Where is Wyatt Earp when you need him?
I love a good discussion. It is stimulating, and if folks stay on topic, and debate the issue both sides can come away learning from each other and gain a new perspective.
Opinions
There are lots of opinions floating around in the blogosphere, there are dozens of techniques to marketing and there are varying opinions on what works and what does not work in any given market.
Last year, I met a Realtor online through Activerain. She has a huge business. But, how she grows her business is not what is comfortable for me. She really wanted me to try the program she was involved in and had built her business around, but I told her, “I’m sorry I just don’t do cold calls”. (Never have and never will).
Some agents love OPEN Houses and swear by them. (I did one this whole year.)
I love my Pay per Click campaigns and yes, I love capturing and engaging those leads. Yet there are many people that don’t agree and want to generate all their business organically. (54% of all closings this year via PPC.)
My point
We can learn from one another and be respectful of whatever techniques we use to grow our business, without it getting personal. A good discussion is healthy for us all. When it gets personal it shuts the door on any opportunity for everyone to grow and it kills the relationship. Now if I was sitting around not doing much business, I might have been more open to cold calling. (Not really) But, I respect this Realtor and admire the success she and her team have accomplished.
Be Respectful
The way we run our business, the model we choose to follow is not for everyone. When the discussion goes from respect to an attitude of self-righteousness we close the door on the relationship. We were taught to play nice in kindergarten therefore I don’t feel it is too far fetched for us to agree to disagree respectfully.
In many ways the blogosphere is similar to the Wild, Wild West, without the influence of Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. The last I heard there is not and never will be one way to do things.
One person does not hold the sum total of all truth.
Paula Henry
January 8, 2009 at 9:28 pm
You know what they say about opinions:) What works for one agent may or may not work for the next – it looks like you have found what works for you and are successful with it.
Respect will go further toward strengthening a relationship than other attitude.
Brian Block
January 9, 2009 at 6:28 am
Missy, just as there are agents who swear by cold calling and others that put their faith in client parties and mailers, there are top agents who move tons of real estate ever year and have never even heard of the internet. Different strokes for different folks.
There’s more than one way to be successful in this business.
However in the end, it all comes down to good customer service once you’ve got the clients if you truly want to rise above the crowd.
Matt Stigliano
January 9, 2009 at 8:40 am
Missy – It is amazing to me since I started just how many “methods” there are to getting business done in real estate. I’m a bit of an oddity in my office as not many people enjoy the computer side of things and swear by some older schools of thought…and they are successful. When I spoke with Jeff Turner we had spoken about the hard sell method. I hate it, I despise it, and can’t figure out why anyone would want to use it. Jeff had the best answer – because it works. I might not see how it works and probably would be terrible at it, but if it didn’t work for the people who use it, they wouldn’t be using it. There’s a lot of options out there and I think all agents just need to find the one(s) that fit and they can work most comfortably in that are successful for them.
Chris Shouse
January 9, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I keep hearing you rave about PPC maybe it is something I should try. I get told I am not aggressive enough but am not comfortable pushing people. I would rather give them all the information they need, meet their needs and become friends. Great post BTW
Elaine Reese
January 9, 2009 at 6:27 pm
A lot of people say that agents should have a blog in order to be successful in the future. While I love my blog, I see lots of agents who are quite successful with doing hardly anything on the Internet. The reason is they have a lot of connections with their sphere, are active in their community, have a spouse or kids that broaden their sphere even more.
If those agents were drop the time they spend face-to-face in order to spend time on the Internet, then their business might suffer.
I heard someone make a comment on TV saying “there’s a lid for every pot”. Our business is like that as well. We do what fits our personality or circumstances or market. It’s good to be different because we’re each appealing to a different set of clients.
Thomas Johnson
January 9, 2009 at 11:47 pm
“One person does not hold the sum total of all truth.”
Missy: Great post. I think Wyatt would agree that the guy with 4 aces is pretty close to the sum total.