Sometimes the inevitable happens: No matter how cautious and organized you’ve been, you’re going to fall behind on your bills. Whether it’s because of a job loss, increased bills, or something completely unexpected, there are many reasons why you might fall behind on debt payments. When this happens, good money management might help you get back to financial security. However, this isn’t always the case and sometimes more drastic actions are needed. To avoid severe consequences, it would be wise to begin negotiation efforts with your creditors.

Strategies for Debt Negotiation

When money management isn’t enough to get the bills paid in their entirety, then it’s time for debt negotiation. This will allow you to lower the overall amount due if your creditor approves. Properly approaching debt negotiation discussions increases the likelihood that the creditor will agree to your request.

1.Prioritize your debts. If you are going into debt negotiation for multiple accounts, you’ll generally want to eliminate the lowest balances first. However, there are exceptions and certain types of debt are more important than others. For instance, you should always make a good effort to pay your mortgage over a credit card bill, if you ever have to decide between the two.

2.Double-check your ability to pay. There’s nothing worse than making an offer to your creditor for debt negotiation, having it approved, then realizing that your offer is still too much for you to bear. By double-checking your ability to pay, you’re ensuring that your negotiation actually works for you.

3.Don’t get emotional. While you’ll want to explain why you’re facing financial hardships (job loss, medical expenses, etc.) avoid telling them your life story. Your creditors don’t have a lot of sympathy and are ultimately looking at the bottom line.

4.Brag about your money management. If you’ve made a good faith effort to pay all your bills, be sure to mention your payment history and the clear effort you’ve made! This will make it easier during the debt negotiation process.

5.Consider mentioning bankruptcy. If you’re considering bankruptcy, then mention it or hint that you’re considering it. A bankruptcy means that you’ll be discharged of the debt and that the debt is now the loss of the creditor. The creditor would rather lose some money through debt negotiation than the entire amount through bankruptcy.

6.Save money before debt negotiation. You’ll want to practice good money management by saving enough cash to make a payment before you begin the debt negotiation process. However, do not stop making your current payments! Instead, save enough so that you can make a payment right away. Creditors are more likely to settle if a fund can be immediately transferred.

7. Record the phone call. Consider recording the phone conversation. Recording the conversation – and letting the debt collector know you’re recording it – is a great way to keep them in line. Furthermore, you also have a record of the phone conversation!

Little things can hurt sales presentations. Here are 7 common mistakes if you are aware of them beforehand are easy to correct.

Sin #1 – Show an organization chart and tell the history of your department. Out of some misguided sense of direction, some salespeople feel compelled to show you, as the very first thing, an organizational chart of their department and where it fits into the grand scheme of things back at headquarters.

The irony is that they think they’re giving a good presentation and telling you just what you want to know. In fact, the people most interested in an organization chart are the people on the organization chart. And the only people who are interested in the history of a department are the people in the department.

Sin #2 – Do not explain the reason your “subject” has value to the audience. What may be obvious to you may not be obvious to your audience. People need a strong reason to listen and need to be told these reasons early on. Tell them why they should listen. What will they personally gain from listening.

Sin #3 – Use a presentation designed for one audience for an audience of ten or more.

Each presentation needs to be rethought as to how it applies to the new audience. Saying things that don’t apply to the new audience can greatly affect your credibility and lose the opportunity to show your sensitivity to their needs.

Sin #4 – Tell the audience more than they want to know. This sin is worse than just boring an audience – it is self-defeating. Look at it this way. You have heard 100s of presentations. Have you ever sat through a presentation and at the end of it heard someone say, “It was a great presentation, but it was too short.” No, people are more likely to say that it was terrible and too long.

Sin #5 – Turn the lights out and show slides or transparencies while reading a script. Dark rooms and barely seen speakers diminish a presenter’s effectiveness.

Sin #6 – Read verbatim every word on every visual. If your entire presentation consists of nothing but reading verbatim every word on every visual, then the audience can with good reason say, “I don’t have to come to your meeting. Just mail me a copy of the handout. I can read”.

Sin #7 – Do not rehearse – play it by ear. If you want to stumble, fumble, and sing off key, this is a sure way to do it. Presenting is easy to learn but hard to do. And that means rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

The most important part of a presentation is the close, where you either accomplish your objective or you don’t. Do they believe? Do they agree? Will they commit? Will they act? Will they order? The answers to these questions tell you how well you accomplished your objective. The objective is a statement at the beginning – the audience gives you their answer at the end.

We’ve all heard it before, “You need to live in the present” or “Be more present”. Although we know this to be true, we often find it difficult to be present because our lives are so busy; we always seem to be multi-tasking, which is the complete opposite of being present. Here are 4 ways that you can experience more presence in your life.

1) Give yourself some time and space alone.

In other words, turn off to tune in. We all think that watching TV will allow us to wind down and although it may to some extent, it doesn’t refuel us. Taking a bath, reading a book, writing in a journal, and listening to a personal development audio are all better ways of relaxing and being present.

2) Ask for guidance… and listen

Have you ever had a problem with your child or work and couldn’t figure out how to solve it? Becoming quiet, asking for guidance from a higher power, and then listening in the stillness can often bring the answer (or at least give you a light bulb moment as to who can help you). Without being quiet and still you cannot hear the answers, so instead of stressing for hours, take some quiet time for yourself then ask and… listen.

3) Honor a Day Off

Take at least one full day off to be with your family – no business, books, audios, etc. Just BE. Schedule something to do on this Sabbath or just allow the day to naturally unfold. Your body and family will thank you for it.

4) Play More!

The opposite of play is depression. What activities make you feel like you’re playing? Kicking a ball around with your child? Going to see a rock concert? Planning a surprise for your sweetheart? Going to a karaoke bar? List 12 things that remind you of playing and then schedule at least one each month for the next year. So simple, but so important. Life can feel overwhelming if we let it control us. We need to take responsibility for our happiness and set up systems that will allow us to be present, to recharge and to enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed.