This is the video (approx, 16 minutes) and the collateral material from my May 5th,2009 real estate technology workshop at the Sutton training center. The video is just my talk with the slides. I didn’t want to post the last 105 minutes, since topics were rather sporadic.
http://www.vimeo.com/4832150Here are the slides and the smart board notes:
- How the Internet is Changing Real Estate – Keynote slides
- How the Internet is Changing Real Estate – Smartboard Notes (PDF)
Top 5 things that I learned from giving this presentation to a bunch of REALTORS® and from digesting the feedback given.
- Most people wanted to know about Twitter
- People were curious about what a blog is rather than what blogging is
- A lot of different skill ranges, from the sort of knowledgeable to “where is the power button?”
- A lot of people wanted to know about SEO
- The talk was too general and needed to focus on a particular subject
After the presentation I was giving some thought to both the feedback and the content. So these are the changes I’m going to make for next time:
- Keep the presentation and the workshop to about an hour.
- Focus more on specific topics. Blogging, Twitter, social media, search engine optimization, etc.
- Keep the classes a little smaller.
- Have better information on the Sutton Education website beforehand.
For my next presentation I’ll cover How to Really Use Social Media. I don’t think most of the people in the room really care what Twitter or Facebook is, or why it is cool (or lame). What they really want to know is:
How can I get more leads from the Internet?
A lot of people out there basically giving out the same message. This was my message too so I also got it wrong, and I sounded a bit like a broken record.
- Use Twitter
- Blog more
- Pick a niche, blog about it.
- SEO your website
- Use Facebook, etc. etc.
After some reflection this is a better answer:
Use these tools to expand and interact with your network. They are not direct marketing tools.
Thinking this way gives you control over the technology instead of being controlled by the technology. Technology should improve your lifestyle. In my presentation I mentioned culture a lot. Each social networking tool has its own culture, nomenclature and personality. Even something as archaic as email. Use it if it makes your life better and only if you can adjust to that specific culture.
Otherwise it’ll just be fake to you and fake to everybody else. You’d be a social media poser and people will make fun of you (if you’re lucky). If you’re not, people will just ignore you.
Secondly, it’ll never be fun or enjoyable. If it is not enjoyable it’ll be work and then you’ll wind up with a blog with that one post from a year ago and that is worst than having no blog at all.
You’re better off having a single web page, hosted for $5.00 a year with your picture, your phone number, and a message saying: “I helped X people realize their dreams. Let me help you today.” Just update that every time you do a transaction. Done.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Benson,
Perhaps you could do a session on websites – ones that work, what doesn’t work and costs.
I pay $79 a month for my site but from your talk and blog, it seems I can get similar for less.
Thanks
Sylvia
Btw what’s this having to enter “secret words” below? I see it often
Hi Sylvia,
Yes I’m thinking of having a whole set of workshops from very basic to a lot more technical. I’m not too keen on talking about Internet 101, so maybe I’ll charge for those ones instead.
Not sure how many people will show up if the talks weren’t free. :)
The “secret words” is called a captcha. They make sure you are a real human being and not a robot. It prevents comment spam. I’ll mention this on Wednesday’s talk.
Hey Benson,
I was reading a post you wrote in 2006 about zillow and the lack of a large real estate site in Canada besides the not so nice mls website. You write some great stuff.
When you said: “I don’t think most of the people in the room really care what Twitter or Facebook is, or why it is cool (or lame). What they really want to know is: How can I get more leads from the Internet?”, you couldn’t be more right. I think that is what’s wrong with some Realtors now. They just want leads, they don’t care how they get them and they don’t care about the great advantages of social networking. Do you ever get frustrated doing these classes?
Hey Benson, have you ever thought of creating a site like zillow for Canada? That would be an interesting article :) Keep up the great blog.
Hi Faron,
Thanks for the complements. I checked out your blog too, good stuff. Would suggest not blogging so anonymously. ;)
I actually really enjoy doing these classes. I definitely learn more about REALTORS® and their specific culture. I don’t think there is anything wrong with real estate agents, they’re just people, no different from any other people. However, like any professional there are great ones, good ones and laggards.
What I do find fascinating is that more are focused on the dollar than the service. I’m not sure if this is from nature or nurture. I’m guessing a bit of both. I’m willing to bet that the top producers in real estate provide great service first and worry about the dollar second.
I’m also willing to bet that if more realtors treated their clients like how they would their grandma, the brand surrounding real estate agents would be more positive. That’s just a theory…
Secondly, about Zillow in Canada, I wouldn’t build it. I think you’ll be dead before you start. Data is too much in silos and getting it out is too expensive (time/money) for you to ever recover your cost. Something more radical than getting the listing data into a better UI is required for this country. A changing of minds rather than an improvement of technology.