Bloodhound Unchained Brings out the Entrepreneurial Realtors | Applying Web 2.0 Technology to Real Estate in Alpharetta
categories: Stuff I like to talk about
This time last week I was sitting in a conference room in Phoenix with a bunch of "Unchained" realtors and mortgage brokers. As an independent business person, I don’t usually afford myself the luxury of much professional development in the form of seminars or conferences. My learning is all done on-line late at night; it is amazing what you can learn for free if you can (will) just read.
I made an exception when deciding to attend Bloodhound Unchained because I’ve been reading Bloodhound Blog for a while now and there are so many good real estate marketing ideas discussed there that I figured I must attend. The people contributing on Bloodhound blog are truly discussing the foremost methods to market real estate in this Web 2.0 world; and as Alpharetta’s self-appointed bearer of the real estate 2.0 mantle, I viewed attendance as mandatory, not optional.
Real Estate with Web 2.0 Allows You to Develop Trust
Deciding to attend this conference on on-line real estate marketing and social media really wasn’t that hard, though, because I used the very tools I was going to learn about when deciding to go in the first place.
The internet is a brave new world of commerce. No one likes sleazy
sales people, but sleazy sales tricks cannot work on the internet,
where every suspicious claim can be checked in an instant. Transparency
rules, and the practitioners who succeed with net-empowered consumers
are the ones who are prepared to back up everything they say.The bonus for people willing to work this way is that consumers will
have a much higher degree of trust in their Realtor or lender. Rather
than picking a name out of a phone book or off of a yard sign, they
will have gotten to know that person — passively and anonymously —
online.
The contributors at Bloodhound blog had developed with me over an extended period of time via the blog a high degree of trust. Trust is the hardest thing to earn, but also the thing that makes all relationships flourish or flounder. I think that you’ll believe me when I say the best client interactions you’ve had are the ones where the client trusts you and your expertise and you trust them to honor their business commitment to you.
My most sincere hope is that, like the Bloodhound blog earned my trust, that my blog is earning your trust.
Real Estate Entrepreneurs and the Yesterday’s Broker
One other "slap on the forehead" moment I had at Bloodhound Unchained was the idea of the "real estate entrepreneur." I know it sounds silly and maybe obvious to you, but I had never thought of myself as an entrepreneur. I’m a realtor, after all, an independent contractor for sure. Self-employed, no doubt. But entrepreneur? Aren’t those the guys in garages and labs concocting new products or services? There is nothing new about real estate…it is probably the second oldest profession.
But it hit me like an anvil hitting Wile E. Coyote when Greg Swan said that the audience was filled with a bunch of real estate entrepreneurs. Yes, that is exactly what we are - unchained from the traditional way of doing business: our real estate trade is the same as every other realtor, but how we go about the trade is radically different.
We are not company (wo)men. We don’t depend on our brokers for much of anything, certainly not business. We seek our own counsel first - and then the counsel of our social media network. We don’t hang out by the water cooler and bemoan the market; we make the market. We are idea-based and action-oriented. These attributes are actually why I wanted to attend Bloodhound Unchained: because it is comforting, reassuring, encouraging and darn-right stimulating to hang out with like-minded people/realtors.
Given that this is our DNA, Laurie Manny, a dedicated real estate blogger from Long Beach, CA, proclaimed that the brokers should be scared, VERY scared. Why, because the entrepreneurial agent, or more precisely the real estate agent who is going to succeed in the new world of web 2.0, does not need much of anything that a broker can offer.
So let me ask you, the reading audience who might be considering engaging me to help you with your real estate purchase or sale. Do you care that I’m affiliated with a national real estate brokerage? Can you tell me which one without looking at the footer of this page?
What if I were with a second-tier brokerage, one that would charge me much less to do business, but one without the brand name recognition? What if my broker were completely virtual? Would you mind meeting me at Starbucks instead of my company conference room?
When at Bloodhound Unchained, I surveyed other attendees on this question. Each and every one told me without hesitation that the broker doesn’t matter one iota. What matters is you and your ability to effectively sell and market and maintain client relationships.
What do you think? If you came to this blog tomorrow and found that I was with no-name broker, would you trust me less?
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Beautiful. Bless you. Thank you.
Kevin, It was great to meet you at Unchained and I hope all is well for you and your family after the storms that ripped through that part of Georgia last week. You pose a great question here. My opinion is ultimately it is about you, your service, the trust, confidence and relationships you build with your customers. As a broker-manager, I find most agents believe their clients will follow them anywhere. And I find that is true for the agent that delivers that level of service and has built the trust and relationships. I also believe that a brand name can add additional value to the overall experience for the customer/client. Continued success to you, Jan
Great post and I’m glad you now consider yourself an entrepreneur! If I could get all of my agents to think like entrepreneur’s, then everyone would be more successful.
Furthermore, many small brokers are themselves agents who elevated their entrepreneurship to a new level. As Jan commented, clients will follow good agents anywhere. Just make sure the where adds value to your business and business opportunities.
Hi Kevin,
Very insightful and thoughtful! Can I offer a perspective even though you are wanting feedback from the consumer?
New agents benefit by affiliating with a recognized real estate company until they build a solid foundation of success. Successful, experienced agents are not dependent on a corporate image affiliation.
In today’s real estate world, the agent is spending the money to create their business. When you breakdown operating costs and return on investment, many successful agents see they are paying a very high premium for the corporate image affliation which often does not generate any new business for them.
Real estate is about relationships. Former clients recommend us to their friends and family. They tell their friends to call “XXX and he/she will take very good care of you”. To them, we ARE the company.
It’s the agent’s whole package of experience, trust, knowledge, care and producing results for our clients that the consumer cares about.
I guess the answer is where is your business comimg from? If you are generating most of your business, then it’s time to think about creative alternatives to take your business to the next level because it is YOUR business.
Good luck and let us know if you make a change.