John Stossel is a co-anchor on ABC’s 20/20 and ABC News. As an ‘investigative journalist’ or ‘consumer reporter’ (or many other ‘titles’ not to be repeated here), Stossel seems to create fans and enemies alike. Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with him; while I enjoy the content and subject matter of many of his segments, he comes across as smug (perhaps that is his goal?). Ultimately I ignore all of my negative feelings because I believe his objective is a good one: to create a more informed, educated public. By that, I mean he questions the ‘facts’ rather than following the “They say…” movement.
Some of my favorite Stossel segments include “Stupid in America,” “Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity” and “Give Me a Break,” but as a child growing up in the seventies, I know he isn’t the first person to attack public issues in such a way.
Esther Rantzen is a British television presenter who initially hit it big in the mid seventies as the co-anchor of the BBC television shows, ‘The Big Time’ and ‘That’s Life!’
Rantzen includes some dubious ‘accomplishments’ in her resume. Her TV shows take credit for discovering Sheena Easton, and a talking dog called Prince . Ask almost anyone born in the UK before 1980 about the “sausages” dog and they will be able to do a perfect impression of Prince!
On a more serious note, she was also one of the first people to highlight the importance of organ donation with Ben Hardwick, Britain’s youngest liver transport patient, launched “ChildLine” (a national helpline for children in danger or distress) and created the “Jobsworth Award.”
It’s the last of these achievements that came to mind recently when I read a blog post by Matthew Ferrara . As a side note, I have to say I am now a huge Ferrara fan. His message, but more importantly how he delivers it, is unbelievably refreshing. When I speak to Realtors about technology I sometimes get the feeling that they would rather be having a flu shot. We can all agree that some injections are good for you, and Ferrara is that dose of all things real within the real estate industry. I strongly recommend you check out his Website, if only the videos on the homepage.
But back to Esther for a moment. She is credited by some for making the term ‘jobsworth’ part of the English vernacular. A ‘jobsworth’ is someone who blindly refuses to do the right thing and uses their job description as the reason (or more accurately, ‘excuse’). In the UK, these people are heard saying “It’s more than my jobsworth to [fill in the blank]”. The US equivalent is “that’s not my department.” Rantzen’s Stossel-like approach involved exposing individuals whose actions not only made no sense, but also resulted in some type of hardship to the masses.
Personally I have always viewed those who answer any process related question with “because we’ve always done it that way!” as a variant of a jobsworth. And so to Real Estate…
In Ferrara’s latest article, “The Newspaper Ad is Dead,” he issues a “Welcome to the Future Award” to Shorewest Realtors of Winsconsin. They win the prize after publishing the following ad, ironically in the very newspaper the copy refers to:
Only last month I highlighted the continuing demise of print media, so I won’t labor that point too much, but it’s Ferrara’s bluntness that I find infectious. And don’t even start to think that it stops at newspaper ads! His opinions on postcards, the NAR conference, and the importance of photos are music to my ears!
One of my favorite quotes (which has been attributed to Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain!) is that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” In today’s mail I received three magnets. Of note:
- They came from three Realtors, all complete strangers
- All three Realtors are in States I have never visited and have no plans on visiting (let alone moving to)
- All of the magnets will end up in the trash by the end of the day
Please don’t think I am ungrateful, I would love to keep them and the dozens of other magnets I receive throughout the year. Together with the free pens, calendars and mouse pads, perhaps I could open a store on eBay and make a fortune? But would I? Who really wants all this stuff?
Of course I expect to get emails extolling the virtues of continually touching clients, but I have never, and have no plans to be a client of any of the people sending me the freebies – I’m afraid they are wasting their valuable time and money. Also consider that I get the same things from every other company I do business with (personally and professionally). My kids love it, but I am guessing none of these individuals or companies have a marketing plan that targets my three year old son or his slightly older sisters.
Perhaps they are AgencyLogic clients? I checked, the answer is no. So, somewhere along the line these people purchased my name and address and added it to a database. They will probably send me ‘stuff’ for the next few years in the hope that I will move to their State or I will tell someone else to. As we say in England, they have three hopes: Bob, Stanford-le and no! The truth is that I, like most people, use the services of, and refer people to companies that do a good job. Period.
My point in all of this is that there are still way too many people in all areas of business who do the same thing year in, year out because ‘it’s more than their jobsworth’ to do it any other way. They do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. If I bang my head against a wall, it is going to hurt, but perhaps if I do it tomorrow it will feel great! Or as Ferrara puts it with “postcard response rank[ing] less that 1% rate of return any activity with a 99% failure rate is something I try to avoid.”
There are too many people in the world who get through the day by never having to question anything they do. I’m not sure if I envy or pity the simplicity of their existence. I’m not one for resolutions; I’ve always felt that there are too many priorities to ever make one or more of them more important just because it’s January 1st. I’m a firm believer in making priorities habits. Getting fit, losing weight, spending more time with family, and improving your marketing plan shouldn’t be priorities; they should be something you work on all the time. If you need some help, perhaps the Website, Stickk.com is the solution. It allows you to set a personal goal and then commit any amount of your own money to ensure you ‘stickk’ to it. You fail the goal, you lose the money!
But more practically, how can we ensure that we are doing the right things to move toward the panacea that has us working productively? The answer is to form a habit of questioning everything you do. Let me say that again: QUESTION EVERYTHING!
My best friend and business partner bought me a t-shirt a few years ago. The caption on the front says “Why am I doing this,” the emphasis obviously being on “I.” Every time I wear it I am sure I have a more productive day. Everyone around me doesn’t – I delegate with each breath! But seriously, the fact that I think about why I am doing something makes a significant change to how I work. Despite everything that my mother will have me believe, I am not special, the world can survive without me, and I am not the only person capable of doing each and every job at the company. Sorry mum/mom.
Ferrara points out that some people confuse ‘busy-ness’ with ‘business’ and further asks, “[do] you feel the need to look busy?” If you do, then this will be another hard year. We’re all busy but we are not all productive.
As we enter 2009, my suggestion is simple. There hasn’t been a better time in the last decade to own your market. Think about that for a moment. Most or all of the wannabe realtors have gone and you are still standing. That’s because you are good at what you do, but you can be better. Just look at how you do every part of your job and justify it. If you think you can get away with pointless marketing efforts, I will tell you you can’t. But what matters more is that your target market will find you out. Need more proof? Ferrara, using the “NAR Annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” and the “NAR Annual Member Profile Report,” points out:
“The average first time home buyer last year was nearly 24 years younger than the average real estate professional and nearly 38 years younger than the average real estate broker.”
You can call them Generation X, Generation Y, or, just this generation, but the cold hard truth is that as each day goes by, the people looking to buy and sell property get younger than you and me, but more importantly, are more tech savvy. Keep up or you’ll need to give up.
The good news? “They are tech savvy but that doesn’t mean they are real estate savvy. And that difference actually means you have a role to play.”
Should you decide that role includes what you have done before, if you continue to say “It’s more than my jobsworth to stop advertising in newspapers!” or “I have to send magnets!” it won’t be Stossel or Rantzen that finds you out, it will be your ex-clients.
And finally, please, pretty please, don’t send me any more freebies, even my kids are beginning to get bored with them. And as always feel free to contact me personally, at any time, for any reason.
Stephen Fells,
CEO
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How Good is Your Single Property Website?
Do you think that your single property Websites are as good as they can be? Do they contain all of the information that buyers are looking for – even expecting – when they are searching real estate properties online?
Here’s a checklist to make sure you are taking advantage of your AgencyLogic PowerSite.
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What Becomes the Long Way Home?
Here’s a great aticle by John Jantsch that offers some great thoughts about making the most of the new year and dealing with the fears that often come along with success:
When setting goals, creating marketing plans, or moving boldly in the direction of innovation, there is a strange force that holds some entrepreneurs back-that repeatedly makes the long road home more becoming. That strange force is simply fear. Click here to continue.
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