CEO’s Introduction
On December 10, 1941, Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., a 26 year old married father of one, was flying a B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber when it became the first such plane to be shot down in combat during the Second World War. Named America’s “first war hero” by Life magazine, Kelly won the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his own life to ensure his crew members could escape.
A week later, on December 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote a truly amazing letter. Addressed “To the President of the United States in 1956,” FDR asked an unknown future president to “consider the merits” of Kelly’s son (then only 19 months old) and appoint him as a Cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Not even FDR could have known that the then relatively unknown one-star general, Dwight Eisenhower, would ultimately become the Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces before successfully defeating the Nazi’s and becoming President.
FDR’s foresight is enviable, something not many are blessed with. Today we live in a world where the very definition of foresight has fundamentally changed. Progress seems to gather speed almost by the day, meaning that foresight in March 2008 might mean looking at events unfolding as soon as the end of the same year.
When we look at the current state of the real estate industry, one can’t help but wonder what the future holds. Who amongst us should we look to in the hope that their foresight will lead the industry in the right direction? Who can move quickly enough to make it count? I consider the first question to be rhetorical; the answer is obviously NAR. Only they can answer the second question.
In last month’s newsletter, I mentioned the great Leonard I. Sweet quote:
“The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.”
So what future is being created by NAR? Never before has foresight and time been so important. With pressure on the real estate industry from all angles, there is a huge opportunity to do something new, do something innovative, and do something now.
Mark Lesswing, Chief Technology Officer for NAR, is the man who can help. Mr Lesswing understands that “It’s really about connecting with the consumer.” He further adds, “Engage the consumer so they feel empowered with new tools and search techniques.” He acknowledges the importance of timely and accurate information in his definition of ‘information free radicals’:
“Conceptually, information free radicals is information that itself erodes trust.”
He further explains:
“As we have information out there that is not accurate, that is not timely, what you end up doing is eroding the trust [between consumer and Realtor] that’s really hard to get back.”
When consumers want something and don’t get it, opportunity exists. Real estate search engines like Zillow and Trulia exist, in part, due to the lack of information provided by Realtor.com. And social networking Websites like Facebook offer even more opportunity to reach buyers and sellers looking for property information that currently isn’t on Realtor.com.
I have used Realtor.com to search for homes before and it always amazed me that I was presented with large banner ads offering information and links to companies and products that have nothing to do with the real estate industry. I’ve seen advertisements from American Express, Walt Disney Resorts, Bally Total Fitness, and even an offer to “Lose Belly Fat Fast” with The Pink Patch.
What do they have to do with my property search? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And so the question that begs to be asked is, “Why do they appear there?” The ads water down the primary message and undermine everything that Realtor.com represents by creating unnecessary ‘noise.’ It cheapens the experience. It “is information that itself erodes trust.”
Add to this the pitiful quality of property information available for many of the listings, and one has to ask why any consumer would go to Realtor.com in the first place. Time after time, “Showcase Listings” have only one or two photos. One of my favorites has a very unimpressive eight photos, including a blurred image of a water boiler and cleaning materials:
What about this home:
I’ll give you some help. It’s a 3 bed, 1 bath single family home. Valued at $214,000, this property is exactly what you are looking for, if only you could see it. Unfortunately it is indicative of many homes listed on Realtor.com.
I acknowledge that all homes aren’t created equal. Coupling this with poor source data from an MLS, and things get messy real quick.
Is it fair for sellers to assume that their Realtor understands the value of using multiple, high-quality photographs to market their home? How about a new rule: “NAR will only list properties with photos.” One of my favorite movies is Jerry Maguire. If NAR implemented this rule, they would effectively be saying “Help me help you,” a far better message than, “Show me the money!”
Another option: strike a deal with Facebook to expose listing data.
Facebook is very aware of the value of its network; it’s why they want Realtors to list property via their paid “Social Ads” service rather than the free “Market Place.” So let’s do a deal! If part of your NAR fee included having your Realtor.com listing data circulated to multiple search engines, including Facebook, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
Some might say that Websites like Facebook.com are a fad. The realty is that technology is a never ending chain of fads. Always has been, always will be. The only change we can expect is that the fads will be shorter and more frequent.
Evelyn Jacobs is one home seller who decided to market her home using the ‘fad’ that is Facebook. Initially following the FSBO route, Evelyn acknowledged that with no one calling she had to do something differently. “I became an extreme junkie for all advertising on the net. There were a lot of free ones and not all of them were good. My feeling with Facebook is that we have 30,000 through the Poughkeepsie network and over 300,000 people networking through New York, why wouldn’t you do it?”
The property was listed through Mary Collins Real Estate. Mary adds “There’s more competition, and with everyone using the Internet, Facebook exposes the listing to a whole new world. I am always looking for new ways to advertise, it’s very exciting.”
Not utilizing the Facebook ‘fad’ makes sense [warning: the following content might be interpreted by some as sarcastic]. After all, Facebook offers exposure to tens of millions of people (and their numbers swell at a rate of 250,000). Evelyn’s property was only visible to 770,000 in the New York section. Pathetic! And it took her an age, in her own words “less than five minutes” to build the page. Who would want to spend that much time listing a property to a pitiful three quarters of a million people? And she didn’t have to pay for it. What a waste of time. What a ‘fad.’
During January’s Inman Connect Conference, in the session titled, “25 Things You Must Do to Web 2.0 Your Company,” Charlie Young, Coldwell Banker COO, asked “What’s the need of the consumer today?” He added “The listing is fast becoming a commodity. It’s what you do with it that counts.”
Don Lawby, President of Century 21 Canada pointed out that “Some listings still have no images. Condo’s use the same image (the outside of the building) for different properties. The most important thing to the consumer is content. The more digital images, the more the consumer will be interested.”
Young complained that “Getting several photos is like pulling teeth. Listen to the consumer! Give them what they want.”
Lawby rounded off the collective thoughts by saying “[Customers are saying that] the only thing we want from you is content. Our products are all Web-based.”
In summary, it’s clear that with market conditions as they are, listing data needs to be circulated everywhere, agents who provide minimal information can expect less (or no) buyers, and NAR can help if they have the foresight.
And what of Captain Kelly’s son? He did get to West Point and he did it without Presidential help. He spent 20 years in the Army and is now a minister in New Mexico.
As always feel free to contact me personally, at any time, for any reason.
Stephen Fells,
CEO
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In The News: mBroker Tools
Network Earth Inc. (creator of AgencyLogic PowerSites) Partners with Mortgage Experts to Create mBrokerTools for Mortgage Lead Generation.
Created to answer a growing need from loan originators for qualified and exclusive leads, the mBrokerTools product will reach large quantities of homebuyers from a variety of reputable sources, including www.Homescape.com, the leading real estate search and information website. Rather than purchasing potentially stale and unresponsive leads, the mBrokerTool gives mortgage professionals the ability to provide a credible, localized service at the moment the buyer is interested in a particular property. Click here to read the full story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Want to Drive More Traffic to your Blog?
With so many great blog options for real estate agents, from ActiveRain and RealTown to Realtor.com and Blogging Systms, there is a great opportunity for agents to start blogging, position themselves as experts and drive traffic to their main Website.
The question is, how do you get more potential clients to find your blog? One great way to do this, is to link your blog to every PowerSite you create.
Click here to learn more.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Amazing Website Makeover – We have a winner!
We are thrilled to announce that Patrick Canavan from Orange County, California has been chosen to receive an amazing website makeover, valued at over to $15,000! Patrick’s current website is www.pjcrealestate.com.
There were entries from around the globe, including Africa, Paris, Caribbean, Canada and the United States.
We would like to thank our sponsors, Point2Technologies, Michael Russer, Diverse Solutions, OnLetterhead Email, Real Estate Tomato, AgencyLogic, Agent Casts, and our team at Online Marketing Strategies.
Congratulations to Patrick Canavan!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Testimonial
“PowerSites give agents an edge to differentiate their services and impress the seller. My FSBO Real Estate Game participants love using it to WOW the FSBO seller.”
Joeann Fossland, e-PRO,GRI, PMN
MRE Society, Certified e-PRO Trainer, Master Certified Coach
www.joeann.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Contact Us
US: (888) 201-5160
CA: (866) 484-2644
Fax: (845) 227-6497
For Sales: contact us here.
For Technical Support:
(888) 201-5160 x2
Contact support.