Tip 69: Do your thinking before picking up that phone

Don’t do what many people do.They call the classified ads department of their local and regional papers and craft the ad with the person in the other line.

Don’t waste time by providing information only while you’re on the phone. Instead, figure everything out in advance.

And when we say everything,we mean that by the time you call the classified ads person, you know ahead of time what your ad will look like, what it will say, where to put it, what abbreviations to use and whether or not it should have a border (experts say you don’t need a fancy border for your ad to catch the readers’ attention).

Bill Effros who sold his house in five days said that you don’t need a double column or a fancy border for your ad.