"I have a question," my friend wrote. "Our association board of directors just voted to merge our MLS with the MLS of the kingdom next door. My question is, what's the future of an MLS-less association like mine (small, with 400-500 members)? What does the future hold for us?"
Well, of course it's time for some group visioning, I am thinking. This association is losing a significant part of its income and of its daily activity-no tours, lockboxes, MLS rule enforcement and education. Financial statements will look a lot simpler, and some staff responsibilities will disappear. What the association becomes after that liposuction will depend on a new vision and some pretty vigorous muscle-building workouts.
I've been saying for a long time that the MLS is going to disappear. A 'long time' is probably fifteen years-I think I made the prediction in the same year I told a bunch of skeptical AEs that every office would have a fax machine before the year is out. Obviously, the fax machine has come and gone-and the MLS is still gasping away. But the latter is looking a lot different now than it once did, and my own prediction is still that it will go away-soon.
And that's not a bad thing, either, I tell my MLS-less friend. For years, Realtor associations have been spending huge amounts of money, staff, and volunteer resources on the MLS. And, we've been neglecting things like development of core programs, recruitment and retention of members, and cultivation of a diverse income base. The MLS masked the symptoms of some organizational ineffectiveness, and it's beyond time to take care of the diseased parts.
So, I say to my friend, celebrate your association's divorce from what is really a toxic relationship called 'MLS'. Here's what you get to do as a newly single entity:
1. Focus on yourself. That means "your members". Aside from the MLS, what do they really need (as distinct from what you think they OUGHT to need)? Ask them! Now that they don't have to get their answers all twisted up in concerns about property search criteria or the number of digits in the property tax fields, they can answer you more directly and more honestly.
2. Most importantly, concentrate on developing 'localism'. Local market areas, local business practices, local information, a local real estate community of buyers, sellers, real estate businesses and supportive adjunct organizations. How can you develop a more robust real estate business environment for everyone?
Here are some specific ideas:
A. Build a website that makes your association the "Voice for Real Estate" in your community-with the public as well as with your members;
B. Become a power player on the local legislative and advocacy scene;
C. Embrace inclusiveness-buyers, sellers, consumers, providers of auxiliary services. Find new members with affiliated interests-developers, investors, suppliers of services.
D. Find partners, not adversaries. Without an MLS, you don't have to fight with the newspapers or compete with other 'wannabe' websites. Build relationships with government, media, the chamber of commerce, the economic development corporation, the community college.
E. Join the world of social media/marketing to build the professional image of your members. Use blogging, online questions and answers, instant messaging, twittering, and social websites to build rapport with your members and the public at large.
In short, forget what you lost and capitalize on your abundance as a local association: you have a collection of skilled and trained professionals, an aggregation of knowledge, and a business interest that is the lifeblood of your community-property ownership. And this abundance can be turned into income, of course-more members of various types, more services and more support products all translate into making your association more valuable to a broader range of people, from consumers of your offerings to advertisers who want to reach out to your community.
Build it, and they will come.
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