An Unusual Christmas Present: Finding a Property to Renovate

Renovate Alerts is an online company that finds properties that range from needing cosmetic updating to a full scale renovation. Having found the properties Renovate Alerts email subscribers alerts which links the subscriber to the property details on the estate agents websites. So your friend would only get properties that require work and are ripe for their DIY enthusiasm. Alerts are sent out every few days and contain only properties that are new to the market.

The cost of this unusual present would be either £10 or £20 per month per region and each region covers a large area e.g. Wales, South, Scotland, Greater London, etc. So you could give an original, thoughtful present of £10 or £20 and start your friend on a new line of investigation and even a new career in property development!

The subscription is on an ongoing automatic monthly basis so if you want to give your friend just one month then do remember to email Renovate Alerts to cancel the subscription after the first month.

Here is some feedback that Renovate Alerts has recently received from satisfied customers:

“Your service is excellent, and I will recommend you to other people”

“Your website is amazing. I am in the process of purchasing 2 properties as a result. I have started a new business..”

It should at least give your friend something more to go on. A subscription to Renovate Alerts is surely more exciting than chocolates, pens or socks. In fact you might find it so intriguing you subscribe for yourself!

For more information and see a sample of a live alert visit: http://www.renovatealerts.com.

Negotiation Tip of the Week – “The Value of Reading Body Language To Gain Influence in Negotiations”

“The value of reading body language is like possessing the keys of influence to unlock someone’s mind, by gaining unguarded access to their hidden thoughts.” -The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

You can gain the value of influence in negotiations by reading body language accurately.

Momma told me not to run. Don’t move too quickly! You might miss something right in front of you. No, that’s not an oxymoron. Such were the wise words then and now related to the value of reading body language to gain insight and influence in negotiations.

Take the following insight I gained from my mother on just that topic.

I recall a time when I was 17; I’d saved my money to buy an advertised car I saw at a dealership. My mother and I went to the dealership only to find out that the car had just been sold. The salesperson said ‘not to worry’, as he showed us another car; it cost slightly more than the original car that was advertised.

My mother attempted to get a lower price for the car, but the salesperson only budged a little and wouldn’t go any lower after that. He said that was his best price. After sparring in several negotiation sessions after that, my mother got up to leave; I was dejected, dispirited, and disappointed at not getting a car, and it showed on my face. The salesperson looked at my face and said to my mother, “You don’t want to disappoint your son, do you?” To which my mother replied, “You’d be the one disappointing him. He came here on good faith to buy the car you advertised. Now, you’re telling us the car was just sold (defiant look of disbelief). How does that sound to you? Would you want someone to do that to your son or daughter?” The salesperson replied, with a fallen-face, “You can have the car at the same price as the one advertised.”

Is was at that moment that I observed the effect that body language could have on a negotiation, along with how to utilize a negotiation strategy based on the body language being discussed. With one-fell-swoop, my mother turned the body language strategy the salesperson attempted to use on us (i.e. my sadness/disappointment) against him and into one of reflection. She did so by invoking fairness, when she asked the salesperson if he’d like that dejected feeling I was displaying thrust upon one of his kids. She went deeper into his emotional psyche when she implied, with added emphasis via her body language, the disbelief she possessed that the advertised car had just been sold. Note that she didn’t confront him by saying so, she let her body language speak for her.

From the time two people shake hands at the start of a negotiation, they’re negotiating. Actually, they started negotiating before they reached the formal negotiation via any communications they’ve had. That occurs even if it was in the form of one person gathering information about the other and developing strategies based on what was gleaned.

If you wish to gain influence in your negotiations, learn to read body language more accurately. You see and sense the appropriate times to employ negotiation strategies, based on the body language signals you see. Once you add reading body language to your negotiation rapport, you’ll become a more dynamic negotiator… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

The Present Moment – New Life, Love and Prosperity in Uncertain Times

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that it seemed too impossible for anything in your life to pan out?

You try, try, try so hard yet nothing comes together and you wonder if anything is possible. With all your good intentions, shouldn’t life and business be so much easier, especially with all the advantages of our modern age? Seriously, what is the big problem? Moreover, what is specifically in the way that is blocking you from making it all work? You might be surprised by the answer.

Business success (or failure) isn’t a modern phenomenon. 5000 years ago businesses were flourishing with markets selling everything from local fish to foreign spices including all types of services. There were poor people and rich people, just like we see today. There were hard times and good times, just like we see today. There were people with positive attitudes and people with negative attitudes, just like today.

Nothing fundamental has changed. The same elements of life are still here, alive and well as usual. But let’s face it – the world today is a thousand times more complex. It is becoming important today to be a bit more detached from life, to not rely so much on circumstances but rather rely more on yourself as a good human being. It’s a big world. You cannot change the world. You can only change yourself. All along, there is only one thing in existence that never changes, never disappears, and can always be counted on no matter what happens. What is it?

The Present Moment

You might suddenly be asking yourself, okay great. So what? Big deal: The present moment, what is the point: How can something so common and obvious have anything to do with me, my success in life, or my business?

The Present Moment is Where Everything Happens

How much time do you waste thinking about the past or worrying about the future? More importantly, how much energy do you waste reacting to things that are completely out of your power and control? The truth is if you connect with the present moment (rather than abandoning it, frittering it away with meaningless worries and inconsequential reactions to problems and circumstances) everything will start to take shape in a much more realistic and clear way. How so, you ask?

Do you realize that the present moment is the most powerful reality in the entire universe? Think about it. Everything that happens, whether 500 billion light years away or 10 minutes from now, all happens in the present moment. The present moment is timeless. In fact, time – as huge as we feel it, as huge as it is – is no bigger than a grain of sand compared to the present moment.

So what does this all have to do with you and your business and your life success?

Your existence IS the present moment . . . YOU are NOW. Everything else is something that is merely happening, an event with a beginning and an end. Connect with the Here and Now. You can easily begin doing this by paying close attention to your 5 senses. When you purposely connect with any of your senses, even for 2 seconds, you automatically connect with reality. When you connect with reality, all other delusions of the mind immediately begin to STOP.

The present moment will relieve you of all your useless ills and pains: It will also give you the clarity and much needed tolerance to excel in your business. The bottom line? Take time for YOURSELF. Even to just feel your toes on the floor and to hear the sound of your breath. It will pay beautiful dividends for you, sooner than you think. Be good to yourself. You deserve it!

The saying: “Stop and Smell the Roses” may very well be the biggest understatement ever conceived!