David J. Zimmer, SIOR, FRICS
Zimmer Real Estate Services L.C. I ONCOR International, Kansas City, Missouri
A New Season of Momentum and Change
The key to success in any field is knowledge and expertise.
Information is power. Knowing the market, knowing your client,
and knowing how to get the information you need to be successful
is critical. That is the power of SIOR. We have been working very
hard to improve the value of your SIOR membership and have been
investing in our strategic initiatives. Our work is showing in many
different areas.
Looking Ahead to 2011
Reinstatement - Your SIOR network is getting stronger. With
SIORs closing more than 78,000 transactions a year, former SIORs
are re-engaging with the network they know can deliver results.
SIORs who resigned their designations in recent years are reinstating at a rapid pace—a 75 percent increase in reinstatements from
2009 to 2010.
Communication - We have made leaps and bounds this year with
our communication tools at SIOR. The Professional Report magazine is now available in digital format. SIORs are now able to
access the magazine online from the website, through apps for your
iPhone and iPad, and in the traditional hard copy format. Industry
and member articles, news, as well as advertisements will have a
further reach now that they can be viewed by and shared with anyone at anytime and anywhere.
SIOR is also hard at work revamping the members’ website. We
have formed a working group and hired a consultant to assist in
the creation of the website. Information is now being gathered by
many sources, including our membership, and coordinated to create an easy to use and, most importantly, information- and member-driven website. The new site will allow you to have more control
over the information you promote and receive—with a more robust
MySIOR member portal section.
Recruitment/Retention - To be able to network, you need a network.
SIOR has seen a huge increase in its number of applicants. The
word is out that SIOR yields results, it is the vehicle to meet new
contacts and make deals. I encourage you to utilize the Chapter
Recruitment Incentive Program. SIOR headquarters will reimburse
your chapter up to $1,000 when you hold a recruitment event to
bring in new and qualified applicants, expanding your networking
capabilities. By the time you are reading this, Chapter retention
officers will have contacted those SIORs who have not yet renewed
their membership for 2011 to work with them and develop a plan
so they can timely renew and maintain their membership in an
active status.
Education - You can look forward to the SIOR Center for Career
Advancement (CCA) to provide new and improved educational
opportunities for SIOR members throughout the year. We have
increased the conference speaker budget to provide you with informative, cutting edge conference education sessions. There will be
three designation courses offered in 2011; Los Angeles in March,
Chicago in July, and Memphis in October. We will be providing
additional opportunities to learn online through SIOR CCA webi-nars. We are also expanding our outreach to SIOR chapters and state
and local commercial REALTOR® boards to bring increased live
educational opportunities to more locations. SIOR has also hired a
new Education Program Coordinator, Erin Stephens, to work with
Lizzy Koenst and assist with administering these programs. Erin
comes to SIOR with five years of experience in education program
coordination and is a welcomed addition to the team.
Geographic Expansion - The last week of January, we held yet
another of our wildly successful London luncheons. Over 45
members and their guests were in attendance. We are thrilled to
have AMB Property Company (Europe) as a new sponsor of these
events in 2011. Our thanks to Henk Folmer and his entire team for
their support.
We are working diligently and are very excited about our new
improvements. For the benefit of our members, your volunteer
leadership team and Washington staff are committed to building
SIOR to be a better branded, more widely known, and value-driven
organization. If at any time you have thoughts or ideas as to how
we might serve you better, please contact me at 816.512.1001. I
look forward to seeing everyone in Scottsdale in May.
