December 22 - Special Year-End Edition

Name The 2009 Convention Theme And Win Amex Gift Card

Enter to win $100 gift card for recommending a theme for 13th Annual Convention By Kimberley Sweet Kimberley Sweet UG is traveling into unchartered territory in 2009 -- the City by the Bay. HVA has announced that the 2009 Annual Convention will be held Tuesday, Dec. 1-4 at the San Francisco Hilton. The hotel is located in the heart of downtown, within walking distance of many of the city’s attractions, and HVA has secured a special group hotel room rate. But… your help is needed! You have a chance to name the convention theme and win a $100 American Express gift card! All ideas are welcome—come up with a creative theme that helps attract franchisees to San Francisco and you may win the gift card, plus get recognition in The Vestor’s Voice®. Send your entries to Elizabeth.Luna@homevestors.com for a chance at easy money and a little bit of history. Entry deadline is noon Wednesday, January 14, 2009. For registration/hotel information, please go to the Training/Events listing located on the HomeVestors Home Page www.homevestors.com. …Kimberley Sweet is the HVA events content coordinator and can be reached at Kimberley.sweet@homevestors.com.

The Bible And Borrowing: Ancient Wisdom For Today’s Issues - Part 1

An examination of the Bible’s perspective on borrowing money By J. Barry Watts J. Barry Watts Editor’s Note: How should franchisees think about debt? It’s a topic that was recently raised in a HVA Franchisee Mastermind, and we thought it was important enough to ask Missouri franchisee J. Barry Watts  to give us his perspectives—not only as a franchisee, but also as a professional financial manager, and as a student of the Bible. His essay will appear in several installments in The Vestor’s Voice®. As you read the articles, we welcome your comments, which you can post on the Message Board at HomeVestors.com. In the volatile downswings of life (which make the “upswings” possible) people typically search to be sure their thinking and decision making rests on a solid foundation. It happens when people get sick, when someone they love dies, when their marriage or their kids struggle, and it happens in economic difficulty. Case in point: the present economy has brought about interest in what the Bible says about money--specifically borrowing.  Unfortunately, in today’s microwave pace where everything is instantaneous, people approach the Bible in the same way; looking for a verse that gives them a rule they can apply, rather than studiously building--precept upon precept--a rational, principled theology about their topic of interest. That approach can result in a misinterpretation of the larger principle in the whole of scripture. Therefore, my intent in this essay is to build a more complete view of what The Bible says about borrowing and debt. First, we must get our attitude right. Attitude is closely tied with emotion, and at the root of the question we are dealing with is the emotion of fear. Fear is the major driver in this type of Bible mining expedition. Yet God doesn’t want people seeking Him out of fear, or living their lives in fear, but rather in confidence. While there are fearsome things we face, fear itself is worthless---a waste of emotion that can be replaced with confidence once we have understanding. Secondly, money isn’t good or bad, it is neutral. The Bible does not say, as it is so often quoted, that “Money is the root of all evil.” Instead I Timothy 6:10 says “…Love of money is the root of all sorts of evil...” So money isn’t a problem, it’s the love of it that leads us astray. Many people have entangled themselves in risky financial deals in foolish pursuit of love: love of money! Verse 9 of that same passage says “…those who want to get rich fall into temptation….which plunge men into ruin and destruction.” How then should we think about money? I believe money is a tool. Life is the object of the game. I want to live a life of maximum impact. I want to maximize my impact for good upon as many people as possible. That will take money. But money is never the focus. Money is simply a tool or resource for the greater purpose I am called to fulfill. Thirdly, because we HomeVestors franchisees tend to be RED and confident, I think we overplay our own importance. It is easy for us to thump our chest and be proud of what we have accomplished while the quiet voice of scripture asks “Who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? If you received it, why are you bragging about it as if you’d done it yourself?” I Corinthians 4:7 while Deuteronomy 8:18 commands “Remember the Lord….it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.” Setting your attitude right about these bigger issues prepares you to approach The Bible with a  right heart so you can understand and apply what you learn when you seek the Bible’s wisdom on the question of borrowing money. . . . Next issue, Barry will answer the question: Is borrowing wrong?

January Jumpstart To Generate More Leads For Franchisees

Wealth Builder Network and an expansive radio campaign to launch marketing efforts in the New Year By Leah Templeton Mark Hagen outlines the 2009 marketing programs during the Annual Convention. CONVENTION PHOTO GALLERY   An updated look for the billboards, more national radio advertising and a new program designed to target investors were among the highlights of the 2009 advertising and marketing programs announced by Mark Hagen, vice president of marketing, at HVA’s annual convention earlier in December. Recognizing that 2009 may present continued economic challenges, Hagen explained that the 2009 programs are designed to allow franchisees to do “more with less” and still get the results they desire. “Most of the programs we’re launching won’t cost franchisees a lot of money,” he said. “But our hope is that these programs will help get franchisees more leads and help sell more houses, even while franchisees are spending less money.” Here are the highlights: Outdoor Billboards Instead of revamping an already successful billboard, HVA decided to "freshen up the look." This new design will call more attention to outdoor postings without compromising the consistency of the HVA brand. “There is little question that the outdoor billboard is how most consumers have come to know and love us,” Hagen said. “We’ve had this board design for three years and it continues to work for us.” The new design will be available for use starting late in the first quarter and can be used in conjunction with, or in place of, current creative on bulletins or 30-sheet postings only. Per Inquiry Internet Leads Internet leads now account for one-third of HomeVestors total acquisition leads. Just three years ago Internet leads accounted for only 10 percent of total leads.  Per inquiry Internet leads -- leads generated through search engines like Google and Yahoo -- are responsible for much of this increase. While this program has been very successful, one of the unintended consequences of this success is that some franchisees are now getting some very large monthly bills for per inquiry Internet leads.  This is especially true in markets where our franchise count has decreased in the past year.  In response to this situation, HomeVestors has decided to cap per inquiry internet leads at a maximum of $1,200/month.  This move is designed to help our franchisees more effectively budget for their advertising expense and will allow franchisees to get more for less.  Network Radio Advertising In 2008 HVA ran two network radio campaigns. A January-February campaign targeted investors with the objective of building the HVA investor database. As a result, early 3,000 new investors opted in to the database. The Summer Surge program in July and August targeted acquisition leads. Spots ran nationwide on radio programs such as "Glenn Beck," "Coast to Coast," "Dr. Laura" and "Fox News" and generated an increase in overall leads. “What’s important to note is that the leads dropped in September as soon as the network campaign stopped,” Hagen said. “That is not a coincidence. Based on these results we have decided to launch January Jumpstart, another network radio campaign.” January Jumpstart will begin January 5 and run for six weeks, ending February 13. The campaign will run on top-rated, national programs including: "The Rush Limbaugh Show," reaching 3.3 million listeners daily "Sean Hannity," reaching 1.5 million listeners daily "Glenn Beck" "Coast to Coast" "Dr. Laura" The program includes two calls to action, a special arch phone number and a unique URL, so HVA can accurately measure the results. Most importantly, January Jumpstart will be funded by the franchisee marketing fund, meaning the leads generated from the campaign will not cost franchisees any additional money. Wealth Builder Network The new "Wealth Builder Network" Real Estate Investment Club is targeted at individuals interested in building long-term wealth through a portfolio of single-family rental properties. This Wealth Builder Network launches January 5 and is HVA’s first ever paid investor club. Hagen said that given the meltdown of the stock market, there is increased interest in real estate investing among medium to high net-worth individuals. The obstacles that have prevented these individuals from getting into investment real estate -- finding financing, understanding how to find good deals as well as how to rehab and manage rental properties -- are all addressed through the Wealth Builder Network. The biggest difference between the Wealth Builder Network and other information marketing real estate investment clubs and seminars, is the network of HomeVestors franchisees. Hagen pointed out that HVA can offer much more than information. "We are offering investment properties and coaching advice through our franchisees," he said. Initially, a Gold Level membership will be available. The $39.97 monthly fee provides members with the following: 48-hour advance notification of new property listings A monthly printed newsletter A monthly CD featuring an interview with a real estate investing expert Participation in a monthly Webinar with a real estate investing expert Access to a member only Web site Access to special vendor discounts Franchisees will be notified whenever an investor joins the Wealth Builder Network in their market.  As membership grows in a market, HVA encourages franchisees to consider hosting local networking events to establish a working relationship with these new WBN members and to recruit new members.   “The DFW Ad Council recently hosted a meeting like this and more than 60 investors showed up,” said Hagen. “As a result of that meeting many new relationships were established and a number of houses have already been sold to investors." HVA will  provide franchisees with access to Webinars on different aspects of real estate investing, which can be used as part of the content for at local networking event Local vendors can also be invited to participate in and potentially sponsor these local networking events.  Whether or not franchisees host local events, it is important that all new Wealth Builder Network members be contacted by local franchisees when we send out the notification that they have joined our club. The main benefit of this program to franchisees is the ability to sell houses to highly qualified investors who are interested in building wealth through real estate.  Other benefits include:   25 percent of all net proceeds from the club will be credited to the marketing fund Franchisees will receive $10 per month for each paying member they  enroll The program will be launched with a series of emails targeted to HVA’s current 30,000 strong investor list.  In addition, HVA will be marketing the program via e-mail to high net-worth individuals who have expressed an interest in investing in real estate.   “Each of the programs I’ve talked about, -- our new outdoor design, the cap on per inquiry internet leads, the January Jumpstart network radio buy and The Wealth Builder Network real estate investment club -- are designed to help our franchise network do more with less in 2009, so that collectively we can make 2009 our best year yet,” said Hagen. . . . Leah Templeton is an account executive with BizCom Associates, HVA’s public relations agency.

Memory Expert Gives Franchisees Tricks To Remember

David Thomas showed the crowd at annual convention what it takes to stand out. Can you remember? By Monica Feid Memory expert David Thomas provides franchisees with tips they can use to improve their memory during Annual Convention. CONVENTION PHOTO GALLERY   If you got back from Vegas and can’t remember what a great time you had, you may have missed David Thomas. A memory expert, Thomas thrilled the crowd with a certain talent he has used to his benefit to attain a career he loves, financial freedom, and the chance to live the life of his dreams. But it wasn’t all designed for entertainment. Perhaps the International Grandmaster of Memory isn’t that different from you and HVA after all. In his presentation and later in breakout sessions, Thomas showed franchisees how to use the tricks he has developed to tap into their latent and infinite memory ability. According to Thomas, by developing their memory to its full potential, franchisees should be better equipped to: Speak to investors, sellers and buyers without the use of notes Recall business details from meetings and phone calls at will And Thomas said he is an example that anyone can do what he does if they just put their mind to it. A self-confessed lover of food (note the midsection he showed off on the convention stage), Thomas explained in his English accent that he was once one sad “Ginger.” The son of an alcoholic mother and himself a failure at school, Thomas set out to be a firefighter and spent years in a job where he didn’t excel. Then a hobby took over instead of his career. And eventually that hobby became his career. Thomas discovered a knack for memorization. In fact, the knack was so outstanding, that with very little effort he was soon gaining fame for his abilities among a crowd of nerds, as he described. It was the attention that he got for doing something so well – something that he found fun – that propelled him to go even further. From his 4th place finish in the World Memory Championship, Thomas soon found a desire to be the very best. That would be his aura! He would have the most incredible memory, and that would be his niche. So Thomas set out to memorize more than 22,500 digits to the mathematical equation of Pi (3.14159…). And the "Guinness Book of World Records" was there to record it. Still, nobody is perfect. And hours into the first attempt, after reciting more than 20,000 numbers, the unthinkable happened….literally! Thomas lost his place in the sequence. He had to start again. The second time was a charm, and now so is Thomas on the international speaking circuit. He has turned his gift for memorization into a career as a motivational speaker, a published author, a happy family man, and world traveler. Today, life for Thomas is drastically different from how it began. He overcame poverty, an alcoholic mother, an unimpressive school record and a poor performance as a firefighter. He found an aura – his ability to memorize. And now we’ll remember him for it. So what’s your aura? For more on David Thomas and how his memory retention tricks can better serve you in business, go to TheMotivationSpeaker.com/resources where you can listen to his audio program or download it to your MP3 player. Three e-books are also available to download. . . . Monica Feid is vice president of BizCom Associates, HVA’s public relations agency.