I had the honor and privilege to be part of a 3 day training program sponsored by NAR in Chicago this last week on Mediator/ Mediation Training.  All I can say is WOW! what an eye opener, what an experience, and what great instructors and coach's we had for this program of dispute resolution process that will be sweeping the nation for Realtor Boards in the coming months and years ahead. Unlike arbitration, and litigation, mediation is a voluntary process in which a neutral party (Mediator) helps people resolve conflicts. The heart of mediation is getting two or more people with a problem to talk to each other.

Mediation is a confidential settlement process that honors the principle of self determination from the parties involved. This is something that as a broker-owner over the years I can relate with through settling disputes between agents, buyers and sellers and mediating last minute closing disputes. Most Realtors with experience in listing and selling homes, have the natural genes to become good mediators if they understand the process. However, I must admit, although I have nearly thirty years of handling almost everything you could think of, there is more to the mediation process than meets the eye.

My goal here is to bring your attention to the idea that has came to life and will be very beneficial to our industry for years to come.  I encourage you as a Realtor to learn what you can about the process, attend the training provided by NAR, and get behind the campaign for mediation to be an alternative to arbitration at your local board for agent to agent disputes.

Watch for more on this subject in the near future.

"Expect the Best"
Mike

We're seeing hundreds of articles almost daily about the above topics and more. With over 90% of the buyers searching homes on the Internet prior to ever contacting a Realtor, I would suggest more Realtors hop on the Bus also. Just like the song, Hop on the bus, Gus. or slip out the back, Jack. (Leave the business) make a new plan, Stan.(Learn technology, Internet marketing, Blogging and how to network socially).

Here are a few places you can start FREE, and/or cheap, and/or reasonable. It's amazing how many people said during the busiest 4-5 years in the history of NAR, that they did not have time to learn this stuff. Now, the same ones are saying I don't have the money to invest into that stuff. The consumers are light years ahead of most business owners when it comes to search engine marketing, optimization and permission marketing in the real estate industry.  

Active Rain is a FREE Blog and great networking site for Realtors to learn, share and build community with each other. I use it in two fashions: One for the public, by posting Local articles about the real estate market and using the Localism section and the other for Professionals only to network with my peers. I also use RealTownBlogs.com because it is ranked high on the search engines, has plenty to offer agents, brokers, and ancillary businesses. Need a FREE website to promote your IDX listings or your community. Point2Agent offers a 6 month FREE trial and the Professional version is also well worth the cost once you try it out for a spell.

OK, now I am going to encourage you to investigate the ePRO course online, and I challenge you Brokers and Managers to set the example by taking this course online right away. The above link will provide you some basic information about this NAR Certified course. As a certified ePRO Trainer, I would not be doing my job if I ignored the fact that you need this course. As Saint Nike says, Just do it!

The REW^TM Certification is the premier real estate technology certification; your competitive edge in today's web-based consumer-centric environment. REW stands for Real Estate Webographer, which is a Real Estate Certification for Agents, Brokers and Assistants. The above link is well worth the visit.

The last FREE item I am pointing out is the PRETEC invitation to subscribe RSS. It will give you the experience of using a reader that will provide time saving convienence and also start you onto building a list of educational blogs geared toward training, education and consulting. Remember, Professionals need help in their business to become great. This Blog also has a RSS opportunity for you to signup.

"Expect the Best" Mike
Lansing Michigan 48917