[Washington Technology] Will other federal contractors follow Northrop’s lead if a proposed accounting rule change takes effect around 2013? (Northrop recently purchased a HQ office building for $78.6M – opting to buy rather than take the more conventional leasing route.) The accounting change – a joint proposal of the Federal Accounting Standards Board which issues regulations under the Generally Agreed Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the International Accounting Standards Board – would change the way leases can be accounted for on corporate financial statements. Under current accounting practices, most companies record their leasing costs as an expense but not as a liability. Under the proposed new standards, due to be officially released for public comment in late August or early September, companies will be required to record operating leases as a ‘right of use’ (ROU) asset and as a corresponding liability (for expected lease payments) on their balance sheets.

http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2010/08/24/accounting-rule-change-northrop-hq.aspx

U.S. commercial real estate prices posted their first quarterly gain in more than two years last quarter, data showed on Monday, although deepening economic gloom may cut post-slump celebrations short.

After shedding about a third of their value between the first quarters of 2008 and 2010, average U.S. commercial property prices rose by 2.2 percent in the three months to end-June, as measured by the Investment Property Databank US Quarterly Property Index.

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http://www.cnbc.com/id/38815566

Take a look at this article from the NY Times on 3 features that Iphone 4 has that you may not be using!

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/three-unknown-features-of-the-iphone-4/?src=me&ref=technology

I just got a cell phone case with my business card printed on it — it’s created quite the buzz! They’re available for iPhone & Blackberry users. If you’re interested in creating your own, visit custom.case-mate.com/diy

July 7 (Bloomberg) — U.S. commercial real estate sales in the first half totaled about a quarter of the average of the previous six years as owners kept properties off the market, impeding investors with record funds for purchases.

Buyers and sellers completed $34.2 billion of deals through June, or 26 percent of the average first-half dollar volume since 2004, according to preliminary figures from Real Capital Analytics. The total was about 12 percent of the 2007 peak, when $277.7 billion of properties changed hands in the same period, data from the New York-based real estate research firm show.

Sales climbed 58 percent from last year’s first half, when purchases dried up after the U.S. credit crisis and recession sent values tumbling. A dearth of available properties has sparked demand for the few deals being offered, according to Alan Kava, co-head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Real Estate Principal Investment Area in New York.

Click for rest of the story

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.  These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

It often happens that you are editing a record or talking with a person whose record you are on and they ask you for some information on another person in your REA database. REA does not have a “previous record” button but there is a way to quickly search for another record and then return to record you were on.

1. Click the Tag button in REA to add a checkmark.

2. Search for other contact record you want.

3. Click the Tag icon and select Show Tagged. REA 9 displays the previous record.

4. At that point you can select Clear Tags and/or Show all.

One of the webinar sessions we present is listed as cold calling in REA. But the session offers much more than what is commonly considered as cold calling. It is one of the best attended and received sessions. Sign up and attend the next time it is offered.

Here are a few other resources:

The Cold Calling Podcast – http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/archive.php?iid=17812

For motivation and great sales masters listen to :

The Sales Roundup Podcast – http://www.salesroundup.com/

• § All master salespeople are persuasive and convincing. The ability to persuade isn’t limited to leaders — any time you help someone see something your way, you have made a sale. Top salespeople use every technique at their disposal, including stories, dreams, color and humor.
• § All master salespeople focus on service. Meyer cited the “golden rule” of service — serve others as you would like to be served. A salesperson who goes out of their way to focus on service will likely win their customers’ loyalty.
• § All master salespeople are honest. If you’re a known liar, no one’s going to trust you enough to buy what you’re selling. “Top salespeople are honest, keep their word, work hard, are responsible, incredibly dependable and act with complete integrity in all they do,” said Meyer.
• § All master salespeople are self-motivating. Master salespeople motivate themselves to accomplish goals, no matter how they feel or what other people say. “Self-motivation requires the development of inner strength, conscious will power, overwhelming desire, and the determination to reach any goal you personally want to achieve,” said Meyer.
• § All master salespeople care about other people. The best salespeople genuinely want to leave their clients better off than they found them — they’re not selling to make money, but to give their clients a needed product or service.

For more tips from Paul J. Meyer, purchase the book Pink Slip PROOF: How to Control All Future Paychecks.

 From Forbes-online 

The accelerated pace of office life has made us lose touch with common courtesies once taken for granted, like saying, ”Good morning.”

Read more