If you’re still not willing to join Facebook, this news will give you pause. Member communities – which include both blogs and social networks such as Facebook – have become more popular than personal e-mail.

In fact, according to the recent report from Nielsen Online, the category for social networks and blogs has grown twice as fast as any of the other four largest sectors: search sites, portals, PC software sites and e-mail.

“Social media is about conversation, connection and sharing stories, it’s about relationships,” said Ken Brand, Sales Manager for Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors® and avid blogger and social media expert.

Member community sites now account for one in every 11 minutes spent online globally.

Americans favor MySpace, but Facebook is the most popular networking site across the globe. In fact, Facebook is no longer just for kids. The site has added twice as many 50-64-year-old visitors as those under the age of 18.

“Social media networking is like an omnipresent party,” added Brand. “Real-time or when convenient, friends and friends of friends are catching up with what’s up. If you’re not part of the conversation, you’re invisible and mute. If you’re invisible and mute, you’ll end up moot. Have you ever seen a successful ‘hermit’ real estate agent?”

For the link to the Fox News story on the report, click here. For the link to The Pond Report article, “Intro to Social Media,” click here.

You have permission to reprint this marketing tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

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(Flickr photo by M. Keefe)

Recruiting Network Conference

April 22-24

FireSky Resort and Spa, Scottsdale, AZ

www.RecruitingNetworkConference.com

Carol Johnson

The Recruiting Network

Dear Members and Friends,

There is still time to make the decision to attend the Recruiting Network Conference. I urge you to consider that market-changing strategic moves are being made as I write you this message. Firms of all sizes are merging, rolling-in, or rolling over weaker competitors at record rates. In many markets, companies who lead the charge to recruit in the good times are suffering the pain of seeing their offices decline to unsustainable numbers.

This month, Job Loss Protection Program are being launched in many markets. They will have major positive sales impacts on companies that first bring them to their area. They will have the benefit of the radio and TV and press coverage because it will attract the media.

We will be discussing Job Loss Protection Programs, Recruiting through Social Media, and other trends and products being introduced to brokers who want to “Rock the Recession.” I invite you to make the decision to come today!

      Have you done your recruiting homework?

In this recessionary time, budgets are being cut and program decisions are being made all with an eye on the bottom line. Doing your economic homework should also include a total assessment of your recruiting, retention and agent productivity systems.

The people who are attending the Recruiting Network Conference have been given a Pre-Conference Homework Assignment and Conference Planning Guide to help them determine how to best use the time they will be spending with leading brokers, managers and recruiting experts.

If you would like to do your homework and review your systems we will make this eight-page document available to you and your management team. There is still time to become a part of this amazing group. Call for information TODAY: 847-524-8487

Recruiting Network Conference April 22-24

FireSky Resort and Spa, Scottsdale, AZ

2009 Pre-Conference Homework

2009 Conference Brochure

Visit Our Web sites:

http://www.recruitingnetworkconference.com/

www.RecruitingPipeline.com

The number-one real estate sales trainer in North America, Mark Leader offers three levels of training and coaching that have helped tens of thousands of salespeople dramatically increase their production and revenues. We asked Mark about the real estate industry and he didn’t pull any punches.

Click here to read his interview.

Audrey Whittington is the Northeast Regional Vice President for Cyberhomes, an online real estate database with more than 100 million property, ownership, sales and mortgage records. Learn about her unique contribution to her company and how she balances work and an active family life.

Click here to read her interview.

by Jan Richards

Wrong! Decision-making is where the strengths and weaknesses of a team – or a company – rapidly become apparent. Ask a senior manager or any employee at your company how well the decision-making works. You’re likely to hear frustration and at least a few ideas about how to make better decisions, such as:

·      Decisions never really happen around here; or if they do, they take forever. Everyone has an opinion on everything. Nobody has any real facts.

·      We spend a lot of time gathering loads of information, and then our manager does what he wants, even if the data we gather points to a different direction than the one he takes.

·      The team makes a decision, but as soon as the meeting is over and the members go their separate ways, many of them undercut the decisions. There's no real teamwork in our group, just the appearance of it in meetings.

Do any of these comments sound familiar? If so, there are ways you can improve the decision-making process, enabling you to save time and money and improve the goodwill of your employees.
 

1. Decide How to Decide
2. Frame the Decision
3. Gather Information
4. Decide – Draw a Conclusion
5. Evaluate and Improve

1. Decide How to Decide

Before your group meets to discuss a new project or issue, choose the people who will contribute to the decision and what role each person will play. Communicate the process and roles to everyone involved, so you eliminate the potential for misunderstanding. Additional questions to consider include:

·      Who usually makes this type of decision and how? What’s the best way to make this decision – independently, in a group, by consensus, majority vote, or some other way?

·      Whom does this decision affect? What impact does this decision have?

·      How will you best spend your time during the process? Determine what you can delegate and what you must do yourself.

·      What are the largest risks involved in making this decision, and how can you reduce those risks?

·      Will you use a linear process? It may be better to “chunk” this decision into smaller ones that can be made concurrently or sequentially.

·      Do you have prior experience you can draw on to make this decision? Are there others from whom you could learn in order to improve the process before proceeding?

·      Are the deadlines real? Does your team really need to make a decision now?

·      What natural biases do you have that could influence the way you seek or evaluate the information necessary to make a decision?

2. Frame the Decision

Be clear about the problem you're addressing. Create a clear, common vision of a good decision and its outcome. This can take some time, but it's time well spent, as it focuses the rest of the decision-making process.

Define the specific criteria you'll use to make the decision, based on stakeholder requirements for a good outcome. Make sure everyone who is involved knows the criteria.

3. Gather Information

Decide what information you must have to make the decision and when and how you need it. It’s easy to spend a lot of time and effort gathering information that's not actually needed or used.

Make sure to gather some information that tests and challenges your basic assumptions in case they’re wrong. This is especially important in situations where conditions are changing rapidly and the cost of a wrong decision is high. Record your assumptions, so you can return to them later when needed.

4. Decide – Draw a Conclusion

When the pressure is on, as it often is, stick with the well-planned process you've created. This is especially important – and difficult – if the team is losing focus and starting to react rather than act. Keep everyone directed towards the clear vision you used to frame your decision at the beginning of the process.

If you can’t draw a conclusion, identify what the barriers are and resolve them. Then try again. This may take longer than you had planned, or feel you can take, but you’re likely to spend less time than if you don’t pause to fix the problem – even if you consult an outside expert to help. You don’t want your team stuck in a “spin cycle” of inaction or infighting, which can be very expensive and damaging to the group.

5. Evaluate and Improve

Set up a way to learn from the process you’ve used, so you can improve decision-making in the future. When enough time has passed to see the results, but not so much that it’s no longer fresh, take some time to:

·      Record what you thought would happen, your assumptions and predictions.

·      Compare the results with what you expected to occur. Be careful here. It's easy to rewrite history (intentionally or accidentally) to make it fit the way things happened. To learn and improve, you need to take an honest look at how the process worked – or didn’t.

·      If the process worked, congratulate yourselves. Record what you did so you can repeat the process the next time. If it didn’t go well, make note of why and what you’d do differently next time to improve the experience and outcome.

Finally, keep in mind that decision-making is a process; and like any process, you can improve it – often significantly. 

Jan Richards, J. G. Richards Consulting, helps companies improve profitability and revenues while decreasing business complexity and costs. This occurs in many different business-improving ways, such as by clarifying company visions, goals and priorities, creating strategic and action plans, and implementing effective, user-friendly business process design, management, and improvement practices.

To learn more about how Jan can help your business, too, give her a call at (408) 249-7287 or visit her Web site, http://www.jgrichardsresults.com or her blog, http://www.jgrichardsresultsblog.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jan_Richards

(Flickr photo by Terriko)

As MLS and real estate organizations cope with rising member expectations and falling revenues, they are looking for innovative, cost-saving solutions.

Rapattoni Corp. has been setting the standards for solutions including Internet-based multiple listing systems, real estate association management software, logon authentication service and single sign-on (SSO) technology. It will showcase its products at the REALTORS® Midyear Trade Expo:

REALTORS® Midyear Trade Expo, May 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

Rapattoni: Booth #323

For more information, including the time and location of the annual Rapattoni MLS Users Group Meeting, visit www.rapattoni.com/nar.

Despite what you may see at your local mall, economic downturns don't necessitate discounting. In fact, many loyal customers may not expect lower prices no matter what the economic climate.

Accenture’s Paul Nunes details some “Pricing Strategies for the Downturn” in a recent blog posting. He says before lowering your prices across the board, consider these alternatives:

• Discount on a customer-by-customer basis. Recession consumers are not afraid to haggle. Instead of offering a discount upfront, let the customer request it. Don’t forget to empower and train your sales people to negotiate effectively.
• Offer layaway. These payment deferral programs are enjoying a revival, and not just at Kmart. Consumers can put items from online retailers on layaway with a new company called eLayaway.
• Create a perceived discount. Include an extra amount for free. This seems like an old trick but it's one that works and may be especially appealing to today's cost-conscious consumers.

SOURCE: Harvard Business Publishing blog

(Flickr photo by d.i.o.d.e.)

While males are not in the majority, either in the U.S. population or online, they definitely spend more time – more often – online.

eMarketer™, the digital marketing and media analysis company, estimates there are 95.9 million males online in 2009, compared with 103.2 million females.

That 48.2-to-51.8 split in percentages will continue to grow as the U.S. Internet population grows. By 2013, males are expected to make up just 47.9 percent of the online population. eMarketer says the gender factor is crucial for Internet use.

But as for time, wow, the average time spent online in November 2008 for males was 4.4 hours longer than females. (Source: Nielsen Online, 12/08.) A January Gallup poll found 53 percent of males spent more than 1 hour per day on the Internet, versus 42 percent of females to do so.

Females were also more likely to have been online for less than an hour a day, 19 percent vs. 15 percent of males. And 20 percent of females had “never” been online, compared to only 15 percent of males.

“Men spend more time online, conduct more searches on a daily basis and do not mind seeing ads,” said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Men Online. “They are as engaged in social media as women are, and most are not put off by the companies and brands they find there.”

For the more complete eMarketer article, click here.

You have permission to reprint this marketing tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

©2009, FrogPond. All rights reserved. FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG (3784) or e-mail Susie@frogpond.com today. Take the Tour

In a tough market, real estate professionals need all the help they can get when it comes to showing houses to their buyers. And GE Security is opening doors for your sales professionals!

With the Supra iBox™ and Supra ActiveKEY™ products – in addition to software for BlackBerry® devices now approved to open lockboxes – GE Security has a full lineup of products to view at the upcoming REALTORS® Midyear:

REALTORS® Midyear Trade Expo, May 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

GE Security: Booth #204

GE Security is the company that introduced the first mechanical lockbox, and it hasn’t stopped innovating. MLSs can now offer the ability for agents’ smartphones to become lockbox keys. For information about all the latest GE Security products, click here.

As newspapers across the United States close (click here for article), an interesting phenomenon is happening.

A recent study by Alloy Access found that of the 1,030 respondents in the top five states measured for Hispanic population, 82 percent read Hispanic publications and reported sharing their copy with at least one other person. 

In addition, 26 percent of readers share their paper with at least four others.

Though Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Hulu™ and MySpace are all common hubs for today’s mobile and digitally connected youth, young Hispanic consumers look to their Hispanic newspaper as an important source for news, entertainment and product information.

Also, 63 percent of Hispanic newspaper readers report looking at the advertisements at least frequently, with 24 percent stating they always pay attention to ads. Overall:

• 39 percent report sharing advertising information with a friend
• 34 percent have gone to an advertiser's Web site after reading an ad
• 20 percent of respondents have attended an event, such as a festival or job fair in response to an advertisement
• 25 percent of the 25-34-year-old segment state they are most likely to have called or visited a retail store in response to an ad
• 55 percent of all Hispanic newspaper readers state they use coupons from the newspaper at least occasionally, with almost one-third using coupons frequently.

Clara Padilla Andrews, president of the National Association of Hispanic Publications, concludes that “.. Hispanic print is alive and stronger than ever... circulation continues to increase... (and) is the trusted source of news and information for the growing Hispanic population.”

©2009 MediaPost Communications

(Flickr photo by quinn.anya)

Improve the revenue assurance and organizational security of your MLS organization with two new products from Clareity Security: Scout and Sentry for SAFEMLS®.

These new products, offered through a recent partnership with AdmitOne Security, form an intelligence-driven authentication suite that brings the benefits of strong authentication at a lower administrative cost. At the same time, the SAFEMLS suite maintains the existing user experience for legitimate users.

Clareity will feature its security products, including Scout, Sentry and its new Single Sign-On (SSO) solution at the upcoming REALTORS® Midyear Trade Expo:

REALTORS® Midyear Trade Expo, May 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

Clareity Security: Booth #519

Clareity Security is the leading provider of security products and services for the real estate and mortgage industries. Its products help MLS organizations and real estate professionals easily and effectively safeguard sensitive consumer information against unauthorized access. At the same time, they provide next-generation strong-authentication solutions for secure online transactions.

Strong authentication transparently monitors user access, continuously analyzes for unauthorized use, and automatically applies security policies for remediation. The new SAFEMLS Suite from Clareity offers a convenient end user experience without compromising security or the opportunity for organizations to recover revenue from account sharing.

Scout’s analytics are able to transparently monitor and identify unauthorized use, and Sentry’s zero-footprint authentication can stop unauthorized use without having to provision hardware, software, or certificates to members.

       New Single Sign-On (SSO) solution

Clareity Security also now offers a secure Single Sign-On (SSO) solution for its SAFEMLS and SAFEACCESS™ customers. The product enables SSO across multiple applications, providing end-user convenience by allowing users access without having to login multiple times.

SSO has gained in popularity due the convenience of navigating freely and securely between various applications. A robust, vendor-independent SSO solution became a natural extension of the Clareity Security suite of products. Having strong, two-factor authentication as a part of the implementation of SSO is critical to ensuring systems are properly secured against unauthorized access and data breaches.

Clareity Security pioneered secure SSO in the real estate industry by working with MLS system vendors and other application providers. With partial funding from NAR, the company developed and released a free software toolkit to facilitate open-standards-based Single Sign-On in 2007.

Be sure to stop by Clareity Security’s booth at Midyear. For additional information on its products and services, click here.

Maybe you were laid off from that corporate job and you’re looking to start the business you’ve always dreamed of. Well, be careful about going to family members for the capital.

A recent article in The Tennessean gives some great tips to ensure generous relatives know what they’re getting into – and you don’t get into trouble with the IRS!

The housing market may be slower, but life keeps moving forward and housing changes are a part of life. Are you or your parents looking at an oversized backyard and too many rooms to take care of in the old homestead?

One of our favorite real estate columnists, Lew Sichelman, and reporter Greg Pearson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently have written excellent columns on downsizing – or “rightsizing” – homes and the possessions they contain.

For those of us who are facing a wrenching decision by aging parents, the two articles include great tips as well as references to a book entitled, “Downsizing Your Home with Style.”

Click here for Sichelman’s column and click here for Pearson’s column.

You have permission to reprint this marketing tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

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Over the past six years, blog search engine Technorati has indexed 133 million blogs.

In a survey of 1,290 of its registered bloggers in 66 countries, Technorati found that 79 percent blog about personal interests, 46 percent blog about their industry or profession, but not in an official capacity, and 12 percent blog on behalf of their companies.

SOURCE: Technorati

With populations between 250,000 and 1 million people, mid-sized metropolitan areas can be an attractive place to live.

A recent bizjournals™ quality-of-life study rated Provo, Utah, as number one in U.S. mid-sized metros, with Boulder, Colo., and Madison, Wis., coming right behind.

The study compared 124 mid-sized metros in 20 statistical categories, with high scores going to a healthy economy, light traffic, moderate cost of living, strong educational systems and “impressive” housing stock.

The article includes methodology for the study and profiles of the top 10:

1. Provo, Utah
2. Boulder, Colo.
3. Madison, Wis.
4. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.
5. Ann Arbor, Mich.
6. Ogden, Utah
7. Fort Collins, Colo.
8. Boise, Idaho
9. Colorado Springs, Colo.
10. Des Moines, Iowa

by Stefan Swanepoel (updated from the 2008 TRENDS Report)

Similar to our real estate market the Australian and New Zealand real estate markets also experienced a strong surge in property prices during the period from 2002 to 2007 but, although not caught in the subprime mess of the USA, they could not escape the resulting global hangover.

That coupled with the rising price of oil and “Down Under” is also feeling the pain of a poor real estate market. Their market is currently experiencing a significant and dramatic decline in sales with March numbers down approximately 50 percent in New Zealand.

As Australia is much larger in size and thus more diverse, the declines vary depending on the state. The overall market is definitely slowing to the same extent as New Zealand – the following provides you a snapshot of what’s happening:

·         Queensland - sales numbers down 30 percent

·         New South Wales – slow, no real change the last 18-24 months

·         Victoria - sales numbers down 25 percent

·         South Australia - sales numbers up 20 percent

·         Tasmania - sales numbers down 15 percent

·         Western Australia - sales numbers down 50 percent

Similar to the initial stages we experienced in the U.S., the pressure is on prices to decline but many sellers are still holding out, so no major reductions yet. Although not significant, nor expected to become as significant as in the U.S., foreclosures are also slowly on the rise. As is the case here, the general mood in New Zealand and Australia is fairly gloomy.

What is interesting is that the utilization of the Web by the public in Australia and New Zealand is amongst the highest in the developed world. It’s this global down-market phenomenon and the surging usage of the Web that is going to be the catalyst to re-engineer the real estate brokerage industry.

For those who have not been “Down Under” – neither country has a MLS (multiple listing system) so the influence of the Web and its use for the marketing of houses, has a different dynamic than in the U.S.

Both countries however do have a powerful, national real estate portal that is focussed and drives significant traffic to their Web sites and basically functions as a national MLS. The two sites also have similar names although owned by different entities: http://www.realestate.co.nz/ in New Zealand and http://www.realestate.com.au/ in Australia.

Watch these two countries carefully, as in some cases they may actually leap-frog the U.S. and lead the way with respect to Web-based real estate innovation.

This is an extract of the Swanepoel TRENDS Report (2008 edition) and an update of current market conditions at end of January by the author, industry visionary Stefan Swanepoel. The author recommends that every serious agent that wishes to survive through this downturn should get this 170-page “must-read” Report. To order your copy with a special discount for Pond Report readers, click here.

Stefan Swanepoel is widely recognized as the leading visionary on trends and change in the real estate industry. He has penned 13 books, white papers and reports. Stefan serves as Chairman and CEO of RealtyU Group Inc., the largest career-development company in the real estate industry educating over 350,000 agents every year.

You have permission to reprint this marketing tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

©2009, Stefan Swanepoel. All rights reserved. FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG (3784) or e-mail Susie@frogpond.com today. Take the Tour

(Flickr photo by Wonderlane)

Hugs, The Frog

Susie Hale, President
Frog Pond
FrogPond Publisher
800.704.FROG (3764)
susie@frogpond.com

The Pond Report is published monthly by eFrog Pond, Inc. Our corporate address is 101 Westcott, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77007. We never rent, trade or sell our e-mail list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to subscribe FREE to The Pond Report, click here. To unsubscribe or notify us of change of e-mail address, click here.  

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