The Evolving Real Estate Professional!

As an old colloquialism  would advise, “Times, they are a changin”.  With the advent of social media for many years now, we are not alone in any endeavor, especially in business. The one page contract left the scene in the 1970’s.  Brokerage brands are growing by leaps and bounds and many agents that were excellent in the past are losing touch, not only with the future of real estate, but with the here and now!

Online submission of contracts, signatures and even virtual offices are the norm. The day of running to the office, the title company, the escrow company and the court house are gone! The way you grow your business matters!

The hardest concept for many to grasp is the need to not only communicate with others in the field but to cooperate with them. There is great benefit in social media in having colleagues from as many different offices and franchises as possible. The new advertising policies permit the advertising of your listing by any other agent as long as credit is given the listing agent/brokerage. This is a positive if you are willing to see the big picture! You see, the more often your listing is promoted by you OR others, the quicker and more likely it is to sell.

The more people advertising (basically for you) the more listings you will sell and faster! It opens new doors for you as well, you’ve always been able to sell another agents listing, but now you can advertise it, giving you the ability to sell more homes this year!

All of this being said, this is the reason you want other agents (as many as you can get) for friends, contacts and followers on social media. Each person has friends who will be influenced by their own friend. It opens doors you cannot open another way. Sharing the post of someone having an open house or advertising a property doesn’t just benefit them, it benefits you because it is you that your friends will call.

Holding things too close to the vest is the best way to lose in today's market (a huge change from the past way of doing real estate). Go with the flow, learn to be flexible, and you will find you are  having more fun and selling more real estate!

DON’T PANIC YOURSELF OUT OF BUSINESS!

The information highway is a blessing and a curse in this day of split second happenings and knowledge, some of which is true and some of which is simply hype. The normal response to the initial wave often spears panic because as humans we are conditioned to run and hide at the first sign of what we perceive to be danger.

Problematic is the word ‘perceive’. Before jumping ship at the first wave, it is better to analyze the true affect on you, your business and your clients. Often larger ships in the harbor will try to intimidate the smaller crafts, but if you know anything about the ‘rule of the seas,’ you would know that the small crafts have the ‘right of way!’

The recent news of information leaving a particular social media site and being used by an analytical group is a prime example of the type of scare that can cause a mass exodus without first thinking through and  analyzing ourselves why it would be beneficial for large companies to act like they are incensed and try influencing the smaller market out of the harbor.  Who really looses in this scenario?

Everyone has been using analytics for some time now on our websites, our social media, our CRM’s and more. Are we so naive as to think it is wrong for big companies to research us but we have the right to find out everything we possibly can about our potential and current customers. Think about it, we know that even stores we walk into chart our buying habits, not to make us like drones but to get us to buy more from them than their competition.

Fear is a good thing in the right situation, but this will either blow over or one big ship will attack the other big ship and we will all be left to pick up the peaces and profit from them. Keep navigating the course you know will work for you and keep a watchful eye on the sharks in the water as they are the real threat!

SHARK!

Yesterday I received an email that was forwarded from a lady that I had posted some listings on Craigs list for. The gist of the message was that if you wanted your listing to appear on the site you needed to follow this link because something had gone wrong. The sender had also copied and pasted scam warnings that DO appear on Craigs list to make it appear legit. I called the person and said, "Please tell me you did not open this!" (She hadn't but had just forwarded it on to me.)

When you post things on these type of sites, they will tell you right away that it posted. You can also check to see if your posting is appearing by going in and searching for it. Don't open links to things when you don't know what they are. This is a new scam method to get you to link into a site.

The internet can be used safely, but we have to be willing to think before we press the mouse. Surf safely and watch out for sharks!

POSTING AND JOINING IN

Drawing comments and likes are the important thing when posting on your social networking sites. Think about this. Isn't it the conversations that you are the most drawn to when you are looking at a page.
Some you loose interest in after the seventh or so post, but most become like checking on a soap opera to see what someone said next. This might seem like something you don't want, but the next time you get on, guess who you start looking for? Right, to see if anything else was said. It is human character.
If you would like to see some interesting exchanges, check out Confident Christianity on facebook, MaryJo Sharp is an apologetic expert which by definition is a defender of the faith. The debates are not only controversial at times but also informative and very interesting, plus they encourage others to join in.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT

Do you keep your passwords to everything in a file on your computer? Don't even think about it. Print out the file, secure it somewhere safe (outside the computer) and get the file and anything on the computer that links to the file out of the computer. If a hacker got by your firewall, which they do all of the time, they would have everything they needed to clean you out. This is very important, I have had friends that had their bank accounts wiped out because of something this simple.
Second, do not allow your computer to remember your passwords. This is self explanatory if you read the first paragraph.
Third, do you use the same password for everything? Change that habit right now! You become an easy target when everything you do is under the same password. Let's say for example your dog's name is Spottie. You love Spottie and everyone you know and everyone on your social networks know that Spottie is one of the highlights in your life, so Spottie is going to be one of the first guesses a dishonest person is going to put in as a possible password for you. Yes, and then Spottie1, Spottie2 and so on. Be creative and use different combinations to accomplish passwords. Then keep them in a safe place (NOT your computer, cell phone, iphone, ipod, any portable devise, or your wallet).
This advise is free and you certainly have a right to take or reject it, but I do hope you will think about it and keep Staying Tuned In!

DON'T PANIC

Your public information, whether on facebook or any other location on the web, has always been public. Hence the word p u b l i c. Politicians and news media can get people going about things at the drop of a hat.
The wonderful thing about most social networks and other sites is that you have an option of what you make public. Of course if you are not in business or you are hiding out for some reason, this could really be an issue. However, if you want your name out, what better mode of free advertising can you think of.
My paranoia comes in what they are using the propaganda being spread to cover. What are we taking our focus off of when we are panicking over things that really mean nothing.
Think about it and remain in control. Don't let someone else control you!

MY FIRST WHAT?

Do you ever walk away from an encounter and wonder what someone was thinking? I think, truth be told, we all do. Last week on one of my other blogs I told how my grandmother used to say "First impressions are everything!" She was definitely correct and it applies big time with business pursuits. Regardless of your occupation the card you hand someone may be all that keeps you on top of the pack for a final choice on who to hire or do business with. People are impressed with nice things and that includes nice presentation pieces.
High gloss finishes and high definition photos say that you believe you value yourself, leaving the impression (even if subliminally) that someone else should value your services as well. A good provider will be able and willing to give you references of their work.
No, you can't judge a book by it's cover, but sadly that is what happens. Present yourself well, it WILL be remembered.