The Art of Negotiation in Private Home Selling

Selling or purchasing a house definitely requires negotiation. It’s important for a buyer or seller to understand how to make a good deal through negotiating. The aim of negotiation is to reach a mutually satisfying deal for both parties. It all starts when both the seller and buyer understand and respect each other.

One important trait you should possess when negotiating is keeping an open mind. Always think before you say, offer or criticize anything. Remember what you do will affect the course of the negotiation. The seller and buyer have different motivations. Thus, it’s important that the door is left open for further negotiation.

Put it to writing

Every negotiation starts with a degree of distrust. However, it should move towards creating a trusting and understanding relationship between the seller and buyer. This can be achieved by putting into writing anything that the buyer and seller have agreed on. The terms and condition is ideally written and recorded on a Real Estate Sale and Purchase Agreement. This will help resolve any misunderstanding in the future in the event they arise.

Give attention to the specifics

Commonly the source of dispute between a seller and buyer is an unclear term that was not mutually agreed upon by both parties. This is an unfortunate event for both the buyer and seller. Thus, it’s vital that details with regards to the terms and condition should be ironed out when negotiating. You must see to i that you and the other party involved understand and agree in everything. This should be done prior to advancing further with the home sale.

Avoid giving to your emotions

Negotiating with a buyer or seller requires you to respect and understand your motivational differences. Avoid ignoring how the person fells or taking everything personally. Your judgment becomes clouded when you give in to your emotions. A mutually satisfying deal can be reached by a mature and tact conversation.

Take time to think

Acting on the dictate of impulse can do you no good. When you’re given an offer, whether it’s a good or bad offer, you should think and examine it thoroughly. Give yourself time to think and process. Don’t be pressured to decide on things abruptly. You might end up with regrets in taking things to hastily. Carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages that the offer presented to you has.

Present counter offers

Do not hesitate to present counter offers when you’re not satisfied with what’s presented to you. You’re making known the compromise you want from the initial offer by doing so. The adjustments you and the other party will make may be based on the initial and counter offer. But remember to determine what you’re capable of compromising prior to negotiating. It’ll help make the whole process easier.

One challenging part of home sale is negotiating. But it must be accomplished with prudence. It’s vital to record any agreements made, make sure both parties understand and agree on the terms and conditions, avoid giving in to your emotions, take time to examine the offers made and present counter offers as necessary. Finding proper timing for all of this is the key to success.

Product Launch Campaigns – The Lifeblood Of The Business

Few company events are more critical than launching new products and services. Many firms just go through the motions during product launches, repeating the same worn-out formulas they’ve always used-but every product launch is an opportunity to turn a new page in your company’s history, and it can make the difference between rags and riches.

Any new product can be directed towards an existing market (a set of known prospects and customers) or it can tackle new markets. But when introducing a new product or service, you need to innovate, going beyond what has been done in the past. You have a choice-let your product get lost in the noise or launch it differently.

The introduction of a new product requires a major launch effort if your company is marketing a new family of products (or services) towards a new target market-a different class of user or a different application emphasis than you have worked with before. You might also be trying to revitalize sales of an existing product or service, which requires a launch to sustain revenues, attract new customers, and ward off competitors.

In either scenario, avoid limiting the product launch campaign to a single, big-bang event with no plan for follow-up. You are positioning the product for its life cycle. Successful product introductions are company-wide events. They must be the focus of your entire organization.

Setting the Stage for a Product Launch

Long before product launch happens, you need to spend time on pre-launch activities that build the opportunity base. This pre-launch research will provide insights on the validity of the product, the features it needs, pricing and packaging considerations, and so on. Think in terms of projected revenue (at 12 to 18 months after launch, for starters), the profits you will need to break even, and the potential return on your investment.

Front-end research and analysis is the process of gaining insight and collecting data that will shape the product launch campaign. You are not simply collecting information, but interpreting it. Avoid focusing simply on the launch – consider the product life-cycle in your planning. Chances are, the data you gather to support your launch campaign may be a year or more old by the time the actual product hits the market. In the words of the Great One – Hockey Legend Wayne Gretzky, make sure you are going where the puck will be, not where it is. Otherwise, your launch campaign may miss the mark.

Elements to research during data collection

Market-based

- Competition for your product or service
- Potential customers’ buying influences and attitudes
- Market readiness and demand for your product

Product-based

- Key applications, features and advantages (from the customer’s viewpoint)
- Service and support components your product will include
- Packaging considerations

External-based

- State of the economy – by Industry Sector, Area or Region
- Regulatory changes in your Industry
- Technological considerations (current and future)

Developing the Right Concept for Your Product

Creativity is essential to a product launch-but balance it with the sobering thought that the concept you choose will be critical to launching a product that must generate revenue. Avoid the temptation to be clever in your campaign-it could lose the audience, diminish your credibility or worse, be a source of entertainment.

A good theme for a product launch campaign focuses on the problem solved, not merely the product’s use. Just as important as choosing the right concept is selecting the right launch vehicles for your campaign. Consider media and PR, direct-response pieces, catalogs, e-mail communiqués, Web site promotions, industry guides, e-casts, and telemarketing. The vehicles you choose will depend on what works in your specific business and what your appetite and budget can tolerate.

Choosing Your Message

The essence of your whole campaign will be its message. The right message captures your audience’s attention, explains your new product or service, distinguishes it from its competition, creates action, and has the ability to perpetuate the theme of the campaign (for the product’s intended life). Themed campaigns tend to do better than product-focused ones. They can also be perpetuated for a longer life.

Your message must be expressed in the attitude, tone, and language of your intended customer. It must also speak to your product, and your product alone. Put your message through the logo test. If you can replace your company’s logo with your competitor’s logo, and the campaign message still makes sense, go back to the drawing board. Work at it until you get it right.

While You Are Waiting

While campaign materials are being produced, you can be readying your company for the formal launch. Use this time to talk to media sources, investors, and other interested parties. Create a written campaign action plan that describes key tasks you must complete, target dates for their completion, the resources you require, and how you will measure your progress.

Promote and publish early-stage successes for your new product frequently. Whenever you can demonstrate customer acceptance for the new product, it will breed confidence with your Target Audience including your internal company employees.

After the Launch

Done correctly, the work you put into developing a successful product launch will stay with your product for its entire sales life. But when the product reaches maturity, you may need to revisit this process, innovating new uses for the product, repackaging it, adding value, finding a different distribution mechanism, introducing new incentives, and so on to ensure that it continues to generate revenue.

Once you have mastered the process of a successful product launch, you can extend the marketability of any product and give it new life.

Your launch methodology can make or break you in the competitive business jungle.
Is your launch method keeping pace?

Are you confident that your upcoming launch is positioned for success?

Copyright 2007

Performance Marketing Group

Finding The Right Baby Presents

There are so many potential baby presents on the market today that it’s often hard to choose what would be a perfect gift for the mother-to-be. It’s not uncommon for showers associated with this celebration to be held not only before the baby is born, but after. Although there are many similarities between the two types of parties, great gifts can be quite different.

Babies grow so fast that clothing is always a good option. The problem for those attending a shower prior to the birth of the baby is knowing exactly what size to get as well as what the gender of the baby will be. Not only can size of the baby range significantly when it comes to birth weight, but their growth rate limits the amount of time they can wear that adorable 0 to 3 months size. As a rule of thumb, finding a cute outfit that ranges between nine months and 18 months is often a better choice since the baby can wear it at a later point in their life.

There are many styles, patterns, and colors available today that are appropriate regardless of gender. This has made it much easier for gift givers to find stylish and unique items that the parents may not be able to afford themselves. However, buying an expensive designer outfit is not required in order to make your gift stand out from others.

For those who are able to sew, knit, or crochet, this is the perfect opportunity to put on your designer cap. By selecting materials carefully, some of the cutest outfits can be handmade. It’s important to remember in this case, however, that the materials used as well as the finishing touches are what often make an outfit unique. If a new baby’s name is known, adding the initials or the name itself on the outfit will show how special the child is to you.

One of the problems many new moms have is duplication of gifts. Although blankets are needed and can be personalized, only so many can be used over the course of the baby’s first couple of years. Fortunately today, baby registries are available through various stores. This allows parents to identify their needs, which is especially important if this is not the first baby. Coordinating gift choices with family and friends is also a good idea.

What has become more common is the concept of baskets. This provides an opportunity for individuals to help parents pick up the products they need that they may not think of initially. Taking a crib sheet and filling it with items such as lotions, powders, baby bath soap then pulling ends together and tying it up with a pretty ribbon can be a pleasant surprise for any new mom.

Baby presents provide an opportunity to share in the joy of a new baby’s birth. As such, they should be memorable, special, of most of all needed. There are many options on the market today. However, by ensuring gifts are functional, thoughtful, and creative one can be sure that their gift will stand out from the crowd and be a pleasant reminder to parents of how much you care.