We have been on hiatus from posting for the last weeks, not because we wanted to be, but because we needed to step back and consider the larger picture. We didn’t want to blog for the sake of another blog post. Was real estate’s slow recovery really only about the state of the economy? Or was it recognizing that there are overarching issues that affect everything? We consider the following analysis one of our most important blog posts to date.
We are certainly not immune to the vagaries and difficulties of the real estate market – from a business, but particulary personal perspective. Yet we know that there are always opportunities in any scenario. Some people smirk when they learn that our motivation is not selling them real estate, but helping to facilitate their real estate and financial goals (often including lifestyle objectives). You see, we really do understand that people want to be educated and engaged in conversation…not sold. Being consumers first, we empathize with what home buyers and sellers are experiencing. Unlike times past, “selling” is about interacting on a sincerely empathetic level. What is the buyer or seller needing? How can I better understand? How can I add value? We are clearly undergoing a paradigm shift in advertising and marketing. But how do we explain the “new world” to those who adapt slowly? Let’s start by putting all of this in perspective. Marketing creates desire and advertising is a call to action. Keep that in mind as you watch this video:
It’s interesting to see Windermere’s ascendancy to the top of the Coachella Valley brokerages. Afterall, it’s only been relatively few years that the company has been in existence in the Palm springs area. Have a look at the latest comparative sales charts of Palm Springs area Real Estate Brokers:
While Windermere Real Estate understands the significance of technology and provides its staff with cutting edge tools, it is the individual agent who must fully digest the scope and power of even greater technology and put it to use for his/her buyers and sellers. You’ll see in Part 2 of “Does Your Real Estate Agent Suck (Parts 1 & 2)” how important it is not to to get bogged down in a debate about Realtor professionalism when it’s so simple to separate the wheat from the chaff. Connect the dots on the following links and you’ll have some of the “proof of concept” and logic we used for this hypothesis:
Raise The Bar – Time For a Change In Real Estate Professionalism?
The New Consumer: Who’s Buying Now?
Chicago Pizza Guy Creates Social Media ‘Domino’ Effect
So, despite the reaction to posts like “Raising The Bar…” (above), we don’t actually believe that there exists a noteworthy amount of unprofessional Realtors. Rather, we believe that there are many who appear to be ineffective because they are still in the dark ages as concerns their approach to marketing. In our next post we’ll show you why success is all about visionary thinking and the utilization of new technology in the form of social media. We will segue into how essential social media is to buying and selling of real estate. It’s not only the technology, but a grasp of how the game has changed. Indeed how to use the technology. Either one becomes a student and understands and embraces it, or is left behind. “Social Media is not a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate”.
Our goal is to become the #1 expert in the utilization of social media for Palm Springs area real estate. Whether it’s through blogging, life streaming (Posterous) and video (Viddler, Vimeo, You Tube, Meta Cafe), Facebook and Linkedin networking, or micro-blogging through Twitter and its many applications (check out how we are using Listorious and Tweetmeme for example), We’ll show you why this is the future of marketing. And don’t forget to subscribe to this blog and follow us on the various social networking platforms (many of which you can connect with us through retaggr.com) to experience it yourself.
Comment below on how you use social media, what your favorite sites are, and which you’d suggest we focus on as we continue to interact with you.
