I wanted to buy my first house in 1984. I had absolutely no clue about how to go about the process, so I started by going to open houses. I met lots of real estate agents, but sadly, none that I trusted enough to want to “hire”.

So, I started taking real estate courses at night at Santa Rosa Junior College. I started with Principles, the following semester I took Practices, followed by Appraisal 1, then Appraisal 2, then Finance, then Law…pretty soon I had taken all the courses that SRJC had to offer and had earned a Certificate in real estate! (Along the way, I did buy that house)

I finally took my salespersons license exam (and passed it) in 1985. In June of 1986 I enrolled in Merrill Lynch Realty’s 3 week new agent training class and I went to work as a Realtor® July 1st, 1986.

Back in those days we had a saying “you have to circulate to percolate” which was our way of saying that you had to be actively engaged in meeting and interacting with people in order to do business. The social media of that time was going to social events, being involved in the community, meeting people any way you could, chasing leads, making phone calls, holding open houses, knocking on doors, sending newsletters, flyers and postcards and generally letting people know that you were a Realtor® and then following up with them and nurturing relationships until a transaction occurred. Then we switched in to the facilitator mode to get the deal to close, at which time we switched back to the nurturing role to keep the relationship alive. Well, we were supposed to do that part but very few of us were good at it, preferring to chase after new contacts.

Now, let’s fast forward some 23 years to today’s real estate agent only to find that very little has changed … we still have to find people with whom to have a relationship, nurture those relationships, facilitate transactions, and then switch back to nurturing the relationship after the closing.

Some of the same techniques we used then still work very well today. But in today’s real estate world (it truly is world wide today) your next client could find you online from their home in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Latin or South America. You may be well into the relationship building and nurturing process before you ever meet them face to face. You can become fast friends with people that you have never physically met or even talked to on the phone.

Or, they could be 1 block away.

We started getting into the realm of technology with voice mail in the mid eighties. The MLS book went away around then as well. We got Fax machines and cell phones in the late 80s and early 90s. And by the mid nineties we started getting web sites. Our early websites tended to be what came to be known as “brochure ware” being little more than online copies of our print brochures.

Soon we added the ability to search for homes via IDX. We added “fish-eye’ virtual tours and later different types of virtual tours. We did all of this in hopes of realizing the promise of “if you build it they will come”. And for some, that was true. But for most of us we had the experience of having a bill board in the middle of nowhere.

So, if you accept the fact that our core business is meeting people, nurturing the relationship, facilitating a transaction, and then continuing to nurture a relationship after the transaction you can see that those things haven’t changed since I got into the business.

What has changed is the consumer that we are looking to serve. The tools that we used to entice consumers in the past have changed. We used to be the only source available for information on what was for sale or what had sold. Today’s consumer has a galaxy of choices to find that information. This of course is not new news as we have heard this for years.

So, new tools have evolved to enable us to serve this new consumer. You’ve heard the names: blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on. Now we need to bring our voice and our faces to these new platforms so we can be found, and communicate, and nurture, and facilitate, and nurture again. Most of these tools are free of dollar cost, costing only your time.

It’s not about technology. It’s about communication. Two way communication. Give and take. Proper use of these new tools will give you the ability to do two things very well. The first is the mass approach to prospecting for new business and the second, and maybe more important, is the ability to give great customer service on an individual basis in near instantaneous time.

You need to learn to blog, tweet and link with your past, present and future client. They are learning to expect it from you because they are getting it from other areas of their lives. The political arena was forever changed by the Obama campaign, the recent unrest in China and the Iran elections. Pop culture changed because of the entry of Oprah and exit of Michael Jackson. News reporting has changed because of things like Mumbai and Capt. Sullivan’s heroic landing in the Hudson…all reported in social media far in advance of traditional media.

We are being conditioned to this level of communication and service in all aspects of our lives. The time is now upon us for real estate agents and real estate companies to give up struggling against the change and to embrace it fully.

After all, we have always been users of social media, haven’t we?

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

So when this happened to me today, I went on a search for a way to bypass the “phone tree” and here is what I found. ContactHelp is a web site that allows you to search their database to find a way to defeat the phone tree and speak directly with a human being by pressing a few keys.

I spent a few minutes on their site, found what I was looking for, made the call, pressed some buttons and was soon speaking with a real person!  We were able to resolve my issue and I was on my way to enjoy the day.

They have divided up the database in to a number of different categories to make using the sire easier.

As you can see, they have categories for Automotive, Financial Services, Government, Health and Medicine, Internet, Media, Phone Companies, Shipping, Shopping and travel.

The categories are broad, but if you can’t decode where to look for a particular company, you can just enter the name of the company in the search box near the top of the home page, and if they are in the database, you’ll get whisked away to the instructions on how to deal with them

I spent some time looking for some obscure companies and was surprised that they had all but two of the ones I looked for.

If you happen to know a number that they don’t have, you are invited to add it to the database.  You are also invited to update the database should you discover their information to be out of date.

Here is a sample to show you what info they have available.  Ever try to cancel an AOL account?  Here’s how to reach a person to plead your case.

I don’t mean to pick on AOL, but I recall several frustrating hours trying to help someone cancel an AOL account that could have been better spent, and would have if we had been able to get to a live person sooner rather than later.

The instructions are clear.  Just dial the number they give you, press the buttons in the order given and you will reach a live person.  They also provide email addresses and hours of operation.  You are also given an opportunity to correct any info or add any that you might have.

As we used to say in the sixties…Power to the people!

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

Power to the People!

What happened? I can’t say for sure, but from what I have seen today (and yesterday in the Panthers #2/Cardinals #4 game) one team wanted it more and they executed on the basics of blocking, tackling and scoring.  In both games the winning team was the underdog.

How about you? Are you in the game?  Are you prepared to execute your game plan?  The basics of real estate are lead generation, lead conversion, listing, selling and closing.  And of course not making mistakes!

How can you use technology to help you with the basics? If you look back over the past year of postings on this blog, I have given you over 50 ways to do just that.  You can click on one of the category headings over on the right sidebar to see the different posts under each category.  Click on the post heading to read it.

But, just reading the post isn’t going to do it for you. You are going to have to take some action.  You will need to come up with a technology implementation plan and then execute it.

There are any number of reasons why you can’t create a technology plan for yourself and then execute it, and I’ll grant that they are most likely valid reasons, but I will also say a few things about why you will need to overcome the adversity and get it done.

To start with, you will not be replaced by technology. You may have heard that in the past, but I think that time has proved that technology of itself cannot execute a real estate transaction.  But, you WILL be replaced by those agents who do incorporate technology into their businesses and do so in a way that increases their efficiency and or profitability.  You simply must keep up or they will beat you to the punch in lead development and lead conversion.  You will get fewer and fewer leads to work on.  Perhaps you have seen some of this already.

You will need to become proficient in the new ways that are available to start conversations with consumers and you will need to know the new ways to deliver your message via dialogs with your clients.  Finally, you will need to know how to stop wasting money on the old methods.  Too many of us spend precious money on media that produces ever diminishing returns.  We do this because of ego and because our sellers demand it.  I believe that the major reason sellers demand it is because we haven’t gotten good at showing them the realities of new marketing.  That has to change.  We need to change.

The current market has exposed the gaps in our businesses. We really weren’t as good as we thought we were.  But the good news is that is that we are not as bad as it might feel.  We do have to do what it will take now to be successful.  We’ll have to toughen up somewhat and focus on what is really important.  And from my perspective, what is really important is finding people who NEED to do a real estate transaction.  Then nurturing those people through the process so that we can find them the home they want (or help them sell the one that they have).  We have to be the Trusted Advisor, The Skilled Negotiator and The Expert Facilitators and we have to do it using all of the tools that our clients expect us to be using.

We are living in a time of tremendous turmoil. But, it is also a time of tremendous opportunity, (go re-read this post for details:http://realtytechbytes.com/can-we-chat-about-the-economy-for-a-moment/).  It really is time for you to plan how to work where the clients are, time to learn about and use FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube.  It’s time for you to ignore the press, the belt tightening, the changes in our offices and just concentrate on the basics of real estate and the building of your skills in technology.

One thing is certain and that is that “This too shall pass…”.
Will you be ready for the next upturn or will you be left behind?

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

Are you in the game?

But, the Presidential race held my attention right to the very end.  I wish I could say that it was because of the historical implications that were so obvious, a woman as VP and a man of color as President.  No, as important as these were, I was looking at the Presidential race through geek colored glasses.

Although there were many issues in this race, from my perspective the race could be summed up in two words –social marketing.  Let’s face it, an election is really no more than a marketing campaign. You’re basically trying to sell people to buy your brand over another person’s brand.

One campaign managed social marketing brilliantly.  Guess which one that was?  Yep, the winning one!

Obama campaigned to the social marketing crowd perfectly, generating a HUGE amount of support from a variety of online resources:

Here are some eye-opening stats from the social networks

• Since the conventions, blog posts mentioning Obama outnumbered those referencing McCain by more than 3 to 1.
• Obama’s number of MySpace friends grew steadily over the past few months while McCain’s remained relatively flat. By election day, Obama had almost 4 times the number of friends McCain had
• While those MySpace figures are remarkable, the Twitter stats are even more eye-popping. Obama had nearly TWENTY FOUR times the amount of followers that McCain had.
• There were similar numbers for FaceBook and YouTube usage as well, with Obama clearly outpacing McCain.

Obama’s tactic was a masterpiece…targeting the younger, more technically literate crowd (many who had never voted or even bothered to register) and hit them right where they live…on the social networking landscape.

The subsequent result was a MASSIVE following that grew larger and larger by the day. And those same people made a huge impact at the polls.

What does this all mean?

Social marketing is now a factor that cannot (and must not) be ignored.

When the American political climate can be influenced by a blog, a forum, or a social networking site, then you have an 900 pound gorilla staring you right in the face.

Obama worked this element with a surgeon’s precision, generating a buzz very early on and feeding the frenzy until it grew to mammoth proportions.

How do you translate this into what you do?  To start with, do you have an account on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn or YouTube?  Why not?

Seriously, why not?  They are free to join.  You can learn about them from my classes or you can get a Dummies book, or you can ask some one who uses them or you could just go try it out yourself.

Think about it…if using freely available Internet tools can help win an election, do you think that it might be possible to use these tools to reach people who have proven their willingness to use and be influenced by them in your real estate practice?  I fervently believe that we have a tipping point here and these tools will only become more prevalent and more important as time goes on.

And, if President Elect Obama, soon to be President Obama continues to use these tools as he governs, then you and I will be part of the first truly representative government in the history of our nation…and, that ain’t hay!

Get on board, now, or miss out…it’s your choice.

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

Social Marketing tipping point

Photo courtesy of Laura D. McBryde - http://www.flickr.com/people/lauradmcbryde/

I want to take a departure today from my usual format and talk about something that’s been on my mind lately.  It seems appropriate to do so because I received 2 emails about this topic today, and today’s homily in church was on the same topic.

Any time I get hit with something from 3 different directions, I pay attention!

One of the emails opened like this:

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that everyone today is talking about “the economy” in worried tones.

“Where is the economy headed?” “The economy is up.” “The economy is down.” And on and on and on.

Commentators look for “signs” about where things are headed. Politicians beat their chests and present bogus solutions.

Here’s the deal for entrepreneurs:

There is no such thing as “the economy.”

There’s only your market and your customers…and the whole game of entrepreneurship – the whole game – is adapting successfully to circumstances whatever they may be.

So let’s face the Big Fear and get it out of the way right now:

A deep recession, or even worse a full-fledged Depression.

The other email opened like this:

“If you saw the news today, you know that the jobless rate climbed to 5.7% in July as 51,000 more jobs were lost.

It seems no matter where you turn, the media is bombarding us with “doom and gloom” news about:

- the bad economy
- high gas prices
- falling home values
- and the recession

It’s during times like these that the decisions you make about your
life, business, and career become more important than ever.”

After reading these, I started to think about this: could the worst really happen?  Could we end up in a something like the Great Depression?  The answer that came to me was sure.  Anything can happen in reality, even a recession turning into a depression.

We have all seen pictures of the bread lines and may have heard stories from family members that lived in those times.  If you are a baby boomer, your parents lived through the Great Depression and that experience colored your childhood:  “Waste not, want not”, “Eat everything on your plate” and so on.

So, I did some research. (Google is your friend!) The Great Depression is generally credited with beginning on October 29th, 1929 when the stock market crashed.  Many factors lead up to the crash, not the least of which was the huge love affair that Americans had with the stock market.  Many people bought stocks on “margin” or credit … money that they didn’t have…and were wiped out when asked to pay for stocks they owned.  Sounds eerily similar to the past few years doesn’t it?  Just think real estate instead of stocks and you’ll get the connection.

But, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.  At its worst, there were 24.9% of Americans unemployed.  That was in 1933.  Looking at it a different way, even at its worst, over 75% of Americans were working and held jobs!  Over the next six years the jobless rate continued to steadily decline.  The Great Depression is generally credited to be over during 1939 as we entered into the war time economy.

Time for a pop quiz.  What do the following companies have in common?

Peerless Cleaning Products, Yellowbook, Airstream Trailers, Olan Mills, Walden Books, American Airlines, Roto Rooter, Trailways Bus, GEICO, Harrahs, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Saxe Real Estate, Owens Corning, Seeno Homes, REI Co-op, Marvel Comics, Hewlett-Packard and many others.

If you said that they were all founded in the years between 1929 and 1939, during the Great Depression, you would be 100% correct.

They were all started by entrepreneurs.  People who had a dream and a vision and saw opportunity where others only saw despair.

Back to email number one:

*** The so-called Depression was boom times for many

During the Depression entire industries experienced explosive growth. “Little” ones like broadcasting.

Now, if you depend on a J-O-B and you have a limited skill set that ties you into one industry, like selling sub-prime mortgages or making gas-guzzling SUVs, you may be in trouble.

But the issue is not “the economy.” It’s never “the economy.”

It’s where YOU are and what you are doing.

Here’s the reality:

No matter how bad things get, they never go to zero everywhere.
There are always big winners in every “economy.”

The entrepreneur’s job is to go where the action is.

You and I are entrepreneurs.  We are the masters of our own businesses.  We have an unprecedented opportunity now to serve our clients at a very high level.  We have an opportunity to add to our personal portfolio of holdings and to help others do the same.

Interest rates are still low enough to be attractive.  Inventory levels are still high enough to provide real choices for people.  Savvy investors are coming back into the market, and in areas where the prices for homes is at very affordable levels it’s actually possible to realize a small positive cash flow with out the need for huge down payments.  Rentals are in demand again.  It’s not only in your best interest to communicate this to your clients, it’s in theirs as well!

What does all of this have to do with technology?  Plenty!  Over the past 6 months, this blog has given you many ways to utilize technology to take your show on the road, to work where the clients are, to streamline your activities to become more efficient and therefore more productive and profitable.

It’s time to pick the tools up and employ them.  Let other people moan about the price of gas, the economy, the bursting bubble.  You know better.  You are an entrepreneur.  You see the opportunity and you are equipped to respond. Remember, the entrepreneur’s job is to go where the action is.

Or do you see the glass as half empty?

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

Can we chat about the “economy” for a moment?