By partnering with organizations that have similar goals, P2P can get their name in front of the audiences they want to reach. With Bikes Belong, they reach people who care about sustainable neighborhoods and bicycles. With EcoBroker, they can connect with “green” real estate agents, as well as buyers and sellers who care about the environment.

News releases detailing the partnerships after the jump…

Pedal to Properties announces partnership with EcoBroker

BOULDER, Colo.— Pedal to Properties, a full-service real estate firm that incorporates sophisticated technology, green practices and optional bike tours for home buyers, today announced a partnership with EcoBroker, the premier green designation for real estate professionals.

The agreement establishes a relationship between two organizations that support sustainability, livable neighborhoods and environmentally sensitive building and real estate practices. The partnership calls for Pedal to Properties to support its brokers and franchisees in earning and maintaining EcoBroker certification. In return, EcoBroker will host classes at Pedal to Properties locations and serve as a resource for a host of green real estate topics.

“Pedal to Properties understands that a sustainable real estate practice can be successful and environmentally conscious at the same time, and that this niche is a huge draw for homebuyers,” said Dr. John Beldock, President and CEO of EcoBroker. “Our organizations are going to make great partners.”

Pedal to Properties gives clients the option of seeing homes and neighborhoods while riding distinctive cruiser bikes. The Pedal to Properties formula also includes sophisticated yet easy-to-use web tools for consumers and agents, green office practices, and social networking platforms. “Connecting with EcoBroker is a logical step for our agents and franchisees,” said Tim Majors, President, U.S. Operations, Pedal to Properties. “We’ve both after the same thing—enhancing the buyer and seller experience in an environmental way.”

Based in Evergreen, Colo., and founded in 2002, EcoBroker has built a solid foundation of environmental education and outreach helping consumers and communities take advantage of energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design in real estate properties. Through EcoBroker’s unique programs, real estate professionals acquire the knowledge and resources to become certified EcoBrokers®. These real estate professionals assist clients in their pursuit of properties that provide affordability, comfort and a healthier environment, all the while reducing carbon footprints. EcoBroker has thousands of members in all 50 states and internationally.

The Pedal to Properties concept has been massively successful in Boulder, where founder Matt Kolb launched the company in 2006 and saw sales grow 200 percent in two years. Pedal to Properties was dubbed “most creative idea” by Real Estate Weekly at the National Association of Realtors conference in November, and the Boulder flagship office has added many top real estate agents in recent months. A Northampton, Mass., franchise opens this spring.

A Pedal to Properties franchise uses unique marketing tools, know-how and services tailored to health-conscious buyers and sellers interested in the pedestrian lifestyle. The Pedal to Properties approach offers buyers the option of a fun, relaxed bike ride that lets them see homes while getting to know local shops, restaurants, parks and schools.  The company’s Web site, www.pedaltoproperties.com, lets agents, franchisees and consumers search, review or post comments about their favorite neighborhoods and homes.

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Pedal to Properties announces unique partnership with Bikes Belong

BOULDER, Colo.—Pedal to Properties, a full-service real estate firm that incorporates sophisticated technology, green practices and optional bike tours for home buyers, today announced a collaborative partnership with Bikes Belong Coalition, a trade organization for the U.S. bicycle industry that advocates for creating and supporting bicycling programs.

The agreement makes Pedal to Properties the first real estate company member with Bikes Belong and establishes a relationship between two organizations that support bicycling and livable neighborhoods. Under the agreement, Pedal to Properties will enlist each new franchisee as a Bikes Belong member, and encourage franchisees to renew this membership annually. In return, Bikes Belong will support Pedal to Properties with expertise and research information.

“Our belief is that good things happen when people are on bicycles. What Pedal to Properties does, encouraging home buyers to learn about homes and neighborhoods from a bicycle, is innovative and something we fully support,” Bruno Maier, membership and development director of Bikes Belong, said.

Pedal to Properties gives clients the option of seeing homes and neighborhoods while riding distinctive cruiser bikes. The Pedal to Properties formula also includes sophisticated yet easy-to-use web tools for consumers and agents, green office practices, and social networking platforms.

Boulder, Colo.-based Bikes Belong works to increase the federal investment in bicycling to create more programs and facilities – making cycling more safe and accessible, fostering livable communities and increasing property values.

The Pedal to Properties concept has been massively successful in Boulder, where founder Matt Kolb launched the company in 2006 and saw sales grow 200 percent in two years. Pedal to Properties was dubbed “most creative idea” by Real Estate Weekly at the National Association of Realtors conference in November, and the Boulder flagship office has added many top real estate agents in recent months. A Northampton, Mass., franchise opens this spring.

A Pedal to Properties franchise uses unique marketing tools, know-how and services tailored to health-conscious buyers and sellers interested in the pedestrian lifestyle. The Pedal to Properties approach offers buyers the option of a fun, relaxed bike ride that lets them see homes while getting to know local shops, restaurants, parks and schools.  The company’s Web site, www.pedaltoproperties.com, lets agents, franchisees and consumers search, review or post comments about their favorite neighborhoods and homes.

About Pedal to Properties (www.pedaltoproperties.com)

Based in Boulder, Colo., Pedal to Properties was founded by Matt Kolb as a full-service real estate firm that provides a unique experience for home buyers. Pedal to Properties realtors focus on assisting clients with buying and selling homes through an optional service to view properties and homes from signature bikes.  Former Australian businessman Tim Majors joined Kolb in May to help take Pedal to Properties national through franchising.

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Stephanie’s building a nice following and exchanging ideas with others in the world of staffing and HR – a field that relies heavily on networking and contacts. And she’s doing it without spending hours a week on Twitter. The plan she follows is simple.

She tries to tweet something useful once a day, or at least several times a week. She’s mostly posting links to articles that will appeal to others in her field, as well as potential clients. She favors a mix of HR and staffing industry articles and general-interest stories about the job market.

She chooses her followers carefully. She used keyword searches for terms like “hiring” and “HR” to find people who talk about her favorite topics. She talks to them and retweets the ones with the best posts. In a few weeks, she built a core following of smart people with ideas relevant to her business. She recently used it to drum up excitement about her new column in the Denver Business Journal.

Stephanie also likes to include some personal tweets on her feed. Twitter-haters often complain that the service boils down to a bunch of people blabbing about what they ate for lunch, but a few well-chosen and substantive items help remind followers that you’re a real person. Stephanie tweeted about her vacation and a visit to the Colorado Human Resource Association annual meeting to balance her more serious items about hiring strategies and unemployment statistics.

Sometimes clients tell me that Twitter isn’t their thing – that they don’t understand how it works, or they find it intimidating. The ones who finally give it a shot tend to quickly find new people they haven’t met before, and interact in new ways with people they have met. It’s another way to put your name and the name of your business out there.

Twenty years ago I was a little shocked at the cost of my first fax machine, but I quickly learned how much it was really worth. My first computer cost an arm and a leg, but man, could I do some great stuff.  The acceleration of the design process was amazing with technology, from layout programs to PDFs (though I staunchly believe that design is diluted by the fact that anyone, with or without an understanding, can whip out collateral, yuck).  And honestly, I can’t remember how much time everything took and what I did before the internet.  I love technology. 

That said, I am a hold out about a few things.  Holiday (yes, Christmas) cards, thank you cards, birthday cards, letters.  I know, e-cards save energy, resources and time, but they aren’t the same.  I like the hand-written word.  There is something wonderful about handwriting and personal notes.  I appreciate an e-card or that someone cares enough to shoot a thank you email, but I may always be a traditionalist for a hand- written note; it just feels good. I like papers, envelopes, ink and layouts.  I like holding it in my hand and setting it on a table for a few days to appreciate it.

It’s something to think about when you interact with your clients, too.  The handwritten note still says class, something a little extra.

After all that, as ironic as it may be, happy holidays to you and all the best in the New Year.

While most professionals realize that you can send out an email to multiple people without showing every recipient’s email address to everyone receiving the email, I’m guessing (from the emails that I receive anyway) that some people don’t think about the practice.  Unless there’s a reason to share every recipient email with every recipient, it looks more professional to hide all the emails.  Simply paste all the email addresses in to the “BCC” line instead of the “To” line; send the info to yourself in the “To” line.

I get emails at least once a week where every recipients’ email address is in the “To” header.  Not only can it make that header ridiculously big (emails going out to 20 or more people for example), but you shouldn’t be sharing everyone’s email address with everyone else, especially if the information is sensitive or of a competitive nature. 

For example, I got an email last week from a contact at an association to which my client belongs.  That email included every email address in the “TO” list, telling me exactly which of my client’s competitors were vying for the same opportunity as I was – no secrets there.

Use “BCC” when sending emails out to more than five people.  It looks cleaner and more professional and keeps your address book private.

Our client called us because there was a criminal investigation surrounding an employee at the workplace and it was going to be picked up by the local press. It happens; many companies are susceptible to this situation.

Luckily, our client is smart and good at what they do. They had handled the internal workings of the situation skillfully, they did everything right. But before the news hit the street, the client wanted to be prepared. They knew a lack of communication can create suspicion, resulting in rumors, confused employees and unhappy customers.

Together, we identified who needed to know about the incident, what they needed to know and how best to get that information to them, then we drafted messages for each of those audiences. For example, employees needed to know what to say if people, say friends or family, asked about the incident. Customers needed to know that the Company was aware of their potential concerns, that the situation was handled properly and that the Company’s commitment to quality service never waivers. And the press needed a statement confirming that the Company was conscientious and concerned. In addition, the positive reputation and practice of open communication added to the stockpile of goodwill this Company has, which helps in these situations.

There will be storms, but you can ready the ship. Prepare for bad news as far ahead of time as you can because you’re better equipped to ride it out when you are proactive and organized.