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    Casual Articles - Learn to Talk on Paper: The Art of Effective Business Writing

    Coastal Vacations: A Great Opportunity If You Play Your Cards Right
    Why do people fail in Coastal Vacations?Ok, let's get rolling then… what do you think is the main reason why people fail in Coastal Vacations ?Why don’t most Coastal directors make money? 1. Sponsor doesn’t really help that much 2. Lack of capital 3. Sloppy advertising 4. Lack of patience 5. Lack of a proven system All these reasons play a very important role in achieving success, but none of them is as important as “Knowing how to sell” . When you buy Coastal Vacations, people tell you Coastal Vacations pretty much sells itself.Truth is, Coastal Vacations it is indeed a great business opportunity . The tools and the resources are very helpful, but in the end, the person who has to close each and every sale is the director and if you are not a good sales person, you won't sell a thing. Why are there directors who sell 15 packages each and every month will others are not able to make one single sale in 3 months while receiving the same amount of traffic to their site?The key ingredient as you can see relies in the ability to sell. Some people have it, some don't. The people with more sales skills will – without a doubt – achieve more success.Let me ask you…What if the best Coastal Vacations director worked for you? What if that person talked to each and everyone of your leads? Would that make a difference?Of course it would. Why should you do all the selling when highly trained staff can do it for you?My advice is do a little of research before you buy any Coastal Vacations program. There are many out there...go for the one that gives you the more benefits, but do not fall for any hype. Coastal Vacations is a good busienss, but you won't succeed unless you team up with the right group.
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    • Real Estate Scams - Conditioning
      The conditioning process adopted by some agents is one reason for the bad reputation that real estate agents have in Australia. Conditioning has become part of the real estate market because many agents lie to property owners about the value of their property.The ProcessWhen valuing a property some real estate agents will quote a value in excess of the property’s true value in the belief that the owners will list their property with the agent that gives them the highest valuation.A typical Australian real estate agent’s selling agreement will tie the property owner to that agent for 90-120 days. If the property is sold during this period the agent will earn their commission whatever the sale price.Having secured the listing by over quoting the property’s value the agent knows that they must get the owner to accept a lower price for a sale to occur.The conditioning process begins. The agent will ensure that plenty of "buyers" come to view the property; this activity is often interpreted by property owners as the agents earning their commission. However many of these buyers will have budgets below the asking price of the property, some may not even be buyers at all but friends of the agent!The real estate agent will start pointing out all the negative aspects of the home, talk of the market not being as strong as it was and giving feedback that the market feels that the property is over priced.If the property owner elects to sell via auction the conditioning pressures are massively increased on auction day. Often the owner will be pressured into putting the property "on the market" despite the bidding being below the reserve price previously advised. Agents will claim that by putting the property on the market interested parties will raise their bids or even start bidding if they Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes for over thirty years for civil servants, lawyers, bankers and the like, on writing business correspondence.

      Two tips he stressed over and over again in his classes.

      The first: move heaven and earth to wean yourself from the inhibitions and nervous habits that your schoolteachers, bless 'em, have bequeathed to you. Leave no stone unturned to rid yourself of the awkward, stilted and artificial writing styles that have been reinforced daily since your early childhood.

      The second: when you write a letter or the like - even if it's a business letter you'd normally place in the "highly formal" category - imagine that the addressee were sitting right there, on the other side of your desk.

      Relax. If you really believed the recipient was with you in the room, you would never have the effrontery to begin with "please be advised" or "we wish to inform you".

      Incidentally, I've a confession to make. I'm a fairly experienced writer, but time and time again, I find myself committing the very offences that would make Rudolf Flesch cringe.

      I'm a sinner! But then - I am aware of it. I try to catch myself in the act.

      And when I succeed, I'm pretty ruthless with myself.

      When Flesch says you should imagine the person you're writing to you is right there with you in the room, it doesn't mean that informality is appropriate for all categories of written documents.

      But more often than not, it's regarded today as a sign of professionalism, rather than the reverse.

      More importantly, it's far more effective, as we'll see. And whichever way you look at it, effective communication is the name of the game!

      Incidentally, you'll notice that I said we spoke about... rather than we wrote about.

      I can't see you as I write. All I can see is my monitor and it's not much of a conversationalist. All the same, I'm using talking words all the time.

      I recall my school days in South Africa, round about half a century ago. At the end of every term, we wrote exams, and one paper was always called "English Composition."

      From the lowest grade to the highest, the format was about the same. There were generally two questions: The first would begin: "Write an essay of about 500 words on one of the following topics..." The second would be the same, with "letter" substituted for "essay".

      Between examinations, the teachers would drum a multitude of rules into our impressionable heads, always accompanied by grim warnings about the terrible consequences of non-compliance! Many of these rules directly contradict what I'm telling you to do now.

      Have you ever taken a course in public speaking?

      When you do a public speaking course, you don't hear much about grammar and vocabulary. Instead you learn not to be embarrassed, to overcome your inhibitions, to speak without a prepared script and to reach out to the audience in front of you.

      We're not saying that good grammar and such things aren't important in writing. They're very important.

      But they're not the essence. In some ways, writing is so much harder than public speaking, because your audience isn't right there in front of you. But the object of the whole exercise is to break through the invisible barrier that separates writer and reader.

      Notice that question I asked three paragraphs ago? Of course, this is one of the tricks we use to tear down that very barrier.

      I could have saved a lot of words by leading right in with: "Those who have taken public speaking course know that..." But a question has a more intimate, personal ring. With a bit of luck, I'll even make you feel I'm talking directly to YOU. Why? Because a person normally peppers his everyday conversation with millions of questions!

      For precisely the same reason, this article, is full of word contractions. That is to say: I write "they're" rather than "they are"; "I'll" and not "I will." Certainly sounds more cozy, you will -oops, you'll admit.

      "Yes," you may well protest, "let's assume I'm a bank manager or the like? Can I really use that style in writing to my clients? And oh my gosh - what if I'm some kind of government official?" (We won't talk of lawyers for the moment - they're a special class of headache, which we'll have to deal with separately.)

      The rejoinder is: "Sure, you can." When you write a business letter, you want to make your point quickly and effectively. Further, you're looking for a response: you want action. An informal style, rather than one of prim and proper conventionality, is more likely to do the trick.

      For all that, you could ask me a very strong question:

      "This makes sense when you want to be friendly: when you're looking to get the business of a potential customer, or to retain that of an existing one.But what if I deliberately need a stiff and formal tone, as when I'm writing a letter of demand to a debtor?"

      We can do no better than to quote an example direct from Rudolf Flesch. Compare these two extracts:

      "It is imperative that you submit the above amount within five days. Failure on your part to comply may result in legal action at your expense."

      "If you don't pay this amount within five days, we'll start legal action at your expense."

      Which of these two versions is more likely to startle the hapless recipient out of his wits?

      You be the judge!

      Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.

      Other Recent EzineArticles from the Writing-and-Speaking:Writing Category:

      hat I said we spoke about... rather than we wrote about.

      I can't see you as I write. All I can see is my monitor and it's not much of a conversationalist. All the same, I'm using talking words all the time.

      I recall my school days in South Africa, round about half a century ago. At the end of every term, we wrote exams, and one paper was always called "English Composition."

      From the lowest grade to the highest, the format was about the same. There were generally two questions: The first would begin: "Write an essay of about 500 words on one of the following topics..." The second would be the same, with "letter" substituted for "essay".

      Between examinations, the teachers would drum a multitude of rules into our impressionable heads, always accompanied by grim warnings about the terrible consequences of non-compliance! Many of these rules directly contradict what I'm telling you to do now.

      Have you ever taken a course in public speaking?

      When you do a public speaking course, you don't hear much about grammar and vocabulary. Instead you learn not to be embarrassed, to overcome your inhibitions, to speak without a prepared script and to reach out to the audience in front of you.

      We're not saying that good grammar and such things aren't important in writing. They're very important.

      But they're not the essence. In some ways, writing is so much harder than public speaking, because your audience isn't right there in front of you. But the object of the whole exercise is to break through the invisible barrier that separates writer and reader.

      Notice that question I asked three paragraphs ago? Of course, this is one of the tricks we use to tear down that very barrier.

      I could have saved a lot of words by leading right in with: "Those who have taken public speaking course know that..." But a question has a more intimate, personal ring. With a bit of luck, I'll even make you feel I'm talking directly to YOU. Why? Because a person normally peppers his everyday conversation with millions of questions!

      For precisely the same reason, this article, is full of word contractions. That is to say: I write "they're" rather than "they are"; "I'll" and not "I will." Certainly sounds more cozy, you will -oops, you'll admit.

      "Yes," you may well protest, "let's assume I'm a bank manager or the like? Can I really use that style in writing to my clients? And oh my gosh - what if I'm some kind of government official?" (We won't talk of lawyers for the moment - they're a special class of headache, which we'll have to deal with separately.)

      The rejoinder is: "Sure, you can." When you write a business letter, you want to make your point quickly and effectively. Further, you're looking for a response: you want action. An informal style, rather than one of prim and proper conventionality, is more likely to do the trick.

      For all that, you could ask me a very strong question:

      "This makes sense when you want to be friendly: when you're looking to get the business of a potential customer, or to retain that of an existing one.But what if I deliberately need a stiff and formal tone, as when I'm writing a letter of demand to a debtor?"

      We can do no better than to quote an example direct from Rudolf Flesch. Compare these two extracts:

      "It is imperative that you submit the above amount within five days. Failure on your part to comply may result in legal action at your expense."

      "If you don't pay this amount within five days, we'll start legal action at your expense."

      Which of these two versions is more likely to startle the hapless recipient out of his wits?

      You be the judge!

      Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.

      Other Recent EzineArticles from the Writing-and-Speaking:Writing Category:

      by leading right in with: "Those who have taken public speaking course know that..." But a question has a more intimate, personal ring. With a bit of luck, I'll even make you feel I'm talking directly to YOU. Why? Because a person normally peppers his everyday conversation with millions of questions!

      For precisely the same reason, this article, is full of word contractions. That is to say: I write "they're" rather than "they are"; "I'll" and not "I will." Certainly sounds more cozy, you will -oops, you'll admit.

      "Yes," you may well protest, "let's assume I'm a bank manager or the like? Can I really use that style in writing to my clients? And oh my gosh - what if I'm some kind of government official?" (We won't talk of lawyers for the moment - they're a special class of headache, which we'll have to deal with separately.)

      The rejoinder is: "Sure, you can." When you write a business letter, you want to make your point quickly and effectively. Further, you're looking for a response: you want action. An informal style, rather than one of prim and proper conventionality, is more likely to do the trick.

      For all that, you could ask me a very strong question:

      "This makes sense when you want to be friendly: when you're looking to get the business of a potential customer, or to retain that of an existing one.But what if I deliberately need a stiff and formal tone, as when I'm writing a letter of demand to a debtor?"

      We can do no better than to quote an example direct from Rudolf Flesch. Compare these two extracts:

      "It is imperative that you submit the above amount within five days. Failure on your part to comply may result in legal action at your expense."

      "If you don't pay this amount within five days, we'll start legal action at your expense."

      Which of these two versions is more likely to startle the hapless recipient out of his wits?

      You be the judge!

      Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.

      Other Recent EzineArticles from the Writing-and-Speaking:Writing Category:

      at your expense."

      Which of these two versions is more likely to startle the hapless recipient out of his wits?

      You be the judge!

      Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.

      Other Recent EzineArticles from the Writing-and-Speaking:Writing Category:

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      Other Recent EzineArticles from the Writing-and-Speaking:Writing Category:

       

       

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      Article Submitted On: January 13, 2005



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