Cold Calling Tips

Why You Shouldn't Hate Cold Calling The Common Myths Exposed and Truths Uncovered Most sales reps hate prospecting by phone. Part of the reason is that they believe some of the many myths that have been perpetuated over the years about "cold" calling. Most of these are nonsense, and just plain wrong. Perhaps you've heard them: Cold Call Myth: "It's just a numbers game." Truth: It's a quality game. It does not matter how many calls you place; what's important is the amount with which you have success. A baseball player could swing at every pitch, but only the quality attempts have a chance of hitting the ball. Casino games are numbers games; sales and prospecting is a quality game. Cold Call Myth: "For every no you get, you're that much closer to a yes." Truth: You are no closer to a yes unless you are doing the right things to get the yes. The previous "no" has absolutely no bearing on your next call. Activity solely for the sake of activity does not get you closer to success. Cold Call Myth: "You need to love rejection to be successful at prospecting." Truth: You want to avoid "rejection." It is a state of mind based on how you react to what happens to you. I'm not a psychologist, but I would say it is impossible to love "rejection," unless you have some type of mental illness. You can get a "win" on every call - even when you get a no. For example, you can plant a seed for the future, or simply keep the door open for a future contact. Cold Call Myth: "The telephone is just for setting an appointment." Truth: Salespeople are using the telephone can to SELL every type of product or service. Limiting oneself by getting off of a call too early unnecessarily lengthens the sales process. Indeed, your sales model might involve a face-to-face visit, but that visit will always be more productive if you take your call further. Cold Call Myth: "Never give the screener any information." Truth: The screener may in fact be a decision maker, or at least an influencer, and needs to be treated like the buyer. Trying to go around or above an assistant, and being evasive labels the sales rep as a cheesy buffoon, and simply intensifies the screener's resolve. Don't buy into the longtime, false beliefs about telephone prospecting. Prospect professionally, the Smart Calling™ way, and you'll make your calling easier, more fun, and successful.

Five smart tips to reduce your mortgage costs

Five smart tips to reduce your mortgage costs

It's hard doling out those big bucks every month for your mortgage, but luckily there are ways to lessen the burden.

Every month, you cringe as you make that mortgage payment. It's about as unpleasant as getting a root canal. You get the point - it's miserable.

So how can you soften the blow of paying that much money on a regular basis? Glad you asked. There are several smart ways to change or reduce the amount you pay. One of the biggest drops could happen if you refinance.

What are some other ways you could save on mortgage payments? Keep reading to learn more...

No. 1 Smart Way to Save on Mortgage: Refinance

Could you imagine having thousands of extra dollars in your bank account each year because your mortgage costs were cut drastically? Good news: Because rates are at historic lows, refinancing could help make that happen.

"When the rates got down to 5 percent five years ago, people thought that was great. They never thought it would get any lower,"Well they did, and they keep going down."

So, if interest rates were higher when you initially took out your mortgage, you might want to consider how refinancing could save you money. Even an interest rate of .5 percent lower could help cut costs, according to an example from the Federal Reserve's mortgage refinancing guide.

The Federal Reserve, which oversees national monetary policy and banks, compared the monthly payments on a 30-year fixed-rate loan of $200,000 at 5.5 percent and 6 percent, and found that a .5 percent decrease in interest rates yielded a savings of $7,560 over the span of 10 years. Again, that's from lowering your interest rate by just .5 percent.

But before you pick up the phone to call your lender, remember that refinancing has fees and closing costs involved. You need to talk with a financial or mortgage professional to see if refinancing is the best option for your situation.

No. 2 Smart Way to Save on Mortgage: Shorten Mortgage Life

What's another way to save on mortgage costs? Shortening the term of your loan.

In fact, shorter-term loans, which tend to have a lower interest rate than long-term loans, could save you a lot of money over the life of your loan - but only if you feel comfortable making a bigger payment each month, notes the Federal Reserve.

For example, the Federal Reserve compares the total interest costs for a fixed-rate loan of $200,000 at 6 percent for 30 years with a fixed-rate loan at 5.5 percent for 15 years:

	Monthly payment	Total interest
30-year loan @ 6 percent	$1,199	$231,640
15-year loan @ 5.5 percent	$1,634	$94,120

As noted above, while larger monthly payments can be a bit tough to handle, the total savings in interest with a shorter-term loan should help ease the pain a bit.

And because of these potential savings, many homeowners are opting for a 15-year loan.

"We are doing a lot more 15-year loans than we have in the past,

So, if you decide that your wallet can handle the larger payment each month, this is a great money-saving option to consider.

No. 3 Smart Way to Save on Mortgage: Make Extra Payments

Yes, you read that right. Making extra payments - while it doesn't sound like it - will help you save money on your mortgage costs.

Here's the logic, according to the Federal Reserve's mortgage refinancing guide: "By paying a little extra on principal each month, you will pay off the loan sooner and reduce the term of your loan."

For example, the Federal Reserve says that by adding $50 each month to your principal payment on a $200,000, 30-year loan at 6 percent, you could reduce your loan term three years and pocket more than $27,000 in interest costs.

So, can you see how extra payments now, can pay off later?

If it's hard for you to come up with some extra money each month, think of the disposable cash you are using for those fancy lattes or going out to dinner three times a week. It all adds up, so you'll have to figure out what to sacrifice to come up with that extra cash.

No. 4 Smart Way to Save: Eliminate Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Have you seen that little acronym PMI on your mortgage bill and wondered why it's costing you extra every month?

It stands for private mortgage insurance. And if you put less than 20 percent down when you first bought your house, your lender probably required you to take out PMI to protect them against you defaulting on the loan

So how big of a dent is PMI making on your bank account each month? Well, it can cost between .5 to 1 percent of the entire loan amount,

To put this percentage into perspective, just consider that the median cost for single-family homes was $186,100 during the third quarter of 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors. That means you could be spending $155 a month on the insurance

It's also good to note that "the PMI is based on the value of your home," he says. So if you've made improvements - such as renovating the kitchen or adding new siding to enhance the value of your home, that can also offset the PMI, too."

Luckily, there are a few ways to get rid of your PMI. One option is called a piggy back loan, he says. For example, if you only have 10 percent down on your mortgage but don't want to pay PMI, you can opt to take out a second mortgage with another lender. The first lender handles 80 percent of your loan. The other lender offers up a 10 percent loan of the home's purchase price (or refinancing amount), so you would have the 20 percent down to avoid the insurance.

No. 5 Smart Way to Save: Reevaluate Your Home's Value

Do you know what your house is currently valued at? If you're not sure, it might be a good idea to find out, because if your home value has dropped, you could potentially save money on property tax.

"Have your home reassessed and see if the value has declined." If it has, "then, you will have less property taxes to pay."

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COUNTY RESIDENTS ENCOURAGED TO PREPARE FOR NEXT DISASTER

News Release

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Contact: David Sommers (213) 974-1363
Brian Lew, Public Affairs, (213) 974-1652
Dec. 1, 2011
COUNTY RESIDENTS ENCOURAGED TO
PREPARE FOR NEXT DISASTER

(Los Angeles, Dec. 1) – In light of today’s wind related damage and power outages
across Los Angeles County, residents are encouraged to review their emergency
survival procedures and make use of County resources available to seek help and
prepare for the next disaster:
Dept. of Public Works (http://dpw.lacounty.gov/contact/)
To report trees down, inoperable County-maintained traffic signals, damage to
roadways and County facilities, call 1-800-675-HELP (4375).
Alert LA County (http://portal.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/alertla)
Los Angeles County has implemented an emergency mass notification system to
contact County residents and businesses via recorded phone messages, text messages
and e-mail during emergencies. For more information and to register your cell phone
number, Voice over IP number, and e-mail address, please click the link above.
Specific Needs Assessment Planning (S.N.A.P.)
(http://lacoa.org/PDF/EmergencySurvivalGuide-LowRes.pdf)
To better prepare County residents for these and other types of disasters, the Los
Angeles County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) announces the launch of the
Specific Needs Awareness Planning (S.N.A.P.) voluntary disaster registry.
Emergency Survival Guide (http://lacoa.org/PDF/EmergencySurvivalGuide-LowRes.pdf)
This Guide will help you to better prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters
that face Los Angeles County. Our goal is to provide tips that assist you to be selfsufficient after a disaster. In addition to this Guide, we recommend that you increase
your awareness of emergency situations and the skills you need to prepare your family,
neighbors and your community. Become Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT) qualified and join a local CERT Disaster Response Team. CERT Teams
strengthen the ability of our communities to quickly recover after major disasters. This guide is a starting point.
-more-
Preparedness 2-2-2
Los Angeles County Emergency Survival Program (ESP) (http://www.espfocus.org/)
This web site was developed by the Emergency Survival Program (ESP) and the Los
Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. The web site contains a calendar
style collection of easy to print disaster information sheets that include topics on:
1. Understanding terrorism
2. Actions for threat levels
3. Tuning into the media
4. Weapons of mass destruction
5. Taking cover
6. Planning for a trip
7. Staying or going in a disaster
8. Being safe at work
9. School preparedness
10. What to do if you are in a public place
11. Volunteering
12. Preparing an emergency kit as a gift
There is also a description of disasters that have occurred in Los Angeles County. Most
of the web site contains disaster planning resources for local government officials and
an overview of the Office of Emergency Management's role in a disaster. The
information is available in English only.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health - Emergency Preparedness
Hotline
1-866-999-LABT (5228)
This hotline is staffed by multi-lingual operators available between 8:30 am and 5 pm
Monday through Friday to provide information on disaster preparedness. The
information provided by the operators is similar to the information that is included in this
labt.org web site. Callers are connected directly with hotline operators who speak
Spanish, English, Korean, Armenian, Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian. Callers who speak other languages will be assisted by a tele-interpreting
service.
Preparedness 3-3-3
211- Los Angeles County Info Line (dial 2-1-1)
TTY: 1-800-660-4026
Live operators at this line are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and provide free,
confidential information and referral services to individuals for such critical issues like
health care and substance abuse, domestic violence, shelter, food, legal and financial
assistance, children and senior programs and mental health services. Services are
available in English, Spanish and over 140 languages via a tele-interpreting service.
Note:
Use 211 not 911 if you need information about the above topics that 211 operators have
available. You should call 911 only if you have a life-threatening emergency.
-lacounty.gov-

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