Agent Advice
Stop Thinking Like a Salesperson!
Note: This week, I will be delivering a quick talk at the Connect On the Road Conference in Washington DC on “Stop Thinking Like a Salesperson.” For people at the conference who want to review the points I made, here is a version of that talk that I wrote for the blog a few years ago.…
Read MoreDo You Need Two Social Media Profiles? Probably not….
Got into an interesting discussion on a Facebook group last week about this advice from REALTOR magazine suggesting that agents create both personal and professional accounts on social media sites: NAR seems to be suggesting the separation as a safety measure, so that you’re not sharing intimate, personal information with people that you only know through…
Read MoreWhy Agents Should Stop it With the Politics on Facebook
You need to stop it with the politics on Facebook. Yes, you, I’m talking to you. You. Need. To. Stop. With. The. Politics. On. Facebook. Listen, I understand. You’re passionate about Donald Trump, or Bernie Sanders, or religious freedom, or Black Lives Matter, or whatever. That’s great. Really. You’re a concerned citizen, and you care.…
Read MoreRealtyperson, Heal Thyself: Five Things I Learned as a Real Estate Client — #5: Sellers Will Never Trust Us on Price
When I listed my home for sale last year, I worked with two great agents. I could have just listed it myself, or with my wife, or even with one of the endless members of the Rand family who are all licensed real estate professionals. But to paraphrase the old adage – “a REALTOR who…
Read MoreRealtyperson, Heal Thyself: Five Things I Learned as a Real Estate Client — #4: You Can’t Do Enough Marketing for a Buyer
I will never understand real estate agents who do a lousy job marketing a home. Go do a search of your local MLS for an average-priced listing in your market. Look at, say, five listings. How many of those do you think are well-marketed? And by that, I’m not even talking about the FANCY STUFF…
Read MoreRealtyperson, Heal Thyself: Five Things I Learned as a Real Estate Client — #3: Buyers and Sellers are Miserable at Different Times
Buying a home is the worst. So is selling a home. But not all at the same time. As I’ve said before, all real estate professionals should be forced to move every five years just so they realize how painful it can be, and can be more sympathetic to what their clients are going to…
Read MoreRealtyperson, Heal Thyself: Five Things I Learned as a Real Estate Client – #2: Use Your Own Website Like a Buyer
How often do you use your own website or app? I don’t mean how many times you visit your site. You probably do that all the time. No, I mean, how often do you USE it the way it’s meant to be used – to find a home. How often do you search on the…
Read MoreRealtyperson, Heal Thyself: Five Things I Learned as a Client – #1, Real Estate Agents and Brokers Should Move Every Five Years
Licensing law should require real estate agents and brokers to move every five years or so. Like continuing education, but even worse. I’ve been doing a lot of moving. About ten years ago, I moved out of my Manhattan apartment for a gut rehab job. Then I moved back. Then about six years ago I…
Read MoreIf We Build it, Will They Come?
You know what most great real estate agents have in common? They’re really good at their jobs. They’re good at developing rapport and trust with sellers at that initial consultation. They’re good at marketing homes. They’re good at identifying what a buyer needs, even if he doesn’t know yet. And they’re good at putting together…
Read MoreNo One Can Disrupt Our Industry Without Our Permission
If real estate brokers get disrupted and marginalized out of the real estate industry, we have only ourselves to blame. To paraphrase Ann Landers: No one can disrupt your industry without your permission. So how did we give permission? By ignoring what our clients needed. For a generation, the real estate industry has been focused not…
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