Clients for life...why not?

Are you a client for life?

Think about it-you probably have a favorite brand or two;

some boots, clothing, apparel, auto or an appliance you just will not do without.

Now-what about YOUR clients-

Think about them.

How are you making them yours?:

It's easy.

Give them a reason-a good one-and they will stick with you.

Sounds like a win-win!

Thanks for stopping by,

(by the way, you can play with the StyleDesigner here!)

Steve

Obeoman

262-325-8687

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Obeo National:800-729-6236

GIVING THANKS WITH:FREE OBEO STYLEDESIGNERS!

How about this:

We are giving thanks to
all of our friends and associates with a

FREE Obeo StyleDesigner ($40 value)

on any new Obeo photography package.

This nifty widget lets you redecorate a home on line!

To redeem, use promo code 'PC955689'

Ends Nov. 30th, 2008. Call us: 800-729-6236

And it is great to see you here!-
thanks for the thoughts and comments

-keep 'em coming!

Now, wanna grow your social network?

Let's link up on twitter:

http://twitter.com/obeoman

facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/5tt3hw

and LinkedIn!:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenstearns

See you there!

Steve Stearns

Obeoman

http://obeoman.blogspot.com

262-325-8687

Voices from the Flood: Wendell, Michelle, the Flood Survivors and Volunteers Party!

This party was given by

my friends:
Ft. Atkinson flood victims
living along Milwaukee St.
to thank those who helped them
during the Rock River Flood of 2008.

The pictures,

the words and thoughts in the videos linked in this blog

of those who were there in the bad times and the good

are a powerful reminder of what we all value-

Community, family, friends, neighbors and gratitude.

Home.

Wendell (finally) looks rested.

Michelle and volunteer/coordinator Vicki Sherman
were enjoying the well-deserved day.

And at this party, everyone was your friend!

Plenty of dancing...

And of course, you have to stay hydrated...

...Don't let all those beans scare you...

(...Who really wants these shovels back-but the loan of the tools were appreciated!)

Ultimately,

Sharing is part of what brings us closer together.

And what a perfect day to share!

...And of course, relax on a sandbag sofa!

The day wasn't nearly long enough

to recount the memories from the flood, let alone make room to remember the celebration!

Not that all the memories are good ones-

But Wendell and Michelle look forward to working on their lawn-

and their near-normal lives.

And that is great for now-I was glad I could help in any way.

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo WI 262-325-8687

Obeo National:800-729-6236

WRA 2008 FALL CONVENTION:Survived!But now-Golf for CHARITY?

The WRA convention was great.

The mood was realistic, but not down.

There was plenty of talk about

staying safe on the job,

what to do with expired listings,

and how to keep sellers thinking logically.

I just recovered!

And now....

(http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/sports-golf.shtml)

I am going golfing tomorrow.

I don't golf, but my RE/MAX

clients do.

Thank Heavens it's for the

Childrens Miracle Network!

In the meantime, you better back up a bit...(!)

I will be at a RE/MAX GOLF event through Thursday evening, September 11th.

If you need immediate help to set up your account, order a tour or need technical/email support, please call Obeo at 1-800-729-6236.

I will be returning emails and phone calls on Friday, September 12th.

At Obeo, we know Realtors ROCK!- and we want to keep you rolling-

Follow this link to our Microsite for info and to demo our products:

Homesite, StyleDesigner, SpaceDesigner and ObeoConnect.

...and this link to great videos about how Obeo works for you!

FORE!

(...details later tomorrow.)

Steve

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

262-325-8687

Obeo in your area:800-729-6236

www.obeo.com.

WRA FALL 2008 CONVENTION:View from the booth

I love my clients.

Realtors.

...and I mean it.

Aside from keeping the roof up

(and making sure I am fed and watered)

they provide me with an endless stream

suggestions for continuous improvement.

And in these times, who does not need to

keep moving, keep changing, keep up

-just keep on keeping on.

I have yet to see a Realtor in the past three days-

or just about as long as I can remember-

that did not smile when they talked about their profession.

Oh sure,there were some sad smiles.

Exasperated smiles.

Toothy grins.

(Some, topped with a wink!)

Thanks, gang-the view from the booth is great.

And I am glad I do not have to wish you were here!

Come by and say:

"Have a nice day."

and get a free Obeo Homesite-I have two today.

Better still, if you buy an Obeo Homsite, we will

give you a free Obeo StyleDesigner!

And the best news: Verl Workman is here

to help you get your geek on with Free RE tech seminars all day!

Stop by!

Steve
Obeoman
steven.stearns@obeo.com
262-325-8687
Obeo National:800-729-6236

WOW-WRA! What a day and a night and a morning......

Speaking easy comes naturally to Realtors, I think.

There sure were some fancy dancers!

...and all that leads to WOW!

Off the golf course and outta the classes.

Get a thousand Realtors together and stand back!

You might even do (a little) business while you have fun.

There was no prohibition on either at the Roaring 20s Icebreaker.

A lot of people dressed to the nines or better,

getting reacquainted, introduced,

hugged, laughed at and with.

A whole lot of joy.

Add some good food and drink...

...for some people this morning it was a little more like

.0w

Present party included.

If you would like a free tour,

come see me in booth 65,

and say:

"Ow."

It won't hurt.

I promise!

Thanks for stopping by,

Steve
steven.stearns@obeo.com
Obeoman
Obeo WI:262-325-8687
Obeo National:800-729-6236

WELCOME TO THE WRA FALL 2008 CONVENTION!

REALTORS ROCK!

Welcome to your YOUR convention!

Your time to get some CE done,
get reacquainted with your friends from across the state,

stay up a little too late,
(get up WAY too early;)

and celebrate another trip around the sun.

The past year?

Incredible:

-nearly a third of the state is a FEMA disaster area touched by flooding and storms,

-nationally, 500,000 Realtors made no money last year-

and the market is being eaten by the Bear(s)(!)

But you are still here.

Celebrate it-

REAL ESTATE IS CRAZY, BUT YOU'RE NOT!



(Check back here every day during the convention.)

To help out the celebration,

Obeo will be giving away free Obeo tours and StyleDesigners

EVERY DAY-STARTING SUNDAY, SEPT. 7th

Just find the magic words at this blog, come see me at our booth,

-and they are for the first two Realtors there-first come, first serve:
one free Obeo Bronze HomeSite and one free Obeo Styledesigner!

(I'll be at the booth 4 p.m.on Sunday.)

...Oh, the magic words for Sunday are:
REALTORS ROCK!

And Obeo wants to keep you rolling-

Follow this link to our Microsite for info and to demo our products:
Homesite, StyleDesigner, SpaceDesigner and ObeoConnect.

...and this link to great videos about how Obeo works for you!

See you at my booth at 4 p.m. on the 7th!

Steve
Obeoman
steven.stearns@obeo.com
262-325-8687
www.obeo.com.

OBEO WINS GOLD AT INMAN RE TRENDS GROUP!-2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award

WE ARE GOLDEN!

Obeo won first place at the Inman Real Estate Olympics

The contest at the Inman community was sponsored by Stefan Swanepoel.

Obeo is the Gold Medal Winner of the 2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award, as voted by the Inman Real Estate Trends Group:

The

2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award!

Over 40 competitors were narrowed down

to a slate of eight RE trend leaders.

Stefan set up the criteria:

1. Innovative Web 2.0 company or user of Web 2.0 technology.

2. The size, need and demand for the companies/services.

3. The quality or uniqueness of their services.

4. The potential impact of their services on the industry.

Obeo extends congratulations to:

SILVER Medal : CondoDomain (www.condodomain.com)

and
BRONZE Medal : Roost (www.roost.com)

The winning votes came from our clients and Inman Community members.

ONE MORE TIME!: THANKS TO ALL OF OUR CLIENTS AND INMAN COMMUNITY MEMBERS!

Steve

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Obeo Wisconsin:262-325-8687

Obeo for YOU:800-729-6236

Obeo. The experts in buyer behavior.

Green. Fresh. Open. Recycled. Now: The Wisconsin Trend Home-Take a look INSIDE!

...and besides saving all that water and energy,

the Wisconsin Trend Home features

universal design with lower light switches,a walk-in shower
and
a digital control system.

...affordable? Yes.

Take a look inside!

Special thanks to Aaron Haug of Exit Realty Horizons,

who thought of us to show off the home!

And hats off to the

Wisconsin Builders Association Foundation and the Metropolitan Builders Association

for paying it forward-money from the sale of the home will be used to provide a grant to La Casa De Esperenza, to help train low-income workers in the construction industry and some funds gifted to the WBA foundation placed in a scholarship fund for trades careers.

And over 100 other sponsors pitched in, too!

Community. Wow.

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo WI: 262-325-8687-Obeo For You: 800-729-6236

http://www.witrendhome.com/

Lather, Rinse, Repeat!: New RE Marketing Basics

Eight out of ten buyers are on line.
Buyers are looking for 4-6 months before they buy.
Buyers will tend to work with the first Realtor that is on line in their area and KNOWS the area.
More photos in your virtual tour on line means fewer DOM.

The rest is in the video-lather, rinse-repeat!

THANKS to the crew at http://www.realestatewebmarketing101.com/ for the nice tutorial!

...I am STILL making phone calls-where are you people?

Steve

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Call Obeo at 800-729-6236.

O-B-E-O-Oreo with a B, okay?

My boss, Obeo CEO Glade Jones,

gets part of his fifteen minutes at Inman

from the guys at broker IP TV.com. He also

gives them a spelling lesson more than once on our name:

Glade Jones at the NYC Inman Connect 2008 - The best free videos are right here

...geeze...No Oreos?

Get a taste of our non-fat, no-cal pixels!

They don't bite!
I gotta go make some MORE phone calls!

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo WI: 262-325-8687
Obeo Nationwide: 800-729-6236

We interrupt this blog to bring you...

Hi!

I will be out of the office July 17-20th returning Monday, July 21st,

in the morning.

If you need to place an order, have a question about your account, email or technical support, please call Obeo directly at 800-729-6236.

Our Obeo demo site is located at:

http://www.obeo.com/Public/Solutions/ProductIndex.aspx

There, you can see and experience all our great products:

Obeo HomeSite-an interactive wesbite with your listing and great statistical reporting.

Obeo StyleDesigner-redecorate a listing online-fun and buyers love it!

Obeo SpaceDesigner-interactive floor plan-move furniture without the backache.

ObeoConnect-bilingual lead capture tool-connect direct with your buyers.

I will be returning emails and phone calls on July 21st.

Thanks,

Steve

www.obeo.com

steven.stearns@obeo.com

262-325-8687

Obeo Customer Service: 800-729-6236

Charles Richey, Las Vegas Realtor, Needs Our Help

Charles Richey

My friends over at WannaNetwork are asking we get the word out:

Charles Ritchey, Las Vegas Realtor, needs our help.

He is currently hospitalized with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and

is getting treatment in the ICU at the University Medical Center (UMC)

in Las Vegas.

Like so man, many adults-and children-these days,

Charles and his wife Jacqui do not have medical insurance.

You can help by donating at the link below.

Donate to the Charles Richey Fund

Friend, husband and fellow REALTOR® was unexpectedly hospitalized read more

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo in WI: 262-325-86587

Obeo in your area: 800-729-62367

Voices from the Wisconsin Flood

Wendell and Michelle fight for their home along the flooding Rock River in Ft. Atkinson, WI.

...you can read more about it, and help out-right here.

Thanks,

Steve

Obeoman

Pump it out, clean it up, cry a lot....

...it's not over yet.

It's just moved a bit downstream.

Everyone is going to need help.

Last week I went out to check out where

the sandbags and sand were-this is the sign I saw:

I got out and did what I could.

The rest of the story is here-a long week in the flood!

Let's all pull together.

...It's not over yet.

Steve

Obeoman

Welcome to the flood...I mean blog...STAY SAFE!

(Sign from http://www.transit.govt.nz/)

Obeo and I extend our thoughts to all of those who

are injured or hurt, have lost a home, are suffering property damage,

or loss of work because of the flooding catastrophe in Wisconsin,

and other parts of the country.

Gov. Jim Doyle has declared a state of emergency in 30 Wisconsin counties,

and the list is growing.

He has also requested assistance from FEMA.

What began late last week as hard rain will not end soon.

More rain is coming today, Wednesday,

and many rivers have not yet crested.

It will be at least seven to ten days before waters begin to recede.

May all the volunteers and emergency workers stay safe!

Steve

Obeoman

KICKING MARKETING BUTT WITH REALTOR LANE BAILEY!!!

Meet Lane Bailey:

-blogger:

social media user, activerain member,

all-around good guy...

...and kick-A$$ marketing dude!

This mild-mannered Realtor from Duluth, GA,

is determined to shake up his market,

and tells us how he is doing it with:

blogs, social marketing and traditional techniques:

He is just getting started:

....And I'm not done, because it isn't sold, but it will go north of $2000 on marketing. Before the listing went live on the MLSs, I had spent $1000. Of course, the marketing also may drive sellers to me, so it isn't just about the property. That said, I'm not advertising to people on the basis of marketing me, it is about the property. Let me boil it down to car terms... Dodge doesn't make the Viper for the pleasure of people that get passed by one on the highway. They make them for the owners. However, there are a lot of buyers of other Dodge cars that see the Viper and go to the dealership. Many of them walk out with Caravans and Magnums and Chargers... insert Corvette and GM, or GT and Ford instead if you wish. The concept is the same. I build the marketing for the benefit of the house I am selling. Everything else is a bonus.I'm not doing anything that most agents can't do, but I am working at making it all tie together. I don't want to send someone 10 pages of info about a house. I want to send them one link. I can send them everything they need to know in one text message... and they can know more about that property than someone living next door.

So, do you have a life outside of blogging?

My wife and I like to watch a lot of TV, and I will spend a couple hours each evening writing blog posts, updating websites and working on other projects.

If I didn't multi-task, I wouldn't have time to sleep.

I guess the answer would be yes. I am the President of a 4wd club, and helped put on a fairly large blood drive. I like to work on my Jeepster... and it needs it. My wife and I love to travel. I take my kid to the ice skating rink twice a week. Of course, a lot of blog posts come out of those things.

What do you want to tell all the Realtors that are reading this about social media marketing?

Look elsewhere for the silver bullet. Just like you can't join the Bridge club or the Country club and expect that everyone is going to gather around to hand you business, you shouldn't expect the internet to act like that either. Instead, give. Give advice. Give experiences. Give feedback. Teach. Share. Join the conversation. Those are the same things you would do with any "real-life" group you would join. And the result is the same. There are some folks that join and get business or accolades immediately, but they are the exception.One of the great side benefits of that is that you get to learn and be shared with.

Short story:

...I was reading one of my regular blogs, Bloodhound Blog, which is targeted at agents and brokers. Greg Swann had a post about this cool product, SpaceDesigner, and another about StyleDesigner. I followed the link and thought it was cool, too. Soon after, I wrote a post on AR (link: http://activerain.com/blogsview/372175/Obeo-Looks-like-a) about the company that was offering these things, Obeo. Steve "Obeoman" (our host) commented on my post. He knew where his product was being mentioned, and dropped in to say thanks. Not pushy, just supportive. Later, when I joined Twitter, he started following me... no, it isn't creepy, that just means he was subscribed... and when I had an appropriate listing, I shot him a tweet and he answered my questions. When we finally got around to talking, I had been interacting with him for months. I have been on the other end of that with consumers. Even though they weren't talking to me, I was talking to them. They knew about my son learning to skate... and had seen the videos. They knew about the new baby. They knew about my opinions on real estate. They were comfortable with me because I was already interacting with them.

Can I get a Lane Bailey T-Shirt?

What size? As soon as I do a run of them. I've been thinking about it for GarageHomesUSA.com. I love my new logo, and have been thinking about shirts... I just hate to spend the money and have 500 shirts in boxes in the sunroom... I keep thinking about those chip clips.

Thanks, Lane-make the t-shirt an extra large!-just like your plan for success!

Lane keeps the ideas flowing here,

...and you can plug into what he has going on at the links below!

Thanks, Lane!

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo Wisconsin-262-325-8687

Obeo in your area:800-729-6236

Lanes' Links:

http://9010brixhamcourt.com/

http://www.lanebailey.com/

http://activerain.com/blogsview/527851/Cool-Tool-for-Buyers

http://www.garagehomesusa.com/

http://activerain.com/blogsview/529426/SpaceDesigner-Is-that-the

http://activerain.com/blogs/lanebailey

Winning is Good! - And here are the RE/MAX-OBEO INTERNET SCAVENGER HUNT WINNERS!

Here are the winners of the OBEO-RE/MAX INTERNET SCAVENGER HUNT!!!:

Each of these lucky people will get an Obeo Silver Marketing Package-

APRIL HAYDEN-RE/MAX 100, BROOKFIELD ,WI

Luis Carus-RE/MAX TOWNE SQUARE, MONROE, WI

ALLISON MAIDA-RE/MAX PREFERRED, MADISON-WEST, WI
...and Allison will get an Obeo StyleDesginer

for going the extra mile!

A special thanks to all those who participated!

and....

Keep an eye out for the NEXT Obeo internet scavenger hunt!

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo Wisconsin-262-325-8687

Obeo In Your Area-800-729-6236

Sell Well!

THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS:RE/MAX SCAVENGER HUNT WINNERS ARE:

...being tallied and will be reported here Monday!

Everybody who hunted-YOU ARE THE BEST!

Stay tuned, because I am gonna try to open the

NEXT SCAVENGER HUNT

to a lot more people!

Thanks-See you soon!

Steve

Obeoman

Obeo WI - 262-325-8687

Obeo in your area - 800-729-6236

HEY REMAX-THE HUNT IS ON!

(art from clickshunt.com)

Welcome to the REMAX-WI INTERNET SCAVENGER HUNT!

(The Hunt starts Friday, May 9th.)

It's going to be easy as landing a listing

and

almost as much fun as closing!

(...you might learn something , too...)

The prizes?

To the first three hunters who are successful,

...a FREE OBEO SILVER TOUR!

The rules:

1.) READ EVERYTHING CAREFULLy!

2.) Three hunters will win three tours.

3.) Have fun!

4.) There are bonus prizes to find along the way-

Three Obeo StyleDesigners!

__________________________________________________

This is your first stop on the Scavenger Hunt!

Here is what you are looking for-it is all here at this blog.

-A photo of a dog in a sink-when you find it, post a reply to the blog-say something nice about the dog, include your name, phone number and name of your brokerage in the body of the comment.

-A place to call Obeoman from this blog. When you find it, call me and leave a message with your name, day and time and return number.

-then follow this link to the next clue!

See you on the hunt!

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Obeo WI 262-325-8687

http://www.obeo.com/

I'm the idiot. Pass the band-aids, please...

(band-aid from weblogs.redeyechicago.com)

ow ow ow.

ow.

My dialing finger hurts.

Still waiting on a new cell phone.

And my face hurts from smiling.

It's great to be an idiot.

After spending the last 30 days beating up on my cell phone

and myself, I let the market win.

This round, anyway. It was kind of a draw, actually.

But a lesson well learned.

A wiser person that me once said:

"I have two ears and one mouth for a reason."

And yes, there is a lot of market out there.

When people got back to me, this is what they said:

"I am still selling homes."

"I am still answering my voice mail."

"I am still replying to my email."

"I may only be getting back to you

to make sure you are still there,

and to hear how YOU are doing."

"I need to laugh..."

"...can you help?"

Finally. Today.

An email comes back from a great client:

"I don't need more pictures or tours...

...can you put these on Realtor.com? Thanks for helping an idiot through this."

I just wired back:

"You're not the idiot-

that's my job!"

...I'm glad we are all still working,

or trying to.

Steve

Obeoman

http://www.obeo.com/

Obeo WI:

262-325-8687

Obeo in your area:

800-729-6236

BEST, MOST PHOTOS SELL HOMES FASTER!

It's up to you.

You want to sell this house.

You know this single, good photo is going to languish on line

for seventy days and the home is going to sell

for considerably less that the asking price.

But if you put it with 15-19 other photos,

32 days is more like it.

That is what REALTOR magazine says.

So add the power:

-of virtual tours,

-redecorating the listing on line,

-an interactive floor plan,

-web distribution of the tour,

-and one million visitors a month.

Do the math.

Looks good, doesn't it?

Call us!

Steve

Obeo WI -262-325-8687

Obeo in Your Area - 800-729-6236