My Projects
M The new brokerage
I always feel like such a goof when I see myself on video! But this is me. Please give me some feedback on this video. I am contemplating placing on our corporate site. Is it too long? to informal? too anything? Thanks
View the Agents
Here is our latest steps towards being the transparent brokerage. We love working on our WP/IDX map and this is maybe our favorite project ever!. We are combining RMLS listings, agent blog posts and the homes agents actually go inside to view.
How it works…
Agent geo-coded posts. All of our agents have their own custom branded WP sites and are posting about the real estate market and community on their sites (example Marisa - pdxmetroproperties.com ). We built our WPMU network to draw the posts from the agents sites into the main M Brokerage site mportlandhomes.com.
Marisa WP Blog
M Realty corporate blog
Homes Viewed by Agents Looking at homes is vital to being a good agent connected to the inventory and market. We think seeing what the agents are looking at is a really good idea. The data is pulled from the electronic key card system then our system turns a listing viewed to an orange icon. See Marisa Swenson’s activity
Active homes for sale. the site has a direct feed from the MLS that is updated every 20 minutes. The listing are processed to ensure correct placement on our map. Agent activity is integrated into the property search so you can which agents are active in the neighborhood and can reach out to the agent directly. for example Marisa Stevens lives and works in Montavilla check out the homes for sale and see Marisa at the same time.
Vision – Strategy – Tactics
Tactics are what you employ to carry out your strategy to realize your vision. It is our vision to be a new breed of real estate brokerage that gains dominant market share nationally. We have laid out a strategy that we think has merit and are employing the tactics that follow. This post is a tactical activity.
The vision acts as a common and reliable focal point. It is what you are moving toward. the strategies can and should be somewhat mailable and the tactics or action items directly serve the strategy. One strategy that serves our vision is to dominate online property search in our market. We have multiple tactics to accomplish this and some have worked well and some have not. we may alter our tactics but the basic strategy remains in place.
Blogging and blog sites are tactical. What you write about, the emphasis you place on search vs content, the platform utilized, etc all should be part of the strategy.
A good understanding of this concept results in reliable action with enough flexibility to exploit opportunity and/or avoid disaster. It does not have to be a big elaborate plan but some real thought should go into the vision, strategy and tactics.
Become an Expert
There is a lot to learn as a real estate agent. One great way to gain expertise and keep up on what’s new is to blog. It forces you to investigate, organize and convey information to others. Start with what you know. If you work inner SE Portland, try writing a post per week on the listing activity and sales trends. You will quickly become an expert and your visitors will see it. Or write a post every time you attend a home inspection about one item that you found interesting. Sewer line issues, dry rot, roof layers, missing downspouts, fans exhausting into attic space, radon, oil tanks, the list is endless. These are issues we deal with all the time and blogging can increase the depth of your knowledge. If you do this consistently you will become an expert and people will know it!
Thank you Ron Ares… (super blogger and expert) for the post idea. May your post on party sewer lines live forever.
Setting the Appointment
You have spent the time and effort to build good traffic to your site. People like what you have to say and they are obviously interested in Real estate because they are searching for homes, saving homes and sometimes even requesting showings. Congratulations!! Now the big question…are you doing any business?
If the answer is no or not much, there is a conversion problem. The first step to conversion is identifying motivated people, the second is asking for an appointment Yet many agents I see don’t take this step. Your conditioned knee jerk reaction to someone saying “I am interested in Real Estate” should be great “Would you be open to getting together for a cup of coffee to see if we are a good fit to work together.” Or something to that effect.
Of course many times the prospect does not come right out and say “I am interested in real estate please help me”. However, if you are consistently paying attention to the communication you will see “I am interested” conveyed in many ways. The key is to listen and ask questions this is a skill and some people have it naturally and some of us have to learn it.
Listen for any sign of “I am interested in real estate” then ask “would you be open to getting together to see if we are a good fit.” That’s the simple take away message.
DO NOT follow with. great let me run back to the office and send you tons of crap about me and the market to prove to you that I am a great agent and know what I am talking about…oh and I always put my clients interest first and some shit about my personal mission statements;…oh and here is a picture of me on the top of Everest with my shaman….oh and did you know I am not like all those other agents (who are Idiots) I always call back…oh and the ten thousand other things you could say.
Just meet with them to see if you would be a good fit to work together…then take it form there.
Operation vs Innovation
This dovetails with the production vs development idea. As you look carefully at your strengths and weakness it is very important to understand whether you like to create things or run things. Would you rather design your own sandwich shop with all the fixtures and new innovative topping and toasting methods OR would you rather buy a Subway franchise and run it efficiently like a cash machine.
If you are in the wrong place it will drive you crazy. I manage an active real estate team. I meet with agents every week at M Realty to work on business planning and action items. I created the software application Homequest and the company around it. I am the lead product developer for Homequest. I am responsible for the management of the software company. I am not saying this to puff I just want to give some background on what shapes my thoughts. For our companies to thrive we must simultaneously innovate and opperate, if we don’t we will die!
It is a very large amount of work and it is a big mix of creating things and operating things. I have learned alot about myself and a lot about what must happen to create and operate while keeping an eye on the bottom line. I do not claim to have it all figured out by any stretch of the imagination. But we have real knowledge that only comes from doing.
From this base we are looking at how to create an environment that helps agents find the right mix of operating reliable systems while innovating and creating. One size does not fit all each of us have unique strengths but there are consistent methods, strategies and tactics to both create and operate.
One of the understandings that must be in place for a successful long term real estate practice is the assessment of the agents as it relates to this question of operation vs creative strength. They can both succeed at a high level but they require a different structure to be built.
BTW it is way easier to be an oppertor and succeeed in real estate than to be a creator and succeed. You have to operate well to suceed but you don’t have to innovate to succeeed. Innovation without operation accomplishes nothing. Innovation with operation can change the world.
Embrace your Weakness
We all have strengths and weakness’. I am very strong in some areas and pathetically weak in others. If fact as I get older and more focused on my strengths I feel my weakness are getting worse. The good news is that to grow and thrive I don’t have to be strong at everything. As long as I am part of a team where we have complementary skills and talents I can overcome my weakness and hopefully continue to develop my strengths. This works very well in our software development company.
How about real estate? Building a successful and sustainable real estate practice requires a broad skill set. Prospecting, marketing, converting leads, managing a budget, managing a data base, juggling new technology, IT, negotiating transactions, managing paperwork flow, continuing education, and about 500 other things. In just about any other business there are specialists in real estate we are one our own. At least to start with.
I believe it is very important for us as agents to really look at ourselves to assess our strengths and weakness’ as we plan the business we want to build. If we know the places we are deficient we can work to create the support system needed to thrive.
Most agents I know have a strong desire to succeed and are smart enough and personable enough to have a shot at it. The determining factors are whether they have a plan, take action and have the proper support system to fill some critical areas of weakness. Understanding our weak spots can have just as much to do with success as understanding our strengths. They are just not as fun to look at:)
Simple steps to Real Estate Success
If you execute these three items at a high level – you win in real estate. Is is as simple as that. Don’t mistake simple for easy though. Any process that is truly in production mode is simple but that does not mean getting there was easy.
Lead Generation – meeting people
Meet tens or hundreds or thousands or millions of People. Create consistent sustainable engines that are run in production mode. There are many strategies and tactics the key is to find ways that fit with your strengths. If you are working against your strengths and talents it is very difficult to maintain over time. It can be face to face or virtually but you must meet people or your real estate career is dead!
Manage client and prospect relationships
Meeting lots of people results in opportunity to further relationships. Our primary role is to inform and help people through the process of buying or selling homes. It is all about building trusted relationships and providing the appropriate information at the appropriate time. If you can follow up with every conversation while adding value you are headed for transactions.
Facilitating Transactions
This is our actual job as far as the clients are concerned. Be a great advocate for the client and get deals done for them. They will love you and happy customers create opportunity.
The key to big time success
Keep all three items consistently running at a high level at the same time and you have a highly productive real estate practice that earns a very high income. Then if you can enhance what is working and fold in additional modules without disrupting the existing structure you can become a mega agent.
Simple but it requires a broad set of skills, solid planning, help from others, and a strong work ethic. It helps tremendously to be in a supportive environment where poeple understand the process and are qualified and motivated to provide asistance. M
Production vs Development
I was recently discussing my frustration around our product development with a friend of mine. The problem centered around how we handle always wanting to build more than we have capacity to possibly get done. Tony asked me a simple question that changed the way we develop Homequest. It also directly applies to building our brokerage and to us as individual agents.
Do you know the difference between production and development? my answer was I think so…um yeh…um no whats that. I felt a little stupid because I have been in direct charge of Homequest Development for years and this sounds like a simple question. It is a simple question and the answer is simple and the implications are huge.
production is where there are no unknowns. for example we sell custom headers for our agent IDX sites. they are $500-1,200, we have a set process for meeting with the client, evaluating their needs, generating mock up, We know how much time and resources they take and block out capacity each week for header production. This program runs on auto pilot we don’t have to think about it, just sell and produce. It is clearly in production. It got that way because we designed it from the start to be in “Production” the internal structure was put in place, we tested our assumptions with a pilot, made some adjustments and now it is reliable.
Development is where there are unknowns. for example we are in the process now of developing a virtual tour integrated into our IDX and Looking glass. We also are in the last stages of development of “orange dots” they are about to enter the Pilot phase where we measure the effectiveness and make small adjustments. You can’t sell things that are in development this includes services as well as products. They are inherently unreliable, take more effort than you think, and it is very difficult to meet the clients expectations.
The key is to really understand your business as it relates to production vs. development. Production is where all the money is generated and development is where innovation occurs and future production components are generated. A balance must be found where new revenue is consistently generated from production and development continues to move the company forward.
This obviously applies to a development company like Homequest but it also directly applies to an agents real estate practice. Can you identify the activities and programs that you can classify as production. Those programs that run on auto pilot and consistently generate revenue? are you spending most of your time coming up with new programs that you are going to implement? I see lots of agents planning and devising new programs but not understanding how to package, test, adjust, and move a program into production.
Our team has esablished an internet marketing program that is now fully established into production mode. We have two new programs that are in development that wil be piloted this years and may or may not reach full production depending on how well they work. The key is that the new pilots will not interfere with the current production that generates our revenue.
Work hard to get programs into production quickly then opperate, and make small adjustments. Only then work on larger innovations and new programs.