Breakfast with The Blogfather...(almost)....

As I was staring at my breakfast while watching Inman TV this a.m.,

first I realized I really need to cut down on the fatty stuff.

Then I listened to the Blogfather.

He has a deal no one in real estate can refuse.

Dustin Luther talks about why and how he got started blogging

and his energy is incredible.

And why knowing where to find information is more important

than having it all in one place.

Why it's important to have a conversation that lets the ideas flow.

Linkation, Linkation, Linkation...

I will never see sausages the same way...

I gotta go mow the lawn.

It's really better if I burp outside, anyway.

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Flipping Your But(t)...

We will get to the above stated sentiment in a moment, but first:

...isn't this Be-Utah-Ful?

When you get out of bed and this is the first thing you see, you know you are pretty close to corporate headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City for our annual-see-me-hug-me-once-a-year-meeting.

The Obeo agenda:

Flipping Your But(t), A Chris Farley look-alike, a Star-Trek murder-mystery, pushing 50-pound ammo cans over the bridge you just built from a piece of rope and two battered pieces of 6-inch wide aluminum over three feet of very cold water or hard concrete or gravel .

Here is one of the bridges, supported by a lot of trust:

Every day we are each faced with challenges we choose by choice:

Being on this fence – actually any fence – right now is probably more dangerous than waiting in line to summit Everest. You might get comfortable,

...or just get used to the pain in your butt.

Who can afford to be on the fence? Get off it or over it. Fall off it if you have to.

The grass is greener on the other side, anyway.

The Obeo crew spent Friday doing just that by building bridges – crummy ones, with bent and battered pieces of metal, frayed ropes and high hopes they would take us over the obstacles in the Leadership Reaction Course at a Utah National Guard camp just outside Salt Lake City.
But we didn't do it alone – we did it with each other and with a lot of discussion – some of it just a little edgy, all of it pointing the way through.

That's all the market is right now. Something to get over.

So: team up with others in your brokerage. Pool your talent. Hold your commissions. Be a team.

Change the way you think about the market. Be an expert on neighborhood information. The listings are out there. You can win them.

Commit to a marketing program where you know the buyers are – on line. Tell your sellers you won't take a listing if it ain't going on line, with a lead capture tool and then price it right.

Let your knowledge guide your behavior, and keep refreshing that knowledge.

So Flip Your But(t)!

Example:

“I could sell these places,

but

...the buyers won't move on price and the surplus inventory keeps growing.”

(Now flip it:)

"The buyers won't move on price and the surplus inventory keeps on growing,

but

if I show them where they buyers are, put their listing there and tell them we are going to look at the numbers in a couple weeks, I know I can sell it."

Now, did that hurt? Feel better?

Good - see you at the Wisconsin Realtors Association get-together !

I gotta go..

Steve

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Sexy Crazy Photo of Statistics for Real Estate Marketing !

While the header here may have you chuckling: I never really liked math until I had an algebra teacher tell me statistics are like bikinis: what they reveal is interesting. The inspiration for this post came from the crew at Sellsius !

Obeo can - and does - the job twice as good as our closest competitor.

...and that is something you can take through the fan and to the bank!

I gotta go...call me!

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Realtors are going through the fan...

Teresa Boardman seemed a little crabby when I stopped by recently at her blog.

But not without reason.

She says Realtors need buyers, not a kick in the teeth from their licensing organizations or the boards that support Realtors, but still say there is an excess of Realtors walking around.

Needless to say, the market is giving Realtors, brokers, buyers, sellers and associated professionals - all of us - a push toward the fan.

(See photo below.)

(Photo borrowed from foureyesjokeshop.com )

Well, there ain't nothing like social networking to pull you through the fan.

While this current market situation reflects the survival of the fittest-those that throw the biggest fit survive.

My home forum, http://www.wannanetwork.com/, is looking at gathering as many of their over 11,000+ members as they can at the National Association of Realtors convention this November- so follow the link and join up, even if you can't get to Vegas. I am hoping to be there early, myself.

So, what is going to happen as we go through the fan together?

Well, the reality of transparent information , a flattening marketplace and the competition they generate will thin out any labor force- including Realtors.

Okay, there are many other forces at work here and this may be an oversimplification, but the fact is the shakeout is here for Realtors and everyone who works with or for them.

Keeping it short and simple: no one wants to eat their young.

In the thick of this you have to look way ahead and see what is already emerging: Realtors need buyers, buyers are online, online companies like Zill-Ow are serving those buyers and the FSBOS are serving them too, -up to 20% or better in one of my core markets.

Ramping up education and keeping an eye on standards could be one trend worth shouting about. And that is a good thing for the profession of Realtors and housing consumers alike.

Realtors who are serious are all experts at some things.

It seems that Realtors may become experts on what to know,

not how to sell or to whom.

But hey, I'm just turning on the roller grill with you...

Pass the ketchup, please....

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Donut on a Stick - Defined- from Inman Wiki

(Donut on a Stick-Comfort Food for Realtors.)

(Due to a very large amount of interest lacking in the previous post, I offer the following for clarification-Obeoman)

Donut on a stick:

Device used to lure Realtors into buy marketing, technology and on line services they desperately need (more than the donut on a stick.)

Averaging approximately 300- 1,300 calories per serving, depending on if is just a plain cake donut or if it is chocolate-covered,creme filled or has sprinkles on it the donut on a stick classifies as comfort food for Realtors.

The stick itself is approximately 6-7 inches in length, round, made of wood of undetermined nature, between an eighth and a quarter of an inch in diameter and pointed on one end.

(Health note: the stick is not edible, and will not support a "For Sale" sign. As it is not edible for health reasons it should not be re-used at other sales meetings to skewer another pastry or used to arrange paperwork in a tidy stack for closings.)

Supplied and distributed by vendors, who may or may not be preferred, (depending on the brokerage being visited,) consumption of the donut on a stick usually occurs during, but is not limited to sales meetings.
Office decorum demands that there be at least one (1) donut on a stick per person attending the sales meeting. The donut on a stick may be shared, but solely at the discretion of the real estate agent holding the stick.

(Safety Note: The donut on a stick should never be consumed while driving, as it may interfere with essential activities like answering a cell phone, plugging in your laptop or making a showing on time.)

While the donut on a stick may not be favored just by Realtors, it should be noted they most understand the content of the donut and its central element.

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Markets are like donuts - who do you face?

As ideas are like compost, so Donuts will bring you a customer or two, despite all the gluten-intolerant and calorically-conscious people out there.

The hard sell does not work; the real evidence of this: the fact that most Realtors still do not have a website. (You do have to have donuts for this group -reaching them on the phone is possible but may take all year.)

The other group of Realtors still do not understand the basic premise that marketing is achievement, not activity. They point themselves at marketing programs reluctantly, often not considering the cost and are often sold a bill of goods on DIY, SEO and SMS ending up with alphabet soup and nothing S-O-L-D. (For this group, you sometimes need therapy.)

The rest of the Realtors and brokers often stare at each other before the stare at a vendor. The broker will usually tell a vendor all his Realtors work independently, so a meeting with them will be tough. And these Realtors know what they are doing, often don't want to work in teams, but can't figure out what globalization is doing to the real estate market, don't honestly believe that they are a conduit for information and service specialists and get beat down with the commission stick by sellers. (Their stare is a hungry look. They need to eat, obviously - but they don't necessarily want to pick up the tab.)

So who do face?

Do we use the consumer to drive the Realtor to the vendor?

Or should we put the donuts on a stick?

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Realtors are not Destinations...

(photo borrowed from NASA/roverpics)

Real estate is first and foremost about location, location, location.

And hats off to you - if you are at least trying to be an expert on your community like Edyn Real Estate is in Madison, WI.

More and more Realtors have to realize they are not the destination for the buyer, but the way to the destination for the buyer.

Marketing is achievement, not just activity. Focus your activity on achievement.

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

RAVE ABOUT OBEO!-THANK YOU, ELIAS PAPADOPOULOS OF REMAX!

More great results with Obeo we like to hear about - from his blog at activerain:

OBEO will give you an edge on your Listing presentations....
For RE/MAX agents:
I started to use OBEO listing websites about 3 months ago and it has helped me secure my last 5 listings. Now most of the agents in my office are using it too. Go to www.obeo.com to check it out.
For under $200 you get a professional photographer to come out and take high resolution pictures and 360 panoramas, a street.com website for your listing, a realtor.com upgrade and 10 mini diskettes of the tour.
If you go the extra mile and provide them with a floor plan you can even drag and drop furniture in to the different rooms of the house!
Check it out, you'll love it and your sellers will too.

Elias.
(Elias Papadopoulos Boston, MA-REMAX )