1. Strip off a good bit of the outer cable jacket (like 2~3")
2. Untwist the pairs right up to the remaining jacket.
3. Straighten the wires as much as possible (straightening/smoothing using fingers)
4. Put the wires in correct order NOW.
5. *Try to minimize wires crossed directly over one another. Otherwise, after trimming a crossed wire will be too short*
6. Hold the wires in the correct place by pinching them right at the jacket end.
7. Using a GOOD pair of wire cutters, trim the wires down until no more than 1/2"~5/8" is sticking out of the jacket.
8. *Trim the wires straight across*
9. Recheck the wire order.
10. Keep pinching the wires in place, while SLOWLY and CAREFULLY threading the wires into the RJ-45 end.
11. Make sure ALL the wires reach all the way to the end. You should see glints of copper all the way across.
12. Keep pinching the wires in place EVEN while crimping (to prevent backout).
13. Recheck the "copper glints" after crimping.
14. Make sure your crimping tool and ends are MATCHED (may not get a good crimp otherwise).
15. TEST TEST TEST your cables!
HTH
P.S. Added tip: Don't kink, crush, fold or otherwise mutilate the CAT5 cabling. If you see a damaged spot, or even a hint of one, start with a fresh section of wire.