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So far Kevin Hawkins has created 335 blog entries.

Florida Realtors COO Margy Grant To Take The Helm From Admired Leader Bill Martin

The future of the Florida Realtors will be in the skillful and proven hands of a new chief executive officer starting January 1, when Margy Grant takes over from well-regarded association veteran CEO Bill Martin. Margy is Florida Realtors’ current chief operations officer and general counsel of the state's largest professional trade association. The association announced late last week that Martin is retiring at the end of this year.

By |2018-08-20T07:22:08-07:00August 6th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Florida Realtors COO Margy Grant To Take The Helm From Admired Leader Bill Martin

The Best Inman Connect Moments

Flying back to Seattle from San Francisco gave me a couple of hours to reflect on Inman Connect SF. When I bumped into founder Brad Inman mid-way through the event, he looked at me and said with a proud smile and on his face and in his eyes, “It reminds you of the original Connects, doesn’t it?” It sure did.

By |2018-08-04T18:18:13-07:00July 22nd, 2018|Main category|1 Comment

Making the Market Work: 3 Ways to Continue to Spread the Word

It's been a little over a year since the Council of MLS rolled out the 1000watt created “Making the Market Work” branding campaign. Remember the initial energy? Social media channels were buzzing. New videos were proudly created, touting the value and the benefits of the local MLS to consumers (and professionals). Website home pages were blazoned with fresh new images promoting this powerful new messaging. New full-page ads run publicly. There was a genuine esprit de corps in the industry.

By |2018-08-10T07:08:52-07:00July 16th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Making the Market Work: 3 Ways to Continue to Spread the Word

The Most Dangerous Words in the English Language

Always. Never. Every. Everyone. Everybody. All. Must. These are some of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary. For writers and speakers, as my nephew in Alabama would say, these words are as about as useful as a steering wheel on mule. That’s because these words are typically perceived to be an exaggeration.

By |2018-08-04T18:49:14-07:00July 9th, 2018|Main category|2 Comments

Ben Caballero is at the Top of the 2018 ‘The Thousand’ List, Again

Ben Caballero has earned the title "real estate legend." 50 years as a Realtor, 18 years as a builder, dozens of years as an innovator, and the first Guinness World Record holder for real estate sales. Today, for the 6th time in a row, he is atop REAL Trends "The Thousand" list as published in The Wall Street Journal. The REAL Trends list is THE ranking of the top agent in the U.S.; highly coveted, it is well documented and the industry's established benchmark for agent ranking.

By |2018-07-03T10:59:47-07:00June 29th, 2018|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Ben Caballero is at the Top of the 2018 ‘The Thousand’ List, Again

Top 10 Issues Facing Real Estate: What’s On Your List?

Victor Lund, founding partner of the WAV Group, and I recently returned from the National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference in Hot Vegas. 107 degrees hot. One of the hottest topics was the iBuyer, and Victor headed up a panel that took that topic head-on. Let's say it was one of the livelier sessions of the conference. The one thing I was sure of, Victor made a great impression among reporters based on the feedback he gave me.

By |2018-06-25T11:00:26-07:00June 25th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Top 10 Issues Facing Real Estate: What’s On Your List?

My First Forbes Column: A Writer’s Journey

It was exciting to be invited to interview to become part of the Forbes Real Estate Council last year. The biggest attraction for me was the opportunity to be published on Forbes.com. Forbes, for me, is the gold standard when it comes to business publishing.

By |2018-05-28T21:32:51-07:00May 28th, 2018|Main category|4 Comments

Real Estate Agent Ben Caballero Named Guinness World Record Holder

Milestones. Every career has these extra special events. So what qualifies something for milestone status? I think it's when all you have to do is mention what you did and the immediate reaction from others is: "Wow." Lifelong Realtor Ben Caballero's career is filled with milestones. 

By |2018-05-17T14:00:47-07:00May 17th, 2018|Main category|Comments Off on Real Estate Agent Ben Caballero Named Guinness World Record Holder

NAR Midyear: Looking For The Tech Enablers

Tech enablers. That’s what I will be looking for at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, May 14-19 in Washington DC this week, best known as NAR Midyear. I’ll head down to the trade show floor and spend the rest of my time shuttling between the Marriott and the Omni lobbies talking to influencers and tech leaders.

By |2018-05-14T06:38:05-07:00May 14th, 2018|Main category|4 Comments

Florida Realtors Tech Helpline: Sleeper Success Story

It’s real estate tech’s best sleeper story of super success. Tech Helpline, created and owned by Florida Realtors, is the real estate industry’s number one tech support service. By a county mile. I will bet you can’t even name who is ranked number two. Or three, or four, or any of their direct competitors for that matter. I can’t, and I am a consultant for them. Where else in real estate tech or proptech can you make that claim?  Where does a real estate related tech firm dominates a category so profoundly? Tech Helpline is currently available to nearly half [...]

Registration Marks Do Not Belong In News Releases

Allow me to share a professional rant. We have to stop listening to the lawyers on this one. Companies are habitually adding registration marks to their news releases. I confess. I have more than one client that requires them. But I have to stop, raise my hand and ask one question. Why?

By |2018-05-07T10:00:18-07:00May 7th, 2018|Main category|3 Comments

Innovation Winners, 30 Industry Leaders Honored by RESO in Denver

RESO sold out its Spring Tech Summit in Denver last week three times, organizers said. Demand by industry tech and business leaders wanting to attend within the last two weeks forced the nonprofit to re-open registration twice until it pushed to capacity. The Real Estate Standards Organization filled the main ballroom to the brim, with just short of 300 people, at the hip Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver. Art Carter, RESO Chair and head of the largest MLS in the nation CRMLS, noted how far the organization had come in the last five years. One of the most vital breakthroughs: [...]

By |2018-05-02T09:25:39-07:00May 2nd, 2018|Main category, Press Releases, RESO, Technology|Comments Off on Innovation Winners, 30 Industry Leaders Honored by RESO in Denver