I’d have more to say about this, but everything I have to say is encapsulated in a single URL: BloodhoundBlog.com.
I was mildly interested in this #RTB (raising the bar) nonsense until I figured out that it’s just more Rotarian Socialism: Make it harder for punters to get a real estate license so that the few who make the cut can make more money with less competition. Nice.
Meanwhile, an email correspondent sent me to Twitter to search on a particular #hashmark. There were more than 30 tweets in a span of 20 minutes, from perhaps a dozen tweetards — all of them theoretically real estate professionals.
Why theoretically? Because if you’re pissing away your day on Twitter, you’re not selling real estate, underwriting loans or doing anything else productive.
And all of those clients you claim to have cultivated via social media? They can see what a goof-off you are, just as much as I can. If I were steaming by the phone, waiting for you to return my call, I would just love to watch you kibitzing with your butt-buddies around the virtual water cooler. Now that’s service!
Here’s the only standard of value that matters to consumers: #DTFG (deliver the frolicking goods)! Your clients want for you to treat them the same way you yourself would want to be treated, were you in their place.
It’s easy to figure out what to do, harder to get the job done — harder still to get it done well. But that is all that matters. And if you’re not going to deliver the goods, then you, too, are one of the bums I want to see pushed out of this business.
Whether you’re a dinosaur pissing and moaning in the bullpen down at the brokerage office or a shiny new dino.bot giggling on-line with all the other shiny new dino.bots — you are the problem.
Until you are prepared to put your clients first — all the time — you have nothing to say about raising anything. Raise your frolicking standards! And if you don’t — if you won’t — hard-working dogs like me are going to help you find a job you can handle.
Kevin Cottrell says:
Couldn’t agree with you more. We see nonsense being spewed about Social Media everyday that will send so many realtors to the grave and out of the business. Guess that will be a good side-effect (reduced competition). That said, if the real estate community would just ask simple qualifying questions of any the so called social media gurus, they would quickly learn that the ‘strategies’ being sold to them are unproven and highly unproductive. I may have a gazillion followers on Twitter – but I don’t rely on that for my daily folly and to generate business directly. I’m out there everyday in the trenches selling and working with buyers and sellers. Its what I’m hired to do as a professional. In 2009, me and my team were able to help 240 families with a real estate transaction. My challenge for the social media gurus – show me an agent who spends all day online messing with social media who sold anything north of 50 transactions. Queue the crickets….
February 13, 2010 — 6:07 am
Mark Brian says:
I will continue to play around with SM as my schedule allows but I want verifiable proof also. I may see many hits from SM but it has not meant a property has sold.
So please #dtfg regarding SM actually selling real estate.
February 13, 2010 — 8:57 am
Russell Shaw says:
Amen!
February 13, 2010 — 10:06 am
Scott Schang says:
My guess with all of the social media sheep is that these are the exact same folks that will drop $500 – $1,000 on the latest and greatest get-rich-selling-real-estate-all-in-one-do-it-yourself kit, try it once then proclaim that it doesn’t work.
The only difference between the SM get rich quickers and the sales system get rich quickers is that now we know who they are because they tell EVERYBODY who they are and what they’re doing.
SM is a tool. Learn to leverage it to get in front of more people and you’ve added another arrow to the quiver.
February 13, 2010 — 11:50 am
Robert Watson says:
Couldn’t agree with your thought-process more regarding raising the bar. Unfortunately you seemed to have missed the same point most miss about social media and Twitter in particular. It us a communication tool. Imagine cutting your landline phone service and not using your mobile phone for a week. Now communicate with your clients. It’s the new phone and social interaction tool. Not an excuse for being a salesperson and treating your clients like gold.
February 13, 2010 — 8:32 pm
Susan Zanzonico says:
I have enjoyed Twitter …. it has given me the opportunity to get to know some nice people much better and has also been a useful resource for learning and information sharing. However, I’m a busy realtor, so I don’t have tons of time to spend on SM because I’m out with clients and thats a good thing!
February 15, 2010 — 8:06 pm
Mark Madsen says:
I support and encourage people in the industry to play on Twitter and Facebook for the pursuit of new clients.
The more time they spend building “social proof” on sites they don’t own, the less competition I have to pay attention to in the search engines.
This social media blitz over the past two years has bought me a little extra time to work on filling my blogs with content.
Couldn’t imagine how challenging it would be right now if all the agents and loan officers online were actually investing time in their own blogs.
However, I do enjoy the communication components of FB and Twitter. It’s a nice way to be in the same space of several friends without being pulled away from my daily tasks. For example, I’m closer to my sister and other family members now as a result of FB.
February 17, 2010 — 10:10 pm