Study Investment

Whether you’re a coach or a copywriter, an accountant or an architect, there will always be that one icky client who puts your patience to the test. You’ve signed the papers, but with each day that passes, you dread working with this person more and more. Should you grit your teeth and suffer through, or just end it early, like a bad blind date? Here are five good reasons to say goodbye.

1. You’ve done nothing wrong.

Let me guess: the thought of ending that bad client relationship makes you feel like you failed in some way. Who told you to feel that? Your high school counselor? Your mom who stayed in an unhappy marriage? Just because your style and skillset doesn’t jive with another person’s M.O. doesn’t mean that you’re non compus mentus. Not bad, not wrong… just different!

2. Most contracts contain a loophole.

Yes, although it would seem contradictory to something as binding as a contract, most of them contain some contextual wiggle room that allows you to wiggle right out of the deal. If you find the escape hatch in paragraph four, take your cue and get the heck out of there.

3. A poorly matched partnership can hamper productivity.

Forget about who’s right and who’s wrong in this scenario. Instead, focus on output. If you’re not faster and more productive when collaborating with this client, time is being wasted on both sides. Assuming you’ve tried various methods of working together but every solution comes up short, just call a spade a spade and turn the page.

4. A better opportunity has made itself known.

Of course, stick-to-itiveness is an admirable trait, and we should try our best to commit to our promises. But sometimes, there’s just something in the air that’s saying “End it now,” and that something could be the promise of more rewarding work elsewhere. Be courteous, and give your client advance notice so he can find a replacement, then go gracefully and graciously.

5. Damage control is key.

You’ve exhausted every alternative. You find yourself avoiding this person’s phone calls, ready to spit hostile emails, and are teetering on the verge of unprofessionalism because you’re just so darned frustrated at the way things are going. These are the red flags that say, “Time to end a relationship that’s going from bad to worse.” Pull yourself together, arm yourself with the right resources and aftermath solutions, and initiate a departure discussion.

Sometimes, it’s just better to cut your losses and move on to greener pastures.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is a copywriting consultant and ghostwriter with 10 years of experience writing corporate print materials and web content. Trust her with your next e-book, article series or web project, and make a lasting impression on your audience of information-hungry prospects. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for more information.

MLM Presence.

Does yours work FOR you, or AGAINST you?

Good question! Many times, in a Recruiting session, your presence totally will set the environment for how the recruiting conversation or appointment goes. Your MLM Recruiting Presence says more to the prospect many times than the words you choose to vocalize. It is the one single influencing factor that many times will determine if your prospect will join you or not. It is that powerful of a factor in Network Marketing recruiting.

I am so honored and blessed to work with a lot of folks around the world, and one of the biggest problems I see with the struggling Network Marketer, is the lack of “Success Presence” in their demeanor. They come across like they are anything but Successful, let alone on their way to Success. You MUST have a Magnetic Presence to recruit effectively.

What exactly is Presence?

It is the “Aura” or “Feeling” that people feel from you and get when they are around you.

It is the “Instinctive Feeling” that is triggered in people when they see you.

It is the “Knowing” that people can have about you, and who they perceive you to be.

Have you ever been around someone that you didn’t know why, but you simply didn’t feel comfortable being around them, something just wasn’t “right?” Something about them made red flags go off in your instincts.

That was their presence that you were feeling.

Have you ever met someone and immediately felt comfortable with them? It was just something about them, and how they looked at you and how they made you feel so good?

That was their presence you were feeling.

One of the Biggest Secrets to MLM Recruiting is creating a “Magnetic Presence” so people are literally attracted to talking to you and want to be around you.

Let’s take a test about your presence and see how you come out:

Here are 10 Insightful questions:

1) Does your Presence have a “warmth” about it that people enjoy being around?

2) Does your Presence say “I am interested in YOU”, or “I am interested in ME?”

3) Do you look people in the eye 90% of the time and stretch you hand out first to shake hands?

4) Is your body language open, and receptive to creating and catalyzing new friendships, or is it closed and expecting people to come to you ?

5) Do your conversations focus on the PROSPECT and what they are interested in, or focus on YOU and what YOU are interested in?

6) Do you have a Confidence about you and your business, and do they hear a sincere BELIEF in your words , or a lack of it when you talk to folks?

7) Do you VALIDATE the prospect, and make them feel good about who they are, or constantly Validate YOU and make you feel good about who you are?

Do you smile easily, and make others smile, or smile rarely, and make others uneasy?

9) Do you have a focus of “helping others” or “hyping others”?

10) Do you come across as a LEADER, or a “Feeder” who feeds their own self interests first?

These are some tough MLM questions!

You must understand that your Presence is what we call: “Your Silent Calling Card”. It is the first thing someone sees and feels about you, and will determine a lot of their first (and probably last) impression. It will determine a lot about the Success in Network Marketing Recruiting.

Well? What did you find out about your presence?

Let me suggest you look at the 10 questions and go to work on your MLM Recruiting Presence.

If you do, Your MLM Recruiting will improve dramatically, almost overnight.

Try it, you’ll see what I mean.

blessings… doug Firebaugh (c) 2005/ all rights reserved

PassionFire Intl
http://www.passionfire.com

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month
read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success.
He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a
FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM
Success HEAT- at:
http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_4.html

http://www.passionfire.com

Who couldn’t use a few extra dollars in the bank? Chances are you could be saving more by practicing a few penny pinching ideas. Check out the following list and see which ideas can help you get a little more bang for your buck.

INSURANCE

When you receive your renewal notice it is time to begin comparison shopping. Spend an hour researching insurance rates. Ask your friends from whom they get their insurance. When I took some time to shop auto insurance I reduced my annual rate by $600.00 and retained similar coverage. If you have more than one policy, go through the same agent to receive a multiple-policy holder discount.

AUTO

Keep up with routine maintenance on your car such as oil changes and tune ups. This can avoid costly repairs down the road.

UTILITIES

Keep in mind that when you lower your thermostat by one degree during heating season– you will save around 2% on your bill.

CHECKS

Order your checks through the mail instead of through a bank. My last order from a bank cost $13.50 for plain yellow checks. I got an abstract design on from a mail order company for around $5.00. Current offers a good variety of checks. You can request their check brochure at (800)-426-0822

CONTACT LENSES

Ordering contact lenses from a direct company can be less expensive than ordering through an optician. Call Contact Lens Connection at (800)-695-LENS for more details. But don’t forget to still see your eye doctor regularly for check-up visits.

REFILL PLEASE!

For common household cleaners use refills when available. This way you will not pay for packaging each time you make a purchase.

SKIP THE SODA!

Get rid of soda in your house. Instead find a mixed beverage for your children like Kool-Aid, Tang, or Crystal Light. This will save on soda bills and dentist bills, too! If soda is a must, buy it in liter bottles. It is cheaper and avoids the waste of having leftover soda in cans. If canned soda is preferred, find a store-brand your family likes. These can usually be purchased for .10-.14 cents per can.

GROCERY SHOPPING

When shopping, be armed with a list and don’t stray from it! It also helps to shop the edge of the supermarket where the fresh food and less expensive food tends to be. It is the middle aisles that contain all those items that can magically leap into your cart.

SAVING IDEAS Never spend your change. Use a coffee tin and deposit all your change into it. Let all your change accumulate for a year. Use the money to get something nice for yourself, or add to it for several years and take your children on a special vacation. Pay $5 extra on your electric, phone, water , cable, and gas bills. Do this January through November. Then relax in December to a low-bill month!

The Change Your Life Challenge
http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com
Take control of your home, finances, relationships, clutter, time-managmenet and more with this 70 Day Program. Sign up for the free Challenge Weekly Newsletter and the motivational daily Good Morning.

What benefits will you get from flyers?

Flyers are much different from postcards in that they convey product sales to the consumer. Safeway, Costco, Albertsons and other grocery chains are excellent at putting out flyers. Many consumers will look at the specials and head out to purchase them either when they need them or simply to stock up. Do flyers work in this respect? Yes, or they would not be doing them. If you are not in a high demand product line such as groceries, then a multiple page flyer may not be what you want to send to your local area. You may want to stick to postcards or one-pagers that have more impact.

You can also be part of a flyer program that is offered by coupon book companies, and that way you are grouped together and your readership will likely be higher than if you try to go it alone. There are many really good coupon companies in most cities; you should try and find out who publishes these in your area. If your business is not consumer products but based on business to business, then flyers in a Chamber newsletter will likely work better for you. You should find out ahead of time who they distribute their newsletter to, if it is members only or if it goes to businesses within their postal code area in its entirety. Businesses that belong to the Chamber will more than likely read all the flyers in the package and your response rate will be better.

We have covered only three different ways to deal with flyers but there are many more that we do not have room to mention. If you want to have flyers produced in any fashion, keep it professional looking and have it professionally printed. Printers are not that expensive and the amount you pay will have a better return on investment than if you do them yourself. Remember that it is your image that is out there all the time; you need to be consistent and look good!

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

Your ezine builds customer confidence and trust when you give free tips, articles, and resources. Clients and customers buy only when they trust you. Expand your email subscriber list seven ways for eventual big sales.

1. Network offline.

Visit professional like-minded networking groups. These groups usually meet once a month, have speakers, and networking time for you to mix with other professionals. You will get valuable information at these meetings for low cost-yearly memberships run that around $25-$75 which includes free or low-cost meeting attendance. Each meeting is around two hours including networking time and talk. Usually at each meeting you hear a speaker and get a 30-second time to introduce yourself.

2. Speak to groups about your expertise.

You can guest speak for a large association or group, or you can give your own seminars and workshops, where people come to hear your expertise. During each meeting, pass as clipboard that asks your audience for their email addresses. At the top include a reason to “buy”. Make a fre*e offer such as your ezine. Include your Web URL in plain sight as well as your email. You want these people to visit your Web site, to see what you can do for them, see your expertise, then perhaps to buy products.

You can give a teleclass too in the comfort of your office or home. When you introduce yourself offer a benefit of your free ezine along with a free bonus special report.

3. Promote your ezine on your Web site.

Visit various sites and take from them what will make your web pages zing.

Don’t use the pabulum approach such as “Subscribe to my free ezine.” Is this enough to make you buy? Give a reason for your visitor to buy.

Use the passion approach. For my new Web site, I submitted this blurb to my Webmaster: Finish, publish, and sell your book-fast! Receive free articles, tips and resources in the FRE*E monthly ezine “The Book Coach Says.”

Nearby in a box, I put up a strong testimonial from someone highly respected in the business. Dan Poynter, self-publishing guru said, “Chock full of tips, how-to’s, and resources, definitely worth your time.”

You can also offer by autoresponder a free report when people subscribe. People want free information. When you give it to them, they will come back for more, and eventually buy.

Placement is important. For the best response and more subscribers, place your subscribe box before your visitor has to scroll down. Remember the old adage; “Make it easy for your customer to buy.”

4. Promote your ezine through your signature box at the end of every email.

Create a promotional signature in four to seven lines, and add it to the end of each email you send out. Here, you would list your book title, benefits of your service, your FRE*E ezine title with a way to subscribe. Include your email, Web site address, and local phone number for people out of the U.S.

5. Promote your ezine through submitting free articles to opt-in ezines.

Once you subscribe to these ezines, you can submit one or two articles from 400-800 words every week. In each ezine, thousands of other subscribers will read and think about your article.

Each time you submit an articles to ten or so opt-in ezines (all with one click) you will receive 10-25 new ezine subscribers each day. A strong signature file brings you many new visitors a day. These turn into sales eventually, once trust is established.

6. Offer your subscribers a free gift subscription to send to their friends.

You can use another autoresponder to send the gift, plus whom it’s from, and a little blurb about what they will be receiving. Always include a way for subscribers to unsubscribe.

7. Send out press releases via email about your ezine. Press releases by email are different from print ones. They must be short! They must be newsworthy! Don’t pitch your book; offer some skills and how-to’s. Skills Unlimited Publishing sends out over 150 different print releases a year, along with other effective Online promotion.

Media editors will respond to your compelling headline such as “7 Ways to Sell More Books Than you Ever Dreamed of” that brought first a feature in a major newspaper in San Diego. The results? Over 90 people came to a local seminar by the same name. Four new book coaching clients signed up. Twenty came to ongoing weekly seminars, and twenty more to a teleclass. Book sales amounted to over $400.

Send a list of tips and how-to’s to editors. These may prompt a call to do a feature story on you.

Build your business and sell more products through an ezine. When subscribers experience your messages and information in six or more ezines, they will be more likely to buy from you.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” and “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

Using paypal as an International user is highly ineffective. Paypal is an ebay company and it has a reputation as a very effective method of paying and receiving money online! It has received amazing reviesw from people who has been using paypal for a long time. However, this is an honest review from an International user (particularly, Malaysia and some of the SEA region) using paypal for projects and receiving money online.

First off, if you’re a user from the United States or some of the other approved countries that paypal has approved of, using paypal is probably going to be a breeze. I have not had the privilege of using paypal as a US resident (quite obviously) so, I cannot give you a review on using paypal as one! But as an International merchant using paypal, this is what I have to say – YOU MAY NEVER GET TO SEE YOUR MONEY AT ALL!

I am a genuine merchant/freelancer who was using paypal to receive money from my International clients. They have all asked me if I had problems using paypal for payment, and obviously, keen on trying to tie the project in, I said I did NOT have a problem using paypal. I figured that if I DID eventually have a problem, I was pretty sure paypal would help me get my money from the account. After all, it’s MY money in THEIR account and they cannot possibly keep the money that I have earned.

In the beginning stages of using paypal, it’s easy peasy – nothing to it. All a user has to do in order to start using paypal is to register. The registration process is easy enough. They automatically approve your account to make it easy for you to use paypal. Using paypal to get money into your paypal account is simple. Just provide the payer with your paypal ID: your email address. The payer using paypal as a payment gateway will only have to log into the paypal account and then using paypal’s tools to send the money to your account. Simple enough.

Using paypal : here’s where it gets a little tough
Using paypal to receive money posed some problems to me, as an International user.

1. Verification
In order to withdraw money from your paypal account, you need to first verify your paypal account. The point in using paypal as a payment gateway is lost here because in order to verify the account, you need to have a US bank account or a credit card.

If you’re like me, an International user who does not have a means of getting a US bank account, then using paypal can get pretty rocky…ok, well, tricky. I have explored the possibility of opening a US bank account from where I live, it’s possible. But the setup fee was huge. You need to pay USD299 as a setup fee. Yes, SETUP fee, not deposit. I would understand it if they told me that I would need to pay USD100 or USD50 as a setup fee (which translates to about Ringgit Malaysia 380 or Ringgit Malaysia 190) with a certain limitations to a deposit, but having to pay a setup fee of USD299 was too much for me.

You can always get a credit card to verify your account in order to start using paypal to send money and receive money online. Sure thing. Except.I don’t have a credit card. But I got myself a debit card cause I was sure using paypal was the only way to accepting payments from my International clients. But even if you verified your account in order to start using paypal, you cannot withdraw your money from your paypal account STILL. You STILL need to have a US bank account.

2. Sending Limit
If you have not been using paypal for a long time, like me, then you’re not always aware of the small tiny little word ‘unverified – Malaysia’ that sits comfortably right next to your paypal balance. The sending limit is there if you’re not a verified paypal user. For starters, paypal has capped off the sending limit at USD100. USD100 limit on the amount you can ever send through your paypal account until you get yourself verified.

I found myself in a tussle using paypal when I send USD80 to someone and then they told me that I can only send USD20 more to someone before I have to get verified. So, there was a problem using paypal to send money to someone too? And using paypal a payment gateway was also shot because I can’t seem to get the money out.

You see, what I was trying to do was to send whatever money I had in there to someone else in the US and get them to send the money back to me through iKobo. And although I had found the right person for this task, I was still having problems using paypal because I can’t even get my money out of there to someone else so that they can send me the money – so that I can buy milk and diapers for my kids! Sheesh!

In summary: what was my experience in using paypal?

It was the pits! This is a user who is still hoping that paypal will brush up on their system to make it more user-friendly for International users. But unless they finetune their system to make it more user-friendly, I’d rather be shot in the foot before I’d use it again.

First off, the withdrawal process is lousy because I cannot withdraw the money out from the paypal account therefore, using paypal as a payment option means that I will never smell the money that I have earned. I couldn’t even close the account until I got verified, can you believe that? The person I spent talking (long distance) over the phone with for 2 hours couldn’t find me a solution. Secondly, the sending limit. What happens that those people who wishes to send money to someone but don’t have a credit card? What happens to the money in there?

The only way out for International people using paypal is to either get a US bank account or spend the money on ebay.

Which makes perfect sense – paypal is part of ebay, didn’t I say?

I’ll just stick to what works for now – my iKobo account.

Marsha Maung is a writer and graphic designer who has been freelancing for the past 6 years and have spent a lot of time – between feeding her kids and bathing them, researching on ways to work effectively and totally online. She hopes to give aspiring work at home moms the advice, tips and resources they may need to get their business going. Marsha is a mom to 2 wonderful boys, Joshua and Jared, the love of her life.
http://www.marshamaung.com

You have good traffic, but low client sign ups and other sales. Web sites are only as good as their copy. If your Web sales are down, check your copywriting.

Next time you think Web site–either putting up a new one, or wanting to improve yours for more contacts and sales–use this checklist:

1. Replace long paragraphs of copy with short benefit-driven headlines.

Incorporate sound bites or questions your visitor will feel compelled to respond to such as “Follow up or Foul Up?”

2. Make your copy beneath the headlines short and snappy.

Your potential clients come for easy-to-read material. Like you, they are in a hurry, and want free information fast.

3. Put yourself in your targeted visitors’ shoes.

Think, “why are they at my site?” They want two things: 1) free content such as articles or tips about your service or product and 2) how you can solve their problem or challenge–the top benefits you offer.

4. Give your web visitors a lot of free information.

That’s why they come to your site. After visiting you 5-10 times, they are more likely to buy from you. Place a command like “Please book mark this site. We put up new information each two weeks.” Add a new link called “free articles.”

5. Aim your copy at your targeted market.

The biggest mistake we make is not defining our target audience before we write Web copy. When we use shotgun promotion aimed at many groups, we don’t get well known as the savvy expert in our field, and lose visitor’s attention and loyalty.

Choose one audience first and aim your copy at them. You can later add special links for other audiences.

6. Give your visitors a variety of articles, such as an interview or you solving a client’s problem, to post in your “free articles” link.

Put a new one up every 2-3 weeks. Put “NEW!” beside each new article to draw attention to it.

7. Categorize the types of articles you post on your site.

Think about “under 500 words,” “how-to tips,” or “top ten lists.” Help your visitors get to the articles they want and need. Offer your articles by autoresponders too.

8. Present your copy to inform, convince, and compel your visitor to click and buy.

For your coaching services, place links such as “Why Choose your name?” or “On Book Coaching.” or “Coaching Packages.” Include proper headlines on your home page.

9. Keep your language simple.

Even if your audience is a rocket scientist, keep your copy at 10th grade level or lower. Online visitors want short sentences, short paragraphs no more than 4-5 lines. When visitors see a long paragraph, it may look too hard to read and digest. They just click away. Remember they want their information easy and fast.

10. Write a list of 5-10 benefits of your service.

Transfer this into your coaching sales piece on your Web site. You’ll need to include coaching outcomes, their needs, the value they receive, and the main area of focuses you can give them.

Stop long descriptions of you and your mission. Focus more on your Web visitor who came to learn about how she can benefit from your service. Make your reader say, “This is amazing. I want this!”

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” and “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

One of the most difficult sections to write in a business plan is the proforma and financial sections. After all it is most difficult to what exact costs you will incur or what level of sales volumes are actually achievable. So often businesses are faced with excess government controls at all levels which take thousands of dollars in fees, additionally legal fees, delays and lawsuits often ensue and slow the project. You cannot know in advance what roadblocks or brick walls city planners, country agencies or Federal Regulators will come up with, as they often change their minds and add new laws in the middle of your already delayed project. These are only a few of the problems facing entrepreneurs when writing financial projections. Other issues occur from an over enthusiastic entrepreneurial positive attitude and business plan writers should double the money needed and triple the time to complete the project to be on a reality based plain. Thus if you beat your projections everyone is happy. Including bankers, investors and yourself. If folks are not happy you may find yourself in court defending yourself and making excuses, many of which many not be your fault, but in the end you are hung out to dry as the buck stops with you.

To assist you in writing your financial projections section of your business plan, I have prepared a sample. This sample is from a most simple business model; a mobile car wash, which is part of a franchise system. Please feel free to print this article out and make notes in the margins and then take a legal pad and sketch out your own financial projections and start-up capital needed. I sincerely hope this sample helps you.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

Financial Projections

We will follow our business plan to keep us in a profitable situation at all times. We will try to keep our car wash truck busy at all times. We will stay on top of collections and make sure all invoices go out on time and are directed to the person who authorizes payment. We will treat cash flow as a primary objective in order to reach our financial projections. We will be sure to have the right mix of services.

Gross Revenue Percentage Breakdown

Personal Car Washing 60%
Graffiti, Industrial, Concrete 20%
Fleet Washing 15%
Other 5%

Gross Revenue:

Insert Graph or Pie Chart Here.

* Note: Car washing of personal vehicles will be 60% of our business. Over 80% of these monies will be collected at the point of sale by either:

Journalists are trained and often experienced at getting information out of their subjects. Conflict and other negative situations often make the news and journalists often have a knack for taking a positive situation and twisting it into something else in order to make it more “sell”-able as news.

It’s a common scenario. The media calls after your organisation has put out a news release on the latest groundbreaking achievements.

You’ve done the hard work in preparing your media message, spending time honing the features, benefits, evidence and proof that will build your case to overcome even the most cynical journalist. After hours of brainstorming, you’ve come up with a great quotable quote that even the most seasoned PR pro would be proud of.

You’ve practised and warmed up your voice. You’ve spent time to quietly relax, using your favourite visualisation technique to anchor your feeling of confidence as the moment of truth comes quicker than you realise. You’ve never been more prepared for this media interview in your life. The opening questions go well and you grow in confidence. Your body language and eye contact show you’re in control and on message.

And, then it comes. Like an unannounced steam train, a question out of the blue. A tough ‘red herring’ completely throws you off balance as their ambush technique works with devastating effect. Crushed, your media interview stumbles from bad to worse. You miss several opportunities to stay on message and make the most of the media opportunity. Afterwards you feel deflated, humiliated and let down.

How can you avoid this situation and prepare for the tough questions that often come from seasoned, cynical and ‘so what – who cares’ journalists?

Here are Five Ways To Handle Tough Questions In A Media Interview.

1. COMPLIMENT THE JOURNALIST

Many journalists are attracted to the media because they want to see their face on TV, hear their voice on radio and read their name in the paper. I call them ‘ego-driven’ journalists. Work to their egos and stroke them. Compliment them on a great question. For example, use “that’s a great question and I’m glad you asked it, …..”

2. GET BACK ON MESSAGE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Once you’ve paid the compliment, get back on message as quickly as possible to show you are in control and not the reporter. For example, after the compliment use “…but what I want to say is this …”

3. FOCUS.

Good reporters will always look for an angle to make the story more newsworthy and will try a range of techniques to get conflict into the story. Keep your focus, be disciplined and avoid going down a line of questioning that is not relevant to the story or your message. Be firm, but polite. For example, “I really think we’re getting off track here, the main point I want to make is ….”

4. KEEP YOUR COOL.

Under no circumstances should you lose your temper, shout or get angry. This only inflames the situation and comments said in the heat of the moment when emotions are running high can often get you in trouble. Remember they make great copy and sensational ‘news grabs’. Remain calm. Remember you are the one in control with the information that the media wants. You have every right to call a halt to an interview if the journalist become overly aggressive or offensive.

5. PREPARE and PRACTICE.

I’ve lost count of the number of times a novice interviewee has taken the whole bait and been taken down the garden path and completely off message by an irrelevant question during a media training exercise. Most people are quick learners and when they see it happening to others quickly learn not to do this once they’ve seen how easy it is to stay on track. Prepare for tough questions prior to the interview in a formal media training course or with a colleague. Road test your messages prior to talking to the media and you are more likely to stay out of trouble.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.
You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com

These are real builder questions that I got from readers of my e-book, “Residential Development Made Easy” with answers from a major USA Master Builder operating in 48 States.

Question 1.

My wife and I are planning a new home. We intend approaching a builder or two in this area, and I plan on asking them these questions.

My wife is very adept at planning and researching. Under what circumstances do you recommend we hire an architect? And Why or why not? (This is not a loaded question. I am not an architect
and neither is my brother-in-law. We would prefer to construct without hiring an architect.)

Reply

It would depend on your budget. Some architects in the US charge as much as 10% of the budget of a home to do the plans. Master Builders, as opposed to “Local Builder Bob,” don’t like to place their clients in a position of hiring an architect until they really need one.

The best advice our clients get is to prioritize their actions as follows:

First: Get the loan;

Second: Get the land;

Third: Get the Interior Designer;

Forth: Get the architect.

In our case, we have in-house architects and structural engineers.

It is best to hire an Interior Designer (ASID) and have them work with you to design the floor plan, which is uniquely suited for how you and your family use space and the style you like.

Armed with this floor plan you would then send it to us and we would create your architect blueprints from it.

Blueprints are part of the quote we provide our clients. This way they don’t have ‘Sticker Shock’ from a local architect.

Question 2.

How much price and quality research re materials can we expect our builder to do or to
have done?

Reply

This depends on the builder you hire. For the most part, you can’t expect too much. Most builders work in their comfort zone.

They use materials they’re used to working with. They usually won’t try something else unless insisted upon by the home buyer or developer. And, then they usually hire an outside source to do this.

As Master Builders, we use current technology and one of the reasons why we are both profitable and successful is that we keep abreast to new technology and want our buyers and developers to have this benefit in their homes.

Question 3.

Is it reasonable for us to ask our builder to identify his subcontractors and allow us to talk with the primary subs before we enter into a contract with him (and after)?

Reply

It may appear to be reasonable from your point of view, but, not very realistic. Subs come in and out of a job site. If one is not available another one is called in.

Once you have signed a Contract with a builder, he is your ‘one point of contact.’ The subcontractors are his subs – not yours. Remember you have engaged him for his building management expertise to complete the job on time and on cost.

That means he must have full control and so by you talking to the subs directly you are creating confusion. You can’t have two bosses on a job.

Confusion costs you more money. When you or your wife talk to a sub, you are not engaged in a social conversation. Let’s say you made an innocent comment about some aspect of the subs work – like you regret picking those tiles in the bathroom and have seen some nicer ones. That is all you said!

Can you see how a sub could use this against the builder when asked why he hasn’t finished the bathroom yet. “Well the client told me two days ago that they were changing the tiles to another type.” It doesn’t matter that you did not say that – but it caused confusion and delayed the job by at least two days or more.

Instead of wanting access to the subs, with whom you have no expertise, you should concentrate on ensuring the builder has the proper permits and insurance for building. Especially for workman’s comp and for liability.

Few clients realize that they can be held accountable, if the builder doesn’t have the correct insurance.

Let’s say that a child comes on to the site after the builder has left for the day. Decides to climb to the roof and jump. Guess who’s liable? Check the references of others clients he’s built for.

A Final point on access to subcontractors.

Many house building clients have very poor spatial ability and cannot imagine an overview of the space being designed for them – they just cannot imagine the finished house, never mind what the finished colors and tiles look like.

Because of this, they feel the need to be able to make changes at any stage of the project. This is what is behind this question of being able to speak to the subs. You can make changes to your house design at any time as long as you realize that each change will cost you heaps and blow your budget sky high.

To make these changes you ask the architect to request a cost estimate from the builder for each change. You then can decide if you can afford it or not. If your request is made at the worst possible (most expensive) time, you will be told that as well.

What’s the answer to all this? Make all the decisions about what you want and have them included in your
plans and specifications.

Question 4.

What does a builder, expect the homeowner to do (other than to pay you as and when agreed).

Reply

A builder expects the home buyer to be reasonable and realistic in their expectations. The time you spend in planning and thinking about what you want in you home is worth real money to you. If you are not good at planning, an Interior Designer will be critical to your final happiness.

If you can’t make up your mind on the important aspects of the design, go and inspect examples of what you do like and get the Interior Designer to incorporate what you want in the plan.

The biggest problems that most builders run into is home buyer who change what has been agreed to or is unrealistic in what they want. This is why we have our home buyers sit down with an
Interior Designer.

The ASID can sit down with you and help you visualize exactly what you want and help you make any compromises
you may have to make.

It is very expensive to make changes during a project. Let’s say that you wanted a 17×20 kitchen. Sounds like a big kitchen.
Probably too big. However, once the cabinets and appliances start coming in you realize that it’s too small and want the kitchen to be bigger.

This may cost you an extra $50k to make those changes. You can save yourself a small fortune by first working with ASID on floor space, storage, placement, design, and style.

Author & $1.2 Billion Developer, Colm Dillon, Has Written The Best Selling ‘How-To’ E-book, “Residential Development Made Easy,” With Readers In All States Of The USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland and 79 Other Countries. His Independent Web Site is:
http://www.realestatedevelopmentcoach.com/ez