I had one of those REALLY UGLY commutes to work today. You know the ones…when your mind won’t stop ruminating on the scary thoughts of the hours before you left. I mean…you are trying to focus on the business of the day, but it just won’t happen…
After Hunter’s post about vendors…and Greg’s… It was time for me to do some serious soul searching about what I thought was right. I mean…I hate all these vendors pestering the heck out of me…and lying to me…and doing ANYTHING to get business…And then it hit me.
Gulp… I AM a VENDOR!
My blog over at EricOnSearch is my business. While I limit (severely) the number of clients that I take on to only those that TRULY fit with me, and while the real estate side is limited to SEO. ( I refer out website development to those I trust -see site) I AM indeed a vendor to the real estate market.
I spent my entire 35 minute drive to the office thinking….”I have NEVER solicited business from anyone on BHB. Ever.”
“I have always TRIED to be helpful and spent time and offered FREE advice to many who have asked.”
“I have never paid for an ad or paid a (insert chokepoint Charlie here) for exposure.”
“It has all been Earned Media.”
And yet I AM indeed a VENDOR. I feel dirty. Tainted by the company of people who CALL themselves vendors but who in reality are confidence men (and women). The problem is that con men and women and shysters seem to make up a vast majority of the RE vendor market.
Russell Shaw made a great point in a recent post about the Enemy Line. Maybe this is one of the items on my list that I need to get over.
So I started thinking about distinctions that I believe separate the ME’s from many of the rest. I actually made a pretty good sized list of things that I do differently as a vendor to make SURE that I am firmly putting distance between myself and THEM. But once I looked at the list it all boiled down to one thing….
“Do unto others as you’d have done unto you…”
Simple as that. I don’t mind paying for GREAT service at all. I HATE paying for shoddy service. We ALL use vendor for certain things. I HATE cold calls…but when I am truly interested in a product, a warm friendly voice on the end of the line or a prompt and professional email response will SELL me on a product or person like nothing else.
Maybe BEING a VENDOR is not the problem…maybe being a ConMan or a shyster (or facilitating them **cough**NAR**cough**) is the problem. At least that’s my take…
Thoughts?
Teri Lussier says:
I so agree with you, Eric.
Vendors are not alone here, Realtors are guilty of allowing this shyster atmosphere to exist in an industry that should be and could be something so much more. We are all in the business of selling, but there is selling and there is selling.
A buyer contacted me through my blog and gave me the address of a home. I went over and took a few pix, put them into engenu and emailed him the link- a few hours total from his initial contact to my first, non-auto response. He was quite impressed.
What I didn’t know at the time, is that he also called the listing agent who was in a hurry, pushy, didn’t listen to what he was saying- in short- she was a vendor, a con man. I was helpful, knowledgeable, and gave great service.
We are both Realtors. We would both like to sell a home to this gentleman, but the difference in approach was stunning to this 1st time buyer.
We have to fight that public perception all the time, which makes it so much harder to do what we are truly capable of doing.
…and I could go on and on… Perhaps it’s time for my own manifesto… 😉
July 22, 2008 — 5:55 am
Diane Cipa says:
Selling makes the world go ’round. You never notice a good salesman or vendor because they’re, well, good at what they do and they usually have high standards for themselves and their performance on your behalf.
Predators, or the desperate, con no matter what profession they choose. Sales seems like an easy place for predators to hide and that’s a shame, but good vendors and salesmen shine like jewels. Be proud.
July 22, 2008 — 6:07 am
David Shafer says:
Hmmm, some rules to live by:
There is no free lunch;
All groups create the in-group and the out-group, even Bloodhound’s;
Free information is usually worth about that amount;
95% of people are just going through the motions of working;
Consistency beats pressure every time; and
The medium is the message!
Not that do unto others….isn’t just fine 🙂
July 22, 2008 — 6:20 am
Greg Swann says:
I’m with you, of course, Eric. I’m not anti-vendor, I’m anti predatory vendor. Worse than that, I’m anti-shill — taking money or other emoluments to tout inferior methods, products or services. Into the latter category falls the NAR and all of its tentacles and, for all of me, the entire Inmanosphere.
For the people who read, comment or write here: If you know of a better way of doing something, don’t be shy. I’m not. I piss on — and piss off — a lot of vendors, but when something really does what it’s supposed to do, at the right price, I am unreserved in my praise.
July 22, 2008 — 6:39 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Teri- Amen.
@Dianne- I need to tattoo that way of thinking on my forehead.
@Greg- On a personal level, never a doubt in my mind on that. Just like in vendors to REALTORS, the real estate world and the SEO world…the shysters are thick and deep in many industries and sometimes you just wish the morons would get out of the way and let those who DO the job well…um…DO the job…well. But I guess without shysters, there is no contrast.
@David- It’s only 10am and I have already reached my “cliche limit” for the day! (GRIN)
July 22, 2008 — 7:04 am
The Harriman Team says:
Hmmm…the old saying was always, “Caveat Emptor”. Still good advice, but are we now at the point where the shoe is on the other foot? Perhaps “Caveat Venditor” is no less valid. (I guess the cliche limit has now been exceeded?)
July 22, 2008 — 7:49 am
Hunter Jackson says:
“I’m with you, of course, Eric. I’m not anti-vendor, I’m anti predatory vendor.”
Exactly. Vendors have their place. I have my needs. If they match up, then heck yes, I will use them. If they can show their value, then they work.
In one form or another, aren’t we all vendors?
July 22, 2008 — 8:02 am
Malok says:
Right on, Eric. We’re all vendors in one respect or another. Being a vendor that truly believes in what he is promoting independent of any sort of compensation or benefit is vastly different in my eyes than those that are just being paid to promote a particular product/endeavor.
July 22, 2008 — 8:06 am
Thomas Johnson says:
I follow the money. The VC funded startups raised millions based on the proposition that Real Estate was just ripe for disintermediation. Get between us and our clients and there are billions of commission dollars to be had with just a small investment of $20 million or so. Just look at travel agents.
Now the VC startups in the real estate space are looking at the bottom of the barrel in the cash account and the pitches are becoming ever more shrill. Of course Realtors have not been disintermediated, so now the focus is on selling stuff to get at that commission pool. Some vendors have morphed into valuable partners with a compelling product, some are still trying to disintermediate, not commissions, but our organic traffic (eg Trulia’s “no follow” tactic).
It is up to each of us to puzzle out which vendor can enhance each of our efforts. What works for one agent in his market may not be worth while in another market. For example, we are struggling to raise our listing marketing to BHR standards. But with an average sales price of $180,000, I am playing for a $5400 gross listing side, before splits and expenses. What I have learned here, is that we need to raise the level of our game and evolve our business to a point where we are playing for $10,000 sides and listing the Bloodhound way would be profitable for us.
As volume slows, there is not much margin for unfruitful engagements with VC funded vendors whose interest has always been getting a big chunk of my money. Previously they were trying to put me out of business with their millions, now they want to bleed me dry for $49.95 a month (Just one deal pays for the whole subscription!). If they can demonstrate ROI, I am open to considering anything. Here in the kennel, is a community where ideas can be honed to a sharp edge.
July 22, 2008 — 8:15 am
Mark Madsen says:
Most vendors haven’t figured out that the old way of selling stuff to dumb real estate agents and loan officers is obsolete.
The real estate people left in our industry will primarily be a different breed of intellectual, computer literate, fiscally aware, and socially connected business professionals.
Vendors, speakers, and those presented as “experts” will have to learn how to adapt to their new target audience. Being too busy serving your clients or perfecting your product is a poor excuse for not updating your marketing agenda. It is insulting.
When vendors ask me how to get the attention of the members from one of my sites, I have the same answer every time…. Earn It!!
I support the vendors who are truly passionate about helping our businesses grow. Some of these guys are innovators who designed a magic bullet that really works. It isn’t that their intentions aren’t pure, their marketing approach just sucks.
Transparency, interaction, and communicating on our terms through social media are a few ways vendors can build trust.
July 22, 2008 — 8:17 am
john sabia says:
I think Greg hit the nail on the head – vendor vs predatory vendor. Vendors who provide value service that enables us to do our job better offer us +ROI.
July 22, 2008 — 9:04 am
Howard Farmer says:
We run about 20 real estate / property websites and we have been fortunate enough to get top search engine rankings for ourselves (and our clients).
However, wearing the 2 caps of website marketing and sales to real people are at opposite ends of the spectrum!
One is totally impersonal and the other has to be customer-driven. Never forget the needs of a customer (however difficult to deliver).
July 22, 2008 — 9:38 am
Dylan Darling says:
I agree with Mark. Agents left in our industry are “a different breed of intellectual, computer literate, fiscally aware, and socially connected business professionals.” These vendors need to re-think their marketing strategy, and real estate professionals that want to survive need to re-think the way that they conduct business. OUR INDUSTRY IS CHANGING RAPIDLY.
I got a sign call from a buyer a while ago. Although this buyer was not interested in this house (after I told him the price), I captured his attention with valuable market information. The buyer went on to tell me that he had previously called on a home that had a “recorded info” 800 number. He called for more info. He never left a voicemail, but 1 minute later his phone rang. It was the Realtor. He told me he felt cheated, spammed.
Agents, Vendors, and everyone else with a hand in the pot need to look at how they’re doing business. We need to earn business and referrals will come.
July 22, 2008 — 9:58 am
John Rowles says:
I am wrestling with the same demons.
When I was first hired by a Real Estate broker to apply eCommerce tactics to Real Estate, my original thought was that I would do what I did for my eCommerce clients: Assess their needs, pick the best tools off the shelf based on that assessment, then customize those tools for the job.
But when I went to the Real Estate Web App shelf I ran smack into the vendor crapfest that passes for a product offering in this industry.
The irony, of course, is now I am competing with the crap vendors as an — ugh — vendor myself, and even though I see it as a means to an end, my would be clients can’t, or won’t see the distinction. Probably because that might mean having to admit that better service has a price.
July 23, 2008 — 3:32 pm