The Problem with Postcards
November 24, 2008
Recently, some readers of my blog have commented that I continue to take the mickey out of the REALTOR industry for its marketing use of postcards. No mention that I’ve offered alternatives to the postcard marketing option for twenty years. Oh, let’s see. EMail. Blogs. Websites. Phone calls.
Maybe it’s just time for a collective postcard scream?
Use the Stock Market Crash to Sell Home Homes
November 20, 2008
Here’s a question you’re unlikely to hear asked in real estate companies these days: Is the stock market drop a GOOD or BAD thing for the housing industry’s current slump? At a time when nobody seems to have the answers - not the Fed, not Congress, not the Detroit auto makers - to turn around the economy, could it be that the market itself has found a way to revive the housing industry and jump start the economy.
And all it takes is a good, old fashioned market crash?
Ten Take-Aways from the NAR Annual Convention
November 12, 2008
After spending five days in Orlando, Florida with the National Association of REALTORS Annual Conference, I thought it might be helpful to provide the 99.95% of the Association who didn’t go to the event with a few take-aways from what we saw. With trainers, consultants and trade show booth staff in every corner of the Conference, Matthew Ferrara & Company easily saw a little of everything going on. Here, then, are ten take-aways of what you missed.
Why IDX is a Really Bad Idea
November 5, 2008
Sometimes, you just have to learn the hard way. That seems to be the real estate industry’s preferred method of implementing technology tools - at least for the last twenty years or so. A herald comes over the hill, the masses become excited, everyone just starts doing it: And that’s when the highest risk to sound business principles usually occurs. Which is exactly where we are today with IDX - the “sharing” of listing inventory between competing brokers’ websites. It sounds like a good idea, except for one small snag:
Your million dollar website now looks awful because the data from your friendly cooperating brokers sucks.
A Difference of Six Words
October 17, 2008
What separates the great agents from the rest of the pack? Is it fancy training, an incredible manager or the latest tech tools? Why does the top 25% of the business earn an average of $200,000 in commissions, while the next 25% segment only earn $46,000 each year? Never mind the bottom half: They’d do better as Starbucks Baristas. Ask agents and they’ll tell you it’s luck, being in the right place at the right time, or even the power of statues buried upside down in the corner of the yard.
We think, however, that it only takes six words to make a huge difference in agent productivity.
An Alternate Theory of the Market Crash
October 10, 2008
Let’s pretend for a moment that reality doesn’t exist. That effect doesn’t follow cause. That reason is simply an “alternative” approach to how the world works. That everything means nothing. And that history is useless. If any of this sounds like the way people think today about money, the government and their lives, then maybe that’s all we need to construct a non-housing-market-based theory of why stock markets are crashing worldwide.
So let’s at least be fair and stop blaming it on the real estate and mortgage industry.
Do you have the Success you Deserve?
October 8, 2008
Graduates of our Integrity Selling course learn a very important principle in the world of sales: You always get paid what you think you are worth. It’s how the great sales people in real estate always earn the top dollars - because they believe they are worth them and won’t settle for a second-rate pay for the first-rate service they provide to their clients. The principle of “getting what you believe you are worth” is usually applied to commissions, but lately, with our clients, we’ve been taking this to a whole new level:
Are you achieving the success you believe you deserve?
More Evidence the Bailout is a Handout - and a Lie
October 2, 2008
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain, a Biography
If at first you don’t succeed, try to destroy the economy again. That seems to be Congress’ motto these days, as they prepare to vote on the “revised” bailout bill.This, time, however, the proposed bill is so full of spending pork - from exempting children’s wooden arrows from excise taxes to increased cover of rum excise tax revenues - that proves Twain’s other saying that there was nothing a Congressman knows that couldn’t be taught to a flea.
What a scam!
Growing Your Hispanic Market
September 28, 2008
Here’s an idea that should appeal to all REALTOR entrepreneurs: Rather than waiting for a pile of money to fall from the sky, why not grow your way out of these tough times? It’s decision time now - and I don’t mean the election: Are you going to just sit there and let your company go bust? You probably don’t have enough cash to keep waiting it out - so pull your head out of the sand, shake off the panic and go do what you do best: Sell homes. Help buyers. Grow your sales.
If you don’t know where all this growth is going to come from, maybe it’s time to look at the growing Hispanic market.
The Bailout will Destroy the Housing Industry
September 26, 2008
Only in the United States Congress can a plan to destroy the housing industry and credit markets be called a “rescue” plan. It’s almost as farcical as calling “card check” bill that effectively kills secret voting for unions a “secret ballot bill.” Far more troubling, however, is the fact that the elements of the plan are laid out - in plain sight - for everyone to see and think about.
Why, then, does the real estate industry and average homeowner, not see the danger?
Why do Brokers Hire Sellers?
September 24, 2008
(Podcast Version) Ask any broker today what his “number one” problem with the market conditions, and he’ll tell you either there’s too much inventory or it’s all overpriced. Granted, if sellers want to put their homes on the market, nothing can stop them, with so many “for sale by owner” options out there. But that still leaves the issue of the overpriced homes that are represented by brokers. And that begs the question:
Why are brokers hiring sellers to sell their own homes?
Where is Your Government Bailout?
September 10, 2008
Over the weekend, the United States government tried to correct one mistake with another: Under intense pressure from foreign governments - especially the Chinese government who are the single largest investor in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - Uncle Sam took out its checkbook. With a flourish of the pen, the Treasury nationalized these failing financial behemoths. In the process, it wiped out any remaining common shareholder value, eliminated stockholder control over the company’s operations and fired (but will still pay millions in golden parachutes) one of the most inept management teams in the history of any undertaking.
In yet another stunning example of crisis management, lack of planning, and most of all - lack of leadership control of an organization - a pillar of both the real estate industry and the global economy itself crumbled. If the situation sounds a little too familiar to you, perhaps you’re wondering: Where’s my government bailout?
It’s the Housing Market, not the Stock Market
September 9, 2008
For some months, REALTORS have been fretting that buyers are “sitting on the sidelines” waiting for the market to “hit the bottom.” We constantly hear news reports with interviews of “savvy” sellers who are trying to “time the market just right” to get the most for their home’s sale while getting a “bargain” for their next home. Timing the market - to sell high, and buy cheap - is a strategy for buying and selling stocks or bonds.
But when it comes to housing, it’s the entirely wrong market model. It’s time REALTORS started saying so.
Another Cool Outlook Tool from Xobni
September 8, 2008
Recently a friend in the business send me an email suggesting I try out Xobni, a ‘must have’ plug-in for Microsoft Outlook. I always get a little skeptical about Outlook plug-ins, usually because they always end up causing my Outlook to “go funny.” Maybe there some code Microsoft puts in the program that says, “If anyone tries to add on a piece of software that REALLY makes Outlook work well, then sabotage it!” But in this case, it looks like the only quirks come during shut down, and even then I can’t be sure it’s Xobni’s fault.
I can say this: Xobni is something every busy Outlook user needs to check out!
What if Listings were Irrelevant?
September 5, 2008
Here’s a question that’s certain to be avoided by the real estate industry: What are you planning to do on the day that “taking a listing” becomes totally irrelevant? It’s coming, of course, and it’s not just because of a “housing recession” or any such calamity. Real estate based upon consumer needs, not actual “listings” will be the focus of the Next Generation of Real Estate.
And clearly nobody is prepared.
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- Real Estate Brokers Honor Thanksgiving Every Day
- The Problem with Postcards
- Use the Stock Market Crash to Sell Home Homes
- Ten Take-Aways from the NAR Annual Convention
- Why IDX is a Really Bad Idea
- A Difference of Six Words
- An Alternate Theory of the Market Crash
- Do you have the Success you Deserve?
- More Evidence the Bailout is a Handout - and a Lie
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