Inducements, Referral Fees, Gifts To attract business, REALTORS oftentimes want to offer incentives to buyers or sellers to utilize their services. Such incentives may range from gift certificates to cash rebates of the REALTOR?s commission. Although many REALTORS believe that such inducements are prohibited under Ohio license law and the NAR Code of Ethics, they are not. However, there are certain requirements that must be met. OAR now has a White Paper to explain your options. Say goodbye to cold calling...how to compel prospects to contact you RIS Media--The most effective and least expensive way to generate leads is to offer prospects something they want and make it easy and non-threatening for them to get it. Every single ad and marketing communication you run should make the offer so appealing and so easy to get, that the right prospects unfailing respond by contacting you to do business. Read story... Create a niche in the multicultural community According to the Gonzales Group, newly released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the nation's Latino population grew by 1.4 million in 2007 to reach 45.5 million people, or 15.1% of the total U.S. population. Overall, the nation's 102.5 million minorities accounted for 34% of the U.S. population, representing a historical milestone for the U.S. These changes in our communities represent an opportunity for real estate professionals to explore a new customer segment that is growing rapidly both in size and buying power. This week's newsletter features articles on: -- Validate Your Products and Service to Build Multicultural Relational Equity, and -- Highlights from the 2007 Census Data Gen Xers need training, Gen Y supervision Most companies are or soon will be dealing with multigenerational workplaces, and managing diversity includes managing generational diversity. The entire work force is aging, and baby boomers are contemplating retirement. Some 10,000 of them turn 50 every day, and another 8,000 hit 60. They and the generation born before 1946 make up 48 percent of the work force. The two generations after them, Generation X--those born between 1965 and 1977--is only 29.5 percent of the work force, and Generation Y or millennials--those born between 1978 and 1990--make up 22.5 percent. In a nut-shell Traditionalists--those born before 1946--define themselves by their work. Boomers are all about money, but they also want respect for what they know, and like to view work as a team effort. That's not so for Gen X workers...Read story. NAR Directors meet during Mid-Year Conference Inside is an "Action Summary" for the National Association of REALTORS Directors meeting held last Saturday in Washington, DC. This Special Report, sent by NAR staff, explains what took place at the meeting. The one significant item not included in the report is the increase in the amount of the annual assessment for the Public Awareness Campaign. The assessment goes to $35 per member in 2009 and 2010. On the lighter side... How to ask for a raise..."I have to have a raise in my commission," the agent said to his manager. "There are three other companies after me." "Is that so?" asked the manager. "What other companies are after you?" "The electric company, the telephone company and the gas company." The young broker... A young broker had just started his own real estate office. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the broker picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?" The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines." Tech Tips... Excel Shortcuts ? Ctrl]1 - Open the Format Cells dialog box ? [Ctrl][Shift]# - Apply the Date format ? [Shift][F11] - Insert a new worksheet ? [Ctrl]' - Copy a formula to the current cell from the cell above it ? [F11] - Create a new chart from selected data ? [Ctrl] and ] - Select formulas that directly reference the active cell What's a chumby?...A Chumby is a compact device that connects via a wireless Internet connection and gives people a fun, hassle-free way to enjoy what they want most out of the Internet, always on and simply at a glance. And, if you have an account on Flickr, Picasa or Photobucket you can use the chumby as a digital photo frame to show off your favorite photos (or your friend's photos). You can view public or private photos, or search for specific photos using tags. It is also easy to share your photos with chumby friends--surprise them by sending pictures straight to their chumbys of your latest get-together! (http://store.chumby.com/) Find e-mail with large attachments in Outlook...If you are tired of getting messages that your mailbox is over its size limit, try the steps below: 1. TOOLS 2. ADVANCED FIND/MORE CHOICES 3. In the SIZE drop down menu, select greater than and choose a large file size 4. Click FIND NOW Once OUTLOOK returns your results, you can save the attachments to a personal file, or delete them, freeing up space in your Inbox!