When Is a Good Deal Too Good?

Issue #2413

• WEALTHY: A possible payoff for patient investors (Rick Pendergraft)
• HEALTHY: What’s so bad about Saturday and Sunday? (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Alan Greenspan on making deals

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Who benefits from your latest deal? (Michael Masterson)
• 5 ways to keep your finger on the pulse of the marketplace (Bob Bly)
• It’s Good to Know… how to measure things without a ruler
• Add "extant" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended ==

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Is Ford Worth a Look?

By Rick Pendergraft

You may remember the old acronyms for Ford: "Found On Road Dead" and "Fix Or Repair Daily." People used them to make fun of the reliability problems Ford had in the past. But they could also apply to Ford’s stock in recent years.

Since 1998, Ford has dropped from a high of $38.63 and is now trading under $5 per share. The last time Ford was this low, in 1991, some of my colleagues weren’t even old enough to drive.

At this point, the market cap for Ford is a paltry $10.13 billion. However, the company has over $25 billion in cash on the balance sheet. Granted, they have tremendous debt on the balance sheet as well, but they have more than $11 in cash per share.

I am not saying you should rush out and put all your available funds into Ford stock. But for a long-term investment (5-10 years), Ford looks like a bargain at this point.

There will be more bumps in the road, but I can’t see the government allowing Ford or General Motors to go under. These are the last two publicly held U.S. automakers, and politicos don’t want to see either of them fail.

There is one more acronym for Ford that I didn’t mention: First On Race Day. The race could be a long one, but in the end it could pay off for patient investors.

[Ed. Note: Despite what you may think, investing doesn't have to be super-complicated. In fact, once you learn a simple trading secret from professional trader Rick Pendergraft, you may find that making money is easier than you ever imagined.]

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"I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well."

Alan Greenspan

When Is a Good Deal Too Good?

By Michael Masterson

When negotiating a deal, how hard should you push for an advantage? Should you play the competition game and get as much as you can? Or should you "take care of" the other guy, even if he isn’t taking care of himself?

What should you do if you discover a benefit or cost in the deal that the other guy isn’t aware of? Do you bring it up? Or figure "If he’s too stupid to notice, he doesn’t deserve to find out."

If your resources and position in the marketplace give you a substantial negotiating position over the other guy - if he needs you more than you need him - should you take advantage of it?

Let’s answer these questions today.

I do business with a lot of very accomplished businesspeople - entrepreneurs and executives who understand how business really works. They have learned the importance of going after new business, and have developed the personal skills to apply themselves aggressively toward that end.

Some of these people, however, allow this virtue to become a vice. When they negotiate deals, they focus all their energy on themselves and their goals. If they think of the other guy at all, it is only to discover a weakness they can take advantage of.

These guys can be great family men and loyal friends - but when it comes to doing business, they believe in taking care of Number One. And for them, because of the way they see business, taking care of Number One means caring little or nothing about the other guy.

Some of these guys are just plain evil. They like screwing people and take pleasure from giving others pain. But many more see themselves as just and moral but with a "realistic" view of the business world. For this group - let’s call them the self-righteous sharks - business is an "either-or" proposition: "Either I get the gold or he does."

Self-righteous sharks tend to act selfishly in all facets of their business life - in sharing information, in deciding at whose office a meeting will be held, in determining who sits where at a business dinner, etc.

You Can Win the Battles but Not the War

Some might view that selfishness as the natural personality of a winning competitor. I view it as a major character defect.

When you think of business as a war and arm yourself accordingly, you can win plenty of battles. But as the years roll by and the battlefields change along with technology, all military approaches - however clever or powerful - fail.

Yes, you can fight your way to the top of the mountain when you are young and strong. But nobody stays on top forever.

Remember that old saw: Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because they will be the same ones you meet on the way down.

So long as you maintain an edge, you can take advantage of it. But the minute you lose ground, you will slide onto a slippery downhill slope - greased by the bitterness of the many people who secretly resent you for past transgressions.

As I said before, righteous sharks see the world in a different way than I do. In my opinion, their view is based on at least two fundamentally faulty ideas. One is that power is static - that he who is stronger now will be stronger in the future. Another is that wealth is a commodity - that it is something limited as opposed to something organic that can grow.

Mother baked a nice apple pie. She cuts it into four pieces. Since Mom has not used a protractor along with her knife, chances are that one of those pieces is slightly larger than the others. "I want the largest piece," the righteous shark says.

The trouble with that is: (1) Mother can and probably will make more pies, and (2) when she does, the shark’s brothers and sisters will remember that he had the biggest piece the last time. If the shark is bigger and stronger than his siblings, he may be able to wrestle the biggest piece of pie for himself again. But what if he’s feeling a little under the weather when Mom bakes the next pie? What will happen then? Will he be given the biggest piece because that’s the way it was done before? Or will he get a smaller piece? Or none at all?

When I get into a deal, I don’t want the other guy to feel as if he’s been taken advantage of. I don’t want that to happen for three reasons - two practical and one philosophical.

First of all, I believe that someone who feels abashed by me will quietly assign an emotional marker to my butt that says "You’ll get yours one day." Second, I believe that if I get known as a tough guy to do business with, the number of people who will bring me good deals will diminish and the pool will eventually dry up completely. And, finally, I think that, in the great scheme of things, everything eventually balances out with interest. If I give you something today, I’ll get something back from someone - plus interest - some years hence. If I take something from you now, I’ll pay the price for it - with interest - in the future.

If you see things the way I do, you really, really don’t want to take advantage of anyone. You’d rather be the one taken advantage of.

My brother tells me that people tell him I’m sometimes "too good" to those I partner with. When he sees someone I’ve helped get rich "overcharge" me for something or refuse to offer a concession after the many "gifts" I’ve given him, he feels as if I’m being too soft - maybe even foolish.

But when he considers how much less I fret about being screwed and how much more enjoyment I get from my business relationships, he realizes that there’s a distinct and substantial advantage to being willing to give more than you get.

"That’s worth a lot," he concedes. "I don’t know if you’ll convince your readers of it. But maybe a few of them will get it. And that will be good."

[Ed. Note: The only true shortcut to business success is to follow the lead of masters who've "been there, done that" - and have millions to show for it. You can get Michael Masterson's mentorship here in ETR. And if you want the true secrets to building a powerhouse, profit-producing business, we've got a team of business-building experts who are ready to tell all. Learn the details here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

Does This Situation Sound Familiar To You?

1) You have absolutely no previous knowledge about making money from the internet or any technical knowledge about computers…

2) You don’t want to worry about products, credit card processing, shipping or customer issues…

3) You want nothing to do with network marketing, buying and selling on eBay, internet gambling or any gimmicks either…

4) But yet you realize there’s a ton of money to be made on the Internet and would like to get started.

If so, here’s an opportunity which really does work, that anyone can follow and put into practice quickly in just an hour of your spare time from home.

Read about it here…

- Charlie Byrne

The Naked Truth About Naked Conversation

By Bob Bly  

Social media evangelists are in love with Twitter, Facebook, and their ilk because these networks enable continuous "naked" conversations.

When I started in the corporate world in the late 1970s, we too had naked conversations - in the cafeteria, at the coffee machine, and at a bar after work. But if we spent too much time in conversation during working hours, the boss would (understandably) break us up and send us back to our desks.

If you are spending endless hours reading posts, comments, and messages online, those are hours you are not spending on the tasks for which you are paid a salary - or, if you’re self-employed, on billable work.

Naked conversation advocates will tell me that without their never-ending online gossip sessions they would not be able to keep their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace. I disagree, and suggest these alternatives:

• Become a people watcher. Observe them in restaurants, stores, and at the bowling alley.

• Read a daily newspaper.

• Watch TV news and listen to talk radio.

• Talk with the person sitting next to you at the lunch counter or standing next to you in line at the bank.

• Read the "Letters to the Editor" in your industry trade publications.

If your only exposure is to people who are as obsessed with blogs, Twitter, and Facebook as you are, I would argue that you are talking with a limited (albeit large) cross-section of the marketplace, and in a limited (online-only) way. My suggestions above allow you to participate in useful conversations during your free time, not your work time. As a result, you get more work done… and make more money.

Yes, social media gives you more of a voice than the newspaper or radio. But in conversation, you always learn more when you listen than when you talk.

[Ed. Note: Social media is relatively "new" when it comes to marketing. To excel at any form of marketing, you should master classic direct-mail principles. You can learn how - from two of the best direct marketers around - right here.

And be sure to sign up for Bob Bly's Direct Response Letter, which is packed with ideas for strengthening your marketing.]

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The 2 Things Killing Your Weight Loss

By Craig Ballantyne

Monday to Friday, you are a fat-burning robot. You work out first thing in the morning, eat breakfast, have a high-protein salad for lunch, a healthy afternoon snack, and then a sensible dinner. It all adds up to a pound of fat loss per week.

Or so it should, if it were not for the two fat-loss killers, Saturday and Sunday.

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine recruited 48 men and women who were losing weight during the week but gaining on weekends. The subjects - who reported eating more and/or exercising less on Saturdays and Sundays - were put on a yearlong weight-loss program. Half were put on a calorie-restricted diet, while the other half were put on an exercise program.

Both groups lost weight during the week, but stopped losing on weekends. The researchers say it’s because both groups ended up eating more calories on the weekend.

Here’s what you need to do to prevent weekend weight gain from catching up with you.

First, identify all the problems that come up on weekends that cause you to eat more or exercise less.

Second, brainstorm two solutions for each one of those problems.

If you plan and prepare for your weekends just as hard as you do for your weekdays, you’ll continue to lose fat week in and week out.

[Ed. Note: You won't get fit automatically. But once you have a system, you can melt away fat and get the lean body you've always wanted. Learn how you can feel better than you have in years.

Getting healthy is a lot easier when you have a team of health experts helping you out. Get free motivation and advice right here.]

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It’s Good to Know: How to Measure Things Without a Ruler

When you don’t have a ruler handy, use one of the following to estimate sizes:

• a credit card (3-3/8" x 1-1/8")
• a standard business card (3-1/2" x 2")
• a dollar bill (6-1/8" x 2-5/8")
• a quarter (approximately 1" in diameter) or a penny (approximately 3/4")
• a standard sheet of paper (8-1/2" x 11")

(Source: The New York Public Library Desk Reference)

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== Highly Recommended == 

More Time with Your Loved Ones, More Time for Yourself, and More Money Than You Can Ever Spend…

Does this sound familiar?

You work your butt off at the office, only to find yourself skipping the gym and heading straight home.

You can’t give your family enough of your attention. And what attention you do give them, you are stealing from yourself.

You’ve got bills, chores, and repairs to handle. You’ve got to pay your taxes and put in a call to the plumber and talk with your spouse about the day’s events.

And in no time at all, you’re dropping into bed, dog tired, paralyzed by the idea that you’ll have to start all over again in just a few short hours.

My colleague Bob Cox had the very same problems. But he found a series of techniques that helped him regain control of his life.

Now, he’s living the life he always wanted. He has plenty of time for his wife and his hobbies. And he makes enough money to live comfortably and do what he wants to do.

Learn how he did it – and how you can do the same – right here.

- Charlie Byrne
Associate Publisher, Early to Rise

Word to the Wise: Extant

"Extant" (EK-stunt) - from the Latin for "to stand out" - means still existing.

Example (as used by Paul Davies in The Fifth Miracle): "The fossil record shows clearly that ancient life was very different from extant life."

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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