Category — Create Value

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Here’s a little clip from the no BS financial guru Larry Winget that really sums things up.

Click the green button to play:

 

 I Love Money [2:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There is such great opportunity for those who think beyond the Pilot & MLS to provide extreme value to their clients & potential buyers.

Provide value first, do what you say & build your brand.

You can find Larry’s books here:

I mostly remember either the stuff that was really exceptional or the stuff that was really bad. I remember stuff like Dan from back in 1988, the exceptional Nordstrom sales guy, who mailed me birthday cards. I remember the awful boat rental shop in Lake Powell called “Do Powell” from back in 2003. However, I can’t tell you the name of the title exec that helped us close on a property just a few months ago. She didn’t do anything wrong and didn’t do anything exceptional either.

With so many brokers concerned about referrals are you memorable enough?

There is so much average stuff in the middle there’s not enough room to remember it all. I suppose it’s a bit like this graph with the painful experiences being a little more memorable:

Click for larger

If you do everything right & meet expectations, you’re average.

So many Steamboat Springs brokers are concerned with referrals but I wonder if they’re really doing the stuff that’s memorable. Are you memorable enough? 3 years from now will your clients remember the exceptional experience they had with you. 3 years from now what will your clients say? Will they say you were average? If you’re truly average, I doubt they’ll remember anything at all. And in today’s world truly average is actually a pretty high bar.

If you do everything right & meet expectations, you’re average. It’s only when you exceed expectations or really screw things up do you become memorable. Going with the flow, blending in, doing what everyone else does feels safe but we won’t remember you come referral time.

Buying & selling a home is such a life changing experience for your clients the goal should be to make it THE most memorable experience of their lives so there is no way they could forget you.

I had a family dinner at Rex’s recently and because we have a daughter a key factor in our decision to eat at Rex’s was the fact that they have cool little coloring kits for kids. Princess kits for girls & train kits for boys (I think - we only have a girl).

(Not my kids)

Just as we expected, we had a great dinner and our daughter wasn’t fidgeting or dumping salt all over the table. So the question is, what kid friendly stuff do you have to occupy kids when you’re clients bring them along? It might be a good idea to have a “kid kit” in the trunk with an assortment of activities for boys and girls.

Love my kids and I’ll love you forever.

Just had breakfast with yet another broker complaining about yet another split adjustment by yet another managing broker who refuses to see the light. Desk fees, time in grade, tiered splits, volume splits – the circus goes on & on.
Here is what I see over & over again. I see brokers using their cell phone numbers on their ads along with personal email addresses. I meet with brokers on a consistent basis who are trying to either get a website or redo the one they have. I see brokers who spend 95% of their time out of the office. I see brokers who invest heavily in self-promotion. And yet the number one complaint I get is related to splits.

Why?

In 1988 it made sense for a managing broker to take a heavy split of your commission. It was extremely expensive to operate a business. Printing costs were enormous, early computers cost a fortune and of course the Internet didn’t exist. National TV campaigns drove serious business to the big franchises and the phones rang because of it. As consumers we had two choices to get in touch with you, dial a phone or turn a doorknob. “Floor Duty” was a lucrative use of your time because of that. So a managing broker taking 50%+ of your commissions made sense. The bulk of your business came from your association with that company.

Today, the complete opposite is true for most brokers I meet. The majority of their business comes from leads and clients they personally generate. Most brokers I meet view “floor” as time to get office work done. They view their association with a brokerage as “doing time” as required. And yet commission splits have remained almost unchanged.

So, I think you deserve more money.

You deserve to keep more of what you earn for the very reason that you’re doing more to earn it and your managing broker is doing less. You have more choice than ever before. Don’t spend yet another year hoping things will get better. If they haven’t by now chances are good they won’t. With companies like Colorado Group, there are alternatives to the commission split game. And it is a game, which most managing brokers should know is coming to an end.

Every evening a managing broker watches his entire company drive away. He can only hope that his company comes back in the morning. It’s my hope that the sooner managing brokers realize this the sooner they’ll approach their job differently. They are no longer the gatekeeper they once were. Their value has shifted to other areas. Maybe attend a conference or establish a new media initiative instead of adding yet another page to the split spreadsheet.

I love Tom Peters! Here’s a 4 minute video about 2 markets he claims are underserved - women & old people

Check it out:

(Click here if you can’t see the video)

If you like the video, here’s a few books I’d recommend by Tom:

Re-imagine!

The Professional Service Firm50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Your “Department” into a Professional Service Firm Whose Trademarks are Passion and Innovation! (Reinventing Work)

Talent (Tom Peters Essentials)

I meet with & talk to brokers just about all day and I see tremendous opportunity for a few brokers. A few brokers who commit to radically changing their game because they realize that
A. They’re not in the Real Estate business.
B. The market/their clients have more choice than ever before.

They realize that old methods like copying & pasting (listing descriptions, email newsletters, newspaper ads, “market reports,” etc.) simply add to the noise and provide no real value.
They realize the game is not changing - it has already changed.

Not in the Real Estate Business

Every once in a blue moon I meet with a broker who realizes they’re not in Real Estate. They understand they are in the “value creation” business. They understand that the once exclusive MLS is no longer exclusive and is as commonplace as a light bulb. Hire you because you have “access” to the MLS? So what? So does everyone else with sites like Iggyshouse.com.
The value of exclusivity is gone.

They understand that they must create value for the buyer, the seller and the market. That’s all they have. They have to create a perceived value that’s higher than their commission. That’s it.

A few brokers realize that having a “great personality” is not enough. They’re going beyond what anyone else is doing and creating real value. Improved communications, new marketing techniques, establishing relationships in other markets, blogging…

Why? Because they realize that all other brokers are their competition. And they want an edge thru creating value. I just had coffee with a broker who has suspended all print advertising. All of it. Every penny of marketing will be spent online and on technology. This broker even turned down a listing because the client insisted that Homes & Land be used. She realizes the value of a magazine like H&L is gone. As she put it “It’s a crowded commodity marketplace whose value doesn’t justify the price.” Guess what, the client called back a week later with a signed listing agreement. Risky? Maybe. But I never saw anyone make it big without taking a risk and I happen to agree with her.

Your Clients & Prospects Have More Choice Than Ever Before

Online all “real estate” is neutral. There’s no location advantage. It’s just as easy for me to browse to your site as it is to your competition’s. And if your competition has a better story, an offering that’s aligned with our worldview and can demonstrate how they’ll solve our problems more effectively than you, they win & you loose. And even worse than loosing, you are invisible. We don’t even know that you exist. That’s what happens in a world of infinite choice. 1 in 22 people in Steamboat Springs are Brokers - that’s infinite. With an infinite choice why pick anything but the best? Why pick anything other than that which aligns with my worldview?

Those blue moon meetings are what motivate me. Far too often I have the opposite type of meeting. Stale, complacent, bored, lost brokers who are looking for a quick cheap fix. That’s a good thing for those who recognize the noise and complacency and choose a different path. To those I say get busy.

• Who has decided to provide value to the home owners of Silver Spur without expecting anything in return?
• Who has spent time getting to know each family in Silver Spur?
• Who has created a newsletter specifically tailored to the community of Silver Spur?
• Who has created an online presence highlighting the neighborhood of Silver Spur?
• Who can convey the true value of Silver Spur in a simple, memorable story?
• Who has become a resource for Silver Spur home owners in the way of home improvement?
• Who has a digital catalogue of Silver Spur pictures, maps & Google Earth files?
• Who gets invited to all the Silver Spur parties?
• Who has an “I Love Silver Spur” bumper sticker on their car?

Neighborhood Ownership

As the vast majority of Steamboat Springs real estate professionals try to eat from the same trough the concept of neighborhood ownership is one to seriously consider. It’s not easy, it won’t happen overnight, over a month or maybe even over a year and it might not be a sexy as other markets. But in an ultra crowded market going to the edges, finding a niche and providing personalized value to a select group can be a very successful approach.

My sense is that Silver Spur homeowners are a tight-knit group who may be as concerned as anyone about property value but are more motivated than most to make it happen. They’re younger, well educated, have families, know their neighbors and see their home as an integral asset in their wealth accumulation strategy. Home improvements, curb appeal improvements, community improvements are all areas where a sharp broker could be providing valuable information to this neighborhood.

Earn It

The home owners of Silver Spur are too smart for a blanket half-hearted attempt to win them over. Simply increasing the volume of noise they’re exposed to through direct mail, etc. will only have the opposite effect. Instead, a slow, sincere approach providing value first without any expectation of a return is what’s needed. If you can earn their respect, they’ll talk about you. If their property values increase in-part because of your added value they’ll talk about you more. Take the success story you’ve earned down the road to Heritage Park, then on to Steamboat 700. Lots of opportunity.

One of the greatest strengths of a marketer is being able to tell a good story. Not a lie or something misleading, but something that resonates with the audience. A good story helps the audience connect with the essence of the issue. Steve Jobs is a brilliant storyteller and his contemporary Bill Gates, not so much. A good story that matches the audience’s world view helps them relate their own experience with what you’re marketing. Your message is much more likely to cut through the clutter and stick in their mind.

In Steamboat Springs, Jeff Temple is a good storyteller. As a result just look at the success of Marabou compared to other competing developments. At the recent Real Estate Round Up he was able to encapsulate the essence of Marabou in a simple powerful sentence that sticks. He said

“Marabou is 1717 acres, 1300 of which will be open space forever.”

A month later that’s the only quote from the event I remember. And I can repeat it to you. Good storytelling should be key in every aspect of your marketing. Anyone can copy & paste listing descriptions. Telling a compelling story through copy can add true value and help potential buyers connect and remember your listing. Here’s copy from 2 listings, $10 milli0n & 23 milli0n properties respectively. Is there anything in this copy you’d remember a month from now?

One of a kind ski in/ski out building site at the base area. This site is likely to be the most convenient ski in/ski out location for a home on the mountain with easy ski access from See Me, Voodo, and Lower Valley View. Just above the base and poised to benefit from the new luxury projects just below it. If you want a truely (sic) unique location, this is it! $10,000,000

This ranch acreage sits in the upper Yampa River Valley and on Thorpe Mountain. Home on the property is 1700 sq. feet and there are several barns and outbuildings. Irrigated river bed transitions to timbered high country laced with pine and aspen trees. Superior environment for elk and deer. Two seperate (sic) conservation easements border the property protecting the pristine environment. Water and mineral rights included in the sale. Opportunity for development or ultimate personal retreat. Contingencies may or may not apply. $23,000,000

Spelling mistakes and snoozer copy in a $10 million & 23 million listing. Ugh. Would you want this broker working for you?

I had an interesting interview today with an applicant for a position with Altera. She was 25, college educated and well mannered.

I asked the question “Tell me how you use technology.”

She gave a long pause and responded with a puzzled “Technology? Gosh I’m not sure.”
In my mind it was game over - interview done.

Then I asked one more question.
“Do you have an iPod?” I asked
“Yes”
“Do you download music?”
Yes
“Do you have a facebook account?”
“Yes”
“Do you text message?”
“Yes”
“Do you have Tivo?”
“Yes”
“Do you have a Flickr account?”
“Yes”
“Do you have a wireless laptop?”
“Yes”
“Where do you use it?”
“Amantte”
“Skype?”
“Yes to my brother in England all the time”
“Google maps?”
“All the time”
“Online banking?”
“Most of my accounts”

“So,” I asked, “you’re not sure how you use technology?”
“I guess I just consider that stuff a way of life and don’t think of it as technology.”
“Right,” I said “kind of like how we don’t think of electricity to be made up of electrons.”

Are you ready for this kind of client?

What a great time of year it is!

I thought you might like to know that most of Altera’s photography is available online at full resolution and is free.

Some old skool shutterbugs may frown on this but we think it’s a lot better to get this stuff out there for people to see & use rather than sit locked up on our hard drives.

The pictures are covered under a creative commons license so you can’t sell them directly and if you do use a photo, you have to give attribution to us. So use them how you like for things like a brochure for your business or a greeting card to a friend etc.

So head on over to our account on flickr.com and check it out. We’re adding pics all the time and most are tagged on their mapping tool so you can see where the picture was taken .

Free stuff is fun!