I've had my Point2 site for 3 months now and this month I had 474 Unique Visitors with 2,292 page views = 16 Prospects.  Each visitor sees just over 6 pages, and 3.4% of unique visitors have provided enough information to us to be labeled prospects. How does this compare to your results you get from your site, should I be happy with these results?

Dan 

With technology, time has sped up.   We get email responses to inquiries in moments,  credit card approval in minutes, and our voice mail is now sent to email so we don't even have to dial anymore.

With this warp speed come a couple of areas where good manners have gone by the wayside.  The biggest problem area is with cell phones.   I remember when a cell phone would ring, and everyone nearby would just gawk thinking "what's that", and of course 'wow, that's cool, I've got to get one!". 

Today, I suppose it's still possible to look cool talking on a cell phone (if you're 14 years old), but they have become so commonplace that anyone trying to 'use' their cell phone to act professional is surely stuck in the nineties.   Worst still, is when a cell phone goes off, and the nearby audience is treated to a synthesized loud version of a forgotten Beethoven riff or worse still, a 80db blast of "La Cucaracha!". 

Another peeve is calling another Realtor, who after 8 or 10 rings, grabs the call and since they are driving with the windows down and the radio on full blast screams hello at you.  But the worst is when you are having a conversation with someone and they abruptly cut you off to answer a cell call.  Is the incoming call more important than the conversation you are having?  If it is, prepare yourself to lose the confidence in the person you were first talking to. 

There is no excuse for not having your cell phone turned off during a business meeting.  And that business meeting doesn't have to be a formal one.  You could be out with homebuyers standing on a curb, or walking a property with a seller, it doesn't matter.  The cellphone should be turned off, at minimum on vibrate.  Although even on vibrate, I've had clients notice when it happens continually and they have mentioned it.  It's a distraction.  A distraction that may very well tell the business customer you are speaking with that they don't have your fully undivided attention.  

Here's an interesting resource/test you can use from Sprint on wireless etiquette. http://www2.sprint.com/mr/consumertopic.do?topicId=260#qID3

Four years into the business next month, and I can still count on two hands the number of Realtors that I know personally who are successful in every sense of the word.

Those people are socially, professionally, and financially accomplished in their fields, and they all have one common denominator that I can see.  They go to work every day, and they treat their profession like a job.  They work hard, they study and stay current on education, they support their local Realtor board and all go to great lengths in terms of research and understanding of the current market.

They are quick to return phone calls, are always extremely helpful in explaining their listings, they follow up on details and are always willing to offer advice to others when asked. 

As I interact with more and more Realtors, it has become clear to me that many feel there is something special about being a Realtor.  I disagree.   We don't have any special talents that others do not possess, we don't incur any special challenges that other professions don't face, and we don't occupy any special place on the cultural rung of professional occupations. 

Being in the process of 'hiring' several new agents, a common thread to the conversations I am having during this process lead me to believe that Realtors feel like they are on the outside of business looking in.  Where do I fit in?  What should I specialize in?  How do I break into the market?  So and so seems to have that market locked up, how can I break in? 

Inherent in a lot of these discussions is that somehow Realtors are 'less than".  That we need to be super-dependable, super-efficient, and extraordinarily knowledgeable to even have a chance at a career at real estate.  I think it's all nonsense.  In the addiction field there is a common observation that addicts either feel "super-human or sub-human".  It's the same analogy of being on the outside looking in, not knowing if you belong, or where you might fit in.  The feeling of euphoria when a good deal is struck, and the remorse when business is not so good.

I tell agents this.  If you made every deal, then you wouldnt have to work past February 15th of each year. Your customers are the same as you.  They are professionals in other fields, they have a family, and they are looking for guidance to help them find or sell a home or property.  You are no different than they are. You are no more accomplished than they are, and you are certainly no less.  If you know yourself, then you know your customers.   You should be proud to be a Realtor, it's an honorable profession.  Don't get hung up on the commissions, the percentages, the public persona, and the real estate system of the day hype. Do your job.

Having worked with executives from all walks of life I can tell you that there is always pressure in every field.  A fat salary doesn't equate success, stock options don't secure your future, and a large office means little more than more dusting. 

Being a real estate agent is a very mainstream occupation.  It has one unique quality which I would never give up and that is the ability for you to make it your own.  If you could create any job in the world, what profession other than real estate provides as many, varied opportunities for you to put your personal stamp on it?  Don't be on the outside looking in, be a Realtor.  It's your job, it's my job and everyone that meets me knows that I absolutely love it.

This crazy real estate world of ours!  Man, 102, takes out 25-year mortgage

Regarding the good posts lately on when to lower commissions, ethical ways to split commissions, etc.

I had a client once who owned a very expensive seafood restaurant.  So expensive, that the prices were always criticized during the reviews of this excellent Boston restaurant.  His response to the criticism?  "When Tiffany starts discounting their diamonds, I'll discount my food". 

If a client were to suggest I discount the negotiated commission, I would simply ask "what part of our service do you not want me to perform for you?"

The Tiffany diamonds saying has stuck with me, with one caveat.  You have to deliver diamond level service. 

"People don't buy services, they buy how using them makes them feel".  I wish I could take credit for that quote, but it dates back to the One Minute Manager series.

It makes perfect sense to me, and it makes me think of my favorite Italian restaurant where I've been enough that they know my name and I know theirs and I love it when I get my favorite waiter.  Naturally the food is delicious, with a roasted salmon to die for - but I certainly don't go there just to eat.  I make the reservation, drive 45 minutes, and spend a week's grocery money to have dinner there because of how it makes me feel. They remember my tastes, and make me feel special, no doubt the same way they make everyone else feel.

A post here by Mike Farmer illustrates this 'feeling" when he tells us of his client who was enamored of his service.  It's an excellent example.  That client didn't buy the research, diligence and follow through of a professional Realtor, he bought how Mr. Farmer made him feel about the experience. He bought into it so big that he felt moved to write about it!

Conversely, I chuckle at the ads I hear on the radio from "ISoldMyHouse.com", where they are essentially warning people that if they don't use their service, they could end up paying thousands of dollars in real estate commissions.   This is not a position of strength on their part.  Although it's true that people will go to much greater lengths to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure, to try and  initiate a business relationship by instilling fear in your prospect is not a professional approach, and one of the main reasons that FSBO's have never really become mainstream. FSBO is simply an alternative approach to selling real estate, and the dollar results of FSBO vs. Realtor could easily be defeated by an experienced Agent. To put someone in a fearful position certainly doesn't make them feel good, and it's nearly impossible to build a long term relationship where any fear is present.

When I have asked new agents if they have followed up with previous prospects or clients, and they have reluctantly nodded "no" - upon further probing I have learned they haven't followed up because they weren't sure how that person would feel about it.  And most times they don't use the exact word, but there is also almost always a "fear" of contacting these folks as well.  This is the nucleus of moving a new agent into a path of success.  To take themselves out of the equation in the delivery of service and become completely client-centered.  With a shout out to Zig again, "You can have anything in the world you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want."   A new agent scurrying to make a deal to put food on the table is at a disadvantage if they are sidetracked from the universal truth of "the more you give, the more you get". 

The platinum rule comes to mind to treat people the way they want to be treated.  When you are attuned enough to your client's needs to deliver wow service, you will get what you want.  Whether it is a packed restaurant every Friday night, or a pipeline full of referrals, when you make people feel that good about your service, the commission or cost is secondary to the experience.

If you were arrested today for being a Salesperson, would they find enough evidence to convict you?

In my previous business, executive recruiting - a 'guru' was making the speaking circuit with a concept that was going to turn the industry on it's ear.  Simply put, he argued that the reason a lot of firms weren't successful is because they were actually in the consulting and service business, but acted like they were in the sales business.

Intriguing thought around 1995, so I thought - what the heck - if this guy has the answer to making this difficult business easier, I'll bite - and I paid for the whole staff to attend his seminar.  To make it more interesting, I called the guru in advance to tell him that although I disagreed with his concept,  we would be the 8 people in the front table with a skeptical eye - and if he was successful in convincing us that were not in the sales business that I would buy him dinner afterwards.

The seminar was good.  His presentation centered around a lot of what is common practice in professional circles today - that a strong business relationship is developed and nurtured by gaining a thorough knowledge of your client's business and a complete understanding of their needs.  From there, you as a "consultant" can formulate and implement a plan that will solve the customer's problem and provide the benefit they originally sought (a new CFO for their company, or in the case of real estate a new home).

As the seminar was brought to a close, the guru was eyeing me and we were smiling at each other, because he knew that I had him.  It wasn't that he was wrong, at least not completely.  But there was a missing piece, and in the proper context it is glaring.  Consultation?  Great.  Needs/benefits analysis?  Fantastic.  Airtight plan? Wonderful.

But if that's as far as you take things, then someone better call a salesperson fast!  Because now someone has to sell this thing.  Or as the legend Zig Ziglar always quotes - Nothing happens until a sale is made.  A listing is not a sale.  A second showing is not a sale.  2 months of buyers tagging along to house after house is not a sale.  And all of those leads and potential listings up on the white board aren't sales.

We are not consultants.  We are not customer service professsionals.  Some of us may earn money by providing ala carte consultative services, but the vast majority are simply real estate salespeople, who don't earn a dime until a property is sold.

As for the guru, I still bought him dinner - and he changed his seminar to "The New Consultative Sales Paradigm in Executive Recruiting".  So think about it, if you were arrested today for being a salesperson, would you scream "I'm innocent!" or proudly post bail saying "yes, I'm guilty as charged and proud of it"?

There's a saying that goes "the future isn't what it used to be".

 I can't imagine a more appropriate use of this adage than in today's real estate economy.  Tomorrow doesn't look anything like tomorrow did a year ago, and I think a year from now it will be even more true than it is today.

If, as many experts predict, 1.1 million potential homeowners will be locked out of the market because of the increasingly large default rate on sub-prime loans - then this will have a sustaining ripple effect on not only the real estate market, but importantly the national economy.  Sub-prime lenders (humming to the tune of Another One Bites the Dust) that are unable to pay down their warehoused line of credits will cease and desist operations completely.  The largest in Connecticut, Mortgage Lenders Network, was ordered to do just that by our Banking Department and a criminal investigation is underway.

Since I'm naturaly leery of the mainstream media, I'm not buying this 'temporary setback' scenario that I've been picking up on the wires as of late.  Because, if we were to be truly honest, we especially as Realtors know that the real fundamental problem is that home prices are simply too high on a value vs. cost basis.  It seems logical to follow that if a potential 1.1 million homebuyers are locked out of the market over the next 12 months, then home prices must continue to drop.  We are sitting on a high inventory that has already been reduced in many markets, and with credit tightening up (in some cases, drying up), this inventory is going to be further pressured.

Then there's the question of equity.  Remember when equity was a financial goal and not a bank account?  When home prices drop, so does equity.  Equity is what allows folks to move up in their housing goals.  Equity is what people lend their kids so they can buy their first home.  And equity is what drives the real estate market.  Even on a 450K home today, I have seen people lose over 50,000 dollars in equity in the past 6 months alone, which illustrates to me that the equity was never really there to begin with.

It's not enough for us to say 'people with marginal credit shouldnt have been given those loans in the first place".  We as Realtors are in the forefront of market valuation, homeowner counseling, and buying preparedness.  When banks can't or won't lend money on real estate, they aren't just losing faith in the homeowner, they are speaking volumes about the value of the assets, real estate.  And when banks lose their faith in real estate, they will take their money elsewhere. 

Before this all shakes out, look for more sub-primes to become submarines, for home prices to continue to drop, for more first time homebuyers to be locked out of the market, and for the real estate and banking industries to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to this growing problem.  The largest percentage of those boutique 0% and 1% mortgage loans will begin ballooning in 2008, and it will take some very creative business techniques to keep the country out of recession and upwards of 10% of the population out of foreclosures.  Forbearances, workouts, total refinancings and more will become commonplace lest the banks end up owning a couple of million more homes next year than last.

The future just isn't what it used to be.

Someone made a well-placed comment here the other day that Reliberation is open to the public.

I'm reading a lot of posts here that are personal complaints about the industry, Point2, it's members, and real estate clients.  It's getting to the point for me that I cringe at what I'm reading.  Then of course there is the march to win 100 bucks.   Personally, I have seen some of those posts and I don't see how it's either going to build Point2's business or the agent's practice who are posting the majority of them.  Misspelled words, negative product comparisons,  and those big bold letters (isn't that yelling in netspeak?). 

I purchased Point2 Agent because it appeared to be a class organization with a lot of the answers to questions I don't even time to think about. The Reliberation blog was yet another avenue for us to display our professionalism, keep up to date on timely issues, and to provide each other and the public our individual insights into the constantly changing and challenging world of real estate.

All this talk about incompetent agents, firing clients because they don't do what we want them to do, agents stealing other agents ideas and writings - to my eyes - amounts to little more than watercooler griping, and would be much better suited to a private forum between Point2 members and Point2 itself.  There have been a few posts lately that I don't think would elevate the public's perception of us.

Perhaps there should also be a litmus test for posting.  Am I providing a benefit to everyone by offering this information?   

There is obviously a virtual Fort Knox of information available from the thousands of Point2 members here, and I for one want to know what everyone else is doing to improve their brokerage operations, their online marketing, and client fulfillment goals.  So before this valuable blog digresses into a Yahoo chat room of sorts, I wanted to throw my 2 cents in.

Dan 

I've made a conscious effort to stop emailing our clients so much.  Email is fast food and a good phone call is roasted salmon.  I have never sold a property to someone I have never spoken with, and I doubt anyone else has either.   

The other day, a client emailed us rejecting one of the properties we are marketing that I had showed her in person.  She was actually replying to a drip email sent by our website!  Eeegads.  I would much rather have had that discussion with her on the phone.  Think of the information and opportunity I may have lost by letting her respond to an email, an auto-email at that. 

Long distance customers can especially suffer without personal contact.  We work in an area where there are a lot of people buying vacation properties from out of state.  You know how it goes, you have a good initial phone conversation, set up the auto-blast for 3 months and you don't speak to them again personally on the phone.  Their personal situation may change, and they might have been deleting our emails for weeks without our knowledge.  Sure, they can unsubscribe, but think of the impact a timely phone call or two would have to save them into the fold.

So I'm calling now a lot more.  Email is great for tidbits of information, but to keep a true pulse on the relationship will require a much more personal touch.

Dan 

I just got an email touting that I should buy the latest, greatest 'client-based marketing system".  It was 149.95 (credit card only please).  I had to chuckle at the title of the system.  Should there be any marketing program that is NOT client-based?  Since my days at Keller Williams when I first became enamored with real estate success systems, I have grown amused (and weary) of all the amazing 'systems' that will catapult new and experienced agents to millions of dollars in commissions. 

Systems are like self-help books.  Great advice, great tools - and they come and they go.  That is, if someone stops what they are doing and implements them to the letter.  My observation is that less than 1 in 10 agents ever follow through on these grand plans. I have a better system. Here's what I found to be the greatest tool any professional can use, whether they are in real estate or not.  We already have it, we have an unlimited supply of it, and it's free. 

That system is us.  A walking, talking educated real estate professional who is out in the field every day looking at land, talking to homeowners, researching public records, scanning the newspapers and educating himself with what today's real estate market is doing, and looking for the pulse of what is likely to happen tomorrow.

Combined with the ultimate marketing machine (me), I just love to find great partners like Point2 who support me in getting my work out to the public.  I'm not out looking for the latest and the greatest.  Yet I am going to count on my technology partners like Point2 to be out there looking for ways to improve my internet marketing and public presence.  I love how Point2 "just does it for you".  I don't have time to spend hours a day on the internet looking for an edge.  I'm counting on Point2 to be my edge.  And I'm happy to report - so far, so good.