On our emblem, you see the letters S.E.C., the Society of Exchange Counselors. If you examine it more closely, however, you will also see the double meaning of S.E.C.—Service, Experience, Counsel.
Membership in the Society is by invitation only. We are constantly looking for the very best people within the field of creative equity marketing. Each person who attends an S.E.C. Marketing Session has received a special invitation. Each attendee is given the opportunity to present at least one property before the group. If the average attendee earns $300 per hour (I suspect that number is low) and we have 80 attendees, the group's earning power is $24,000 per hour. Each six-minute presentation made by our guests effectively consumes the equivalent of at least $2,400 of our time. An unprepared presentation hurts not only our members and guests but also our clients. The collective brainpower of our group consistently solves problems for our clients that no one person could possibly hope to do alone. That time is precious and not to be wasted. To consistently give the world's best creative marketing solutions to our clients, we have to demand the best from our guests and Members.
Each guest at our meetings is assigned an experienced mentor, a Member who gives Service to that guest by helping him or her succeed at the marketing session. Each guest is watched closely to see whether they have the integrity, the willingness, and the ability to learn the skills we teach as well as the character of a person who is willing to help others. If a guest consistently displays the characteristics we require and has learned or is learning the skill sets we need, we give the individual an invitation to become a Candidate for membership in the Society. Candidates are scrutinized even more closely than our guests are. They are given opportunities to serve the Society since our non-profit Society survives only through countless hours of service given by Members to keep the Society functioning properly. Once a Candidate, an individual must be scrutinized for a minimum of one year before he or she can be accepted as a Member, or as a Counselor in the Society. Only by demanding the very best from our Members, Candidates and guests, is the Society able to deliver to our clients the wonderful service we provide.
Clients can feel confident that the Counselor they are working with has been highly trained. Their Counselors' status allows them to tap into the collective genius of the most sophisticated creative marketing group on earth. You can expect, and should demand, excellence in the Service you receive. In return, don't be surprised when your Counselor also demands of you that you conduct your business accurately, recognizing facts for what they are. As he or she delivers service that provides economic benefits to you, expect to pay appropriately for the Service, the collective Experience and the Counsel that you receive.
Welcome to the world of the Society of Exchange Counselors…the S.E.C. — Service, Experience, and Counsel.
Gary Vandenberg, S.E.C. develops retail land sites, primarily in the West Michigan area. He also exchanges real estate and other equities nationwide. In addition to being an S.E.C. member, he is an Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). His creative real estate transactions earned him Michigan Marketer of the Year in the Realtor's Land Institute. Mr. Vandenberg served on the Executive Committee as President of the Society in 2013.
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