ADVANCED ACCESS September 2003 Newsletter

September 2003 Newsletter

"No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face."
--John Donne

9/11 Remembered…

It's hard to believe that two years have passed since the senseless terrorist attacks on our great country changed our lives forever. At the time of the attacks people around the world, including REALTORS®, were united in horror and anguish. We mourned for lost family and friends; we searched for answers and, with time, we gathered the strength to move forward. The attacks of September 11 tested the limits of our strength, compassion and determination. And, we found there are no limits in what can be accomplished when we work together.

The REALTOR® Housing Fund, established the day after the attacks, helped more than 1,200 families to remain safe in their homes. Click here to read the reflections of REALTORS® remembering 9/11.

Winners Announced in Family & Friends Promotion

We were OVERWHELMED by the response to our 'Building our Family with Friends' promotion, and thank you all sincerely for taking the time to submit your entry.

You - our family - have helped us continue to grow by referring us to friends who will benefit from a state-of-the-art website and innovative marketing tools to help MAXIMIZE their Internet presence. During the promotion we received hundreds of entries to our contest, and gained countless new members of the family.

Our GRAND DRAWING was held on September 15, 2003 and the winners ARE:

GRAND PRIZE: Two-Passenger GEM CAR, by Global Electric Motorcars, LLC
(Suggested Retail Price $6,995.00)

The winner of the GRAND PRIZE is: Dennis Bachman, from Portland Oregon

FIRST PRIZE: Hewlett Packard® Multimedia Notebook Computer, featuring an AMD Athlon Processor (Suggested Retail $1,299.00)

The winner of the FIRST PRIZE is: Lauren Whittaker, from Atlanta, Georgia

3 SECOND PRIZES: Sony® CyberShot DSC-P8 Digital Camera, 3.2 Megapixel (Suggested Retail Value of each camera - $399.95)

The winners of the Second Prizes are:

Jim Dittmeier, from Moiriches, New York
Nancy Makowsky, from Laguna Beach, California
Michelle Newell, from Boise, Idaho

2 THIRD PRIZES: Palm™ m515 Handheld, with Open Box Slim Leather Case (Suggested Retail Value of Each Palm - $300.00)

The winners of the THIRD PRIZES are:

Cathy Nakanote, from San Diego, California, and
Susan Heath, from Southlake, Texas

Many more of you received a $100.00 Gift from GiftCertificates.com for the first referral submitted who purchased our products. We would like to congratulate all of the winners, and extend our sincere thanks to those who took the time to send us your referrals. As always, we appreciate your business and support.

Thank you to all who participated in our contest.
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL the Winners!

The NEXT Generation of Website Design
Classic Package 3.0! Due in early November

At ADVANCED ACCESS our motto has always been "the KEY to your Success is our SERVICE." Our goal is to provide you with a SUPERIOR product that goes far above and beyond your expectations, increasing your Internet presence.

Our Product Development team listened to your ideas and suggestions, creating a program that gives you the flexibility and control you need, with more ADVANCED features than ever before. We are proud to announce the result of our year-long effort - the NEW generation of web design for REALTORS® - called Classic Package 3.0.

Best of all, our NEW Classic Package 3.0 is a FREE upgrade from your previous Classic Package version. Your new program is backed by the same friendly and efficient service you've always received from our Customer Support Department.

Classic Package 3.0 provides you with some of the newest features developed by the experts at ADVANCED ACCESS.

Your Home Page can be completely customized, with ANY color under the rainbow, graphic images of your choice, button designs, backgrounds and more.
Our ADVANCED Page Editor makes it easier than ever to add content to your site. Move over PageManager- now you can include columns and tables on your page, and use our easy Spell Checker!
Create your own CUSTOM Flash Intro Pages with text overlays to impress your clients
Completely rewritten in a new programming language that loads significantly FASTER
Our Statistics section makes it easier than ever to view the hits, sessions, pages viewed, and referring URL's on your site
And MUCH, MUCH More!

Our first few client "victims," commonly known as Beta Testers, are already working with the New Classic Package and have been reporting their results in the ADVANCED ACCESS forums. If you're interested, you can follow their progress by clicking here. Or, just stay tuned for more information in our Newsletters and Marketing tips. We'll be posting more information as we grow closer to the delivery date. Our official release date is planned for the National Association of REALTORS Convention in November.

New State Association Partnerships Announced

We are pleased to announce the execution of new partnership agreements with several State Associations across the country. Our Senior Vice President, Jane Ellsworth, reports that agreements have recently been reached in principal with State Associations in Florida, Kansas, and North Carolina. We are currently in negotiations with several other states to execute similar partnerships.

Jane states, "We are honored to have been chosen to work with the states of Florida, Kansas and North Carolina for the advantage of their members, and our current clients will benefit as a result of this partnership. In addition to live sales presentations to expand our customer base, we are planning to sponsor local training seminars at locations throughout our partner states."

The selection process for all associations is a lengthy one, to ensure the partners chosen meet strict requirements for quality products and service. The State and Local Associations identify and provide solutions that address the challenges faced by today's real estate community that are cost-effective, easily employed and empower the professional.

Our partnerships with State and Local Associations allow us to offer the members our products at a special price, and to provide additional training and support for our existing customers.

Karen France, Vice President of Broker Services for REBR in Kansas, says "We are very excited about working with a quality partner such as ADVANCED ACCESS. We chose ADVANCED ACCESS after performing extensive market research for Website services for our customers. ADVANCED ACCESS brings the perfect combination of cutting edge professional tools that deliver leads to real estate professionals."

We look forward to announcing more Association partnerships in the future.

NAR Announces REALTOR® Safety Week

The National Association of REALTORS® has designated Sept. 14-20 national REALTOR® Safety Week.

The purpose of the week is to help create safety thinking among real estate practitioners and to remind them about the importance of safety. NAR is also urging local and state Realtor organizations to hold training classes and awareness seminars on how practitioners can keep themselves safe on the job.

Safety experts say that selling real estate is one of the most dangerous jobs there is, but knowing simple strategies can save lives, NAR said.

"We are deeply committed to Realtor safety. While most of our activities at NAR are aimed at helping our members prosper, no measure of material success can equal the value of an agent's life or well being," said NAR President Cathy Whatley.

"Unfortunately, the risks Realtors face often have an impact with tragic consequences. Working with an unfamiliar person, in an isolated location, may potentially expose both male and female agents to life-threatening situations," Whatley said.

Whatley also pointed out that safety is a year-round concern and that NAR's safety campaign will be an ongoing one. For more information, please click here.

AA Clients Support Sunshine Kids

The Sunshine Kids Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer. The organization provides exciting, positive group activities for children with cancer, so they may once again do what kids are meant to do...have fun and celebrate life!

The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. adopted The Sunshine Kids Foundation as a network-wide charity in 1991. Since the inception of this partnership, many Prudential real estate managers, brokers and agents have generously assisted the SSK by planning exciting fund-raising events, participating in the 'listings' program, and taking an active role in activities and national events designed for the Kids.

ADVANCED ACCESS long-time client and Prudential agent Chris McKeen recently challenged the members of her firm at an awards banquet to help her raise money for this worthy cause. Chris pledged to match any of the funds raised by her colleagues at the banquet that night with her own money for the benefit of the kids.

Chris also donates a portion of her commission from the sale of her listings to the Sunshine Kids Foundation. She is happy to contribute, and pays tribute to Prudential for its participation in the Foundation. "We're so fortunate to be part of a company that provides opportunities for us to be a part of the Sunshine Kids organization. Because of Prudential's participation on a national level, we are able to do so much more as a group to raise money for this worthy cause."

Through the assistance of socially responsible real estate companies, The Sunshine Kids Foundation is able to carry on with the rewarding work of serving the needs of young cancer patients.

For additional information about the Sunshine Kids Foundation, please click here.

Take Advantage of This Month's Harvest Moon

During the month of September you can see the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is no ordinary full moon; it behaves in a special way. Around the time of the Autumnal Equinox, which comes this year on September 23, the moon rises earlier than ever.

That comes in handy for northern farmers who are working long days to harvest their crops before autumn. The extra dose of lighting afforded by the full Moon closest to the equinox is what gives the Harvest Moon its name. The low-hanging Harvest Moon also looks very big. This is a trick of the eye known as the "Moon Illusion."

Why not take advantage of the extra "light of the moon" this month to pay special emphasis to your Internet Marketing program. Every week we send you Marketing Tips designed to give you great ideas on how to make the most of your website. You can find them ALL archived in one location for your convenience. Click here to read our weekly marketing tips.

Featured AA Employee of the Month: Tim Song

This month we're featuring a knowledgeable and dedicated Customer Service Representative, Tim Song. Tim has been on board for over two years, starting out with the company as a Sales Representative, and shortly thereafter he was promoted to our Quality Control Department.

Tim grew up right here in Southern California in the city of Brea. He attended the prestigious University of California at Berkeley and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics. Shortly after his graduation from UC Berkeley, Tim worked for Toshiba in their Integrated Circuits/Microchips Division for a few years. He decided to move closer to home and take some time off to study and prepare for graduate school. Tim came to ADVANCED ACCESS to pursue a different direction in sales and to learn more about the software side of technology, after his experience with computer hardware.

Tim enjoys the challenge of helping our clients make the most of their Internet presence, and feels at home here serving our clients within our family atmosphere. He says, “I appreciate the position that I am in right now with ADVANCED ACCESS. Everything is exciting and adventurous because I get to interact on a personal level with Realtors across the country. Most of the people I talk to have a lot of charisma and charm - no wonder they are in the real estate business!”

He continues, “I take my position very seriously because I get to provide REALTORS® with advice and address specific issues to improve their business through their website. I enjoy making a positive and lasting impression on REALTORS® who love to utilize their website to further their career in real estate and to embrace the services that we provide.”

AA President Justin Davis says, “When we moved Tim from Sales to Customer Service the results have been phenomenal. We found an untapped resource in Tim, an uncanny ability to communicate with our clients in a manner that helps them make use of the powerful features available in their Website. In a matter of months he has taken the department to new levels and we're all very excited about the future."

Tim has been dating his long-time girlfriend, Susan, for 4 years, and hopes to marry her some time very soon. He enjoys reading for leisure, and his tastes range from science-fiction adventure books to technical books such as programming or hardware. Tim also enjoys working out at the gym and has set a goal to become more diligent and to work out more consistently. He is a self professed “Movie-holic” - collecting movies from the old Classics to the most current action movies.

Tim displays a strong sense of pride in his work at ADVANCED ACCESS serving our valued clients. People like Tim truly make a difference, and we're thankful he is a part of our team.

And, in honor of Football Season, here are a few words about the game:

"Football is a game of cliches, and I believe in every one of them."
- Vince Lombardi (1913 - 1970) US football coach

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football." - John Heisman (1869 - 1936) US football coach

"Anybody who watches three games of football in a row should be declared brain dead." - Erma Bombeck (1927 - 1996) US journalist, author, humorist

"Each of us has been put on earth with the ability to do something well. We cheat ourselves and the world if we don't use that ability as best we can." - George Allen (1922 - 1990) US football coach

August 2003 | Back to Main Page | October 2003