Repeat and Referral Business

Let me offer you a little perspective on the power of repeat and referral business. Those of you who work in a sales oriented business are probably already aware of what it means to have others use your services time and again, as well as refer others to you. For those of you who don’t, I just want to provide you with a little more information about how your referrals not only benefit the person(s) you’re referring, but also benefit you.

Now I don’t want you to take this wrong. I’m not whining, I’m just offering some perspective that you may not otherwise had. I’m going to use my work as a real estate broker as the example. I’ve worked as a broker for about sixteen years. Over that time I’ve developed a client base. I’m one of the lucky few; I receive enough repeat and referral business that over 95% of my work is from that source. The other 5% comes from advertising and internet searches.

It sounds pretty good. And it is. I’m not complaining. However, here’s what happens every year. From my database of contacts, there are two to three people that end up buying and/or selling a home and I never even had the opportunity to help them. The only reason I end up knowing is that I either receive mail back as the forwarding order expires, or from the occasional search against county records.

I’m not saying it should be guaranteed that I receive all that business. I understand that some people have relationships with more than one broker. Sometimes. But most of the time that’s not the case. And, if so, again, that’s okay, but to not give each an opportunity to make their pitch seems to be as much a disservice to the client as it is the agent (more on that in a minute). I’d have to say that I can account for about $20k per year in potential commission losses.

If I had not provided good service and results, I would fully expect that I wouldn’t be getting a call. But, when I get my clients every last dollar out of every last transaction, provide them with great advice and guidance and continually stay up to date on the perpetual changes in the industry, I might like to think I’ve earned at lease an opportunity for the next piece of business, let alone them thinking of me when they hear of others in need of such a service.

So, how does it negatively affect the client or customer? You haven’t shopped and compared. You may be missing out on a better opportunity for yourself, both in level of stress and financially. You shop and compare before buying that flat panel television, why wouldn’t you do the same with your service providers? Sometimes the bottom line isn’t as simple as just the advertised rate. Other factors play into value. The only way to really assess your options is to let a professional make their pitch for your specific situation.

With that said, I obviously believe I provide the best value for the services I provide. I understand others may have a different perspective or opinion. However, how are they to know if they haven’t made a meaningful comparison?

NOW HIRING REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND BROKERS: http://realtyrecruits.com

SO YOU WANT BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE?

And so it goes, another post about customer service. I was thinking the other day. Why is it that we all seem to get poor customer service more often then we’d like? From what I can tell, there are three main reasons.

First. When most of us receive service that is less than what we deserve, we tend not to say anything about it. I’m not saying that you need to ream out the person at the KFC counter or always ask to “see your manager.” Mostly we just take it and move on instead of constructively letting the person right in front of you know what it is they could improve upon.

Second. Let’s say you have received less than stellar service. And you, unlike many, let it be known what was or wasn’t done. And, the response is poorly handled and/or nothing is done. But, you keep going back to that store or one of its other locations.

Third. You don’t receive good service and you don’t tell anyone. You go back again and you receive the same poor service and you don’t tell anyone. You go back again and you ... You see the cycle. The problem is you keep going back.

The only way business owners, executives, managers and line employees are really going to know that something needs to be done is when we as consumers stop spending our hard earned money at places that seem to be less than appreciative. Only then will they know how important it is.

Another and final thought; we also tend not to reward those businesses that do well, nor do we let them know when they’re doing well. So, the next time you receive great service, let that person know. Even better, let someone else know about it. Tell a friend. That’s how we will continue to receive great service from those places so far and few between. Refer them to others.

If you know of a great place you can recommend to others, visit www.iswami.com and submit your recommendation.

The Days of Summer

I’m sure you feel much like I do. When the days are long and finally warm, I just don’t feel like sitting in the office working. Actually, I don’t feel like working at all. I do, but I don’t want to! I want to be outside, riding my mountain bike, hiking, riding motocross, playing tennis or mowing the lawn.

Just about anything really, just as long as I’m outside. I sometimes find myself gazing out the window getting lost in a daydream. Maybe I should plant some flowers there... I quickly snap back to reality and get to it. Have there been any studies on worker productivity during the summer months? I’d bet it would show a significant decrease.

Do people who live in warmer climates have similar issues? Are Floridians as a whole, less productive than people from Montana? Does it have something to do with having summers off as a school age child? Did the pattern of those years perpetually doom us to long for days of no responsibility where the biggest decision was what fun thing were we going to do next?

As I’ve now prompted you to think about it, I most likely have now decreased your motivation to work. Is it like a cold in the winter months where we all pass it around? With a big dose of vitamin C and some rest will I get over it? It’s a pretty strong but and might take some time to get over. I might be cured some time in October. I think I’ll go outside and pull some weeds.

Looking for something new? www.iswami.com

More on Customer Service

It would seem that the topic of customer service has been beaten to death. I mean, everyone has great customer service, don’t they. You’d think so with all that advertisements asking to choose a business because they have better customer service. The problem is that I don’t think most companies, businesses, organizations or people in general really understand what good if not great customer service means.

My strong opinion is that in order to provide good customer service you must have good systems and processes in place. And, those systems and processes must be engineered to a specific business. Then, once you have your systems and processes properly engineered and in place, you must ensure that they are consistently followed. That is the big component that often gets overlooked – consistency.

Now when I talk about systems and processes I’m not just talking about the people who have direct contact with the customers, these must also include every aspect of the business. The best example of this are franchised businesses. Now I prefer to patronize the local places when I can, but these locally owned businesses could learn a lot from how the franchises operate.

Everything that is required to run the franchised business is documented; everything from how to cook the hamburger to how to assemble it and wrap it. This is all in addition to how and when to greet customers. Although there are many companies that do this reasonable well, there are many more that just don’t get it. Some of them once got it, but forgot to take a step back and look at how consumers have evolved and their systems are no longer effective.

What brings this up today? It all comes back to something as simple as take-out pizza. There’s a place here in Colorado Springs that I thought was going to a great new local business where I could get a good pizza pie. The first time I went there it was great. It was a great pizza and there were great people. The second time wasn’t as good, as there was a discrepancy in the price and how the pizza turned out. The third time there was a “problem with the oven” and they had to remake my pie. It was inconvenient but I was given the pizza for no charge. Huge gesture and it maintained my loyalty.

Over the next three weeks I ordered a pizza a week. Each time the pizza came out different. It either had too much cheese or the crust was too thick or it was too thin. It wasn’t the same way twice. I took a few weeks off in hopes that they were having a bad patch. So a few days ago I went in again. There were new faces. Not as friendly as before, and when I returned home, the pizza wasn’t that great. Again, not the same as the first time I went in.

Inconsistent is all I can say about the place now. So, will I go back? I’m not sure. There’s something to be said about a franchise pizza. It’s not the best, but at least I always know what to expect. I get the same product each and every time. And that is a big part of good customer service.

Find the most recommended locally owned and operated businesses at http://iswami.com

Brokers Who Only Represent Buyers

I see advertisements from time to time for real estate brokers who only represent buyers. In these ads, the advertiser claims that this is a great deal for the buyer. Now I’m all for setting yourself apart as a professional and even developing a specific niche. However, I believe this particular approach isn’t “better” for the buyer and it might actually be bad for the buyer.

This is going to a short post because the answer to this is very simple. It comes down to negotiation. In order to effectively and successfully negotiate anything, you must have a full understanding of your opponent(s). In this case, the seller of the property and the listing broker. As a buyer’s agent, wouldn’t it make sense that in order to fully understand the mindset, motivations and approach of your opposition, you have a good deal of experience working as a seller’s agent?

I certainly believe so. So, if you’re in need of a representative to help you buy a home, wouldn’t it make sense to hire a broker that consistently represents both buyers AND sellers? Don’t you think you’d have a better advocate negotiating on your behalf and don’t you think you’d end up getting a better deal? Me too!

roseusa.com

The Great Outdoors!

If you don’t already know, I live in Colorado Springs, CO. It’s a great place to live. There are great parks, good schools, usually a good climate, although this winter wouldn’t have been your best example and lots of opportunities for outdoor recreation. We’re a pretty good sized city, but with a fifteen minute drive from just about anywhere in town you can lose yourself in nature. Whether you’re going to one of our nationally renown areas like Garden of the Gods, or just a drive into national or state parkland, it doesn’t take long to get there.

So, this past weekend, with the weather finally reflecting what it normally does, my family; that being myself, my wife, our six year old daughter and my one year old son loaded up our gas guzzling SUV to take a drive and have a picnic on some of this vast public land. This time we decided to go a little further, so it took us considerably longer, about 25 minutes of total drive time before we reached the end of paved roads and our temporary escape from civilization.

What a beautiful day. It was clear skies and warm. There’s been just enough moisture that the trees were green and the flowers were blooming. The road was just rough enough to flex the suspension on our vehicle and bounce the kids around like a roller coaster. So we drive into the woods for about forty-five minutes until we rarely see anyone aside from the occasional motorcycle and well pull down a side road to what looks like a very nice camp site. This will be a great place to get out, have some lunch and let the kids run around.

Within two minutes of unloading everyone and our chairs and cooler I hear something off in the distance. Not distant enough I have to say. It’s some yahoos shooting their guns. I do live in Colorado, the wild west you know. So, I’m pretty open to the idea of guns. I even had my own with me. The problem is that I’m sure we were in an area that was clearly not designated for hunting or shooting.

So, as I’m trying to shrug off the gunfire, I start to look around the ground. At this point my one year old is off and running. And although he’s pretty good, he does face plant quite a bit. Anyhow. There’s broken glass all over the ground. Not just one accidental and they missed a few pieces. There’s multiple bottles worth. Hoping to find some ground space that’s reasonably child friendly I walk over to the other side of the site. There I only find composite roofing shingles. I suppose he can’t cut himself on those. I am wondering what they’re doing there.

All right. I know it’s a long story. But, what’s my point? Come on. It’s not that hard to clean up after yourself. You brought a bottle with you. Bring it back and properly dispose of it. If you pack it in, you pack it out. I understand that we might not always tread as lightly as we could, but you can at least not leave your trash lying around. I wonder if those same jerks who left those broken bottles there ever went back to that spot? Probably not, they might cut themselves on the glass.

An old icon is bygone!

I just read a report that a long-time Colorado Springs business has closed its doors. Michelle’s was one of those locally owned and operated businesses that lasted for four generations. It was a place where those of us who grew up here remember visiting as a child, took dates to as a teenager and treated the kids to a sundae as an adult.

While I reminisce and get all wrapped up in nostalgia I’m also frustrated and appalled. In the news report I read the owner of the shop stated “When we opened up there were a few restaurants downtown, but now there are hundreds and coping was hard." I have no other response than what a poor excuse.

I can tell you exactly what happened. Poor management. Unfortunately we’re experiencing this just about everywhere, whether at a local establishment or a chain. Management is just not taking the time to properly train and supervise its staff. What happened to Michelle’s is a prime example of this problem.

Over the years, the level of service and the customer service at Michelle’s severely degraded. The past few years it became so bad that my family and I just stopped going. When you have such a large and loyal customer base and they can’t even take it any more, there’s a big problem. It’s an internal problem, not an external one.

I don’t know when it started but when did it not become customary to train and supervise front-line staff? These are the people that have direct contact with your customer base. Just because they’re not paid well doesn’t mean that their position is not important. In fact, at a restaurant, the positions of host or waitress or bus-person are the most important.

So, who’s to blame? You can’t blame the staff because they’re usually doing what they’re told. They need leadership, guidance, systems, processes and constant monitoring. If you had a ship you wouldn’t just point it toward where you wanted to go and forget about it. You probably wouldn’t end up where you wanted and the ship would most likely run aground. You need a good captain to navigate and steer. Unfortunately it seems that Michelle’s had its very own Joseph Hazelwood.

If you’d like to find the most recommended locally owned and operated businesses throughout the United States, visit iSwami.com

The iSwami.com Update

I haven’t come across an issue I felt the need to write in depth about the past few weeks so I thought I’d just give you an update on iSwami.com:

For those of you who’ve been following the progress of iSwami.com, (Now with over 200 cities througout the US) the site continues to gain momentum and popularity. The month of April finished with 13,933 hits (up from 9,474 in March) and the unique visitor count more than doubled!

If you're getting ready to travel to a new city or you've stumbled upon another great local business, please visit the site and share with others! It’s quick and easy to use plus by patronizing the businesses listed there, you’ll know you’re supporting your local economy.

The site also received some recent press on
Suze Bragg's Business Blog.

Working from your Home Office

Like more people get to do every day, I work from my home office. As I look out my window on this cold, wet and quickly approaching snowy day, I’m reminded of how lucky I am. When I woke this morning I went through a similar routine as most; I shaved and showered and dressed and prepped myself for the day. I ate a little breakfast and instead of getting into my car for my morning commute, I strolled down the hall to my office arriving about five seconds later.

I didn’t have to sit through traffic or get frustrated at the guy in the left lane doing twenty-five in a forty. I didn’t have to park out in the sticks hoping to avoid another door ding from the other guy stumbling into work and not paying attention to the world around him. I didn’t have to go outside in this miserably cold and wet day.

So now I sit here with you sharing my thoughts and opinions. I expect that I have a more positive outlook than those who had to endure all of the above. However, it’s not always so rosey. ( I’m not sure if a pun was intended, but I do recognize that it is punny, ha ha. ) Anyhow, when you work from home people don’t always think of you as working. I don’t know what it is exactly. I speculate that if they haven’t had the privilege of doing so themselves, I don’t think they fully understand.

Just because my commute is significantly shorter, doesn’t mean that I don’t have similar deadlines and restrictions as they do. It just means that my commute is shorter. I have a double whammy because in addition to working at home, I’m self-employed. So this must mean that I can drop everything at any time just because I want to.

This typically comes into play when the children have those “teacher workdays” or they’re sick. Speaking of teacher workdays, I’m really tired of our educators complaining about how much they get paid. They have more time off... Anyhow. If I’m working at home, I must be the one who can watch kids. I’m here anyway. Think about if you brought your kids to your office. How productive would/could you be?

Just like most things in life, you have to take the bad with the good. Don’t take me wrong, I’m not complaining. Not really. I have it pretty good. I’m just trying to enlighten those who don’t work from home to keep in mind that the most import word in “work from home” is “work” not “home.”

To find great locally owned and operated businesses, visit iSwami.com

Early Mortgage Payoff through MMA?

Recently I was contacted by a mortgage professional about a new program that claims “The average MMA customer will pay their 30-year mortgage off 100% within 8 to 11 years—with little change to their day-to-day spending habits and without increasing their monthly mortgage payments.”

I’ve now received a couple of messages regarding the program and had just brushed them aside until I came across multiple advertisements for this program in craigslist. My initial reaction was that something with this program isn’t quite right, but with as much as I’m seeing it, I figure that my clients and customers are seeing it too, so I better look into it further.

Let’s first look at the primary claim: “The average MMA customer will pay their 30-year mortgage off 100% within 8 to 11 years—with little change to their day-to-day spending habits and without increasing their monthly mortgage payments.” Sounds too good to be true. I’ve done the math several times and it just doesn’t add up. Quite a few others have too. The following is an analysis by DLM on Scam.com:

If the mortgage on my house is a 30 year mortgage at 6% interest, how exactly could I pay off my house in 6-12 years without increasing my monthly mortgage payment? Even if my mortgage was at 0% interest and 100% of my payment went to principal, it would still take nearly 14 years to pay it off without increasing my mortgage payment.

Interest is interest, whether it's in a first mortgage or a HELOC. If I have a $100,000 mortgage at 6% and I pull $20,000 off a 6% HELOC to pay down my first mortgage, I still have $100,000 in debt at 6%. It's now just split between two loans. So let's separate fact from hype. FACT: You might save some interest if your HELOC interest rate is very close to your first mortage interest rate. However, the interest savings only amounts to an average of $10-15 per month using the above example of $5000 per month income. What does that translate to? About 1.5 to 2 years off your mortgage term (paying off your 30 year mortgage in 28 years). That's a bit different than what they're promoting.

In the presentation, they passed out a sample report from the software. I filtered through the numbers that they gave (paying off a 30-year $150,000 mortgage at 6.5% interest in 8.4 years). The mortgage payment was listed at $850 per month (which should have actually been closer to $950). They even make the reports difficult to read, but here's how they arranged to pay off that mortage in 8.4 years: They took $5000 in monthly income and applied $2845 per month toward the "system" (note that the amount is three times the original 30-year amortized payment). My first question is, how exactly do you triple your mortgage payment "without altering your current standard of living" and "without increasing your monthly mortgage payment"?

Now here's the good part: Let's take that original loan amount of $150,000 at 6.5% interest. The MMA program was going to pay it off in 8.4 years by applying $2845 per month toward the first mortgage and/or HELOC. Now what would happen if we didn't use the MMA program and just paid $2845 per month toward the first mortgage of $150,000 at 6.5%? Ready for this?... 5.2 years! That's 3 years faster than using the MMA program, just by simply paying the same amount directly to your first mortgage. But how many people can afford to triple their mortgage payment anyway?

The bottom line is that UFF is in the software business. This system was created from a simple concept (accelerated mortgage reduction) and made extremely complex so the average person couldn't understand how the numbers really work. Then they make it look like they're going to save you $100K or more in interest without affecting your lifestyle, so $3500 for a piece of software that's really worth a small fraction of that seems like a bargain. DO THE MATH! They're complicating a simple concept to make you think you need to give them $3500 for a piece of software. Think about it.

To find great locally owned and operated businesses, visit iSwami.com

Real Estate Residuals & Profit Sharing

Hello everyone. In this post I’m going to talk a little about some of the “profit sharing” systems some real estate companies use to recruit and retain associates.

Those of you who know me understand that I typically don’t knock what other companies are doing. I’ve always felt that there’s something for everyone. What appeals to one person about a company might not appeal to another.

Here’s the thing. I think that a lot of people who join real estate companies because of “profit sharing” or what another company refers to as “residuals” aren’t doing the math. On the surface it all sounds great and wonderful, but what about the reality of it.

Most of these profit sharing incentives revolve around you recruiting new people into the company. This is of course great for the company, but how great is it really for the associate?

Let’s first look at the commission splits. Lets example a good associate broker earning sixty thousand per year, which by the way is significantly above the average let alone what a new associate might earn. In the course of a year that associate will pay about eighteen thousand of that to the company.

Compare that to the six thousand they would pay to a structure like my company, Rose Real Estate. We’re talking about a twelve thousand dollar difference. What do you get for that? You get to recruit more people into the company!

Now, when you do recruit other associates and if and when they start to make money, you get a percentage of the net profit. If this recruit also makes sixty thousand, again, which is against the odds, out of the company’s eighteen thousand, how much of that do you think you’ll see?

Don’t you think in the long run you’d create more wealth, FOR YOURSELF, by taking that twelve thousand dollar difference and buying an investment property? I certainly think so. Also, if you had the skill to recruit enough people into a company that maybe you should start your own? How much more wealth would that create for you?

Like I said, there’s something for everyone. But, before you make a decision about what company to work for. Please, explore your options. And do the math! If you’re interested in learning more about Rose Real Estate LLC, please visit http://roseusa.com

Real Estate Wealth

You may already know, but if you don’t, there are more people become millionaires from real estate than anything else. But how do they do it? It’s typically not from fixing and flipping and it usually doesn’t happen very quickly. It’s not too sexy either. It’s your basic principle of buy and hold.

Buy and hold. It’s just as it sounds, you buy a piece of real estate and you hold it for an extended period of time. But how can you make more with buying and holding than you can as a “flipper?” Let’s first look at a term that’s thrown around quite a bit when referring to real estate: investor.

An investment is typically something passive. You buy it, whatever it is. It could be stocks, bonds, coins, whatever. You then hold onto it and allow it to appreciate. Fixing and flipping is more like a job. Yes you’re self employed, but it’s still a job. You have to be actively involved day to day. Just like a day-trader isn’t so much an investor as he/she is, well, a day-trader.

So, back to buy and hold. Why is this so powerful? Let’s look at the most common investment people make, single family homes. As an investor, you buy a house, you typically take out a mortgage on the house and you rent it to someone else. This mortgage, or leverage is what really amplifies your return on investment. Let’s say you bought a $100,000 home. The market is appreciating at 5% and you’re earning $600/month in rent. You have some expenses, so when subtracted let’s say you’re earning an additional 5%. You’re earning a 10% return on your investment.

You do have some work to do such as leasing the property and maintenance. But if you owned stocks, you periodically buy more or sell some or analyze its performance. There is some work, but it’s still an investment.

Let’s take that same $100,000 home. You now only put 10% down and finance the rest. The market still only goes up 5%. But now you’re earning $5,000 on your $10,000 investment. That’s a 50% return. That doesn’t count that someone else is paying down the mortgage, plus the tax advantages of depreciation. That’s a great investment.

So now what? First, you now have a great investment without owning a job. Second, sit back and let that property appreciate for a few years. Let’s say five years. That property is now worth $128,000. Refinance the property and pull out $13,000. Take that money and buy another like kind property (now worth about $130,000). You now get a leveraged return on two properties. Wait another five years and do it again and you’d have four and again in five and you’d have eight. So in 15 years you’d own eight properties.

Don’t do anything else but manage those properties. Over the next ten years let the tenants pay down (and possibly pay off if you don’t keep any positive cash flow) the mortgages. When it comes time to retire or do something else, you now have well over $1,000,000 in net equity. Even more if the market is providing a higher rate of return.

No, there’s nothing too much sexy about it. It’s a slow and steady approach. But if you talk with most people who accumulated their wealth in real estate, that’s how they did it. It could be homes, or offices or apartments, but the principle is the same; buy and hold.

To learn more or to get started, you can find me at http://roseusa.com

Flip That House

You’ve seen it on TV thousands of times. Flip this house. Flip that house and so on. It’s been all over television for the past few years. At the same time you’ve been getting postcards in the mail and seen advertisements in the newspaper to attend the seminars that will teach you how to do it. You’ve probably been to at least one of those seminars as I think half the country has.

They sure do make it sound easy don’t they. And it sure does look easy on TV. Most of the time anyway. They buy a home for pennies on the dollar. Call up a bunch of guys and a few weeks later you’ve got a brand new home worth a hundred thousand dollars more than you paid for it. Take out the fifty thousand it cost you for the work and after having one open house you’ve sold it and put fifty thousand dollars in your pocket.

Then of course there’s the couple’s, usually husband and wife who do all the work themselves. They budget twenty thousand dollars for the materials and about 3 months for the week and it ends up costing them forty thousand and taking six months. Interesting enough, they still “profit” sixty thousand. Of course, it’s never revealed whether that profit takes into account the six months of mortgage payments and the sales transaction costs. I expect their profit is closer to thirty thousand.

Still not bad right? What there not showing you is the dozens of others who were followed around by cameras and who ended up losing their shorts, or if they were lucky, got to work for free for six months and break even. What is also not shown on the programs and in the seminars is that most of the markets where the flips were successful the markets were appreciating at double digit paces, so no matter how bad your numbers, you were still destined to make a profit.

What’s not reported is that those who make a reasonable profit at the fix and flip game are very few. And, there are only certain markets that will allow for it. For instance, the opportunities in Charlotte, NC are much different than those in Colorado Springs. Those markets not in double digit appreciation have a much more difficult time profiting from flipping.

There are a number of factors you must account for when analyzing a property to flip. When looking at a property (and most likely you’re looking at a single family home) you need to start by determining what you can sell the home for when all the work is done. Take that number and subtract how much it will cost you to do the work materials and labor, even if you’re doing the work yourself. Remember, always pay yourself for whichever role you’re in. You’ll be wearing many different hats and your time is valuable and you must be paid for everything.

Then subtract your financing and carrying costs. Everything from what it cost to take out a loan to the mortgage payments you’ll make to utilities and taxes. Then subtract your sales costs. Everything from commissions to marketing expenses to title insurance. Subtract a variance of about ten percent because you’re numbers are not always precise and this is the maximum amount you can afford to pay for the property.

This is where most people fail. They either start from the bottom and work their way up. Meaning. They just pay full price for the home, add on their expenses and put the property on the market for “what they need.” This is a formula ripe for failure. And this is why we see so many of these homes still on the market. If a home isn’t priced according to market, it just won’t sell.

The point of all this is. If you’re considering jumping on the fix-n-flip bandwagon, do so with caution. Make sure you’ve included all the numbers. Pay yourself as an investor and as labor. And, solicit the advise of a real estate professional. The few thousand dollars it may cost for their help is like insurance against losing tens of thousands of dollars. If not more.

Until next time, you can find me at http://roseusa.com

Everyone is talking. Is anyone listening?

In no other time in history have we as individuals had the power to quickly, easily and for little or no cost reach millions of other people. With a few keystrokes or mouse clicks we can share with the world our thoughts, opinions, dreams and complaints. We can express ourselves artistically and experiment with our creativity.

This ability is fantastic. I myself have taken advantage of these opportunities and continually write articles such as this one or create video logs to express my thoughts, opinions and expert knowledge. Now don’t get me wrong. My efforts are not purely for a creative outlet. I have something to sell. Not a product, but services. If enough people find my articles interesting and informative then maybe they’ll think of me the next time they need help in my areas of expertise.

I find that a great deal of people are doing just as I am; sharing their thoughts, ideas and expertise with the intent of letting others know more about themselves and ultimately about their professional services. With all this sharing going on, I question sometimes if others are getting the messages.

In other words, is anyone listening? Those of us who are blogging and vlogging can spend a great amount of time doing so. With the time it takes to put out a quality product (I do consider our work products) does anyone one have much time left over to read or watch other people’s work?

Not as much as we’d like, but hopefully enough that we achieve the desired result. If you’re not doing so already, do set aside some time just to read and view what others are doing. Appreciate the time and effort they put into it. I’m sure you’ll come away with something valuable. If not knowledge, I’m sure you’ll be entertained.

Until next time, you can find me at http://roseusa.com

Tony Rose

Sex Sells. But what is it selling?

After spending some time browsing some popular social sites such as MySpace and YouTube, it’s ever more apparent to me that sex sells. What it sells isn’t always clear, but what is clear is that no matter what you’re selling or promoting, if you have an element of sex or the hint of sex, you’re going to generate interest. Now I’m not talking sexual acts, it’s more about sexuality and the lure.

Now I don’t know if this works the same for women as it does for men. As a man, I’m going to focus on my perspective. A picture or a video of a half naked man isn’t going to draw me to look at something. If anything it might actually prevent me from looking. However, you make that a half naked woman, and, I’m interested. It’s just like driving by a car accident. You hope that nobody’s hurt, but you just have to look.

As someone who needs to promote services that have nothing to do with sex or porn or anything like it, how do you get the same level of interest in your product or service as those with a sexual element? Is it possible? Do you need to incorporate some sort of sex teaser? I’ve noticed that any photo or video that has anything to do with nudity or near nudity gets about ten times the views as everything else.

I know that humor is a distant second and then there’s everything else. Either way it’s difficult. For example, I have a website that is a C2B referral source. There’s nothing much sexy about it. There’s nothing too humorous either. It’s just a resource for helping people locate the best locally owned and operated businesses. I continually promote the site, but I feel that my efforts don’t yield as high a return as I might like.

So what am I to do? Should I always include photos of barely dressed women in my ads just so I can get people to look? Should I include teaser lines that hint that a video is about sex so people will watch? Here’s the dilemma. If I start adding a sexual element to my marketing and people start watching more, will it ultimately work against me because now my business doesn’t have the same legitimacy? Will I have offended others who don’t want to be exposed to that subject matter?

It’s a tough call when as a marketer you want to get as many eyes as possible on your product or service. I’ll think about it some more. I may even experiment with some bikini babes in my ads. I’ll let you know how it works out. Oh, by the way. If you’re interested in finding the best locally owned and operated businesses, visit: http://iswami.com

Until next time, I’m Tony Rose.

Real Estate Market Conditions

As a sixteen-year real estate professional, I’m often asked; “How’s the market?” Although somewhat of a vague question, I do understand what they’re getting at. Your perception of the condition of the market is based primarily on your role in the market. I’ll get more into that in a minute.

Yes, there are hard facts that are just that, facts. Total number of sales, total number of properties on the market, average days on the market and average sales price are the primary ones. But what do all these statistics mean to you? It depends on what you want to do.

I’ll use my local market, Colorado Springs for the examples, however, these principles apply to whichever market you’re in. Over period of about twelve years, with a couple of temporary slow-downs, our market has seen consistent and steady price appreciation, typically 8-12% annually. At the same time we’ve been building 4,000-5,000 new homes per year and selling an additional 4,000-5,000 re-sales for a total of 8,000-10,000 total home sales.

The past year and a half, things have changed. Our total sales number has dropped off approximately 20% and the total number of homes on the market has increased by about 20%. Sounds terrible doesn’t it? But, at the same time home prices have continued to increase at a 3-5% rate. Now that doesn’t seem to be a sky is falling figure now does it?

We’re still selling approximately 7-8000 homes a year for a community of about 500,000. Not bad. Actually, it’s pretty good. The problem comes down to perception. A great deal of the players in the real estate market came in during that 12-year boom period. They thought THAT market was normal. No. it’s what we’re seeing now that’s normal.

So what does this mean? As a buyer, you’re going to get a reasonable price on you home. You’re also going to have more choices of homes because of the excess inventory. However, a great deal of excess inventory is OVERPRICED. So, as a buyer, you’ll most likely pass on a number of homes or not even look at them because their starting point is too far off from yours.

And, as a seller, this is the prime problem and the main reason why so many homes stay on the market for so long; they’re simply overpriced for the current market conditions. If you price a property right, it will sell and sell quickly. It will usually sell within a couple of months, not the 8 months to a year that some are seeing. So, if you want to sell, price it right and make any necessary adjustments quickly.

There’s another component that has affected perception that I haven’t talked about yet and will in another post. That’s fix-n-flip. Everyone’s seeing it on TV or has been to the seminars and now they think they can do it. It’s had a really bad effect on the market. As I said, I’ll get more into that on a future post. To learn more about real estate please visit my web site: http://roseusa.com

Tony Rose

Blogging, Vlogging, YouTube & MySpace

If you’re reading this, you already know that I’ve been blogging. I also recently started vlogging. If you haven’t already asked why, I’ll tell you. I felt that I have a lot to say and needed an outlet. No, not just some sort of random rant, but a means of sharing with others my views and opinions. And yes, I do seem to have quite a few! I also wanted to share with others more information about the business I conduct.

Of course I try to focus most of my communications on business related topics, however, I will on occasion take a tangent on life and other observations. I think this article would be categorized as a tangent. The point is I believe that I can provide a lot of good insight into business as well as some good general life guidance. Now don’t think that I think I’m all knowing and that I’m perfect or infallible, etc. It’s just that sometimes I notice things. Take it for what you will.

Now both the blog and the vlog are relatively new to me so I’ve been experimenting with various formats and styles. I’m always open to suggestion, so if you have an opinion, please share. With the lengthy lead-in taken care of, I’d like to open the floor for a question I had as I’ve been spending a good deal of time online in the various forums.

I believe the idea or intent for websites such as YouTube and MySpace are to help people get connected. But is that really what’s happening? Those of us who have spent some time at these social sites have viewed quite a few videos, read some blogs and looked at some photos. You can even “add friends” and create a network of people. There’s also quite of bit of random content purely intended for entertainment and even more content with a focus on generating sales. (I’m certainly a bit guilty of that myself.)

So, I ask you these questions: Are these sites helping us get closer to people and/or expanding our knowledge base? Or is it another way to distance us from others while only maintaining superficial relationships? I don’t know if there’s a clear answer and maybe it’s a little of both. If you have an opinion or insight, I’d like to hear what you have to say.

Looking forward to forging long and meaningful relationships. You can find me at http://roseusa.com.

Tony Rose

Locals Only

Whenever I can, I try to frequent locally owned and operated businesses. To be even more specific, non-franchised businesses. You're now asking "why?" Before I get into that, I will say that I believe that chains, franchises and large corporate owned businesses have their place in our consumerist society. However, how did most all of the big companies start? That's right. They started as small, locally owned and operated businesses.

If the big businesses (a most typically we're talking about eating establishments) started out as local places, then what's the problem with frequenting them? There is no problem per se; it's more about supporting local business owners while at the same time ensuring we have a continual stream of new choices. Additionally, when you're traveling, it's a great idea to find the best local spots.

I know that going to a chain or franchise can be comforting. You know what you're going to get. That's fine, but can you really get a feel for a city or town from eating at the same place you do when you're at home? No, it's the same old same old. I know that the people there are locals, but you really get a flavor for a town (no pun intended) when eating at a great locally owned and operated business.

Once in a while (and it is very infrequently) these businesses grow up, and expand and ultimately become large corporations with stores or offices or restaurants around the country. Or they franchise and also become national or international brands. And that's great. But if we're going to have the next Wal-Mart or Wendy's or Re/Max, we need to support Marty's Mart or Bob's Burgers or Rose Real Estate LLC, etc.

So, the next time you're thinking of where to eat, or considering buying a toaster, if there's a locally owned and operated business in your area that you can patronize, please do. If you're having a tough time locating the best locally owned and operated businesses in your area, or if you know of some great places you can recommend to others, please visit the web site: http://iswami.com

Cordially,

Tony Rose

Not So Shameless

Yes, the cliché goes, "Shameless plug." Well, this is a not so shameless plug. I just want to tell you a bit more about my great website iswami.com. If you've already visited since its January '07 launch, then you already know how easy it is to navigate, and how quickly you find what you're looking for. The tag line does sum it up well: Stop Searching and Start Finding!

The site was developed with a few key elements in mind. First, I wanted to have a way to recommend to others and to have everyone recommend to each other the best locally owned and operated businesses in their cities. Next, I wanted it to be fast. Really fast. A lot of times I just want quick information and don't have time to weed through search engine pages (and I expect others feel the same.) And finally, it needed to be crisp, clean and easy to read. I didn't want it cluttered and I wanted everyone to be able to tell what was an ad and what was content just at a glance.

I believe all those elements and ideas were accomplished. Now the task shifts from development to adaptation. I decided when I began that I wasn't going to grow its use through advertisement, but instead by word of mouth. I want the users of the site to make it their own; make recommendations, patronize those businesses linked and to tell others about the site.

There are already one hundred and eighty cities throughout the United States represented so far. Within those city pages are some really great finds that you or I wouldn't have known about if not for the recommendations from others. That's the key. When you're looking for a good mechanic, or an Italian restaurant or a dentist, if you can, you ask a friend where they go. That's what iSwami is, a trusted friend.

So, the bottom line today is, when you find that great local restaurant, or climbing gym, or tattoo parlor or whatever, go to iswami.com and share with others. Also, now that you find the site useful and helpful, please, tell a friend!

Tony Rose

"We don't take reservations"

This is a pretty common statement from most of the national restaurant chains; "We don't take reservations." That's fine. But they do have "Call ahead seating." Wow, talk about the best of both worlds. They don't have to hold a table for a few minutes to satisfy a reservation commitment, but they do get the luxury of knowing that a party will be there at a particular time.

What a great system for the restaurant. What a lousy system for the consumer. Don't you just love it, even if you have called in or ahead or whatever they're calling it. You arrive. You receive your pager and you wait around for twenty, thirty... forty minutes. I don't think so.

Here's our problem. Consumers in mass accept such policies. It won't be until we say "No, thank you" that this type of service will stop. I don't know about you, but I value my time. There is no way that eating some sort of fancy deep fried onion is worth waiting around for forty minutes (just to be seated) when I can just go somewhere else.

You've all heard the saying "Just say no." That's what I'm asking you to do. Just say "no." Okay, just say "no thank you." National chains and franchises certainly have a place in the market and do deserve some of our business. However, this type for lack of respect for our time (and our money) should not be tolerated.

I suggest we all boycott this type of practice and start frequenting some of the great locally owned and operated establishments we all have in our respective towns. Oh, and most of them do take reservations. If we all band together on this cause, there will be better balance in the restaurant universe and the practice will stop.

If not, by all means, that's your choice. I, on the other hand will be over at the local joint enjoying my hamburger, steak, sandwich, whatever, while you're sitting out in the parking lot waiting to be seated! If you'd like to find the most recommended locally owned and operated businesses in your city or town (or have some you'd like to recommend to us) please visit www.iswami.com

Tony Rose

A Few Insights on Web Design

Maybe it's just me, but I doubt it. I go to some, okay, most websites and they are so busy and poorly laid out that I just get lost in all the text and graphics. And I'm not even getting into how the site navigates. Was there some class in web design school that said white space is bad?

Let it be known, I'm not formally trained in web design. And I don't consider myself a web designer. I would consider myself a web developer. I build sites in basic html. I have built quite a few sites for myself and for others. I have also viewed tens of thousands of other people's sites. It is from these experiences as both a designer/developer and a consumer/user perspective that I have come to find most sites missing the mark.

Now I'm not trying to be overly critical, but there are a few key elements where I think most sites could be better. I'm assuming that most people or businesses with a web site would like it to be effective.

First, what the heck is the site about? What are you selling? What are you trying to communicate? What is your message? What do you stand for/against? If I can't figure out what it's all about in a few seconds, I move on.

Second, back to the whole idea of white space. And this does tie into the first point. If there's so much verbiage and so many graphics that I can't focus on one area. How long is it going to take me to figure out what the heck the site is about? I'm not here to read a novel, just get the information and get out. Again, if I can't figure out what it's all about in a few seconds, I move on.

Third, how long does it take for your site to load? I'm all for nice graphics and a professional looking site. However, I have a high speed broadband connection and it takes 30 seconds or more for some sites to load. That's way too long. If your graphics are in the way of site function, then maybe they need to be rethought. And again, as stated in the first and second points, if I can't figure out what it's all about, or even view the site within a few seconds, I move on.

Now with all this moving on, is the site as effective as it could or should be? You tell me.

Tony Rose

www.iswami.com

Should you give a Refund?

As some of you already know, I'm really picky about pizza. Yes, pizza. Although I've lived in Colorado most of my life, I was born in Northern New Jersey and there must be some sort of genetic code that makes me a pizza snob. Anyway, for the longest time it was a struggle to get what I would consider "real" pizza here in Colorado Springs.

The past few years we've been very fortunate to now have a few really good restaurants that serve authentic, New York style pizza: Large, thin but chewy crust, lots of cheese. Mmmm. Last week I ordered a pie (that's what we call it) at my favorite place, Brooklyn Kitchen. I called in my order for pick-up and was told it would be thirty minutes. I arrive about thirty-five minutes later and my pizza is not ready. They're having a problem with their oven.

Now I want to be sure this is clearly understood. This is not a complaint about this business. I believe they treated me well. They treated me fairly. And they provided me with good customer service. This is merely my opinion of how I might advise them to do something slightly different in similar situations in the future.

So, back to my story. They're having a problem with their oven and they're going to re-make my order. Yes, this is an inconvenience, as I know I now have to wait for another twenty to thirty minutes, but I can certainly appreciate them wanting to get their product right. This is respectable and a good thing. Also, they recognized my imposition and refunded my money. Free pizza! Yeah.

This is where I have a difference of opinion, from a business perspective. I believe they should have kept my money, but given me a coupon for a free pizza on a future visit. This would have accomplished mainly two things. One, I would have been just as satisfied as I still received a free pizza. But more importantly, for the business, it would have meant that in order to receive my free benefit I would have to come back again. This would enable them to provide me with a better experience the next time.

Now I know that this was an isolated incident with this business, and they did well by me. However, things like this happen from time to time. If I were a different person, or had not ordered from them before, I might just take my free pizza that night and still never come back. Again, if you give the same value for the item on a future visit, you as a business have the opportunity to still gain them as a long-time and loyal customer.

If you have an opinion, please let me know. However, I still don't think I'd change my mind! To find and reward locally owned and operated businesses throughout the US that do provide great customer service, visit our web site: www.iswami.com

Tony Rose

So what the heck is Customer Service? Not this!

You see and hear it everywhere it seems. We're the best because we really care about our customers and we provide great customer service. So if every business out there offers great customer service, then why does it seem that we as consumers are getting worse service all the time? So, the question is not only what is customer service, but what is good customer service?

To help illustrate what we all go through every day, I'm going to share with you a story about a recent experience I had with a franchisee of a company we're all familiar with, McDonald's. On this particular evening I went to the drive-thru and ordered the following: Two double cheeseburger's with no onions. A quarter pounder with cheese, hold the slivered onions, but add the minced onions. A small order of fries.

A few minutes later I was making the seven minute drive back to my home. No, I did not fully check the order before driving off. I did look into the bag to make sure the count was right. When I was taking the order out of the bag, I noticed the fries cold and limp. The double cheeseburger's not only had the minced onions, but slivered onions too. And finally my quarter pounder with cheese (that by the way I was craving all day) did not have minced onions but what seemed to be twice the normal amount of slivered onions!

Now you're probably thinking a couple of things. One, you should have checked the order before you left and two, just scrape off the onions and live with it. Yes, you're probably right, but I wasn't going to open every burger and check the condiments right there in the drive-thru lane, and heck, my fries were not only cold, but limp too! And you wouldn't be getting this valuable lesson on customer service and what not to do.

At this point I call the restaurant and talk to the "Assitant Manager." He tells me to bring it on back and they'll re-make the order. About seven minutes later I'm back at McDonald's and I show the "Assistant Manager" my recept which clearly states my order. He is going to take care of re-making this himself. About five minutes later, the order is ready. It's all bagged nicely and ready to go, no, I did not open every burger to check the condiments, but I did make the point of specifically ask the "Assistant Manager" and he assured me that everything was correct. This err in judgement may come back to haunt me.

I know this story is a little long, but it will payoff in the end. So, I make the seven minute drive back to my home. I start taking everything out of the bag; The fries are warm and crisp. The double cheeseburgers do not have onions. The quarter pounder with cheese... has the freakin' slivered onions!

Yes, yes, I know. Just scrape them off. It's not that big of a deal. It's a principle thing for me now. I call the restaurant and speak with another "Assistant Manager" as the person I was originally dealing with has left for the evening. I explain everything I have been through, and quite calmly I might add. His response; "Bring it back and we'll re-make the order."

Hmmm. I think I've already done that. I let this person know that I've already been back. I'm not going to do that again. "Well then, what do you want sir?" I'd like to get what I ordered, twice now I might add. "If you bring it in, we'll re-make it for you..." I'm not driving back there. "Then I can't help you..."

This is the perfect example of the seemingly indifferent and poor level of customer service we all receive each and every day. Now I'm not one to cut off his own nose to spite his own face. And, having small children would make it nearly impossible to forever avoid going there. So, I will continue to go to McDonald's, just not that one. That's right my own little revolt. It may seem meaningless and trivial, but, if we all started boycotting those businesses that didn't treat us right and rewarding those who do with our business, I believe we'd all be the better for it.

Now, I have never worked at a fast food restaurant so I don't know exactly what those people deal with. But what I do know is what makes for good customer service. What could and should have been done differently in this situation? Both people I dealt with should have kept in mind the adage; It's cheaper to keep a customer than to attract a new one.

That being said, when I called the first time, I should have been offered the choice of returning to have my order re-done, or been offered a credit for the same meal another time. (No, they should not have offered my money back. I'll get more into that in a later post.) Additionally, when I did choose to have my order re-made, I should have been given a coupon or credit or some item of value as a gesture of their remorse.

Remorse. Did you say remorse? Yes I did. Not in the dramatic sense when you've lost someone, but with the idea that they can empathize with what you've experienced. Now I can't fully blame the people I dealt with directly. Yes, they should take more care and pride in what they're doing. However, most of the blame lies with their management. Every organization should have systems, processes and procedures for dealing with situations just like this. It would be naive to think that every business can operate flawlessly. People are fallible and mistakes are going to happen. How you handle those mistakes determines the quality of your customer service.

To find and reward locally owned and operated businesses throughout the US that do provide great customer service, visit our web site: www.iswami.com

Tony Rose

Introduction

This is an introduction to the iSwami.com blog. The intended purpose here is to educate, enlighten and link others to the seemingly unknown world of great customer service. I'm sure you've noticed that wherever you go to exchange your money for goods or services you're more and more frustrated by the level of customer service that you receive (or more to the point, don't receive.)

Our web site, www.iswami.com, is designed to quickly link you with great locally owned and operated businesses throughout the US. The businesses linked there have been recommended by other users as the best in their category for their city. In order to be considered the best, they must provide great customer service! The businesses listed there can not and do not pay to be linked. They are there simply because they consistently provide great customer service.

So, what is great customer service? We'll be talking in depth about that topic in articles to come. I look forward to helping you find great places that are worthy of receiving your hard-earned money and I hope to enlighten those who are struggling with how to provide great service.