Media Contact
Shauna Naf, CEO
360.527.8904
shauna@thelonesgroup.com

Nick Lateur named Business Consultant and Director of Business Development

Bellingham (WA), April 29, 2014 - Nick Lateur has been named Business Consultant and Director of Business Development for The Lones Group. Nick will spearhead national sales initiatives and drive strategic partnerships within the real estate vertical.

In his previous role as National Sales Manager with eCommission Financial Services, Nick has dedicated the past eight years to helping brokers and agents manage the financial aspects of their business by navigating them through a variety of tools and services. As part of his role with The Lones Group, Nick will be out in the field providing real estate professionals with customized branding, systems, and sales programs that will not only aim to increase their own market share but also alleviate some of the operational burden that stems from running a brokerage or working independently as an agent.

"At The Lones Group our collective goal is to provide an agent with the ability to focus more time on what he or she does best, sell real estate. In my own experience working in the real estate industry, I can appreciate the balance of individual creativity and professionalism necessary to initiate long lasting client relationships. Implementing powerful branding and systems for these professionals will drive leads their way, and that is going to be the most rewarding part of this new role", said Lateur.

About The Lones Group: The Lones Group produces results for individuals and businesses committed to transforming their businesses. The company offers an integrated approach, supplementing brand and website design, live education, special events, and coaching with a wide array of tools and systems to help each client maximize their unique skills and opportunities. Company founder and peak performance expert Denise Lones is nationally recognized for her work. For more information, visit www.thelonesgroup.com.

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Denise Lones named to Board of Directors, The Isaiah Foundation

Bellingham (WA), February 17, 2012 - Bellingham business owner Denise Lones has been named to the Board of Directors for The Isaiah Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to touching the lives of individuals and families struck by grief.

The foundation arose out of the student work at the Langley, British Columbia campus of Trinity Western University, and was part of a final project required in an Adult Education program.

When asked about her nomination to the board, Lones shared, "The Isaiah Foundation began with a simple concept - the recognition that everyone experiences and expresses grief in their own way. Because our culture is often afraid of the strong emotions which surround the grieving experience, we felt it was important to direct attention to this area of need. It's our hope that The Isaiah Foundation will provide support to those who so desperately need it, and it's my honor to be involved."

The foundation's name came from one of the students involved in creating the foundation, whose son Isaiah died as an infant. Lones' company designed marketing materials for the foundation, which feature infant Isaiah's footprints as a lasting reminder of the impact and permanence of grief.

The details of the foundation's work were unveiled at a ceremony at Trinity Western University's campus February 16th, to high acclaim. Local officials and community leaders alike have spoken out in favor of the work proposed by The Isaiah Foundation. Attendees in the packed auditorium used phrases such as "overwhelming positive", "moving", and "heart-warming" upon learning of the foundation's mission. University representatives were impressed with the scope of the project, indicating it was the first of its kind in the Adult Education program.

About The Lones Group: The Lones Group produces results for individuals and businesses committed to transforming their businesses. The company offers an integrated approach, supplementing brand and website design, live education, special events, and coaching with a wide array of tools and systems to help each client maximize their unique skills and opportunities. Company founder and peak performance expert Denise Lones is nationally recognized for her work. For more information, visit www.thelonesgroup.com.

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RealtySocialQ Measures New Media Skills & Savvy
No Blogger Left Behind Coaching Program Is First to Offer Trackable Results

Bellingham (WA) and Tucson (AZ), October 27, 2011 - Denise Lones of The Lones Group, in association with Frances Flynn Thorsen, has launched RealtySocialQ, the first comprehensive social media assessment tool to gauge a real estate agent's social media and blogging proficiency. The tool is available to members of the No Blogger Left Behind blog coaching program taught by Lones and Thorsen, and also to members of Lones' exclusive EVOLVE coaching program, and all members of Lones' Club Zebra program.

"How is technology impacting your business? Are you on the cutting edge or are you stuck in the past? We ask our clients those questions because they are always looking for ways to bring their business to the next level," said Lones. "Our new RealtySocialQ evaluation provides an objective review of the current state of your technology relative to your business. We'll look at an agent's use of websites, blogs, hardware, software, syndication, videos, networking, and social media, as well as reputation and risk management. Based on the information the agent provides, RealtySocialQ will determine a social media 'score' and provide the agent with concrete action items - specific suggestions for actions that can translate into success."

"I'm delighted to work with The Lones Group to develop RealtySocialQ," said Thorsen. "I've working for years with a combination of online forms and manual assessment tools to help clients measure tech and networking expertise. Those systems are time consuming and limited the number of clients I could help at any one time."

"The Lones Group has a very impressive battery of real estate business assessment tools," Thorsen added. "A social media assessment tool is a perfect fit. This is the first comprehensive social media assessment tool in the real estate industry, with technology, networking, blogging, and risk metrics."

Lones and Thorsen recently re-launched a new and vastly updated No Blogger Left Behind blog coaching program for real estate agents and brokers, featuring eight learning modules, weekly Q&A sessions, and more than 60 video tutorials for new and advanced WordPress bloggers.

Thorsen and Lones bring a combined 40+ years of real estate experience to the table. They are co-founders of the Government Home Sale Professional™ (GHSP™) course for HUD Homes training. Both are recognized experts in their fields.

About The Lones Group: The Lones Group is a nationally recognized resource for real estate agents and brokers. Company founder Denise Lones is a broker and REALTOR® with more than 20 years experience in the real estate industry, and a passion for helping agents transform their businesses. Although she no longer actively sells real estate, Lones remains closely connected to agents and brokers, and shares her expertise as an analyst, coach, trainer, speaker, and marketing authority. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker coaching and training, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things "real estate." Denise can be reached by phone at 360-527-8904 or online at www.thelonesgroup.com.

About Frances Flynn Thorsen: Frances Flynn Thorsen is a former REALTOR® who sold real estate in the Lehigh Valley, PA for many years. She is the author of "HUD Homes for Sale - A Complete Buyer's Guide," "HUD Homes for Sale - Sales and Marketing Guide for Real Estate Agents," and coauthor of "Real Estate Social Media Policies and Procedures Manual" and the companion "Real Estate Social Media Policy - Broker Implementation Manual." Thorsen was founding editor of RealTown.com and presently teaches continuing education classes in Arizona for real estate licensees.

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Northwest Washington Real Estate Agents: Real Estate Social Media and Tech Conference: Agent Reboot, June 2

Inman's Agent Reboot™ Vancouver, British Columbia, comes to the Westin Bayshore Vancouver on Thursday June 2, 2011 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Inman News expects real estate agents and brokers from northwest Washington and Western Canada at this event.

Agent Reboot's first visit to Canada is the perfect opportunity for area professionals to learn more about the latest technology and social media tools. Reboot speakers are experts in their field, and will demonstrate how cutting-edge technologies (mobile, social, video, blogging and more) can generate substantial results for agents.

Acting as emcee is Nicole Nicolay, Founder and CCO, Agent Evolution. Additional speakers for the event include Peak Performance Expert Denise Lones, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO Sherry Chris, and many other industry experts.

In addition, special guest speaker Ron Sowden will speak on staging. Ron is the co-founder and CEO of Dekora.com, which was featured on the hit HGTV series "The Stagers". Ron will share his secrets in "The Art of Selling a House".

Some of the additional topics included in the Reboot program include:

  • 15 mobile tools to help you stand out
  • Creating your own blog in 5 minutes
  • 5 "musts" to optimize Facebook for business
  • Capturing attention with video
  • The importance of lifestyle branding
  • 10 reasons to use an iPad for listing presentations
  • Listing flyers: print it, text it, QR code it

Tickets are $49 in advance, or $99 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at https://register.inman.com/register. Media interested in free press passes should contact Katie Lance, Inman's Social Media Director at katie(at)inman(dot)com.

Follow the Agent Reboot conversation on Twitter via @AgentReboot, or follow the hashtag #agentrb. A complete list of all 24 Agent Reboot locations for 2011, can be found at http://www.agentreboot.com.

National sponsors include Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Kodak, Lowe's, Zillow.com, Realtor.comŽ, Diverse Solutions and Century 21.

About The Lones Group: The Lones Group is a nationally recognized resource for real estate agents and brokers.  Company founder Denise Lones is a broker and REALTOR® with more than 20 years experience in the real estate industry, and a passion for helping agents transform their businesses. Although she no longer actively sells real estate, Lones remains closely connected to agents and brokers, and willingly shares her expertise as an analyst, coach, trainer, speaker, and marketing authority. The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker coaching and training, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things “real estate”. Denise can be reached by phone at 369.527.8904 or online at www.thelonesgroup.com.

About Inman News: Agents and brokers around the world turn to Inman News first for accurate and timely real estate news and information. Known for its award-winning journalism, cutting-edge technology coverage and forward-thinking conferences, Inman News is the leading independent source of real estate news, education and insight. In addition, for 15 years, Inman News has been hosting Real Estate Connect -- a semi-annual real estate conference for real estate brokers and top-level executives. Connect will be held July 27th-29th 2011 in San Francisco.

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Government Home Sale Professional™ Certification Honors HUD Homes Sales Savvy

San Diego, May 3, 2011 -   Frances Flynn Thorsen, in association with Denise Lones of The Lones Group, has unveiled a new real estate certification for real estate agents and brokers at RealTown.com. The GHSP™ (Government Home Sale Professional™) certification created by Thorsen and Lones is designed to help educate real estate agents and brokers wishing to work in the HUD Homes government owned property arena.

The GHSP™ certification program resides in an online class in a new Learning Management System (LMS) at RealTown. Additionally, an hour-long, mini-GHSP™ program with important details about HUD’s M&MIII Contractor program, the agency’s newly redesigned FHA REO disposition plan, is available to real estate agents without charge.

"I am proud and delighted to author the first class on a new world class LMS," said Thorsen. "The GHSP™ class takes six to seven hours to complete, with a combination of text and graphics and multi-media delivery. RealTown is part of the Yardi family. HUDHomeStore.com is another Yardi project. I’m happy GHSP™ found its home with Yardi. It’s a perfect match."

"Using RealTown’s self-authoring e-learning platform, Frances and Denise have created an outstanding program. More than a course, it is a living resource capable of real-time updates addressing the rapid changes in governmental regulations and practices," said John Reilly, Director of RealTown®. "Our hats off to these talented authors for taking control of the entire publishing process from start to finish."

Approximately $8 billion in inventory exists in the HUD Homes market, which translates to some  $480 million real estate commissions for agents listing and selling HUD Homes.

"October of 2010 saw sweeping changes to the process of working in this segment of the market. The new certification aims to train agents not only in the paperwork side of HUD Homes, but also provides information for agents wishing to increase their share of the local HUD Homes market," said Lones.

Thorsen and Lones bring a combined 40+ years of HUD Homes experience to the development of the certification. Both are recognized experts in their fields.

Students can self register for the GHSP™ mini class at HUD Homes: The New Frontier.

About Frances Flynn Thorsen: Frances Flynn Thorsen is a former Realtor™ who sold HUD Homes in the Lehigh Valley, PA for many years. She is the author of HUD Homes for Sale – A Complete Buyer’s Guide and HUD Homes for Sale – Sales and Marketing Guide for Real Estate Agents. Thorsen was founding editor of RealTown.com and presently teaches continuing education classes in Arizona for real estate licensees.

About The Lones Group: The Lones Group is a nationally recognized resource for real estate agents and brokers.  Company founder Denise Lones is a broker and REALTOR® with more than 20 years experience in the real estate industry, and a passion for helping agents transform their businesses. Although she no longer actively sells real estate, Lones remains closely connected to agents and brokers, and willingly shares her expertise as an analyst, coach, trainer, speaker, and marketing authority. The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker coaching and training, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things “real estate”. Denise can be reached by phone at 369.527.8904 or online at www.thelonesgroup.com.

About RealTown: RealTown.com is an online resource and community for Real Estate Professionals. RealTown started in 1995 with the introduction of RealTalk, the first online community for the real estate industry.

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