Neo – “Why do my eyes hurt?”

Morpheus – “Because you’ve never used them before.”

One month ago I took the red pill and woke up from the RE.net Matrix.

I think it’s important to point out here that this is not a swipe or downplaying the importance of the RE.net community. The contributors and discussions that are shared there often times border on the level of brilliance. I have learned immensely from the leaders and contributors there.  This is simply a personal account of how I began to look outside the Matrix, and what I learned when I got out.

“The answer is out there, and it’s looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.”

My red pill came in the form of a face to face discussion outside departure terminal 2 at Ohare. My friend and I discussed the future of the RE industry, its pitfalls, and the stonewalls that hinder it’s progress forward. We debated in circles again and again, only to come to the same conclusion; that there were obstacles that cannot be overcome by us alone. We parted, and the conversation haunted me until I realized something that Henry Ford quoted beautifully:

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

This is when it came to light. There are obstacles that I alone, (or even collectively), cannot overcome, and was allowing them to obscure my vision. These immovable mountains were limiting my path and, although needed to be recognized,  could not consume my eyes. I needed to get out. I needed to wake up. I needed to leave the comfortable nest of recurring problems and debates and exit the Matrix. I chose the Red Pill.

“Remember… all that I’m offering you is the truth and nothing more.”

My rebirth began at a Starbucks on the corner of Halsted and Irving Park in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, IL. It was lacking in the drama of wires, plugs and membranial goo but was just as mentally freeing. It started with a simple whitepaper compiled by one Peter Kim of micro-celebrity fame entitled, “Social Media Predictions 2009”. And as it downloaded into Firefox, I could almost hear the whine of the Matrix in the background.

“I know Kung Fu”

The whitepaper is a collaborative effort born by Peter containing the smartest voices of Social Media today. Names like Brogan, Armano, Handley and Jaffe (to name a few) replaced the characters of Mouse, Dozer and Trinity on my journey of rediscovery. None of them balked at the challenges of registration, DOJ, or physical office space. They looked beyond it to a world of possibilities unhindered by these obstacles. I smelled the possibilities, sensed the pains associated, and was excited.

“I’m trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it.”

My next steps through the door of “awakening” forced me to retool my surrounding and purge my Reader. Blogs that I had read for years made their way to an icon resembling a garbage can and were replaced with titles like, “Logic+Emotion”, “Groundswell”, and “Influential Marketing”.

I felt disloyal abandoning old friends I held in such high regard that guided my infant footsteps in the RE.net Matrix, but knew it was something that had to be done. I also did so knowing that there were those in the Matrix that would combat, lash out, and fight my newfound mindset. But I needed to see the forest from the trees.

“He’s beginning to believe.”

The more I read, the more excited I became.  Here were REAL ideas addressing REAL problems REALLY differently.  It wasn’t the latest app, CRM or other technilogical whistle that was going to solve the problems of the modern day economy – it was a complete renovation of business as a whole.  I started to realize that for every great idea, for every vision that was forward thinking in the RE.net, there was somebody, that was there… fixed in their ways.  They were unable to try something different, something that might be the way to change the industry.  I started to believe that this… this open eyed view I was experiencing, past the boundaries of real estate, could actually do it.

“Fasten your seat belt Dorothy, ’cause Kansas is going bye-bye”

One of the best things that the Matrix has done, has been to validate some of the newer tools for change.  Twitter, Facebook and Social Media as a whole are now, (thanks in large part to the RE.net), viewed as amazing methods of differentiation – foundational brickwork for industry innovation.  Unfortunately, this has also (unintentionally I believe) influenced boundaries to be created that ideas and solutions must exist within.  These boundaries got me thinking, “Are we truly ‘innovating’ if we’re using Zillow’s iPhone app or Trulia’s Voices?”  Aren’t we actually “implementing other’s innovations”?  Where are the truly new and ground shaking ideas from within the industry?  Haven’t these “benchmarks” actually caused us to implement and accept rather than question and adapt?  Who said we had to play within the confines established or the rules laid out by others?

The companies (outside the RE.net) we view with such adoration didn’t necessarily work on this model.  Zappos, Dell and Comcast (the regarded leaders in innovative implementation) utilized something BIGGER than what was in their industry.  They looked past what AT&T, Shoebuy, and IBM were doing and took risks.  They WROTE the rules, they didn’t follow industry standards.  In an awesome post, “Brands will Learn by Doing.  Get Over It“, David Armano talks about this risk – and the fact that mistakes will be made, and that’s ok.  Only by taking these risks, listening to what our consumers have to say about them, and then learning/adapting from it will our efforts be rewarded by R.O.E. (Return on Engagement).  Only after “Doing” will we be able to learn and adapt accordingly.

“There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

So what are the solutions that on the horizon?  What is so amazing that I have learned by looking outside the RE.net Matrix?

Below is a small sampling of my thoughts that I have learned along my journey so far:

1.  Let Love Rule - For brokers this means that you need to put down the battle axe that you’ve been grinding with your agents over commission splits, etc.  Lead by Love and you will see the emergence of an entirely new business model in your company.  Yes, there will still be those agents that try to milk you for all you’re worth, but for every one of them, there will emerge 10 “lovecats” that if shown they are loved, will become your most loyal soldiers.  For agents, get over the whole “buyers are liars” mentality and show your clients some love.  They have trusted you with their most valuable asset and you (some have not) have neglected them since the market has turned.  They are worried, they are scared, they are in need of an Advisor and not a trinket of your affection.

2.  Learn by Doing (Listen, Learn, Adapt) – Those companies that take the biggest risks and LISTEN to the results will have the biggest competitive advantage.  Ask your internal folks, your clients, and your advocates for ideas and then commit to trying them out and listening.  Break free of the chains of brokerage and start managing from a position of innovation.  The market is not coming back to 2005 and your website isn’t going to save you.  Only by taking substantial risks are you in a position to reap the rewards.

3.  Education is the Key - Empower the most passionate on topics that your clients/agents find important and expose them.  Allow them to talk unbridled about their thoughts and insight into these topics.  Find outside experts that are more passionate and knowledgeable than them to validate their theories (To see what someone inside the RE.net has done check out what Reggie Nicolay has done here).  Call businesses in your marketplace that are doing things differently and invite them to speak directly to your agents.  Teach the basics in a new manner (see David Armano’s presentation on ‘Thinking Visually’ here).  Try something new.  Take your top 10 agents and go on a field trip to the Apple Store for a crash course one “how to create an long-lasting customer experience” – FYI – I did… and it was amazing!

4.  The Social Web is the Human Web - Those that are seeing the highest return (retention, engagement, branding) on social media are those that are engaging clients with live, human, passionate people.  Eblasts and other mass-marketing serve a “touch point” purpose, but for true engagement, there are few that can hold a candle to the humanness of Comcast’s Frank Eliason.  Frank is passionate, he is empathetic, he is genuine… and he is human.  The social web is called just that for a reason – because it begins, exists, and ends around people.  (For more insight – check out the Notorious R.O.B.’s post ‘It aint the Technology’)

5.  Trust your judgement (and that of your team) - If there’s one thing that I’ve learned as of late, it’s that YOU know your clients, market, and agents better than any consultant, guru, or expert.  At a recent conference of Leading RE Companies of the World, Rob Hahn and I sat in on a group of brokers discussing their future outlook.  What we learned was that there is NO “One Size Fits All” solution for the future of your business.  Knoxville, TN is not Chicago, IL or San Diego, CA for that matter.  Where some ideals (client care, humanizing your company, educating your agents, innovative thinking) are necessities to do battle in today’s marketplace, hyperlocal (and ITS PEOPLE) is your audience.  Not the brokers on Inman, not the RE.net on Twitter, and not me.  Your local audience is your “collective” and that which you should focus on engaging.  Be yourself and be authentic… you can’t be all things to all people.

(Side note – while I was at Leading RE a broker from Texas came up to me and handed me a golden dollar.  He told me that he wanted to say how much he respected the fact that I wore a suit every day to the sessions (to get away with the fact that I only shave once a week!)  This small vintage-Carnagie token has stood out as something I won’t often forget.  It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t cutting-edge, but it was HIM and it was AUTHENTIC)

“Welcome to the real world.”

The world does not look all sunshine and roses outside of the Matrix. There are challenges here as well, obstacles that I will face, and lessons to be learned from the RE.net Matrix. One cannot exist without the other in our world any more than it could in the movie. But, I for one, can attest to the fact that this world, outside the argumentative noise of existing problems, looks like one with solutions on the horizon.

Matt Dollinger

The You Factor

]]> http://theyoufactor.com/2009/05/13/looking-beyond-the-renet-matrix/feed/ 18 http://theyoufactor.com/2009/04/30/the-humanizing-of-the-social-web/ http://theyoufactor.com/2009/04/30/the-humanizing-of-the-social-web/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:21:24 +0000 Matthew Dollinger http://theyoufactor.com/?p=261

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

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Chicagoland Women’s Council of RealtorsR on the power of Social Media in the marketplace.  Originally titled, “Social Media – Do you Twitter?” I took a little creative liberty on myself and expaned the topic.

My thought behind not sticking to the initial topic was based around one simple thought:

-Twitter is not the silver bullet for real estate…

and there’s so much more that they should be doing-

Personally, I enjoy Twitter, but think most of the time it’s a bunch of noise unless you choose to follow the right people.  And so, my presentation focused on how they could truly embrace, utilize and build upon the tools that social media, networking, microblogging, and RSS could provide to an agent.  I worked on this presentation for almost 5 days, boiling it down to brass tacks, then expanding again, then editing.  At the end of the day, here is what I came up with.

- It is time to evolve with your clients’ needs and become a Real Estate Advisor

- Social Media is a fantastic tool that can serve as a communication/connection platform

- Social Networking as described by the movies of John Hughes

- Google Reader and RSS should serve to educate both you and your clients

- Microblogging and Twitter are communication tools to share your expertise

I truly believe that this is the start of something big… the breaking of shackles on an industry that is rooted in information guarding and old-guard salesmanship.  It’s time to break out and become something bigger, something new, something that will position yourself not only as an advocate and advisor of your clients, but as a gear in the overall machine towards recovery.

Below is the presentation that I used with some “web friendly” links thrown in for better understanding highlighted in BLUE.

Please email me for more information, to reuse this presentation, and as always, please share your comments below!

Chicago WCR Social Media Presentation

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