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Social media: icing on the cake

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melloveschallah/3440131767/" target=blank>melloveschallah</a>.

Marketing our real estate services, marketing any business for that matter, is a lot like a decorating a cake. You can put all the cherries and chocolate sprinkles in the world on top but if the cake itself sucks, no one is going to want any.

Seth Godin wrote back in July 2005: "Please understand that book publishing is an organized hobby, not a business. The return on equity and return on time for authors and for publishers is horrendous. If you're doing it for the money, you're going to be disappointed. more...

Tall tales and real estate sales

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 22, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/misocrazy/188605485/" target=blank>misocrazy</a>.

"But, Coach! I can't dribble. I can't throw. I can't even make a basket. Why did I make the team?"

"Because what you bring is something I can't teach. You are 7 feet tall."

As I was enjoying a leisurely Friday evening with my husband, I was reminded of the old joke and how it applies to real estate. In fact, whatever your business, I'll lay odds you can make a connection. more...

Dealing with real estate wild cards

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spyndle/3423162689/">kreg.steppe</a>.

Is it me, or is everyone just a little crazy lately? I'm feeling like there aren't enough straitjackets to go around, and I'll be darned if I am giving up mine.

I know that my one-week sampling of shenanigans is not statistically significant. Real estate is like a game of cards. You are dealt a hand, and play it you must. Each round is different. It's just that this week, someone forgot to take out the jokers, and I pulled them all. more...

Beware non-experts bearing expert advice

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 8, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/56624456@N00/3118400365/">Silverisdead</a>.

I was recently asked to write a consumer article for another site on loan modifications. This was an assignment which should have easily have been knocked out with five fingers over a cup of coffee while I used my other hand to clear my feed reader and finish a crossword puzzle.

Instead, my 600 unwritten words haunted me. For three weeks and with the deadline looming, I was a tormented soul in full procrastination mode who suddenly found she had more pressing priorities -- like waxing the cat.

The problem is that I am not an expert on loan modifications. more...

Sheepish about social networking

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasotraspaso/2561252664/" target=blank>pasotraspaso</a>.

I was reading this morning about a new obesity drug that has Wall Street analysts gravely disappointed. It seems that after years of clinical trials, the drug passed two of three important tests with flying colors. It helped lower cholesterol and, if that wasn't enough, it didn't appear to cause heart-valve failure. It sounds like a winner so far.

The one test it failed, however, was a doozy. The weight-loss drug did not result in people actually losing weight. more...

Broker size: A small issue

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamchenkov/2954374325/" target=blank>Leonid Mamchenkov</a>.

So many agents -- hungry agents -- and so few transactions to go around: It's a three-ring circus out there.

As established agents, a large portion of our business comes from past clients and from their referrals. But some portion of the business of all agents will always be of the "new business" variety. In other words, we all find ourselves competing at some point. And none of us will win them all. more...

Tradition and technology in transition

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/2850299330/in/photostream/" target=blank>Wonderlane</a>.

"Family to appeal historic designation," the headline in my local newspaper read -- the newspaper that has been right-sized to the point where I can mail it to a friend with a single first-class stamp.

"Can you do that?" I thought. With the AARP letters now arriving at my home at the rate of 47 a day and the Denny's Senior Menu clearly in my sights, there may be hope for me yet. more...

You have to start somewhere

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelwongphotography/2973341709/">A. Wong Photography</a>.

A commenter on a recent article accused me of too often having the "narrow perspective of someone who has arrived." I found that statement curious as I was preparing my year-end taxes, gazing at the bottom line which was a tribute to the true awe-inspiring enormity of my success. I almost paid the bills.

Mostly, though, it reminded me of those first years in business. Even in a good market, building a real estate career from the ground up is like scaling Mt. Everest wearing swim fins. It is a painfully slow process, and it is a lot of hard work. And it is a lot like childbirth -- you never really forget the labor. more...

The victims of 'spamvertising'

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/63056612@N00/155554663/" target=blank>freezelight</a>.

If someone in the grocery store were to suddenly shout "Webmaster!" across the dairy aisle, I would whip around so quickly my head would disengage. That is because my name is "Webmaster." But I go by many names. I am also called "Info," "Homes," and occasionally, "Hey there."

"Hey there. Hope you are doing well. In these times of recession, SEO is one of the most economical and targeted way (sic) of marketing," read the e-mail. Good point. Then why are you wasting time in my inbox? Get out there and optimize! more...

Much ado about compensation

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, February 25, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/woodysworld1778/2795931332/sizes/l/" target=blank>woody1778a</a>.

It's the debate that "just won't go away," I read.

"Hmm," I think. What could that be? Is it the debate about how we got to a place where millions of people have lost their homes and many more will likely fall victim to foreclosure in the coming year?

Maybe it is the conversation about how lenders are pricing their foreclosure inventory using the dartboard and dreidel method of valuation, dragging an entire market into the abyss in the process. (In the case of a tie, the Ouija board shall dictate.) more...

Natural selection and real estate change

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, February 18, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/1856663523/" target=blank>kevindooley</a>.

I may live in San Diego, but I have a down coat. I have several actually, but only one I really wear. And wear it, I do. It has gotten so much use over the years that it has begun to spring leaks. First, fuzzy white stuff started appearing at one sleeve. "Nothing a little duct tape can't handle," I decided, vowing to find a more permanent solution someday when I had a needle and an inclination.

But what started as some minor molting has become full-blown failure. No number of thoughtfully applied swatches of silver tape can make it stop. more...

Real estate juggling routine

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, February 11, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/eschipul/494442038/" target=blank>eschipul</a>.

I've got a few things on my plate right now. There are the personal obligations such as the issue of where my younger daughter will be attending college in 18 months. Having determined only what she doesn't want to be (a real estate agent), the field is wide open, and her current short list includes every school with "university" or "college" in the name. We will be visiting the electoral college over spring break just to rule it out.

Then there are the obligations that come under the category of "I'd rather be fencing in a bikini." more...

The weakest link in real estate

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, February 4, 2009.

Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellasdad/457521627/" target=blank>Ella's Dad</a>.

We have been talking a lot this past year about an industry at a crossroads. Our traditional brokerage models have been under indictment, and now the traditional commission structure is being scrutinized. It's becoming largely an exercise in academia, though. Just maybe we are attacking this threat from the wrong end of the fire hose.

Rob Hahn, more familiarly known in blogging circles as Notorious Rob, recently wrote, "A broker's brand is in the hands of the weakest, least competent agent." more...

Sending out an SOS over MLS entries

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/2679508854/" target=blank>cogdogblog</a>.

As we grow up, we are taught truths. The funny thing about our truths is that they tend to change over time. When we rest on our laurels, clinging too fiercely to our belief systems without question, we risk missing the memo on change altogether. And in these times, more than ever, our inboxes are full.

"Don't run with scissors." OK, that was a good one. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and call it timeless. more...

Countering real estate information overload

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/ninjanoodles/3070885645/" target=blank>NightRPStar</a>.

My youngest daughter came to me this week and announced that she has diabetes. She doesn't, of course, but she came to this conclusion after spending an hour searching the Internet for the truth. It seems she has been really thirsty lately, drinking approximately 27 glasses of water a day by her own estimation. Don't worry. She really hasn't, but remember that children deal mostly in abstracts. "Tomorrow" means sometime other than today, "no" means maybe, and "27" means a whole bunch. So, 27 it is. more...

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