Agentjason 2.0

You don't have to promote your listings to generate leads

via www.texaplex.com

Texas is bigger than, well pretty much everything, including promotional ideas coming from our industry. Isn't that the coolest pic of Austin you've ever seen?!  I LOVE living in Austin and I'm your stereotypically proud Texan but that's not what this post is about.  It's about finding ways connect with the public and maybe generate some leads.  About a year ago I got an email from a Dallas broker who wanted me to watch his video promoting Texas on YouTube.  Turns out it was fantastic and played right into my sense of state pride.  Over time he added follow up videos, a twitter account devoted to fun Texas facts (Like: In Houston beer may not be purchased after midnight on a Sunday, but it may be purchased on Monday. Or: To be a real estate agent in TX requires 200 hrs of education & to be a manicurist in TX requires 600 hrs.), a full website and a coined term "Texaplex".  Creator David Winans says he now feels like the state cheerleader - no wonder given all the media attention he's getting now.  As a Texan, I'm very proud to have David promoting our state like this and have no doubt the project has brought him business both from the Dallas area public and Realtor referrals from across the "texaplex".  His work is a perfect example of inspired-giving without expectation of something in return.  Of course he's getting back a whole bunch!  Do you know of anyone in your area who does something like this?  Better yet, does it inspire you to do anything in your area? That's what I was hoping it would do! Let your mind wander and tell me know if you start a good idea yourself - I'll help you promote it. Or you could go spam your Facebook friends with listings...blah!

I can not stop watching this!

Pink Grammy Performance 2010! - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

This performance moved me to tears and made me want to do better at my own work.  For the self-employed Realtor, watching someone else perform masterfully in any field is an excellent way to stay inspired and energized.  In case you haven't seen it, check it out and then go do something this weekend just a little bit better than you would have before.  :-)

Click here for HD version.

This is how to launch a real estate brokerage

via www.austinrisingrealestate.com

A friend of mine has been working for a while now on launching his own residential brokerage.  He's young, energetic and smart so I knew when he was ready we'd see something good.  I got the launch announcement email today and here's the first paragraph:

After months of development and market research, Austin Rising Real Estate is proud to announce the launch of its website, iPhone app and Facebook page

Website.  iPhone app.  Facebook page.  Six years ago before I started speaking and training, only the first one in the list (website) was a part of a brokerage strategy and most were a cluttered mess that served as a digital brochure at worst and basic property search engine at best.  Things change fast don't they?!  In addition, this brokerage brings YouTube, Yelp and Twitter prominently into the mix.  My friend Bryan is not the only one doing this but when put into the context of a "launch", he got my attention by doing a lot of stuff right.   Here are the things that stand out to me:

• Design.  These days a website is, as Bryan explains in his front page video, you're lobby so the look is critical.  It's not always easy to explain why, but when it comes to websites, you just know when one is designed well  
• Two basic lead generators are right up front:  Search and Market Snapshot
• The intro video does a good job of explaining how to use the site
• The blog is upfront so that Bryan can talk to his audience
• The forum is there too so his community can interact with each other
• Choice!  You can just use the search feature, read the blog if you want, or you could participate in the forum.  You could interact using Facebook (and are specifically asked to) or just follow on Twitter.  And if you're really a fan, you can tell people about it on Yelp.
• The blog has a short video interview with a local restaurant owner so Bryan is going beyond listings and creating great original content for his visitors.

Anyway, I'm a fan and wish Bryan (who is not yet a graduate by the way) all the best.  I can't wait to see the iPhone app when it comes out on Monday.  So whether you're a brokerage or just an individual agent, what could you learn from this if you were to "re-launch"?

Is "salesman" really a negative word?

Alright, yesterday I recorded a humorous take on the word salesman and started calling myself a salesfriend like Phil on Modern Family.  Today I had a great conversation about the word salesman with a broker friend and ask a more serious question in the recording.  Hit the play button above then leave your comments!

The Perfect Listing Presentation

What makes the perfect listing presentation?  Is it the way you dress?  The accuracy of your market analysis?  The car they see you drive up in?  The place you sit in the house?  The time you have to deliver your message?  You have your opinions, so do a lot of other trainers.  One thing I know for sure is that most Realtors need a lot more work on their "presentation", a fact I'm reminded of every time I work with a group.  My life as a Realtor changed when I had a well put together presentation with a solid process that gave me control and appropriate visuals to keep me on track.  It's such an important skill that I've given "Listing Presentations" it's own category on this blog.

If you're one of Floyd's graduates, you know that he teaches a process to follow that is designed to match the psychology of the seller as you move through the appointment.  On its own it is very powerful and when you add visuals, it becomes even more effective.  The visuals however, are where nearly everyone trip up and that's my focus for this post.  The other day I told someone to think of their visuals as backup singers or dancers.  They are there to enhance you, but they can't do the show on their own.  For my students, I offer to look over their listing presentations and give them my honest feedback;  my #1 most frequent comment being: Use better pictures and dramatically fewer words.  What I'm trying to get the student to do is stop reading from a piece of paper or laptop screen and just make your point to the seller.  As a general rule, a seller can not read a screen and listen to you at the same time.  And occasionally I'll reference Steve Jobs as the master at creating presentation visuals and although he's not a hall-of-fame speaker like Floyd, the man can create some eye-catching images.

Business Week published a slide show that takes some points from a new book about what we can learn from Mr. Jobs.  If I've ever said to you, "Take all those words out of your visuals", maybe the article/slide show will help.  Note:  In the picture below, it's no coincidence he is standing in that exact spot.  See the text behind him?  Even though you're just at the kitchen table, have you put this much thought into your performance?  

Anyway, this is a topic I must write about more this year.  What are your thoughts?  Do you have areas you struggle with when it comes to the Listing Presentation?  Thought on how the points in the Business Week slide show translate into your own work?  Leave some comments and I'll get to work addressing them.

 

Some people call me a salesman. I call myself a salesfriend.

Salesman, salesfriend, consultant, whatever.  Call it what you want, just remember, we're all in sales so you are in fact a "salesperson".  Embrace it; be proud of it; and work to get better at your craft.  Now go close out the week strong graduates - and for the record, you can call me your salesfriend!  (PS.  If you're not watching Modern Family, you're totally missing out!)

Sell without a cell?

 Maybe it has to do with her show ending soon, I don't know, but I've been addicted to the Oprah Show this season.  Usually on the weekend I'll fly through the episodes on my DVR and I probably average 1.5 shows per week after I delete the topics that don't interest me.  Her "No Phone Zone" campaign has caught my attention for sure.  I consider myself a very good driver (you probably do too) and I'd even argue that Realtors on average are better drivers than the general public, given that we do so much of it.  And today I wondered if it is possible for us to put the phone down in the car?  

When I first began my real estate career no one had phones in their cars, in fact, it was a big deal when the majority of my office got beepers!  Then, when we did get phones we used them sparingly and of course today we're at the other end of the curve.  Oprah wants to end all phone usage in automobiles and I think she's really picked a tough fight.  I've written before about how we are literally addicted to technology and that's the one part Oprah is missing.  She's taken a selling tactic similar to the defensive driving course I just took online that persuades against drunk driving - the horror stories, the interview with the mom who's daughter was killed, the crash scene pictures.  I certainly agree that using today's smartphones can be every bit as dangerous as drunk driving - it's the addiction to technology part that I think far outpaces alcohol addiction.  To be sure, I use my iPhone all day, everyday.  I have a glass of red wine every few days...maybe.  After the episode, I caught myself checking in on Facebook as I was driving, so I signed Oprah's pledge and committed to only use the phone for old skool voice calls and map features.  

So what do you think, can you do without your phone in the car?  It is possible to sell without a cell?  I've done it.  If you don't believe it's possible, just go ask someone who's been in the business since the very early 90s or before and they'll tell you.  Do you think our profession with an army of driving salespeople is positioned to join Oprah's campaign?  Would it be a good PR move for the industry?  Will NAR jump on the trend or will we just wait as states pass laws against it?

Surprise New Take on Commission?

via www.psfk.com

Working at this cafe in Japan must be a blast every day.  It has one rule:  You get what the person in front of you ordered and the next person gets what you order, no exceptions.  Use the link just below the pic to read the story.  I would have to go at least once to experience it - would you go?  After reading the story I started thinking about real estate.  Every year that I've read NAR's survey of home buyers and sellers, they've reported the vast majority of sellers hire their agent either based on a referral or they rehire the agent they used before.  Yet in the daily world of an agent who's building a strong listing inventory, competition for the listing is common.  So think of this for a minute:  What if you got the commission that the agent who presented before you proposed?  In other words, the seller hears from all agents, then whomever they pic, the fee they charge is the same fee proposed by the agent that presented before them.  Would that affect what you charge or how you perform on the listing appointment?

Even better, what if your broker paid you the commission that closed immediately before yours?  Sometimes you'd get a really large commission, sometimes small, but mostly around the office average.  How would that affect teamwork?  Your standards?  Company production?  Awareness of how your actions effect the associate down the hall?  Just a fun little thought I was playing with this morning.  What's your reaction to/take on it?

Special thanks to Seth for sparking the thought! 

iPad: Excellent for Realtors (and traveling motivational speakers!)

via live.gdgt.com

My briefcase just got a lot lighter when I travel! The new iPad plugs into a projector and has all the presentation software I need and it will be great for my Realtor students as well!  Imagine walking into a listing presentation and using this instead of a laptop.  I can still remember walking into a CompUSA one evening to purchase my first laptop computer.  It was a dull grey, very heavy Toshiba with a tiny low resolution screen and it took forever to boot up.  Yet, I was totally stoked to plop that down on the table during my next listing presentation.  I'm sure I'll be doing tons of presentations on the new iPad.  What about you?  Will you be getting one?  In any case, just remember, you are the presentation.  Not the screen - pretty as it may be!  For a quick lesson on designing masterful presentation visuals, click the link above to see screen shots from Steve Job's presentation.

Update: Apple's official iPad demo video.

Measure Listings with iPhone

 When I took listings in Austin, our MLS didn't list room measurements that many others do.  But if your MLS requires that data, or if a buyer has ever asked you about room dimensions, you might love this app I found for the iPhone.  I takes measurements from photos of rooms and the reviews in the app store are pretty good.  I haven't tried it out yet but would love to hear from any of you that have.  What I know for sure is that it's a good thing when a Realtor has a chance to combine tools and carry one less thing in the field!  Link to app store.

UPDATE: Thanks to Alan May for investigating this app further. Turns out that this app only allows you to draw lines on a pic and record measurements for reference later. Bummer.