Wow! What a great NAR Mid-year meetings it was! I’m on my way home right now and I’m reflecting on what I am hearing. See if you can relate to some of this right now. Association and MLS executives and leadership are asking, “With all the changes occurring in our industry right now, what should we do?” I applaud bold leaders like Cameron Payne who take a position on the future (Future of MLS). While we might not agree with everything that is said, it is important to listen to those who have the passion and courage to put it out there. There is no doubt that... [Read more]

What’s Your Movement About? This past weekend, I attended a 3-day coaching program, which after 3 years of participating in the event, continues to stimulate me to action and to truly live my life.  Bill Baren’s Big Shift Experience is the real deal.  I am grateful to Bill and his team. Bill reminds us (me) that we all have responsibilities.  Each one of us is responsible for doing our part to change the world.  He asked, “so, what is your movement about?”.  And I am reminded of mine this morning as I prepare to serve.  To make it easier for my  clients in... [Read more]

Richard Haggerty and his team have been on the move since they merged three associations over the past 18 months.  They are leading the way and showing all of us how to do it right.  There is a logical and business-like “flow” to these type of opportunities for REALTOR(r) associations and MLSs.   They chose to focus on the associations first.  This resulted in one Board of Directors to make a series of good business decisions about how to best serve the members through MLS and other association services. In January 2012, the Members of the Westchester... [Read more]

  I recently saw the 2012 Academy award winning best picture, “The Artist”, and I couldn’t help but see many similarities between the movie and the real estate industry.  It’s a great story about change and what happens to those in the world who resist it. Consider the character George Valentin, who is in the prime of his life and his career.  He is popular; he is loved by all. His movies are always big hits.  Everything is going his way.  Isn’t this like MLS’s several years ago before the Internet and consumer’s access to information?  Realtors... [Read more]

Seems like just about everyone is commenting on various positions about listing syndication and the future of IDX.  I have some thoughts on the subject, which I will begin to share with you now.  I will not re-hash what this broker or that MLS are doing, because they have the right to do what they are doing.  I respect them for taking a stand and moving to action.  Our industry needs more leaders like these.  They are preparing for and creating their own future, while others are making predictions.   Most of the predictions will likely be wrong.   Stale Listings.... [Read more]

In the last article, we talked about the need for organizations to identify who they really are and to develop a business model. Again, Focus Forward sees this as an important component of an organization’s survival strategy in a rapidly shifting world. Too often, Realtor associations are unclear about who they are and what they do. They adopt mission statements that sound a lot like every other Realtor organization, containing phrases like ‘protect private property rights’ and ‘high ethical standards’. A clear mission statement should be memorable and compelling,... [Read more]

Here are four questions that matter to most leaders in the real estate industry right now. Thanks to everyone for your interest and positive feedback about EMMS or Effective MLS Market Solutions.   The program is designed to help Association and MLS Execs and leadership answer 4 questions that matter: 1.  How can we reduce our operating expenses by working together? 2.  How well do our current services meet our customers’ business needs? 3.  How do our services compare with others in our market and across the country? 4.  What should we do to help our brokers... [Read more]

Brian Larson and Kevin McQueen are very excited to introduce a new program. We call it Effective MLS Market Solutions or EMMS for short. EMMS The Effective MLS Market Solutions program will help MLS organizations by providing them with objective market analysis and identifying options for them to deliver more effective services to their brokers.  At the conclusion of the EMMS program, you’ll meet with our independent consultants and receive an MLS Market Report laying out the results. This is a fresh new approach to addressing the challenges that many MLSs and their... [Read more]

If you are involved in MLS decision-making, I highly recommend that you take a few minutes to read the paper written by my friend Mike Audet, WAV Group.  Read More →

In November, Kevin McQueen, President of Focus Forward became one 12 professional advisors or “coaches” retained by NAR to assist a similar number of local and state REALTOR Associations with their winning proposals or “Game Changer Initiatives”. Kevin was fortunate to be assigned to work with the good people in Montana who are leaders of the Montana Association of REALTORS®. As a result  of their  Game Changer Initiative, the 4,100 members of the Montana Association of REALTORS® (MAR) will be more informed and involved in issues that matter... [Read more]