Why Do Some Brokers Do Well in Bad Times?

Written by on May 8, 2008 in Differentiation, Money, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

Because they’re consistent in investing and improving their business in both good times & bad times.

I hear the same objections over & over regarding investing in their business. In good times many brokers say “Why should I spend any money to market myself or my properties? Business is so good, these properties just sell themselves.” Then they go play golf.

In bad times they say “Business is too slow right now. I can’t afford to spend and invest in my business. I’m going to cut way back till things get better.” Then they wait.

But the brokers who are successful in bad times are the ones who take a consistent approach to investing and improving their business in good times & bad. This works because it lengthens the good times and shortens the bad. As they continue to improve & invest in their business they put themselves in a position where they have more opportunities and more lucrative transactions. So when the market begins to turn south their opportunity pool is much deeper than otherwise, thus extending their good business.

They not only make more money but they also take deals off the table that could have been there for you.

When times are bad the same brokers continue to invest & improve their business Their down market is shorter than others. Why? For two reasons. First when many other brokers scale back their efforts those who maintain a strong presence have a greater chance of being noticed. Second, for the most part, the market pendulum will swing back the other way and when it does, those who have continued to invest & improve will catch the upturn much earlier than others. They not only make more money but they also take deals off the table that could have been there for you.

Cam Boyd recently hired a full time marketing person – in a down market. By doing this he’s positioned himself to catch opportunities much earlier and free his time & focus to find & properly market those opportunities.

There will be no green light for a better market and by the time you read about it, a ton of money will have already been made.

Video of the Week – Your Strings Ad

Written by on May 3, 2008 in Marketing, Real Estate, Video of the Week - No Comments

It’s that time of year again where everyone is all in a twit about their Strings magazine ad. Headshots, font styles, ad sharing, the list of things to get done goes on & on.

But before you say yes to that final proof (for this publication or any other) take 60 seconds to watch this video. You’ll be glad you did.

(If you can’t see the video click here.)
At the risk of giving the video away I’d ask, how does your ad measure up? Given the context of the event and the amount of competing ads is your ad really good enough? Maybe spending sometime reflecting on this video and how it relates to your ad would be time well spent.

Every Picture Tells A Story Baby! Well… some do.

Written by on April 7, 2008 in Experience, Marketing, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

It turns out that many brokers have things a bit backwards when it comes to marketing properties. At a recent conference I learned that a study of real estate buyers shows that 80+% of buyers prefer great photos over virtual tours (the “spin-around-to-see-the-room’ kind) and 80+% of brokers prefer virtual tours. A bit backwards wouldn’t you say?

So in reorienting some to the reality of what buyers want, great photography is something that brokers should require of themselves as a minimum. I’ll try to illustrate some differences between really good pictures and the uninspired, drive-by point & shoot photos we see way too often.

I was recently on a trip and took a picture of some super colorful shops. Online, someone else had posted the same shot but with very different results. Take a look & imagine yourself in the market. Pay attention to how these photos make you feel.

This first version was taken by someone else with a simple point & shoot.

Point & Shoot Photo
Click for Larger

I took this picture with serious camera gear and an inspiration to get a great photo:

Pro Gear Photo
Click for Larger

Big difference. Or how about this photo of a ranch:

Boring Ranch Photo
Click for larger

Compared to this one I took last fall:

Spectacular Ranch!
Click for larger

Which one would interest you?

Photos are such an important asset for real estate agents and here in Steamboat there’s almost no excuse in having crappy pictures. Hire a great photographer and smile when you pay them knowing that you have awesome photos that tell a story and sell property much more effectively. Great photos will pop on the MLS and can be leveraged in many ways.

Kim Keith is an excellent local photography resource. She’s a real pro and puts art into her photos. What this means to you is you’re likely to get photos that evoke emotion. More emotions equals more sales at higher prices.

Kim Keith Photography
Studio K
2550 S. Copper Ridge Rd, suite #204
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
(970) 846-3680
kim@steamboatgallery.com

Video of the Week – Memorable

Written by on April 2, 2008 in Experience, Real Estate, Video of the Week - No Comments

Following up on the last post, the only clips included here are either exceptional plays or huge screw ups. Those are the things we remember.

The Most Memorable College Football Plays of All Time
YouTube Preview Image

Click here if you can’t see the video. 

Memorable

Written by on April 2, 2008 in Create Value, Experience, Marketing, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

I mostly remember either the stuff that was really exceptional or the stuff that was really bad. I remember stuff like Dan from back in 1988, the exceptional Nordstrom sales guy, who mailed me birthday cards. I remember the awful boat rental shop in Lake Powell called “Do Powell” from back in 2003. However, I can’t tell you the name of the title exec that helped us close on a property just a few months ago. She didn’t do anything wrong and didn’t do anything exceptional either.

With so many brokers concerned about referrals are you memorable enough?

There is so much average stuff in the middle there’s not enough room to remember it all. I suppose it’s a bit like this graph with the painful experiences being a little more memorable:

Memorable
Click for larger

If you do everything right & meet expectations, you’re average.

So many Steamboat Springs brokers are concerned with referrals but I wonder if they’re really doing the stuff that’s memorable. Are you memorable enough? 3 years from now will your clients remember the exceptional experience they had with you. 3 years from now what will your clients say? Will they say you were average? If you’re truly average, I doubt they’ll remember anything at all. And in today’s world truly average is actually a pretty high bar.

If you do everything right & meet expectations, you’re average. It’s only when you exceed expectations or really screw things up do you become memorable. Going with the flow, blending in, doing what everyone else does feels safe but we won’t remember you come referral time.

Buying & selling a home is such a life changing experience for your clients the goal should be to make it THE most memorable experience of their lives so there is no way they could forget you.

Video of the Week – Real Estate Roller Coaster

Written by on February 20, 2008 in Info, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs, Video of the Week - No Comments

Really interesting representation of US Home prices adjusted for inflation. Take a ride on a roller coaster as it traces home prices from 1890 to 2007.


(Can’t see the video? Click here)

Video of the Week – Curious

Written by on February 14, 2008 in Differentiation, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs, Video of the Week - No Comments

Interesting perspective from Seth Godin. I’d comment more on this video but I think it’s one of those things that either you get or you don’t.


(Can’t see the video, click here.)

You Deserve More Money

Written by on February 13, 2008 in Create Value, Money, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

Just had breakfast with yet another broker complaining about yet another split adjustment by yet another managing broker who refuses to see the light. Desk fees, time in grade, tiered splits, volume splits – the circus goes on & on.
Here is what I see over & over again. I see brokers using their cell phone numbers on their ads along with personal email addresses. I meet with brokers on a consistent basis who are trying to either get a website or redo the one they have. I see brokers who spend 95% of their time out of the office. I see brokers who invest heavily in self-promotion. And yet the number one complaint I get is related to splits.

Why?

In 1988 it made sense for a managing broker to take a heavy split of your commission. It was extremelycash expensive to operate a business. Printing costs were enormous, early computers cost a fortune and of course the Internet didn’t exist. National TV campaigns drove serious business to the big franchises and the phones rang because of it. As consumers we had two choices to get in touch with you, dial a phone or turn a doorknob. “Floor Duty” was a lucrative use of your time because of that. So a managing broker taking 50%+ of your commissions made sense. The bulk of your business came from your association with that company.

Today, the complete opposite is true for most brokers I meet. The majority of their business comes from leads and clients they personally generate. Most brokers I meet view “floor” as time to get office work done. They view their association with a brokerage as “doing time” as required. And yet commission splits have remained almost unchanged.

So, I think you deserve more money.

You deserve to keep more of what you earn for the very reason that you’re doing more to earn it and your managing broker is doing less. You have more choice than ever before. Don’t spend yet another year hoping things will get better. If they haven’t by now chances are good they won’t. With companies like Colorado Group, there are alternatives to the commission split game. And it is a game, which most managing brokers should know is coming to an end.

Every evening a managing broker watches his entire company drive away. He can only hope that his company comes back in the morning. It’s my hope that the sooner managing brokers realize this the sooner they’ll approach their job differently. They are no longer the gatekeeper they once were. Their value has shifted to other areas. Maybe attend a conference or establish a new media initiative instead of adding yet another page to the split spreadsheet.

Powder Days

Written by on February 11, 2008 in Differentiation, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

The good stuff isn’t on the main trails. It’s hidden away in tough places to get to. On a powder day we seek the edges. We try to stay away from where everyone else is. We avoid the tourist areas. As locals we understand and appreciate this. Powder
I think this same thought process applies in real estate/business. The good stuff isn’t found by blindly following the crowd. It’s not on the “Main Trail.” Try following a maverick into the “business woods” sometime. You’ll be surprised what you find.

Opportunity

Written by on February 8, 2008 in Create Value, Real Estate, Steamboat Springs - No Comments

I meet with & talk to brokers just about all day and I see tremendous opportunity for a few brokers. A few brokers who commit to radically changing their game because they realize that
A. They’re not in the Real Estate business.
B. The market/their clients have more choice than ever before.

They realize that old methods like copying & pasting (listing descriptions, email newsletters, newspaper ads, “market reports,” etc.) simply add to the noise and provide no real value.
They realize the game is not changing – it has already changed.

Not in the Real Estate Business

Every once in a blue moon I meet with a broker who realizes they’re not in Real Estate. They understand they are in the “value creation” business. They understand that the once exclusive MLS is no longer exclusive and is as commonplace as a light bulb. Hire you because you have “access” to the MLS? So what? So does everyone else with sites like Iggyshouse.com.
The value of exclusivity is gone.

They understand that they must create value for the buyer, the seller and the market. That’s all they have. They have to create a perceived value that’s higher than their commission. That’s it.

A few brokers realize that having a “great personality” is not enough. They’re going beyond what anyone else is doing and creating real value. Improved communications, new marketing techniques, establishing relationships in other markets, blogging…

Why? Because they realize that all other brokers are their competition. And they want an edge thru creating value. I just had coffee with a broker who has suspended all print advertising. All of it. Every penny of marketing will be spent online and on technology. This broker even turned down a listing because the client insisted that Homes & Land be used. She realizes the value of a magazine like H&L is gone. As she put it “It’s a crowded commodity marketplace whose value doesn’t justify the price.” Guess what, the client called back a week later with a signed listing agreement. Risky? Maybe. But I never saw anyone make it big without taking a risk and I happen to agree with her.

Your Clients & Prospects Have More Choice Than Ever Before

Online all “real estate” is neutral. There’s no location advantage. It’s just as easy for me to browse to your site as it is to your competition’s. And if your competition has a better story, an offering that’s aligned with our worldview and can demonstrate how they’ll solve our problems more effectively than you, they win & you lose. And even worse than loosing, you are invisible. We don’t even know that you exist. That’s what happens in a world of infinite choice. 1 in 22 people in Steamboat Springs are Brokers – that’s infinite. With an infinite choice why pick anything but the best? Why pick anything other than that which aligns with my worldview?

Those blue moon meetings are what motivate me. Far too often I have the opposite type of meeting. Stale, complacent, bored, lost brokers who are looking for a quick cheap fix. That’s a good thing for those who recognize the noise and complacency and choose a different path. To those I say get busy.

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