NAR Shows Us the Money!

Congrats OKCMAR! We are the recipients of a $5000 grant from NAR for our Management Conference. With just a few more affiliates participating in sponsorships we may be able to offer this event at a very low cost or even free! Have you talked to your service providers to let them know how important it is to you that they participate and support the OKCMAR conferences that help you do more business? Help us help you- let your title company, mortgage firm and other providers know that these events are important to you and you appreciate their support.

Although the management conference has a few break-out sessions that are geared towards brokers- this conference is all about managing your small business as an independent contractor. You  will love our key note Terry Watson and his afternoon CE class: Avoiding Roadkill — The Ten Stupid Things Really Smart Salespeople Do to Mess up Their Lives!™

You cannot afford to miss Terry's opening session "Why Be Normal". To get a glimpse of what is in store check out this recent video of Terry in New Zealand talking to REALTORS View the video

MLS Countdown- Don't Lose Your Most Valuable Tool!

If you did not sign up for the monthly pay plan your MLS fees are due at the end of this month. The billing is for April- September Service. Invoices have been sent out since early January repeatedly. MLSOK  operates at a break-even basis per NAR guidelines. MLSOK can no longer carry non-payers for months on end because Marketlinx and others charge us for the service if a subscriber is still activated in our system. There is simply no better value than MLS. Even if a subscriber is not using the discounts and is paying the full $50 per month imagine how much you would spend if you were trying to market your properties and serve your clients without this tool! I urge everyone to think about how much they are paying for other tools (Reporting systems, print advertising, REALTOR.com packages, direct mail pieces, cell phone service, Internet, web vendors) and analyze how much return you are actually getting for that expense as compared to your return from MLS. To view and pay your invoice please click here.

The Hodag Prowls Oklahoma City

For those in my blogging  class who heard the story about the mighty and mysterious (also mythical) hodag I have found a site that is currently tracking the hodag through citizen sight reportings. To learn more click here.

To your right is a photo of the hodag. This statue sits in front of the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce. It was good to be raised in a community with a sense of humor! To learn more about the Hodag Country Festival Click here. This summer the top stars performing are: Loretta Lynn, George Jones Neal McCoy & Sarah Buxton. For more info about this amazing event click here. (last year's attendance was a little over 40,000)

Member Feedback from Spring Conference - Happy Realtors

The feedback from the Spring Conference this past week has been tremendously positive. BIG thanks to Abby Mathew for providing us with some great video testimonials! Here are some examples:

Upload MP3 to Youtube - MP32tube.com

I just found a great new FREE tool as I was trying to upload the MP3 files onto Youtube for the OKCMAR website.

Upload MP3 to Youtube - MP32tube.com

Make sure you check out all the wonderful feedback being posted on Ryan's latest entry

OKCMAR Spring Conference 2010 - Your Thoughts?

This post comes from me as a Realtor and a member of OKCMAR, not as a Director or committee member.

I spent the past 2 days at the Spring Conference, learning from those who know, those who lead, those who volunteer, and those who have a passion for our industry, like I do, and I have to say that I was THOROUGHLY impressed.

The OKCMAR staff clearly worked their tails off to put together what I believe to be the best association event we've ever had (at least from my experience), and they deserve to be recognized and thanked for what they do for us.

The funny thing about what I just said above is that it will be recognized and agreed with by a certain percentage of our membership and dismissed by another group of members. The difference in those two groups will simply be those who do and those who don't. Those who do (have a passion for our industry and bettering themselves) are involved and close enough to the association to see the strides that have been made over the past few years (even over the past few months), and those who don't simply weren't around this week. They'll be the ones complaining about the dues they pay and how they get nothing back for what they spend, yet they made no effort to participate.

Those who do, see the value in what just happened and understand that there are things going on in our industry that we must all adapt to, and those who don't, simply don't.

So, the question is, do you or don't you? Will you or won't you still be in this business 5 years from now, or even 2 years from now? Our association is working feverishly to not only bring us up to speed with larger associations around the country, but to actually surpass them. They are PASSIONATE about what they do and they're bringing more value to what they provide our membership every single day.

We also owe a BIG thanks to those who made it possible for this amazing event to be offered to our members FOR FREE. But whether it's free or costs $500, it would be wise and worthwhile for EVERY member who wants to grow in their profession to be there next year!

THANK YOU OKCMAR!

Now please tell me what you thought of the conference.. was it worthwhile/valuable to you?

Heart of the Matter

I was in Chris Chappell's class today and I was so touched by something he said. He was showing all the different avenues the board and MLS uses to communicate to the membership and how to access them. He brought up this blog and he said "take some time to read this; it is the heart of your CEO". I was so touched that he recognized how important it is to me that the members know I care and the amount of effort I (and my entire staff) put in to trying to reach all of you. "We're in it for You" isn't just a tagline to us. We mean it.

I love conferences like the one we had today where staff gets to interact directly with the membership in a support/mentor/educator role. It is wonderful to interact with all of you in this positive way. Maybe some of you left today with a different view of the board and its staff. I hope everyone who registered for tomorrow attends. Brian Boero is one of the bright stars of the tech world and he is definitely worth listening to. Brian Boero is Co-founder of 1000 watt consulting with a background of leadership in both VREO and Inman News . You can read his entire bio on the board website by clicking here.

I was very, very, very proud of my staff today. Thank you all for making my job so easy. I also want to share how incredibly proud I was of all of you. The committee members and all the volunteers did an incredible job- I felt such a sense of ownership from all of you. That this was your association & your event and you were proud to be a part of OKCMAR. Thank you for making OKCMAR such a strong association. Pat yourself on the back- you showed us your hearts today!

Worth Repeating

Recently I received a comment on the MLS initiatives post that I felt should be posted on the blog main page- rather than the comment section. I think that more members read the posts from the authors but not necessarily the comments. I think his/her comments were valid and probably reflect a segment of the membership. I also thought the readers should easily view my response:

From the member:Anonymous said...


Some companies belong to franchise. They pay for that privilege. With a franchise agents receive certain perks, ecards, contact programs, business plan modules, etc.
Some companies choose not to belong to franchises. They do not want to pay for the perks offered by franchises.
Is it the responsibility of OKMAR and the MLS to use everyone dues to supply those who do not want to pay for perks with a franchiese with the same perks? These perks should not be provided without fees to those wanting to use them. But there should be no cost to those already taking advantage of those programs from other sources.
These programs cost something. What is the real job of the MLS? Perhaps that job should be limited to accurately collecting and dusbursing information.

I think you raise some very interesting points. The OKCMAR dues of $125 per year fund OKCMAR -Association related activities. As for perks from the dues there are basically two- Free CE (unheard of in most associations!) and the Free Inaugural. I personally agree (CEO VIEWPOINT ONLY- PERSONAL OPINION) that these items should be paid for by the individual receiving the benefit and not by all the members through dues. The savings could be used for legislative advocacy (a benefit to the entire membership), public relations or even a fund to assist the public secure low income housing as I have seen done in other associations. However, the overwhelming thought process has been that members are so used to these perks that it would be very negatively perceived to take them away.

As to MLS, the MLS funds are used to bring every member up to the level of technology that today's consumer not only expects but demands. It assists every member in remaining relevant in the market place. Many of the extra MLS programs like Site Seer and 360 Vista are available to members at an extra charge and not part of the MLS fees. None of us pay for Listhub- the free listing syndication service- this is free from the company- how they make their money is by selling the click-through reports to the brokers. Secure MLS is a necessity for protecting the broker and MLSOK from liability- it is a part of the monthly fee.

Forms are a common offering amongst MLS's and transaction desk is included in your monthly MLS fee and over 69% of the members are using it exclusively based on data in December; current data indicates over 80% usage. REALIST, the tax data program is an integral piece of our MLS and is right in line with your statement "Accurately collecting and disbursing data", this is included in your monthly MLS fees. Showing assist, the virtual tour creator and the AML social media tool are extras whose sole purpose is to keep our REALTORS relevant in the market. Buyers & Sellers expect video, social media marketing and efficient showing procedures from today's agent. Because they get these services (or similar counterparts) everywhere else from banks to retail outlets to governmental agencies. Even if every member does not use these three features (and they should be) their existence keeps our REALTORS important and relevant and positioned as the expert in the eyes of the consumer.

Our primary job in MLS is to accurately collect and disburse data and I believe the 4 2010 initiatives do that. Using House Logic (free) gives the REALTORS an immense database of free information. Most of the services we are looking at deal directly with reports which is accurately collecting and disbursing the data. Focusing on training in the existing MLS tools helps to ensure data accuracy. Finding a means to cooperatively work with other MLS's should save the REALTORS money which means they might be able to afford a small ticket price for the inaugural.

Although initially it seems that we are on different pages we are actually not that far apart in what we both believe to be the core purpose of MLS.

For Once I am Speechless!

For all intents and purposes the Spring Tech Conference is at full capacity. Between registrants, staff, exhibitors, and member volunteers we are expecting well over 300 members over the course of the event. This is wonderful considering there are several competing conferences that day.

I cannot express the level of committement by your Board of Directors to bring you professional development and tools to make more money. Part of this committment is our new designation program. The first week of March we had a filled to capacity class for the SRS designation. This year we will also be offering the ABR, CRB and GREEN Designations. Due to the ovewhelming response to the SRS we will be offering this course again in 2010.

REALTORS® with Designations Earn More!


The following table, based on data compiled by NAR Research, demonstrates that the average gross income for members with designations and certifications is considerably higher than for those who do not pursue additional real estate education.

Spring Conference

What a great opportunity to get some Continuing Education, because of the strong support of our Affiliate Members, Sponsors, and the OKCMAR Board of Directors. The Spring Tech Conference is what the majority of you have been wanting for some time. Because you are a member of OKCMAR, this Spring Conference is now being offered at NO CHARGE!

Come and learn from Nationally known speakers about making your marketing $$$$ work for you. Learn all about the newest technologies available. All packed into one location. This is one of the best return on investment of your dues that has ever been offered.

The goal this year is for all members to realize that OKCMAR exists because of its’ members, so enjoy your membership and be part of the investment in your future. SEE YOU THERE!!

Click Here to Register