Talking real estate and social media with Rory, Steve, and Dave
August 25, 2008 | 1 Comment
A few weeks ago, I met Jonathan Bentz on, you guessed it, Twitter :-). Jonathan asked me if I would be interested in doing a podcast with Rory, Steve and Dave. The guys run a real estate coaching blog. Besides having an interesting blog, the guys are the founders of GetMyHomesValue.com. Their company was recently named the 16th fastest growing real-estate-related company by Inc. Magazine. You can check out GetMyHomesValue.com on Inc. Magazine.
They wanted to have me on as a special guest for a podcast about how agents should approach the national news about the real estate market, and to talk a little bit about social media. They seem like pretty cool guys, and you know me, I love to talk.
They not only recorded the audio, but even made an in-studio video out of it. Check it out:
Here’s one way you can use video in your real estate blog
August 14, 2008 | 9 Comments
Next month, I’ll be speaking at RE Blogworld. I’ll be speaking with Mike Price and Morgan Brown about using video in your real estate business. As most of you know, I do quite a bit of video here on the blog, but the way I use here it isn’t necessarily the same way I would use it in my real estate business.
One question I get from folks is, “how can I use video?” Well, the first thing I would say is– Don’t do video tours of your listings unless you are getting a professional to put it together. We tried doing our own listing tours in our brokerage, and it was a colossal waste of time and effort. The folks at REShows and MLBroadcast are able to put together a much better presentation of your listing using photos and music than you are able to make with video (unless you are a videographer).
So, if I shouldn’t do listing tours, what should I do?
Well, for starters, video is a great way to show people what a neighborhood is like. People can see houses through photos. Neighborhoods and points of interest are much more difficult, and you don’t usually find pictures of that type of thing in the MLS. Video might be perfect for showing folks around town.
Another great use of video is to expose people to the flavor of the area. When you are out and about going to community events, shoot some video. Give people a taste of what it is like to actually LIVE somewhere. People don’t just move into a house and become hermits. They move in and go to restaurants, they go to malls, they go to community events, they go to fairs. . .
My Example
Here is a little video I put together after our trip to the local Albemarle County fair. I took video, and I took a bunch of pictures. I put it to some music, and VOILA! We now have a video that we can share with customers and clients that shows them what the fair was like (and it also gives them a taste of the area):
From the time I sat down at the computer until I had a finished video, it took just over 1 hour. I try to shoot the type of video that doesn’t require a whole lot of editing. Keep it simple– that helps. It actually took longer to get the pictures ready than it did to get the video together. The end result is about 2 minutes long. I think that should be your target end time for just about anything you do. Going much longer than that can be tough on folks, unless it is really interesting.
So that’s just one example of how you might want to use video in your real estate business. There are plenty of others, and I hope to be able to share more examples of things we are doing in the future. If you have your own examples, or examples from others, let me know, I would love to share them with everyone!
Change is good, if you let people know about it
August 13, 2008 | 2 Comments
Someone once said, “the only constant is change.” I guess this is true. Things are always changing, including business. As real estate agents, we are always out there looking for the next strategy, technique, or practice that will make our business better and improve the experience for our clients and customers.
Problem is, sometimes we get so anxious to change, that we forget that people who put us in the position to change (our clients and customers) might not be as eager to change as we are. That’s not to say that they wouldn’t welcome change, or that they don’t think that it is good, just that, well, not everyone likes surprises.
If you are going to make a change to the way you do business, or the way you organize your website, anything that involves your clients and customers, keep them in the loop. Let them know what is going on. Heck, it might even be a good idea to get their input on the change.
After all, the reason we change is to benefit not only ourselves, but our clients and customers as well. Don’t they deserve to know what is going on?
A real world example. . .
This was a lesson of which I was reminded when I went to my local grocery store, Food Lion. It has been in desperate need of renovation. Now, not only are they renovating the store, but they have completely reorganized the entire inventory. The problem is, there is no way of knowing where stuff has gone. There is no sign describing the changes to folks, no way of knowing what is done, and what is still being done. This is a very frequently traveled local grocery store. I, and most of the people I know, have been going to that store multiple times a week for years. Despite its inadequacies, it was comfortable. Now, it feels awkward and strange. I guess I’ll get used to it, but I think that Food Lion could have done a little bit better job letting people know what is going on. Maybe just a few temporary signs when you enter the store, describing the changes and why they are necessary, etc. That would be good, and it would make me feel a lot better about what is going on. Just a thought. . .
In memory of Sheila Lublin
August 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The Zebra will be dark today. . .
What you can learn when I make a fool of myself
August 6, 2008 | 18 Comments
I recently went to the Albemarle County Fair with Kari, my brother Bryan, and my mother-in-law Patsy. We all like fairs, and one of the great things about living in an area that is as rural as ours is that during this time of year, there is a county fair close by just about every week.
One of the things I did while at the fair was try out this really interesting ladder game. Basically, it was a rope ladder strung out across an inflatable platform. At one end of the ladder was a bell. The object was to climb the ladder and ring the bell. Sounds simple. It is, except for the fact that the ladder is attached to one point at the end that rotates freely. This means that the ladder very easily flips over, knocking you off.
My brother went first. He didn’t make it. Being a brother, he challenged me, of course. I gave it a shot. Before I did, however, we asked the guy who was operating the game how many people actually do it. He promptly jumped on the ladder, climbed right up, and rung the bell. It looked pretty easy he did it.
So then, I got on. Here is the result:
How does this matter to you?
Aside from the fact that you probably got a good chuckle out of watching me repeatedly fall over, this whole experience relates to business as well.
When a lot of folks look at technology, they look at it like most folks would look at the ladder game– impossible. They watch others try and give up, or try and fail, and they think that it must be too hard for them, too. Then, someone comes along and makes it all look easy, and it gives them confidence. Enough confidence to try it out, at least.
So, they do what I did. They try to duplicate what they have seen others do, and maybe it doesn’t work out just right. Maybe they fall down a few times, and then they just give up.
Don’t just give up
The fact of the matter is, though, that I know the ladder can be climbed; just as I know that technology can benefit real estate professionals. I watched the carnival guy climb right up that ladder, and I have watched more than one real estate agent reap the benefits of things like blogging, twitter, Facebook, etc.
I am sure that the carnival guy didn’t climb that ladder on his first try. I couldn’t do it in four tries. But, if I could put in more time and effort, I’m sure I could do it. The same is true of technology.
Because one of the professed benefits of technology is that it will make your life easier, people expect it to be easy. That isn’t always true. It usually takes some combination of effort and time for you to really see the benefit of using any given technology. It certainly takes time for you to appreciate the benefits.
So, give it a try, and don’t give up on it. I mean really, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like your family is going to stand around with dozens of strangers and laugh at you. 
(If you want to see some of the photos from our fair experience, they are on my Flickr page.)
I’ll be a judge in the first-ever My Tech Opinion video contest. . .
August 6, 2008 | 1 Comment
The folks over at My Tech Opinion have cooked up quite an interesting contest. They are asking for video submissions from folks that answer the following simple question: What technology product or service has made the biggest impact on your business, and why?
All you have to do is make the most interesting and creative video you can that answers that question, and then send them the link by August 31, 2008. They’ll compile all the videos, and pick a winner.
How will they pick a winner? With judges, of course!
I get to be one of the judges, along with Lani Anglin-Rosales, Mike Price, and Jeff Turner
It should be a lot of fun, and the prizes are pretty darn cool, so check out My Tech Opinion for all the details, and get working on those videos!
RE Barcamp and Beer With Bloggers were a blast!
August 1, 2008 | 7 Comments
Wow.
I got home from Inman Connect SF 2008 on Saturday (finally), and between all the pictures I took, and getting caught up on work, I am just getting around to posting about my experience. It was awesome.
The whole thing began on Tuesday with RE Barcamp and Beer With Bloggers. RE Barcamp was a very interesting experience, since it was a completely ad-hoc gathering of industry folks to talk about everything from blogging to photography. The topcis were diverse, the discussion was lively, and a good time was had by all. Brad Coy, who was one of the chief organizers of the event, got my thoughts in an interview just after everything wrapped up for the day:
One of the things that I took particular joy in doing was sharing with everyone the RE Barcamp Surprise. I worked together with Grant and Gia from RealSeekr.com to put together super hero trading cards for folks who were able to get their information to us. It was short notice, but we had about 75 people participate. Here are the cards just before they were handed out:
Handing them out was a lot of fun, and people even traded them amongst each other. They were quite a hit, and Nick Bastian shared his collection with everyone:
Bill Wendel was there and caught some of my presentation on video:
The whole thing was a very memorable experience, and I can’t wait to see everyone again in NYC. In order to save all those memories, I took as many pictures as I could (I actually took a lot more, but user error resulted in some blurry photos). You can view the entire set on my Flickr page.
The experience also resulted in a lot of very interesting and enlightening conversations and ideas. You can bet that RE Barcamp and Beer With Bloggers is the inspiration for many posts to come. . .
The Zebra has landed
July 21, 2008 | 7 Comments
Today, I arrived in San Francisco for RE Barcamp and Inman Connect SF 2008. This is the first time I have ever been to San Francisco. The first thing that I discovered is that it is much colder than I expected, or dressed for. Oops.
I’ll be here all week. If you are going to be around for Connect SF ‘08, here are some tips to help make your experience a good one.
And here is a video I made while my flight was landing. Really, it was just a way for me to test out our new point & shoot digital camera: the Panasonic Lumix TZ5. It shoots HD video. I also took some still pics.
The video is 4 minutes, and it isn’t exactly riveting, but I think the commentary is pretty decent
How will you spot a Zebra at RE Barcamp and Connect SF ‘08?
July 18, 2008 | 6 Comments
My head is gonna start spinning any minute now. . .
On EARLY Sunday morning, I hop a plane and head to San Francisco for RE Barcamp and Inman Real Estate Connect SF ‘08. I know that I am going to see a lot of friends, and meet a whole lot more people for the very first time. Wanna know how to spot me, take a look:
Monday will be spent at Inman HQ. I’ll be meeting in person all of the fine folks at Inman News that I have been working with over the past weeks. I’ll see if I can get some pics and video to give you guys an inside look at Inman.
I’ll be spending all day on Tuesday at RE Barcamp, and then heading to Beer With Bloggers, sponsored by Zillow.
On Wednesday, I’ll be at Bloggers Connect, learning and speaking on a fabulous panel. After that, it is off to the Inman booth to answer questions from folks, help people, and meet some more people on the exhibition floor. Wednesday evening, I hope that I will be able to make it to Truila’s party, among other gatherings.
Thursday is a full day of Connect SF ‘08, floating around between sessions and the Inman booth. I’m sure there is more to do on Thursday night, but I haven’t really gotten that far yet.
I do know that I will be leaving on Friday morning; probably one very happy, very exhausted zebra.
I can’t wait.
Of course, I’ll be Tweeting the whole thing– personally, and on my Inman alter-ego.
I will try to blog as much of it as I can, as well, but I’m not sure how much I will be able to get posted during the week. You can bet that I’ll have plenty once I return.
See you in San Francisco!
Focus is everything
July 8, 2008 | 1 Comment
In the real estate business, there are a lot of different things that can demand our focus at any given time. There are clients to respond to, inquiries to answer, agents and vendors to speak with, and that list doesn’t even include the various aspects of the actual business that need attention (marketing, service, lead generation, etc.)
Even though knowing where to apply your focus will change from time-to-time, focusing in the right place at the right time can often spell the difference between success and failure. This is a lesson of which I was very vividly reminded during my recent time at officiating camp. . .
Learning About Focus the Hard Way
It was just after 8:30 am on Sunday, the last of the three full days of basketball games. The early morning time, coupled with the mental and physical fatigue of constant officiating was bound to take a toll at some point, and boy did it ever.
About 3 minutes into the game, my crew and I were a bit off. We just weren’t working together as smoothly was we would have liked. Fatigue will do that. One one trip down the floor, I missed a rotation, meaning that I was out of position. I noticed it, and then I broke a cardinal rule of officiating– I took my eye off the player with the ball, who was MY responsibility. I shifted my focus from where it should have been. Instead, I took a glance at my partners so that I could figure out what the heck I was doing and get myself where I was supposed to be.
In the instant I shifted my focus, it happened– the player who I should have been watching hit the floor, holding the ball.
THAT got my attention. I caught just the last instant of the play, and when he hit the floor, the whole place went silent. It went silent because everyone was waiting on my to blow my whistle.
I blew the whistle. I had NO idea what to call. None. Completely blank.
I did the only thing I could think of that quickly– I called a jump ball and went to the possession arrow. In that situation, it was the least of many potential evils.
The coach, who was standing right behind me and did see the whole thing (just my luck), almost went apoplectic. Had it not been 8:30 on a Sunday morning, he probably would have, and I would have deserved it.
I did the only thing I could with the coach. I went to him and said, “Coach, I missed that one. You saw it. I didn’t. I lost focus. My fault.” Luckily, my admission diffused him as much as I could hope for, and the game went on. It could have been much worse. My momentary lack of focus could have really messed up the game for myself and my entire crew.
Focus is Everything
Just as in officiating, focus can mean everything in business. Where you direct your time and attention can have a tremendous impact on how the rest of the game plays itself out. As business people, we have to carefully consider what activities require our focus at any given time and concentrate on those activities 100%.
Sometimes, our focus must be on improving our marketing, other times on improving our service or education, and other times on meeting the immediate needs of our clients and customers. It is a good idea to take stock of your business on a frequent basis so that you can help determine what area might need your focus at any given moment. If I would have done that on the basketball court, I would have realized that my focus needed to be on the play in front of me, and not on the position of my partners.
Taking stock might mean that you review and prioritize your tasks for the day. It might mean that you review your business plan quarterly or even monthly to track your goal progress. Try to get in the habit of self-evaluation so that you can easily determine where your focus needs to be at any given point. Once you have done that, all that’s left is to FOCUS. CONCENTRATE. Give it 100%. You’ll be surprised how much more motivated you feel when you know that the work you are doing is the most important work to be done.
My momentary lack of focus had ramifications that lasted only minutes. In a different situation, it might have determined the outcome of a game or a team’s entire season. Like I said, I got lucky.
You don’t want to rely on luck. Focus now. Develop the focus necessary to lead you to your goals. Learn to direct your focus appropriately. I know that basketball coaches appreciate it; and so will your bottom line.
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
