Why You Should Choose Credit Counseling

For people that find themselves in a debt pit, consumer credit counseling can assist in putting them back on track to manage their debt and ultimately be debt free.  Don’t wait for your debts to take over your life, here is why you should choose credit counseling.

Credit Counseling Services

Consumer credit counseling agencies provide 5 main services with the goal of helping manage debt. These are:

Budgeting –  This is usually the initial session which last around an hour. The topic covered is mostly about your financial life and discusses your current income, expenses and what financial objectives you may have. At the end of the meeting, you and the counselor could determine whether or not you can benefit from more counseling.

Debt Management Plan – in this session, the certified counselor will consolidate all your unsecured debts into one monthly payment payable in three to five years. The deal also calls for lower interest rates on your behalf.

Counseling for Bankruptcy – this entails the process prior to filing and another before the debts are settled.

Student Loan Counseling –  options on how to repay the loan are talked about and the counselor may even include talks with the loan issuers.

Housing Counseling – if you are having trouble making your rental payments or you are buying a home for the first time, there are a variety of counseling options for you so could gain a better understanding on the costs.

For expert credit counseling in the Twin Cities area we recommend Consumer Credit of Minnesota. They offer all the services above and are a non-profit organization.

Things to Look for in a Credit Counseling Agency

Certification – Check with the Better Business Bureau to verify the integrity of the agency you are considering.  If they are a nonprofit agency, they should be a member of reputable organizations such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Financial Counseling Association of America.

Access – Ask yourself how you want to avail of the services like over the Internet, in person or over the phone.

Cost – prices are different depending on the agency and state. Make sure that you have a full understanding of the overall cost.

Credit counseling is a good way to help you get out of debt the right way. It will arm you with a variety of options to achieve your financial goals.

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How to Make a Lean, Mean Homebuilder Marketing Strategy

When it comes to the homebuilder business creating a lean, mean marketing strategy that works is crucial to its success.  When we say lean and mean it only means that it is easy to manage, responsive to marketing trends and of course produce results.  If you feel that you have a slow, bloated marketing strategy that is further bogged down by inefficient and outdated systems you are not alone. Maybe it is time to take a different look and use some new home sales training techniques. Here is how.

Cruise Through the Options

With so many possibilities available like digital marketing that includes SEO, advertising and social media to name a few, one can easily get lost in translation and not achieve anything worthwhile.  The vast array of possibilities means that homebuilders may just try everything to see what works.  This is not only expensive but difficult to implement.

Establish Short Term Objectives

Prior to embarking on a new campaign, step back and look at the big picture.  Ask yourself what are the business goals that you are trying achieve in the next ninety days?  What are the targets that you need to achieve in order to fulfill your objectives?

Examples would be:

• Sell 5 move-in ready properties
• Pre-sell lots
• Improve average sales by at least 10% per month
• Sell remaining inventory lots on closeout community

Targets to achieve those goals may include:

• Improve website traffic by at least 50%
• Establish 200 new leads
• Convert at least 15% of lead list to on-site appointment

Establish Clear Communication Lines

It is paramount that you communicate these goals effectively to your team so that there is no misunderstanding.  Miscommunication leads to murky expectations and a lack of true direction as to where the business should be going. Establishing clear communication through the establishment of an implementation plan, assignment of roles and responsibilities and setting due dates to achieve them will allow you to achieve a lean mean marketing strategy for your homebuilder business.…