Welcome to Vendor Alley

We’re here covering all the sites and sounds of thousands of RE/MAX agents decending upon Las Vegas. It’s a big show so check here for regular updates.

This is a dream gig for the right person. Send me an email at vendor.alley@gmail.com and I’ll hook you up with the right person. A lot of you will be at NAR so we will keep all inquires confidential.

Job Title: Regional Account Executive
Department: Enterprise Services-Sales
Reports To: VP, Enterprise Services

Description:

Responsible for sales and marketing of all eNeighborhoods products/services through real estate MLS and broker channels. Focus is on driving overall eNeighborhoods revenue growth and creating up-sell opportunities by increasing subscriber base.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
 Organizational skills, account strategies, territory planning and administrative responsibilities to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction is maintained. Develops and increases sales revenue to meet assigned targets.
 Attends trade shows. Participates in education and training conferences on selling and marketing programs.
 Keeps informed of new products, services and other general information of interest to customers. Checks on competitive activity and develops new methods
 Troubleshoots problems regarding products
 Develops strategic marketing partnerships
 Develops distribution agreements
 Enhance existing relationships
 Expand product penetration
 Generate and qualify leads
 Increase revenue
 Manage accounts
 Achieve sales goals
 Secure revenue contracts

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS:
 Experience managing large territories and diverse product offerings.
 Coaching/mentoring experience with less senior sales staff.
 A demonstrable capacity to keep abreast of new technology trends, association needs.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:
 Bachelor’s Degree or at least three years related sales experience
 Demonstrated problem solving and negotiation skills
 Experience with associations and software sales.
 Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Those of you who know RIS Media’s John Featherston and Darryl MacPherson know these guys can throw a hell of a party.

They do this by combining 3 winning ingredients;

First, you attract the biggest names in real estate. At any party these guys throw you can see the likes of Stu Siegel, Allan Dalton, and Dave Liniger rubbing elbows with big brokers and vendors from all over the country.

Next be a great host. These guys are top notch and a pure class act, plus John can tell one hell of a story! Next time you meet him have him tell you the one about him and Ozzy Osborne.

Third, add booze! These guys know the fuel that keeps this industry going.

This year their 12th Annual Power Broker Reception and Dinner and will be held on November 13th in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

See you there!

I got this from our friends at Clareity yesterday. I’m sure Gregg won’t mind me posting….

Dear Industry Colleague,

One of Clareity Consulting’s clients is seeking a National Sales Director focused on Broker technologies – please forward this email or nominate anyone you know that has done a great job selling Broker-focused technology and might be interested - or ask them to contact me or Kelly directly.

Clareity appreciates your assistance, and for a fun reward, the first person to nominate the person eventually selected for the position will win a $500 gift card from Macy’s, Best Buy - or any online store of your choosing.

A bit more about the position: This senior sales executive will be responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with the largest Broker and Franchise organizations to identify, evaluate, qualify, and close new business with existing and new clients. They develop ‘major account business plans’ (MABP) to achieve success and serve as ‘team leader’ to execute these plans. They will coordinate responses to RFPs and construct effective presentations. The position requires:

1) at least 10 years experience with proven sales results in closing million dollar plus transactions through consultative selling within the Broker Information Industry,
2) strong references from Brokers, Brokerage Executive and industry consultants,
3) highly developed negotiation and consultative selling skills
4) certification /professional designation from a major sales training program a plus
5) strong communication and presentation skills and the ability to present to groups of all sizes and organizational levels,
6) Bachelor degree or higher,
7) Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time.

Remote office or home-based office is acceptable. This is a large company with many new products to sell. The job offers a base salary of $75-$100K based upon experience and substantial commission opportunities because of the size of the sales.

Please let me know if you have someone in mind – and please put them in touch with me. You could also win the prize!

Thank you!

Gregg Larson, CEO (or Kelly McCormack, executive assistant at x200) Clareity Consulting Scottsdale, AZ 480-368-8100 x201 www.callclareity.com gregg.larson@callclareity.com

Imagine this, you’re a real estate vendor working with a large real estate company. Once a year, “to show our appreciation” (an exact quote!) for all the help you (the Vendor) give their members/associates, they host a golf tournament.

At not just at any golf course, but according to Golf Digest Magazine one of the best of the Top 100 Courses in the United States. Did I mention that lunch is served? Complimentary drinks on the course, and an open bar waiting for you after the 18th hole? All to show “our appreciation.”

Dreaming? Green with envy? Or just can’t believe that an organziation like this exists in real estate??

This is exactly what happened last week in Sedailia, CO at the Sanctuary Golf Course.

Who would be the brain child behind this spectacular event? Her name is Kristi Graning. Kristi happens to be the Senior Vice President, Information Technology and eBusiness for RE/MAX International. Kristi wanted to put on an event that shows that RE/MAX understands and appreciates all the things their technology partners do for RE/MAX International and their associates.

In a world where many organizations restrict vendors, it’s refreshing to see a company treat their vendors partners with not only respect, but appreciation. This makes Kristi and RE/MAX one class act.

This has been a rumor for awhile now. You gotta think Marty and Mona’s old relationships with AOL thru HomeStore came in to play. Then again I’m sure AOL feels that FNRES’ money is just as green as anyone elses. The only rub here is how many listings will be available to search on AOL? Without good coverage consumers are bound to go elsewhere. I’m curious about the phrase “This is the beginning..”, seems like they are already admiting that its not where it should be….yet. Check out this Inman article for more on this.

But hey these types of deals are hard to put together, so congrats to FNRES!

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AOL today announced a partnership with Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES). Through this agreement, FNRES will aggregate broker and MLS listings for the 3 million monthly AOL Real Estate users, and provide access to instant home evaluations through FNRES’ Cyberhomes expert tools at http://realestate.aol.com.

“This is the beginning of a great partnership with Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions to deliver potential home buyers with the valuable content, information, and analysis they need to make smart real estate decisions,” said Samara Jaffe, General Manager of AOL Real Estate. “This partnership brings together one of the top real estate sites on the Internet with a premier real estate data and services provider.”

“This announcement marks an important shift for brokers and MLSs,” said Cyberhomes General Manager Marty Frame. “Now there will be one destination that unifies their content and offers the best of both listing search and home evaluation, while applying their traffic and lead routing requirements consistently throughout. AOL Real Estate has long been a leading consumer destination and Cyberhomes is proud to bring our real estate industry partners added exposure through this relationship,” Frame concluded.

Later this fall on AOL Real Estate, home buyers and sellers will also be able to search the real estate listings enrolled by FNRES and will have expanded access to Cyberhomes’ comprehensive home evaluation information and market data. Brokers and MLSs interested in learning more about how to provide listing content to millions of AOL users should contact FNRES at (866) 388-4889.

FNRES is a division of Fidelity National Financial, Inc., a Fortune 500 provider of products, services and technology solutions to the financial and real estate industries. The Cyberhomes Web site (www.cyberhomes.com) provides access to FNRES’ leading community and property information and tools. Launched in November 2006, the goal of Cyberhomes is to extend the reach of FNRES’ customers everywhere consumers are seeking home evaluation information online.

AOL® Real Estate, http://realestate.aol.com, is a resource for home buyers and renters of all demographics offering consumers the necessary tools and resources to make a smart investment. The site is focused on delivering a customized experience for multiple audiences, including first time home buyers, buying a second property, renting, selling or home improvement.

About AOL

AOL® is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the country’s largest Internet access businesses, and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC is based in Dulles, Virginia. AOL and its subsidiaries also have operations in Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), is a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services. FNF is one of the nation’s largest title insurance companies through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title - that issue approximately 28 percent of all title insurance policies in the United States. FNF also provides flood insurance, personal lines insurance and home warranty insurance through it specialty insurance business. FNF also is a leading provider of outsourced claims management services to large corporate and public sector entities through its minority-owned subsidiary, Sedgwick CMS. More information about FNF can be found at www.fnf.com.

NAR Mid Year! While thousands of Realtors storm our nation’s capital to try and keep banks out of real estate we live like moles in dark hospitality suites bathed in the light of data projectors, cursing hotel internet connections while eating pretzels and drinking warm beer. Only to escape the dungeon to emerge at night in Georgetown for steak dinners and mixed drinks.

Well it’s a tough gig but someone has to do it!

So here’s our Top 10 list of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of NAR Mid Year”.

Number 10
Standing by the lobby elevators at the Wardman Park Marriott, waiting….waiting….and waiting.

Number 9
Trying to find a seat with a table at the lobby bar.

Number 8
“Who the hell booked a 7AM meeting at the suite???”

Number 7
Booth duty.

Number 6
“The Hill”

Number 5
The secret short cut from the Marriott to the Omni so you don’t have to go up and down “The Hill”

Number 4
A fully stocked bar, right in your own hotel room

Number 3
Alka Seltzer

Number 2
Going to see the Lincoln Memorial at night.

And Number 1 on the list of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of NAR Mid Year”.

The way “per member, per month” just rolls right off the tounge.

Say it with me everyone, “per member, per month”….”per member, per month”….”per member, per month”.

See you there!!

Greetings from HOT-LANTA! Actually it was below 50 degrees and windy when we arrived, but hey, lets give it up for the A-T-L! The folks at RE/MAX International moved their annual convention from New Orleans to Atlanta this year. With all the news coming from New Orleans these days it proved to be a good move. However, attendance was waaaaaay down this year. Not sure if it was good breakout sessions, the market, the city or what, but many vendors and suppliers in the convention hall were complaining about “booth traffic”.
Hard to fault anyone at RE/MAX International, they put on a quality show and treat their “Approved Suppliers” with respect. But if you can’t sell your stuff at a RE/MAX Convention, then where can you???? Our advice, scale down. Leave a few guys at home for your next convention. No need to have 7 guys standing in your booth.