Okay, I know you’re asking, where is she going with this?
In lots of my classes, which seem to be focusing on social media, many of the real estate professionals in the room seemed just plain overwhelmed.
They can barely handle what they need to do everyday and now they are hearing that their prospecting has gone on line and they need to reach out throught facebook, twitter, Linkedin, creating video, taking better photos, writing a blog. Why are they overwhelmed? Alot of it has to do with a LACK of knowledge base on technology overall. So any new task is daunting to say the least.
So back to gardening. I recently moved into a brand new home after being in the same place for over 20 years. With Spring finally sprung here in New England we have begun tackling the landscaping, and I want a vegetable garden.
Where to start? For me it is overwhelming. What kind, how do I prepare the soil, how big, when do I start, just plain TOO MUCH.
So what I did was invite a friend/landscaper over for dinner. Fed them well and asked for her professional opinion. (I warned her in advance). I printed out a pic of my house and she pulled out a piece of tissue paper and laid out a “green” landscaping plan. For the vegetable garden, I called a farmer / friend that I know and explained my situation. I have limited time, limited skills and a husband who is out of state for over a month. He suggested a Lasagna Garden. This is a no dig, no-til garden. You put layers of newspaper, leaves over the grass and then add soil and plant. Voila!
So instead of feeling overwhelmed, exasperated, or frustrated, I searched out people in the know. Asked them questions and got started.
So, for those real estate professionals who are feeling overwhelmed with social media, go to the people in the know! Attend a REBARCAMP. These unconferences are all over the country – one day events where you can chat and listen to those real estate people who are successfully implementing social networking. Search for experts in your area and call them and invite them for dinner.
This is one time that you can’t hire someone, pay $29.99 a month to get this social media stuff done for you. You need to invest the time and energy, and maybe like me you will get good advice, and some inspiration to get started!
