i’m not one to be a pollyanna, nor am i mr. gloom and doom. i’m a glass half-empty, glass half-full kinda guy, depending on what day of the week you catch me. guess that makes me “fair and balanced.” well, maybe balanced. in an imbalanced sort of way.

but lately i’m driven to the point of madness with all the conflicting news reports and industry prognostications that are at odds with one another from one day to the next. purchase mortgage applications are up, pending home sales are down, showings are stagnant and closed transactions are off from a year ago. gdp estimates from earlier in the year are revised, showing economic growth much less than thought. new home sales are up.  oops, we meant down.  no wait. they’re flat.

latin anyone?

latin is a dead language. everyone knows that. but its reincarnation has come by way of statistical speak. very little of the statistics churned out make sense anymore, at least not to the average homeowner. and those statistics and revised statistics become mumbo jumbo to the real estate professional.  too much conflicting information. strike that. too much information. period. so what do we do? what can we rely on?

become a scout

native american scouts used to place an ear to the ground to feel the vibrations of riders often miles away. prior to the telegraph, railroad workers would touch the rails to see if a train was moving on the tracks.

it’s time we turned off the tv, folded up the newspaper, stopped listening to the radio and started listening to the street. placing an ear to the ground in our local markets and avoiding the macro malaise churned out by the media.   limit the input from the talking heads that are analyzing statistical reports that have very little to do with our markets.

real estate after all is local, not national. the national information helps to identify trends that affect the industry, but local conditions and events drive the local market.  how else can you explain areas of the country that defy the trends with price appreciation and single digit days-on-market statistics? guess they weren’t watching the news in that market…

put your head on the tracks

time to tune in to the local market, feel the vibrations and understand our individual market statistics intimately. and if it’s a train coming down those tracks, it might be best to step aside and let it go on through.

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contrived?  somewhat.  only the names have been changed to protect the ignor… er, innocent.  this scenario is playing out across the country as consumers find voice in blog sites, youtube videos and rating sites.  they’re taking matters into their own hands when they can’t get resolution, becoming digital town criers – warning anyone who will listen to stay away.  this means there’s no longer any place to hide for those offering unscrupulous business practices or poor service.  they’ll be ratted out eventually.

but what of the excellent companies and agents that have bent over backwards to provide a resolution to a consumer that has unreasonable expectations or demands?  are they going to be held hostage for fear of an internet smear campaign?

or take the scenario of the consumer that doesn’t complain to the agent or management, instead deciding she’s going to tell the world of her dissatisfaction with both the agent and the company.  she secures the domain name thiscompanysux.com and proceeds to post a blistering diatribe of why anyone in their right mind should avoid doing business with this firm and the agent.

there’s a lot of talk goin’ on out there.  better listen.

as sites like yelp, digg, outrageous agents and others take off and gain visibility with consumers, rating sites will proliferate to meet the demand of consumers that want to be heard. and since consumers are more likely to tell others when their experience has been less than satisfactory, this means that dissatisfied consumers will have more places to talk. which is why we need to listen.

listening in on the conversations on the web sounds daunting and much harder than it actually is.  you can use such simple (and free) tools as google alerts (www.google.com/alerts) and addictomatic (http://addictomatic.com), set up keyword searches through tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com) and twendz (www.twendz.com), or extensive search tools for a fee such as trackur (www.trackur.com), radian6 (www.radian6.com) and wool.labs’ webdig (http://woollabs.com).

regardless of what you use, you need to start listening to the conversations.

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Flickr image by Sparticus007

vacationing muse returns

after wading through 46 comments posted to the blog from escort companies in kiev, i’m ready to throw some blog spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.  and no, i didn’t abandon the blog – i was waiting for just the right moment for my muse to reappear and whisper in my ear.

that whispering became an ear-splitting shriek in recent weeks as i’ve talked with brokers from around the country and come to the realization that our industry could be headed for more trouble.  the reason?  the use of social media by agents and the complete disregard or lack of education in how to use these tools properly.

it’s all fun and games until somebody puts an eye out

i’m stoked more real estate professionals are jumping on board the social media bandwagon. they’re starting to recognize how blogs and social networks can impact their business positively by enlarging their marketing influence, reducing their advertising expenses and providing communication with their spheres.  but i’m also nervous that many of them are treating these new tools as if there were new (or no) rules, and not considering how some of the things they say and do in the social spaces can actually harm them.  and their companies.

which “o” are you?

what’s more surprising and more frightening is that brokers and managers have not stepped up to address the possible risks involved with their agents’ use of social media.  i’m seeing posts on facebook that clearly violate most states’ advertising requirements, and tweets that would cause ambulance chasing attorneys to salivate over the chance to sue an agent and company over their breach of fiduciary duty.  not to mention all the possible violations of article 12 of the realtor code of ethics. it’s crazy to say the least.

but what i can’t figure out is why we in management are not doing anything about it. is it because we’re overwhelmed?  the market is tough, deals are harder to come by and make stick, and we’ve got got to nurture and support our agents as they struggle through a difficult market.  surely we’ve got more important things to attend to than to worry about monitoring an agents blog?

or does the problem lie in the fact that we’re oblivious to what’s going on out there? not tuned in to the fact that thousands of agents are rushing to the social media party because it’s the happenin’ place?  sure, we’ve heard of facebook, myspace, twitter and the like – it’s all over the media.  but aren’t these sites for people who have too much time on their hands?  sharing inappropriate photos and talking about what they had for breakfast?  who’d use these networks for business?

the other, more dangerous possibility is that we’re aware of these risks, but we’re choosing to ignore them.  placing our head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich (yeah, i know – they don’t really do this, but it’s a metaphor).  hoping social media goes away, or that our agents will ignore these diversions.  unfortunately, neither is going to happen.  social networking and blogging are not fads, and are not going to go away.  and our sales associates are not going to ignore them, when millions of consumers are using these sites to connect and communicate.  not to mention that agents recognize these sites are a great way to market and prospect.  for free.  not bad in this market

time to face the music

regardless of the reasoning or cause (which “o” are you?), we in management are going to have to accept that these tools can be used effectively for our business, as long as we’ve set some ground rules.  so, if you’ve identified which “o” you are, here are some simple steps to get working on those ground rules:

• overwhelmed – get help.  pure and simple.  this business isn’t going to get any easier, and my experience has shown that it gets more challenging every year.  gear up.
• oblivious – get educated.  the world is changing ever so rapidly around us, and if we’re not in tune with those changes, we won’t be able to adapt.  and if evolution has taught us anything, it’s that those that can’t adapt become extinct.
• ostrich – pull your head out of…um…the sand. thinking social media will go away if we ignore it is on par with thinking computerized mls information was a fad.

call me crazy, but that’s the way i see it.

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