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  • Casual Articles - What to Watch for When the Talking is Over and It's Time to Get the Deal in Writing

    Energizing Synergy
    Would you like to have more energy and synergy in your job and career? If you are not enjoying work the way you used to and if you would like to contribute in a manner that produces more results with less effort, then Energizing Synergy is what you need to cultivate.Be honest with yourself for a moment and answer the following questions: Are you energized or drained at the end of a workday?Are you out of sync with the business direction the company is taking, and do you understand the business rationales for any new changes?Do you do your part to promote an upbeat and positive work environment?Are you constantly learning at work? ENERGYEnergy is the effort you vigorously exert to accomplish a task or to do your work. When you come to work tired or in a bad mood, you exhibit low personal energy that impacts others in the office. One does not have to be in the workforce too long before coming across someone who is an energy drainer--perpetually down or negative. Energy drainers are especially debilitating when tight deadlines are in danger of being missed, or priorities have been changed and resources are low.On the other hand, individuals with high levels of energy tend to brighten the environment and make the task seem easier. Their natural enthusiasm and vibrancy radiates and inspires confidence. They emit an electrical charge that boosts other team members.SYNERGYSynergy is achieved when people work together in a manner that produces a greater total impact than the sum of their individual efforts. It generates more benefits than the amount of resources consumed.Synergy is so important at work because you can’t do everything yourself. In our current economic ti
    it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed

    The Seduction of Emotional Copy ...
    ABC Company has sent you a one-page prospecting letter. It's an invitation to a workshop. It opens like this:"Dear Mr. Yan,"My name is Jane Doe. I am writing you today as a representative for ABC Company. ABC is a company specializing in the technologies and tools used to organize and manage information relating the organizational aspects of businesses. I have decided to serve on the Board of ABC Company this year to follow my heart and dreams, and do my part in making technology solutions available to small and medium sized business. It is my belief that solution providers (not just ABC Company) will start delivering Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and IT solutions in a manner that is easy for users to implement, and at a price that is affordable to organizations of all sizes."What's wrong with this opening paragraph?There's no benefit, no purpose, and no excitement. It's long, dry, and doesn't stir your senses. It targets too huge a group instead of pinpointing one or three segments of the group. In short—it's painfully boring and won't bring home the bacon.Let's continue on with another two paragraphs from this actual promotion..."On Thursday, November 9th, 2006, ABC Company is organizing, for the first time, an event designed specifically for small and medium size business. On behalf of the ABC Board, I would like to invite you to join us at this chapter meeting. This meeting will provide you with the basics of ECM, and will also provide an interactive session where you may discuss your company's IT requirements to many solution providers."In addition, many organizations in San Diego are being invited to this event and you will find this the perfect opportunity to network with other successful businesses in our community."Okay: that's enough. I'm sur
    Most people think of negotiating as the verbal give and take that takes people from their different wants and needs to a point of agreement. That, of course, is the heart of negotiating but just as important is the transition to the written contract that formalizes the verbal agreement. Here are the things that Power Negotiators look for as they move toward the written contract:

    Don't Let the Other Side Write the Contract

    In a typical negotiation, you verbally negotiate the details, then put it into writing later for both parties to review and approve. I've yet to run across a situation where we covered every detail in the verbal negotiation. There are always points that we overlooked when we were verbally negotiating that we must detail in writing. Then we have to get the other side to approve or negotiate the points when we sit down to sign the written agreement-that's when the side that writes the contract has a tremendous advantage over the side that doesn't. Chances are that the person writing the agreement will think of at least half-dozen things that did not come up during the verbal negotiations. That person can then write the clarification of that point to his or her advantage, leaving the other side to negotiate a change in the agreement when asked to sign it. Don't let the other side write the contract because it puts you at a disadvantage.

    This applies to brief counter proposals just as much as it does to agreements that are hundreds of pages long. For example, a real estate agent may be presenting an offer to the sellers of an apartment building. The seller agrees to the general terms of the offer, but wants the price to be $5,000 higher. At that point either the listing agent who represents the seller or the selling agent who represents the buyer could pull a counter-proposal form out of his or her briefcase and write out a brief counter-offer for the seller to sign. Then the selling agent will present to the buyer for approval. It doesn't have to be complicated: "Offer accepted except that price is to be $598,000," will suffice.

    If the listing agent writes the counter-offer, however, he or she might think of some things that would benefit her seller. She might write, "Offer accepted except that price to be $598,000. Additional $5,000 to be deposited in escrow upon acceptance. Counter-offer to be accepted upon presentation and within 24 hours."

    If the selling agent were to write the counter-offer, he might write, "Offer accepted except that price is to be $598,000. Additional $5,000 to be added to the note that the seller is carrying back."

    These additions are probably not big enough to be challenged by either a seller or a buyer who is eager to complete the transaction; however, they substantially benefit the side who wrote the brief counter-offer. If the person who writes a one-paragraph counter-offer can affect it so much, think how much that person could affect a multi-page contract.

    Remember that this may not just be a matter of taking advantage of the other side. Both sides may genuinely think that they had reached agreement on a point whereas their interpretations may be substantially different when they write it out. A classic example of this is the Camp David accord, signed by President Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. After 13 frustrating days of negotiating at Camp David where they all felt until the last moment that their efforts were futile, they reached what they thought was a breakthrough to agreement. Excitedly they flew helicopters to Washington and with massive publicity signed the accord. In the East Room, the normally unemotional Menachem Begin turned to his wife and said, "Mama, we'll go down in the history books tonight." That may be so, but the truth is that many years later, hardly any of the elements of the agreement had gone into effect. Their enthusiasm led each of them to think that they had reached agreement when they really hadn't.

    If you are to be the one writing the contract, it's a good idea to keep notes throughout the negotiation and put a check mark in the margin against any point that will be part of the final agreement. This does two things:

    1. It reminds you to include all the points that you wanted.

    2. When you write the contract, you may be reluctant to include a point in the agreement unless you can specifically recall the other side agreeing to it. Your notes will give you the confidence to include it even if you don't remember it clearly.

    If you have been team negotiating, be sure to have all the other members of your team review the contract before you present it to the other side. You may have overlooked a point that you should have included or you may have misinterpreted a point. It's common for the lead negotiator to let her enthusiasm overwhelm her to a point that she feels that the other side agreed to something when it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed

    Stimulus-Response
    It is useful to go into an understanding of some of the finer points of maximizing responses to produce business when you want it.1) Position - There is an ugly phrase that is based upon some measure of a truthful principle It is "last liar has the best shot". Humans remember the last thing that they heard on a subject. I once got a job through an employment agency partly because the agent thought I had the best chance of getting it if he placed me in the last position for the interview. It worked. The human mind is somewhat like a computer. It processes information and retains it. It recalls it with more ease if it was the last of the stimulus received. That's why people cram for tests; the recent ingesting of information is easily recalled.2) Frequency - Reinforcement of the message causes ease of recall. (unlike computers, which recall all with the same level, emotion is a non-factor with electronic memory.) This is always the reason all media companies advise you to run ads frequently. Even if they have an agenda, the theory is based on somewhat valid statistical evidence.3) Positive Emotional Reliability - The other two are valid, but, the more the message touches the heart, the easier it is to remember. So, combine both and get the best of both avenues. It is always the memories that stir up emotions that are more easily and vividly recalled.4) Variety of Approaches - If you see the same ad over and over, unless it really touches you in a positive way, and even then sometimes, it loses it's effect because the instant you see or hear it, you shut off the conscious absorption of it because you are already familiar with it and you shut down receiving it any more. This is why Madison Ave. tries to use "funny" all the time. This is done to get people to pay att
    otiate a change in the agreement when asked to sign it. Don't let the other side write the contract because it puts you at a disadvantage.

    This applies to brief counter proposals just as much as it does to agreements that are hundreds of pages long. For example, a real estate agent may be presenting an offer to the sellers of an apartment building. The seller agrees to the general terms of the offer, but wants the price to be $5,000 higher. At that point either the listing agent who represents the seller or the selling agent who represents the buyer could pull a counter-proposal form out of his or her briefcase and write out a brief counter-offer for the seller to sign. Then the selling agent will present to the buyer for approval. It doesn't have to be complicated: "Offer accepted except that price is to be $598,000," will suffice.

    If the listing agent writes the counter-offer, however, he or she might think of some things that would benefit her seller. She might write, "Offer accepted except that price to be $598,000. Additional $5,000 to be deposited in escrow upon acceptance. Counter-offer to be accepted upon presentation and within 24 hours."

    If the selling agent were to write the counter-offer, he might write, "Offer accepted except that price is to be $598,000. Additional $5,000 to be added to the note that the seller is carrying back."

    These additions are probably not big enough to be challenged by either a seller or a buyer who is eager to complete the transaction; however, they substantially benefit the side who wrote the brief counter-offer. If the person who writes a one-paragraph counter-offer can affect it so much, think how much that person could affect a multi-page contract.

    Remember that this may not just be a matter of taking advantage of the other side. Both sides may genuinely think that they had reached agreement on a point whereas their interpretations may be substantially different when they write it out. A classic example of this is the Camp David accord, signed by President Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. After 13 frustrating days of negotiating at Camp David where they all felt until the last moment that their efforts were futile, they reached what they thought was a breakthrough to agreement. Excitedly they flew helicopters to Washington and with massive publicity signed the accord. In the East Room, the normally unemotional Menachem Begin turned to his wife and said, "Mama, we'll go down in the history books tonight." That may be so, but the truth is that many years later, hardly any of the elements of the agreement had gone into effect. Their enthusiasm led each of them to think that they had reached agreement when they really hadn't.

    If you are to be the one writing the contract, it's a good idea to keep notes throughout the negotiation and put a check mark in the margin against any point that will be part of the final agreement. This does two things:

    1. It reminds you to include all the points that you wanted.

    2. When you write the contract, you may be reluctant to include a point in the agreement unless you can specifically recall the other side agreeing to it. Your notes will give you the confidence to include it even if you don't remember it clearly.

    If you have been team negotiating, be sure to have all the other members of your team review the contract before you present it to the other side. You may have overlooked a point that you should have included or you may have misinterpreted a point. It's common for the lead negotiator to let her enthusiasm overwhelm her to a point that she feels that the other side agreed to something when it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed

    Direct Mail Makes A Comeback
    Companies and organizations have spent many billions on e-mail and other Internet message delivery mechanisms over the past decade, often at the expense of more traditional marketing methods, like direct mail. But in some respects e-mail has failed to live up to its initial promise. And marketers who are turning back to tried-and-true methods like “snail mail” report excellent results, often better than e-mail.According to a 2005 Direct Marketing Association (DMA) comprehensive study of marketing tools, e-mail produces the best return on investment and is the cheapest and fastest direct marketing tool. But only a fraction of the average company’s prospective customers opt in to most rentable lists. And it can be against federal law to send commercial e-mails to people who have asked not to receive them. It’s spam. If companies play by the new rules, they cannot get their marketing messages to the vast majority of their prospective customers using e-mail.So marketers are going “back to the future” by reinvigorating their marketing campaigns with renewed investments in printed and mailed materials to complement or substitute for e-marketing methods.Why Direct Mail WorksIn a recent article in B2B Marketing Newsletter, a publication of the Business Marketing Association, consultant Eric Gagnon described direct mail as the “workhorse” of every business-to-business marketing program. “While the buzz these days is all about Internet-based marketing—Google AdWords and e-mail marketing programs—direct mail is still the mainstay of most business-to-business marketing and lead-generation programs: where there’s a readily-identifiable mailing list of plausible prospects, and a mailing piece to send to them, there’s a profitable marketing project waiting to happen.”Direct mail is effective a
    write, "Offer accepted except that price is to be $598,000. Additional $5,000 to be added to the note that the seller is carrying back."

    These additions are probably not big enough to be challenged by either a seller or a buyer who is eager to complete the transaction; however, they substantially benefit the side who wrote the brief counter-offer. If the person who writes a one-paragraph counter-offer can affect it so much, think how much that person could affect a multi-page contract.

    Remember that this may not just be a matter of taking advantage of the other side. Both sides may genuinely think that they had reached agreement on a point whereas their interpretations may be substantially different when they write it out. A classic example of this is the Camp David accord, signed by President Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. After 13 frustrating days of negotiating at Camp David where they all felt until the last moment that their efforts were futile, they reached what they thought was a breakthrough to agreement. Excitedly they flew helicopters to Washington and with massive publicity signed the accord. In the East Room, the normally unemotional Menachem Begin turned to his wife and said, "Mama, we'll go down in the history books tonight." That may be so, but the truth is that many years later, hardly any of the elements of the agreement had gone into effect. Their enthusiasm led each of them to think that they had reached agreement when they really hadn't.

    If you are to be the one writing the contract, it's a good idea to keep notes throughout the negotiation and put a check mark in the margin against any point that will be part of the final agreement. This does two things:

    1. It reminds you to include all the points that you wanted.

    2. When you write the contract, you may be reluctant to include a point in the agreement unless you can specifically recall the other side agreeing to it. Your notes will give you the confidence to include it even if you don't remember it clearly.

    If you have been team negotiating, be sure to have all the other members of your team review the contract before you present it to the other side. You may have overlooked a point that you should have included or you may have misinterpreted a point. It's common for the lead negotiator to let her enthusiasm overwhelm her to a point that she feels that the other side agreed to something when it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed

    New Employee Surveys
    New employees can be a reliable source of information for a company. Most companies ignore the wealth of information that new employees are likely to bring from their previous experiences. As a result, a lot of valuable information gets swept away in the process of incorporating the new employee into the company.New employee surveys can be done for many purposes. One of them is the new employee orientation survey. This survey is generally done after a few days of orientation to determine any potential issues relating to productivity, turnover, attitudes and other aspects. It would also help the management to understand the productivity of the orientation or training program that the new employee went through in the initial days. The employee’s experiences in the early days of employment are also important determinants, since they represent the company’s image through the eyes of a new person.Another kind of new employee survey can be undertaken to know whether the employee has completely understood all the aspects of the new job or not. This can include the job analysis and description, the basics of the job, the most enjoyable and least enjoyable parts of the job, and so on. New employee survey can include information relating to corporate culture, training, supervisor relations, work environment, pay and benefits, communications, feedback, leadership, corporate vision, and overall satisfaction. New employee surveys can also contain information relating to the previous job, like reasons for leaving the job, description of the job, pay and benefits, and so on. This would help to determine the attitude of the employee and whether he/she would be satisfied with the new job or not.New employee surveys can be designed and conducted in-house by the HR department. Alternatively, companies can also
    rned to his wife and said, "Mama, we'll go down in the history books tonight." That may be so, but the truth is that many years later, hardly any of the elements of the agreement had gone into effect. Their enthusiasm led each of them to think that they had reached agreement when they really hadn't.

    If you are to be the one writing the contract, it's a good idea to keep notes throughout the negotiation and put a check mark in the margin against any point that will be part of the final agreement. This does two things:

    1. It reminds you to include all the points that you wanted.

    2. When you write the contract, you may be reluctant to include a point in the agreement unless you can specifically recall the other side agreeing to it. Your notes will give you the confidence to include it even if you don't remember it clearly.

    If you have been team negotiating, be sure to have all the other members of your team review the contract before you present it to the other side. You may have overlooked a point that you should have included or you may have misinterpreted a point. It's common for the lead negotiator to let her enthusiasm overwhelm her to a point that she feels that the other side agreed to something when it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed

    Words That Compel Your Customers To Buy From You
    When you sit down to compose your ad copy keep in mind that all the best copy writers will tell you to be sure to use those “special key” words that will influence your customer to buy. Years of marketing research has been done, and will continue to go on for years to come in the never ending quest for those targeted advertising ways to get us to buy, especially from some one we do not know. Though from time to time the words or their effectiveness may change slightly for the most part there seems to be those standard over used ones that we keep buying into, even if the product we buy is not exactly up to our expectations of what we thought we were buying. To me it seems as though these words have some kind of mind altering power of sorts. Let’s take a look at them, and be honest with yourself when you read them, and must admit to yourself, man I get pulled in every time on this word or that one or many of them.1) New. This can come in several forms; new and improved, new never seen before now, completely new, new information, new technology, new results, and new tastes. You get the idea, anything to get you to “feel” as though this “new” product or service is just what you need to improve the quality of your life.2) Important. This word can and usually does establish the fact that this is possibly information that you can not do without. It may be crucial in order to make needed changes in ones life. This word can also lead the ad copy directly into the next key word on our list, which is…..3) Limited. The power button of words that say buy this now or forever be without it. You could be the only one on your block that has this unique item or service or “embarrassing” as it will be, you may be the only one on your block that missed out on such a fantastic deal. Time is of the essence when yo
    it was less than clear to more independent observers.

    I'm not a big believer in having attorneys conduct a negotiation for you because so few of them are good negotiators. They tend to be confrontational negotiators because they're used to threatening the other side into submission, and they are seldom open to creative solutions because their first obligation is to keep you out of trouble, not make you money. Remember that in law school, they are not taught how to make deals, only how to break deals. In our litigious society there isn't much point in making an agreement that won't hold up in court, however, so it's a good idea to have the agreement approved by your attorney before you have it signed. In a complicated agreement what you prepare and have the other side sign may be no more than a letter of intent. Have the attorneys work on it later to make it a legal document. It's better that you devote your energy to reaching agreement.

    If you have prepared an agreement that you think the other side may be reluctant to sign, you may be smart to include the expression "Subject to your attorney's approval," to encourage them to sign it.

    Once the verbal negotiations are over, get a memorandum of agreement signed as quickly as possible. The longer you give them before they see it in writing, the greater the chances that they'll forget what they agreed to and question what you've prepared.

    Also, make sure they understand the agreement. Don't be tempted to have them sign something when you know they're not clear on the implications. If they don't understand and something goes wrong, they will always blame you. They will never accept responsibility.

    I find it helpful to write out the agreement I want before I go into the negotiations. I don't show it to the other side, but I find it helpful to compare it to the agreement that we eventually reach, so that I can see how well I did. Sometimes it's easy to get excited because the other side is making concessions that you didn't expect to get. Then your enthusiasm carries you forward and you agree to what you feel is a fantastic deal. It may be a good deal, but unless you have clearly established your criteria up front, it may not be the deal that you hoped to get.

    Power Negotiators know that you should always try to be the one that writes the contract. When the verbal negotiations are over, it's time for someone to put everything in writing, and the person who gets to put it in writing has definite power in the negotiations. There are bound to be little details that you didn't think of when you were verbally negotiating that need to be specified in the written contract.

    If you're the one who gets to write the contract, you can write those to your favor. Then it's up to the other person to negotiate them out when it comes to signing the contract. So, try to be the one who writes the contract.

    I'll say to the other people, "Look, we need to put this down in writing. But let's not go to a lot of expense on this. I have an attorney on retainer, it won't cost either one of us anything for me to have my attorney do it." Even if I had to pay the attorney to do it, I still think I'd be better off to be the one who is writing the contract.

    Read the Contract Every Time

    In this age of computer-generated contracts, it's a sad fact that you have to reread a contract every time it comes across your desk.

    In the old days, when contracts were typewritten, both sides would go through it and write in any changes, and then each negotiator would initial the change. You could glance through the contract and quickly review any change that you had made or to which you had agreed. Nowadays with computer generated contracts we're more likely to go back to the computer, make the change, and print out a new contract.

    Here's the danger. You may have refused to sign a clause in a contract. The other side agrees to change it and says they'll send you a corrected contract for your signature. When it comes across your desk, you're busy, so you quickly review it to see that they made the change you wanted and then turn to the back page and sign it. Unfortunately, because you didn't take the time to reread the entire contract, you didn't realize that they had also changed something else. Perhaps it was something blatant such as changing "F.O.B. factory" to "F.O.B. job site." Or it may be such a minor change in wording that you don't discover it until years later when something goes wrong, and you need the contract to enforce some action. By then, you may not even remember what you agreed to, and you can only assume that because you signed it you must have agreed to it.

    Yes, I agree with you-you have a wonderful case for a lawsuit that the other side defrauded you-but why expose yourself to that kind of trouble? In this age of computer-generated contracts, you should read the contract all the way through, every time it comes across your desk for signature.

    People Believe What They See In Writing

    The printed word has great power over people. Most people believe what they see in writing, even if they won't believe it when they just hear about it. The Candid Camera people did a stunt to prove that a number of years ago -- you may remember seeing it on television. They posted a sign on a road next to a golf course in Delaware that said, "Delaware Closed." Allen Fount stood by the sign in a rented trooper's uniform. He wasn't allowed to speak to the people as they came up, only point up at the sign.

    What happened amazed me. People were coming to a screeching halt and saying things like, "How long is it going to be closed for? My wife and kids are inside."

    People believe what they see in writing. That's why I'm such a big believer in presentation binders. When you sit down with someone, you open the presentation binder, and it says, "My company is the greatest widget manufacturer in the world." Then you turn another page and it says, "Our workers are the greatest craftsmen in the business." You turn another page and start showing them reference letters from all your previous jobs. They find it believable even when the

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