Then NFC (Near field communications) came along. The term itself is not known but the technology is. Check out this video for an example:

Yes, it’s completely handy that you can simply tap a smartphone or a tablet to each other and the information is instantly exchanged. Its simple. There is no need to download an app. Here’s some of the many ways to use this technology:

Reblogged from The Hick City Chick:

Well...some of you may have noticed...I have decided to start my own business. Its something I have thought about for a long time but honestly never had the balls to do.

So shortly after the holidays, Organamx was born. After several years of doing a lot of this work for fellow real estate agents and simply enjoying it, it was the time.

Read more… 319 more words

I had been with Coldwell Banker Burnet  when I first got my license. I did not exactly have the best experience. I decided, after a couple of months of bring there to transfer my license to CBB’s biggest competitor Edina Realty. This was the most difficult move in my career. I had such a strong allegiance to CBB after starting my career at Burnet Title and spending over 7 years with the brand. When it came down to it, it was not the right place for me as an agent at that time.

Now, that I am back,it is not because of really anything in particular my company offers, it is because of what Brian offers. I know that he is just as passionate about my career as I am. My case is extraordinarily different from most. I honestly thrive from the people around me. My office has some of the greatest minds in the business. We truly work as a whole and it is what made me fall in love with Coldwell Banker Burnet again.

I decided to take a look at some of my colleagues who own smaller brokerages do on a day-to-day basis. Here are a couple of examples:

Chad Hanson, Broker/Owner, EGreen Realty and Sustainable Design + Build
Established the first real estate brokerage and property management company in the country with “Green Building” expertise.
Created alliances with local “green” architecture firms and builders to co-promote LEED certified properties and standards.
Consulted with clients and investors on how to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties thereby lowering their overall cost of ownership while also lessening their environmental impact.
Created the vision and strategic plan for the company. Later launched a property management division which quickly grew to serve 82 units within the first three months of operations.
Specialized in residential, office, retail, and investment property sales.
Well known as an influential member of the local real estate community by continually conducting business in an innovative and dynamic manner.
Superior negotiating skills that have produced personal average annual sales of $28+ million – ranking nationally in the top 1%.

They have a niche market here in the Twin Cities. Many of the recent conversations I have had with industry leaders all say that consumers in search of homes are looking more than ever for unique sustainable properties. Many would say that this is what will be the norm in the future. I heard a lot about this when I attended the National Association of Realtors REThink The Future of Real Estate event in Minneapolis.

Chad, who originally began his career with Edina Realty. In 2008, he formed , EGreen Realty and Sustainable Design + Build along with his brother Ryan and never looked back. They developed their own brand and were able to successfully lead their company into a one of a kind Twin Cities brokerage.

Teresa Boardman, of St Paul Home Realty. Teresa is her own brand. I got to know her exceptionally well over the last few years. I originally heard about her at a social media event. She was on a panel with a couple of others in the real estate industry. I remember one of the other panelists, Greg Sax, saying “I called her and asked her if she could take me on as a client” . This speaks volumes to the kind of presence she has. She is also a well known, outspoken leader in the industry. Her blog, The St. Paul Real Estate Blog helped her establish herself as the …

Scott Parkin of Hoffman Parkin Urban Realty,

“I started in the industry with a strong bias towards smaller boutique brokerages and structured my small firm with righteous indignation towards the big box brokers. Upon reflection, I now think size is less important than WHAT the brokerage actually offers up to its agents. Small brokerages avoid the bureaucratic red tape, expenses, and meaningless corporate fluff. Today’s global online listing services neutralize large brokers’ promises of “Galactic Exposure to Massive Networks.”  However, what small brokerages tend to lack is the structure and professional rigor that a larger office can offer more easily.  Most agents want to feel like they are part of a community of like-minded and active peers, which is hard to provide with only a small number of agents.  Finding what engages and keeps an agent actively selling is the key question.”

Now I do just want to clarify….I love my broker.  My current broker saved me from impending doom.  If I had found my boss man Brian Bolier when I did, I am not sure where I would be right now. I thought I should ask Brian his thoughts on this as he has spent all of his career at Coldwell Banker Burnet.

“Here are some random thoughts.  Ultimately we go where we are happy, enjoy the culture/environment, are proud of our colleagues, and believe in the vision.  Below are some thoughts on branding and CBBurnet specifically.

Size allows you the ability to collaborate & network in a way that a smaller firm cannot. Not just on a local level , but regional, national and international. I.E…”Think Global Work Local.” This is a major advantage when you are doing a business that may attract incoming and outgoing individuals.  Our world is so small and understanding/trusting a brand is very important to many consumers.  Not all, but when someone does not have a trust relationship set with someone in real estate, this can be critical.

We are able to provide a unique variety of support services not found at a smaller company. Anything from our technology platform, day-to-day office management and assistance, individualized marketing plans via our marketing department, training, coaching, planning, and advice. Don’t forget legal advice and assistance if warranted. In house loan officers in-house title company and company relocation.

The brand brings legitimization. With over 100+ years of experience in any real estate market and currently an untold combined amount of real estate knowledge in every office. Training.  BLUE U and all the coaching / training that goes on in the offices.

The brand is recognized by almost everyone which provides a degree of comfort for the client and a level of professionalism, typically not found or expected at a much smaller company or independent.  Size can often equal resources of many types… technological as well as human, ie networking, support and collaboration.  Brand recognition opens doors that you are not even aware of.

Depth of leadership.  Multitudes of minds working together to create the best machine.

Power of the brand. Something no small broker can replicate

Networking, strength in numbers, quality training & support. Broker negotiating software & hardware based on volume (ex: Fab Plus) exposure on Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, AOLRealEstate, YahooRealEstate & MSNrealestate…”

I cant help but agree with Brian. There are definitely benefits to being at a larger/well established broker. I guess what you could say is that individual success with a broker varies by person. It all comes down to what type of culture will create a successful work environment for the agent. Sometimes agents feel safer with the backing of a larger/established brokerage. There is on the other hand, many agents who are able to establish their name and be successful.

Brands are valuable. There is a reason that bigger brokers like Coldwell Banker Burnet have such a large market share. There are many consumers that rely on established brands. I know what brand has the largest share of the market in my neighborhood just based off the amount of for sale signs I see. If that is what people see its possible to assume that many consumers may see as “the brand”., However one thing that I have learned is that consumers are changing and adapting. They look and research for something different and innovative. This is ultimately why smaller brokerages still are in existence and will continue to be.

I recently attended the National Association of Realtors Rethink event in Minneapolis. There were many different types of agents there. All generations in our industry. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s opinions on our future.

There was a lot of talk regarding certain generations and how younger generations could change the way we live. The generalization of a certain group of people changing it all is disturbing to me. I have never felt like my generation as a whole has defined who I am.

You could look at my son as an example. Most would say his generation is screwed. They have supposedly been given everything they have ever wanted. I have to disagree. I try to teach my son that money and things are not important. I know there are days that I know he has a hard time understanding why some kids have more toys or games than he does. This is something that every kid has faced in every generation. I know that in my son’s case, what I am teaching him is starting to sink in. This became apparent on his birthday. He received $140 from gifts. He was very excited to spend it. Yet, when we went shopping, he spent $25 on himself and used the rest to buy gifts for his cousins. This gives my so much hope for his future.

One big issue that was brought up was with the way our world is changing now, will we exist in the future. With every piece of information out there for our consumers, why are we needed? Could our industry turn into the next eBay or amazon and people simply being able to add a home to a shopping cart and click order.

It made me think of the plot behind the movie “Terminator”. Is our future doomed by the possibility of Machines taking over? A similar plot is also portrayed in the movie “Wall-e”. Will we over consume to the point to where we need to leave the planet? How could human contact ever be replaced?

I remember a conversation my grandmother saying to me years ago that she would never want to live in the world I live in. This was coming from a woman who lived through war, recession, ect. This statement seemed to live with me my whole life.

Yes, the world is changing. Over the last several years, we are doing more with less. I can’t help but think that this is a good thing. I think about my grandparents and how their life was more about raising a family and not about selfish insecurities and thoughts of appearance. Are we heading back down this road? People are generally making less, doing more with less and they are forced to adjust their lifestyles to deal with the hard times. Yet we still dream of our ideal existence…. Money, fame, success, love, peace and all the SHINY objects we think we need.

So what is the American Dream?  I heard this over and over at the REthink event. I think the typical American dream has changed.  I truly believe that we as a whole have been able to see what our overconsumption and lifestyle choices can do to us. We have adapted and become stronger. We need to get back to the basics of simply “living”.
Nothing else matters anymore.

Ok People. I would like to do a little experiment…. I would like to test every single lead generation idea out there. Once a week, I will post a video after I have tested one and let you know how its working. I would love to hear your ideas…old schoool…new school…everything. Let me know your best and most creative ideas!

However over the years, one important thing that I have learned is to get to know agents, loan officers and closers in the communities which I serve.  I do a ton of networking. I can honestly say that I have developed some great connections and made some new friends.  It’s an awesome thing.

What this ultimately does for me is this… I have a relationship with another agent. We have respect for each other. Deals happen with these agents and I know that there is a trust factor involved.  We are then able to have open communication with each other about transactions we are involved in together.  Its my own “circle of trust” with colleagues. 

So get to know others in the industry and take the time to communicate with them. Be genuine and authentic.  Share stories and ideas.  We all have the same goals in mind so why not help each other!

So I was so anxious over so many things with this first closing and really this first deal.  Like I said in my last post, this was an up and down deal and that is being nice.  Well about 2 hours before closing all hell broke loose.  The sellers are from out-of-town and their lawyer had to send them the documents to sign, well he did not send all the right ones.  Then the HUD was wrong; then the listing agency got our deal confused with another and sent over some wrong information and told me some wrong things.  Add to that I find out that the agency does not have any keys for the condo.  The only key is in the lock box. We were just going to give the keys to the lawyer and my buyer was going to pick them up from his office today. The list actually goes on, but I won’t go into full detail.  It took 2 hours of mass confusion, hand holding and getting everything straighten out to get this deal closed.  It was horrible. It was one of those situations where when you think you have put out one fire a new one pops up.  And then everyone starts getting confused as to what is going on and what they are supposed to be doing.  It was ugly.  I never thought to be anxious about finding out at the last-minute that people who have been in the business for longer than you know less than you and that everything is messed up.  But it all got fixed and we were able to close on time and that is that.  So it is a win in my column, but as they say in sports-it was an ugly win.  This whole process was a definite learning experience from beginning to end.  I will remember next time that prior to 2 hours before closing that everyone has everything they need and all is well so that I do not have to go through that again.   Never assume that just because people do this for a living and have been doing it longer than you that they know more than you or really know what is going on.  I am finding that some people around here work this way.  I am just not used to it.  Everything crashing at the last-minute over things that should have been taken care of a week ago, not really what I like to deal with.  So I was anxious over so many things with this closing, but I never saw the disaster that ending up happening actually happening.  And the things I was anxious out, I found out that there was no need to be.  The closing itself was like I remembered when buying other homes-it is really not a big deal and the agent does very little.  The only thing I really did was sit there and sign 1 document as a witness.  So my first deal and closing is behind me, now I can just file it away and move forward to the next one.  Of course now I have to get a next one.  That can cause the anxiety to come back.