Dallas, Texas.
The annual Real Trends Gathering of Eagles Conference just concluded. I have about five hours of down time before I swing over to DFW and begin the long, multi-connection flight home to California.
My observations, takeaways and random thoughts on the event follow.
Over brunch one morning, a broker shared the issues his firm faces and suggested they might be better resolved by closing it down and starting over. It seemed to make more sense financially and spiritually then attempting to fix all that is wrong.
His brand once meant something in their local market. That was eons ago. Before the web. Before national franchising spread like a California wildfire. Today, his brand has little meaning in the marketplace. It’s a Pontiac. Existing on the fumes of a duel barrel engine that gets only a few miles to the gallon.
In all, I had heart-to-heat chats with several dozen brokers. I was impressed by all of them. These are smart business people. They once soared high over the plains of real estate. Today, with wings clipped by the events of the last three years, they exhibit a wide range of problems.
During these discussions, I listened. Advised only when asked. For some, they just needed to vent.
Yet all is not lost. Hope descended through the room through in different ways.
Pat Lashinsky of Zip Realty talked about their feverish focus on the consumer. Their incredible investment in their website and the qualifying tenets of their lead generation process. Contrary to the typical agent rhetoric that downplays the professionalism of a Zip Realty agent, the firm boasts a whopping 96% approval rating by consumers who report through surveys their pleasure working with the brand and willingness to become repeat customers.
Michael Golden of @properties [Disclosure: @properties is a 1000watt Consulting client] talked about how they achieved #1 market share in Chicago in just eight years. This is a young company, with young energy and management staff born of the new age of business management. They treat their agents with a kindness and respect that is unheralded in real estate. They have figured out how to recruit, train and effect agent loyalty and have a retention rate that is the envy of all brokerages.
As I prepare to head out into the sauna that is Dallas and sweat my way over to the airport, I’ll close with a few standout moments:
• A surprised but newly enlightened broker who closed a $2,000,000 sale days before from his Facebook page.
• Old ideas continue to waft out from vendor speakers. I had to refrain twice from standing up and heckling. If only the brokers who lined up afterwards to learn more knew better.
• People irresponsibly refer certain vendors to others based on familiarity, not merit, passing them off to brokers as best in class. Brokers need to do their homework and not take these referrals on face value.
• Attending these conferences is worthwhile. Those brokers who saved themselves the $1,000 by not coming are penny wise and pound-foolish.
• I do not do well in humidity. I love Texas but only from October – March.
- Davison
Twitter:1000wattmarc
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Curious about the broker who closed the 2million sale from his facebook page.
Was it really his ‘page’ or was it because of his profile?
It was someone he knew from the past who sourced him through Facebook, connected, and through dialogue expressed their desire to buy.
See, nothing magical. Just being there is sometimes all it takes. RIght place, right time. And I think, Facebook is no different than the PTA. Or town square. Back then, that’s where an agent had to be. Now, town square – world square – sits on your desk. Or held in the palm of your hand.
Just like that.
“People irresponsibly refer certain vendors to others based on familiarity, not merit, passing them off to brokers as best in class. Brokers need to do their homework and not take these referrals on face value.”
Perfectly stated…
Tony
We just hired someone straight from Twitter this week. If you would have told me that 2 years ago, I would say you’re crazy. Same goes with selling a $2 million house via facebook lead. That’s awesome!
Kori
I would love for a lead like that to come off of of Facebook. I have made lots of connections and received leads from the social networking sites, however I have not had nearly as much success as some of the stories I have heard. I guess hard work pays off, but a little luck can sometimes bring your hard work to a surprising high point.
I am not sure there is a pure strategy for Facebook other than maybe accepting it as the Schwab’s Pharmacy of the Web. Not everyone will have Lana Turners luck, get discovered and land a $2,000,000 deal.
But the odds are good that just by being there, connections will happen.
I think much too much is being made of the anecdotal hire or deal derived from facebook or twitter.
While social media outlets CAN result in business, their primary functions are social.
Mixing business with pleasure is generally best avoided and it takes a fine art to pull off both.
Poorly handled the two are a toxic combo.
Unfortunately, when some one gets business from a social media contact they get excited redouble their efforts and time spent on twitter or Facebook in effect, perhaps wasting time.
Marketing in many respects needs to be systematic. Do so on Twitter or Facebook would amount to spam.
Creating a formal referral network, engaging in pay per click advertising, holding regularly scheduled client events will reap more rewards than spending one’s days on twitter.
Social media in my opinion should be a supplement not a substitution for other types of marketing.
Social media is also great to use to keep in touch with current customers.
Marc,
In addition to sharing your dislike of humidity, I share the conclusions that you drew from the Gathering of Eagles. I too was impressed by @properties and Zip Realty.
Brokers and agents maintain relationships with real estate vendors because these same vendors tease and taunt their sales based on the old give and take away method….”I’ll just give it to your competition if you won’t take it”.
Less of a demand in the marketplace for redundant, underskilled, undervalued products from multiple vendors should make vendors pressed to offer best in class, cutting edge solutions, but few still do and brokers and agents still buy…..
But many are getting wise to this, it is only a matter of time.
I’m in Dallas the last few weeks, you call this humidity? This is nothing. Go to South Florida.
Funny you should say that. Just booked a two-day trip to Sarasota. I plan to pack light. And leave my skin at home.
Marc,
Great post and glad that you and others are continually impressed with our company @properties. We work pretty hard at it (and hire the right people to lead us in the right direction).
What strikes me however about the comments is that of the 12, 50% are focused on the Facebook comment. Not What is Zip doing right? or What does this 8 year old company from Chicago offer that’s so special? It’s “2 Million Dollars? I gotta get on Facebook!”
I refer to this often as “silver bullet syndrome” and what’s hard to understand is that if that broker wasn’t a killer brand and killer agent, I’m sure that lead wouldn’t have come to fruition. Just a thought…
Good thought Matt. Yes. Well, I think for many real estate folks, they went on Facebook as part of the tide and figured heck, there’s not much wrong with drifting. But now, through these examples, people are starting to see where it all can lead.
But also, beyond that, there is so much @properties and Zip are doing that I found far more fascinating that the Facebook result.
Good call.
The biggest takeaway that I had from the @properties presentation was that they’re creating a very special culture from scratch, the type of brokerage that agents are proud to be a part of.
Corporate culture is a very important and often overlooked thing, especially among real estate brokerages since agents are independent contractors (except at ZIPR where they’re FTEs).
@properties struck me as the type of brokerage I’d personally want to work at.
Having just returned from a tour of Zappos, one of the takeway’s Brian and I shared was how similar the cultures are between Z and @. Different but still cut from the same cloth of honesty.