August 2010

MONTHLY JOURNAL OF

Allison James ® Inc.

Agents Speaks Out! "Ahead of his time! On the cutting edge! A true Pio-neer! Jim has forged ahead and has created one of the best and innovative Real Estate Companies in the nation. Brick and Mortar companies are fast becom-ing a thing of the past. With 100% commission for the agents Allison James Estates & Homes is growing in leaps and bounds. He has created a great environ-ment for agents to practice their business!" Wayne Goss, Realtor Alli-son James Estates & Homes. Florida "I have only been doing this since 2004 and I realized that the internet has changed this business dra-matically in the last 3 years. Any realtor who does not keep up with the technology will go the way of the dinosaur. I appreciate and believe in the Allison James model and can’t for the life of me understand how the fran-chises keep any real-tors. Your ability to recog-nize the inevitable changes that will occur keep you a step ahead. That is impres-sive to me and that is why all those hot shots keep calling you. My guess is your detractors just hate it because you are right! Debbie Saunders, Realtor Allison James Estates & Homes. Florida

DID THE BOTTOM FALL OUT AGAIN? Written by James A. Crumbaugh III CEO

How many times, and from how many people have you heard the following saying? “ Real Estate is Lo-cal”.

I hate to burst everyone’s bubble but Real Estate is more national and even global than it is local any-more, due to today’s technology. Yes, there are still local factors at play, but more and more, like every-thing else in life, and with today’s technology, Real Estate is becoming Global.

I’m sitting in a very unique spot when it comes to the National Real Estate Market. I’m still a young company and a small enough company that I’m hands on, every day of the week including week-ends.

Our company is a National company operating on the West Coast, the East Coast, the Midwest, Texas and Arizona. Every single sale everyday of the week that is made under our banner is required to come across my desk, and I must sign off on those sales.

I’m a report “freak”… ask my staff! I drive them crazy! I require dozens and dozens of reports. I look for signs of early trends in these reports. This obses-sion served me well almost 5 years ago when I sold my Prudential franchises at the very height of the market. I saw the meltdown coming that we in the industry have dealt with for the past four years.

I don’t want to alarm anyone but I spotted something last week that has me a bit concerned. I’m hoping it was just a blurb on the radar screen, but if the trends continue for another two or three weeks, then I’m going to sound the alarm.

First let me say that for months now we have aver-aged between 55 and 60 sales per week with our high being 75 sales in a week. So I have an estab-lished base line to refer too. Early last week I re-ceived a call from my Texas state Broker asking me if I felt it. When I ask him what he was referring too, he said it feels like a faucet has been turned off.

He went on to say the phones died and the Real Estate business just shut down. I thought to myself, maybe it’s time that Texas went through a slow period.

However, I then received the same call from one of our stock holders, who is a Realtor in California. Then the same calls started coming from the East Coast states. My concern escalated on Friday afternoon when we only had 34 sales for the week.

Our government hadn’t done anything unusually stupid in the past week or at least not anything more stupid than usual, so I didn’t think Washington caused the slowdown last week. My gut feeling is what I have been writing about for a few months now has come home to roost.

The slowdown is not a meltdown. It’s a PAUSE. I believe the pause we are seeing in the Real Estate industry, we will start to see in all sectors of our economy over the next two months.

Our country is in a sour mood. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me. From my Republican friends, to my Tea Party friends, to my far left friends to my Blue Dog Dem-ocrat Brother, they are all very concerned with the debt of our country and as a result I think everyone has put every-thing on hold, till they see what happens with the election in November. For all us to agree on getting the National Debt under control is a good thing considering my Blue Dog Democrat brother would rather drink a cup of battery acid than vote for a Republican, and my Far Left friend has never met a conspiracy that he didn’t like.

My personal opinion, is the very best thing that can hap-pen to this country, is for the different branches of govern-ment to be controlled by the different parties. I believe in the division of power. So if the Republicans win the house, we will have a lame duck Presidency for the next two years.

This will result in no new spending bills being passed and as a result the American people will start having faith in our country again - and they will start discretionary spend-ing again. I don’t care if you’re a Blue Dog Democrat, a Socialist or a Far Right Republican; if we don’t get our government spending under control we will never again have a healthy economy.

Estates News Did the Bottom Fall Out Again P.1

Success in Real Estate P.2

Against the Grain P.4

Meet Our New Illinois Broker P.6

Perfect Storm P.6

Hoist the Storm Jib P.7

Make Your Website Great! P.8

When Words Are Not Enough P.10

IDX and Your Website P.11

I S S U E

15 "The Greenest Real Estate Brokerage in the World"

Success requires planning.

Old news.

"Not having a plan is

planning to fail."

Do you have a business plan for

your real estate business?

Success in Real Estate Re-quires more than HOPE By Saul Klein ePRO/GRI/CFP

I have watched many struggle through

this latest recession and real estate

downturn, and I am reminded of what

has always followed downturns in the

past…upturns. I have heard many real

estate professionals over my 35 years in

this industry; as a broker, office manag-

er, investor and educator, pray to be

granted "one more boom." So many

agents and brokers in the industry fail to

take advantage of the "good times" and

only come to the realization that they

missed those good times after they are

over. So have faith, the market will turn.

That is not in question. What is in ques-

tion is will you be ready to take ad-

vantage of the next swing up, for your-

self and for your clients?

What makes me so confident that the

good times are coming? History. Histori-

cally, real estate downturns lead reces-

sions and lag behind in recovery (Real

Estate and Business Cycles by Fred E.

Foldvary. I have personally experienced

this a number of times as a real estate

broker. One of the most memorable was

in the early 1980's. We had a "Savings

and Loan Crisis," The government creat-

ed the RTC (Resolution Trust Corpora-

tion), and folded one Savings and Loan

into another…taking over massive

amounts of properties and managing (or

mismanaging) and disposing of them.

The conventional wisdom at the time

was that interest rates would never go

below 10% again and that real estate

was grossly overpriced and only fools

would dare to buy.

Agent Website Provider

Get started fast

Point2 Agent provides you with doz-

ens of elements to choose from,

loads of pre-built text and photos,

automated blog posting, and all sorts

of productivity features that allow

you to have a huge web presence

with a minimum of work.

And then take it up a notch

Once you've moved beyond the

basics, you can learn just how versa-

tile a Point2 Agent real estate web-

site can be - you can remove default

content and create an incredibly

unique site with completely custom

elements (Professional and Premium

members), you can keep in touch

with comprehensive statistics, and

you can include just about any web-

site element you can think of.

Don't just attract visitors;

attract clients

Your free Point2 Agent site includes

a suite of prospecting features that

give your visitors the information and

tools they're looking for (listing notifi-

cation emails, mortgage calculators,

and many more).

In exchange, these tools are built to

encourage prospect generation.

Plan “C” ?

Order your powerful, professionally

designed Allison James Website to grab

the attention of any visitors.

Most people now wish that they had

purchased more real estate in the

1980s and held on to it through a few

up turns since then. While we may

not be at the bottom of the market

yet, we are more likely than not,

close to the bottom…taking into

account geographic differences, in

some areas, we may be at the bot-

tom. Now is the time for many to

buy…low prices, motivated

(desperate) sellers, historically low

long term interest rates, and for first

time homebuyers, an $8,000 bonus

from "Uncle Sam."

Not convinced? Let's examine the

record. Tracking of business cycles

began in the 1800s and there have

been close to 30 measured cycles

since the measuring and recording

began. As sure as I have lived

through downturns in the economy, I

expect an upturn. I can't tell you

when, but I am confident it will hap-

pen. Will you be ready for it?

Success requires planning. Old

news. "Not having a plan is planning

to fail." Do you have a business plan

for your real estate business? Does it

contain the essential elements such

as a Sales Plan, a Technology Plan,

a Marketing Plan, a Website Plan

and a Budget? If not, your plan for

success is, not uncommon unfortu-

nately in this business, HOPE. HOPE

is not a conscious choice, but absent

real planning, it is the default

choice…the choice you made by not

planning.

For many REALTORS®, they:

HOPE they will succeed

HOPE they'll get a listing

HOPE the buyer will make an offer

HOPE their sales skills will improve

HOPE their website is visited and gen-

erates leads

HOPE they close enough sales to pay

the bills this month

While HOPE has its place, it is too pas-

sive a way to approach an aggressive,

competitive business. Deliberate plan-

ning, discipline and commitment are

essential elements for anyone who

wants more out of a real estate career

than a few sales a year…and yet many

whom you meet in the business cannot

articulate anything close to a systematic

approach to selling.

Real estate is a sales business, and

sales is all about numbers, ratios, and

percentages. What systems and meth-

ods do you have in place that will allow

you to improve your efforts and your

results, week after week, month after

month, year after year?

Recipe of the Month

Sweet BBQ Sauce AJI Corporate

A sweet Memphis Barbecue Sauce Recipe, oh boy is it sweet. Feel free to try it on bbq pork and try chicken as well.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion finely chopped

2 red chili seeded and chopped

500ml or 1 1/2 cups ketchup

3 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons English mustard (ready mixed, not powdered)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Juice of a lemon

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Method:

Heat a saucepan, melt the butter and throw in the onions and chillies for about 3-4 mins until the onions turn translucent.

Then simply throw in the rest of the ingredients, simmer for about 10 minutes and you’re ready to go.

Have you remembered to light your barbecue? Well, what are you wait-ing for?

Meet Some of Our Fabulous Agents

Agata Bulanda Debbie Lewis Melissa Birch Jessica Lucarini

Dennis Gardner Carol Farrar Greg Cocca Rodolfo Casillas

Here are a few HOPEFULLY helpful

hints:

1. Create a business plan that is

specific…specificity is the key to exe-

cution. Begin with your annual goals

and break it down into the daily tasks

required to get you to where you want

to be at the end of the year.

2. Create a Sales Plan - How many

contacts are required for each closing?

If you are unaware of this personal

statistic, you should begin to determine

just what it is for you, and then, what

you can do to improve on it. Contacts

Create Contracts, so set about creating

a plan that will maximize the number of

contacts and the number of communi-

cations with each.

3. Create a Technology Plan that is

consistent with your Business Plan.

Be sure to establish a budget and a

timeline for the integration of the tech-

nology into your daily practice.

4. Create a comprehensive, integrat-

ed Marketing Plan that includes con-

ventional marketing and is tied to your

internet marketing.

5. Create a Website Plan that takes

advantage of the marketing power of

your listings. A listing is a marketing

asset and can be used to bring you

buyers as well as other listings. Offered

through Allison James is the Point2

Technologies Web Solution which is the

best the industry has to offer, take ad-

vantage of it.

6. Be Found. Create profiles on social

networking sites such as Facebook

and MySpace. Use the power of the

Internet to connect and reconnect you

with people…"Contacts Create Con-

tracts."

7. Take the new NAR Web 2.0 & So-

cial Media Course for REALTORS®

online course and begin the transition to

a consumer population of Gen X and

Gen Y buyers and sellers .

8. Differentiate yourself from the

competition. Your choice is "Be Differ-

ent or Charge Less."

9. Become an e-PRO® and join a re-

source and referral network 40,000

strong.

10. Take advantage of NAR's Program

Right Tools/Right Now. Amazing tools

and values for discounts and even for

free. Check it out.

I HOPE this has been helpful.

Saul is CEO of InternetCrusade as well

as Point2 Technologies..

Against the Grain by James A. Crumbaugh III CEO

I’m going to go out on a limb for a

moment and make a prediction as to

where I see the Real Estate market

over the course of the next two years.

Of course all of this depends on our

country avoiding slipping into that

deep dark hole of a second recession.

I have been writing about a shortage

of inventory and sharing my thoughts

on this subject for years; and now we

are starting to see the first signs of a

severe shortage of resale inventory in

this country. We have not seen any

significant building of new housing

units in almost four years.

As a result in most areas, except in

some areas of the rust belt, we are

seeing inventory levels of 8 months or

less. Once we drop below 6 months of

inventory it becomes a neutral market.

Not a buyer’s market nor a seller’s

market, but a neutral market.

Then once we drop down to a three

month inventory, it becomes a seller’s

market. Since I don’t see any signifi-

cant building on the near horizon to

help deal with this shortage of invento-

ry, and the fact that once a builder

decides to get back in the market and

starts building again, you are faced

with almost a two years lapse between

deciding to build, and having a product

to sell. Consequently, we are going to

see a severe shortage of inventory

before everything turns around.

I know that the Real Estate market

has taken another hit just recently with

the slowdown of sales, but I can’t

imagine it lasting very long. I’m hear-

ing from our Realtors across the coun-

try that sales are off again by 20%,

but as soon as the consumer and

small businessman has confidence in

our country and economy again, I

believe things will turn around fairly

rapidly. The turnaround may start in

November of this year or it may take

till 2012, but it will happen.

I hate to get into politics, but my ob-

servation is that the country’s eco-

nomic condition will not change for the

better until everyone comes together,

Republican, Independent, Democrat,

Tea Party, etc. And makes getting the

deficit under control the number one

priority.

The debt is killing this country just like

debt kills a business. I know the next

statement will probably be unpopular

with 40% of the populace, but as a

small businessman

I can state that the tax burden that

faces the small business man due to

the unknown of the national debt and

Health care scares us to death. That’s

just a fact of life. As a result I believe

that the country will remain in the

doldrums till the beginning of 2011 or

even until 2013. If by chance we slip

back into a double dip recession, you

can be sure that we will suffer for

years to come.

However my glass is always ¾ full

and I believe if we end up with the

different branches of government

being controlled by the different

parties come November ( which I

believe is always a good thing) then

new spending bills will cease to

exist.

No matter what party you belong too

this has to happen to get this coun-

try back on a financially solid foot-

ing. Then I believe confidence will

start to build in our country again.

With all that said, once we finally get

the inventory down to three months

in this country, and with the lack of

any new inventory, I believe we will

see Real Estate prices escalate

rapidly, once the American public

has faith in our economic system

again. I’m sure many will disagree

with me, but my glass is always ¾

full.

I hope I’m right because our compa-

ny is betting on my predictions.

We’re expanding and looking for

other Real Estate brokerages to

acquire. So in a very short period of

time we will learn if I’m a genius or

an idiot.

James A. Crumbaugh III is CEO of

Allison James Estates and Homes

and may be reached at

jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney

AJI Green Corner

Energy Mortgage Information

There is an emerging market force

towards energy efficient homes.

From Florida to Alaska mortgage

lenders are increasingly using ener-

gy mortgages to make homes more

affordable and poising their compa-

nies to capture this new market

trend.

What is an Energy Mortgage?

An energy mortgage is a mortgage

that credits a home's energy efficien-

cy in the home loan. For an energy

efficient home, for example, it could

mean giving the home buyer the

ability to buy a higher quality home

because of the lower monthly costs

of heating and cooling the home. For

homes in which the energy efficiency

can be improved, this concept allows

the money saved in monthly utility

bills to finance energy improve-

ments.

There are Two Types of Energy

Mortgages:

Energy Improvement Mortgage -

Finances the energy upgrades of an

existing home in the mortgage loan

using monthly energy savings.

Energy Efficient Mortgage - Uses the

energy savings from a new energy

efficient home to increase the home

buying power of consumers and

capitalizes the energy savings in the

appraisal.

Allison James Estates & Homes Business Model The Allison James Estates and Homes business model is ideal for Europe, since many Realtors in Europe do not work from an of-fice. If you have a contact anywhere in Europe that you feel would be of benefit to Allison James Estates and Homes, please have them contact James A. Crumbaugh III CEO at jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net

C.A.R. Reports May 2010 Me-dian Price Increased 23.2 Per-cent; Home Sales Increased

1.2 Percent www.car.org

Home sales increased 1.2% in May

2010 in California compared with the

same period a year ago, while the

median price of an existing home rose

23.2%, the California Association of

Realtors® (C.A.R.) recently reported.

“Home sales posted their third largest

increase on record for May, due in

part to first-time home buyers who

timed the open and close of escrow in

order to capitalize on both the federal

and state tax credits,” said C.A.R.

President Steve Goddard.

“May also marked the fifth month of

double-digit gains in the median price,

indicative of strong buyer demand

relative to the supply of homes for

sale. With a 4.6-month supply of

homes for sale, unsold inventory con-

tinues to be well below the long-run

average of seven months, and will

continue to drive price appreciation

over the next several months.”

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-

family detached homes in California

totaled 552,800 in May at a seasonally

adjusted annualized rate, according to

information collected by C.A.R. from

more than 90 local Realtor associations

statewide. Statewide home resale activi-

ty increased 1.2% from the revised

546,490 sales pace recorded in May

2009. Sales in May 2010 increased

14.1% compared with the previous

month.

The statewide sales figure represents

what the total number of homes sold

during 2010 would be if sales main-

tained the May pace throughout the

year. It is adjusted to account for sea-

sonal factors that typically influence

home sales.

The median price of an existing, single-

family detached home in California dur-

ing May 2010 was $324,430, a 23.2%

increase from the revised $263,440

median for May 2009, C.A.R. reported.

The May 2010 median price increased

5.9% compared with April’s $306,230

median price. “The number of escrows

opened in May fell 16.9% compared with

April.

This was consistent with our expectation

that activity may decline once the federal

tax credit deadline had passed, “said

C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist

Leslie Appleton-Young. “Although there

may be a lessening of demand compared

with the first half of this year, the number of

escrows opened on a year-to-date basis is

about the same as last year, and sales for

all of 2010 will be on a par or slightly below

last year.”

Highlights of C.A.R.’s resale housing

figures for May 2010:

- C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index for exist-

ing, single-family detached homes in May

2010 was 4.6 months, unchanged from the

same period a year ago. The index indi-

cates the number of months needed to

deplete the supply of homes on the market

at the current sales rate.

- Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates

averaged 4.89% during May 2010, com-

pared with 4.86% in May 2009, according

to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage inter-

est rates averaged 4.01% in May 2010,

compared with 4.75% in May 2009.

- The median number of days it took to sell

a single-family home was 39.8 days in May

2010, compared with 52.4 days (revised)

for the same period a year ago.

AJI Green Corner (cont.)

Increases Purchasing Power

The ability to leverage a home buy-

er's investment in energy efficiency

increases the number of qualified

home buyers and increases the

purchasing power of the consumer.

A recent analysis by the Environ-

mental Protection Agency (EPA)

confirmed that energy efficient mort-

gages can have a dramatic impact

on increasing the opportunities for

home ownership. The analysis

found that an average of 6.8% more

families would be able to qualify for

a mortgage through an energy effi-

cient mortgage.

Increases Market Value of Homes

Another study published in the Ap-

praisal Journal documented that the

market value of a home increases

$20 for every $1 decrease in the

annual energy costs. According to a

recent analysis by the Pacific North-

west National Laboratory building a

home to exceed the Model Energy

Code would result in an annual

savings of $170 to $425. Applying

these findings to the analysis pub-

lished in the Appraisal Journal

would equate to an increased home

market value of between $4,250 to

$10,625.

FHA Energy Mortgage Program

Summary of Program Example of FHA Energy Mortgage HUD/FHA Energy Mortgage Guidelines

New Illinois State Broker By Dave Eisley

David Eisley’s experience and background

have allowed him to impact the growth,

development and potential of others. Over

the last 15 years, he has led many different

endeavors; from "corporate Ameri-

ca" (management, sales, and training) to

multiple entrepreneurial start-ups (real

estate, fitness and rehabilitation centers).

Eisley started his real estate career in

2004 in Brielle, N.J., and became a multi-

million dollar sales producer his first

year. Previously, he was owner of Power

Station Fitness Center in Browns Mills,

N.J. Earlier, Eisley spent six years as the

Branch Manager for Texas-based Allied

Electronics, a global distributor of electron-

ic components, where he was ranked No.

5 of more than 400 sales representatives

nationally.

He came to the Chicago area as Director

of Regional Development in 2005 to bring

a large, yet unknown, national franchise to

the area. After opening twelve offices in

an eighteen month span, he was appointed

Director of Agent Development for a re-

gional affiliate in 2007, and brought 48

sales agents into the company in less than

two years. Currently, Eisley is the Director

of Inside Sales, Recruiting, and Sales

Training Content for a medical supply

distributor, where he has created an online

sales training university, created a new

sales department, and helped expand the

company into 25 states.

Eisley graduated Cum Laude from the New

York Institute of Technology and has done

freelance work in radio broadcasting, video

editing, and sports writing. He enjoys

living in Illinois with his wife, Donna, chil-

dren, Ryan, Colin, and Aidan, and over-

weight beagle, Rocky.

David Eisley, Allison James Estates &

Homes - Illinois State Broker

Interesting News

Interesting real estate news! San Diego home prices increased 12.4% in May from a year ago and San Diego was the only metro area in the country with 13 months of consecutive increases in home prices.

San Diego’s increase was the 2nd highest of the 20 metro areas surveyed, with San Francisco taking the top spot with an 18.3 percent increase.

If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's we'd grab our own and be happy.

The Perfect Storm by James A. Crumbaugh III CEO

I believe that the perfect storm has as-saulted the Real Estate Industry over the last 3 years. The perfect storm is a combination of the horrid economic conditions in this country, the worst Real Estate market in 80 years and the rapid advance of technology.

Together these conditions have altered the Real Estate Industry landscape so dramatically that most of us haven’t experienced such change in our Real Estate lifetime.

I’m fortunate enough to have the ability to speak often, with some of the greatest leaders in our industry. Just today I had a conversation with one of these individ-uals, and he agrees that massive chang-es are staring us in the face.

We all know that sales have been so poor in the last three years, that the Realtors and Brokers who have sur-vived, have had to tighten their belts and make do on less income and less sales.

Then you throw in all the technological changes, and it has dramatically changed our landscape. It use to be that when a buyer came into an area to buy a home, they sought out a well known and trusted brand.

They had no ability to find a property for sale via the internet so they had to put their trust in a Realtor. So in most cases they choose a well known and trusted brand.

No longer is there a need to seek out an

office of a well known and trusted brand.

Then you throw in what the Broker use to

mean to the Realtor, and how that has

changed.

Now we are starting to see the trend that

has so dramatically, in such a short time,

created a paradigm shift in our industry.

I relate it to when the jet engine changed

the aviation industry. It’s been that dra-

matic. I know I have written about this in

the past, but I can’t stress it enough.

Many of my friends are Realtors, Bro-

kers, and owners of Real Estate Broker-

ages and I have the upmost respect for

them, and I wonder how this will all turn

out.

I’m not discussing the brand new Realtor

in this article. I’m talking about the Pro-

fessional Realtors. Those Realtors that

have been in the business for 5 years or

more, the Realtors that still do a mini-

mum of one sale a month in this environ-

ment. The Realtor that puts ethics above

all else and lives by the Golden Rule.

It is those Realtors that are now asking

for and receiving 100% of their commis-

sions, because they aren’t dependent

upon the Broker to generate business

for them. They have their own leads,

their own following, their own computer,

We are seeing these Realtors using

the extra income that they are putting

in their pockets to market more, and

in some cases they are even opening

their own offices.

We have seen many Realtor Teams

that love having their own suite of

offices. These offices are

their office and not the

Brokers office, and they

like that feeling of inde-

pendence. A true Inde-

pendent Contractor.

We are also seeing the

Realtor that’s happy to

meet their clients at Star-

bucks, Hilton and multiple

other locations because

most of their clients are

referrals from past clients.

If you use the 80/20 rule that we all

use in this industry to determine who

the top producing Realtors are. That

means we have over 200,000 Real-

tors that fall into this category. They

are also the same Realtors that the

Brokerages count on to deliver

$20,000 to $60,000 a year to their

bottom line.

What happens to a Brokerage when

all these top Producers decide they

want to keep 100%?

James A. Crumbaugh III is CEO of

Allison James Estates and Homes

and may be reached at

jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net

Hoist The Storm Jib by James A. Crumbaugh III CEO

The Perfect Storm descended upon our industry a little over 3 years ago, and still continues to rage, although to a lesser degree. The waters are still turbulent.

However at Allison James Estates and Homes we have the storm jib deployed, the jack lines secured, our foul weather gear on and we’re sail-ing through the storm.

This is what every Realtor and every brokerage that has survived for the past three years has done. They’ve battened down the hatches and plowed through those turbulent wa-ters. There are times when you have to sail into the wind. My wife and I had to sail into the wind one night in 1996, 100 miles off the coast of Baja Mexico in 35 knot winds. Those are the times in life that you man up and survive, or give up.

I’m seeing a lot of people give up right now. Not just in our industry but in spirit and with their goals. Some of these people surprise me that they have given up. At one point they were confident, strong and successful people, and they have been reduced to frail, whining shadows of their for-mer selves. I feel for them, but they have to stand on their own two feet.

With that said I’ll address what these individuals in our industry need to do to get back on their feet, regain their confidence and survive the storm.

First: Quit blaming everyone else. This

includes the government, the industry,

the banks not lending, everyone. You

can’t change those things. What you

can change is yourself. If I can give

some overly simplistic advice, go buy

the book “Think And Grow Rich” by

Napoleon Hill and read it. Recently I

had a good friend ask me if I had ever

read it. I shared with that friend that not

only had I read it, but I carried it in my

briefcase for probably 20 years and

read it almost daily till it finally just fell

apart.

I implemented those teachings into my

life and to this day I am a very strong

goal setter. Every day I look at my

goals; several times a day. I have pic-

tures of my goals, my passwords reflect

my goals. If nothing else try this. Con-

firm to yourself several times a day that

you are successful and you will achieve

your goals.

Two: Get back to the basics. As many

of you know I’m a big Social Media guy

but Social Media is just another tool. It

won’t change your life without the ba-

sics. The basics in our industry have

always been to go out and secure list-

ings. Go out in your neighborhood like

we used to. Bring that smile you get

from reading “Think And Grow Rich” to

every door. I think everyone in the coun-

try right now has a sour attitude. What a

pleasant surprise you’ll be to your

neighbors when they find a hopeful and

positive Realtor.

Three: Make 10 WHO DO calls a day to your

sphere of influence. A WHO DO call is when

you speak to someone about Real Estate

you ask WHO DO YOU KNOW that may

want to buy or sell Real Estate. As I taught

my Realtors over the years, 10 WHO DO’s a

day will make you successful, 20 WHO DO’s

a day will make you wealthy.

I know these ideas will be laughed at by

many, because we are so much more so-

phisticated today. But you know what? We

do these things at the corporate office of

Allison James Estates and Homes every day

and in the last 2 ½ years since we opened

our doors we have grown from just myself to

a presence in 11 states with two new states

about to open, and have recruited over 400

Realtors while most other companies have

shrunk or disappeared.

Positive and simple has made us successful.

James A. Crumbaugh III is CEO of Allison

James Estates and Homes and may be

reached at jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net

Agent Speaks Out!

I thank You for all your help and being

there, you always are. I was becoming

increasingly frustrated with technology

changes and especially with the

eNeighborhoods website. I found my

niche yesterday.

All these so called "Realtor websites"

are great, necessary and functional but

they are loosing ground with lead gen-

eration which lead me to wonder, is

technology changing faster than we

can actually keep up? It is! Staying

on top of a site weekly with some minor

changes and good information helps by

keeping the site out there, I found

yesterday that it's really simple (I found

a fantastic contact who is helping me

build a site), makes sense to me now.

I also did a quick survey yesterday with

whom better than my clients, past

clients, friends and acquaintances who

are tech savvy individuals and received

a wealth of information back, it was

perfect and what I needed. With what I

know now from this information I re-

ceived yesterday I also know what to

do to stay ahead of the game. Which

will prevail in generating more sales

and more cash flow. Have learned so

much this past year with websites and

the Internet as frustrating as it was.

The generic websites and the 3rd party

IDX company's have not served me

well and now I know. Some sites are

fabulous but can be too cumbersome in

the setup or with details that the con-

sumer is not interested in. Simplicity

and information are the key factors and

how it is gotten out there in the cyber

world.

I prefer to be of help to everyone not a

burden. I love my work and will love it

once more when I can get back to

generating that website traffic and cash

flow. Will promote AJ more and have

ideas for anyone coming aboard and

more money to brand and promote

myself, AJ and agents who come

aboard. That will make all of us happy

and therefore helpful in every sense of

the word.

Debbie Faremouth, Associate Broker,

Allison James Estates & Homes

Where America's Rich are Moving

By Forbes.com

Surprise: America's wealthy like

warm weather and low taxes.

That's the takeaway from Internal

Revenue Service data, analyzed by

Forbes, on the counties the rich are

moving to in the biggest numbers.

Topping the list:

Collier County, Fla., which includes

the city of Naples. Tax returns ac-

counting for 15,150 people showed

moves to Collier County from other

parts of the country in 2008, the

latest year for which IRS data are

available. Their average reported

income: $76,161 per person, equiva-

lent to $304,644 for a family of four.

Although slightly more taxpayers

moved out of Collier County than into

it, the departing residents' average

income came out to just $26,128 per

person.

Households that moved to Collier

County principally came from other

parts of Florida, with Lee, Miami-

Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and

Orange counties leading the list. Big

Northern cities also sent lots of trans-

plants: Cook County, Ill. (home to

Chicago); Oakland County, Mich.

(near Detroit); and Suffolk County,

N.Y. (on Long Island), each sent

more than 100 people to Collier

County during 2008.

In second place is Greene County,

Ga., with a population of just 15,743

at the Census Bureau's last esti-

mate. The IRS data show that in

2008, 788 people moved to the

county, about 75 miles east of Atlan-

ta.

Make Your Site Great! By Bill Hogan

Allison James Estates & Homes

Let’s put everything in perspective, in

the United States there are over 240

Million Internet users. A recent study

shows that 85% of home buyers use

the Internet at some point during

their home search. The percentage

of Internet savvy customers will likely

increase in the future; making it

essential that your online presence

stands out. It is important to give

these Internet savvy customers a

reason to do business with you.

Your website will likely be the first

thing that you are judged by.

Leaving a good first impression

means having a Web site that is

easy to navigate, provides an up-to-

date home search, looks profession-

al, and helps your prospects achieve

their goals. Most sites are full of

useful and not so useful information;

unfortunately the useful information

is buried and not easily found.

Today’s online consumers want what

they are looking for now! If they

can’t find what they are searching for

in a few seconds they continue their

search on another site that will pro-

vide the information quickly. Want a

great Realtor’s Website? Follow the

guidelines below:

10 Features of a great Web site

1. Market your Website: What

good is having a great website if

no one knows it exists? Most

Realtors target a specific geo-

graphical area(s) in which to oper-

ate (e.g. San Diego Ocean Beach

Real Estate, San Diego La Jolla

Real Estate, etc…). It makes

logical sense to target your search

engine keywords to blanket this

market. This way you avoid

competing against large national

firms who have broad national

keywords and increases the odds

of your website being displayed

on the first page. Use good ole’

fashion marketing by branding

your Website on your Business

Cards, For Sale Signs, Letter-

head, Advertisements, and as part

of your Email Signature.

2. Searchable listings: Let’s face it,

buyers want to see properties. It is

important that visitors are able to

find the “search property button

immediately” so they can start their

search without the hassle of filling

out a form. The output should be

both attractive and informative.

Most boards have reasonably

priced framing solutions that a

realtor can use. These board

provided solutions are improving

daily. However, third party solu-

tions (e.g. Realtor.com, MLSFinder,

IHomeFinder, etc..) deliver the

most features and flexibility. Do

not purchase a third party solution

that does not allow you to frame

and color the content to match your

Website’s appearance.

3. Lots of property photos and

descriptions: Do not skimp on

photographs and detailed property

information for your properties. Go

the extra mile for your listings. A

recent NAR survey confirmed that

these items are the two most valua-

ble Website features for both buy-

ers and sellers.

4. Customer comes first: Your

website needs to communicate

directly to your prospects. You

need to provide a reason to stay,

surf and to choose your services.

Searchable listings certainly will

provide a reason to use your web-

site, but you must communicate

why they should hire you. Your

Website needs to convey a profes-

sional attitude toward real estate.

No miscellaneous links and content

that is not customer-centric. The

sole purpose is to demonstrate

your services, knowledge of the

market, and professionalism.

5. Make their life easier: Wouldn’t it

be great if your Internet prospects

could let you know exactly the type

of home (through pictures) they are

looking for? Not just the price

range, but the home style, neigh-

bor, proximately to schools, shop-

ping, yard style, etc… The more

information you obtain on their

requirements, their likes and dis-

likes, the more successful you will

be at finding their dream home

quickly and professionally.

6. Simplicity: The KISS (Keep It Simple

Silly) Principle should be the motto of

your website design. If it doesn’t

promote your business, it doesn’t

belong. Robust content does not help

the causal real estate surfer.

7. Organization. Internet browsers

demand simplicity for their time. They

want information at their fingertips

immediately. Your navigation needs

to be simple, clean, organized and

limited. Make sure your links show up

on all pages and are obvious.

8. Make it easy to contact you: Include

your contact phone number and an e-

mail link on every page of your Web-

site. Include attractive fillable forms so

your prospects can communicate a lot

of information quickly and easily from

your Website. 48 hours should be

your maximum response time and if

possible you should try to reply in a

few hours.

9. Show off the neighborhood: Pro-

vide a reason to move your area.

Prospects that are unfamiliar with the

area that you service might be enticed

by pictures of the attractions, commu-

nity, and lifestyle. Once enticed, they

are inclined to select an agent (you)

that is familiar and understands the

area they are moving too.

10.Short, concise copy. Not only

should your site be simple, but it

should be served in easily digestible

bites of information. Bullet points and

short uncluttered paragraphs work

best. You want to convey the most

information in the shortest period of

time.

Allison James Estates & Homes is work-

ing hard to provide a variety of solutions

to help make all of our virtual real estate

agent businesses a success. As I men-

tioned above, in the near future we hope

to provide AJI agents with an optional

branded website solution that adheres to

all ten items listed above at an easily

affordable price.

Bill Hogan works for Allison James Es-

tates and Homes, newsletter, website

and graphic design department. He also

provides website service for a variety of

businesses throughout the United

States. If you have any questions or

would like to request work done on your

current website, contact him at

bill@findyourbiz.net.

A Brave New World Wide WebA Brave New World Wide Web

Optional Branded Website Solution Optional Branded Website Solution

Note: The website image below is a representation of a future template that Allison James & Homes is considering for its agents, which can be used as an optional, affordable, and effective marketing tool.

When Words are Not Enough By Carla Cross

How to Create Platinum Trust in a Tarnished

World

We real estate professionals like to talk. In fact,

many of us became agents because people told

us that, since we’re good talkers, we’d make

great salespeople! That’s an old idea today.

Why? Because consumers, are over-whelmed

with sales talk. We don’t just trust anyone be-

cause they have a good ‘sales spiel’.

California Realtor Study Shows Sobering

Results

Recently, the California Association of Realtors

did a study asking buyers to rate their overall

satisfaction with their agent. Here are the results:

Now, that’s enough to make you want to quit the

business. But, don’t draw that conclusion. In-

stead, I see this as a wonderful opportunity to

stand out. If consumers are rating most agents at

a measly 4% satisfaction rate, you can certainly

set yourself apart by taking the steps I’ll explain

here.

Evidence of this Distrustful Atmosphere:

Buyers and Sellers Stall on Decisions

Recently, I was in Albuquerque to do my presen-

tation for this emerging market, “From Lambs to

Lions: Take Charge of Your Business in Chal-

lenging Times”. As part of my regular pre-

conference survey, I found that agents are having

trouble getting buyers to make a decision—and

sellers to list their properties are a marketable

price. This is true across the US, not just in Albu-

querque, of course. What’s behind this indeci-

sion?

Low confidence in the economy—and lack of

trust in anyone leading consumers to an im-

portant decision

So, how do we create high trust in a market that

is so unpredictable that no one, in any business

(or personal life), has a crystal ball on the future?

There are several proven methods, and, here, I’ll

help you with one of them. Click here for more

ideas on creating high trust.

Take a Clue from the Medical Community

A few months ago, I came across a brilliant arti-

cle in our local Seattle paper describing how

doctors in a prestigious medical center here have

just adopted operation room checklists. This

simple measure lowered infections dramatically.

Now, it seems simplistic, doesn’t it, that highly

trained doctors and nurses need checklists for

things such as ‘wash your hands’? But, we all get

busy. We get stressed. Having checklists reduc-

es stress and increases confidence.

Not just for the doctors. Wouldn’t you feel

better if you were going into the operating

room, and saw that checklist posted on the

wall? And, in fact, one version of the check-

list is actually posted in a huge poster in the

operating room. Smart professionals in all

fields realize that visual evidence of credi-

bility is one of the strongest builders of

trust.

If Doctors Do This, Shouldn’t We?

The idea for professional checklists comes

from the book The Checklist Manifesto, by

Atul Gawande. If doctors and nurses can

increase their effectiveness with checklists,

I’ll bet we can, too—and dramatically in-

crease our clients’ trust in us.

I’m Seasoned: I Don’t Have to Prove

It…….

Certainly, if you’re working with a person

who already has high trust in you, credibility

‘foundations’ may not seem important to

you to use. In fact, I’ve managed agents

who bragged that they just told people what

to do—and they did it. Sometimes…But, the

problem is that the whole world has be-

come less trusting. So, even your ‘high

trust’ clients may not be as trusting as you

thought they were.

Is Your Service Predictable or

‘Creative’?

There’s nothing wrong with being creative.

I’m a musician, so I know all about creativi-

ty. Here’s the problem, though. Sometimes

we get creative when we should be predict-

able. We ‘fire from the hip’. The consumer

doesn’t want surprises. The consumer

wants you to do the operational part of your

job the same, professional way—every

time.

The Easy Way to Get Referrals. Putting the

strategy to work below assures that your

referral source communicates to that

‘stranger’ your professional approach. Just

‘trust me’ doesn’t make it in sales any-

more….

Tough, honest note to seasoned agents:

Unfortunately, I’ve found, from managing,

training, and coaching thousands of agents

(and managers), that refusing to work hard-

er at credibility is often just a cop-out. Don’t

let that be you! Wouldn’t it be advantageous

to you to create strong relationships with

more consumers, not just those who al-

ready have a high trust in you?

(Managers, I’m talking to you too: Do you

have that Book of Greatness available

that shows you put your actions where

your mouth is?)

Checklists: Your Systematic Tool

You may use checklists in your business.

They could include: New listing check-

list. After sales checklist, Processing

transactions checklist.

Tip: Make a list, right now, of the check-

lists and operations you regularly use.

Would someone who doesn’t know how

you work be impressed with your busi-

ness organization? You bet.

How to Show and Share Your Profes-

sionalism

Do you share with consumers how you

work? Do you show it visually, not just

verbally? A stunning statistic: We remem-

ber only 10% of what we heard three

days later. No wonder they’re always

asking us about what we said—or didn’t

say!

One way to share your checklists and

your operations is by creating a Profes-

sional Portfolio. Remember, it’s not about

you (think doctors). It’s about your cli-

ent—letting your client know he will have

a predictable, few- surprises transac-

tion—and that he can count on you to

professionally guide the transaction to

closing and beyond.

Tip on showing your checklists: Show a

completed checklist (it’s the ‘real’, not the

promise), and a blank checklist.

More ideas on creating high trust: Click

here. I’ve included a ’trust evaluator’ for

you.

A Simple, Effective Method to Double

your Credibility Factor

I hope I’ve convinced you to work hard at

sharing your credibility visually. Start with

your checklists.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is a former mas-

ter-level CRB instructor, popular interna-

tional speaker, National Realtor Educator

of the Year, and author of 6 books and 20

audio programs. Join her newsletter com-

munity and receive her complimentary

eBook, Getting to Yes: Ten Powerful

Tools to Bash those Barriers to Purchas-

ing Today. Learn more at

www.carlacross.com, or contact Carla at

425-392-6914.

IDX and Your Website by Tanya Spilchak

IDX (Internet Data eXchange) is about providing online visitors the ability to browse through all of the listings in an MLS system from partic-ipating members. But more than that, though, it provides a means of reach-ing potential buyers and turning them into leads and, hopefully, customers.

With over eighty percent of home buyers starting their real estate search online, getting in front of these prospective buyers on the Internet is more important than ever. The num-ber one thing that these buyers are looking for online? That’s right: list-ings. Show them listings and they are willing to stay on your website. Show them all the listings and they might never leave! IDX provides you with almost all of the listings for your particular MLS, which means not only can you showcase these listings in the area, but they are all branded with your contact details. This means not only giving those online visitors what they want, but also getting your name and phone number in front of hun-dreds to thousands more people.

Not only can those visitors see all of those listings with Point2 IDX, but they can also create a profile and save specific search results, houses that interest them, and be able to log into your IDX at any time to access this information.

Their specific contact details are tracked

within your Point2 Agent account and

their searches are emailed to you, so

that you have a better understanding of

their interests before contacting them to

do further needs analysis.

The ability to save searches gives those

online visitors a great incentive to keep

coming back to your site, which helps to

drive traffic to the website and helps

with search engine standings. Beyond

these search savers, you can also add

additional content around your IDX

solution relating to neighborhoods, your

business, the area, your brokerage,

almost any content that you wish to

share! Not only does this content pro-

vide more information for those online

buyers, but also again aids your Search

Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts,

which in turn have those search engines

find you more often, meaning that more

potential buyers will find you. It’s almost

cyclical in process.

Research into educational processes

shows that the majority of people are

visual learners. Ever see a face that

you’re sure you know, although the

name of the individual eludes you?

You’re a visual learner. You’ll remem-

ber things that you see over things that

you hear. Taking that to another level,

people who see and interact with what

they are learning are even more likely to

remember it.

To take your Point2 IDX solution to another

level, you can add the optional MapTracks

feature, which provides an interactive map

with the form-based search. Online visitors

can zoom and pan on the map, hover over

house icons to receive additional property

information, and search for information on

local amenities. Members who use Map-

Tracks have enjoyed twenty-five percent

more leads than members utilizing only the

form-based search.

IDX is all about getting information into the

hands of the eighty percent of the market

going online to find a home. With Point2

IDX, you are not only able to track those

online visitors who enter their information,

but also get a sense of their interests. More

importantly, you are providing specific and

relevant information to those online pro-

spects, giving them what they want, and

incentivizing them to contact you directly.

This means more traffic to your website,

more inquiries for your listings, and more

money in your pocket.

Tanya Spilchak, Education Coordinator,

Point2 Technologies, Inc.

Sometimes We Just Need to Laugh

By Ruthie Sousa

The Procrastinator's Creed

I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

I shall never move quickly, ex-cept to avoid more work or find excuses.

I will never rush into a job with-out a lifetime of consideration.

I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding dis-coveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.

I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.

I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not ex-actly zero.

If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.

I shall always decide not to de-cide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.

I shall always begin, start, initi-ate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.

I obey the law of inverse excus-es which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.

I know that the work cycle is not plan-start-finish, but is wait-plan-plan.

I will never put off until tomor-row, what I can forget about forever.

REALTORS

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR VIDEO!

For more information, call or email:

Ginger Crumbaugh

1-866-463-5780 Ext . 2

gcrumbaugh@al l ison james.net www.a l l ison jamesinc.com

12653 SW CR 769, Suite F

Lake Suzy, FL 34269

941-258-3326 ph

941-258-3664 fax

www.allisonjamesinc.com

Plan A: $2,950 / Per Year

Free E & O 1st Year

Plan B: $295 / Per Month

Free E & O 1st Year

Plan C: $35 / Per Month

$295 Transaction Fee