Move from 'I Hate' to 'I Love' to Sell

It would be great to wake up every day full of enthusiasm about moving your business forward through the sales process. But there are days when we get tired of sales calls to new prospects and feel as if what we used to love has morphed into a feeling of "I hate to sell."

No need to worry; it's normal. And there's not a top sales producer I know who hasn't gotten into a rut once in a while. It's classically called a "slump." You just have to figure out how to get out of it.

Here are some ways to turn your "I hate selling" days around:

1. Show up. Activity that introduces you to new contacts not only can open up more opportunities for business but also give you that boost of energy that accompanies adding qualified prospects to your pipeline. How many times have you been on your way to a sales meeting or networking event thinking to yourself "this is a waste of my time," only to meet a person who brought you significant business several months later?

2. It's not about you. If you think selling has to do with how well you can talk, then you're missing out on a huge part of your business. After you show up, shut up -- doing so might help you love selling. Every time you're with prospects or customers and they start asking questions about you, answer quickly and then turn it around with questions to get them talking about themselves. Since so many people love talking about themselves, you're in no danger of listening yourself out of a sale. Nobody's ever said, "I don't like her; she listens to me too much!"

3. Attitude is king. Maybe you've heard over and over that attitude is everything. Well, there's a reason for that. When you have a negative attitude people pick up on that, and it's contagious. Every day you wake up, your attitude that day has more to do with your sales success than any other factor.

Let this knowledge influence your choices: Read positive materials and surround yourself with people who drive you and inspire you. A study of top executives determined the four attributes that contributed to their success were knowledge, experience, intelligence and attitude. When the executives were asked to rank them by importance, knowledge, experience, and intelligence together only comprised 7 percent, while attitude determined 93 percent of their success.

4. Plant seeds in the right soil. One of the biggest factors that contribute to your attitude about selling is rejection. The more rejection we experience, the more we feel like what we're selling is of little value or worth. Many times rejection has more to do with whom you're calling on to make a sale. When the person isn't qualified to make the decision or doesn't have a real need for your services, you have to learn to walk away and move on to more worthwhile accounts. Imagine planting seeds in the desert -- it can be very frustrating. If you employ the advice from tip No. 2 above, "It's not about you," you'll know the person you're speaking to and can target questions to determine where your product or service could be of value.

5. Hard work. This is one of the best ways to beat the salesman blues. It makes up for our deficiencies. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

When I was a kid, my friends and I used to dress up for Halloween and go around town with a pillowcase to fill with treats. There was something satisfying about having that pillowcase filled and going back home for another one. Not only was the payoff sweet, but with all that walking we started to learn which homes, streets and sections of town gave out the best treats. So the next year we were working smarter. Massive activity has a way of qualifying situations you would not have known about otherwise.

Nobody said selling was easy, but when you love what you do it gets significantly easier.

By: Barry Farber, www.entrepreneur.com

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Weekend Sales Tips

Resist In-Your-Face Dressing

The dot-com revolution brought with it a new dress code as young millionaires with more money than style decreed suits were dead and ties were an abomination. It was the birth of "in-your-face" dressing that said, "I make so much money I don't have to dress to impress anyone."

Such arrogance foretold of mass bankruptcies in later years. And it also sabotages sales, a vital point for any Realtor.

Nevertheless, money talks, and the fashion victims listened and followed.

Casual Friday became de rigueur, even in the most conservative establishments. Once-formal bankers, investment brokers and lawyers now loosened up on Fridays. In time, it became a bother to dress formally and "business casual" and "corporate casual" were born. This attire soon looked more like "corporate casualty," since it could not quite be defined and was sorely abused.

The recent successor to business casual is the "in-your-face" dressing that announces, "I'm so hip and with-it that I don't have to wear a boring business suit or a tie." These professionals are commonly seen in a black silk Armani t-shirt and expensive sport jacket. For women, the look consists of suggestive attire, chandelier earrings and too much makeup. There are problems other than the in-your-face message that this look sends.

For one thing, it easily creates the impression that you are "slick," and may be headed for Las Vegas instead of the office. Some females have even observed that this look in a man can sometimes give the impression of being a womanizer. In either case, credibility goes down dramatically. And if you have a slim build, something else happens. Normally when a sport jacket is worn with a shirt and a tie, these garments fill out the neck area of the jacket so that it doesn't pull away from the shirt at the neck -- a real no-no if you want to look polished and professional. However, with a thin t-shirt, very often the jacket may not fit snugly at the neck, causing the neck to look frail or weak.

Other in-your-face looks include inappropriate ties that suggest, "I'm so successful that I can wear Mickey Mouse or baby pink ties to a client meeting."

Or, women may refuse to wear makeup or proper business attire to the office.

Beware of this stance. Menswear designer Joseph Abboud recently booted two investment bankers out of his New York office because they were not wearing ties. Abboud said, "They blew it because they offended me by being too casual." Ultimately, casual attire suggests a casual attitude. However, in-your-face attire suggests a smug attitude, which most people resent.

When a person of the stature and power of Donald Trump takes an in-your-face stance and wears a pink tie in New York City, it sends the false signal that such a tie must be a Power Tie. It is not; not even in Palm Beach or other cities in the Deep South where pastel ties are popular and accepted. Pastel ties are for the country club or dining out with friends. In real "power" situations, like sales, they cause a man to look less powerful.

Of course, powerful men often live by the credo, "Do as I say, not as I do."

In other words, for them, power trumps decorum. Unfortunately, copycats of this in-your-face dressing who do not live in the Deep South risk having their credibility decreased.

True professionals know instinctively that in order to be taken seriously, a serious appearance is required. They dress to impress, even though this attitude may be more subliminal than conscious. Most people make an effort when calling on an important client because they know it affects the outcome. Their attitude is positive, and their appearance should also be positive.

We had a brief foray into madness with the dot-com revolution, and during that time monsters were created in the working environment. Outraged employees protest today that they don't want to return to formal business attire. They love corporate casual and simply do not want to be bothered with dressing up again. It is still arrogant and in-your-face to think that your comfort is more important than your client's attitude toward you.

"Gen Y" female employees wonder why they are not permitted to wear their suggestive club attire to the office. Satin and lacy stretch camisoles fall into an entirely different category than in-your-face attire. Pop stars spawned this look, and what young business professionals forget is that they are not pop stars. They are business professionals who must represent their company and their profession in a businesslike manner.

A recent university study concluded that females who wear suggestive attire to the office lose all credibility when they are in management positions.

Only females in lower positions with little hope of promotion were not judged negatively in suggestive attire. If women are informed of the negativity of suggestive attire and refuse to change, it would be as in-your-face as a baby pink Mickey Mouse tie.

By: Sandy Dumont, www.remonline.com

WE BUY HOUSES

1-877-WE BUY 10

Six Steps to Generating Free Real Estate Leads on Craigslist

After years of trial and error using Craigslist I finally created a system for consistently generating quality real estate leads for my business, and I've decided to share the steps in this article.

Step 1: Create An Account.

This is the easiest step by far, but is critical to getting the best results and to track those results as well. All you need to do is go to Craigslist.com and click on the login button, then on the next page -- if you don't already have an account -- you'll click on the area that says "Don't already have an account." Just fill in your information, name and email, and you'll be sent an email to confirm. Once you receive the email, click on the link in there and, voila, you have an account you can start to use.

Step 2: Pick Your Campaign.

Here is what I mean by picking a campaign. If you are going to generate leads on Craigslist you need to do it with a purpose. You need to choose the kinds of leads that you are looking to work with. Here are some ideas: foreclosure buyers, lease option buyers, apartment building buyers, luxury home buyers, first time home buyers, or buyers in a particular school district; you get the idea.

Step 3: Create Your Campaign

This step can be a little time consuming (really only 30-60 minutes), but the good thing is that once you are done, it's done for good. You may want to go back from time to time and tweak, but most of the work is complete. Here is how to create a campaign for Craigslist lead generation.

Once you have picked your campaign you need to create several different ads to post and generate traffic. Craigslist doesn't allow you to post the same ad over and over, so you'll need several different posting titles and posting descriptions (you'll also want variations for the location and price boxes as well). By creating different titles and posts it allows you post frequently; that enables you to consistently drive traffic to your landing page or squeeze page (never send the traffic to your main web page) or to email or call you.

Step 4: Implementation -- Posting Your Ads

Here is where the rubber meets the road. Now that you have your campaigns created you need to start posting. I recommend to post twice daily during the week and at least once a day on the weekends. You will want to be posting when there is a lot of traffic to Craigslist; the way their site works is that the longer your ad is up the farther down the page it goes. So you probably don't want to post at 5 in the morning as it's not likely that many home buyers are surfing Craigslist at that time.

It is critical to be consistent posting your ads. This literally takes just a couple minutes a day, but it will become one of those things that after some time becomes a bore to do. If you really can't stay diligent with it, have your assistant -- if you have one -- do them for you; or you could even hire one of your kids to do it. I know I am stating the obvious here, but if you don't post you won't get leads, so make sure you stay consistent!

Step 5: Follow Up

Here is where it starts to get exciting. Depending on the information you collect from the leads, you may be able to follow up in several ways. If you are just collecting name and email, obviously that means your only form of follow up will be through email. If you are collecting phone numbers, which I would recommend, then you can make phone calls. If you are able to collect full contact info including address, I would highly recommend sending a sales piece, ideally a sales letter enticing them to work with you as a client.

Your follow up must also be consistent and scripted. If you are offering a free list of homes, whether they be fixer uppers or foreclosures etc, make sure you are regularly sending out the list. For example, in my business I send free lists to my leads every Thursday morning. This does several things: keeps me on a schedule and creates an expectation from the buyers that they'll be getting their new list each Thursday. In order to get maximum response from your list you need to make different offers to them. Here are some ideas for offers you can be making to get them to raise their hand to work with you: teleseminars, homes tours, group open houses, live seminars, etc.

Step 6: Track & Improve

The last step is the least glamorous, but might be the most important of all. You need to be tracking your ads and results from the start. If you don't track you'll have no idea what's working and what isn't. Here are some of the things you need to track: which ads are getting the most response, how well your landing page is converting, how many leads you are getting daily, how many leads turn to clients, how many leads open your emails, and much more. Now this part of the business isn't much fun, but you can only improve what you track; if you aren't tracking this information you have no way of improving your results.

By: Josh Schoenly, www.realtown.com

WE BUY HOUSES

http://www.mbnyproperties.com

Real Estate Twitter Tips

"Speed kills ... except for real estate." -- Anonymous

People are using Twitter to share their experiences. That's hardly a secret anymore. They are also using it for "crowdsourcing," posing questions and problems to a group of people.

They are hoping for a quick and useful reply. They tweet (post on Twitter) for advice. They tweet for referrals. They tweet for real estate advice. Yes, they tweet that they are looking for homes -- and for Realtors. No kidding.

So, how do you find these folks?

Here are some tools to help real estate professionals find them quickly and with little effort.

1. DemandSpot is a Twitter real estate search tool designed to help folks find buyers (and sellers). Simply enter a geographic area, a search radius of up to 200 miles, and select a real estate keyword from a list. DemandSpot will return tweets that contain those keywords, together with the link to the person who tweeted it.

Here is a result I found in the New York area, searching under the "condo" keyword: "Looking to buy a condo in NYC area (sic) anyone have any contacts or suggestions?"

Once you locate a person requesting help on Twitter you can engage that individual. Since that person reached out on Twitter, you have their permission to offer help.

A tip: Read the profile and Twitter stream of the person who is seeking help to get a sense of who they are. Then decide how to engage them. Add a link to your LinkedIn or Facebook profile so that person can, in turn, get a sense of you.

DemandSpot has certain limitations. You cannot choose your own keywords, and you cannot subscribe to updates. DemandSpot also wants you to contact the person through them. (To identify and contact the person directly, however, you can click "All Recent Updates.")

The following tools overcome these limitations:

2. Twitter search engines: Twitter Search; GeoChirp; Monitter.

Twitter Search: Simply enter search terms you think will locate people tweeting for real estate help. Some search-term suggestions include: "anyone know a Realtor?" "looking for real estate agent," or "house hunting" (very popular). Tweets will be returned in the results with the search terms highlighted.

This is my favorite Twitter search engine because it's fast. It has an advanced search feature that lets you tailor your searches and include locations. The best part is you can get a "Feed for this query" via RSS (really simple syndication) to receive future tweets that meet your search criteria.

Tip: Even if you don't get instant results on your search, subscribe to the search. Anytime a person tweets the search phrase in the future, it will be sent to your feed reader. As an example, a recent search of "anyone know Realtor in Arlington?" located a very similar Twitter post.

GeoChirp is a location-based Twitter search engine. Enter a location, a search radius up to 50 miles, and a keyword or keyword phrase. GeoChirp lets you "Subscribe to this search" to have future tweets delivered to you.

Monitter is also a location-based Twitter search tool that allows you to expand the search radius to 100 miles. I like Monitter because you can enter many search queries at one time. Monitter displays the tweets in separate columns and continues to update them in real time. The only negative is that the search results can be fuzzy.

Monitter, like GeoChirp, lets you subscribe to search updates via RSS feed.

Tweetlister lets you tweet your real estate listings to Twitter. You can schedule the listing tweet time and frequency. Each listing links to its own detail page with a broker/agent profile. The tweets go to your designated Twitter account. Tweetlister also provides the number of clicks on your listings.

I know what you're thinking (and put down that straightjacket) -- it's "unsocial" to tweet your listings. It may be. But I think there may be a way to do it without being regarded as a "Spamapotamus."

Set up a separate account on Twitter to use with Tweetlister. Pick a name with market keywords, such as "Newest Miami condos for sale." In the profile, tell folks you are using this dedicated account solely to tweet the newest listings in your market area. Link to your property-search page. Use hashtags to identify a neighborhood or building, such as: #southbeach or #trumptower.

Promote this "twitter alert for new listings" tool on your blog or Web site with a link to the account.

Some folks may choose to follow this Twitter feed for new listing because they will not have to disclose their e-mail address (as e-mail registration can scare away some from listings alerts).

Give these tools a "twy." Hopefully, they will make it easier for you to connect with clients on Twitter.

By: Joseph Ferrara, www.inman.com

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Meltdown Gives Consumers a New Money Mindset

If the Great Recession has taught people one thing, it's this: They need to take charge of their finances. It's a lesson plenty are heeding. People are saving more and spending less. The personal savings rate has risen to more than 4 percent after sinking to near zero in the months before last fall's meltdown. The number of people getting financial counseling is 3.2 million, double the amount two years ago.

In ways big and small -- from scrutinizing their bills and joining credit unions to scaling back weddings and college plans -- people are finding creative ways to deal with the worst recession in a generation. In short, there's a quiet revolution taking place in the way people save, borrow and spend that represents a retreat from old habits, and the first steps toward new ones.

Saving

For years, the traditional savings account has been a quaint relic of the past. There were just too many other things to do with our money -- and most involved spending it. Home improvements, and, for many, a second home; a second car and then a third; overseas vacations. The list went on. Saving meant putting money in a 401(k), and many didn't put as much into those as they could. Then the market plunged and the value of those accounts fell with it.

Now, many people are reassessing their approach to socking money away.

While personal income is down slightly since the recession officially began in late 2007, the personal savings rate is rising. In 2007 the savings rate stood at 1.7 percent of after-tax income. That climbed to 2.7 percent in 2008, and in July -- the most recent data available -- hit 4.2 percent. As people fear losing their jobs, they will save more: Economists expect the savings rate to top 6 percent in coming months if unemployment, which was 9.7 percent in August, continues to rise.

But people are still saving less than they did in the last major recession in 1982. Back then, the savings rate was 10.9 percent when certificates of deposit were earning more than 12 percent.

These days, it's difficult to earn much on savings. Most bank money-market accounts offer a return of less than 2 percent, and even long-term certificates of deposit offer little more than 2 percent.

Reducing credit card debt can be one of the quickest ways to save. With credit card companies charging more than 13 percent on average -- and up to 30 percent for people with poor credit -- reducing or eliminating that monthly payment will save money.

Financial planners used to advise consumers to save enough money to cover their expenses for three months. When the worst of the recession hit, Laurie Siebert of Valley National Advisers in Bethlehem, Pa., already was advising clients to boost their emergency savings to six months. Now, she's urging them to save enough to cover a full year of expenses because credit lines and job security aren't guaranteed.

One big reason to save more now: Homeowners can't depend on rising property values to refinance their mortgages to help cover household expenses.

People are flocking to bank and money management Web sites to compare interest rates and share advice. Traffic to personal financial management Web sites, where users can analyze their saving and spending, has soared. The largest site, Mint.com, saw traffic grow from 200,000 visitors a month in January of last year to more than 1 million a month this year.

Smart consumers treat their savings as an expense and set aside their savings before paying other bills. When the bills are paid off, they shift that money into a savings account.

And if you're not participating in your company's 401(k), start now. If you are and don't save as much as you can, increase your monthly contribution. Remember that you can borrow money to help send your kids to college, but there aren't any loans for retirees.

Borrowing

Credit isn't as easy to get anymore, so people are getting creative to find new sources of funds.

Bank loan balances declined by 4.6 percent for the year ending in June. But credit union loan balances rose by 4.5 percent, according to industry associations. Credit unions, which are nonprofits and weren't as tangled in subprime mortgages, are in better shape to make consumer loans.

Borrowers also have begun to explore less-traditional options. The credit crunch helped fuel the growth of what's called peer-to-peer lending, in which companies enable individuals to make loans to one another. One of these startups, The Lending Club, issued 446 loans worth $4.3 million in August alone. That's more than eight times the $488,600 in loans the company issued the same month two years earlier. Virgin Money, which facilitates loans between family members and friends, saw its loan volume more than double to $425 million in June from $200 million in October 2007.

Though new options have emerged, the subprime mortgage crisis laid bare the reality that easy credit can be dangerous. Over the past year, the government stepped in with tighter regulations and is now considering a new consumer agency to protect people from shady mortgage lenders, abusive credit card fees and other risky financial products.

Many cardholders, meanwhile, have been surprised to see their credit limits cut. Credit card companies slashed limits for 58 million cardholders, or about a third of consumers, in the 12 months ending in April, according to a report issued last month by FICO, the company that produces the most widely known credit scores. A majority of the cardholders had good credit scores when the cuts were made.

Gloria Womelduff says Chase recently lowered her limit to $7,500 from $10,000, even though she says she's never late on payments and always pays more than the minimum. "I'm as squeaky clean as you can get," says Womelduff, 56, a hospital research coordinator in Kansas City, Mo.

New credit card regulations should mean that fewer consumers are caught by surprise. In the months ahead, revamped billing statements will calculate the interest cost of making only minimum payments and show how long it would take to pay off the balance. For many, both numbers may be a shock.

The statements aren't required until February, but borrowing has already grown more prudent. The Federal Reserve says revolving credit -- made up primarily of credit cards -- declined by $6.1 billion, or 8.1 percent on an annualized basis, in July. That was part of a record $21.6 billion retreat in overall borrowing.

There are some things consumers can do to protect their credit: They can pay bills on time and review their credit report at least once a year. Plus, whenever they're using credit, they can factor the cost of the loan into the budget, weighing whether the money spent on interest could be better used elsewhere.

Spending

People are saving more and cutting their debts. But at some point, they'll start spending more. Businesses big and small hope so. What's emerging so far, though, is a more prudent consumer.

The use of coupons soared 19 percent in the first six months of this year vs the first half of 2008. People are reading bills more closely, looking for mistakes and to identify unused services that can be eliminated. Legions have sought help online. BillShrink.com allows users to compare the cost of cell phone plans and credit cards, based on actual usage. Visits to the site have grown more than tenfold since the start of the year and hit 650,000 in August.

The changing behavior can be seen in other ways:

” Two years ago, the average amount spent on a wedding was $28,000, according to the Wedding Report, a market research company in Tucson, Ariz. Last year's average: $21,800. The second quarter of this year: $16,550 -- 42 percent below the 2007 average.

While enrollment numbers aren't yet available, public colleges reported a 14 percent spike in applications last spring, suggesting some students and their families are shifting from private schools so they can spend less.

How to spend wisely hasn't changed because of the Great Recession. The rules were just ignored during the good times. They start with creating a budget to project income and expenses and guide spending. They examine the financial plan each month to find ways to cut back -- whether services that aren't needed or fees that can be avoided.

Smart consumers also take advantage of all employee benefits; use a flexible spending account, when available, to pay for child and health care costs; and they review insurance policies to make sure they're only paying for what they need.

By: Candice Choi and Eileen Aj Connelly, www.aps.com

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Timelines Do Improve Service

My long time friend Mary posted on her Facebook that she was holding her home open and was "hoping" for some traffic.

I know that my friend Mary is a hairdresser, not a real estate agent! I just had to call her and find out why she was holding an open house knowing that her home was listed with a licensed agent.

Mary told me that she was excited to find out that in her small town the houses on either side of her property were scheduled to be auctioned off on the upcoming Saturday from 10-12:00, and she had called her real estate agent to cash in on the free traffic by proposing the agent hold an open house on that designated Saturday.

The auction companies had blasted the media with the date, time and place and she really wanted to "take advantage" of the free traffic in hopes of snagging a prospect to look at her property while in the area. So Mary scrubbed, staged and manicured her home to be ready for this onslaught of buying prospects in time for the 10-12:00 appointed time for both auctions to occur.

She patiently waited for her agent to drop off the open house signs. The clock hit 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 and 12:00, and FINALLY the agent arrived -- after the auctions had occurred and any interested buyers were long gone! The agent had no timeline in her daily or listing schedule of activities to be appropriately on time to maximize this rare opportunity in a rural marketplace, nor did she seem to share Mary's desire to be visible during this rare event in their small town! The agent had completely missed the opportunity.

This lack of service is frustrating and downright rude, and it creates the question: Why should a seller pay you a fee when you aren't pro-active about marketing their property?

As a Realtor® professional and as a friend of the seller, it frankly disappointed me that Mary has employed an agent who doesn't understand the principles of service! Nor does this agent have a clue about what it takes to orchestrate today's marketing strategy that gets a property sold.

If you are interested in pumping up your service model to exceed the expectations of your seller and create true differentiation in your service model when compared to your competition, you might want to ask yourself these questions:

1. Have you developed a timeline of activities you follow when you take a property listing?

2. Do you share this timeline of marketing activities with your seller?

3. Have you discussed with your seller the average marketing time and number of showings a properly priced property historically can expect in your area before going under contract?

4. Do you ask your Sellers what communication medium they prefer for their updates and showing feedback information? Do they prefer phone? Fax? Email? Traditional printed mail? Too many agents simply use email and assume this will suffice when your seller may prefer to connect by phone at least once a week -- or they may prefer both. How will you know if you don't ask?

5. Do you follow that timeline and communicate with your sellers what will happen on a daily basis from the first week through the fourth week of the month so they are actually engaged in the marketing process and can see how you are working to effectively market their property?

6. Do you provide a communication to that seller on a consistent weekly basis of what has been orchestrated in the plan you discussed at your listing meeting, one that shows accountability for your marketing actions?

7. Do you have a proposed revised marketing strategy after the first 30-45 days that might include a price revision, changing or adding photos, revising MLS copy to reflect any changes on the premises?

8. Do you counsel your sellers in advance about overpricing a property and how it can damage the initial marketing debut in their marketplace?

9. What plan do you have in place to adjust the marketing price if the property shows more than "x" amount of times but gets no offers? Do you explain that having a ton of showings can simply mean the other agents are using your seller's overpriced property to sell other homes that have more to offer at a better price?

10. Do you also counsel your seller about offers that might occur in the first few days on the market so they don't feel they have "underpriced" the property?

Many of these questions and concerns can be addressed when you first take the listing when expectations are high and communication with your seller may not be totally clear. Having a timeline of activities not only provides a framework for the seller to follow, but provides a structure for your services that they can monitor and help you show accountability for your efforts. When you can show that your marketing efforts have been executed, it may be their pricing in the marketplace that is the real problem.

No one wants to pay for service they don't get! My friend Mary is already angry and disappointed at her agent's lack of service that she expected -- and the listing has just begun. Like any successful relationship, clear communication and expectations for services that we pay for makes for higher satisfaction from our consumer.

Consider using a timeline of marketing activities, get the sellers approval, suggestions and concerns, and then deliver what you promise on time -- every time. Bad reviews travel faster than ever before, so focus on making every transaction end by creating another raving fan!

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

By: Terri Murphy, www.terrimurphy.com

Networking is a "Con" Game

Networking is nothing more than a "con" game. Have you ever been contacted by some swindler offering you money if you would help out a long, lost relative located in a remote country? We all know calls like these are scams. But, in sales, can we associate the necessary skill of networking with a "con"? I believe we can and should.

Now, I'm not suggesting that networking is a sleazy activity. Networking is a "con" game because the letters "c-o-n" are critical reminders of how to be successful in this endeavor. Instead of associating "con" with its negative connotation, I'd like to suggest that you link "con" with the words Continuity, Concern, and Confidence. I call them the "3 Cons of Networking." The need to display each of these is at the core of every networking opportunity whether we realize it or not.

To emphasize my point, stop for a moment and think about the people who you value knowing. Each one has communicated a sense of continuity, concern, and confidence towards you. In the same regard, people who have you in their network have come to see these same three "cons" in you. Many times, unfortunately, we don't realize this, so we are unable to leverage the "3 Cons" to increase the value of our network.

Let's break down each of the 3 Cons of Networking and examine some ways we can use them to our advantage:

The first "Con" is Continuity, and it serves as the foundation of networking. Do not assume continuity requires you to have face-to-face meetings on a regular basis with the person you're associating with. Rather, continuity means that you have contact with the other person at a frequency that can be counted on. Although this implies regularity, it just means the contact that takes place has to occur at a rate that is natural to both parties.

Besides getting together in person, it can be made by mail, e-mail, telephone, or even fax. The rate of recurrence will control the speed and depth of the networking relationship. If you want to be better connected with someone, identify the type of contact which best suits that person and seek to get in touch with them on an appropriate schedule.

The second "Con" is Concern. Do you show concern for the other person? Are you willing to go out of your way to assist them? Many people desire to network with others for nothing more than building a list of names, as if they were collecting baseballs cards or old coins. In reality, networking is about making a difference in the lives of others. It's about being willing to put their needs in front of your own. You do this by showing interest in them, by asking them questions, by helping them achieve their goals, by congratulating them for things they've accomplished, and by being willing to share their success with others. Although this "Con" is the most critical, it is also the most often neglected in society today.

The final "Con" is Confidence. Under no circumstance should this be associated with arrogance. It's not as much about your level of self-assurance as it is about the amount of confidence the other person has in you. Think about it. If you aren't confident in somebody, you won't confide in them, you won't support them, and you probably will not go out of your way for them. The person whom others have confidence in is respected.

How do you gain the confidence of those in your network? Demonstrate continuity and concern. (You might say confidence is the end result of doing the other two well.) Be knowledgeable and professional with the other person. Be willing to put yourself into situations where they can see how you respond to things in both good and bad times. Commit to be yourself regardless of who you're with or who you desire to meet. Turning these actions into habits will help you gain the respect and confidence you desire from your counterparts.

Networking is a "con" game, nothing more and nothing less. When you are willing to invest time into carrying out the "3 Cons," you will find your network growing not just in size, but, more importantly, in the value and benefits you and those you network with receive from it. Successful networking relationships have "con" written all over them!

By: Mark Hunter, www.salesopedia.com

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Find Your Selling Motivation

A lot of people have a lot to say about selling. And I'm sure you've heard much of it already.

They'll tell you their way is the best way to get more customers, the quickest way to get rich, or the only way to gain success. Deep down, however, we all know the truth -- that there is no one way to sell. The real secret of selling is to be true to yourself -- to sell with honesty and integrity (and a dash of humor) in the way that best fits your unique personality. No one else can do it quite the way you can.

The truth about selling is divided into two separate but equally important parts: your motive and your method.

Your motive is the reason you sell in the first place. What are you thinking when you get up in the morning to go to work? Are you thinking about the paycheck? Are you thinking about your customer's needs? Are you thinking about the ways your product or service can benefit the greatest number of people?

There's nothing wrong with thinking about the paycheck; it's certainly a measurement tool that motivates many people. But selling is difficult, and it seems to me that the only thing that makes it easier is a love for what you're doing and what you're selling.

What motivates me? It's the challenge of it all. Maybe it's proving someone wrong who tells me "no" or "it can't be done." Sometimes it's accomplishing something that's never been done before, or seeing a difficult project through to the end. Or it might be the opportunities you have to make other people happy through the value of your products or services.

For instance, I'm currently selling a product outside the normal distribution routes. My plan is to garner as much media attention as possible, get word-of-mouth going and then go back to the big distributors with a product that's already proven. What keeps me moving is the feedback I'm getting that tells me my product has value. My motivation -- and my challenge -- is to sell this value to as many people as possible via a non-typical, nontraditional route. That's what makes it exciting; that's the truth about selling for me.

The second part of the equation is the method you choose to sell your product or service.

The truth here is that no one can really tell you how to do it. I'm not saying to ignore everyone else's knowledge and experience; of course, there's a lot to be learned from those who've gone before. But the thing to remember is that there is no "right" way to sell; there's only the way that works best for you.

You've probably seen those infomercials from Ron Popeil (one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs) for his rotisserie cooker, the one with the motto, "Just set it, and forget it!" The same principle can be applied to selling. Learn as much as you can, let it "cook" in your mind -- and then don't stress too much about it. You'll still have all that knowledge tucked away in the back of your mind, and you can draw on it whenever you need it. You can also follow my motto: CDC, or collect, discard, create. Collect as much knowledge and information as possible, discard what is not useful to you, then create and refine your own style.

So the truth about selling is whatever you make it. For people like us, selling is our life and our livelihood. Sometimes, in the craziness of selling, when setbacks loom and things aren't going as well as we'd like, it helps to think about how and why we do what we do.

And that's the truth.

By: Barry Farber, www.entrepreneur.com

WE BUY HOUSES

800-WE BUY 10

3 Business Plan Blunders and How to Avoid Them

Let's be honest: Sometimes no matter how hard you plan, you just don't get the results you want.

A business plan can help you set a strategy for the coming year (it won't be long now) and outline the goals you want to achieve. But how often do so many business plans become merely a list of your unaccomplished objectives?

It often boils down to three main reasons: unnecessary complexity, lack of focus, and little to no motivation.

Realizing this, you can make adjustments in these three areas to avoid such common mistakes and formulate an intelligent business plan that gets you results.

Problem 1: Is your business plan too complex?

Most business plans designed for real estate professionals have too many moving parts. After all, most practitioners do not come from business backgrounds and have no training in even writing a business plan. Therefore, a common problem is to err on the side of providing way too much detail. But the more complex and detailed it is, the less likely you will be able see through all of the gobbledygook to realize your main objectives.

Solution: Keep it simple and in easy terms. Don't reduce the goals in your plan to mere activities. There are too many possible activities to choose from! It's too cumbersome to track each task, and there are too many to focus on at one time. Out of frustration or confusion, you'll simply stop the planning process or stop using the plan. Make sure your business plan includes only what you need to manage your business.

And remember: Don't think of it as a one-time thing. Your business plan should be a living document, so start thinking of it that way. Calling it a "plan" implies it's something you did 10 months ago and never use. Instead, use the more active phrase "business planning." Business planning is like steering and driving. It requires having a destination and making course corrections.

Problem 2: Are you focused enough?

It's easy to lack focus if you have so many details in your business plan that they're competing for your attention. A change to a simple, single focus allows you to be more creative and work smarter. In addition, a more concentrated approach significantly reduces stress on and off the job.

Solution: To improve your focus, reduce the measurable goals in your business plan to initial appointments with new clients, and stop there. Do not discriminate between listing and buyer appointments. Count them both.

Why just target initial appointments? After using this model with thousands of real estate professionals all over the country for more than a decade, I've found an accurate rule of thumb: Modestly competent professionals with at least one year of experience will execute a successful transaction with at least half of the new clients with whom they have an initial appointment. That means every two initial appointments lead to a sale, roughly. Forty new appointments for the year lead to 20 sales.

Here are some other benefits:

³As you make initial appointments each week, you'll naturally focus on the best ways to generate the appointments and your skill at turning those into sales.

³The initial appointments are a measure that makes it easy to identify which skills or systems are your greatest weaknesses or strengths.

³You'll make better decisions about what to do, what to buy, and what to learn next. This will save you time, money, and frustration and give you more confidence as you go forward.

Problem 3: Are You Motivated Enough to Achieve These Goals?

Your purpose is your reason for doing anything. "Why" you do something drives you to action. If you haven't identified the "why," then your business plan will likely fall flat.

Solution: Consider your business goals and your purpose behind those goals. This will create a deep and lasting motivation and prevent you from feeling powerless and mediocre.

Before you set your measurable goals, do the following:

Write down at least five answers to the question, "What do I want my business to do for my life? What do I want my business to accomplish for me and my loved ones?"

Then, ask yourself, "Why do I want that?" And keep writing those answers down and continually asking, "And why do I want that?"

Continue to ask yourself these questions until you have an emotional response to your answer and arrive at an answer that excites you. Sometimes this excitement occurs immediately; sometimes you have to live with that question on your mind for a few days to let your subconscious work on it.

Eventually, you'll have an answer that makes you say to yourself: "That's why I am willing to do whatever it takes." This adds tremendous power and purpose to your efforts, goals, overall plan, and everyday work.

Measure Your Results

These three easy changes are necessary to successful planning. But, don't forget: You have to hold yourself accountable too.

Every working weekday, before you open your e-mail or make a phone call, take about five minutes to think about the results you're getting. Use this time to think about your "what" and "why." Update your appointments, sales, and listings.

Then, once a week, instead of five minutes, schedule a half hour to consider these issues. After you update your results, ask: "What can I do for my business this upcoming week that would make it even more successful, even more enjoyable, and even more profitable?"

Such constant reflection will help you stay focused and motivated and ensure that your next business plan isn't just a wish list; soon it will become a list of what you've actually achieved.

By: Rich Levin, www.realtor.org

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Renters Facing Housing Problems on the Rise

A National Low Income Housing Coalition analysis of newly released data from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that more families at every income level are facing housing cost burdens, while, not surprising, households with the lowest incomes continue to be disproportionately affected by the shortage of affordable rental housing across the country.

The data show that renters are paying an increasing percentage of their incomes toward rent. The number of renters with unaffordable housing cost burdens -- those spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities -- increased from 16.8 million to 17.4 million from 2006 to 2008. As expected, the lowest income renters are the hardest hit: 87.6% of renter families earning $20,000 or less are experiencing an unaffordable housing cost burden, compared to 15.3% of those earning $50,000 or more. In addition, median gross rents increased from $763 to $824 between 2006 and 2008.

The share of units renting for under $500 fell from 16.9% to 16.3%, as the share renting for $1500 or more rose from 10% to 11.2%.

The data also point out a shift from owning to renting since 2006, as households lost homes to foreclosure or put off the decision to buy in the declining for-sale home market. This shift has led to more crowded living conditions for renters, likely as a result of some families doubling up or taking in tenants and larger families moving into smaller, more affordable units. The average household size of renter-occupied units increased from 2.41 in 2006 to 2.44 in 2008. The percentage of occupied housing units with 1.51 or more occupants per room increased from 1.52% to 2.35%.

"The new ACS data validates the reports we are getting from across the country. More families are renting, rents are going up and the lowest income households are struggling to pay for the most basic necessities. These data were collected before the rapid rise in unemployment, which means the situation today is even worse. As Congress considers giving even more tax breaks to support homeownership, equal attention must go to the diminishing housing choices of low income renters," National Low Income Housing Coalition President Sheila Crowley said.

NLIHC is calling on Congress to respond to these new data by providing at least $1 billion in funding for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). The NHTF, once funded, will provide communities with funds to build, rehabilitate and preserve rental homes for people with the lowest incomes. NLIHC has also called for at least 200,000 additional rental assistance vouchers in the next fiscal year, as well as adequate funding for all HUD programs.

ACS estimates were released on September 22^nd. by the U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates are based on an annual, nationwide sample of about 250,000 addresses per month. In addition, approximately 20,000 group quarters across the United States, comprising approximately 200,000 residents were sampled. Geographic areas for which data are available are based on total populations of 65,000 or more.

Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

WE BUY HOUSES

HUSTLE HARD

10 Tips to Allergy-Proof Your Home for Fall

Your home harbors a surprising number of sneaky allergy-causing culprits. Home allergy-fighting tips include: wash bedding in hot water, keep windows closed, keep room temperatures low.

Here's where allergens could be hiding in your home and how you can send them packing.

1. Clutter

A messy home means nice digs for dust mites, bugs, mold, and mice.

So, recycle old newspapers, magazines, cans, and grocery bags weekly, and keep the bins outside if you can.

2. Carpeting

Dust mites and pet dander love carpeting and rugs, so bust out your vacuum at least weekly.

Make sure it has a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to trap tiny particles. (Non-HEPA vacuums just re-circulate them inside your house.)

Our pick: The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser ($170; Bissell.com), which alerts you when its time to replace the filter.

To really ditch allergies, get rid of your carpeting, and leave your floors bare (hardwood, tile, etc.).

3. Bedding

Banish mites and mold by washing your sheets and pillow cases in 130-degree water weekly.

Ready for an appliance upgrade? The Ultra-Capacity SteamWasher from LG ($1,799; LGE.com) has a special cycle that removes more than 95 percent of allergens.

4. Bathroom

Moist bathroom or basement walls love to breed mold. So, wipe them down with a chlorine-bleach solution (1 ounce bleach to 1 quart H2O) to keep fungus at bay.

In the fall, mold also moves indoors via wet leaves on shoes and damp firewood. Store wood in a separate dry space, like the garage, and keep your yard leaf-free.

5. Crumbs

Crumbs and overflowing garbage lure mice and roaches -- and their droppings can really aggravate allergies. So, keep your space clean to avoid pests.

One nontoxic surface-spiffer we like: EcoDiscoveries Kitchen cleaner ($7; EcoDiscoveries.com).

Also, try boric acid -- toxic to roaches -- and traps for the pests.

6. Open windows

Refreshing fall breezes are great -- unless they usher ragweed or other allergy-causing pollens indoors.

Keep windows shut between the high-pollen-count hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. (If it's warm, keep the air conditioner running; it filters out pollen inside your home.) Change the AC (or heater) filter monthly.

And remove shoes outside to avoid tracking in pollen particles.

7. Basement

Fight mold with a dehumidifier set between 35 and 45 percent humidity. Dehumidifiers come in several sizes, starting at just $25. Before you buy one, however, get a humidity gauge ($9 at most home-improvement stores) to assess how much de-moisturizing muscle you'll need.

8. Houseplants

Your potted plants can harbor sneeze-producing mold on their leaves. Remove any moldy leaves immediately, and don't let water pool in the pot's tray.

Check with a plant-care specialist if the problem persists.

9. Pets

Pet dander and saliva spell trouble for a whopping 30 percent of allergy sufferers. Washing or brushing your pet weekly (do it outside) can lower your home's dander level significantly.

Keep dogs and cats out of the bedroom, and cover air vents with cheesecloth to keep dander from spreading from room to room.

10. Fabric furnishings

Dust couches, stuffed chairs and drapery weekly.

Wash blankets and throw rugs in hot water (or have them dry-cleaned).

Pick up pet fur with your vacuum's upholstery attachment, and try to keep your pets off the furniture.

Make sure the air temp is below 70 degrees, too; mites, as well as fungus and roaches, dislike cool temps.

By: Jacquelyne Froeber, www.health.com

HUSTLE HARD

WE BUY HOUSES

877-WE BUY 10

Position Yourself as a Leader

Position Yourself as a Leader

It's been said many times over the years that to be a successful salesperson whatever product or service you happen to sell -- not only do your listening skills have to be great, but your closing skills have to be even better.

However, I believe that while these skills are helpful, they are not essential. In my opinion, to be a top-performing sales professional, you must first of all be a great leader. It is a fundamental character trait. Although we have all known salespeople who have had stellar years based on the luck of a few great clients, those with sustained, long-term success always exhibit great leadership skills.

So, let's ask the important question: What is a leader? Leaders are people who empower others to do seemingly impossible things, whether individually or as part of a group. They help people see issues and opportunities they would not normally see by themselves. Most importantly, they instill a level of confidence in people that make them pro-active in dealing with situations they otherwise would be hesitant to handle.

These leadership traits are essential for top-performing salespeople to exhibit on a daily basis. By demonstrating these qualities to your prospects and clients, you are communicating your value to them. They will see that you have their best interest in mind and are not out to just "make a sale."

Furthermore, you will create the confidence they need to desire to do business with you. Salespeople who see themselves as leaders are far more likely to provide the client with the services necessary to help them achieve their long-term goals.

For example, a salesperson who is a leader will wisely show a 25-year-old the significance of buying life insurance both as an investment tool and a "peace of mind" policy. A real estate agent who is a leader will enable someone who has never purchased a home before to see the tremendous advantages of owning their own home.

Top-performing salespeople understand how positioning themselves as leaders can further their success. You will increase your profits by selling more to an existing customer, so it only makes sense to display leadership to them.

In addition, because the best new clients often come from referrals, your existing customers will be much more apt to confidently recommend you. In my experience, I have observed that salespeople who behave as leaders are less likely to need multiple closing techniques to make a sale. I firmly believe that the higher the degree of leadership in a sales professional, the less time spent on closing the deal. Similarly, the opposite holds true, and the result is a loss of valuable time and income.

Over the years, I have come to believe that "sales is leadership and leadership is sales." The more salespeople with whom I work, the more I confirm the validity of this statement.

Leaders get other to do things; so do salespeople. Although it's important, of course, to work on both your ability to listen and your closing techniques, fostering your leadership skills is far more essential. Begin today to set yourself apart from the competition by positioning yourself as a leader to your current clients and your prospects.

HUSTLE HARD
WE BUY HOUSES

Questions That Sell

In selling, focus is often put on having all the "right" answers. There is an illusion that if you tell a prospect all about your product or service and can answer each of their questions, you will progress the sale -- that is, move it forward toward a close.

This illusion puts a lot of pressure on you, the salesperson, to know all the answers; plus this illusion is just that: an illusion. Having all the answers to your prospect's questions does not progress a sale. Quite the opposite! Having the questions -- the right questions -- progresses the sale.

So, take the emphasis away from knowing all the right answers to knowing all the right questions. If you know the right questions to ask, you will not only sell faster, but there will be fewer questions that you need to answer!

So, what are the "right" questions?

The right questions open up the conversation and uncover the motivation to change, the motivation to buy a product or service like yours. As these right questions are uncovering motivation, they will by default progress the sale, if a sale is to be made. Hence, I call these right questions "power questions."

Power questions have a certain construction and a certain scope.

The construction of a question will impact its power. For example, if you ask a question which has a yes/no answer, how powerful can it possibly be? Does a yes/no question open up the conversation and help you discover the motivation to change? Are yes/no questions penetrating, and do they encourage the conversation to go deeper? Typically, no, they do not.

Compare a yes/no question to a "Why" question or a Who, What, When, Where, Which or How question. Think about how powerful each of these questions is in opening up the conversation, in penetrating and uncovering motivation.

For a question to be powerful in moving forward the sale of your product or service, it must not only have a certain construction but also a certain scope. These questions need to be centered on the scope of the problems that you solve. They need to be relevant to uncovering the motivation for your particular solution.

So we've talked about how a power question must have a certain construction and scope, but for the power really to be unleashed with the question, you'll need to ask yourself a few questions about your questions:

Is this a question that I don't know the answer to?

Is this a question that I sincerely want to know the answer to?

Does this question contain assumptions? (Assumptions narrow the conversation.)

Is this question manipulative or persuasive? (If so, it will close down versus open up the conversation.)

What is my intent with this question? Is it to sell or to really understand? (If it is to sell, expect the power in the question to disappear.)

Does this question help my prospect gain a deeper understanding as well?

So think up some power questions that are relevant to the problems that you solve in your profession. What are some What, Why, and When questions that will enable you to dive deeper and understand their problems? Ask yourself the above questions about your questions.

You want to also find a question framework that is simple to use and is conversational. I coach my clients on the DIVE mode. It stands for Discover, Impact, Value, and Emagine.

Before your next sales conversation, prepare some power questions and give up feeling that you have to know all the answers. You are going to be pleasantly surprised. The more power questions you ask, the fewer questions you will be asked and the fewer answers you will need to have. You'll also find that your sale will be speeding up -- provided, of course, that you are listening to the answers!

HUSTLE HARD
WE BUY HOUSES

It's Not about Price

If I had a nickel for every time I heard some salesperson complain about how they lost a deal because of price, I'd be a very rich man.

Sure, price is an issue when you're selling a product or service -- whether long distance minutes, soybeans or houses. But to blame price when you're selling truly differentiated products or a genuine full-service approach to problem-solving is, I believe, a cop-out.

Think about the last couple of major purchases you made -- say, a home, a boat, a new kitchen, or tutoring for your child? Did you choose the lowest-price option, the cheapestoption available? Ever take your family whitewater rafting? Did you seek out the cheapest outfitter, or were you willing to pay extra perhaps substantially more -- for an outfitter with a stellar reputation for safety? Would you choose the cheapest bungee jumping opportunity or the one that uses the strongest (and therefore more costly to them and to you) bungee cords? The answer seems obvious.

Few people truly want the cheapest of anything, because they know you get what you pay for. And while you may not have chosen the most expensive option in each of these examples, you most likely didn't or wouldn't choose the least expensive in any of the cases. Why not? Because there were other factors to be considered: the hassle if you had to constantly bring the boat in for repair. The endless repairs of a cheaply built or poorly maintained house. The extra expense of getting the kitchen redone if the kitchen contractor did a less-than-professional job. The safety of your family tumbling down that river. Or your own safety at the end of a rubbery cord dangling hundreds of feet below a bridge

What most people -- your prospects included -- really want is not necessarily the best price, but the best value. Value is the amount of benefit you get out of something vs. the total cost (financial and otherwise) you'll pay to get it. If something is inexpensive but is cheaply made, is it really a good value? That's what your prospects are thinking, even as they tellyou they need to get a better price from you. So, don't fall for it.

The dollar price your prospects will pay is just one cost among many they may end up paying throughout their ownership of the product or service they buy. It's just one factoramong many that they will consider before selecting a provider.

My wife and I bought our first house two years ago. Our broker, who was top-notch, introduced us to a couple of really good contractors. While we could have shopped them around, we took it on faith that she would only recommend contractors that were tops in their fields. We suspected that we were going to pay a premium for this, but we were willing to do so because the lower risk of screwing up something as important as landscaping, felling trees, and ensuring pests stayed outside where they belong was something of great value to us. And guess what? We've been 100% satisfied with the results, and don't even remember what it was we paid to get them.

To be sure, now that we've been in the neighborhood for a while and have gotten names of other contractors from our neighbors and friends, we most certainly do seek to get multiple bids on major work. And we may very well end up selecting a contractor who offers the lowest price; but we'll never choose one just because he does. The low price will be an added benefit of the good quality and responsive service -- two factors very important to us -- that we expect we'll get from him.

Your job as a professional salesperson is to uncover what value means to thisprospect: what benefits they're looking for, what the costs are of owning your kind of product or service, and what worries or concerns your prospect has regarding this decision. Then you need to position your offering as the one that is best aligned with these three considerations, making sure your prospect understands that the value they're getting from you exceeds the value they'd be getting from any alternatives -- including the status quo -- even if it's not the lowest price.

Action Item

Identify at least two current deals where you feel you're in a price battle, and one lost deal you feel you lost on price. For the lost deal, re-contact the prospect and have a frank conversation with him. Ask an open-ended, non-leading question: Why'd you choose so-and-so. I'm willing to bet the first thing out of his mouth will be something other than price.

For the deals you're currently working, make a list of all the benefits you know, or suspect, this prospect values. List all the potential costs, including potential expenses they might incur by going with a competitor, but which they would not incur with you.

If you haven't already done so, determine what worries and concerns your prospects have about making the "wrong" decision. Once you've done that, you have what you need to prepare a pretty strong business case that your higher-priced offering is really the best deal -- the best value.

Good selling!

We Buy Houses
Hustle Hard

A Tightwad's 10 Tips to Trim Car Costs

With gas prices zooming up and down like a roller coaster and financial cutbacks continuing, many drivers are looking for ways to save a few bucks. Whether it's reassessing your insurance needs, reducing fuel consumption or simply putting off that new vehicle purchase for another year, here are 10 good ways to save money behind the wheel.

1. Drive your car longer. The easiest way to save money on your vehicle is to simply drive it longer, and with the current economic climate, more Americans have been doing exactly that. In 2005, a survey by AutoPacific of 32,000 consumers found that 46 percent of respondents would not be shopping for a new vehicle in the next four years. This year, that number has risen to 59 percent.

Many consumers typically replace a vehicle every three to five years, but today's vehicles are built to last longer, and some manufacturers offer up to 10-year warranties. According to Edmunds.com, the average monthly payment on a new vehicle is $479. Assuming your existing car is relatively trouble-free, saving that $479 per month means an annual savings of $5,748 by postponing the purchase of a new vehicle.

2. Reassess your insurance needs. Adjusting the insurance you're carrying can dramatically reduce the amount of insurance premiums you pay. According to Bob Sullivan at MSNBC.com's The Red Tape Chronicles, raising the deductible from $200 to $1,000 on a comprehensive insurance policy will save an average of 40 percent or $100 per year on the comprehensive portion. Those with older cars may want to consider dropping their comprehensive and collision coverage also. Consumer Reports recommends dropping the coverage if the annual auto insurance premiums are 10 percent or more of the book value of the vehicle.

3. Skip the accessories at the dealer and buy after-market products. From sound systems and alarms to wheels and roof racks, auto manufacturers offer a variety of accessories and upgrades for new cars. Dealers often tack substantial markups on their accessories and consumers can usually save up to 50 percent or more by buying after-market accessories on their own. For a 2009 Honda CR-V LX, a portable NAVI navigation system from the dealer adds a whopping $710 to the bill while a similar after-market product can be had for less than $300.

4. Buy pre-owned cars. The old saying that a car loses a large chunk of its value once it drives off the lot is true. When you purchase a brand new car, you pay the retail price, but as soon as it leaves the lot, the car is only worth the wholesale price, the amount the dealer would pay if you were to sell it back to them.

In many cases, that difference is up to 20 percent, and on average, a vehicle typically loses 15 to 20 percent of its value each year. Buying a pre-owned vehicle can save thousands of dollars by letting someone else take that initial depreciation hit. Many manufacturers also have "certified pre-owned" programs that take the risk out of some used cars by offering extended warranties and putting the vehicles through rigid certification tests.

5. Buy what you can afford. Buying more car than one can afford is perhaps one of the biggest ways that consumers waste money on their vehicles. Conspicuous consumption often leads many to drive fancy cars at the expense of savings, retirement funding and debt management.

Experts typically recommend not spending more than 20 percent of after-tax household income on all vehicles in the household. So an adult with a take-home pay of $50,000 per year should spend no more than $10,000 per year for car payments, insurance, gas and maintenance. If you calculate that each year you will spend $1,804 for insurance, the average national insurance premium according to the CarInsurance.com Premium Index, and $3,000 for fuel and maintenance ($250 per month), your total annual car expenses would be $4,804. That would leave you only $5,196 of the original $10,000 limit for car loan payments -- or $433 a month. A monthly payment of $433 a month for 48 months at a rate of 7.25 percent equates to a loan amount of $17,994.

6. Do some of your own maintenance. Rebuilding an engine or changing out a transmission can be a serious job requiring lots of knowledge and experience, but checking tire pressure and fluid levels isn't very difficult. Performing those basic maintenance duties and having the ability to change a flat or jump your own vehicle in times of emergency can dramatically cut down on maintenance expenses. While the average cost of an oil change at a shop can run anywhere from $30 to $100, you can buy the oil and filter at an auto parts store for $10 to $25. Learning how to change your own oil and keep fluid levels up can save you hundreds of dollars each year.

7. Do your homework before you visit a dealer. The availability of information on the Web has brought a tremendous amount of transparency into the business of buying and selling vehicles. Automotive Web sites such as Edmunds.com, KBB.com and NADA.com can help consumers understand whether they're getting a good deal or not when they wrangle with a salesman. When you're ready to sit down with a dealer, you should already be anticipating the numbers they'll be working with.

8. Reduce fuel consumption. Driving a gas guzzler with a lead foot is guaranteed to bring some hefty fuel costs into your life. You can dramatically reduce your gas consumption simply by maintaining your vehicle and driving in a sensible manner. According to "hypermiling" (using driving techniques that maximize fuel economy) expert Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG.com, drivers can increase their fuel efficiency 15 to 20 percent simply by checking their tire pressure and mildly altering their driving habits. Other tips include reducing your speed, avoiding stop-and-go traffic and consolidating trips and errands.

9. Shop around for insurance rates. Even after you've reassessed your insurance coverage, shopping around for new rates once every year or two can save money in premiums. In some states there are upward of 200 auto insurance companies in operation and each can have different premiums depending on the vehicle you drive, the coverage you need and your driving record. The changing nature of the insurers and their appetite for risk also means that certain companies may offer different rates at different times.

10. Don't let gimmicks cloud your judgment. Dealerships have long used gimmicks such as free cruises and "gas for a year" giveaways to lure people onto their lots or into a new car. Before you jump at that opportunity, calculate exactly how much that really means to you, based on the number of miles you drive and the cost of gas in your area. And then explore what other rebates, incentives or low prices you may have to pass up in order to get that $500 or $600 worth of gas.

The perception of a freebie can cloud the fact that you might be able to get a better deal on a vehicle elsewhere. Manufacturers also use gimmicks such as warming cup holders, back-up cameras and storage compartments to differentiate their vehicles from the competition. While there may be nothing wrong with these accessories, they can often convince buyers to spend an extra thousand dollars for a product that is only worth a hundred. Staying clear of the hype and buying your vehicle based on its price and reliability can save you more money in the end.

Hustle Hard
WE BUY HOUSES

What You Should Know about Building Trust

During one of the most brutal battles of World War I, the fighting stopped for one particular evening. It was Christmas Eve. Soldiers on both sides of the battle lines hunkered down in their cold fox holes for at least one night of peace.

Soon, a Christmas carol was heard floating on the cold air across the contested ground. The language was different, but everyone knew the tune. Soon both sides were singing together. Before the evening was over several of the men emerged from their muddy trenches, met in "no man's land," and exchanged greetings and even humble Christmas gifts with their enemies.

Now, if battle-hardened combat soldiers who were in the midst of trying to conquer each other's territory can find common ground in no man's land, then certainly we salespeople can do the same thing on the showroom floor, at the executive desk, or the customer's dining room table.

Finding common ground is critical to building a level of trust that lowers sales resistance. Lowing sales resistance is, of course, critical in "reaching" your prospect and getting the contract signed. During this early segment of the sales process, you should search for areas of interest you share with each new person you meet.

The supply of topics is practically endless. For example, family, the weather, sports, hobbies, or current events are natural choices in consumer sales. If you're in business-to-business sales, you can always ask those questions as well as questions about their company, products or industry.

Because of the potential for highly-charged emotions, I recommend that you always avoid seeking commonality in two areas: religion and politics, unless that's how you and your prospect met. For some people, there just is no common ground on these subjects. You either agree one hundred percent with their view or you create a potential mine field of lost opportunity. Those are battles you should choose not to fight because you just can't win them -- and they won't enhance your chances for a sale.

In those rare cases where you just can't seem to find commonality, create some. Humor is an excellent tool for this purpose. Don't be afraid to use a light-hearted approach, even if your customer is showing a bit of tension.

Here's an easy-going ice-breaker for a visit with a couple:

"John and Mary, I'm curious, how did you two meet?" Sometimes just the question itself can start a thaw. The answer to that question, for example, is almost always a humorous one. He might say, "Oh, I picked her up in a bar. Ha-ha." This would probably be quickly followed by her reply of, "You did not!" and a mild poke in the shoulder. Or, the woman might say, "Oh, he showed up at the back door, and mom said I could keep him."

Without realizing it, the customer has helped you break the ice and start the warm-up process. For example, the "how did you meet?" question often leads to brief comments about their dating and courtship. That friendly chatter usually brings up all kinds of warm feelings. The comfort level between salesperson and prospect grows right along with those feelings. They open up a part of their lives to you. Because you make the effort to find or build commonality, your customer opens up personal "turf" that few other salespeople ever see. With very little effort you're suddenly a friend of the family!

In a business situation, you could ask, "How did you get started with the company?" Your potential client could be new to the firm or they could have worked their way up to the purchasing department from a mailroom position. Most people enjoy talking about themselves and their accomplishments. The more they talk, the more potential you have for finding commonality.

Never forget: customers really want to like you. They want to trust you. Do your part, and they'll always do theirs to meet you halfway. When trust builds, sales resistance crumbles -- and everyone wins.

HUSTLE HARD
WE BUY HOUSES