Assist-2-Sell Franchise

Join Us For An Assist-2-Sell Franchise Info. Webinar

 

One of the best ways to get more info. about Assist-2-Sell and franchise opportunities, is to join us for a webinar. Our next webinar will be on Wednesday, September 7th at 12 pm pacific time.  

You will learn about topics including --

How Assist2Sell works. 

History and evolution of our concept.

Is a franchise right for you and your real estate business?

What you get if I buy a franchise.

The future of the real estate business. 

And much more! 

There is no cost to attend but space is limited. Click to link below to register and get more details. 

Title:	Assist-2-Sell Franchise Information presentation Invitation
Date:	Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Time:	12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/713460320

 

Real Estate- No Crystal Ball Needed

It seems everyone is trying to predict the future of real estate and the buyers and sellers of the future. This isn’t anything new. For years industry “insiders” have been breaking out their crystal balls and telling us what to expect.

I am not going to weigh in on the debate today. Been there done that. What I do want to point out is the changing demographics of the consumer today and tomorrow.

Standard & Poor’s held their annual Summit on Risk.  This year’s theme was “Emerging Prosperity and Continuing Risks in 2011”.  CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo was the keynote.    Bartiromo was asked about the housing market’s recovery;  

 “Maria, with the echo-boom population now exceeding that of their parents, the baby boomers, what impact will this generation have on housing? Is it feasible to envision a housing boom again in the future?

 

“52% of the world’s population is under the age of 30. These people will be the consumers of the future.  They are and will be consuming electronics such as mobile devices, cars, and homes.  Look at companies like Home Depot that are exceeding expectations.  This is directly related to consumption of foreclosed homes.  There is no doubt the youth will be a driving force of housing in the future.”

This isn’t news. We have heard about “echo-boomers” for many years. What is interesting is 52% of the world is under 30.

In terms of real estate, what will these consumers want when they enter the market? What will they expect from a real estate company/agent?  How will they gather information and make decisions?

If you answer these questions and position your company and marketing accordingly, you will be way ahead of the game.

 

 

“Seriously, why would anyone pay more for anything in this economy?”

So the other day I received the email below from a local real estate company.  This is one of those 100% commission to the agent companies with a small monthly fee ($95 a month), and a small transaction fee ($495 I think). These types of companies are not unique. I hear about them all the time. The is an obvious recruiting campaign.

 Here's the link to http://www.gasbuddy.com/ which shows what gas stations are charging for gas in ----

Most people will check the list and end up shopping at the station with the lowest price per gallon.  However, we know of many agents that pay 20% or 30% more to their broker...so they might be interested in going to the gas stations that charge more.

Seriously, why would anyone pay more for anything in this economy? Your cost of doing business (including the cost of gasoline) keeps rising and commission checks keep decreasing due to the lower sales prices.

One way to put more in your pocket is to put less in your broker's pocket. Why not at least check out what ------- Realty has to offer besides a much better commission split?  You have a lot to gain and only your current broker has something to lose.

A couple of thoughts came to mind when I was reading this. First, if I were to hang my license with this company, how will this increase my business? Other than getting all the commission, what is the competitive advantage?  100% of nothing is still nothing.  Second, I love the line “Seriously, why would anyone pay more for anything in this economy?”  I couldn’t agree more, commissions included! So it’s bad to pay your broker anything, but ok to charge huge fees to your customers? 

I’ll be the first one to tell you there is room in any market for different models and fee structures. More power to you!

 High splits, low splits, you pay this, I pay that, desk fees, etc. None of this matters if you don’t attract business.  Give consumers what they want and need at a fair price and you can name the split. 

 

Do You Hear Foot Steps?

I stumbled upon a real estate business related job posting the other day.  Here is a portion of the ad.

Are you passionate about building ground-breaking consumer businesses? Can you dream big while drilling down to execute on tactical details? Do you want to reinvent an old industry and delight millions of people shopping for a new home? Would nurturing mission-critical new ventures with a smart, dynamic team get you fired up? 

Before I tell you what company has this ad posted, a few things stick out. The phrase “ground-breaking consumer businesses.”  I think we loose sight what our business is all about, the consumer. Is there anything ground breaking about your business? The next thing that sticks out, "do you want to reinvent an OLD industry and delight millions of people shopping for a home?”  Sometimes the truth hurts. Real Estate is an old business that has not changed and kept up with the times. Name another major industry that hasn’t changed and progressed in the last 50-60-70 plus years? 

There is no doubt in my mind if we don’t embrace change in our industry and start innovating, someone else will. They already are. We have to provide a better experience for the consumer, bring more value to the table, and use our knowledge to position ourselves better.  

While the real estate industry is fighting about IDX, who has rights to what, how we are going to protect ourselves, why we are worth what we charge, commission splits, and countless other things, people are giving consumers what they want.

Oh yah, the above ad was posted on the Zillow.com website. You can see the full posting here. http://zillow.hrmdirect.com/employment/view.php?req=60228&

One more parting thought. How long before Zillow or a similar website becomes the new National MLS?  How important would IDX be then? What MLS rules would there left to fight about? 

 

 

Save money feel smart?

So I saw the segment below on the Today show and it got me thinking. Are your clients feeling smarter by doing business with you? What are you doing to empower your clients so they make better decisions? Do your clients feel good about the value received for money spend on commission?

There is no doubt that people are more aware of prices,value, and doing the "right or smart" thing. Real Estate is no different. If a consumer can get the same or better service and results for a lower price, that's a smart move. 

Interesting stat - 93% of people surveyed said the will not go back to their old excessive spending habits. 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's not about the price

I just read an article by Kris Berg at Inman.com titled “We’re all the same at that’s the problem.” I have just started following her articles and I really enjoy her tell it how it is style. From a marketing perspective, she hit the nail on the head with this article.

I’ve had the privilege of talking to hundreds (if not thousands) of real estate brokers and agents over the years about the challenges they face in this business. Without question the #1 problem is getting the phone to ring and getting to the kitchen table. So the question is how do you get the phone to start ringing?

I learned a long time ago, in marketing, you need to have a unique selling proposition which is a fancy phrase meaning you need to be different from everyone else. Whenever I travel, I pick real estate publications from the area. I like to see what real estate companies and agents are advertising. It never ceases to amaze me, no matter where I go, everyone is advertising the same things. You see the cliché slogans and taglines like, a Realtor you can trust, I get results, top producer, etc.. While there is nothing wrong with these taglines, they’re all the same. Why would a buyer or seller pick up the phone and call you over anyone else? How are you different?

More to come…..