Justify Your Existence

Blog Contributor Helpful Tools, Leadership, NAR, Political Action & Involvement, Professional Development 1 Comment

By Sam DeBord Changes in technology are creating questions about the future roles of real estate associations, MLSs, and brokerages. As a result, REALTOR® association leaders have been increasingly focused on defining our value to members. A good friend of mine, who was an engineer at Apple, used to recount Steve Jobs’ version of this value-seeking process. He’d walk into …

How We’re Working to Keep Agents Safe

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Safety 6 Comments

By Alyssa Hellman Most people don’t consider real estate to be a dangerous industry;  however, the frequency of crimes against real estate agents – including the horrific murder of Beverly Carter last year – is a chilling reminder of the dangers we potentially face. In the excitement of meeting a prospective client, agents sometimes agree to meet at questionable locations …

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REALTOR® Recruiting and Retention: The Non-MLS Value Proposition

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Political Action & Involvement, realtors, Transaction Procedures & Fees 2 Comments

By Sam DeBord Compulsion is the crutch that lulls our organization’s recruiting and retention capabilities to sleep. When real estate licensees are compelled to be members of a REALTOR® association because of their need for MLS services, we often fail to aggressively sell them on the broad spectrum of REALTOR® benefits, most of which lie outside of the MLS sphere. …

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The REALTOR® Value Proposition: Do You Have an Elevator Pitch?

Blog Contributor Helpful Tools, NAR, Professional Development, realtors, Sales & Marketing 5 Comments

By Sam DeBord This week I’m in Washington, D.C., for the REALTOR® Party Conference & Expo, and it got me thinking: Some of the most interesting committees I’ve worked with lately have focused on a range of issues surrounding the value proposition for the REALTOR® brand. From a communications audit at our local board to a state/NAR combined idea building …

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What Makes a REALTOR® Different?

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Business Challenges, communication 3 Comments

By Dave Robison What is the difference between a REALTOR® and a regular old Joe with a real estate license?  Can anyone you’ve asked from the public answer that question correctly?  Better yet, can all of the REALTORS® in your office answer that question?   I feel like it was indoctrinated in me through continuing eduction classes.  So, from what I’ve …

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Learn About the New REALTOR.org

Blog Contributor Helpful Tools, Technology & Social Media, website Leave a Comment

REALTOR.org is being overhauled to give NAR members access to the most authoritative and useful business information as quickly and easily as possible. The new My.REALTOR.org, which will be replacing REALTOR.org at the end of March, is being reorganized by topic to reflect how you use information in your real estate business. As NAR members, you can customize the site …

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Duty’s Calling, YPN

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Personal Fulfillment, Political Action & Involvement, Professional Development, YPN News Leave a Comment

By Nobu Hata Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that we’re living and working in a tenuously linked society right now.  Hyper-political-mumbo-jumbo is being thrown around to a jaded audience, and we are more polarized and fractured than ever before. That same thing could be said for the real estate industry. Data, IDX, syndication, broker-centric, agent-centric, consumer-centric, …

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Need a Good Laugh?!?

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Sales & Marketing, YPN News 6 Comments

By Jared James We live in a world where everywhere you look everyone seems to be arguing about something because everyone has their point-of-view. And, of course, they are always right. Sometimes when I flip through the channels while I am at home or on the road in my hotel room, or I read a particular blog, I am left …

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Don’t Be a Real Turd

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, communication, Personal Fulfillment, Sales & Marketing, Work/Life Balance 4 Comments

By Jessica Hickok Our profession is one of the most mispronounced professions of all time.  Those of us who know that we are REAL-TORS just roll our eyes when someone calls us a Reel-A-Tore. I remember a story that my broker’s wife told me once when I first got into the business.  Her husband (obviously a REALTOR®) took a business …