MOO!
I am a Seth Godin junkie. I have devoured everything he has written since, well, he started writing. And I BELIEVE in the concept of the PURPLE COW.
Yesterday I attended my second Raincamp which boasted leaders in Real Estate Technology the likes of: Zillow, Docusign, MarketLeader, ActiveRain and (a personal favorite) Estately.com (Sheesh! How fortunate I am to live in the corner of the world where most of the best and brightest Real Estate technology POWERHOUSES also lay their heads at night?!)
Highlights of the day spent at RainCamp?
Most valuable for me was another refresher course on SEO. More importantly was finding out how the large online Real Estate clearing house companies treat my posts. Long tail descriptions are the Name-of-the-GAME.
I was impressed by Spenser Rascoff from Zillow. He spoke about Zillow's commitment to support Real Estate Agents. He also shared Zillow's humble understanding that the information they provide the public is an ESTIMATE based on AVERAGES compiled by a COMPUTER MODULE. And their deeper understanding and support of the agent community as the RESOURCE for market value. I needed to hear that.
Helpful was the long list of sites that will serve to expand my Real Estate tool-belt. Most of which are free services. I really like FREE.
Missing at this RainCamp, though, were a step-by-step for how to write a long-tail ad (I get it...but did every one who paid to attend?).
Also missing was a deeper emphasis on the importance of personal branding...the aforementioned "Purple Cow". Yeah, it's great to send traffic to your site...but what are they going to find when they arrive? And, are you consistently being the Purple Cow...everywhere you are? Or, are you sometimes blue, sometimes, pink, sometimes just a regular cow??? Being found online is one thing, but have you only provided information...or have you established enough about WHO YOU ARE that a perfect stranger will trust/feel they "know you" well enough to decide to CONNECT with you? That would have been nice to talk a lot more about. (Hey! Ben, Jonathan....guys! Call me. I'll do that part.)
Which leads into the obvious...we are still a person-to-person business and only make income when we DO BUSINESS with REAL PEOPLE. SEO is great IF it produces RESULTS. SEO is NOT GREAT if it keeps you shackled to your computer day after day trying to get rated on search engines. Hmmm...it would have been nice to have some FREE TOOLS introduced that specifically unlock the thing most agents find themselves lacking...T-I-M-E. (I know they are out there.)
Ultimately, RainCamp is a worthwhile experience, and worth the day you will need to give it. But, in this agent's humble opinion, (this is for my friends running ActiveRain) it would have been better if Bellingham's camp had followed the agenda of the Seattle Camp. MORE content, more hands-on, less "motivational moments" and more sharing of results from Real Estate practitioners experiencing successful business outcomes from their online efforts.
Seattle rocked my socks off...Bellingham was ok.
Live good. Be happy. Attend RainCamp.
-Mimi
Mimi Osterdahl / The Muljat Group Realtors / Bellingham, Washington / www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com
Founding President, Northwest Washington Women's Council of Realtors
When I became a Realtor nearly 14 years ago we had "The Book", the little metal key to open boxes (which I still carry on my key ring) and printed forms in triplicate ("Make sure to press real hard when you are signing.")
Since then we have gone through the uproar around releasing our "power over the information" by going digital - which everyone thought would be the "end of the industry".
(Nope)
We have changed the online provider for the MLS (3 times!), gone digital with our key boxes (with two major overhauls), consolidated to one MLS for the state (for a while there, our office had to input all information to TWO different MLS's for every listing, every change order, etc...glad that didn't last!), broker's won't hold earnest money anymore and we now have Buyer's Agency/. I have seen at least 6 MAJOR changes to Real Estate Law and Agency Law, we digitized the forms, the emergence of online clearing houses for information and online agents has become 'normal', I have learned to blog, twitter, facebook, build websites, I no longer have to wait for film to get developed or cut and paste together (with real scissors and tape!) flyers or marketing materials, I have upgraded my phone 4 times, my computer 4 times and have occupied 3 different offices at the Muljat Group. I have been in Buyer's Markets, Seller's Markets, a recession, and a "gold rush", I have seen REO's, and Short Sales, and bidding wars, and (even) lotteries for home purchases. I have seen interest rates close to 10% and as low as 4%. I have seen an overhaul to financing guidelines, appraiser guidelines, inspector licensing and the advent of Form 17 (with it's most recent connection to the purchase and sale agreement through mutual agreement). And this summer, we will (finally) make some MASSIVE changes to licensing and continuing education requirements for new agents. (even our titles will change from "agent" to "broker")
Through all of this shift, morph, change, I continued being needed by people to help them navigate the buying and selling of homes, protected by well written contracts and I found really cool new ways to market the homes I have listed to the
WHOLE WORLD.
Is there a moral to the story? I guess the only thing we can ever truly count on in this business is CHANGE...so, I say,
EMBRACE IT!
Live good. Be happy. Embrace change.
-Mimi
Mimi Osterdahl / GRI, ABR, ABS / The Muljat Group Realtors / Bellingham, Washington
Founding President, Northwest Washington Women's Council of Realtors
www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com / mimi@muljatgroup.com
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| Wooden Boat Festival |
Hello again Active Rain...it's been a while.
I stopped by to check out my blog today, and saw that ALL of the Postlets I have posted are inactive. Reason : They are all SOLD!!! WOW!!! It has been a GREAT SUMMER for Real Estate in Bellingham and Whatcom County Washington! I have quite a number of new listing Postlets that never made it here, because I have been too stinkin' BUSY this summer to update the myriad of sites I belong to.
(It sure would be nice to post to my Active Rain site using the ADD THIS feature. Does anyone know how to do that?)
It's good to be busy. It's good to be a Realtor. It's good to help people buy houses to call "HOME". It's good to remember that Real Estate has and always will move in tides, Buyer's markets, Seller's markets, Buyer's markets, Seller's markets...in and out, and so-on and so-on... And it is GREAT that I am now a Washington State Certified Instructor!!!! Yippee!!! (More blogging on where that is going to take me later....)
It's also good to ride bikes in the rain. Eat sushi. Fall in love. Buy a house and renovate it. And read a book on the kayak while the crab pot sits in the water. Just a few more reasons I have not been by my Active Rain blog lately. :)
And so it goes as we close-out the Summer of 2009:
Live good. Be happy. Make hay.
-Mimi
Mimi Osterdahl / The Muljat Group Realtors / Bellingham, Washington / www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com / Founding President, Northwest Washington Women's Council of Realtors
I went to my Real Estate Masterminds group yesterday. Real Estate Masterminds is a group of agents from different offices who have decided to come together to form a 'collective', to meet twice a month and share business ideas and inspiration with eachother. What a fantastic, Live good. Be happy...FRESH approach to real estate opportunity! Through being open with each other about what makes our businesses prosper, we make each other better agents, we inspire each other with new ideas, we pump each other up. WOW! I love this business philosphy!
At our meeting yesterday, we took personality profiles. This exercise was meant to give clarity to who we are, what our strengths are...but, also very importantly, to help us understand that all people are different. And, when we go to meet with a client, to not only bring our own "personality" to the table, but to be cognicent of the fact that our client's process information differently than we do, and that we should meet them where THEY are. AWESOME exercise!
What truly came out of the exercise for me, is that, to be successful, truly successful, in all aspects of my life (business, personal, spiritual) I need to not only embrace who I am today, but also embrace some CHANGE. (Yikes! Change!) Yes, if I want a different outcome tomorrow, I need to be willing to take on the 'risk' of being willing to 'change' today. To do something differently than I have done it before. Willing to step out of my comfort zone, try something new that might not immediately 'feel' comfortable. COOL!
So, I am writing down the areas where I am comfortable-vs-those that need change. And in my quest for a better tomorrow, setting goals for change so I can grow.
I had this quote in my Fridge Friendlyⓒ mAds from long ago, and it just fit so perfectly with the message from Masterminds that I thought I might send it out as inspriation for you too.
"Growth means change
and change involves risk,
stepping from the known
to the unknown,"
-George Shinn
Live good. Be happy. Grow.
-Mimi
Mimi Osterdahl / The Muljat Group Realtors / Bellingham, Washington / www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com
2008 President, Northwest Washington Women's Council of Realtors
What does Live good. Be happy mean to your next real estate transaction? Ask me: LiveGoodBeHappy@gmail.com or visit me @ www.LiveGoodBeHappy.com Mimi Osterdahl, GRI, ABR, ABS, GREEN Real Living
Getting Geeky in the Northwest
Through Live Good Be Happy's partnership with KW International, Ben Kinney and Greenworks Real Estate we are concieving the structure for a brand new WOW(!!) tech-concept Real Estate hub in the heart of the South Lake Union District!
A green-minded "real estate tech hive" in an urban internet cafe setting. A street level, community-friendly, swanky, comfy place where the techie, weirdo, mobile, proto-Realtor of the future can hang their hat, conduct business and GROW in their trade.
Our goal is a Real Estate Office that provides the mobile-wireless-paperless-worker-bee of our industry a home base where they find synergy and buzz. Where like-kind Realtors and Business Partners can gather for tech-centered teaching, tech-centered business opportunities, surrounded by tech-minded business allies.
This is NOT your Mom's (or Dad's) real estate office.
Are you ready to say "NO!!"?
Say "NO!" to lateral files!
Say "NO" to land lines!
Say "NO" to 50/50 broker splits!
Say "NO" to a lack of tech support!
Say "NO" to massive desk fees!
Say "NO" to paper!
Say "NO" to antiquated office meetings about broken Fax machines.
Say "NO" to over paying for office space you never use.
JUST SAY "YES!".
Say "YES!" to a comfortable, dynamic, synergistic, green work environment surrounded by the best and brightest tech agents in the industry! Say "YES!" to tech-driven speakers, tech-teaching, tech-coaching, tech-lead generating, say "YES!" to e-edge (the VERY BEST real estate platform in the industry), regular business planning break out sessions and easy access to trusted allied resources! Say "YES!" to fair splits that cap. Say "YES!" to profit share! (Ummmm, yeah! I said PROFIT SHARE. Fewer hard costs like paper, phones and individual private offices equals more profits which equals MORE sharing!)
A lucky few will be chosen to help us finalize our office concepts and designs through participation in our Geeky Real Estate Incubator.
If you think you are Geek enough, contact me through geekyrealestate@gmail.com.
Tell me how geeky you are.
Tell me you love digital signatures and have gone paperless.
Send me a photo of your favorite technology.
Impress me with your Geekhood.
The biggest Geeks will be invited to our Incubator program.
40,000 Keller Williams Realty Associates Are Live on eEdge, the Real Estate Industry’s First Comprehensive Business Platform
AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 25, 2011) – Keller Williams Realty announced today that, less than five months since its launch, more than 40,000 associates have adopted and are utilizing eEdge, the company’s complete, online lead-to-close business solution.
eEdge, a 2011 Inman Innovator Award finalist for Most Innovative Real Estate Service, is the real estate industry’s first fully-integrated front and backend platform for real estate professionals. The single platform enables agents to:
Since inception, eEdge was designed to provide a one-stop shop where associates manage all their business rather than logging into multiple systems to manage daily tasks. The company, along with eEdge partner Market Leader (NASDAQ: LEDR), have integrated additional products and services seamlessly into the eEdge platform.
“We realize that every associate’s business is different," said KW Executive Director of IT Cary Sylvester. “That’s why since the very earliest days of planning eEdge, we knew we had to build a platform that could support the addition of the most cutting-edge technology and marketing tools in our industry."
The first of these integrations is Market Leader’s Professional Edition, which gives eEdge users additional functionality including: virtual tours, deluxe listing packages and Craigslist postings. At the same time, Market Leader’s best-selling RealtyGenerator product is also fully compatible with eEdge, and offers robust team accountability, internet lead generation and conversion solutions to thousands of Keller Williams associates.
Development of the product continues, as the roll-out of the paperless transaction component of eEdge is more than 77 percent complete and on target for company-wide implementation by September 2011.
“The speed at which our associates have adopted and embraced eEdge has exceeded all expectations and is a testament to the outstanding execution by our people and by our partners at Market Leader and DotLoop," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty.
Cindy Gomez, an associate with Keller Williams Realty in Pearland, Texas said, “eEdge has allowed me to pick up more listings! It allows me to create impressive presentations, get documents to and from clients easily, and I can find all the training videos with the click of a button.
“Keller Williams is an innovative real estate industry leader, and we are proud to be their partner in delivering this groundbreaking software to their 80,000 associates across the United States and Canada. We look forward to the continued expansion of the eEdge platform and in helping both Keller Williams and their associates continue to grow their businesses and exceed their goals," said Ian Morris, CEO of Market Leader.
About Keller Williams Realty, Inc.:
Keller Williams Realty Inc. is the second-largest real estate franchise operation in the United States, with 700 offices and more than 80,000 associates in the United States and Canada. The company has grown exponentially since the opening of the first Keller Williams Realty office in 1983, and continues to cultivate its agent-centric culture that emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real estate properties. For more information, or to search for homes for sale visit Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com).
At KW YOUR success is our goal.
Really?
YES! REALLY!
At KW, we like to think we stand out from other real estate firms in many ways, but it is our Culture, Education, Profit Share and Technology in particular that define KW as an industry innovator and leader.
At KW our focus is helping associates realize their fullest potential. We strive to offer limitless opportunities for growth, support and achievement within a cooperative environment that offers a true sense of team and belonging.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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