Note from the Vice President

Time for Reflection

By Kori Meewes, Vice President of The Luxury Home Tours

It seems that now, more than ever, there are mixed signals broadcast about the housing market. We hear comments and questions such as: “The market is softening.” “Housing sales are strong.” “What will the Fed do next?” “Is the bubble going to burst?”

We all know that things will slow down a bit, but I don’t believe that the infamous “bubble” exists. This slow down is perhaps the time to hit the pause button and evaluate what is working and what is not. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook shortcomings while riding a wave of success. When was the last time you really reflected on these questions?

How are we doing with our branding and marketing? Will it keep us in front of the right audience when we need to search for more business?

How are we processing our leads? Are we following up with them in a timely manner? Have we perhaps been allowing some of our prospects to slip through the proverbial crack, because clients have been knocking at our doors?

Now is the time for reflection. Perform an internal audit of your company’s systems and processes. Do you have the right people and resources in place? Are you positioning your company for the future ebb and flow of the economy and business trends? Be positive and proactive as you plan to take your business to new heights in 2006 and beyond.

The Luxury Home Tour newsletter will be sent to all our clients and potential clients. We hope that you find it helpful and entertaining throughout the coming months. This issue will focus on introducing our staff and answering the questions that we are asked most frequently by builders and suppliers. We will also feature current builders and sponsors in each market. Lastly, each newsletter will include either a builder and or sponsor testimonial, so you can see how the Luxury Home Tour has helped other businesses in your industry.

Our goal for the Luxury Home Tour is to provide both builders and sponsors qualified consumers that can afford the homes and products in them while continuing to stimulate the housing industry in all of our current and future markets.

I welcome and encourage any thoughts or comments that you may have. We are looking forward to visiting with you via the newsletter every other month.