Industry Visionary Interview

                          Robert Moles

Robert Moles is Chairman of Intero Real Estate Services.

He is widely regarded as a distinguished leader in the industry and a keen observer in the areas of policy and market trends.

Email Bob

Voices of Women Interview

                       Laurie Moore-Moore

Laurie is Founder and President of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing with more than 5000 members on four continents. The Institute awards the international Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation. She is author of the book “Rich Buyer, Rich Seller!  The Real Estate Agents’ Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes.”

Email Laurie

Nationally known and respected HAR President & CEO Bob Hale is once again being honored as a newsmaker. The Houston Chronicle business section Moneymakers feature posed its classic 5 questions to the HAR leader.  We say, "congratulations" to Bob and HAR!

"Converting Clicks into Clients"

We all want to learn how to generate more leads through technology. MostHome's Ken Galpin and Jim Secord have written White Paper that gives us great insight.

Here's one question the paper addresses: What is CEM?

"Customer Experience Management (CEM) is a business strategy which recognizes, that while a consumer is visiting your company’s website, they are ‘in’ your office. An effective CEM system includes a combination of informative website content, engaging tools and functionality, along with timely human interaction for customer service, qualification and management.

CEM is the engine that builds the real estate company’s brand, keeps customers coming back to the online office and results in effectively placing the Broker at the center of the real estate transaction. Successfully executed, CEM provides the opportu­nity to deliver the company’s core services such as mortgage, title, appraisal and more, to the brokers customers."

Click to read...

I know that’s kind of a harsh question, but answering it is absolutely central to your company’s long-term success.  Have you ever walked into a business and said to yourself, “This place won't be here in 6 months;”  and when you come back 6 months later, it’s gone?

It happens all the time.

The only reason you should be in business – whatever type of business – is to offer something special to your members or customers.  Something unique.  Something uncommon.  Something that helps you stand out from everyone else in your market.

This “something special” is your Unique Selling Proposition, and it can be based on an almost infinite number of characteristics including location, price, market segment, process, customer need, support, or guarantees.

But it has to be based on something.  And you have to be able to communicate it clearly and consistently to your members, customers, and prospects. 

If you’re not sure where to start, try answering these four questions:

1. What is different about what you provide or how you provide it that sets you apart from your competition?
2. If you closed up shop tomorrow what impact would it have on your customers’ lives?
3. What could you tell a prospective customer that would cause them to drop everything and come see you right away?
4. Why should prospective members join and become active in your association versus all the other options they have?

The answers to these questions will help you define a clear and compelling USP that you can use as a foundation for staking out and owning your market.

In some respects choosing the right VA to work with can be harder than hiring an employee. After all, due to the nature of virtual working, the chances are you may never meet this person face to face, or even have a phone conversation with them. All communication may be carried out via email. So, given these circumstances, how do you know that working with a VA, and even finding the right VA, will be for you?

The numerous benefits of working with a VA are well documented, and there are many, many clients worldwide who will testify to the advantages of this way of working. The purpose of this article is to help you in your decision of choosing the right Virtual Assistant (VA), and give you some pointers along the way.

1. The first thing to consider is what it is you want your VA to do for you. Ask yourself these sorts of questions:

• What is the nature of my project?
  
• Do I need to hire a ‘local’ VA versus ‘anywhere’?
  
• Do I need to have regular meetings with my VA?

The very nature of virtual working means that when working with a VA location isn’t an issue, after all a VA can carry out all the duties a regular in-office secretary can do (except make you a coffee!) – they can manage your diary, handle your emails, deal with your correspondence, type up reports, make your travel arrangements etc. etc. However, if you feel that working with a local VA is what you need, then you should focus your search on just local VAs. However, be aware that by doing this you may be limiting your options when choosing the right VA.

2. Once you have decided on the above issues, and you know exactly what it is you want your VA to do, then make an initial contact with several VAs and send the same RFP (Request for Proposal) to each of them so that you can make some initial comparisons. This should include such things as an outline of the project details, asking about their fees/fee structure, how they would go about doing the work for you, how would you receive/send work etc. Basically include anything that you have thought about and would like answers to.

3. If you’re not sure how to go about finding VAs that meet your requirements, then there are several FREE searchable databases available where you can source and then contact VAs directly. These databases also list skills and location. These are:

• Alliance of UK Virtual Assistants – http://www.allianceofukvirtualassistants.org.uk/
• International Virtual Assistants Associations – http://www.ivaa.net/
• International Association of Virtual Office Assistants – http://www.iavoa.com/
• The Virtual Business Group – http://www.virtualbizgroup.com/
• Digital Women – http://www.digital-women.com/
• International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce - http://www.ivwcc.com/

4. Once you've narrowed it down to two or three VAs, have a phone conversation with them (rather than exchange emails), as this will give you a good idea as to whether the VA is right for you, i.e. do you and this person 'click'. This is very important as you will be trusting your business to your VA and, as you are in a 'virtual' working relationship, it is not quite the same as having someone sitting next to you in the office - so you really do have to feel that this person has the right experience and you can trust them to deal with your work. Also, from the VA’s point of view, they need to feel that you are the right client for them. This is a two-way street where you both need to feel completely happy with the working relationship.

5. Another very important consideration is does your VA’s skills match your needs? Check out their websites, view client’s testimonials, and examine their profile. If necessary ask if you can contact either a current or previous client for a reference.

6. Always ensure that you sign an agreement before any work starts so that you both know exactly what is expected of each other. The agreement should set out project requirements, fees (or an estimation of fees), VA's terms & conditions, client confidentiality policy etc. Your VA will provide the agreement, and you should both keep a signed copy.

7. And finally, contact your potential VA as many times as you feel necessary to ensure that you are 100% happy with them before any work starts.

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

Copyright© 2006, Tracey Lawson.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles by Tracey Lawson at FrogPond.com

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

SAN ANTONIO (mysanantonio.com) – Montelongo House Buyers, a company that purchases at least 25 houses a month to fix and resell for a profit, are the newest stars of the A&E channel reality TV show “Flip This House.” Five years ago, Armando Montelongo Jr. borrowed $1,000 to relocate his family from Southern California to his native San Antonio. Now, the Montelongos flip more houses than the original cast.

San Antonio’s real estate market played a pivotal role in A&E’s decision to cast the family. "We picked San Antonio because it's one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in the country," Liz Tracy, the show's producer, said. Last December San Antonio was picked by Fortune magazine as the nation's best real estate market, with 9 percent appreciation predicted for 2007.

 Source: RECON, Texas A & M University

Everyone is a Teacher

Every time a staff member interacts with anyone during the course of business, they are a teacher. They are teaching that person about your firm. That is why it is important to develop your staff as teacher/trainers.

From internal policies and procedures training to educating a prospect, member or customer on a new product or service, each associate has a lot to offer.

Here is the key way to train staff to be teachers:

Find one thing they are better at than anyone else and have them teach it to newcomers. It doesn’t matter if it is a small as knowing the right way to make coffee. It is important to empower each team member to share their knowledge; because if they offer the information on coffee making, they are more likely to share those critical statistics for the annual report in a timely manner. This creates a culture of cooperation.

Once a staff member can teach something small, they are better equipped to teach anyone they come in contact with the uses and benefits of your products and services.  

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

Copyright© 2006, 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 email Susie@frogpond.com today. Take our Tour

Expert Communications

The success of any business doesn’t depend only on the quality of the product. It depends as much on the quality of the service you provide. One of the best services you can provide to your members, employees and customers is excellent communications.

One of the best ways to connect with your audience is through an easy to create ezine or newsletter created by online marketing software tools like the ones from FrogPond.

In crafting your communications, here are six steering questions to ask yourself:

Who is your audience?

What are they interested in?

What image do I want to present?

Are you going to focus on a product or a service?

What would you like to offer of value to your reader?

What action would you like your reader to take?

When you have a clear answer to those questions, you are ready to put together your publication and have it hit your target market.

The Best Gift to Give Yourself and Others by Jim Rohn

I'm often asked the question, "How can I best help my children, spouse, family member, staff member, friend etc. improve/change?" In fact that might be the most frequently asked question I receive, "How can I help change someone else?"

My answer often comes as a surprise and here it is. The key to helping others is to help yourself first. In other words, the best contribution I can make to someone else is my own personal development. If I become 10 times wiser, 10 times stronger, think of what that will do for my adventure as a father... as a grandfather... as a business colleague.

The best gift I can give to you, really, is my ongoing personal development. Getting better, getting stronger, becoming wiser. I think parents should pick this valuable philosophy up. If the parents are okay, the kids have an excellent chance of being okay. Work on your personal development as parents; that's the best gift you can give to your children.

If you have ever ridden in an airplane, then you might have noticed the oxygen compartment located above every seat. There are explicit instructions that say "In case of an emergency, first secure your own oxygen mask and then if you have children with you then secure their masks." Take care of yourself first... then assist your children. If we use that same philosophy throughout our whole parental life, it would be so valuable.

If I learn to create happiness for myself, my children now have an excellent chance to be happy. If I create a unique lifestyle for myself and my spouse, that will be a great example to serve my children.

Self-development enables you to serve, to be more valuable to those around you; for your child... your business... your colleague... your community... your church.

That's why I teach development skills. If you keep refining all the parts of your character, yourself, your health, etc. so that you become an attractive person to the marketplace - you'll attract opportunity. Opportunity will then begin to seek you out. Your reputation will begin to precede you and people will want to do business with you. All of that possibility is created by working on the philosophy that success is something you attract by continually working on your own personal development.

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

Copyright© 2006, Jim Rohn.  All rights reserved. FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles by Jim Rohn at FrogPond.com

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

Every family meeting needs a Chairperson-someone to set the tone, to keep everyone on task, and provide leadership. But choosing the right person can be difficult, especially in large organizations. One effective way to handle the chairing of the meeting is to rotate the chairs. This gives every family member an opportunity to lead, which helps in his or her personal development and organizational skills as well as sharing the responsibility. Having a primary controlling member chair the meeting can lead to limited group participation or not following through with what was said or agreed upon. For instance, if the chair is Mom or Dad, some family members may always agree with them because they are Mom or Dad not because that is what is best for the business. Whoever acts as the meeting's chairperson, his or her main responsibilities include:

• Organizing the agenda;
• Including everone in the discussion;
• Handling conflict;
• Defining and assinging tasks;
• Encouraging group participation;
• Listening to other viewpoints; and
• Wrapping up the discussion.

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

Copyright© 2006, Laura Michaud.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles by Laura Michaud at FrogPond.com

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

If you are a single adult reading a news story about a teenager killed on a motorcycle because he wasn't wearing a safety helmet, you may feel sorry, shake your head, and continue reading. However, if you're a parent who just bought your 18-year-old a motorcycle and had an argument with him or her about the importance of wearing a safety helmet, you probably will tune in a little closer to the statistics to find out how you can bolster your argument to wear a helmet.

When writing or speaking persuasively, bring your issue as close to home as possible. Make your audience or reader see, hear, touch, and feel the situation.

If the members of your management team hear about the low unemployment rate on the news, they will have a general awareness of the difficulty of retaining competent employees. However, if you cite the 38 percent increase in employee turnover at your Detroit plant, adding that the company's rehiring and retraining costs hit the half-million-dollar mark for the past year, these managers will quickly see the urgency of the employee-retention problem.

Whether you are talking about finances, management, or marital problems, appeal to your listeners emotionally. Then supply the information to help them justify their decisions logically.

Excepted from Speaking with Confidence.

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

Copyright© 2006, Dianna Booher.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles by Dianna Booher at FrogPond.com

3 Ways to Convert Visitors into Subscribers by Larry Dotson

1. Tempt Visitors

You could tell your visitors to read a sample issue of your free ezine on your web site. For example, you could say, "Read a sample issue before you subscribe to our free ezine!" Another example, "Check out a sample article before you decide to subscribe to our free ezine!"

2. Bribe Visitors

You could offer your visitors a free ebook if they subscribe to your free ezine. For example, you could say, "Subscribe to our free ezine and get our new ebook for free!" Another example, "Subscribe to our free ezine and get five ebooks with full give-away rights!"

3. Convince Visitors

You could publish some of your ezine subscriber's testimonials on your website. For example, you could say, "Why put off subscribing? Just see what other subscribers are saying!" Another example, "Subscribe today and experience the benefits the people below are experiencing!"

Meeting…Minutes… Action!

Almost every staff meeting is an opportunity to synergize group energy to propel the company forward. What percentage of those great ideas and action items get enacted between meetings? Behind every great meeting, there is a great follower-upper.

A great follower upper does a couple of key things:

Make sure meeting minutes are distributed right away so folks can remember what they need to do. Is there a consistent scribe or does the taking of minutes rotate through group member? Whatever the system, a good policy is to get the minutes to all interested parties within 24 hours. That way everyone is reminded of what they need to research, contact, think about and do.

Inquire about action items to each person.  Follow up to find out if the person has what they need to get the job done. It really helps from people putting themselves in the predicament of having this project sit on the back burner until the day before the next meeting and suddenly become a stress inducing crisis of grand proportions? Or having it kind of get brushed under the proverbial rug and delaying other aspects of interwoven tasks.

These two techniques will increase the effectiveness of time spent in meetings and instill a culture of professional accountability and personal caring which makes for a better bottom line. 

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

Copyright© 2006, 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 email Susie@frogpond.com today. Take our Tour

Content Contentment

Content is one of the most valuable assets you have in your marketing toolkit. Not only is it good for traditional applications like a brochure, that finely crafted information can be molded into a variety of uses with just a bit of editing. High quality content is quite an investment and finding ways to expand its use will create content contentment.

Here are three terrific ways adapt your content to expand your profits:

Blogging- Either start one on your website or contribute to a high profile blog that your prospects and clients read.

E newsletters- Send out a tip-of-the-the-week or month to your database. People value getting information to improve their lives for free from you.

E books- Expand on your tip content and create a downloadable e book which you can either off as a value added service or charge for.

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

Copyright© 2006, 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 email Susie@frogpond.com today. Take the Tour

The Four Kinds of Sales People is a gripping parable that identifies exactly how and why sales people excel - or don't. Told as a fictional account of four people, each of whom epitomizes the characteristics of a particular style, author Chuck Mache provides a clear and graphic description of how each type goes about selling, what their strengths and weaknesses are - and exactly what insights each type requires in order to break through to the next level. What will work well for a Performer (one of the four styles) will not work for a Caretaker; identifying which type a person most resembles is essential to developing a strategy that turns a routine sales job into a life breakthrough achievement.
      
In the tradition of great business storytellers like Spencer Johnson (Who Moved My Cheese?), Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad), Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World), and Zig Ziglar (Selling 101), Mache uses larger-than-life fictional characters to make a powerful statement. "If you make a list of what it takes to be successful in sales, and a list of what strugglers are not doing, those lists are identical," says author Chuck Mache; "Sales is no more complex than that. The complex part is changing your mind so that you can change your life." With the vibrant, funny and inspirational characterizations provided by Mache in The Four kinds of Sales People, as well as its specific and detailed lists of prescriptions, this book provides Sales People - and those who manage them - with a set of powerful tools for lasting mind change, life change, and sales transformation.

How's the Traffic?

This is a great site to check when trying to find the fastest route home.

maps.yahoo.com/traffic

Hugs, The Frog

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

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