Comments on: A Cautionary Tale of Visionaries, Influencers & the Community

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:39:16 +0000

#agnow Matt, Just reread this post. Thanks soooo much for the simple clarity! http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:09:14 +0000

#agnow [...] asking about the size of my Social Media Butt because, recently, or so it seems to me, I hear voices. ... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: Duke Long

Duke Long — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:39:15 +0000

Matt,
Just reread this post. Thanks soooo much for the simple clarity!

By: Does My Social Media Butt Look Big? Be Honest…

Does My Social Media Butt Look Big? Be Honest… — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:09:13 +0000

[...] asking about the size of my Social Media Butt because, recently, or so it seems to me, I hear voices. Whispers and shouts. Maybe you hear them too. I hear voiced concerns about the financial health [...]

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:49:24 +0000

#agnow Lanie: I would venture that a 1.5 Agent works at least 1.5X as hard as teh competition as well. http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: Thomas Johnson

Thomas Johnson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:49:23 +0000

Lanie: I would venture that a 1.5 Agent works at least 1.5X as hard as teh competition as well.

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:01:41 +0000

#agnow For us, using our online and social presence is about building and nurturing our SOI, both online and then t... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: Janie Coffey

Janie Coffey — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:01:40 +0000

For us, using our online and social presence is about building and nurturing our SOI, both online and then taking it F2F. It is part of the tool belt of staying relevant, useful, friendly and top of mind to those that (for the most part) already know, like and trust us.

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:07:13 +0000

#agnow Open Houses are where I make money. I have a good presence, my personality is good, people like me, I ask q... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:03:22 +0000

#agnow "if your IRL PEOPLE and sales skills suck, you’re gonna go broke." - Ken, this is so true. I can't believ... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: Houstonblogger

Houstonblogger — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:07:12 +0000

Open Houses are where I make money. I have a good presence, my personality is good, people like me, I ask questions and always get a contact number.

Calling FSBO’s, expireds, sending mailers, waiting for twitter and facebook and my blog to bring me business would make me incredibly poor. And, pissed.

By: Houstonblogger

Houstonblogger — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:03:21 +0000

“if your IRL PEOPLE and sales skills suck, you’re gonna go broke.” – Ken, this is so true. I can’t believe the amount of people who think that you can be socially inept, yet have a fantastic “web personality” and still be able to sell. Will not happen. They have to meet you sometime.

By: CircleOfVisionaries

CircleOfVisionaries — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:26:09 +0000

A Cautionary Tale of Visionaries, Influencers & the Community http://bit.ly/6eRvz5

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:50:35 +0000

#agnow Matt, we've spoken in detail offline about a passion Benn & I have for the 1.5 agent- one that works on and ... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: AgentGenius

AgentGenius — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:46:36 +0000

#agnow I am one of those who has bee around for a long time and my business has gone through a number of different ... http://bit.ly/7hlCBV

By: Lani Rosales

Lani Rosales — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:50:34 +0000

Matt, we’ve spoken in detail offline about a passion Benn & I have for the 1.5 agent- one that works on and offline as no extreme is ideal in these economic times. What *most* annoys me is people outside of the industry who have never touched a transaction are “real estate social media experts” that are seen as “influential” because they coded a program that helps with real estate sales and I’m way too polite to call bullshit, instead I tune out. Just because a Realtor sells a home, that doesn’t make them a home building expert and they would never go on a speaking circuit to tell home builders how to build homes… being an interchangeable part of a process does not an expert make.

I recently read that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of doing any activity to become an expert be that tennis, public speaking or blogging. Therefore, I do my homework on who I allow to influence me which minimizes my buying snake oil.

By: Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:46:35 +0000

I am one of those who has bee around for a long time and my business has gone through a number of different phases. It doesn’t really matter how you meet prospective clients, its what you say to them after you meet them that decides whether or not you will sell anything to, or for them. There are a million different ways to skin the cat. Just stick with what works for you in your market.

That being said, a very large percentage of my sales used to come from SOI. When the internet became a potential source of business, I found out that I would rather work with strangers. There are a couple of reasons. 1) Strangers treat you better than friends. (they don’t assume you work 24/7, they don’t expect kickbacks, and they seem more appreciative of the service). 2) I don’t want to be that pushy salesman guy working the Christmas party.

By: Matthew Rathbun

Matthew Rathbun — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:16:17 +0000

RuthMarie: I certainly think that the more progressive will inherit the earth. It’s absolutely true that markets are local. I don’t think the floor duty agents who call down the phone book are doing any business regardless, I think the agents who are good at engaging people and asking for business are doing well. A lot of these folks go to Chamber meetings and other civic organizations.

By: Julie Emery

Julie Emery — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:40:14 +0000

I think you’ve gotten it exactly right. The mix will be different for everyone. What works for me, what’s comfortable for me, will very likely different than what’s comfortable for someone else. I know agents who produce great results by spending all day on the phone. I’m sure it can be an effective tool, but I’d shoot myself after a week of that! I love the SM tools, but still love the face to face stuff. I’m a big fan of Brian Buffini’s pop bys and they’ve consistently provided good results. Hand written notes are still a part of my marketing plan as well, despite being very, very old school! My blog is a reflection of who I am and is not always a reflection of best SEO practices. (Still managed to close a very nice deal off it this past week.)

This job can be very demanding. We should all stop letting other people tell us how our business should be run. Listen to the experts, then figure out what works for you.

By: Ruthmarie Hicks

Ruthmarie Hicks — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:55:53 +0000

I did an interesting exercise…I decided to track people in my brokerage who were SOI people, door-knockers, cold-callers and techies and take a look at the bottom line – closed sales. What I found would surprise the “old school.” All save one door-knocker were doing relatively little business. The one who was generating business also had an on-line report that he sent out every month. These guys talked a good game, but the sales just weren’t there. These guys were hammering away at how overcoming “fears” brought them tons of business. Ok, where is it?

I tend to use blogging, facebook, twitter and enjoy the social networking. I also use print media to draw people in. I am building an SOI of people that actually have the money to buy or sell real estate. But I don’t knock or cold call.

Those who had many years in the business AND had bothered to build their business and nurse the SOI were doing well and those who took the time to blog and do on-line news letters seemed to be outpacing the knockers and callers. The area is very tech-driven – being so close to NYC —-sooo like all things – its a local observation.