General Industry Statement from ICIWorld

Building an information service that provides for a whole industry is no mean task. There have been hundreds perhaps thousands of  such services we have seen come and go over the last ten years.  The problem is one of income versus expenses.  Free services simply can not afford to stay in existence on a hope and a prayer.  One needs revenues to support not only the service but the people that run it.

ICIWorld has been a pay service from the beginning and builds its revenue model from the very people that will benefit by providing the service to the public who will benefit.  It is what is called a win win situation.

There has to be a few major central sites in the world to attract attention the public who do not have time to check out one thousand web sites.  A few are necessary to provide competition in the marketplace to keep everyone honest so to speak.  Competitive services work in the best interest of the organized real estate industry and the public by providing services at competitive rates.  One way is to offer free services for all the major brokers in the world in the hopes of attracting attention that will attract advertising revenues to eventually support the service.  Money is required to finance this. $20 Million in financing does not in itself provide competitive services, because the overhead that is put in place for the expected revenues, ends up in the end causing the problem.  It is simply that income projections are not met, revenues exceed expenses and another one bites the dust or is saddled with having to charge more and more for all services.  The benefits of the Internet in cheap communications is lost because of the high overhead burden in startup.  During this growth period, all the free services have pressures on them to change them to charge services, and the hunt is on to look for revenues.

Now if a service can be set up where it is just the real estate salesperson or broker, the computer, the public, you have essentially eliminated overhead making it the most cost efficient system in the world.  ICIWorld is that system. There is a responsibility however upon the broker to manage and market his/her information.  Effective management of ones information is more important than the industry realizes.  It is the difference between making money or making nothing.

Brokers and salespeople in this industry are overwhelmed with information.  Everyone is suffering from information overload.  To take one hour out of a persons time today is like pulling teeth in some cases, only because they do not realize how important and beneficial information handling is in today's economy. 

An example is a broker who has to draw up an ad in a newspaper.  It is almost like having to eat liver.  Yet it can be the one act that in a chain of events leads to doing a deal. 

We specialize in helping that broker design information to be effective in the marketing of Have and Want Information in the world today with a one hour training session.  It is the concepts learned that will help the industry professionals rise to what I call a minimum level of competence in today's commercial real estate industry in the information age.

Those who pay attention to the concepts, are using ideas that will make them money.  It makes for a more efficient economy.  It reduces the high costs of a transaction for advertising and networking. The brokers themselves present properties for sale and for lease in a marketing plan that is more effective to compete in today's very competitive environment.

We invite you to learn the ten concepts that ICIWorld has learned since 1994 of slugging it out in the trenches, of discovering what works, and what does not work. 

The good news for the industry, is that while there is a lot of hoopla surrounding many services, the cost is low to network in terms of dollars.  Many are free services, ICIWorld is only $240 per year.  Where else can one network to over 100 countries for only $240 for all their listings, all year long, and in color!  It is incredible really.

One of the major services that brokers and salespeople should highlight today is their information and marketing abilities on the internet.  This is a value added service!  Yet a good portion of the industry is stuck in the past due to the busy day to day affairs of the commotion of business life. They have been so busy making a living they really have not taken the time to learn what it takes to be successful on the Internet.  ICIWorld hopes to change that and help them become experts in their own right.

It is our challenge to reach everyone in the world who wishes to trade in any aspect of commercial real estate and invite them to network on a platform that was thought about and conceived in 1989 and continues to grow today.  There was foresight into the fact there would be a large world type real estate board type listing service on the internet.  This service continues to fill the gap in the marketplace for an independent service, different from real estate boards which we feel are vital and continue to play an important role, but not the only role.

There has always been a gap in the marketplace for the 90% of apartment buildings that can not be advertised on a real estate boards and probably never will be, and for shopping centers, land and much more.  It is this type of information which is the easiest to understand but also many other types of information and industry wide networking that only a service that is independent but can work with real estate boards and commercial groups.  If the real estate boards of the world can see fit to work within the framework of this kind of service it could be the best answer for all concerned and fulfill the goals of the board itself.  Each board has a limited mandate which fractures information handling.  Yet it is helpful and vital to have information such as on a real estate board for brokers to network. This is too long a subject to be devoted here.

Given an opportunity to discuss the merits with all important groups relevant in the industry today, we are confident we can show that ICIWorld is a long term answer and solution to today's networking needs in commercial real estate world wide fitting in with and  alongside real estate board type services in a most compatible way. Indeed real estate boards and many industry leaders promote and adopt our service because we serve the same constituents in a compatible fashion. All opportunities for every individual can and will be explored to help them connect with others to do business to serve the needs of the public.  Otherwise people are missing opportunities to do business and do not realize it.

Do not hesitate to contact the writer anytime.

Sincerely
Gary Nusca, CCIM
ICIWorld.net, Inc.
416-214-4875