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Category: Blogging (page 24 of 84)

February 21, 2008

Gene Simmons: Originality is Overrated

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

I’m a Dan Kennedy disciple, a card-carrying member of the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle.  I read his book, The Ultimate Marketing Plan, six years ago, and was hooked.  Gene Simmons is one of the keynote speakers at the GKIC Super Conference, this April.  I listened to an interview with Gene Simmons today about his message for this April’s Super Conference.  Oh, if you’re wondering why I listen when a 70’s rock and roller talks, it’s because he’s a marketer; a damned fine one.   Here are some snippets from the interview.  I think it may give you a glimpse to why I think the way I do about marketing.

1-You only get the respect you demand.

Gene tells a story about his advice to a fifteen-year old girl.  He advised her to get over the idea that people’s perception of you somehow defines you.  He continued by saying that you are only as important as you believe you are; how you perceive yourself is eventually how others behold you. 

Does your marketing message convey that?  I’m not talking about ego.  Do you truly believe that you are an expert agent or originator?  This isn’t about “act, as if”, it’s about demonstrated expertise.  Can you deliver the goods?  If your self- perception is less than expert, correct the flaws that hold you back. 

2- Originality is overrated.

I don’t think I could agree more.  To the doers come the riches, not the thinkers.  Anyone can have a great idea; it’s the implementers, the innovators, the action-based people who change the world.  Gene Simmons called KISS a pastiche; part rock and roll, part comic book, and part horror show.  A great example of pastiche,in theater,  is Quentin Tarantino.  Neither Gene Simmons nor Quentin Tarantino “created”, they innovated. 

Are you constantly planning or constantly doing?  I talk to agents and originators, daily, about their customer acquisition systems  Sadly, most explanations are long on ideas and short on action. 

3- Marketing is the most important thing you can do.  If the market is crowded, move the market.

Gene Simmons told the story of the Citrus Growers of America.  They crafted a message that the first thing you should do, Read more

February 20, 2008

Comments to Contacts to Clients: Bawld Guy Talking…at UNCHAINED.

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

Sometimes, you don’t have to look far for expertise; it’s right in your own backyard.

bawld guyJeff Brown took me to lunch, yesterday. Our lunches usually last a couple of hours. We crunch numbers for investors, tell stories about the Padres, and try to start conversations, with the server, for his bachelor son. Yesterday was different because I had an agenda. I wanted Jeff Brown to participate as a faculty member of UNCHAINED.

I crafted my sales pitch as a sped down the 805 (remember when I talked about scripting?) . I reviewed all of the reasons it made sense to participate and tried to translate those reasons into tangible benefits for Jeff.

The sales pitch lasted 3 seconds. Jeff accepted because he’s the kind of guy who believes in abundance. He wants you to wildly succeed regardless of what’s in it for him. That philosophy is important because it’s why Jeff is so successful. He makes people wealthy first, then worries about how he gets paid.

I talk about bridging the digital divide; Jeff has perfected it. Jeff Brown can teach you how to turn a comment into a contact and a contact into a client. Jeff is a guerrilla commenter. He find opportunities in comment threads and capitalizes on them like a halfback hits the seven hole.

If you’re coming to UNCHAINED, you should be thinking of questions for Jeff. Here are some of mine:

1- How do you determine that a commenter is a good fit for you?

2- When is the right time to initiate contact?

3- How do you deal with “angry” emails?

I have the luxury of face time and can tell you, it’s worth every minute. Please welcome Professor Bawld Guy to the UNCHAINED faculty.

PS- Jeff is truly an amazing online marketer. His branding efforts are second to none. When my six-year old daughter hears that I’m on the phone with him, she whispers to my wife (he’s the bawld guy, right?) . His branding is so effective that we have to explain to her teachers Read more

February 20, 2008

What would you expect for the BloodhoundBlog Unchained keynote event? How about two sharp minds, two sharp wits, exploring two very different points of view — all for your benefit?

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

BloodhoundBlog made its reputation, from the very beginning, digging up bones to pick with vendors. And of all the vendors that I, personally, have picked on, surely the one I have picked on worst is Redfin.com and its CEO, Glenn Kelman. But of all those vendors, of all those exalted CEOs, only one has come here to beard the Bloodhounds in our own kennel. And only one has called me after hours at home to try to help me see his point of view.

That one, solitary maverick CEO? The incomparable Glenn Kelman, of course. Call him what you will, he is sui generis, an entirely unique specimen.

And because — take him as you find him — he is unique and smart and funny and thoroughly original, I am proud to announce that Glenn will be joining us for BloodhoundBlog Unchained, the Social Media Marketing conference we will be hosting for real estate professionals in Phoenix from May 18-20.

Kelman will be one half of our keynote event, a presidential-style debate on New Wave versus Old School Real Estate Brokerage.

And who will be defending the more-traditional strategies of residential real estate representation? None other than the matchless Russell Shaw, mega-producing Realtor nonpariel.

But wait: If you’re expecting a food fight, put down those mashed potatoes! Both of these gentlemen are too bright and too self-assured to get bogged down in acrimony or name-calling.

Here’s what you should expect instead: A moderated debate with introductory speeches, responses, and then a flow of questions and answers from a panel of real estate luminaries — and directly from the audience. The purpose of BloodhoundBlog Unchained is to explore the intersection of Social Media Marketing with personal and direct marketing, so we know going in that there is validity on both sides of the debate. We will benefit from the diverse viewpoints of two masters of the real estate marketing craft.

Plus which, it should be a boat-load of fun. Both men are naturally funny, both possessed of a sharply poignant yet charmingly self-deprecating wit.

Even so, their debate probably won’t be a love-fest, either. But if something in the middle Read more

February 19, 2008

Greg Swann Is Right

by

Mega-Producing Realtor

Author website

I thought that post title would get your attention. I’m not a regular lawyer. But it does seem odd that no one has even dared to ask the obvious question, “Is liar liarMarc Davison a Little Nebbish”? Please understand, I am not saying that he is a little nebbish. But if Greg calling Marc a little nebbish is what got this whole mess going, I think it is a valid question. Why the big fuss over Greg calling Marc a little nebbish? Of all the things Greg has said and done it seems a bit odd that it is now important to unsubscribe to BHB and or stop posting here. I guess advocating the end of the NAR or all state licensing laws or all mandatory continuing education or the end of dual agency, not to mention the separation of the buyer agent commission from the seller – each and every one a common and typical and startling, in your face, post from Greg Swann. Lets see, this is the guy who went from just starting his blog to one of the most highly read real estate blogs in existence in less than a year – and this little faction of the real estate community is just now announcing, “I’ve unsubscribed”.

Yes. I found it interesting, thought provoking reading this past year but now that he has called Marc a little nebbish – hell, that is going too far. I will never read it again. Never. I’ve unsubscribed. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Yes, I am also one of the original thought people who just now decided that this was simply too much. Too far. No more Greg Swann or anything on his blog. I will never read it again and will get the existing writers there to also leave him. That will teach him. All 50 or 60 of us are G – O – N – E. Gone. Forever. Never again.

Wow.

Wow. Also, I don’t believe the never again part. Each person who Read more

February 18, 2008

The Odysseus Medal: Amy Winehouse is not in the house

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Judging this contest, I get to read a lot of talented writers. But only one can connect Amy Winehouse to real estate and have it all make the most delightful kind of sense. The Odysseus Medal this week goes to Geno Petro for She tried to make me buy a rehab…:

Truth is; I can barely swing a hammer….Let me rephrase that; I can swing the hell out of a hammer but just not in a constructive way. I am not the fixer-upper type, in case we haven’t met. (See mug shot above for clarity.) I probably err to the side of demolition, if anything.

That being said, my lovely wife (and occasional muse) found a possible second home that in theory, could fulfill our retirement needs during those forthcoming platinum years that Dennis Hopper pitches on the Ameriprise commercials during prime time every night. All things equal, he’s my favorite corporate sell out so far this century, that Dennis Hopper.  Cool, quirky and rich beyond words, for sure.

“60 is the new 40,” exclaims my man, sharply dressed in black, The Spencer Davis Group blaring in the background, and looking unlike like any beshaded 72 year old cat I’ve ever met.  And I’m all over it. According to DH, I’ve got 40 more good ones ahead of me. According to his math and blueprint for living, I’m barely 34.  When he comes on the plasma in high def I get a sudden urge to run out and invest in something spectacular before I lose another precious second. I yearn to  join the expedition, or at the very least, embark on the journey to financial freedom.  After all, one man’s destination is another man’s starting point. Ask any truly wealthy person (9 figures+ by my definition) and I’m certain he will tell you as much. “It’s the journey, not the…” whatever.

But the ‘hidden gem’ my wife came across this past weekend, a shack on the Tennessee River, needs some serious attention; more attention than I’m prepared to pay for, quite frankly. She found it on the Film Location site our own house is registered with (unbeknownst to me until a few months ago). And in case you didn’t know, there is a market Read more

February 18, 2008

The Two Sins Writers Commit That Business Bloggers Can’t Afford

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

Here are two tips to help you avoid failure in real estate/mortgage weblogging:

1- Don’t commit the first sin; being boring. Make doing business with you fun for your customers. NBC Radio did a survey of radio personality Howard Stern’s audience. Half loved him and half hated him. The former group listened for an average of something like 25 minutes, the latter listened for something like 47 minutes. The reason both groups gave for listening? They wanted to see what he was going to say next.

Consider this first post:

Mortgage rates have declined some 1/2 of 1% in the past two weeks. We advised you to float your rate, back on December 27, 2007 but I warned you that the decline may be short-lived.

Lock all loans at application. If you have a loan in processing, and are floating the mortgage rate, lock your rate. The worldwide liquidity injection has had its desired effect. The anticipated Fed rate cut, on January 30, 2008, is already built into the pricing. there is more risk to mortgage rates rising than there is reward for holding out for a lower rate.

BORING!!!! What the hell was the author thinking? Now, let’s see what happens after he asked his readers what was wrong (fortunately, they gave it to him straight):

I fell in love with ARMs again, after a five month hiatus. Hey! It’s Valentine’s Day so I can tell you a love story. This love affair has been going on since I was in my 20s. The sexy allure of adjustable-rate mortgages were replaced by the stability of that old battle-axe, the fixed rate loan. The culprit was the flat yield curve. I dig curves so my eyes popped out of my head when I opened my e-mail this morning.

Adjustable-rate mortgages walked into my life like a wild-eyed, long-haired, bombshell on a Harley, toting a bottle of tequila. Normally, I balance her beauty with the risk she presents but I promise you, she’s a changed woman. This time, she promises to stay put for a ten-year period. Frankly, ten years is plenty of time for me to Read more

February 18, 2008

Three important real estate questions for an early Monday morning

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Another killer day yesterday, almost 1,600 unique visitors on a Sunday. We’d have been lucky to have half this on a Sunday two months ago — and we were doing great then!

Just everyday content — lender stuff, Realtor stuff and the long tail. But here are three interesting questions to ask yourself this morning:

1. In the greatest real estate agent in the world contest, how did Greg Boser get to be number one — for now?

2. Why is Eric Blackwell going to win the contest in the end?

3. If you have a geographical listing farm, how can you dominate every possible search term referring to that farm with multiple page one entries?

Eric already figured out the answer to question number one, and he may or may not share his results with you.

I think he’s pledged to tell you the answer to question number two, once he wins the contest.

For the answer to question number three, you’ll have to come to Unchained. As before, I’m not terribly interested in being your buddy, and I for damned sure don’t want to be your wet nurse. But we have some brand new ideas about driving traffic — just the kind of seeing around corners ideas you expect from BloodhoundBlog. If you’re in business to make money, we’re going to show you a better way to be found by your clients — and a better way of working with them once they find you.

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February 17, 2008

Just as a reminder, the theme song for the upcoming BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference is “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Oh, good grief.

Normally, when the RE.net goes through one of these public breast-beating episodes, I just stay out of it. I don’t read the posts, first because they’re stupid and comical, and second because there’s nothing that I’m going to say that’s not going to fan the flames. The arguments always turn on the Fallacies Tu Quoque and Two Wrongs Make a Right, as do all appeals to the mob, and people running in mobs are just an embarrassment to the idea of being a human being.

This is unintentionally hilarious, though, so I thought I’d quote it. If you don’t know what’s going on, I promise you it does not matter.

I’m going to leave my opinions out of the discussion in order to leave more space for these people to see the error of their ways, apologize profusely, and re-enter our community in a constructive manner.

Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Greg Swann, founder of BloodhoundBlog, which is justifiably famous for telling the straight truth, and this seems like an apposite moment to remind you that the theme song for the upcoming BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference is “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty.

Here are the Heartbreakers performing that song at the Super Bowl:

If you’re looking for buddies — kindly folks who will forgive all your short-comings, at least until it becomes expedient to turn on you — this is probably not the place for you. If your plan is to commit egregious acts of cupidity or stupidity and somehow escape withering criticism — change the channel. If you entertain a Romper-Room-like dream of playing placidly with all the other special kids on the short bus — you’re on the wrong bus.

If, on the other hand, you want to learn how to organize your working life so that you never again have to take shit from morons, you’ve come to the right place. We are all about the ninety-and-nine here, and we are all about the work — deploying better ideas to do our work better, faster and more profitably. I don’t go out of my way Read more

February 17, 2008

The Odysseus Medal competition — Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

We have 18 entries on the short list this week, out of a long list of 74 posts.

Vote for the People’s Choice Award here. You can use the voting interface to see each nominated post, so comparison is easy.

Ahem: Please don’t spam all your friends to come and vote for you. First, what we’re interested in is what is popular among people who would have been voting anyway. And second, I’ll eliminate you for cheating. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Voting runs through to 12 Noon MST Monday. I’ll announce the winners of this week’s awards soon thereafter.

Here is this week’s short-list of Odysseus Medal nominees:

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“Brian Boero — Partial vision Partial vision“,
“Brian Brady — Are You Blogging For Speed? Are You Blogging For Speed?“,
“Dan Green — Ignoring Adjectives How Ignoring Adjectives Can Improve Your Understanding Of Mortgages“,
“Dan Green — Mortgage Rates Why Mortgage Rates Don’t Look Like They’re Coming Back Down Any Time Soon“,
“Geno Petro — She tried to make me buy a rehab She tried to make me buy a rehab…“,
“Harvey Edgecombe — Barack Obama versus the US Economy Barack Obama versus the US Economy“,
“Jay Thompson — Dale Stinton Stops By NARWisdom.com NAR CEO Dale Stinton Stops By NARWisdom.com“,
“Kris Berg — A lesson in push(y) marketing. A lesson in push(y) marketing.“,
“Kris Berg — In sickness or in health In sickness or in health – It’s viral.“,
“Mike Farmer — Due Diligence and Real Estate Due Diligence and Real Estate“,
“Mike Farmer — The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness“,
“Mike Price — Armchair Quarterbacking Real Estate 2.0 Armchair Quarterbacking Real Estate 2.0“,
“Morgan Brown — McCain’s Mum on Mortgage Reform McCain’s Mum on Mortgage Reform“,
“Morgan Brown — New conforming limits New conforming limits – what will it do to jumbo loan rates?“,
“Nick Bostic — Save the World (and some money) Save the World (and some money)“,
“Teri Lussier — The training of the shrewd The training of the shrewd“,
“Todd Carpenter — Why Google Page Rank Matters Perception Is Reality, Why Google Page Rank Matters“,
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    • February 16, 2008

    Thanks to BloodhoundBlog’s readers for being a part of our biggest week ever

    by

    Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

    Author website

    We’ve been doing very well since the start of the year, but this week just ending was the biggest ever in the history of BloodhoundBlog.

    Our file server crashed for over four hours this evening or we would have broken 14,000 hard clicks for the week. Our main readership comes to us by RSS and email subscriptions, but hard clicks are often the source of new subscribers. We had two days this week where BloodhoundBlog scored over 2,500 unique visitors, more than double what we were doing at the end of last year.

    What was the huge controversy that brought all this traffic? You guessed it: Conforming loan rates.

    This was a big week for us, too, because we were finally able to launch BloodhoundBlog Unchained. There are a million Realtors and a million lenders out there who need to find a way to blend their traditional marketing into the Web 2.0 world, and we’re grateful that we have the platform and the opportunity to teach what we know — even as we are learning everything we can.

    How did BloodhoundBlog get this big, this fast? We’ve never cared about traffic, and because of that we’ve never cowered or catered or kow-towed to anyone — and we never will. Speaking only for myself, I have never cared about being popular — very much the contrary! What I do care about is telling the truth — completely. That we are where we are is as much a testament to your integrity as it is to ours. For this I am very grateful.

    But hang on tight. We’re in for a hell of a ride — and we’re just getting started.

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    February 16, 2008

    Be Polite and Kind. To Everyone.

    by

    Mega-Producing Realtor

    Author website

    I don’t think it is right to attack people who have a social personality. All harsh attacks should be reserved for those to be_polite_and_kindexhibit anti-social traits. Whatever is necessary to expose them and render those people impotent is not only alright, it is vital for the survival of society. But to attack the personality of someone because they hold a different viewpoint or propose ideas that one does not agree with is an attack on the social fabric that binds groups together and therefore the group itself. The fact that someone is more intelligent than another (and would therefore have superior powers of observation) is seldom (never?) a reason to treat the other person with rudeness. We are all here together. It is good that we have differing views. That is what makes communication interesting.

    The blogosphere is a community. It is a group.

    February 15, 2008

    Unchained Pioneers: Podcast with Brad Coy and Andy Kaufman on how they hope to benefit by coming to BloodhoundBlog Unchained

    by

    Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
    Structured Debt and Equity
    Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

    Author website

    I had a great talk with Social Media Marketing pioneers Andy Kaufman and Brad Coy this afternoon. They were among the first folks to register for BloodhoundBlog Unchained. If you click on the podcast linked below, they’ll tell you in their own words the benefits they hope to bring home from their trip to Phoenix.

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    February 15, 2008

    The training of the shrewd

    by

    Rust Belt Realtor

    Author website

    Wearing an outrageous Cosby sweater and sitting at a space age desk. Hand gestures that would appear to be practiced from the Floyd Wickman How-to series. I cringed when I saw the video. Andy Kaufman blogged about it, looking for the RE.net responses, my first thought was “Are you kiddin’ me?” Is the information dated? Is it relevant? Does it have a place in real estate today?

    I think the truth is not what I want it to be.

    Like it or not, I think Saul’s basic message is still relevant for many in the real estate world. A basic, gentle message about basic marketing, given by someone in a sweater similar to one of TV’s most beloved dads, well, that’s a comfort to many. I think Saul may understand his market better than I first gave him credit for.

    A top producing agent in my office has listings because of the little boxes of mints with her picture and contact info printed on the box. Really. A top producing agent in a neighboring county wears a Carhartt jacket, a John Deere cap, jeans, and steel toed work boots on listing appointments. He lists and sells farms.

    Where are you spending your time and money? Is it reaching the people you want to reach? Spending time online without really understanding why you are there is as effective as showing up to list a pig farm in your Jimmy Choos. Honey, those shoes are real purty, now how you gonna slog through the pig slop?

    I learned a lot by watching Saul’s video. I learned that there is still a place for it. I learned that whatever you do, you have be smart about it, think about it, consider who you are marketing to and what is the most effective way to reach them. Maybe Saul is doing just that. So who are you marketing to? Anyone who reads the message? Do you carefully select your market and tailor the message to them, or do they select you, and once you’ve been selected, do you adjust the message to whoever keeps showing up in your Google analytics? Are you looking to dominate one market, or to get a piece of any market Read more

    February 14, 2008

    We’re finally ready to start selling BloodhoundBlog Unchained tickets — and you can get yours at the special Guerrilla price

    by

    Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

    Author website

    We finally sorted out the details on the venue for BloodhoundBlog Unchained. We’re going to be at The Heard Museum Event Center in Downtown Phoenix on May 18-20th, 2008. Note the slight date change; that was a wrinkle in our negotiations.

    The facility itself is beyond cool — a vast Phoenix mansion converted to a world-renowned museum of Native American culture and history — along with a spacious conference center and break-out rooms. Docent-guided tours of the museum will be available after conference hours.

    But the big news today is that we’re finally able to start selling tickets for the event. And to reward the true Guerrillas who have hung in here with us through three months of arm-wrestling, we’re offering the full package — a $350 value — for $149.

    That’s a limited-time offer, needless to say. We have limited seating, so we want to make sure the grunts on the ground get first crack at availability. By the time the corporate weenies pull out their gold cards, the price of admission will be quite a bit higher.

    So: Get busy. Everything Unchained will be happening at the BloodhoundBlog Unchained weblog. If you go there now, you can click on the PayPal button to make sure that there will be a seat for you at BloodhoundBlog Unchained.

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    Inventing Real Estate 2.0

    Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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