Industry Visionary Interview

Belton E. Jennings, III, RCE, CAE, APR, CIPS
CEO, Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association

Belton is at the helm of 7,000 members & 42 staffers. He is leading the charge for the adoption of industry standards-best business practices.

You can reach Belton at ceo@orlrealtor.com

Belton and other Florida Association Executives need your help to recover from Hurricane Charley's devastation. To make a contribution to the Florida Association of Realtors Disaster Relief Fund call 1-407-438-1400, or, send a check to the Florida Association of Realtors Disaster Relief Fund, Florida Association of Realtors, PO Box 725025, Orlando, FL. 32872-5025.

Summer is here and so is the Hurricane Season. Being prepared can make all the difference in a life or death situation. These are a few tips to reprint in your newsletter, add to your Web site & share with your Homeowners & Business Owners.

Hurricane Survival List:

• Cash
• Three weeks of medication
• Drinking water
• Special diet foods
• Non-perishable foods & spoons
• Infant necessities
• Contact doctor for special instruction for back-up generators for electrically-dependent equipment such as respirators
• Contact supplier for additional supplies of oxygen if needed for care
• Mosquito repellant
• Battery operated radio, portable TV, flashlight & can opener
• Extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Garbage bags & paper towels
• Clean-up supplies (mop, bucket, disinfectant, towels)
• Charcoal, ice & ice chest
• Cars filled with gasoline
• Mobile phones charged
• Home repair items (hammer, nails, plastic tarps)
• Save all receipts of purchases after the storm (some insurance companies reimburse for emergency food, medication, ice & clean up supplies)
• Remove all outdoor furniture, trash cans, swing sets, toys, & plants into garage.
• Emergency bag should be pre-packed & ready for temporary stay in shelter (driver's license and other ID, medication, tooth brushes, tooth paste, extra   pair of eye glasses, pillows, blankets, games/toys for children, folding chairs, inventory list & picture of house & contents, health insurance card, homeowner's insurance policy & maps to your destination)
• Review insurance policies and your coverage to avoid misunderstandings later. Take advantage of flood insurance. Separate policies are needed for protection against wind and flood damage.
• Plan route to safety and location of nearest shelter and how much time to get from your home to safety. Leave for shelter early to avoid long hours on limited evacuation routes.
• When leaving your home, turn off gas, electricity, and water from main supply to home.
• Make arrangements for pets. Pets, alcoholic beverages and weapons of any kind are not allowed in shelters.

Hurricane Readiness for Business Owners:

• All items above apply for businesses too.
• Complete inventory of business property with pictures stored in water proof containers or in safe deposit box.
• Review insurance policies and your coverage to avoid misunderstandings later. Take advantage of flood insurance. Separate policies are needed for protection against wind and flood damage.
• Always turn off your computer whenever there is an electrical storm. Lightning can travel up to 20 miles from a thunderstorm and can travel phone lines. A lightning strike can destroy a computer no matter what kind of surge protector you have. Uninterruptible Power Supplies area a big help, but it is a good idea to turn off your computers, monitors and all other equipment.   
• Backup your Data, back up data. This is the most important thing you can  do. Your computers can be repaired or replaced, but not your data. Seal your backup disks or CDs in zip lock bags to prevent damage in safe deposit box.
  Move all computers away from the windows. If unable to move computers, cover them with plastic sheeting and seal with tape. Unplug computer from the wall. Do not try to restart computer if it gets wet. Have professionals service computers.
• If you are prone to flooding, place your computers and other equipment in high, dry area, preferably to the second floor.
• Turn Servers and monitors off. If, possible, move to high, dry area.
• Call local Internet Service Provider for additional computer safety tips.
• Check with local Red Cross to additional information.

Having a plan saves lives and property.

Bias Ads in EXPRESS-NEWS Catch HUD's Eye (The Frog warns: Don't get catch with a discriminating advertisement.)

SAN ANTONIO (MySanAntonio.com, Statesman.com) - Some do not realize that published ads for housing cannot discriminate or show preference on the basis of race, religion, sex, nationality, disability or familial status. The San Antonio Express-News may soon find this out the hard way as a result of 42 discriminatory classified ads published between November 2000 and October 2002.

This is a part of the Fair Housing Act, which has been a national law for more than three decades. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged the Express-News as a result of a complaint filed by the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio, a nonprofit group funded by HUD to investigate housing discrimination.

Negotiations between the Express-News and HUD have taken place but the publication declined conciliation, said HUD spokesperson Patricia Campbell.

Legal action in these cases is rare, but a federal administrative law judge will hear the case Oct. 5 unless the parties decide to go to trial. Fines can be levied up to $11,000 for the first offense.

Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A & M University 

Agents and brokers have attributed more qualified prospects to such ideas as including the Web address in your email signature, in your voice mail message, on your business cards, your faxes, your letterhead, your checks, put your Web address on your license plate frame, on billboards, in radio and TV ads, in your follow up letters, post cards, newspaper ads, coffee mugs, calendars, post-it note pads, etc... it will pay for itself inside of 6 months guaranteed!

Make sure your Web site has all the tools you need like your personal brochure in downloadable pdf format, lead generation capture forms, property information, neighborhood information, lots of photos and tours, audio testimonials from customers and clients, networking partners' links to their sites, real time interest rates, a glossary of terms, free downloadable ,value-added information in ebooks format, and your contact information.

July's Pond Report had a valuable Technology Tip to understand how to make the best use of your Web site and improve your online profitability. To request a copy of the article, add "tech tips" in the subject line of your email.

You work hard and spend lots of money to get good leads, so why aren't your responding to your email every 2 hours? What's a good lead any how? I think a good lead is someone will to identify themselves by asking questions, requesting more information, wanting personal contact. It's no different than taking a property call...it's better than sitting in any open house and waiting for someone to show up!

I bet you are standing at the door the minute someone stops the car in front of your open house. Well, check your email every two hours. If you need help, get a Virtual Assistant to respond to email and qualify the lead...if you don't check the VA's email, then expect to pay for a phone call. 

Still need help? Here's another suggestion to get you on the right track. Philipp Gamse know's Web sites. Her new program is designed to help you make money from your site.

"Emotionally Connected Websites^SM" Philippa Gamse says to ask yourself, "How Does Your Website Make Me Feel?" She saids "People make decisions emotionally, not intellectually. We all know that. To sell effectively in the 'real world', we’re told to anticipate our customers’ needs, to show that we 'feel their pain', and to respond to hidden clues in their body language and tone of voice."

"So why do most Web sites fail to create the crucial emotional connections with their visitors which can significantly enhance their response and ongoing return on investment?"

Philippa's program will teach participants:

• the five critical emotions for creating and sustaining productive online relationships
• tools and techniques for making these emotional connections on any Website
• key tips to avoid destroying or diluting the connection

"This is most interesting - I've never seen an approach as you've taken here."
Gretchen Sand, Skyline Recruiting Corporation

Ask me about Philippa's availability for your next conference or coaching.

Give your direct mailings the extra winning edge! Get personal by putting your own face on the stamp. Who could resist reading your postcard once they see you smiling at them?

Brokerage companies, title companies, & mortgage companies can add company logo on all mailings.

Stamps.com is offering the first-ever service to let you create your own personalized postage. Stamps.com, a provider of Internet-based postage services, just announced a new service dubbed PhotoStamps that lets customers transform digital photos into customized stamps. And, it's legal postage because Stamps.com has a license to sell U.S. postage.

Here's how it works:

By registering for the service, users can send images from a digital camera or camera phone over the Internet to Stamps.com. Choose the image you want and the value of postage, ranging from 23 cents to $3.85, and place the order online. The company then mails the finished sheets of stamps to you.

An order consists of a single sheet consisting of 20 PhotoStamps. The minimum order is one sheet.

Besides direct mail promotions, you could photograph the bride and groom for the stamp on Wedding invitations and Thank You notes.

Great closing gift for buyers: a picture stamp of new home.

Print Advertising Tips that will Save You Money

When it comes to print advertising, it pays to "dominate" the page. Does this mean you have to run a full page ad? Not necessarily. In a tabloid format you may only have to run a 2/3 page ad to get noticed first on the page. Review the formats in the publications you use. You may be able to save some money.

 
Make sure that your 2-page sales letter gets read from start to finish. End the first page of copy in the middle of a sentence so that the reader must turn the page. 

If you do monthly postcard mailings you can save some money by purchasing postcards that are pre-stamped. You pay for the postage and get the postcard thrown in for good measure. This can save you card stock costs when you have the postcards printed.

Of course, the most cost-effective advertising is full deployment of the Internet. Ask about a free demo of FrogPond Publisher's communications recruiting tool.

Take the Sales Success Test and find out how well you rank from 1-5.

(1 = “I never do this” & 5 = “I always do this”)

1. How good am I at prospecting, networking and finding new customers?
2. How good am I at qualifying my prospects with a series of questions?
3. How knowledgeable am I about my products and services?
4. How good am I at time management?
5. How good am I at listening to my customers?
6. How good am I at problem solving?
7. How good am I at handling objections?
8. How good am I at keeping my customers informed during the sales process?
9. How good am I at asking for the sale?
10. How good am I at asking for testimonials from satisfied customers?

How well did you score yourself? How would your customers score your relationship and sales efforts? If you scored below 45, consider a coach. Let Frog Pond recommend a coach. Improving these skills means improving your bottom line. 

Manager vs Leader

Louise Morganti Kaelin says she "often thinks one can tell the difference between a manager and a leader by looking at where a person’s eyes are. If they are to the ground, if their focus is on implementing something that someone else has put in place, if they are most concerned about the systems that are in place, they are a manager. If their eyes are off to the future, if they are focused on new horizons, and in creating goals, they are a leader. While managers direct others to accomplish their end results, leaders inspire others to achieve those same results.

This quote by John Sculley really hits the mark for me:

"Leadership is often confused with other things, specifically management. As I see it, leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. One can't lead unless one can leverage more than his own capabilities . . . You have to be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist - that's management, not leadership."

Save $100 on registration when you sign up today for RISMedia's Leadership Conference September 28-29, in NYC. Educational tracks for Broker/Owners, Sales Associates, Relocation and Business Management. You can't afford not to be there! Sign up right here.  

Tune in each week for the latest in the world of commercial real estate and commercial real estate finance. Airs Sundays 9-10am EST.

Successful Women in Commercial Real Estate

Estella Kiser, Senior Associate, Kiser Group of Marcus & Millichap, Susan Silver, Executive Vice President, Millennium Properties, Inc., and Nancy Suvarnamani, President, CENTURY 21 S.G.R., Inc. are recognized as the Top Women Commercial Real Estate Practitioners in Chicagoland. They are the panelists in the Third Annual ”Successful Women in Commercial Real Estate” discussion which will be an informative session on the commercial real estate experiences of successful Chicago women. 

The event is on Tuesday, September 14, 2004, 11:30-1:30 p.m. at the Maggiano’s Antinori Banquet Room, 111 W. Grand, 1st Floor.  Registration is $40 before September 10th, $50 thereafter and includes lunch.  Register with Shadia Shukair at 312.214.5534 or sshukair@commercialforum.com.

1. Petfinder.org lists pets available for adoption by shelters. Search by pet, breed, size and gender. Most profiles have pictures of the pets. You'll find cats, dogs, rats, bunnies, horses, pigs and more.

There are articles on pet care and breed information. There's a classified section if you need to give up a pet. Or you can use it if you're looking to adopt but don't want to go through a shelter.

2. NBC is making sure you don't miss the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. They will broadcast over 1,200 hours of coverage on seven networks.

The featured Web site features O-Zone, short for Olympic Zone. O-Zone offers a localized approach to the games. Sign up to receive features, stories and news about local Olympians and local TV schedules.

Source: Kim Komando

Putting the final checklist together for your coming event? Attending to the smallest details will spell success when describing your well-thought out meeting or convention.

Don't forget to consider having the following in a three ring binder with you at the event:

1. Speaker's Contract should state how and when speaker honorarium is to be paid.
2. Lodging Form should have information about arrival/departure times, smoking/non-smoking, special needs for speaker and other important guests.
3. Travel Form should contain information about preferred travel dates, airline, seat location, any meal requests, frequent flier number.
4. Reimbursement Form should have information about any incidentals if you pay for ground transportation.
5. Audiovisual needs list should have contact information of the company providing technical engineering and support as well as needs of each speaker 
6. Speaker Bio triple spaceed plus extra copy.
7. Information Sheet detailing what the speaker should expect about ground transportation once she arrives at the airport, where to go when she arrives at the hotel, VIP check-in and confirmation number, map of location of room in convention hall or hotel, location of speaker ready room, location and speaking times and titles of presentations, location of trade show and speaker's booth -- any other information pertinent to the event that the speaker should know.
8. Waiver and Authorization Forms should have information about copyrights and permission to print speaker's work in your program and, if applicable, on your website). 
9. General Information about the destination, local attractions, plus Information on how to proceed if the speaker wants to spend Additional time in the location before or after engagement.
10.Information Sheet detailing what speaker should expect if asked to attend pre-event dinner or VIP cocktail party with specifics regarding who will be seated next to or who you want speaker to meet and include brief background information so speaker feels comfortable and be prepared for questions.

Three weeks prior to event, speakers love it when you send them a reminder of dates, times, arrival information, hotel confirmation number, guidelines for formatting any handouts. Include:

• audience demographics
• history, background and current trends of sponsoring organization's industry
• policies, procedures and forms for selling a speaker's book/video/audio and/or book signings
• how speaker/session will be evaluated and when results will be shared
• opportunities and/or methods for speaker to customize session (phone interviews with possible attendees, pre-session surveys, conference call with organization staff, etc.)
• how/when to ship materials to the meeting site
• PowerPoint tips
• polices and procedures to follow in the event of an emergency on site (while their session is occurring) to ensure their safety and the safety of their session's attendees

For free download of Frog Pond Speakers Bureau's Meeting Planners Resource Guide, visit FrogPond.com.

1. Speakers Pre-program Questionnaire

2. Speakers Evaluation Form

3. Speakers Invoice Form

We'd love to assist you with speaker selection for your next meeting or convention! Contact Susie for winning speaker suggestions. 

ARE YOU ENJOYING THE POND REPORT?
If you know someone who might benefit from this free newsletter, please forward it to them. We only ask that you leave the entire newsletter intact. Thank you. To subscribe click here.

Are you still searching for a cost-effective, quick and easy solution to bring added-value to your members or agents? Strengthen your relationship with your agents/members and recruit new with a powerful communication tool, FrogPond Publisher. Ask me how you can add audio testimonials of new recruits or happy buyers and sellers to your next newsletter or email. It's as easy as a phone call!

Call (800.704.FROG) to step up a free demo today. You can witness for yourself just how easy managing a wealth of information in your online knowledge resource center can be. No technical knowledge required.

Please think of Frog Pond Speakers Bureau when planning your next meeting or convention. We can help you make an informed decision.

Download the FREE pdfs created for Meeting Planners located at the top of Home Page on FrogPond. We are your free source for speaker information and free reprintable articles.

Do you want to receive your "The Pond Report" Newsletter at a new e-mail address?

First, email me your name and email address at which you received your latest copy of "The Pond Report".

Second, include your new email address. 
  
If you have received this mailing in error, or if you no longer wish to receive e-mail from Frog Pond, please email us with unsubscribe in the subject line and add your name and email address.

You will be automatically excluded from any future mailings with tons of free Internet marketing tips, tricks and techniques.

Please remember to include the e-mail address we have contacted you at, so that we can complete your request without delay.

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 email 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 email address, click here.  

The information in this newsletter represents the views of the author and/or contributing authors and their interpretation of events. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy, profitability or legality.