In the following session, Charlie Oppler, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR interviews Mike Litzner, Broker/Owner, Century 21 American Homes; Jason Waugh, COO, Prudential Northwest Properties; and Sherry Chris, President, CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, about navigating the future of real estate.

Like many an industry catch phrase, ‘The New Normal’ has quickly risen to real estate vernacular. But what does the term really mean? Is it, in fact, even valid? Two tell-it-like-it-is members of RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)—Joe Clement, Broker/owner, RE/MAX Properties,

All businesses can relate to the challenge of finding the right sales people. Most hiring managers base decisions on candidate background and technical skills and often find themselves later firing those same individuals for having a bad attitude. The lesson managers can learn from this

In the following session, Charlie Oppler, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR interviews Rei Mesa, President, CEO, Prudential Florida Realty; Ed Surovell, President, CEO, Edward Surovell REALTORS®; and J. Lennox Scott, Chairman, CEO, John L. Scott REALTORS®. Charlie Oppler: Whoever said, “Hindsight is 20-20” hit the nail on the head. Real estate brokers, like other entrepreneurs today, are looking back at the past few years using the clear light of hindsight. Many of us are asking the hard questions: “what should I have done differently over the past five years to anticipate and mitigate the pain of this languishing market?”

Social media continues to evolve and be a powerful force and way to reach new and existing customers, clients, and markets. One of the biggest problems with this power vehicle is that businesses don't know how to take advantage of it. "Business owners are spending countless hours online but wiping out,” says Starr Hall, social media strategist and author of The Social Wave: Why Your Business is Wiping Out with Social Media and How to Fix It. “They aren't reaping the benefits of their online outreach. If you fall into this category, it's time to change your social media approach."

Crimes against real estate and leasing agents are on the rise, experts report. The news headlines are often atrocious and yet job duties require agents to continue to pound the pavement with zeal and rarely shift from the current process. The scenarios that continue to put real estate agents at risk are: 1) hosting open houses; 2) new client meetings; 3) REO market visits; and 4) listing appointments. In general meeting unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places continues to put real estate professionals at risk.

(EMC)—This is quite the time for marketers. The mobile and social media revolution is bringing more consumers online, causing email, text messaging, Facebook and Twitter to displace traditional communication methods. The result is a rich playground for reaching consumers in new, powerful ways

Surveys show that mobile video is growing at an unprecedented rate, thanks to the latest generation of smartphones. The latest figures are attention-getting to say the least. ReelSeo says that Photobucket reports its mobile video uploads have jumped 300% over figures of a year ago. That means more people

This intriguing question will be answered next month by a panel of industry experts at RISMedia’s 16th Annual Power Broker Forum, being held from 2:30-4 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2011, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 201A, Anaheim, CA, during the annual NAR Conference.

Are you feeling confused in today's marketplace? Do you find yourself in any of these patterns? • Procrastinating • Feeling scattered • Avoiding picking up the phone? • Doing just "busy work"? If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you are feeling "stuck" and your business is suffering. Here are some tips to get your business back on track and double your income:

If you want your on-line video viewers to hang around for more than a few seconds, don’t waste any time getting their attention. Too often we make the mistake of spending a lot of time on flashy openings or special effects, forgetting that the attention clock is ticking.

(eM+C)—While the tough global economy has served to torpedo branding efforts at many organizations, the sometimes sticky relationship between sales teams and marketers can also torpedo a company’s lead generation efforts. If you still need more ammo to achieve your organization’s goals—aside from the tips mentioned in part one of this article—here are some additional ideas on how sales and marketing can work together to achieve revenue and client wins.

Just recently we discussed how SMS/text messaging was the old faithful of the mobile industry. While there is so much hype surrounding QR and apps (for good reason), one shouldn’t overlook the benefits that an SMS campaign can bring to the table. Perhaps CBS read that article because they have decided

(eM+C)—With the U.S. credit rating downgrade and the ensuing global market fluctuation, it’s a murky time for money. While this uncertainty will reverberate through some companies’ online marketing budgets, there are strategic actions you can take to maintain a valuable and efficient search engine marketing

A key to developing an effective marketing strategy is hearing first-hand what successful REALTORS® are doing to close more business from the Web. I recently spoke with real estate broker Shane White (www.ShaneTWhiteTeam.com) about how he has gone from 8% to over 25% in buyer-side closings and how he remains cutting-edge in a shifting market. TA: Why is having a Web strategy that is tailored to your specializations important? SW: In our marketing, we have decided to go after specific areas or niches instead of trying to cover the entire Austin, Texas area. My office is located in a small rural town, so we focus our efforts here and within the surrounding towns to generate leads.