Communicating using the Internet Tools

At my Rotary meeting this week, two of our young members presented a program entitled: "Social Media: Why it's Not Going Away and More on What it's About" (Average age of the club member in this club - 58 years).
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My boomer-age Rotarian friend leaned over and said "Do you have facebook?" I said "Yes, I have it all". To which he replied: "I don't know why I would use it except to keep up on my kids".


It made me think of three things I would say to him, and other baby boomers who still want to grow their business:


1) For the 95% of us that are actually looking for new business, a blog, a Facebook profile, or LinkedIn page are necessary places to establish a brand, and credibility and relationships. Blog about your specialty. Offer up helpful tips on your Facebook page that people you know will value. It helps show that you know your stuff. Without advertising. (It's especially helpful to have someone specific in your mind - a "persona".)


2) The same reason you belong to Rotary or frequent social, philanthropic luncheons, or other networking functions is the reason Facebook is an efficient way to get connected to your community and get into conversations. Conversations lead to introductions, and meeting new people is simply good for business.


3) Information is abundant on the internet, and access to knowledge and ideas are available from unlimited sources. Quickly get information right to your desk by Googling the exact information you need! My last Google search was for a remedy for my dog after being sprayed by a skunk on Halloween! Without the instant access to information, and a subsequent 6am visit to Wall Mart, my house would be unlivable (and my animal impossible to live with)! This info, not out of a veterinary journal, came from bloggers about their pets. Who knows when people are looking for financial planning or accounting advice in a pinch will run across you!


Remember, the purpose of communication falls into one of two categories: to inform, to build a relationship, or a call-to-action. When people talk to each other, it is either to exchange information or to ask someone to do something. As Stephen said this week at Rotary, the fastest segment of users on social media are over 40 years of age. Try it for yourself. In the end, you have the choice not to use this technology, if you don't find it useful!

The generation gap seems to both widen and become narrower at the same time! I hope more of our clubmates will chose to see what it's all about.

Communicating using the Internet Tools

Get What You Pay For

In this summer's edition of REA Magazine (a publication for association executives in the real estate industry), I wrote an article that any association executive, association ceo, or executive director should consider reading. Any executive who juggles members, staff, and a changing market likely has faced this same conversation in a board meeting.

The article compiled a list of seven ideas to keep members motivated in a downturn. AEs surveyed talked about how their offerings change in times of economic distress. As expected, conventional wisdom was split right down the middle: offering education and other member services for free is a real draw.  To balance this out, other AEs believe that associations actually create more value for their offerings when they charge a small fee for a class or an event. (Read the article here_Marketing in a Downturn)

Since publishing, two convincing  arguments have surfaced to add to the list! One AE has acquired a fax-to-email service that he gives away as an incentive for joining - generating nearly 200 new members this year!

Another board of directors made the decision to raise dues - by 30%! At the same time they laid out several payment options in advance to help ease the transition. "It was a necessary step to keep the association healthy" says the executive director. The jury is out, but he believes transparency in communicating the association's finances helps to build member loyalty.

Executives and marketing types have mixed feelings about which direction to take when the goal is delivering more value to the member. Corporate giants have experienced the same dilemma, with related consequences. It is a great article that we in not-for-profit marketing should learn from. Why Charging Just a Little Can Be Smarter Than Charging Nothing at All. (Link to Fast Company). 

Free is tempting, but is it a legitimate business strategy?

Get What You Pay For

Are you listening?

My favorite quote of the week: “In a society of super-sophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners.”                                                                                                      – Erma Bombeck


If you and I haven’t met yet (or better yet if we have), you know my mantra from spending the past 20+ years with real estate professionals: REALTORS® really want three things from your association:


     1. They want to LEARN something they can apply to their work,
     2. They want you to ADVOCATE for them to keep the industry healthy, and
     3. They want you to help them MAKE more money! That’s it.

In a recent article I wrote for an association newsmagazine outlined how Nobu Hata, a REALTOR® in Minneapolis uses his Facebook business page as a referral and sales tool. He admits to getting nearly 30% of his leads there. Instead of telling you more here, you can link to the article by clicking here.


If you want to give your members a two of their three biggest asks – learning helping them make more money, you have my cyberspace permission to link this article onto your blog or forward it to your membership in your e-newsletter! Please use caution when promoting this: Social networking is not a selling strategy; it is a social strategy, and is meant to build relationships. As you well-know, the best sales professionals approach the relationship first, before (and many times instead of) a direct solicitation.

Let me know if Facebook is helping your members by replying to this post.

Are you listening?

Making Decisions by Fact

In today's tight economy, many associations are re-examining their role to find the most important ways to support their members.

While in a client review of member survey results, a staff member teased “we have a case of what’s new - itis.”

This association GETS the purpose of formal member input. Here’s more about the comment she made: “A member survey helps remind us what’s important to the TOTAL MEMBERSHIP of the association – not just the current leadership, or the staff alone.

At the office, we get wrapped up in what we do every day. We promote the programs we’re responsible for. The staff and leadership are always coming up with something new to offer to members that will help them avoid risk or enhance productivity. So we have a case of “what’s new”- itis.
We have the same problem in our city with restaurants – there are hundreds of people at the new restaurant that opened. There are only 12 people at the new-ish restaurant that opened 6 weeks ago. But that 6-week-old restaurant is really just getting good. The staff is finally trained; the chef is familiar with the food.

But like that old restaurant, we want to move onto the newest project we’re working on. And we need to show the leadership that the newest project is successful. So we go full steam behind it -to the detriment of the stuff we created last month or last year - even if that stuff is actually more important to the members.

We like the Marcus Buckingham principle of improving on your strengths, not focusing on your weaknesses. A survey shows us what our strengths are … so we can build on them.”

Association marketers and staff play a key role by providing your leadership insight into what members want and which programs are worth hanging on to. 

Making Decisions by Fact

A commercial for commercial members

In Mid-August on a Monday morning, the Wall Street Journal carried a front page story on the foreclosure of a prime commercial development on the west coast; the very same day, section B covered the virtual halt in the commercial real estate market in another part of the country. This week, a Bloomberg news headline read “Commercial Property Values Fall as Rent Drop Forecast”. Bottom line, this is not what associations want to see on in the news. Life is not good for your commercial members.

While on a long delay Friday night, I sat myself on the floor of Washington Regan Airport (with nowhere else to sit), and thought about what an association might do to encourage one segment of your membership who is struggling. Here are three ideas to get you to start thinking:

1. Consider your value proposition to these members. Even though they may be a small segment, is there a thorny issue in your city or state that you can watch, influence or even overcome for them? When you take this on, you help stimulate their business and begin changing their mindset about their business? You probably already do some legislative or political action work on behalf of your members. Get the word out so that your members understand the value of your efforts and what it means to them. Legislative affairs may be the least understood member benefit - in any industry.

2. When there is some good news, like Bloomberg reported just yesterday about existing home sales up 7.2%, encourage commercial members that positive news for the industry is good for all segments – so keep looking for the opportunities that are out there – albeit fewer, those who are looking full time will get the breaks.

3. From coast to coast I see commercial REALTORS® who avoid their residential counterparts. Look for RCA members in your association who get referrals from their residential counterparts. Promote the heck out of it. Tell the stories. Help change the culture. One testimonial from an influential member can sway a lot of long-standing public opinion.

If you say no to these ideas, I trust you can go find a solution of your own. Don’t hide behind the “RCA is a small segment of our membership” excuse. Like one savvy CEO told me, “What’s good for commercial business, and your town square is good for selling houses.”

If you have a great idea, or one that has worked, share it with your peers by replying to this post.

A commercial for commercial members

Social Media - Good Bad and Ugly

Freedom of Speech…How about the concept “Bad News Travels Really Fast?” For all of you (us) involved in the real estate industry, I’d like to remind you of the power of social media as you read about the Twitter debacle between Horizon Realty and their tenant-Tweet-er.

Follow the story below about the “Sue first, then ask questions kind of an organization” who sued their tenant for broadcasting about mold in her apartment. Horizon is in the spotlight - they have a great PR opportunity to rectify the situation. Some bloggers have suggested dropping the lawsuit, admitting to a potential error, and fixing the mold issue. There's an idea!

How about the power of communation where 20 followers turned into hundreds of thousands. That is some powerful communications tool. It may even be monumental enough to convince some of you sign up for this Twitter-thing just in case there's some news you need to know!

Link here to read the story: http://www.copyblogger.com/horizon-realty-group/#more-3986

Social Media - Good Bad and Ugly

Need more volunteers?

Off the subject of social media for a while...REA Magazine is known for offering promising practices for Association Executives (AEs) in all areas of association management. I think the editor, Carolyn Schwaar is a master at editorializing many "right on" themes. I recently wrote an article for the Magazine; AEs who don't seem to ever have enough willing volunteers to fill committees might take a gem or two from your fellow CEOs:

Building a successful association hinges on finding volunteers to give their time, energy, and talent. Yet some associations continually struggle to attract volunteers. These days, some fear even asking members who are experiencing a challenging business environment. Here are some new (and some tried - and- true) tips for recruiting volunteers.

1. Ask them in person. Ask 10 members why they got involved in their local or state association, and nine out of ten will say, “Because someone asked me.” Soliciting for volunteers is, after all, just like selling anything else. Cold calling is a difficult way to sell. People do business with people they like. CEO of the Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS® Diane Ruggiero advises, “You must ask them in person if you really want to get someone to say yes. Go to their office, meet them for coffee, or ask them out for lunch. Make them feel important and always tell them the purpose, the WIIFM (what’s in it for me), and the time involved.”

2. Build trust by being honest. It’s critical to be completely up-front about the commitment involved. Pinellas REALTOR® Organization CEO Ann Guiberson agrees. “Tell volunteers whether it’s a task force that’s going to meet once or twice for two hours each or if it’s an ongoing commitment.” Always overestimate the time commitment slightly just in case a project takes longer than expected. Also, always explain the purpose of the assignment and its importance to the association. Otherwise, a potential volunteer may not think the work is worth his or her time.

3. Find ways to use members’ expertise. Find out what skills and abilities your volunteers bring to you and then match them to committee assignments (but don’t assume someone has skills or particular interests; ask first). A good skill-to-task match makes volunteers feel not only comfortable, but that their expertise is useful to the association. For Vice President of Administrative Services at the Kansas Association of REALTORS® Christy Stinger, the matching process was really common sense. “Two of our members have accounting backgrounds. With so many REALTORS® who are well versed on financials and budgets, those people make sense on a budget and finance committee. Another woman who wrote op-eds for the local paper was appointed to the governmental affairs committee for her ability to explain and communicate her opinions.”

4. Explain the benefit from the members’ point of view. Jim Helsel, 2009 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® treasurer, has volunteered since the beginning of his long career. He suggests focusing on the payoff from volunteering. First, Helsel tells potential volunteers that they’ll not only get personal satisfaction and enjoyment from volunteering, but that they’ll also have fun. “Emphasize the networking and learning opportunities in volunteering,” he says. “There’s not a person I’ve met during this journey that hasn’t helped me in my career when I’ve needed it,” Helsel recalls. He credits his volunteer work with bringing referrals from across the country.

5. Follow your instincts. Helsel advises AEs to watch for and nurture prospective volunteers. “Many times it is the AE that sees a reason to push someone to ‘go to the next level’ and use their talents to work for the association and for their industry,” he says. “AEs learn to spot talent. No one sees more than an AE.”

Need more volunteers?