What is the vision for America from its leaders? Clearly, it’s one where the meek shall inherit our money, our praise, and eventually our lives. Anyone who is capable and productive – and proud of it – will incur the wrath of government upon him. So REALTORS had better watch out – because it’s not just the media that hate capable men. Legislators, a la Connecticut, will use their power to punish anyone who proudly demands compensation for his accomplishments. Government itself now holds our most productive minds in disdain. Guilty without charge – for bank CEOs and basketball coaches – and anyone else who has earned their living. As an industry obsessed with “top producers,” REALTORS should be very worried that the best of their ranks will be targeted next. Simply for being great.
This video made me jump up out of my seat and cheer! Finally, a businessman who isn’t embarrassed by what he earns – and is willing to defend it in front of the mass purveyors of guilt, the Media. Every REALTOR should watch this clip and see what it looks like when someone stands up and says, Yes, dammit! I’m worth every penny! I may get paid a lot, but I create a LOT MORE value in return. We need a lot more of this kind of attitude in the industry these days – rather than the doom, gloom, hat-in-hand wimpishness that’s rotting our industry. From the inside out. REALTORS face this kind of “you are overpaid” attack every day. From the media. From dis-intermediaries who think their fancy websites can kill the traditionally paid agent. As if there were something wrong with being paid, traditionally. And of course, we hear it from consumers sitting across the table from us. You want how much in commission? Wow, that’s a lot! Do you deserve it? Shouldn’t you charge less because my house is declining in value? And suddenly, the consumer has the upper hand, doling out guilt without the facts. And [...]
SHRINK TO FIT ON ONE PAGE Microsoft WORD has a useful tool that you might not have noticed before called the SHRINK TO FIT. When having a document that has a small amount of text on the last page you can use shrink to fit to print on one page. On the File Menu, click Print Preview Click Shrink NOTE: In order to shrink the document, Microsoft Word decreases the font size of each font used in the document. You can undo a Shrink to Fit operation by clicking Undo Shrink to Fit on the Edit menu. However, after you save the document and close it, there is no quick way to restore the original font size.
At first, I thought it was a joke, something to lighten the mood of an otherwise dour real estate industry. Yet a few clicks of the email invitation told me it wasn’t a joke, it was actually back by “popular demand” of a lot of REALTORS. If I hurried, I could save a seat at the “all new and updated” course that would unlock my power colors and align my compass at a very affordable price. I couldn’t help it, and just laughed out loud. Feng Shui for real estate is back. It’s being conducted in the Temples of Real Estate Associations across America. Even more incredibly, in some states it has been approved for Continuing Education, a sanctioned topic that deals with “consumer protection.” The high priests of Feng Shui contend it will help you be a better professionals, maximize referrals and increase sales. Their rites-of-passage into this sales Nirvana include: Using “success colors” in marketing pieces, like business cards and brochures Conducting space clearing and blessing ceremonies to chase away stagnant energy Written instructions on how to use “success symbols” to energize your office Just bring your compass directions and floor plan and the Wizard will teach you [...]
As President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law yesterday, the vast majority of Americans, and some REALTORS, registered their vote against it. No, another election wasn’t held – but the 300 point drop in the DOW Jones Industrials Index is a better indicator than an election of citizen sentiment on any given day. Obviously, most Americans aren’t fooled by this bill: It neither inspired confidence nor demonstrated a clear path out of the recession. Political pundits on both sides of the aisle were forced into the interminable pattern of “yes, but…” in their commentary. Yet the National Association of REALTORS’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun hailed the move, saying, “… the housing component is clearly the best measure to turn the economy around.” Apparently the President isn’t the only pseudo-economist around here.
Like a three ring circus, the housing bill distracts the American taxpayer with shiny baubles. Behind the scenes however, the bill will likely destroy the housing industry and the careers of millions of REALTORS. Yet the moths continue to fly toward the fire, praising the insidious federal policy of giving away down-payments to buyers, forcing banks to write down mortgage principle, and protecting non-paying borrowers. All this , and more, just to set the stage for the big act: Commission caps for REALTORS. Really. Haven’t Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac done enough harm already? Remember Barney Frank’s “roll the dice” policy of funding credit-less borrowers? Not any more. Faster than slippery snakes shedding their skin, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s political patrons have shifted the media’s attention towards “evil bankers” whose Vegas junkets on corporate jets were the real cause of the current recession. This is not to say that bankers were asleep at the wheel during the credit boom, but they are taking their lumps in devastated stock prices today. We should not forget, however, that Congress put up the Big Tent under the name of “Everyone has a Home” and gave out tickets with cheap Greenspan money. Pointing [...]
It is the tendency of our age that many things are moving toward centralization. Like efforts to collectivize our economy, health care, school and retirement systems, similar proposals in the real estate industry tempt us to move control of our vital business data to a national system. Now REALTORS have the urge – under the guise of fixing the troubles with our industry, the “urge to merge” threatens to undermine brokers’ local control of their companies. Ironically, an industry that insists that “all real estate is local” is actually on the march toward nationalizing its listing database. One wonders if all that’s missing is the appointment of an MLS Czar?
Months ago, we wrote that traditional internet marketing was dead. In August, 2008, MySpace outranked Yahoo for the top spot in ad displays. More people saw more pages – and advertising – on a social network than searching the “trusty” search engine. Did REALTORS take notice? Apparently not, since we’re still getting emails from agents asking “what website service” should they use. They shouldn’t feel alone, since the story went largely unnoticed by everyone – except by us – while SEO and PPC web marketers tried to write it off as a fluke. Today, that fluke is setting the stage to knockout the traditional web-marketing rules of lead generation for the real estate industry.
