Will You Add? - Real Estate

Top Presentation Tips
Pace refers to how rapidly you speak. Obviously, you don't want to sound unnatural, but research has shown that people who speak faster, louder and more fluently are perceived as more persuasive than those who do not. Stories that are delivered at a more upbeat pace are more persuasive than those that are delivered more slowly because the lively storyteller comes across as more competent and knowledgeable. You can slow down your speech occasionally for effect, but don't speak slowly on the whole. Otherwise, your presentation will seem sluggish. It is much better to keep up the energy and enthusiasm than to let it drop.In most cultures, deeper voices, for both men and women, are generally interpreted as reflective of authority and strength. In addition, a deeper voice is stereotypically considered to be more believable and more indicative of an individual's sincerity and trustworthiness. For these reasons, listen to a recording of your own voice and determine whether or not it would benefit from being slightly lower in pitch. Even though it would require a vocal adjustment, a deeper pitch is something you have conscious control over. Other reasons for introducing new pitches into your speaking pattern are to prevent your voice from sounding monotone and to create interest. Remember, if you are not an engaging speaker, you will not be persuasive.A huge thing to consider when telling a story is your voice's volume. Obviously, you're not going to be very persuasive if no one can hear you. At one time or another, you've probably experienced the aggravation of straining and struggling to hear a speaker. Before your presentation, test the room to ensure that you can be heard from all locations. Also, test to see whether you're going to need amplification. If so, be sure this equipment is available and set up prior to beginning your presentation. The converse is also true: Be sure you are not yelling or shouting at your audience. A loud voice is just as, or even more, aggravating for an audience as struggling to be able to hear.When delivering a speech, clearly articulate every sentence, phrase and word. When your speech is clear and coherent, it conveys competence. When your diction gets sloppy, on the other hand, it suggests lack of education and laziness. Consider how lawyers, doctors, supervisors, lobbyists and the like must be articulate if they are to professionally survive. Good articulation conveys competence, experience and credibility. Another practical reason to have good diction is simply because it is so much easier to follow than poorly articulated speech. Peo

her shift was over, Ruby had invited him to share her warm waterbed. Red wished he had more time tonight.

Tires against the highway, wind, and the pulse of a healthy engine combine to create a unique music that a trucker could feel. Each song exclusive, tailored to the man who holds the big wheel. Red switched off the CB radio to hear it more clearly. His now hungry hand moved as expected, to locate the yellow pad. Inspired by the highway harmony, Red shifted into high gear and right brain. He would make good his pledge to a willing waitress. She’d not be disappointed next time he delivered to Boise. As the words came to him, he composed her promised song.

Diner Doll

She’s a lady of the light,
She serves coffee in the night
To the many men who spend their nights alone...
So, she warms them with her smile
For, she knows that in a while,
They must face the cold that haunts an empty home...

She’s the lady of the late,
When a man can’t find a date,
He wanders in, and now and then, gets rude...
But, she takes it in her stride
As she helps him find his pride,
She restores him with her super attitude...

She’s a lady all the time,
When a mans had too much wine,
When he plans to put his hands where he should not;
She can quickly move away
Then, if he still wants to play
She can, even quicker, put him in his spot...

She’s a lady every way,
Even knows just what to say
To every guy who has to try his line...
Yet, on the nights she’s off,
She can be so very soft;
When, best of all, this “Diner Doll” is mine...

The exit to a Pendleton, Oregon truck stop ahead, Red downshifted to left brain and fourth gear. In 222 miles, 3 hours 54 minutes of hard labor, he had given birth to a new song. He had to spank the baby. 12-string in his hand, he leaped down from his leather throne.

No one but Mercy was there to hear the review of ‘Diner Doll’ when Red put the cords to the beat he’d heard on the highway. His yellow pad bore evidence of the many word combinations, phrases that didn’t fit. By the seventh page, he had the final draft. He hardly glanced at the pad as his nimble fingers set up the correct strings to complement his moving voice.

“Not too many cowboys lean against a truck to play guitars here at midnight,” the cash attendant commented.

“Most cowboys are truckers, but not all truckers are cowboys,” Red replied.

Mercy barked twice.

By fifteen after midnight, fresh coffee in hand, Red was back on the road. He switched on the CB in hopes that a caravan would be coming up behind him. He was in luck.

“Breaker, breaker. This is the Red Haring swimming west on 84—out of Pendleton—a little fish can get lonely out here. Over!”

“Swim easy there, big Red. Lot of nets out, tonight. We’ve got a school of eleven, swimming your way. Over!”

“Roger… I’ll just tread water until you show up. The Red Herring – over and out!”

Caravanning has been the driver’s defense since before there was radar. With higher cab elevation, good eyesight, and constant use of the CB radios, no smoky bear patrolman could set up a speed trap undetected. 3 Steps to Immediately Improve Sales
Want to increase sales within your company? It’s not as hard to do as some might have you believe. Though we as a nation are in the midst of an economic downturn these past two years, your company does not have to be. What follows are three simple steps to increase sales, no matter the economic conditions.1. Simplify your advertisingConsumers today are inundated daily with advertising campaigns and solicitations. Frankly, most of these advertising campaigns are not worth the money spent on them. Why? Because they continue to use the same methods as their competitors (direct-mail, billboards, internet advertising, television advertising, and radio advertising) and in the same manner. What has resulted is a society immune to “pitches”, “angles”, and “tricks” that get them to become consumers of your products. Some tips to simplifying your advertising:-Avoid cliches. Most are overused anyway.-Be better, not best. Most products are pitched as “the best” of their kind. Consumers don’t always need the best, however. They just need products that are better than most.-Less is more. Don’t allow your message to become lost in the tidal wave of stimuli thrown at consumers. Shorter, succinct messages work well.2. Target the fewOnce you have begun to simply your advertising, focus your message on those few people who begin trends rather than follow them. Perhaps you have friends like this-they revel in finding new products to love. They enjoy having the “newest” product, the “coolest” ideas, the “different” gadgets. These types of consumers become walking billboards, and should be the focus of your advertising. They actually do most of the advertising work for you. Some tips:-Know what makes your product better. Make it the theme of your advertising message.-Know what makes your product different. Emphasize this.-Worry less about those who are apathetic towards your products. Worry more about those that are extremely enthusiastic. Cater to them.3. Build the relationship rather than the saleBecoming a better salesman is easy: improve your relationship skills. Most consumers are looking for peace of mind rather than products anyway. Seek to first build trust and understanding in your relationships with consumers. There are over a dozen hair salons within five miles of my house, yet I always drive twenty minutes longer to get my hair cut each month. Why? Because I enjoy my relationship with the individuals that cut my hair at this particular shop. We talk, we laugh. I enjoy the experience. Thus, I return, even though it is over ten miles from my house, and somewhat inconvenient. I don’

Red’s company had a contract with BIG Van Lines to move households. Red Haring Trucking, Inc., he used his tractor to pull their trailers. He wore their crisp blue uniform jacket, blue pinstriped shirt, a BIG tie—scenic pictures and moving vans—when moving people’s family cargo.

Red’s traveling companion was a dog named Mercy. She had befriended him at a roadside rest area, four years previously. Apparently abandoned, Mercy seemed to be waiting for him. When Red hopped out of his cab to use the restroom, the dog had come over, sat down in front of him, looked him straight in the eyes, and barked twice. At 3:00 AM, there were no other vehicles in the rest area. That, too, was strange on an Interstate, no other trucks with drivers sleeping or cars that she could have jumped out of. Red had patted her on the head, more interested in why he had stopped than in a dog.

As he continued, the dog walked two steps behind him until they were about thirty feet from the concrete building with its doors to Men’s and Ladies’ rooms blocked open. Mercy raced ahead, went into the Men’s room, came back out, sat down by the door and waited for Red.

Again, as he approached, she looked him in the eyes and barked twice as if to say it was safe. She continued sitting there until he came out, barked once, rose to her feet and followed Red back to his van. Taking advantage of the stop to check the padlock, the mud flaps and the tires, Red was ready to mount the cab when the dog began barking franticly.

The yellow, longhaired who-knows-what-dog seemed to understand what he said. She stopped barking, ran over between the tractor and trailer, sat down and resumed barking.

Red walked back to discover a large nut had fallen off his coupler to the trailer when he’d come to a stop. The dog had noticed it. Red knew that a potential disaster had been averted. Had his trailer come lose, on the Interstate, he couldn’t have done anything. This dog had saved him, and who knows how many other motorists. Red selected a wrench from behind a seat, replaced the nut and prepared to leave the rest stop.

The dog whined. Red bent down. She was using those big brown eyes of hers to her best advantage.

There was no tag, only an inch-wide turquoise nylon collar on which someone had taken time to hand embroidery a word in red, MERCY.

“Let me see if I’ve some hamburgers in the cab. Are World Burgers all right with you?”

Mercy sat up before he even opened the door. Red located a bag with three World-Burgers.

“What? You want me to put them into the microwave for thirty seconds before you get one?”

“Okay Mercy. One hot World-Burger coming right up. But, I get two of them. Understand?”

Red never planned getting a dog. A few long-haulers keep animals for company because it’s illegal to transport human passengers. Section 392.60 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations clearly reads: Unauthorized persons not to be transported. Dogs, cats, even parrots or boa constrictors are not forbidden. For Red Haring, the childhood memory of a car running over his dog had never been healed. He’d sworn never to become attached to another animal.

“You must belong to a trucker, Mercy. Okay! Hop in! You can ride with me a little ways. We’ll get on the CB and find out where your owner is.”

Red tried to find Mercy’s owner. Three different truckers remembered a driver that used to travel with a yellow dog. Had a turquoise collar. He’d died on the highway, they’d heard. The year before! No mention of what became of his dog. The word would get passed along by CB radio for several days. Meanwhile, Red agreed he’d take good care of the animal. Within a week, Mercy would be inspecting Red’s truck and supervising his road-hire employees. Red was glad that Mercy had persuaded him to break his never-get-attached-to-another-animal vow. On his long hauls, Mercy was a must.

The small 5,500-pound load he’d taken on in Baker City, Red had unloaded alone in Boise. It had been mostly boxes, some small end tables, lamps, two bed frames, no mattresses or couches requiring two movers.

The man he’d hired in Baker City to help unload the truck was a good worker. Mercy had approved him. Wearing the clean BIG shirt Red provided, he’d looked presentable. Red used him to load the small move to Boise, before returning the worker to the truck stop where they’d met.

Red had offered him $15.00 an hour cash for five hours work. It had only taken 4 hours but Red had paid him $75.00 anyway. The worker signed a receipt for Red’s contract labor (independent contractor) that would be used for calculating expenses and taxes, collecting a phone number from the laborer so he could call ahead next haul to Baker City. Good, careful, workers are a moving van driver’s dream.

Red now had two Boise households loaded in the fifty-three foot long by eight and a half foot wide trailer ready for his transport to the Seattle area. The Larry and Moe team he’d hired at Boise BIG, the national affiliate, had insisted on taking rest breaks every forty-five minutes. He’d had to tell the Moe to wait until his break to smoke. At the second house, the lethargic loaders had taken a walk. Red had a good idea what they had been smoking.

Now, before they headed back to Washington State, Red and Mercy needed something to eat.

Idaho night was approaching as Red Haring located a safe place to park his consignment. He swung easily from the cab to the nearly full parking lot of the Chicken Out Restaurant and Lounge. Mercy yawned in the passenger seat sensing that chicken and dumplings were on their way. Dogs are not supposed to eat chicken bones, but neither she nor Red seemed to know that. Except when here in Idaho, Mercy preferred World Burgers. Sometimes, she sat cocking her head, holding her nose just so, barking twice to alert her master that a Burger World was nearby.

After a quick check of the trailer padlock, Red straightened his Big company tie before going in to claim the best chicken and dumplings in the Northwest United States.

All the tables and booths were occupied. He could see several hungry natives waiting. Red spotted an empty stool at the counter. It would do fine. Faster anyway.

“I’ll forgive you this time. My new boyfriend wouldn’t understand anyway.”

“Yeah, take delivery of chicken and dumplings and drive off into the night.”

Red Haring flashed her some teeth of his own. Ruby slammed down a cup of black coffee before she disappeared into the kitchen to pick up an order. The guy on Red’s right in a suit shook his head and said “Ouch.”

Maybe, it was his strong jaw line, or his cleft chin, or both. Women found Red tempting. He was a physical specimen, six three with rock-solid muscle of a kind not developed in a gymnasium. No combination of bench presses, tread mills, or twenty-five rep weight series could have sculptured Red’s lean body as had his twelve years in the moving business. Totally functional.

“Me, too. I’ll bet she could make me happy! She looks like she likes your flavor better. Where you from?”

“Not if a woman asks,” the salesman said slyly. My wife thinks I work late. Spend lots of nights in places like this. I can usually find a warm lonely to share a bed with me when I’m away on business.”

“If I was married, I’d try to work closer to home. You might want to consider it,” said Red confrontationally. “I think that women have enough problems without getting messed around with by married men. Ruby sure as hell don’t need messed with.”

“Well, I think I’ll examine the bar then. Have some new lines I have to try out.”

Ruby had overheard the exchange. She was more composed when she returned with a huge plate of chicken & dumplings.

“Thank you, Red. I get so tired of guys like that. You look good tonight, Red.”

“I’ve got to deliver two households tomorrow. One in Seattle. One in Tacoma.”

“I don’t get off until two in the morning, anyway. How about next time you’re in town? You’ve got my number.”

“I’d like that, Ruby.” Savoring the poultry, Red enjoyed watching Ruby. As he finished his last bite, she returned.

“You’d better not, Red,” Ruby warned. She sat down a large steaming stay awake, picked up the twenty, and showed him her teeth. “Oh, here you are, a ‘To-Go’ for Mercy. Drive careful, darlin.”

Chicken and dumplings to-go order in hand, Red returned to his truck, opened the driver’s door and tossed the container over to the passenger floor mat where it was well received by his patient pooch who opened the lid herself.

Styrofoam cup in one hand, chrome bar in the other, Red swung effortlessly up into his commanding cab. Securing the shoulder restraint, he skillfully maneuvered the truck-trailer rig between the utility pole and cars that only appeared to have boxed him in.

Soon, he was headed west on Interstate 84. As if it knew its way home, the 400-horse Cat diesel roared approvingly as it glided past other, less committed vehicles. The tractor had 90 gallons of diesel left in its 170-gallon tank, Red and Mercy had full stomachs. All three were content.

Red thought about Ruby and their conversation in the diner. He’d met her on another move. His truck had blown its transmission. It had taken seven days to locate the right parts necessary to complete repairs. The mechanic had said he’d have him back on the road in three. It was on the third night, after the guy told him it would be a few more days, Red had walked to the diner the mechanic said had great chicken and dumplings.

Discouraged, low on cash, he’d drank coffee at that same counter. Ruby had come on at 6:00 PM to find him not sure of what he’d do.

“Cheer up, Red,” she encouraged. “You don’t mind that I call you Red?”

“Chicken and dumplings, for now, Darlin. I don’t even get off until 2:00 AM.”

For the next eight hours, Red had sipped countless coffees while Ruby had served the variety of patrons. While she waited on them, he waited on her. She brought him refills with just enough encouragement. Finally, the payoff.

I really did, Red remembered. Then, as now, it had been a cold, November night. When her shift was over, Ruby had invited him to share her warm waterbed. Red wished he had more time tonight.

“Not too many cowboys lean against a truck to play guitars here at midnight,” the cash attendant commented.

By fifteen after midnight, fresh coffee in hand, Red was back on the road. He switched on the CB in hopes that a caravan would be coming up behind him. He was in luck.

“Breaker, breaker. This is the Red Haring swimming west on 84—out of Pendleton—a little fish can get lonely out here. Over!”

“Swim easy there, big Red. Lot of nets out, tonight. We’ve got a school of eleven, swimming your way. Over!”

“Roger… I’ll just tread water until you show up. The Red Herring – over and out!”

Caravanning has been the driver’s defense since before there was radar. With higher cab elevation, good eyesight, and constant use of the CB radios, no smoky bear patrolman could set up a speed trap undetected. Freelance Work: The Changing Face of Employment
The world sure is changing, and if you look at job employment you will see what I mean. Let's just go back to our grandparent's generation, even though I'm sure if we went back further we would see very different structures of work in the tribal periods of our history. Our grandparents usually found a skill, and then used that one skill to work for their whole career. An example is my grandfather who was a salesman for the same suit company for 44 years. There is nothing wrong with this. His job was secure; he knew there would be a superannuating fund when he retired, and that there would always be food on the table for his family. These days in the 21st century things have changed, and they are still changing rapidly as we speak.Nowadays it isn't strange for a person to have around five completely different career paths in their lifetime. You might think that job security is much lower, but there are new types of jobs emerging everyday with the advent of modern technology. Older people can go back to schools and be educated in totally new areas that are greatly desired in society. One of the greatest changes in recent times is the fact that a lot of people are now working for themselves as freelancers from home. Society is still getting all the necessary work done, but the structures in which individuals pursue their dreams and goals in their areas of interest have changed completely. If you are working at home for your own business, you sure don't have the old hierarchy of bosses watching over your every move, judging your worth, and threatening you with dismissal.People are now self-motivated as they know that if they don't get out there and share their skills and attributes with society, they simply might be forgotten. There is a new way of acquiring work these days that is so very different than the days of perusing the job-ads in the newspaper or going door-to-door asking for work. Surprise, surprise, its on the Internet! There are now on-line marketplaces for both employers to offer work and for potential freelance employees to show their portfolios. There are many, but an excellent example of one of these sites is www.guru.com. On Guru.com once you have registered your portfolio for free, you can then bid for jobs that prospective employers have advertised. On the other hand, if you are an employer, you can go to the category of work you need done (E.g.: Creative Writing) and search through a list of professionals that you can then contact to do the job.These professionals exhibit the amount that they charge per hour, how much they have already earned through the site and a portfolio of examples of their work. They are thenrgers all right with you?”