If you haven’t met Seth Godin yet, it’s time you introduced yourself…. Better yet, introduce yourself to his blog and his way of thinking.

SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change.  More importantly he is a lifesaver for the real estate industry, and any other that depends on a living, breathing consumer.  (Read his list of books here)

In one of his recent blog posts entitled “Rough Edges and Attention”, Seth talks about a recent campaign by UPS where they have, ” haphazardly affixed SAFETY sign hanging from the back.”  (See sample of the picture here)  Seth then goes on to discuss that if we truly want to gain show ummmm get people to notice your message, “When in doubt, scrawl make it human.”

 I read this, I LOVED this… and the more I thought about it, the more it walked hand-in-hand with The You Factor.  Question it all and ask, “What differentiates me from the commodities in my business?”  The answer, and the only thing that TRULY sets you apart from the competition is YOU.

YOU are different.  YOU are evolving.  YOU can adapt at the drop of a dime.  YOU can make a difference.  YOU have a heart.  YOU can listen.  YOU can understand.  YOU…  are amazing. 

Forget the brand.  Scrap the tag line.  Stand up, Turn on, and let your clients see it, feel it, and believe it.

Matt Dollinger

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBIVlM435Zg&hl=en]

Our family’s home had been damaged in a fire years earlier, and through a loophole in the insurance policy, did not receive any assistance.  When I first witnessed the home I was in disbelief.  Not because of the horrible conditions of the home, but by the ingenuity of the 71 year-old husband to do everything he could to repair it.  The home itself had seen much better days, with a staircase pulling away from the wall, soot stained carpeting, and ruined kitchen complete with 20 year old appliances, but the family that lived inside shared love, laughter, and happiness regardless of these conditions.  (See our Blog www.rebuildingchicago.com for pictures of pre construction and a list of our donations)

In the two months prior to the event, our volunteer community of almost 75 Realtors and over 25 skilled work volunteers exhausted every favor owed and developer contact we had for donations.  And on the day of the event, we arrived at our home with over $15,000 in donated time, materials and monetary donations.  (see pictures of event day at http://gallery.mac.com/jeremysegal/100057)

The most important part of this project wasn’t the new kitchen, the new staircase, the extensive landscaping, the new appliances, the rehabbed bathroom or the $1,000 cash donation at the end of the day.  What I will remember from this are the conversations I had and the comments I have heard since the event from our agent population. 

“This feels really good.  I am so thankful for what I have at home.”

“I can’t believe we did this.  I am so proud of what we’ve done.”

“This is the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done.”

“When are we doing another one of these?”

In a world of selfish and self-serving behaviors; At a time when people crowd tour buses to gawk and bid on families losing their homes; In a country of capitalism and status measured by credit scores and assets; these associates who I now consider friends, joined me for a day of feel-good philanthropy and made a difference in a family’s life.  And maybe… just maybe… we can all work a little bit of this giving we uncovered and work it into our everyday lives and our “You Factor”

Matt Dollinger

Below is an email that I received from one of the agents I coach last night after working with him last week.  He has been a Realtor for a while but feeling rather burned out with the whole industry lately.  We talked at length about his passions, what he liked to do in life, and how we could use this to incorporate a “You Factor” into his business.  The results were outstanding…

Matt, 

I just wanted to thank you for your time last week, I’m very glad <our owner> encouraged me to meet with you. Some of the ideas we came up with to build my business have me real excited! I went out that Friday and took a bunch of neighborhood shots for my listing in <a neighborhood of Chicago> where I have been getting a somewhat negative response on the location, and had them out on the table at a showing on Saturday. The first person to come to the listing and see the pics wrote a contract, that day. Maybe luck, maybe effort, but either way I had a lot of fun getting these pics, and it’s got me real excited about combining my passion of photography with my career as a REALTOR. I can’t wait to implement more ideas.

Thanks so much for you time, I’m looking forward to continuing working with you.

See the pics here

Now I’m excited… and when I’m excited… Katy, bar the door.