Realty World Northern California & Nevada

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Is that what your clients or the individuals needing your expertise are asking themselves right now?

There is a game out there that has to do with finding “Waldo.” Through the way that the maze is laid out in colors and shapes it is very hard to find good old Waldo. However we know that he is there so we keep concentrating to the point of devising every imaginable way to seek out and locate Waldo.

Are we a “Waldo” in the Real Estate business that we chose as a profession? Do our clients or future clients have to devise every conceivable way to find us? I would ask you to truly analyze your business model as it is at this very moment.

Many of the “colors” and “shapes” that we are hiding in are such things as cutting back on our marketing each day, improvising something new everyday and specializing in nothing, or spending all of our time in short sales and REOs and forgetting the true real estate market that is gaining traction everyday!

No matter what is going on in your life right now you need to wake up everyday knowing that there are people outside your front door that are looking for the professional that is knowledgeable and professional enough to get them through the present slowdown in the market. There are people that want a professional that will call it like it is. Quit promising falsehoods and work with an action plan that with make things happen! Now is the perfect time to increase your visibility so that you stand out from the masses. Today is an open opportunity to show your wares and prove your value as a professional. Consumers crave pure knowledge and the understanding when it comes to real estate right now, yet above all they want someone to just take the time to enlighten them!

The real estate profession qualifies you! Move away from the pathway of criticizing, being judgmental, and being pessimistic.

You know politicians do not own the concept of “Town Hall” meetings! Politicians use them to get close to the public and give the public the opportunity to ask the questions that are important and maybe personal to the individual, the community, or the families. Neighborhoods need the real estate professional talking to them, not “hiding” totally behind flyers. Families need the real estate professional talking to them in their homes not “hiding” totally behind a newsletter.

Where are you?!

Know that Trust, Integrity, Loyalty, and Responsibility cannot be built by hiding; it is built by being face to face with the public.

So, you’re probably wondering amidst all the good news about the economy spun from the dominate media culture, why the economy still feels bad? Simple answer, many in the media complex don’t run businesses and they are listening to people who don’t run businesses for their sources. What to do?

Well, if you’re like most real estate people I know; you’re working 5 times harder for less than half the income. You’re not alone either. You know where the vacant buildings, warehouses and retail stores are; you drive by them every day. Just last summer a little over two-thirds of the entire industrial capacity in the US was working and in some sort of production use. Today, that has dropped to just under 75% or about 5 points less than normal when the economy is doing well. Don’t hear that in the news to you?

What does all this mean to your income? It means you have to see and touch more people with your value proposition in person. Belly to belly. Face to face. A prospect can’t send you to the deleted file, mail filter or trash can. They have to talk with you at some point, hence your selling strategy and listening skills had better be ready and oiled for action.

What advantage will I have in this scenario? Well, most salespeople are going to be dead before they start. Meaning they are getting ready to get ready. They will never go anywhere. You know who I’m talking about too. Second, most salespeople will resist the street in favor of blast emails, wasted postage and off line gimmicks from personal promotion to refrigerator magnets. That will account for about 93% of the competition. 7% will know this and immediately shift to the street for instant prospecting and immediate results. Remember, even a call on a prospect that has to interest to purchase or sell is a worthwhile event. It tells you who’s not players; sharpens your tactical skill and presents an opportunity for seeking referrals.

Those same 7 percent will communicate not only in person, but will use that offline call time to redirect their prospect to an online resource (namely their BLOG) to keep the prospect attenuated to the needs analysis and selling points of your in person call. Similarly, to what you do in the online world.

There is no better time to wake up and smell the pavement.

How many times have you been in the car with your wife, and driven past a property with a for sale sign in the yard, and no flyer in the box? Frustrating to say the least. I jumped in the car the other day and took the flyer challenge! After first driving to a local real estate office for a current list of active properties, I set out to find at least one current flyer in the box, and stopped at any property with a sign in the yard along the way.

Initially, I was fairly optimistic considering I had spent so much time over the course of my career as a Senior Mortgage Loan Consultant creating marketing pieces for open houses, and other agent’s new listings as a courtesy. I was assuming that I was sure to find at least a few flyers, whether they were good or bad quality was arbitrary. Being that in this case, if you were simply making an effort to provide information about the property in the box, you were already more proactive that your competitors. Out of the 25 properties I had wasted my precious fuel driving to, can you guess how many flyers I was able to find? Anyone? Absolutely zero!! That’s right, zero for 25.

In effect, if I was actually an interested buyer looking for information on the property (i.e. room count, square footage, etc…), I was left with no other option than to call the number on the sign. Although wait a minute the number on the sign rings to the real estate office? Not the listing agent. Do I really want to talk to track the agent down right now to get the information, or would I rather prefer to just be able to show my wife the amenities of the property so we can discuss it on our way to the next home for sale? Perhaps if the agent had posted their website address on the sign, I can write down the information and check it out online when we get home…IF I remember to do it.

If you are trying to differentiate yourself as a professional in your community, the one sure fire way would be to have flyers available at all your listings. Sure the neighbors are going to take most of them, but a few buyers too. Who is to say that the neighbors might not be looking to sell soon as well?

After all of my efforts, I once again had to drive by another real estate office to request a flyer for a property, and what I was handed just blew me away. The black and white layout of the flyer left a lot to be desired, and had just one photo…of the front of the house! I had already seen this view of the property, when I was standing in front of it. The paper it was printed on was stock printer paper as well. You might as well print at the top of the page “here, you throw this away”.

Which brings me to my next point. What does the quality of your flyer say about you as an Agent? Does it represent you as a true industry professional? Does it bode well for your experience, and expertise? Take a look at the picure below, and tell me which flyer you would prefer to show a potential buyer or seller. If you are going to provide a first impression of your listing, which do you think is going to be more powerful? The flyer on the left took just 8 minutes to create, and is printed on quality high gloss paper. Feel free to give me a call and I’ll show you how easily it was done!

Erin, Hilda, Aaron... the Erin/Aaron sandwich!

Yesterday I attended my second real estate barcamp event – this one at ReBarCamp Silicon Valley (#rebcsv for you Twitter fans) before this week’s CAR Conference in San Jose. Admittedly, the first was during my second week of work in real estate at the annual Inman Conference and I spent most of my time in that initial experience with my mouth agape and senses reeling.

I’m a barcamp veteran in the technology industry, but there are some vast differences from the barcamps I’d attended featuring deep dives into widgets, application builds and cloud computing and the world of real estate.

Here are a few similarities and differences I noticed:

Difference: Formal v. casual wear. You guys came dressed up in suits, shiny shoes and wielding business cards. In tech barcamps the attire is jeans or shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts and you can’t get someone to look up from their smartphone long enough to give you a business card.

Who wins? Tech. Realtors have to come in comfortable clothes (it’s only other agents, no worries!) because often times the sessions are outdoors, on benches, folding chairs, etc. You won’t pay attention as well if you’re sweating bullets in that suit!

Similarity: Everyone is on a cell phone/laptop. At tech and real estate barcamps alike, I look at people through the lens of their camera phone as they snap pictures for blogs or Twitter, or I stare at the back of their laptop, netbook, etc. as they feverishly look up the new technologies mentioned, add me as a friend on Facebook or follow me on Twitter (and catch up on a few emails of course).

Difference: Humility. In tech, we can’t admit we don’t know about tech very easily, so you’ll see a lot of us thoughtfully nod and then jot down notes furiously on acronyms or websites to look up when we steal a few moments away from the myriad of prying eyes (we’re a paranoid bunch) but you won’t see us ask a lot of “basic” questions. At real estate barcamps it is refreshing to see people question the basics and slow the pace down to make sure they aren’t left behind!

Who wins? Real estate. Knowing that asking questions without being afraid of what your colleagues will think serves Realtors well, as it ensures the entire group gets a good education.

Similarity: We all like the “bar” part of barcamp. It is a universal truth that most of us look forward to the part of the day where we open up some wine, have a beer, or in our case yesterday – a handle of Johnnie Walker, and kick back and talk about what’s up in our industry. At the end of the day, barcamps are not just a place for education, but also a great place to connect with those in the industry who are passionate about integrating new media and methodologies into our lives.

I highly recommend checking out barcamps if you have the opportunity – come to learn, share information, ask questions and meet people… because the best way to make the most of social media is to actually be social.

Erin Robbins
Social Media & Marketing Director
erin.robbins@rwnc.net

When you buy a big boat and register it with Homeland Security and the Coast Guard you have to name the vessel and its hailing port to obtain your documentation.  So, years ago when it came time to name our boat, which we worked hard for and we’re fortunate to finally get, I took the matter seriously.  I wanted a name that reminded me of good dealing, clean hands, equity and honor.  So I named her Covenant.  I thought the name would best represent our faith, goodwill, meaningful alliances and promises we make with others and our consequential relationships with much of the universe.  And, I’m equally proud of her name as the American flag she flies.

Recently I’ve had some dark thoughts about people’s obligations to mortgage companies and other creditors in these tough and trying economic times.  Those small lingering thoughts of default; the breaking of a promise and the premeditations of allowing one’s self to break a covenant with another have met a different reality and environment that give these notions birth.  Sadly, these seas are rooted politically.

I’m not referring to borrowers who have suffered a substantial or complete loss of income or those who obtained mortgages that shouldn’t have; I think those are separate matters entirely.  I’m talking about the people who have equivalents in income and other growth and income opportunities that otherwise could financially afford to maintain their present obligations and promises to lenders and simply choose not too.

Increasingly, reports of creditworthy and stable individuals are weighing the risk of future losses in real estate equity and purposely plotting strategies to benefit from mortgage default.  They reportedly move to a similar property in the same area that has gone down in value and walk on their present loan(s).  How they get financing remains a question to me?

Many have coordinated time lines to maximize withdrawals on remaining credit lines, equity loans and have somehow balanced in their mind a cost benefit factor of living with derogatory credit report.  Just the thought of that is a big reach for me and I grow increasingly worried about this situational ethic, off-the-rack culture and what that will mean for self worth of America’s children and our investment reputation in the financial world.

But, this is what I have to say to the real estate brokers and agents at Realty World…  Please stay clear of any involvement in a transaction that smells of this.  Even in times of desperation your self worth and personal integrity has greater equity than a commission from a transaction that is part and parcel to this behavior.

I understand economic waters may be rough; I’m right there with you.  But we have navigated through tough currents before and during these times, and while trying as they may be it brings me no justification to change the name of my boat.

I hope you feel the same way.

Scott LeForce
President
scott.leforce@rwnc.net