For the past few months, I have been mostly quiet about my ideas and vision for the future of our industry. I realized sometime last year that the “noise level” has been getting louder and louder so I intentionally stepped away from these distractions to really listen and learn from what I was hearing. I have a lot to share about what I learned while avoiding the distractions and based on my work with 100 organizations over the year. I have a lot to say about your future and the future of the real estate and MLS industry in general. In May, I stepped away... [Read more]
Reassess You’ve been moving, you’ve been taking action and now you think you have arrived. How will you know you have arrived at a successful destination? Step 7 involves reassessing and re-measuring your past performance. It’s been nine to twelve months since you started your journey and now is the time to reassess. Did you do what you set out to do or did you get stuck along the way? Let’s face it. There are a lot of moving parts in our industry right now. Change is occurring at a very fast pace. It’s easy to think you have been on a particular course... [Read more]
Take Action. Now that you have your roadmap to success, which was custom made for you to get from your current location to your successful destination, your next step is to take action. The best directions in the world will not get you anywhere unless you step on the gas pedal. Take action, be proactive and get moving. You have done the work to know where you are starting and where you want to end up. Now is the time to do something to get moving forward. So many organizations plan and strategize only to check the activity off their to-do list. So they end up with... [Read more]
Governance – How to Make it Work Better Does your current decision-making structure and governance ensure your future success? How can you arrive at your destination if you don’t have reliable transportation to support your journey and roadmap? Does your organization need a tune-up? This fifth step to your “Roadmap to Success” deals with improving your governance and structure to allow your leadership to do what they need to do when they need to do it. Technology is advancing at a very fast pace. You and your leadership need to be nimble to make the right... [Read more]
Learn How To Communicate Your Value Proposition To Members From the previous steps, you know how you measure up with your competition and what your members value and need most from you right now. In this fourth step, we will make a stop, to refuel so to speak. Now is the right time to tell your members how you measure up with others in the industry; what you are offering them and what you are DOING for them. Many say, “Our members don’t read!” Let’s think about what it is that you have been telling them (to which they aren’t paying attention). Does the information... [Read more]
Learn How To Do More With Less and Balance Your Budget We’ve been talking about the first two steps of the MLS Roadmap to Success the last couple of weeks and this third step is critical to thriving right now. If your goal is to do more for your members with less, balance your budget and avoid future cuts, you must take the most direct route. Similar to the GPS, there are alternative routes you can take to get to your destination and some are faster than others. With this third step, you will be setting up your GPS preferences for the most direct route to your success. Most... [Read more]
Last week we introduced the first of “7 Steps to MLS Success for 2011 and Beyond”. We shared the importance of finding out how your MLS measures up as the first step, just like your current location is the starting place for programming your GPS to guide you to your destination. If success is your destination, continue towards that goal by taking the second step, which is Know What Your Members Need and Value Most About You Right Now. You need to find out what your paying customers (members, subscribers, etc.) value and appreciate and what they need and want from... [Read more]
Happy New Year! Have you made any New Year’s resolutions for your MLS? We know the current condition of the real estate industry, but have you really looked at your business in terms of thriving in this next year? If you would like to move beyond survival, we would like to recommend 7 steps – the Roadmap to MLS Success. Over the next seven weeks, we will discuss each of the steps to move your MLS to a clear destination. The New Year is a great time to really take inventory of your current position and make plans for the next twelve months. Why not plan... [Read more]
Here is the new RESO Board of Directors for next year. This is a very talented group of leaders. The future of RETS is in their hands and I am excited about the possibilities. Please follow along in the coming months as the industry really needs implemented standards. We all have a role to play to support the RESO board in 2011. Congratulations to Rebecca Jenson, Pat Bybee, Art Carter, David Charron and Rob Overman and the returning directors. We support your efforts. RESO 2010 Election Results Read More →
There is a big shift taking place in the real estate industry right now and it’s your springboard to your future. MLSs have never experienced declines in membership and revenues like they are dealing with now. As a result, everyone is working harder than ever to balance budgets, search for new sources of income and be more relevant. Most MLSs are now competing for their piece of a shrinking pie and many are trying to figure out what to do to survive the next few years. We frequently hear, “how can we do more with less and still provide excellent service... [Read more]
