I’ve traveled a lot the past two months. Too much to be honest with you. Posting here has been light as a consequence. That’s something I’m committed to changing in 2011.
But in the meantime, I thought I’d share some things that have popped in (and out) of my head during my travels: questions for which I am unable to find answers, beginnings of aborted blog posts, memorable flashes of conversation.
Tell me what’s kicking around your head in the comments!
- It makes me sick to think how many innovative (and MLS compliant) ideas that could have helped practitioners have died in mid-conversation when someone said, “We’d have to deal with MLSs to make that happen.”
- Brokers and agents are obsessed with scripts for recruiting and selling, but put no effort into how they speak to website users. I don’t get this.
- More real estate executives should have a point of view.
- Street View is now integrated within Google Earth. We’re edging ever closer to apps that let us – or, more to the point, homebuyers -“be there.” This is a vision born in 1996 with virtual tours that still has disruptive potential.
- Why do consumers continue to hire realtors they “like”?
- Real estate data has jumped the shark. It’s all about brains.
- I like being 39 better than being 29 because I’m more at ease around people who are smarter than me, richer than me, or better looking than me (or all three!).
- Delta = dread; Southwest = love
- In marketing, a story is almost always better than an argument.
- What am I not understanding?
- When faced with a choice between Malcolm Gladwell and Phillip Roth at an airport bookstore, choose Phillip Roth.
- I was told a story about a big west coast broker who admitted to a group that “only 30-40% of my agents are really in the game and doing right by consumers.”
- Small things mean almost as much as the big things in brand interactions. The room was small, but the doorman walked me from the curb to the second floor reception desk; the chicken cacciatora was just OK, but the waitress called me “sweetie.” You get the idea.
- Silence is very effective in meetings.
- How could a broker fail to fire an agent immediately for not removing a listing from the web when it sells?
- I have been inspired by a lot of our clients, but the brains, work ethic and sustained excellence shown by Sean O’Toole and his team at ForeclosureRadar never cease to revive my faith that the cream can still float to the top once in a while.
- The recent mobile photo sharing craze only reinforces my feeling that there is a killer real estate app or two to be found around the billions of property photos amassed by real estate practitioners (whoops! See #1 …)
- I struggle with the fact that emailing people coupons for crap they don’t need, and probably don’t even really want, is a.) Apparently worth $6 billion, and b.) Held up by smart people as “the future of commerce.”
- Referall fees – whether they’re for sending some business to a vendor or sending a homebuyer to an agent across the country – almost always produce suboptimal results for the referred party.
- I am glad to be home.
Local, Mobile, Social and the future of real estate
20 Tools to Bring your Real Estate Business to the Cloud
15 Ways to Make Your Marketing Mobile
RE: #17 – Talk about “being there” without actually “being there” –
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/flickr_rome_3d_double-time.php
#5: Why do consumers continue to hire realtors they “like”?
I speculate (rankly): Consumers do not understand the value of real estate brokers. They therefore hire based upon something they DO value. (To paraphrase #13, you love your agent cuz she calls you “sweetie” despite the fact she sold you that OK home on Cacciatora street.)
#7: I like being 39 better than being 29 because I’m more at ease around people who are smarter than me, richer than me, or better looking than me (or all three!).
This one made me laugh aloud. Wait til you get to your mid-40s: if you’re lucky, you’ll stop giving a shit about any of that stuff (and a whole bunch more). I can’t wait until 60!
-Brian
Really liked #13 & #14.
#15 – Funny. Before we fire agents who don’t immediate remove listings from their site, let’s first fire the agents who:
- can’t email a contract
- takes 8 days to present a contract to her seller
- list a home that can’t be shown for 5 days
- doesn’t understand the basics of a contract
- can only add one picture to a listing
I could go on… really.
#1 and #17. RE Tech doesn’t have a basic understanding of MLS data. A listing starts with a contract between a seller and a broker – it’s not data in the public domain. The rules managing this data is managed by local MLS boards – as it should be. MLS boards are imperfect – that’s life. MLS boards will progress, but at a slower pace than technology – that’s life too.
Brian –
Thank you for giving me a reason to look forward to my mid-forties
And I think you are probably right about #5, sadly. I got over my so-so cacciatora; takes a bit longer to recover from a badly handled real estate transaction.
Brian — loved #17… “Whoops, see #1.” Bruce has it right, too, though.
The issue is Trust…if content users clearly explained how they their data, and have ways to adjust its use if they want to later, I think we would get faster motion.
Fundamentally, the formula missing here is:
Trust = Speed.
#2 Perhaps your company could offer websites scripts for agents and brokers. From what I’ve seen you seem to “get it” right. I’d be willing to invest in such as resource.
Brian,
Per #5, I believe many sellers put more effort into selecting a hairdresser than in selecting an agent. The public seems to know very little about what brokers/agents do, and for that matter, don’t seem to be too concerned.
They’ll hire an agent because she’s in their tennis league, or because they see their signs everywhere, but they never question the agents’ knowledge or performance. Some of the worst-performing agents in the Buckhead (Atlanta) market are the ones with the most listings.
I am in complete support of an MLS-supported agent ranking system whereby the public could view stats on agents key metrics, such as what percent of listings taken are sold, list price to sales price percentage, days on market, percent direct sales ( a good barameter of an agents ability to generate traffic/buyers through their own marketing), etc. This would empower the public to cut through the agent fluff and se who’s really getting the job done for sellers.
Greg, I’m an agent and I have trouble seeing what agents do, other than talk all the time about what they do. I have friends who have major positions on Wall Street and I never hear them talk all all the time about how hard they work…and they work their butts off every second of the day…they don’t just talk about it. It’s the consumers who are misunderstood, not the agents.
Consumers are very aware of what agents do. They see it every time they try to sell and buy a home. And they know it’s more talk than work, because they see their friends do for them. Maybe we should fire every agent who has a friend looking to buy or sell.
Forget all your metrics…there should be a site that lets consumers rate the agents. I’d pay to visit that site.
Brian…two months away and only 19 thoughts about agents? You need a long vacation.
#20 was the best
I think all your points have a truth behind them but #1 has the most truth behind it I think. IDX innovation is the perfect example of the innovation staling.
Matt -
That’s what I’m talking about – not crazy stuff that makes no sense for an MLS conceptually. Why are almost all IDX solutions borderline unusable? Because the vendors are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time juggling data from disparate systems with different rules and no true standard.
The loser here is the practitioner.
On top of that quite a lot of the MLS’s charge the vendors set up fees, per user fees and so forth which end being ridiculous for any startup to undertake. It even gets out of control for the big guys which is why they pass on the extraneous costs to the practitioner.
Brian, great observations.
Back to #2. I’ve grown to be anti-script. Crazy huh? I’ve tried to build my business with an “anti B.S” approach. Not that all scripts are B.S, but I think they are too focused on getting the “sale” instead of building your clients TRUST. Personally scripts make me feel like I am a robot. As for website scripts, I believe an agents site it’s self is the script. Everything down to the contact page, should be a reflection of who you are, and what your company stands for. That gives website users hope that your a real person, and not another “salesman”. Where is the human connection ya know? In my language on my site I elaborate on carrying my clients through the “process” and not trying to “sell” them anything. If & when they do reach out to you through the site, you sound like the same person in an e-mail or over the phone. I guess it all goes back to the brand experience that you want to create. Also, how does your site tell users that your a great marketer of real estate if your own site is identical to the other 100 agent/brokerage sites they have already moved on from? Maybe they are all using the same script? Know what I’m saying…..? Now silence (remember #15…)
You guys are right on about scripts. I see their only use as being for agrnts who don’t know their business, and what do they do when the topic changes in mid conversation? Maybe pull up the other sleeve they have their cheat sheet on? Would you hire someone who doesn’t know enough to have a conversation about the expensive home they’re trying to sell you, or get your listing. Isn’t it like the old saying…people may think you’re stupid, so keep your mouth shut and don’t prove ten right.
Great post
Thanks for your list – many of your insights are amusingly accurate and I appreciate your perspective.
As someone who knows many people around the country who have consistently provided great value to my referred clients over the past 13 years, I feel compelled to challenge the “almost always suboptimal results” assessment of referrals in #19.
I will agree in part. If the only qualifier for referral placement is the referral fee, then the best interests of the referred party are probably not served. Time and energy need to be invested in qualifying the destination partner’s value and quality.
From the sending-a-homebuyer-across-the-country perspective, observation 19 seems a bit at odds with some others including the “like” factor in agent selection and a broker’s shocking admission that a large percentage of her/his agents don’t do right by customers. Placing a referral to a qualified partner can help a consumer bypass these issues.
My best advice for optimal referral results is to place referrals with a real estate relocation or corporate services division. Look for companies with memberships in Worldwide ERC and Relocation Director’s Council, Inc – or a Leading Real Estate Companies of the World member whose statistics show an average referral conversion rate of almost 40%.
Relocation / Corporate Services departments provide an extra layer of accountability and are typically staffed with salaried employees whose job it is to ensure a quality service experience for your client. They work with pre-qualified, trained agents (who do right by customers) and counselors will select from them the agent(s) who specializes in the referral client’s needs. As a secondary consideration in agent selection, they will also look for an agent the customer will like.
Sharon –
You make valid points. And within certain systems, including those you mention, perhaps “almost always” was too strong. But I would still argue that most agent-to-agent referrals, and referrals not handled by professionally staffed relo departments, are handled with less care than they deserve and are based on skewed incentives.
On top of that quite a lot of the MLS’s charge the vendors set up fees, per user fees and so forth which end being ridiculous for any startup to undertake. It even gets out of control for the big guys which is why they pass on the extraneous costs to the practitioner.