S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

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The Society of Exchange Counselors is a nationwide non-profit association of independent real estate brokers who emphasize broker-to-broker marketing. The Society places a strong emphasis on education and developing a complete understanding of the client’s needs and objectives. To an S.E.C. member the focus is on the client. In other words, a Society member is client-centered, as opposed to property-oriented.

Our unique broker-to-broker marketing approach is totally different than traditional real estate marketing. The traditional approach is broker-to-public. That is, the broker advertises his listings in newspapers, flyers, magazines, and the Internet to attract the public to buy his listings.
To me, the primary function of the Society is to provide a regularly scheduled forum for brokers to represent their clients in an organized broker-to-broker marketplace for the purpose of marketing equities. The emphasis of the Society is the creation of opportunities to market real estate through various methods of presenting both the property and the client’s situation to the other brokers at the meeting. The audience then shares its collective knowledge, experience, and creativity, to assist each other in structuring potential transactions. Enthusiastic broker cooperation is an integral and vital part of all marketing sessions.

As we begin 2004, the leadership of the Society renews its ongoing pledge to make the marketing experience for all attendees as meaningful and profitable as possible. The Production Committee, as well as other committees, is working toward a singular goal, to make each meeting the best it can possibly be.

Part of the S.E.C. commitment is to promote education to those who would join us in our endeavors. In the past few years, S.E.C. members established and have generously funded the Society’s Education Foundation with the express purpose of supporting education in the field of creative real estate. The efforts of the Foundation are already beginning to bear fruit; with more creative real estate seminars completed this past year than in recent memory. The Foundation has pledged to support the presentation of creative real estate seminars by local groups by agreeing to cover potential losses associated with sponsoring education. This financial backing has provided the confidence local groups have needed to schedule and promote the seminars. As a direct result of that commitment from the Foundation, seminars were presented that would not otherwise be available to potential new members. The wonderful irony of this arrangement is that nearly all of the courses supported by the Foundation proved to be very successful and did not require funds from the Foundation to break even.

At the committee level, all of the behind-the-scenes hard work and effort is designed to increase production of the attendees. This year we will continue to experiment to improve. We will expand on the ideas that work and drop the ones that prove unproductive. We will continue to build on the progress of the past. We will also continue to seek your input on how to streamline, enhance, and make the meeting a profitable event for you.

However, it is for each of you to make it work for you. As always, your level of success is directly tied to your preparation for the meeting. That means counseling your client, having adequate property information and being prepared to be proactive at the meetings.

Here’s wishing each of you a healthy and prosperous 2004!