanisms include online, email, telephone, postal mail etc. This helps to assure that the information we collect is accurate and up to date. You can correct, access, and update your personal information by e-mailing Support.

CONDITIONS OF USE, NOTICES, AND REVISIONS

If you choose to visit Benchmarking Specialists, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our Conditions of Use, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the state of California. Our business changes constantly. This Notice and the Conditions of Use will change also, and use of information that we gather now is subject to the Privacy Notice in effect at the time of use.

UPDATES AND REVISIONS TO THIS POLICY

This Site reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to revise, amend, modify or revoke this Privacy Policy at any time and in any manner. Changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective upon the posting of any revision on the Site.

If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:

Benchmarking Specialists

Email: paul@paul-powell.com

213 Lighthouse Dr, Dothan AL, 36305

Website: www.BenchmarkingSpecialists.com