SPARKt Chicago Technology Conference

Today I had the opportunity to speak to a phenomenal Chicago organization called SPARKt founded by my friend Kit Mueller.  This event has proven to be THE real estate (and outside industry) technology event of the midwest, and today did not disappoint.

For my presentation I was asked to discuss “Rules for a Changing Game” and how social media and other influences will forever change the real estate industry.  Thanks to a couple of highly influential people by the names of David Armano (read his blog here) and Peter Kim (read his blog here)I was able to put together the following presentation.

The Humanizing of the Social Web for Business 4-29-09 – Dollinger

Many of the thoughts and ideas for this presentation came from the below stroke of genius orchestrated by Peter Kim in his whitepaper entitled “Social Media Predictions 2009″.

Social Media Predictions for 2009

As I said in my presentation, I believe that the biggest obstacle the real estate industry faces today is itself.  By looking outside the box to the individuals included in Peter’s whitepaper, I believe the answers are there waiting to be discovered.

What are your thoughts?  Share your comments below.

(A further discussion of the visual for Online Brand Communication will be posted shortly!)

Matt Dollinger

The You Factor

1. What do you think will be the key real estate trends in 2009-2012, and how are you preparing for them?

Personally, I believe that the key trend in real estate will revolve around the agent and their ascendency from typical “RealtorR” to Real Estate Advisor.  I have created a facebook group specifically for this movement and below is our mission statement ala Jerry McGuire.

“Recently, even before the changes in the market, I began talking about what we can simply refer to as “Real Estate 2.0”. This “Migration to Real Estate Advisor” has been fostered by some wonderfully generous leaders of our industry including Marc Davison of 1000 Watt Consulting (www.1000wattconsulting.com ), NikNik and Reggie of My Tech Opinion (www.mytechopinion.com), and others. These innovators of the industry have graciously shared their insight, research and expertise to aid me in our journey.

Request:
I would like this group to serve as a collaborative effort for our industry and all of those that work within it. Use it as a sounding board, use it as a brainstorming group, use it to advance your business. Speak. Listen. Ask. Answer. Be Heard. Share. Invite others that you feel can advance this effort to join and do the same. This is a time of defining moments, and as we have seen in our recent election, Change can happen if you want it to.”

1. If you could re-invent your company in any way possible, what would it look like?

I wouldn’t.  I have researched, collaborated, and discussed this topic with hundreds of industry and consultants to the industry about this very topic, and I can honestly say that our company is positioned for the future.  The odd thing is that where we have done a great job of advancing in the areas of marketing, IT, and agent training, it all boils down to one thing.  We have the most magnetic company culture of any organization I have found.  And what does that mean?  That means that not only do our agents believe in the COMPANY, not only do our agents walk onto the street (or e-street) armed with the best tools available, they BELIEVE that the leaders of our company have their best interests in mind, will advise them on how to best adapt to the marketplace, and will put whatever their leaders tell them to do into action.  THAT – is something that you cannot build, outsource, or create overnight.

3. What steps are you taking, or would you like to take, to increase your lead generation and conversion, and how are you managing online (e-leads) and offline (broker, relocation referrals) in terms of personnel and organization?

We are focusing less on the increase of leads and more on the care and attention to detail that we provide the leads that we have.  Our philosophy that I believe in is that this is the era of the consumer.  They have the reigns right now.  They are in control.  They are in the drivers seat.  BUT… they also have too much data and not enough knowledge.  It’s like being in a car with an atlas and you are trying to get from Downtown Chicago to the Lakeview neighborhood.  The consumer (whether online, walk in, relocating, or otherwise) is all seeking the same thing… truthful, honest, compassionate, unbiased knowledge.  And… they would like it on their terms, accessible on their timeframe… not ours.

Also, with all of the advancements in technology that are going on right now, we are forgetting that these are still confused, living, breathing human beings that we are dealing with.  They WANT and advocate, they NEED an advisor.  They still want someone to hold their hand, drive them around and advise them on their best decisions… but they need a little more courting right now.

1. How do you expect to use online social networking as a primary tool of generating new and repeat business?

Personally, I hate the fact that all social media and online source come down to “how can I capture business?”  That’s not what this should be all about.  Social media in the marketplace should be used on the following levels from my belief.

1. Sharing of Knowledge:  As I said above the floodgates of information have been opened with the DOJ settlement and there’s no going back.  If you FORCE me to put in my information somewhere, I am going to CNTRL – T (open new tab in Mozilla) and go somewhere else to get it for free.  Unfortunately, some of the places that I am going to go and get it for free are not as accurate as the data that we keep under lock and key.  So my thought is that the job of the agent using social media should be to take the data that is there, put it into a medium that is appropriate (Facebook users probably don’t want to see my Excel charts – maybe video?) and distribute it out there.  THIS is the law of attraction in working order.
2. Communication – The nice thing about some of the social media platforms out there is that the user can access whatever they want at their own time discretion.  I believe that Time is the most important element in our lives right now and, just because you call me and it’s convenient for you, doesn’t mean it’s convenient for me. That’s why I love Facebook, FriendFeed, and Twitter.  I can check out what my friends are doing now, yesterday and two weeks ago.  I can become connected to them through the pictures of their vacation, their Twit about where they ate, or where they went last weekend.  Vice Versa, they can do the same for me and even though they may live in Califonia, they could see that I just shoveled 2 feet of snow.  Then, we all become more than “leads”, we become connected, and possibly friends.
3. Differentiation – In my online profiles I have a short bio that tells the following about me.  “Former bartender, cow-milker, globe-trekker, marketing manager, consultant and more turned real estate coach 2.0. I focus on bringing the best of technology and branding to agents across the country.” This doesn’t tell a ton about why I’m great at my job, but it sure as hell makes me a little different.  Check out my facebook page and you’ll find out that I love dogs, cooking, skiing, traveling, etc…  and that sets me apart.

1. What gaps do you see between your current sales agents’ technology capabilities and the typical customers you will be working with this year?

I actually fear that we are moving too far ahead of the typical consumer on many levels, and that we are so concerned about being “cutting edge” that we don’t necessarily make our processes friendly to our consumers.  Since we are one of the most innovative industries out there, it’s in our blood to move forward… but to do so without curtailing it to our consumers or using it to increase the overall “customer experience” is madness and where many in our industry fall down.  Ask yourself, or any other brokers this question, “Before you launched your new website/widget/marketing campaign… how many of your past/current clients did you ask to review it? “  My guess is that you’ll have a big phat zero from most of your brokers.  We are innovating on OUR terms… not on those of the end client.  Why?  Because it’s ten times easier to read a study or statistics and base it on that than it is to stand in front of a Target with a Handycam and ask people what they thing.  Well, maybe it’s not just easier, but it’s a great way for us not to have to listen to them, and hear what they might think of us.

Share your thoughts… I’ve shared mine.

Matt Dollinger

The You Factor

I saw this video yesterday for the first time, and am embaressed to say so.  It is so brilliant and hits so spot-on, that I watched it over and over.  Geert Desager and his team over at OpenHere have presented  Bring The Love Back Please take a look:

So in this relationship of Advertiser and Consumer, where is the change occuring?  The advertiser still knows tons of data about the Consumer, but what conslusions do they make about that data.  Here are my points drawn from this video:

1. The Consumer has had enough
2. We have no idea who the consumer is anymore
3. We have no idea what the consumer wants anymore
4. The Consumer wants to talk to us
5. We don’t want to listen
6. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the “coupon”

As I said, I think that there’s a great lesson to be learned here and one that will be especially pertainent for the Real Estate industry moving forwards.  Next up, their second video…

Matt Dollinger

The You Factor

It’s not really the setup point that stressed me out, it was more the idea of sitting down and going over all of the programs, (Mozilla not IE), new sites available, (Facebook)?  What the hell?), and the general ideas of sharing and convergence. 

To those of us that have made our job, livelihood or passion around this modern day technology, most of this is pretty basic.  We look to Mashable or other sites to see how they have improved upon it or what the latest “plugin” is to take us to the next level.  But… what about the other 90% of the world?  What about the 40+ consumer that doesn’t get it or doesn’t think that social media is anything more than a way for high school kids to bitch about their teachers and share pictures? 

This weekend, when showing this information to my Mom and Dad, I realized a couple of things:

1.        It isn’t that they don’t WANT to learn about this information.  It’s more that they have probably tried to grasp something altogether new or foreign in the past, and don’t realize that today’s systems are setup for learning with ease.

2.        There is an ingrained FEAR learning something altogether new.  They have learned and changed throughout their lives and now, many of them, would like to simply enjoy or exist in the world that they have created.

3.        Many are UNSURE of what this type of technology can do for them.  When explained that they can catch up with old friends, see grandkids, and share pictures with people that haven’t seen in years… and do so a) easily and b) on THEIR schedule… they are extremely interested.

4.        They have to UNDERSTAND the idea of Web 2.0 and embrace it.  When showing my Mom YouTube and searching for Watercolor Painting, she was amazed to see that there were hundreds of tutorial videos for free from teachers across the world.

I wrote a post long ago entitled, “When does the map of Web 2.0 become Clouded?” where I talked about the fact that with all of the advancements that we are creating.  The overall question becomes, “In doing so are we simply further distancing ourselves from our clients?”  This is an incredibly glaring question that I think we all need to ask ourselves and one that has a very clear and simple answer.

Instead of simply innovating, we need to explain and educate our clients on how to use this technology and how it will in turn, benefit them.

By doing so, we will not only be closing the gap between the “get its” and the “don’t get its”, but also develop and innovate with the end user in mind.  This is true collaboration and something that many industries fail to do, spending millions of dollars in research and very little in client testing. 

So take a minute.  Call some people that might not be “up to speed” on some of the latest technology out there.  Share with them the hows and why’s to use it, and focus on the end benefits for them.  And while you’re at it, look up my Dad (Rex Dollinger – Bayfield, WI) on Facebook and ask him to be your friend… he’s new on there.

~ Matt Dollinger

But… maybe you don’t have a killer IT department or the time to create one of these reports on your own. In that case I would definitely take a look at Altos Research and the many products that they have available.

What Altos Research has to offer:

Killer In – Depth Market Reports

Up to date, local, and accurate, these reports consist of everything you, or your clients could want or need including:

• Current Prices of homes on the market
• Trends in Pricing
• Active and Sold Inventory
• Value Metrics

There’s even a lead gathering program that allows users to your website or blog to register and receive the reports delivered to their email account on a weekly basis

Click the example on the left to see an example of this report.

Active Charts for Your Website or Blog

• Want to watch the Days on Market for high-end homes in Dallas?
  Want to compare demand trends for San Francisco vs San Diego?
  Want to compare two counties in California?

These Interactive charts don’t need updating and supply the most current, up to date statistics on the market. (Click the Chart to see all of the options)

AltosCharts Mobile

You can access your AltosCharts from any web enabled mobile phone. Just open the link on your phone’s browser to view real-time market conditions anywhere!

Sign up your clients and have the weekly reports delivered directly to their phone.

Click Here to Try it out Yourself.

This is just the basics of what Altos Research has to offer. Check out their site, sign up to see what the reports look like in your areas, and find out what the guys at Altos can help bring to your real estate marketing plan. They have also released a number of new features at RE Connect this weekend so try it out before your competition get their hands on it!

Matt Dollinger

@properties

The Only Thing We Have To Fear… Is Fear Itself

On March 4, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt faced a country in fear, in depression and receited one of the most eloquent speeches in Presidential history. Entering the Presidency in the middle of the Great Depression, Roosevelt inherited 13,000,000 unemployed and almost every bank in our Nation closed. In his first “hundred days,” he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes… sound familiar?

Fear was not an option for FDR. Having battled to use his legs after being stricken with poliomyelitis, the challenge of facing a Nation at its knees was simply another battle.

Today we face issues ourselves. Homes, Jobs, and a fluctuating economy strike at the heart of each of us, and for those of us in the Real Estate profession it is our turn to overcome this fear. Fear is not simply an emotion, it is a debilitator, it is a paralyzation, it is a disease that can only be overcome by action.

And so I urge those of you with the strength to stand up against this fear to combat with the tools you have amongst you. Educate your clients. Arm youself with knowledge. Embrace new technology. You are the solution… not the disease, and rather than pointing fingers and throwing blame assist in rectifying the problem. Action will combat your fear. Knowledge will rise you above. Education will move you forward.

The Utterz below was recorded after talking with a friend, facing unemployment, and struggling to rise above the Fear.

Matt Dollinger

So, what do you actually KNOW about your clients and referral sources?  You probably know the following demographic information:

1. 1.  Where they live.
2. 2.  What they do for a living.
3. 3.  What their general income looks like.
4. 4.  Their race, sex, and family status.
5. 5.  Possibly their educational level.

But the question becomes, “Does this truly make them people,  or are these just demographic factors that we often draw assumptions from?”  I think this is a huge difference between knowing your clients’ Demographics and their Psychographics… and I believe that the Psychographics are what we really need to know.

What’s the difference between the two?  According toWikipedia…

* Demographics – refer to selected population characteristics as used in government, marketing or opinion research, or the demographic profiles used in such research. Commonly-used demographics include race, age, income, disabilities, mobility (in terms of travel time to work or number of vehicles available), educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location.

* Psychographics- are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables (for Interests, Attitudes, and Opinions).

I made my first post this morning on www.Utterz.com(this site is incredibly cool.  Audio-blogging) talking about how I am working with my agents to develop marketing campaigns geared around creating a Long Term Customer Experience throughout the course of the relationship… not just the transaction.  Where this is pretty Real Estate specific, I believe that it could easily be incorporated into any business that depends on the word or mouth advertising or referrals of clients. 

–> If you’re interested in putting together a long term email campaign for your clients like this, listen to my Utterz post here:  http://tinyurl.com/5hqztl

I think that the important thing to focus on when developing this type of email campaign to your clients is your target, or ”Top Ten” list.  These are your “Top Ten” client and referral sources that you would like to  clone into ALL future business.  These might not be your most expensive clients, or most likely to buy tomorrow, but they are people you enjoy working with, respect you as a professional, and think highly of the service you provide.  Below are the steps I recommend you take to develop this campaign:

1.  Send the email below to your “Top Ten” list of clients and contacts

To get a copy of the Psychographic Variable Introduction Email click here http://tinyurl.com/5d2qmg

2.  Follow up with a phone call afterwards to go through the fact finding questions with them.

To get a copy of the Psychographic Variable Questions for clients click here http://tinyurl.com/6s3z2r

3.  Review the answers that you get from your “Top Ten” and find the 6 degrees of separation between them.  The typical shared interests will usually be food, drink, family, travel, fun, etc.  These will determine the “Personal” content of your campaign.

4.  Print out a 12 month calendar and determine what your campaign will look like over the next year.  (i.e. July might be an Al Fresco dining recommendation, August could be day/weekend trips before school starts).

5.  Determine what “Professional” elements you are going to include in the campaign. (i.e. market data, links to articles of interest, etc.)

6. Put these elements together into a short (2 – 3) paragraph email with a couple of hyperlinks together for your database to review.  (1 paragraph intro, 1 paragraph personal, 1 paragraph professional).  The idea is that even though the campaign’s content is based on what those MOST IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUSINESS would find valuable, it will probably appeal to a much broader database. 

Our goal is that our clients and contacts will:

*Find it VALUABLEenough to pass onto their personal sphere of influence

*Brand us as a local community EXPERT, and increase communication between us

*Open the lines for referrals, because referrals are a Two Sided Business

*Take the first steps in becoming a LOVEMARK to our clients, and not just a brand

Ask yourself this question.  “When you’re driving down the street and see a For Sale sign from your company that isn’t your listing, don’t you feel just a little proud of that?  Don’t you feel that because you have contributed to that company, that the agent’s success for that property is partially yours?”

Usually, the answer is YES.  And just like that situation, we want to make our clients and contacts feel part of our business, feel like contributors to YOUR success, and most importantly… special.

The thing to remember here is that this is target marketing.  We are not trying to be all things to all people… we are attempting to truly understand and deliever information to those that effect our business most positively.  On top of that, I believe you’ll probably feel much more confident (See Become the Jame Bond of Real Estate Post) in your communication with clients when you provide something of value to them. 

Matt Dollinger

@properties

Caffeine... it does a body good

So I was sitting in Starbucks this morning across the street from one of our offices, meeting with a couple of agents.  In between meetings I approached the manager (Kelly) to see if she might have a couple of minutes to talk.  I told her that I was interested in finding out about the culture, mentality and training program that Starbucks implemented, and she was happy to talk about it.

The reason I chose Starbucks, was because it has always stood out in my mind as one of those “Experience Entrepreneurs”… highly talked about in Joseph Michelli’s book “The Starbucks Experience“.  It never really was about the coffee to me with Starbucks… When I think about Starbucks, I think about Comfy Chairs, Great Smells, Pretty People and WiFi.  To be honest, if the choice is between Starbucks and a local provider, I will always try to support the little guy.  But I digress… and millions of people across the world frequent this franchise on a daily basis.  Below is a detailed account of what I learned in 15 minutes from a Starbucks Manager named Kelly.

“Starbucks Coffee is the #1 purveyor of coffee in the world.  We are here to educate and enhance the best possible customer experience – Howard Schultz“

• Starbucks goal is to become the Third Place in our daily lives.  (i.e. Home, Work and Starbucks)  “We want to provide all the comforts of your home and office.  You can sit in a nice chair, talk on your phone, look out the window, surf the web… oh, and drink coffee too,” said Kelly.  (Notice she put “drink coffee” last???)
• “The idea behind customer service here is to make it one that isn’t just good, we want to make it Great.  If people have a BAD experience, they’ll tell 7 people.  If they have an average experience they’ll tell no one.  If they have a GREAT experience, they’ll tell 2-3.  Making it a great experience though, isn’t just about service.  If they have a problem (bad drink, cracked lid, etc.), we want to do everything to make it right, then and there.”
• “Our entire training process is learning by example.  We have new employees shadow experienced people to learn how to make the drinks, how to talk with customers, how to interact.  You can’t learn that kind of thing from a book.”
• “We approach everything in our store from a ‘What I would want’ mentality.  The music, the cleanliness, the service… everything has to be what we would want if we came in as a customer.”
• “When we look at hiring someone we always ask the question, ‘What does coffee mean to you?’  For some people it’s simply a pick me up in the morning.  For me, who never drank coffee before, it was something that brought people together.  It’s a conversation piece, something that opens the doors between people or allows others to simply lose themselves and relax.”
• “Good attitude, curious into what the customer needs/wants, outgoing, and conversational without overstepping any boundaries.  This type of person is not only an asset to the team, but the customer as well.”

“What’s another company that delivers service like Starbucks?  I ride motorcycles and I would have to say that Harley Davidson does a really good job.  If I’m looking for a part, I can talk with someone that day and know that they’re not only going to call me back, but they’re going to check in with me afterwards to make sure that I got everything I need.” – Kelly

Apple, Starbucks, Harley Davidson… all of these have done everything they can to understand the wants and needs of their customer, while delivering them at a human, interactive level.  Do I think that Kelly probably has an incredible knowledge of beans, roasting processes, and an intricate coffee palate?  Absolutely.  But, I assumed this walking in the door.  What keeps me coming back is the fact that they have inquired, done their homework, and delivered on their promise to become the 3rd place in my life.

They understand the importance of The Customer Experience and have invested alot of time and money to deliver it.  Even though Dunkin Donuts has better coffee according to Consumer Reports, is about $1 cheaper, and is more convenient, I (along with millions of other consumers) will drive a little further, spend a little more time, and spend a little more money for what is promised by this company from Seattle.

I’ll take a side of Customer Experience with my Americano please…

Thanks Kelly.  By sticking to the Starbucks “You Factor” you made my experience great… and I’m telling my 2-3 people.

Matt Dollinger

@properties

Well, thanks to a friend I met on ActiveRain, now you have a (very) thorough list to justify your commission. Connie Olson, a Realtor with Realty World in Orange Park, Florida has put together this INCREDIBLE list entitled, “The REALTOR®’S Critical Role in the Real Estate Transaction”. These over 180 points outline everything from pre-listing activities to your part in the negotiation. Although, some of Connie’s points might not apply to us here in Illinois (as an attorney state), I promise you will still find nearly 100 points that should assist you in justifying that commission.

To access the article that Connie has been nice enough to share with all of us simply CLICK HERE Also, any referrals you might have in the Orange Park, Florida area (See the Map Below if you aren’t sure where this is), send them down to Connie.

Matt Dollinger
@properties

Her website is located at www.flemingislandsrealestate.com

View Larger Map

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.508978&w=425&h=350&fv=] from www.1000wattblog.com posted with vodpod

Other than the comment, “What does your dog have to do with this” I agree with 100% of these comments. (The fact that people with shared interests actually have a pre-established level of trust is what I tell people to put small details like pets on their bio and/or brand). In the end though it truly is, all about them. Read the comments on this video HERE or on Marc’s blog at www.1000wattconsulting.com.