An Open Letter to Agent X

by Eric Blackwell

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Author website

Every once in a while I get a phone call from Real Estate Agent X in the Louisville / Southern Indiana area. They have bumped into something I have written somewhere or seen our site somewhere and want to “pick my brain”. They offer to buy me lunch in the hopes of picking up a nugget or two or and idea or three. Funny part is, I DO want to have lunch with them! I love getting to know folks and I have to eat anyway. But instead of lunch being a verbal exploratory surgery of what I do online, I’d much rather simply get to know THEM! I’d rather become FRIENDS with them.

One such agent called me last week and I am meeting him for lunch on Monday. He became familiar with my writing on Real Estate Webmasters and wants to chat. GREAT! I am excited to meet you, Agent X. I look forward to it.

But since you won’t be the first and you won’t be the last and I will be giving you the EXACT same advice I give everyone, let’s save our conversational time for IMPORTANT things (like the University of Louisville basketball team’s run in the NCAA tournament, for example-grin). (Or on Kentucky or Indiana’s collective demises…GRIN). I am going to send you to BHB to read this open letter and you will find ALL of my secrets right here. Interested? read on!

Secret #1: Read this blog and EVERYTHING in it. Invest a couple of nights in deep contemplation on the subject of real estate. I don’t agree with 100% of everything here. I’m not a “homer”. But it ALL stimulates my thoughts and helps me learn. You will find more in the last week of posts here in terms of GREAT advice than in lifetimes of listening to the usual speakers and typical rantings. SIGN UP FOR UNCHAINED. NOW. DON’T go reading past this. Click the link NOW. Want to truly succeed? That is honestly the best advice I can give you. Want to see how influential and effective this place is? One of the best REALTORS I know is Ryan Ward in Atlanta. Google Atlanta real estate and you will see that he knows what the heck he is doing. What did he do after reading this post?…Spent some late night hours and did this.

He still is cleaning up the photos and working adding some cool tools to really make it come alive, but he is well on his way. (Note: this stuff takes WORK and TIME). Today’s online real estate success revolves more on EARNED MEDIA now than ever before. The main people in media you need to pay these days are people who can show you how to EARN it by investing time and talent. Much better ROI there. Nice job on a single property blog, Ryan. If you are looking ONLY to BUY advertising, while folks like Greg Swann and Ryan Ward EARN it, your marketing plan is DOA. (not trying to be unkind, I’m just saying…)

Secret #2: Co back to the REW forums and READ as well. Morgan Carey’s a SMART guy. Smart enough to create a huge community of web savvy REALTORS that hang out together and learn from each other and try stuff. It honestly is about MUCH more than SEO. (although he IMHO has forgotten more than most know on the subject.) (Note: I am going to alter this post somewhat and put it on my REW blog as well. WHY: Because many of them need to come here, too. IMHO). Many of them could benefit from Unchained as well.

Secret #3: Make online friends and SHARE INFORMATION freely with them. Learn together and try stuff together. I don’t know everything. Not by a LONGSHOT. But I know who to ask and they know me and I have “paid it forward” enough so that I don’t feel uncomfortable picking up the phone and chatting or dropping them an email. (Just because this is the shortest of my secrets, do not make the mistake of missing it…SERIOUSLY)

Secret #4 (the FINAL one): OK, you are in Southern Indiana or Louisville…you know that I cannot help you win here if you are not on my team! (There’s this thing called a non-compete…grin– and it applies to anywhere in the Louisville metro area for me.) Besides, you’d have more fun if you were on my team! Ask the members of Team Eric, who are vying for the Greatest Real Estate Agents in the World contest, which ends May 1. (not soon enough! grin). So instead of competing with us, why not join us at our office. I can show you bloggers who have turned a single niche real estate blog into 6 digits of revenue. I can show you how we WORK leads. I can show you how to use a hyperlocal blog to nab large builder clients (or keep the ones you have…). But I cannot show you ANY of that until you are on our team. Think that over.

BTW- I really meant what I said about UNCHAINED. SIGN UP FOR IT. (And I know you didn’t sign up yet-grin) Seriously. It will be the best $199 you’ve spent in a long, long time.

1pm at Rocky’s…See you there! (grin)