Step 0 : Prep your working environment

Preparation is vital if you want to come out of the back end of a project smelling of roses and looking awesome.

Studio setup :
Ensure there is a constant flow of coffee, invest in a couple of days worth of tobacco, get some half-decent red wine and tell the wife to hide your weed (we're trying to actually achieve something here)


Max setup:
I will be using certain features a lot during this process. I have mapped the functions I use most often to keyboard shortcuts or added them to quad menus. I suggest you do the same, here's some of them...

Keyboard:
W = select loop
E = select ring
Q = show end result toggle
X = toggle edge constraint (edit poly)
shift+X = toggle normal constraint (edit poly)
R=right view
K=back view
B=bottom view

Quads:
left lower quad > edit poly = detach

Another shortcut I recommend learning is this...
alt+Q = isolate selection

Also, set your default viewport orbit behaviour to "around selected subobject" by clicking and holding the orbit tool button and choosing the bottom-most option

Having done this, max changes from a pretty decent modeller into an unstoppable modelling powerhouse.