ADVANCED ACCESS June 2005 Newsletter

June 2005 Newsletter

" Summertime and the living is easy,
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high."

- Ira Gershwin

Nominees are IN for the 3^rd Annual Most Impressive ADVANCED ACCESS Website Promotion

Vote for YOUR Favorite Website in Each Category

We would like to thank you for your contributions to our 3rd annual 'Most Impressive ADVANCED ACCESS Website' contest. The sites that were nominated are all beautiful examples of how you have used some creative ideas to spice up your Advanced Access website.

There are eight different categories of Most Impressive Website nominations, with a large selection of websites to choose from. You can only vote once per category and the vote can not be changed. The first seven categories are:

Best Homepage - Also known as "curb appeal." When you enter the homepage of this site does it WOW you, catch your eye in some way, does it appear colorful and well organized, or is it just plain awesome?

Best Lead Generator - When you are voting for this category, read the comments submitted by the owner, friend, or admirer to find out why they believe it is the 'Best Lead Generator'. Also, view the website to see how the owner guides their potential clients through their site to find out how they capture visitors, etc.

Best Use of a Template - Does the site use one of our standard designs, but looks completely revamped? Is the color, style or the navigational buttons and top graphics simply extraordinary?

Best Use of a THEME - In creating a successful website, it's important to define WHO your audience is. When you visit this site, do you find a repetitive theme throughout the pages within? Do you know this site is geared specifically toward a certain market segment such as first time homebuyers or boomers?

Best Use of an AA Feature - Does the site find a unique use for one of the features offered by ADVANCED ACCESS? We consider an AA feature to be any of the sections in the Virtual Office, including slideshows, local partners, favorite links, community links, bulletin board, listings, testimonials, free reports, about page, and more...

Most Original Content - When you view this website you might be asking yourself, "Who did they hire as a copy writer?"

Most User Friendly - Do find this website to be incredibly well organized, and you know instantly where you need to go to find what you're looking for?

The final category is the 'Most Impressive ADVANCED ACCESS Website'. This category contains *all* the websites from the rest of the categories so one website can potentially win for two categories.

This is your chance...

Why not use this opportunity to go beyond your comfort zone...don't just vote for your 'friend' or for your own website that has been nominated. Check out ALL of the nominees...it's in your best interest. This is your chance to realize the potential of your own website. The websites that have been nominated for our 'Most Impressive' promotion are the 'crème de la crème,' and represent those who have created a successful, comprehensive online real estate resource for consumers. Take a few minutes to browse through the nominees' websites to discover what our talented clients have created. The ideas you can acquire while viewing these beautiful sites can help rouse your creativity for your own website.

A very important point to remember that is all these sites are copyrighted. Copying or stealing content from a site that is not yours is a crime. Read some of our past Marketing Tips about this subject.

Take some time to click on each of the nominees' links and admire the masterpieces that your fellow real estate professionals have created. Then, cast your vote for YOUR favorite ADVANCED ACCESS website in each category. The voting period ends on July 15, and the results of our contest will be announced in the JULY ADVANCED ACCESS newsletter.

If you did not submit your website for nomination this year, take the next few months to devote a few hours a week to spend working on your website. Give us a call at ADVANCED ACCESS so we can help you take your vision and make it a reality. We are here Monday - Friday, 7am to 6pm PST to assist you. For more reading pleasure, go to your Support Center and click on the ADVANCED ACCESS Forums. A wealth of information is available in our forums from fellow real estate professionals who have taken the time to enhance their website and are incredibly successful at what they do.

If you don't have a vision of what your website could be, or don't want to take the time to talk to ADVANCED ACCESS about what you can do with the many programs and items available to you, don't forget that we have put together a free resource of Virtual Assistants who can be hired to help you make the MOST of your website. We have assembled a list of testimonials from happy ADVANCED ACCESS clients about experienced VA's on our resource list. After viewing our VA Resource List, you can interview the candidates yourself to determine your best course of action.

We would like to wish ALL the nominees the best of luck in our contest. Next month's ADVANCED ACCESS newsletter will reveal the winners.

ADVANCED ACCESS Customer Support Department
Undergoes Major Expansion

ADVANCED ACCESS recently announced the expansion of our Customer Support Division to meet the needs of our dramatic growth in our clients in the real estate market. The expansion, which has taken place over the course of the last several months, has included an increase in the number of customer support representatives, a move to a new location within the building, new ergonomically-designed work spaces, and equipment upgrades. According to Aron Spegon, Director of Customer Service, this move and expansion will help the company provide better service for current and future ADVANCED ACCESS customers. He reports, "Our Customer Support expansion is a very exciting development in our growth in this important and vital market."

Our new location within the ADVANCED ACCESS building will allow for twice the space and seating as our previous setting. To ensure the FASTEST response time possible for our valued clients, so far this year we have increased our staff approximately 25-30% from the previous year. We expect to continue to see growth of up to 50% more staff than we employed last year. Each ADVANCED ACCESS employee candidate is subject to a number of tests, including technical aptitude and personality testing. After our customer support personnel are hired, they go through a comprehensive two-week training period.

Our Customer Service expansion will help us provide BETTER service and FASTER response times than ever before. Wait times often vary based on the day of the week, month, year, and even based on the time of the day. The average wait time is typically under a minute at this time, and we work hard to keep you waiting less as we grow, which is a constant challenge, since we are always growing. To-date, we have experienced approximately a 35% growth in customer phone calls over last year.

We are proud of our Customer Support representatives who work hard every day to provide superior service to our clients. After each call we ask for your feedback in a short (and optional!) survey form, to be sure we are giving you the service you expect and deserve. Here are a few responses from our surveys:

"Troy's response to my problem was very fast. The nicest thing was, though, is that he called me back this morning to follow-up! Very impressed with his level of customer service. Thank you."

"The help at ADVANCED ACCESS, no matter which technician it is who answers, each individual is very polite and patient. Thanks for everything!"

"Call waiting time was 0...that never happens! Thanks for staffing to the demand."

Our managerial staff is instrumental in the implementation of new policies and procedures to direct the future of customer service for ADVANCED ACCESS. As our customer base grows, the customer service managerial staff has also increased, and we have recently added more managers to our staff to serve you more efficiently. Aron Spegon is our Director of Customer Service, and Scott Jarvis has recently accepted the position of Assistant Director of Customer Service.

We at ADVANCED ACCESS sincerely appreciate your business and support, and our motto continues to be The Key to Your Success is Our Service. Call us TOLL FREE at 866-518-1571 for assistance. We're here to serve you.

5th Annual North Carolina Association of REALTORS®

NCAR Legislative Shootout

ADVANCED ACCESS participated in this year's 5th Annual NCAR Legislative Shootout, which was held May 23rd at the Raleigh Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. Roger Livingston, newly appointed Regional Sales Manager for ADVANCED ACCESS participated in the event. Roger is pictured above with members of his foursome. They included Roger; Anne Shropshire, Business Manager of the Service Corporation for NCAR; Joe Rempson, representative of T.R. Lawing Realty, Inc. of Charlotte, N.C.; and Lydia Dameron, representative of RE/MAX at the Beach in Holden Beach, N.C.

The Raleigh Country Club in North Carolina, was the site of this year's North Carolina Association of REALTORS® annual golf tournament entitled the "NCAR Legislative Shootout." The event was a "captain's choice" golf tournament that pairs current REALTORS® that make up the NCAR membership who have contributed more than $500 to the NC RPAC with various North Carolina State Legislators.

ADVANCED ACCESS participated in the event as a "Hole Partner," and was well represented by Roger Livingston, Regional Sales Manager for the North Carolina area. Tim Kent, Executive VP for NCAR, commented on the event's success stating, "...we ended up with ninety-eight players which was our biggest field ever. Five years ago, we had about fifty-five players for the first-ever Shootout, so the event is growing in size and stature." He concluded, "This event is unusually important because it rewards our biggest RPAC supporters who contribute five hundred dollars or more. Our special thanks are also extended to our NCAR sponsors and Partners, who help us maintain a high profile with members of the General Assembly who attend this event."

A total of 14 of some of the state's well-known legislators attended the event this year. The distinguished list included both Chairs for the Rules Committee (House and Senate), the Senate Appropriations Chair, the House Environment Chair, and the House Appropriations Chair on Capital Improvements, two Co-Chairs of House Commerce and the Chair of House Public Utilities.

ADVANCED ACCESS Annual 2005 Company Picnic

Under clear and sunny skies, ADVANCED ACCESS held its annual employee summer picnic, and treated employees, families, and friends to a wonderful day of food, fun, and excitement on Saturday, June 18^th.

The event was held at spacious Sycamore Park, in the City of Anaheim, California, and provided staff with an opportunity to relax and enjoy an event sponsored by ADVANCED ACCESS CEO Kristina Davis, President Justin Davis, and members of the Senior Management Team.

The picnic featured a collection of the usual types of refreshments and food served at events of these kinds, including hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken. The menu also included potato and pasta salads, baked beans, soft drinks, and treats including watermelon, brownies, and cookies.

Activities included a dunk-tank, moon-bounce, sumo wrestling, softball, basketball, and water balloon fights. President Justin Davis also took some time to announce the 2005 Annual Employee Awards that are voted upon by peers and members of staff. The winners were announced at the picnic and were commended for their hard-work and dedication that they have exhibited during the last year of growth and success for ADVANCED ACCESS. The award-winners were:

Most Outstanding Sales Representative - Darren Kipfer

Most Outstanding Customer Support Representative - Kyle O'Campo

Most Outstanding Designer/Software Engineer - Jonathan Mabe

Most Outstanding Customer Service Representative - Lindsay Connell

Most Outstanding Accounting/Administrative Representative - Danielle Smith

Most Outstanding New Account Specialist - Angela Cortez

Best Overall Employee 2005 - Kevin Herzer

Remember your Clients and Prospects

With Patriotic Intellicards for Independence Day!

What better way to celebrate the birthday of our great country than to send your family, friends, sphere of influence, clients and prospects an animated and fun Intellicards greeting via email. ADVANCED ACCESS offers a great selection of colorful and animated holiday greetings that you can use to remind your clients of the upcoming holiday, get into the spirit of the season, and to let everyone know that you are still actively working in the real estate profession.

Pictured above are three choices for holiday Intellicards - many more can be found in your Virtual Office.

In addition to the holiday Intellic@rd choices, ADVANCED ACCESS offers a large selection of patriotic banners and website styles to celebrate Independence Day in a colorful and meaningful way.

With flags flying everywhere around town - on homes, cars, and businesses, displaying a patriotic theme on your website will let everyone know that you're in the spirit and at the same time it might just make a difference in your real estate business.

ADVANCED ACCESS Annual Outside Sales Division Meeting

Members of the ADVANCED ACCESS Outside Sales Division gathered at the Southern California Headquarters for their Annual Sales Meeting in Anaheim, California. Jane Ellsworth-Purcell, Sr. VP of Sales for ADVANCED ACCESS, held intensive two-day meetings for the company's sales representatives to discuss sales, marketing and service strategies for the upcoming year, as well as advanced scheduling that allows ADVANCED ACCESS personnel to attend the various conventions and tradeshows that are held around the country by both local and state organizations. Pictured above are members of the Outside Sales Division as they participate at an indoor racing facility called DROMO ONE. The facility features indoor motorized kart racing, which allows participants to race in heats of 18-22 laps, with up to nine drivers competing for trophies and awards. The karts are maintained equally, allowing the driver with the most ability to win. The event is part of a series of "team-building" activities that were planned during the two-day meetings held in Orange Country, California.

Featured AA Employee of the Month - Kevin Stites

This month we're featuring Kevin Stites, who is our Quality Assurance Manager. Kevin has been on the ADVANCED ACCESS team since December 2003 in the Administration department. Recently Kevin was promoted to the position of Quality Assurance Manager. In his position, Kevin is responsible for testing our ADVANCED ACCESS products and services to ensure they are functioning at optimum levels, acting as a liaison between the Customer Service, Design, Information Systems and Programming departments.

Kevin was born in Whittier, California and has lived in the Orange County, California area for 19 years. He graduated from Sonora High School in 2001, where he played Alto and Baritone Sax in marching, concert and jazz band through his high school years. Currently Kevin attends Fullerton College where he is working toward a degree in Computer Information Systems.

Kevin is close to his family, which includes two younger twin brothers who are currently Seniors at Sonora High School. He spends most of his free time with his fiance e Meagan, to whom he recently became engaged. Some of Kevin's hobbies include paintball, graphic design, cars (he loves his "Box,") and computer gaming.

Kevin enjoys ADVANCED ACCESS for the fun, friendly atmosphere and people. As he says, "Working with my coworkers is great and AA would not be the same without them."

We couldn't agree more, and we are honored to work with someone like Kevin who contributes so much to the ADVANCED ACCESS team.

ADVANCED ACCESS Independence Day Office Closure

ADVANCED ACCESS will close its offices on Monday, July 4th in observance of the Independence Day Holiday.

The entire Management Team and our staff wish to take this opportunity to extend to our valued customers, friends and families a most sincere Happy Independence Day!

Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday, July 5, 2005.

As always, we thank you for your business and for your referrals.

On the lighter side....

If you destroy a bridge, be sure you can swim.
- African Proverb

Justin Davis, President of ADVANCED ACCESS, poised for dunking at the Employee Picnic