By Sam DeBord If “a stitch in time saves nine,” does a market that corrects itself frequently save itself from over-correcting? We’ve been told that slow and steady growth is the safest path for an investment. Real estate markets that follow a moderately increasing appreciation path are the rock-solid investments that provide safe harbor from volatile equity swings. And yet, …
Don’t Judge My Gen Y
By Brooke Wolford Over the last several years, real estate educators have really pushed that we, as an industry, need to do something special to deal with my generation. Most of these speakers are not part of Gen Y themselves, but they seem to think they know everything about us. And despite these teachings, I have rarely met someone who …
The Case for a REALTOR® to Lead Realtor.com®
By Sam DeBord Realtor.com®’s president, Errol Samuelson, has been hired away by Zillow. I’ve met Errol and he’s a nice guy, very smart, and very successful. Business is business. But, naive as it might be, there’s plenty of disappointment from the REALTOR® community. It comes from a belief that we have a common cause greater than just our businesses. Whether …
‘That’s Why We Are All Not Profitable!’
By Dave Robison Marilyn Wilson with the WAV Group has been visiting brokerages and state associations with data that her company compiled about our industry. While attending one of her recent presentations, I snapped a quick photo with my phone of one of her graphs. She said there are two different types of companies listed on the graph. The companies …
To Serve and Be Served: A Once in a Lifetime Transaction
By Christian Zarif I almost didn’t answer my phone. I was in San Francisco for our national REALTOR® convention and rushing to get out of my room to an engagement (running 5 minutes late, of course). The strange number called twice in a row so I figured it must be urgent. When I answered, I could hardly make out the …
You Don’t Need Experience To Gain Clients
By Sam DeBord When I started out in the real estate business, my biggest fear was probably the same as many other agents’: “What if they ask me how many homes I’ve sold?” There was an almost inescapable fear that every new client I met would find out that I hadn’t been selling for very long, and abandon me for …
When to Hire an Assistant
By Scott Newman Your business is on the way up, and everything is perfect because you’re making more money, right? Wrong! As the Notorious B.I.G. once said, “Mo money, mo problems.” One of the biggest as a real estate professional is how to spend your money wisely to continue to grow your business. Today’s blog will focus on when it’s …
My $25,000 Commission From a Rental Call
By Lynn Minnick When I was a new agent back in 2000, I took a rental call. It was a young couple, around my age, looking for a rental in town. Once we started talking, they told me they could spend $1,400 per month. That was higher than my mortgage payment at the time, so I asked them if they’d …
You Can’t Pay for Experience
By Brooke Wolford In the past year since I started my real estate marketing company Organamx, I’ve noticed one growing trend: Many people have the notion that you can pay to somehow prove that you’re successful. While you can pay for an amazing website, for placement on Google, and even for leads, spending money will never prove that you have …
2014 Technology Resolutions
By Scott Newman Technology is changing our lives – and our industry – on a daily basis. And as they say, you’re either with the times or behind them. With that in mind, I wanted to roll out three New Year’s resolutions I’m asking my agents to adopt when it comes to technology in 2014 and I’d love to see …