Last month I attended an industry conference, the highlight of which was the keynote speaker. He was funny, likable, dynamic, and commanded our full engagement. We laughed at his jokes and nodded at his personal anecdotes. But when he challenged us with a poignant question, the air suddenly thickened and the room went silent.

The speaker knew what he was doing. He stood his ground, letting us stew in our paralysis. I glanced around the room. Brows were furrowed. Lips were pursed. Clearly, the audience was bursting with opinions, but no one was speaking. After several more uncomfortable moments, a woman dared to raise her hand with an answer. The speaker responded, the rest of us relaxed, a few more hands went up, and the discussion picked up momentum.

What struck me most about that moment was the silence. There was no logical reason for it. If the speaker and I had been sitting down over coffee and he had asked his question, I would have said something. But instead, I waited for someone else–anyone else–to go first. The rest of the audience seemed to be experiencing the same anxiety. The last thing any of us wanted was to raise our hand and sound like an idiot. So we all let the woman take that risk (she sounded fine, of course).

I was reminded of David McRainey's book, You Are Not So Smart, in which he described a 1970 experiment that explored this behavioral phenomenon. Psychologists Bibb Latane and John Darley invited people into their office to fill out a questionnaire. After a few minutes, smoke would start to seep into the room from one of the air vents. In the first version of the experiment, the subject was alone. In the second version, there were two other people in the room filling out questionnaires.

When alone, the subject would get up after a few seconds, inspect the smoke, and leave the room to tell the experimenter about the problem. But when the same experiment included a small group, everyone just sat there, looking at each other, waiting for someone else to get up and do something. On average, it took six minutes for someone to leave the room, by which point they could barely make their way to the door from all the smoke.

Latane and Darley's experiment proved that, in a group dynamic, fear of embarrassment can be far more debilitating than our fear of death. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are much more interested in what other people think of us than we are in being leaders.

Like pack animals, human beings are hard-wired to stick with the group. After all, there is safety in numbers. But our conformist instinct presents an opportunity if you have the courage to step forward, because the moment you do, you'll have everyone else's full attention. It's worth the risk. It's your moment to shine.

So the next time you're in a group, dare to be the one who stands up and says, "I smell smoke. I'm going to investigate." Be the first one to raise your hand at a conference and answer the speaker's question. Let your voice be the one that leads a discussion in a new direction. Your courage will bring you the attention, respect, and admiration of those who hesitated. And ultimately you'll find that their fear is good for your success.

David Ackert is a business development consultant to service professionals. He is the founder of Practice Boomers, the e-learning program for lawyers, CPAs, and other advisors. You can follow his blog at www.ackertadvisory.com.

Smart car buyers know they should never pay full sticker price. But what's the right target price? And what if you weren't born with the haggling gene? If just the thought of doing battle with the dealer makes you want to take the bus instead, a car-buying service may be for you. We checked out a few services to see how good the deals are.

Join the club. The most popular car-buying service is Zag. Never heard of it? That's not surprising – it's the company behind the affinity buying services of American Express, USAA and AAA, among others. The service is free (or a free membership perk) and offers pre-negotiated prices on new cars with participating dealers. Not a customer or member of a group associated with Zag? Just go to www.zag.com.

To be certified by Zag, dealers must agree to pass on 100% of the cash incentives they get from manufacturers – including dealer cash. Each pricing report has a link to TrueCar (Zag is owned by the company) to show you how good the price is.

The process is simple. Choose the model, trim level and options. You'll be offered the lowest prices from three local dealers. You print a certificate with the price and take it to the dealer. We shopped for a 2012 Ford Fusion SE and found it for nearly $2,700 under invoice, including a $1,500 cash rebate. (Deals on used cars are available through many affinity groups that use Zag's system, too.)

Costco offers its members a buying service, but it's less transparent than the Zag services. Logging on to www.costcoauto.com and entering your membership number will get you access to dealers with pre-negotiated member prices, but the prices aren't available online. Getting the member price from the dealer was also difficult, but a Costco spokesman told us that the Fusion SE would sell for $500 below invoice. That didn't include the $1,500 cash rebate (rebates have to be factored in separately).

Keep in mind that dealers pay a fee to affinity and club programs such as Zag and Costco for the business. There are lots of similar services out there, but ask a few questions before you sign on. Does the service state its best deal in addition to the invoice price and the sticker price? Does the price include all the options you want? What about fees? Taxes, tags and title fees probably won't be included, but document fees and regional advertising fees should be. No matter what service you use, run a report on the model you want at TrueCar.com to see its assessment of a good (and great) price.

Negotiators for hire. Clubs that offer group discounts and accept dealer fees may not land you the lowest price. The best prices often come from services that will do the haggling for you for a fee.

One of the least expensive negotiating services is CarBargains, the buying service of the nonprofit Consumers' Checkbook organization. For $200, it will get bids on the model with the options you want from five local dealers, asking them to compete against one another. You get a detailed pricing report from each dealer and can go to any of them to purchase your vehicle, but you're under no obligation to buy. CarBargains shops for Kiplinger's Best New models each year and routinely gets prices at or under invoice on redesigns and brand-new models.

Authority Auto is the Cadillac of buying services. It charges $595 to $1,195, based on the price of the car. But in addition to finding the car and negotiating the price, Authority reviews the contract and even delivers the vehicle to you. The service also negotiates each part of the transaction – dealer-installed options, the price of your trade-in, the financing and extended warranties. If you have done the haggling yourself but are not sure you've gotten the best price, Authority will take a crack at getting a better deal. If it can, you split the difference; if it can't, you pay nothing.

Reprinted with permission. All Contents ©2012 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. www.kiplinger.com.

The good news–despite what the Mayan calendar may say–is that the world probably won't be coming to an end in 2012. But like 2011, this coming year may bring some significant challenges here in the US and around the world. Read on to learn more about what could be ahead for home loan rates.

First, let's take a minute to recap 2011. While home loan rates finished the year at historically low levels, the housing market did not see a major improvement in the second half of the year as some experts expected. The labor market did make some modest improvements, but it is still persistently weak and this is one area of the economy in particular that we need to see consistent improvement in to help our long-term economic outlook.

Also weighing on consumer confidence and thus the economy in 2011 was the first downgrade of US Debt in history, thanks in part to our very divisive government body. Finally, the worsening and spreading debt crisis in Europe capped a year filled with financial and political uncertainty. The situation in Europe is the perfect place to begin a 2012 outlook.

Eurozone Debt Crisis
What may happen with the US economy and home loan rates in 2012–not to mention with inflation, the housing market, the job market, and even the Presidential election–may be dramatically influenced by how the Eurozone handles their debt crisis. In the simplest of terms, the issue is that like much of the developed economies around the world, Europe has way too much debt. And a lot of this debt sits on the books of the banking sector throughout the Eurozone.

In good economic times, banks could potentially "grow" their way out of their recapitalization problem by doing a lot of business and writing a bunch of loans. But that is not likely to happen with the Eurozone slipping into a recession in the first half of 2012.

Ultimately, Europe needs to provide a large financial backstop for their banks and sovereign debt in order to fix their problems longer-term. And this is something that Germany, who holds the cards in this negotiation, strongly opposes. Germany prefers to have each country shore up their own individual finances, act responsibly, and pay down their debt. Yet, Greece, Italy and other highly indebted countries have struggled to invoke tough austerity measures that would help them do so.

The situation in Europe is definitely a wild card headed into 2012. The bottom line is that as long as the uncertainty continues, the US Dollar and US Bonds should benefit, as investors will see our Bonds (including Mortgage Bonds, upon which home loan rates are based) as a safe haven for their money. This could help keep our home loan rates relatively low in 2012.

Inflation
One factor that we can't ignore when it comes to home loan rates is inflation. Why? Inflation is the arch enemy of Bonds and home loan rates, because if inflation rises, investors in Bonds demand a higher yield to offset the lost buying power inflation imposes on a fixed payment. And as home loan rates are tied to Mortgage Bonds, this would mean home loan rates move higher. That's why sometimes even hints or whispers that inflation is on the rise causes Bonds and home loan rates to worsen.

So what's ahead for inflation in 2012? In the Fed's Policy Statement from the December 13, 2011 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed stated that inflation is moderating...which would be good news for home loan rates. However, it's important to note that core consumer level inflation actually inched higher in 2011.

Last year, consumer inflation and the expectation of inflation rose as the Fed embarked on a second round of Quantitative Easing (QE2) in the fall of 2010, whereby they bought Mortgage Bonds to help boost the economy and the housing market. If inflation remains at current levels or pulls back a little, the Fed may just do another round of QE3 in the spring. Also paving the way for another round of QE is the change of guard at the Fed. Several hawkish (i.e., tough on inflation) voting members are being replaced by more dovish (i.e., softer on inflation) voting members in 2012.

The bottom line is that if the Fed does another round of QE, this could cause inflation to rise. And if inflation does rise in 2012, it could have a negative impact on home loan rates. However, if the uncertainty out of Europe continues to lead to a safe haven trade in our Bond markets–and remember, this helps Mortgage Bonds and therefore home loan rates–this could essentially balance out the negative impact inflation usually has on Bonds and home loan rates. Only time will tell whether inflation or the events in Europe have a bigger impact on the markets and home loan rates.

The Big Picture
In many ways, 2012 may feel a lot like 2011. Inflation and events in Europe will continue to play a big part in the direction home loan rates move in 2012. What's more, history has shown that Bonds move higher (which means home loan rates move lower) in anticipation of QE, but then selloff once the official announcement is made…think "buy on the rumor and sell on the news."

If that does happen, the first half of 2012 could be an especially great time to purchase or refinance a home. But even if the Fed does not move forward with QE3, we begin 2012 with home loan rates near historic lows, which already makes this year a great time to purchase or refinance a home. If you have any questions about how you can benefit from this situation, contact the professional who supplied you with this month's issue of YOU Magazine.

Wishing you a wonderful and successful 2012!