[Broker George] Martin of Re/Max Southeast, [Denver, CO] sees two distinct groups of sellers emerging from the slowing housing market: Those who are “realistic and settled on good pricing, and then there are a huge amount of those who are either not aware or unwilling to adjust to market conditions.”

Given the rising numbers of listings and unmotivated sellers, Martin has done something unheard of among real estate agents: He’s given back listings.

Giving back listings is a wise choice. Instead of scrambling around while the seller stands there watching, you create more demand by being choosey about the listings you will accept. This way you remain the expert, the leader, and the reliable advisor.

(Italicized quote from the Denver Business Journal)

Marc Davison from 1000WattBlog proposes these questions to ask yourself when considering your business and the way you are presenting your offerings:  

• Is it still as effective as it once was?
• Can it be more effective?
• Whose best interest does it serve?
• Is this idea unique to me?

Davison, instead of sending out a self-serving marketing postcard with a “Just Sold Another One” message, sent a “Welcome to the Neighborhood” card introducing the new family to the other home owners in the area. This simple, yet effective marketing approach goes beyond marketing and serves the new home owners as well as the agent.

In what ways can you utilize new technology that are effective, in the interest of serving the consumer and the agent, and unique to your vision for your brokerage?

Erik Hersman from Future of Real Estate Marketing writes,

“Most real estate professionals don’t want to really master the technological tools they need to be successful online. The ones who do want to learn to communicate on the web will be successful primarily because most their counterparts are going to try and take shortcuts that simply don’t work.”

Can you commit 15 minutes each day to learn about some aspect of the new Real Estate Technology?

Ten years worth of research from CAR, NAR and others reveals what consumers most want from online Real Estate sites: (more…)

Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his world-wide reaching information on climate change, The Today Show is broadcasting from all ends of the earth. The green scene is not just a scene. It’s here to stay.

When it comes to embracing new technology though, being green can be confusing. Fear of being wasteful by just throwing away those old hand-helds and computers may cause some to remain stuck in an old way. However, there are recycling options like www.CollectiveGood.com that refurbishes old tech devices and gives them to people in developing countries and gives you a tax-deduction. (more…)