I’ll start with the Top 12 Female Bloggers announcement by Sellsius. I have joked and shamed and groveled my way into this acknowledgement over the past year. They had to include my name in their list so I would finally leave them alone. I am honored, no question, but the reality is that the really great industry bloggers, female or otherwise, will never get the recognition they deserve, because they are quietly going about their business with purpose and focus. They are reaching their audience, the consumer and their future client, with little regard for how other’s might perceive them or might see fit to throw accolades in their general direction. Sure, I know people, but until the Joe and Rudy are ready to buy or sell a home in San Diego, I am not worthy of distinction. Nonetheless, I thank them, and I am proud to know them. (Don’t think this get’s you off the hook for next year, guys.)
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Real estate is a rough and tumble business these days, particularly in my San Diego market. By all accounts, I again cut off my nose to spite my mortgage bill this afternoon. Responding to what agents refer to as the “come list me” call, I had to just say no. With the average first-month marketing cost to us for carrying a home for sale neighboring $$$$$ (you do the math), not to mention recurring costs, time and business expenses, we are finding ourselves more often in the value-engineering role. As much as I want to try to achieve everyone’s goals, I recognize that it is not always possible in this market. Every bone in my body wanted to tell this wonderful couple with this magnificent home that I could deliver on their expectations, but this wouldn’t have been genuine. It’s a bummer-maximus all the way around.
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I took another one of those query calls from an agent this morning. “I have clients who have expressed interest in your listing. Is it still available? (Yes.) Have you had any offers? (No.) Do you have any offers? (No.) Are the sellers motivated? (Their home is on the market, isn’t it?) Will they accept an offer well below the asking price?”
“Have your clients seen the home?”, I asked. “No”, the agent replied.
Call me silly, but why are we even having this conversation? If I hadn’t interjected, the next question would likely have been,”How much will the sellers pay my clients to move in, feed their hamsters, and take over title?” Good grief.
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By far, my favorite read these days is the The Davison Files at Inman News. I can’t link to the article, because you need to subscribe, but trust me when I say that Marc Davison is a writer-extraordinaire. Most recently, he wrote about technology and argued both sides of the “Are agents worth their fee?” debate - Technology has both diminished the agent’s perceived value and increased it. While I appreciated the “in defense” remarks, I was at the same time offended.
It’s amazing the things agents can do today. They snap their fingers and millions of dollars worth of amazing technologies service our every need.
Mr. Davison, I am not snapping my fingers. I was on the Internet at 5:00 AM yesterday and again this morning, as I will be tomorrow morning. I spend a measurable amount of each day investigating and testing and applying every new technology that might (or might not) enhance my business and my value. I have a front office, which looks fun and simple and lucrative, and I have a back office, which the consumer does not see and will likely never appreciate, that occupies my energies and my days and my dreams. I sacrifice time and money and a “normal” lifestyle to make it look easy while servicing your every need. In my spare time, I remain studied in my market and in the contractual nuances of my business in an increasingly complex and litigious environment. This is how I earn my compensation. Snap!
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And, speaking of compensation, whether we blog loudly or we quietly go about our business, we agents are not unlike everyone else, except that the measure of our value and our paychecks is publically debated every minute of every day. We, like others who work to engineer or build or service or sell, enjoy the recognition and appreciation of others, because this validates our efforts, inspiring us to do more and be better. We also enjoy the knowledge that we are making a difference, even if this knowledge is ours alone. The news from the seller of the million-dollar home who, after my six months of tireless work and personal financial investment, informed me this week that they will now be offering the property for rent was more than offset by the reaction of the couple buying the entry-level home who found every switch plate and baseboard to be worthy of tears and hugs at the walk-through. It is during these moments that I am most proud of what I do. Allow me the tired adage, “Work like you don’t have to; the rest will follow.” Sometimes, the “rest” isn’t about money.
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I am thrilled with the Sellsius recognition, but I am much more elated that my daughter seems to be getting over the flu, that the cat, too, seems to be feeling better (I know this because she is again eating the dog’s food), that the dry cleaning was picked up on time (thanks, Steve!), and that my car stopped making that funny noise (even if the “fix” involved turning up the radio). More than blogging recognition, I am excited that my clients, through some serious due diligence, discovered just today that their home under contract is not in a landslide-prone area and are once again excited about the move.
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My father used to get irritated when people would ask, “What do you do?” He argued that what we do shouldn’t define us. I argue that, if you do it well and with passion, the lines become blurred, and what you do is who you are. My youngest daughter presented me with a handmade birthday card this week. Among her top ten “why you are the best mom in the world” examples, number seven was, “You are funny, even when you blog.” Now, that is recognition of which I am proud.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Phil Hoover
10.10.07 at 1:20 pm
Kris ~
Your daughter’s card is the highest and best praise you could ever hope for.
Yes, you are funny, but more important ~ you are a good person!
Nice to know someone in real estate who is more than a Realtor.
Teri L
10.10.07 at 2:09 pm
Your daughter’s card is the best!
Congratulations on being funny even when you blog. Now there is an honor worth aspiring to!
joseph ferrara.sellsius
10.10.07 at 2:10 pm
Kris,
There is no question that you would make the top of any blogger list, male, female or other (?). We certainly agree that others are also deserving of recognition for their efforts in spreading the good news of blogging as a way of reaching consumers, many who have misconceptions of real estate agents.
As I have said in the past, the true measure of success is defined by the individual blogger, not by any award, carnival win or medal of blog post merit.
http://tinyurl.com/35h348
But we think people ought to be recognized, as well as their work product, for their contribution to the community. And to do our part to bring attention to as many as we can, we choose a new group of women bloggers each year. Why women? Why not? Plus, we kinda like them
Steve Berg
10.10.07 at 3:48 pm
I will take your word that Mr. Davison is a great writer. I just wonder what his background is. I see many media articles written about real estate and agents by excellent writers who have perceptions or statistics or anecdotal stories, but few who have much, if any actual experience. Whether it’s a good market or bad, there are few (very few) easy deals. Anyone who has completed just 5 or 10 transactions would know this. Once you have been involved in a few hundred or more, it is natural to take offense from those who write about it without necessarily sharing the same reality.
Kris - As you well know, being a real estate agent is like no other career field we have every been exposed to. Many try it believing it is easy. Most fail or quit within a short period. Very few are good enough to retire from it.
Your random thoughts provide an excellent insight that reveals just a small sample of the conflicting realities, emotions and needs an agent must deal with on any given day. Once you are fully engaged, it is a very fast roller coaster ride that rarely stops to let you off. It is also why the failure rate is so high.
Scoot
10.10.07 at 4:14 pm
VERY good post. There are things that matter, and there are things that MATTER.
Cynthia
10.10.07 at 7:16 pm
Congrats, Kris! It sounds like your daughter takes after you, very witty!
Marc
10.10.07 at 7:56 pm
Kris,
Thank you for such a kind accolade.
I want to make sure your readers understand that by “snap” I mean, the many services that consumers take for granted such as instant IDX or email listing updates or the host of so many things Realtors provide clients that snap to attention when consumers want them. These are amazing technologies that both the consumer takes for granted and agents never leverage in a way that could strengthen their value.
Consumers value “instant” and pay premiums for “instant” in other professions. Yet, for whatever reason, “instant” is used by consumers in real estate to argue down your commission. They take is that now you have to work less.
We both know that’s a joke. The question is how to fix the perception.
If you can impact the consumer on how much has been invested by agents in in technology and service standards that truly empower the real estate customer, I realized it’s a darn shame agents aren’t getting 10%!
I think the problem is steeped in how agents market themselves. Start leveraging these thing that might blow the consumer away and retire the dogs and cats and vanity - the things that downgrade you and make consumers doubt your hard work and diligence.
Here is a link to a commercial I dreamed up for real estate. Ou tell me if some thing like thins wouldn’t get people thinking.
http://www.1000wattblog.com/1000_watt/2007/10/if-i-could-writ.html
-Davison
Kris Berg
10.10.07 at 8:30 pm
Marc - Bravo! In all fairness, I knew what you were trying to say, but the I suspect the “average bear” only processed the part about the knuckle handshakes on the way to the golf course. And that is the crux of the matter, is it not? We know our message, but we fail miserably at communicating as much. Please take it as a compliment when I say your comments exceeded your post. I continue to be in awe of your writing, and thank you for stopping by.
Cynthia - Nice to see you again! My daughter’s is more of a rubber chicken schtick.
B.R.
10.10.07 at 9:45 pm
Kris,
It gets better.
It gets better.
It gets better.
Especially with Realtors like you around. Thanks for looking for the brighter side.
Smithers
10.11.07 at 8:39 am
OK Kris (and Steve), I know you already know this, but there are at least a few buyers in the SD market these days whose goals are not the same as the goals of most SD sellers. Personally, I would not want to waste my time, or that of the respective sellers’ and their listing agents, looking at properties that are not attractively priced (read = dirt cheap) relative to their peer properties. There are a lot of nice homes to choose from these days, and practically every MLS listing says “MUST SEE!!!!!!” (realtors like using CAPS and exclamations !!!). If there are not lots of good photos and/or a video tour with the listing, I assume this is because the place was not worth photographing. (I am entitled to assume this when I am surfing through hundreds of listings).
If a home is “priced to sell” (sorry, “PRICED TO SELL!!!!!”) then it would have already sold. Why take offense about being asked if the sellers will drop their price by someone who has not yet seen the home? Your time is obviously valuable; you should be happy they asked before they wasted any more of it.
ps, belated happy birthday. I had to look up “score” to remember it was 20 years.
Marc
10.11.07 at 8:50 am
To Steve Berg,
My background is published on my site but the thumbnail is - went to Princeton. Joined Y&R (Young and Rubicam) a Madison Ave ad agency in 83. In 85 I started my own firm DGE and worked mostly in the entertainment field (labels, individual celebrities…building brand, doing PR, etc. I sold my firm in 97, moved from NYC to California and was hired by Inman News in 97 to build their brand. In 2002, I founded VREO, the software firm that built The Real Estate Dashboard.
I share your distrust of real estate marketing guru’s as I have found most have little schooling (not so important) and very little field experience ( very important). Hence all the tacky, copycat concepts and weak self promotional branding efforts in real estate.
My mother sold real estate in the 70’s and that is all the experience I have as agent. I own many homes so I have come as close to the profession as possible. My position on real estate agents, for the record is - the public would be categorically lost if there were no agents to assist in the transaction of buying a home. The service provided by agents is dramatically important. This is mostly lost on the public as witnessed by surveys and polls including polls on trusted professions where agents end up dead last world wide.
I believe the reason is this simple: It’s too easy to get in and once in, it is very hard to tell the great ones from the not so great ones due to the of poor branding, weak advertising and customer service challenges.
I am now on day 3 waiting for an agent I was referred to in Seattle to respond to an email I sent requesting pictures for this house - http://nwidx.com/ListingDetails.aspx?site_id=9013&id=27166483
As a student of Berndt Schmidt, CEM (I’ve been to many of his lectures)
and with a long history of building brand, I feel qualified to comment on these topics.
Thanks for giving me the chance to express this here.
To Steve Berg,
My background is published on my site but the thumbnail is - went to Princeton. Joined Y&R (Young and Rubicam) a Madison Ave ad agency in 83. In 85 I started my own firm DGE and worked mostly in the entertainment field (labels, individual celebrities…building brand, doing PR, etc. I sold my firm in 97, moved from NYC to California and was hired by Inman News in 97 to build their brand. In 2002, I founded VREO, the software firm that built The Real Estate Dashboard.
I share your distrust of real estate marketing guru’s as I have found most have little schooling (not so important) and very little field experience ( very important). Hence all the tacky, copycat concepts and weak self promotional branding efforts in real estate.
My mother sold real estate in the 70’s and that is all the experience I have as agent. I own many homes so I have come as close to the profession as possible. My position on real estate agents, for the record is - the public would be categorically lost if there were no agents to assist in the transaction of buying a home. The service provided by agents is dramatically important. This is mostly lost on the public as witnessed by surveys and polls including polls on trusted professions where agents end up dead last world wide.
I believe the reason is this simple: It’s too easy to get in and once in, it is very hard to tell the great ones from the not so great ones due to the of poor branding, weak advertising and customer service challenges.
I am now on day 3 waiting for an agent I was referred to in Seattle to respond to an email I sent requesting pictures for this house - http://nwidx.com/ListingDetails.aspx?site_id=9013&id=27166483
As a student of Berndt Schmidt, CEM (I’ve been to many of his lectures)
and with a long history of building brand, I feel qualified to comment on these topics.
Thanks for giving me the chance to express this here.
Kris Berg
10.11.07 at 8:56 am
Marc - He deserved that. I know you are sincere, because you said it twice!
Alas, another night sleeping on the couch.
Steve Berg
10.11.07 at 10:20 am
Kris (and Marc) - I think you may want to re-read my comment before condemning me. Since Kris has not shared your article with me I was simply commenting to her posted reference. My comment was not critical of Marc. I simply pointed out how difficult it is for someone (anyone) regardless of credentials, who has not been directly in the position of “agent” and experienced multiple and many times simultaneous transactions with the many diverse personalities, needs and motivations, to be able to understand the reality and relate it with the written word. My sensitivity is partly derived from a history of some of our local journalists who have carelessly written critical/negative agent pieces. In their way of thinking our jobs are so easy (anyone can do it) and that we spend most of our time just driving to the bank. Pardon me then, for maybe being a bit too overly sensitive. Marc’s point that it is too easy to enter this field is right on target (but that’s another story).
Marc, your credentials are obviously impressive and I am certain your writing brings forth substantial insight from your perspective. Indeed, the quality, extent and effectiveness of marketing and branding is a critical aspect of our profession as agents and for the benefit of our clients.
What is most difficult to convey is how challenging, complex, stressful, defeating, uplifting, emotional and overall crazy the life of an agent can be. Unless one has literally lived it, it is very difficult to understand, much less convey the reality. No offense was intended.
You referenced your experience of owning many homes. These experiences must give you a feel for how agents, at least your agents work, as well as an understanding of the process and how many things can go wrong. Now think about buying or selling a home about once every week or two, not for yourself, but for 30 to 50 other people a year, every year, many of whom where strangers before you were engaged by them. People who are placing their trust in you even though, at the same time, may not fully trust you. Getting the picture? It’s one thing if we make poor investment decisions for ourselves, It’s a whole other issue to screw it up for someone else and at 30-60 transactions per year, there’s a whole lot of opportunity to mess it up if you don’t have your act totally together.
In summary, since this comment got way to long, I did not mean to offend anyone, just clarify the fact that what we do is not as easy as it looks. Making it look easy is our job, however. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Jim Klinge
10.11.07 at 8:30 pm
I’m with Steve, I tend to jump pretty quick when I think somebody is taking a shot at me or realtors in general - it comes from the distrust agents have of the uninformed continually informing us about how bad/useless/needless/expensive we are.
I’ve been reading Marc’s articles on Inman News over the last couple of months, and the more I read, the more I want to give him a chance. He challenges the status quo while taking the high road.
I think we could combine forces and and between us find a way to clearly articulate the benefits that great realtors bring to the table. Not the tired old NAR schtick, but the real-time value in today’s market.
If we could, it would help all.
BTW, this is the best article I’ve seen on your blog, and that is saying something - because they are all good!
Steve Berg
10.11.07 at 9:08 pm
Jim - Thank you! It’s nice to know that somebody understands what I’m trying to say, although I think you said it better. I guess I’m just not very good at getting my point across, hence my failure in the world of journalism. Regardless of who is on the couch tonight, I will rest well knowing that Kris an I are heading out to Las Vegas in the morning to celebrate our 21st anniversary (finally a weekend off!!), so all will be better in our little world again.
Marc
10.11.07 at 10:55 pm
Steve, Jim and everyone,
Most importantly, no insult was ever taken nor did I take anything as critical. You and every agent out there have a right to protect your turf and be guarded against the Morton Downy’s of the industry. God knows I’ve been inside this business long enough to have learned these following things:
1) There are far too many people telling agents what to do
2) There are far too many people gaining street cred then using that cred to influence the sale of their products or product they receive commissions to represent
3) There are way too many people who fantastically underestimate the challenges that face the real estate profession.
So I had no problem being questioned and frankly, I appreciated the opportunity to enter into the conversation.
I think, as Jim pointed out, reading me for a few months will definitely make some uneasy and make others attack me with insults as has occurred recently on my blog. Others will be drawn to it. That’s how it goes when you are public.
What I am about is uplifting the industry. I am trying to shake it and bake it. Invigorate it out of its doldrums. I’m trying to do my part to preserve the Realtor/consumer relationship. Buying and selling a home is too important of a transaction to one day be performed without a Realtor. It just is.
By my measure, there are way too many unskilled agents in the business who parade around at 6% agents touting full service and not delivering. They serve to underscore all the great that does exist here.
Let me give you an example. This blog that Kris runs. It is one of the best out there. It’s smart. Funny. Class act all the way. How many others are this good? For every Sandiegohomeblog there are 5,000 really moronic ones that flood the web with real estate nonsense. Multiply that by the amount of really bad agent websites and really bad customer service habits and what you have is a platform for the Glen Kelmans’ of the world and the DOJ to convince the public that all of real estate is corrupt.
We here know that’s not true. I know it’s not true. This is a fine profession. My son is in Portland studying real estate at Pro Schools right now. I believe in this business.
So I write things aimed at firing the imagination of the best in the business to never rest on their laurels and continuing striving to be the best. To continue to preserve the full service commission. Once that disappears, what are we going to be left with? Part timers and prospectors.
So if I seem a bit harsh at times, it’s only because I am trying to be heard over the Hobbs Herders of the world and over many “influencers” who used their position to hawk products and ideas that don’t work. I have nothing to sell and I am not owned by anyone. I don’t spin agendas so I can use that influence to convince you to buy my blog software. Or whatever.
So keep giving me that chance. I built the careers of many celebrities and I have build several very successful businesses. I’m just trying to share what I know.
In that regard, I challenge you to challenge me. If we continue to push each other… well how cool would that be.
If you are daring, join the conversation at 1000Wattblog.com. All free, 24 hours a day. I won’t let you down!
Kris Berg
10.12.07 at 5:46 am
(Applause)
Steve Berg
10.12.07 at 6:33 am
Marc - I’m there. Thanks.