A broker with a 'blogging problem'
Real Estate Connect Speaker Profile: Jay Thompson
By Inman News, Thursday, November 13, 2008.
Jay ThompsonJay Thompson, broker-owner for Phoenix-based Thompson's Realty, is a prolific blogger and a published poet. He is self-described at his LinkedIn profile as a real estate professional and "chronic blogger" and a "man with a blogging problem."
He is the creator of the PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com blog and the NARWisdom.com blog, and he also contributes to GeekEstateBlog.com, the AgentGenius.com blog and other sites.
Thompson will speak during the Bloggers Connect workshop at the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference in New York City, which runs from Jan. 7-9.
He responded to a set of questions posed by Inman News:
What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2009?
If I had a crystal ball, I'd be on a beach in the Bahamas sipping cocktails out of coconuts. That said, I expect price declines to slow and flatten and listing inventory to slowly decline. And I reserve the right to be completely wrong. Foreign nationals, particularly Canadians in my market (Phoenix), will continue to be a strong source of prospects, clients and sales.
What advice do you have to help real estate agents and brokers get through this market?
People are still buying and selling homes every day. Brokers need to evaluate hiring practices and stop taking on agents simply because they have a license and a pulse. Hire the brightest and the best. Agents need to expand their areas of expertise, and define -- and demonstrate -- what sets them apart from all the other agents in their market.
What sparked the idea to start your company?
We started our independent real estate brokerage in February 2008, during a period that some are calling one of the worst markets in history. Our "virtual brokerage" is not encumbered by the costs of maintaining a "brick and mortar" presence. We can pass that cost savings on to our clients and our agents, as well as reinvesting it into the brokerage.
What's been your biggest challenge in running the business?
Fighting the status quo. Print is dead. Open houses rarely sell the home. The Internet and social media marketing are the wave of the future. Some people get that and take advantage of it -- others ... not so much.
Can you share any future plans, goals?
Some have a goal to simply survive. To that, I say "phooey!" My goal is to (slowly) expand my brokerage by hiring bright, innovative agents. Leveraging social-media marketing and further increasing our Internet presence are crucial. Eventually I'm going to own the local market.
What lesson did you learn in the last year?
If you want something badly enough and you work your butt off, anything is possible.
What would your second career choice be and why?
I'd be a fishing guide on the Texas Gulf Coast. If you've ever filled a boat with redfish and speckled trout or watched a big kingfish rip 100 yards of line off a reel, you wouldn't have to ask why.
What is the biggest problem in the real estate market today, and how would you fix it?
Unrealistic expectations from buyers, sellers, agents, brokers and lenders. Education is the key.
What do you most enjoy about working in the real estate industry?
The freedom to run my business how I want to is exhilarating. Helping people through the intricate process of buying or selling a home is very satisfying. The fact that no two days are ever the same and the business is very challenging are big pluses.
Tell us something we don't already know about you ...
I'm 48 and still act like a kid most of the time. Wait, you probably already knew that. How about this: I am a published poet.
Hear broker and blogger Jay Thompson speak during the Bloggers Connect workshop at the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference in New York City, which runs from Jan. 7-9.
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Submitted by Mark Owens on November 13, 2008 - 4:37pm.
-Print is dead.
Wow that sounds pretty convincing, however print is alive and thriving...If print is dead why are consumers eagerly devouring millions of "Homes and Land" magazines each year? What do you think the publishers are doing with the magazines...throwing them away? Give us a break…The statistics are clear, nearly 65% of web traffic is driven there by off line media. Have you considered that "print is dead" is just your experience? Have you considered that your problem with print is that you write ads that consumers are not responding to? Jay, don't give up on print it is a gold mine!
-Open houses rarely sell the home.
Wow again..another puzzling declaration. Open houses have always been a great way for us to sell homes at our office. I'm settling on a home tomorrow at 11:00 AM that I sold at my open house. Three to five sides a year from opens is good enough for me.(I'm not greedy) By chance, do you struggle with face to face interactions and are you more comfortable behind your Mac? Maybe send someone on your staff who is a little more outgoing to your open houses. These are great revenue generators.
-"Virtual brokerages" are not encumbered by the costs of maintaining a "brick and mortar" presence. Here we go again...Did you happen to notice that homes are mostly made of bricks and mortar? I'm curious, do your clients come over to your "Virtual office" in your home or do you meet them at the Starbucks or the "Waffle House"? Isn't that a little awkward? Virtual offices just seem very here today gone tomorrow.
I'm proud to say, our 30,000 square foot state of the art office building is a beacon of strength and a safe harbor for consumers in our community. This building is the literal 6th man off the bench for us. In this market clients just get a sense of peace and security when they walk through our beautiful front door into our spacious lobby. Its a beautiful high tech, sun drenched, very secure fortress. Today's consumers know that with identiy theft and all the nonsense going on that their transaction is safe and secure with us. They know where to find us! One of the real showpieces in our building is our 150 seat "Multi-media" education center. We hold educational seminars for our agents there and we encourage the community to utilize the space for their events also. This professional "bricks and mortar" presence is just another of the main factors that causes our office to produce 1 in every 3 sales in our market. We compete against over 50 other offices.
Unfortunately, it seems like prolific bloggers will have a very difficult chance competing for market share at a high level... blogging is very time consuming. I'm sure the craft of blogging must takes hours and hours of research and writing. When is there time to show houses and secure listings? It must be very difficult to be consumer-centric when you are always writing.
I'm sure some day you will figure out how to capitalize on your obvious writing gifts and monetize your prolific blogging habit...however your goal of dominating the Phoenix real estate market with a virtual office seems like it is going to be quite a challenge. To acheive this dream, you might have to go cold turkey as it relates to your extensive blogging habit.
Hopefully it works out for you.
Good luck, and keep blogging...I'm sure the other brokerages in Phoenix hope so also.
Submitted by Barry Noble on November 13, 2008 - 4:48pm.
There is a side problem with blogging - be sure the comments you want to make won't come back to haunt you later. I for one have been blogging for years and trying to help people understand the market trends -and happened to be three years ahead of the game - with forecasts of what happened and is happening now. Internet people who are considering you as a broker, appraiser or whatever, NOW, THEY GOOGLE YOU. If they don't like the fact you were ahead of the game and knew what some of them were up to so far back - it can hurt. "Nuf Sed"
Barry Noble www.MyPropertyIsWorth.com
Palm Springs and California the Desert Resort Cities
Certified Residential Appraiser & Broker
Submitted by Michael Espiritu on November 13, 2008 - 5:57pm.
I will say that if print is not dead it surely has a terminal disease. The return on investment in print media is minute. We do advertise in Homes & Land every month at least a full-page, full- color ad. We advertise rarely in the newspaper.
Most older clients want some print media in their marketing plan but a formidible on-line presence is vital and we have shifted our focus out of print media and into on-line advertising. Knowing what sites are the best to get our brand out there to compete and thrive w/ the big boys!Craigslist is an excellent avenue to get products and real estate exposed to a large audience quickly and cheaply...F R E E!!!
Open houses are very popular in Southern California, especially in the beach communities. In the Inland Empire region (Riverside-San Bernardino Counties)they are popular buy not very effective. I know many colleagues who disdain open houses and have never closed a deal because of an open house. You get neighbors, lookey-loos and the like. I would much rather be more productive through even walking a neighborhood than an open house. I think it depends on what area and region you are working in as to the success of open houses.
Our office is brick and mortar but there are things to be learned from an on-line brokerage. Technology,cost savings, streamlining! I would never meet a client at Denny's to structure a deal or sign papers and a nice professional office helps instill a level of confidence in the consumer that you are not a fly-by night operation.
To say that a blogger cannot be successful is being short-sighted in my opinion. Blogging does not require that it be done from 8 AM -8 PM. People blog at 2:00am???Jay is finding a niche that he is good at and has a following. Shouldn't hassle him for that. A good blogger can enhance his business greatly!
Michael Espiritu
Broker
Copeland Wealth Management/CWM Real Estate
So Cal
Submitted by Ted Mackel on November 13, 2008 - 11:09pm.
PRINT MEDIA IS DEAD & OPEN HOUSES attract professional thieves. The world is changing are you?
More reasons why PRINT MEDIA IS DEAD!
http://homebuysblog.com/2008/08/03/put-a-fork-in-it-its-done-la-times-re...
http://activerain.com/blogsview/519600/Video-Blog-Newspaper-Advertising
Ted Mackel
Keller Williams Realty
(805) 432-7705 cell/text
Simi Valley, California
http://www.homebuysblog.com
Submitted by Deborah Madey on November 14, 2008 - 2:33am.
Jay,
Perhaps you will solve my blogging problem in NYC if I don't solve it before then....content without a home.
Look forward to seeing you in NYC.
Deborah Madey - Broker
Peninsula Realty Group - New Jersey
Submitted by Walter Boomsma on November 14, 2008 - 4:10am.
None of these things are "zero sum games." There ought to be more synergy between various media and marketing techniques with an eye on what the product really is.
Being a great writer or blogger may contribute to an improved real estate business. So may a million other things. I blog some. I also condense that material into a print newsletter for clients and friends.
One of the current trends in real estate (and many other businesses) seems to be "let's find the magic - the one thing we can do that will make us successful."
Success isn't about doing one thing right; it's about doing lots of right things. There's nothing wrong with promoting one of those things as long as you don't forget what business you are in!
Submitted by Kevin Tomlinson on November 14, 2008 - 4:48am.
Everything Jay says I concur with. It may not be today's exact reality, but it will be literally tomorrow's reality.
Blogging is time consuming, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Jay: see you in NYC.
Kevin Tomlinson
Miami Beach Real Estate Resource
South Beach Real Estate Blog
About Miami Beach Florida
Submitted by Jay Thompson on November 14, 2008 - 5:32am.
@Mark Owens -
On Print
"What do you think the publishers are doing with the magazines...throwing them away?"
You might be surprised just how often that actually happens. Go to a Barnes & Noble sometime when they are changing out monthly additions of magazines. Ask them what happens to the old ones.
"Have you considered that "print is dead" is just your experience?"
I can assure you, it's not just my experience. Looked at the circulation numbers for any magazine/newspapers lately?
On open houses:
"By chance, do you struggle with face to face interactions and are you more comfortable behind your Mac?" "Maybe send someone more outgoing"
Heh, now that is kind of funny. I can assure you I have no problems with face-face interactions.
And I use a PC.
I'll grant you that opens may work in some markets. And they will occasionally work in any market. They are a great way to pick up buyers. I prefer to not inconvenience my sellers and put their property at risk for me to pick up buyers. If they actually sell houses in your market, then of course you should do them.
"Maybe send someone more outgoing than you"
Yeah, that's the problem Marc. I'm not outgoing. Have met met? Yeah, I didn't think so because if we had, you'd clearly understand being outgoing is not an issue.
On Virtual Offices:
"Isn't that a little awkward?"
Nope, not in the least. I rarely took clients in my office when I was at a state of the art office building that was a beacon of strength and a safe harbor for consumers in our community.
I'm glad your building contributes so much to your success. Personally, I don't need a "beautiful front door" to be successful or convince my clients their transactions are safe. I let my behavior and action take care of that.
On... whatever:
"blogging is very time consuming. I'm sure the craft of blogging must takes hours and hours of research and writing. When is there time to show houses and secure listings? It must be very difficult to be consumer-centric when you are always writing."
I'm not always writing. Or researching. I also have other agents that enjoy the contacts that the blogging produces. Yes, it takes time. So does any form of prospecting.
I can assure you that a blog post I wrote three years ago has been read many more times than any ad you placed in Homes and Land three years ago. How many people have, and regularly refer to, 3 year old print ads?
Blogging isn't for everyone Marc. You seem very closed minded to both it and some non old-school things, perhaps even bitter. I'm not sure why that is.
Not everyone needs 30,000 square foot offices and full color ads in Homes & Land to be successful.
You can make fun of my model and mock my blogging all you want Marc, doesn't bother me one bit. There are many different ways to be successful in real estate. If what you're doing works for you, that's great.
I don't know you Marc, so I won't knock you or your business model. I would suggest though that you at least explore other alternatives to supplement your already successful business. No one way is "right" for all. But to dismiss potentially valid business methods seems a little short-sighted.
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Jay Thompson on November 14, 2008 - 5:43am.
"Have met met?" in that comment above should have been "Have we met". Sorry about that and other typos, it's early, need coffee...
@everyone else that commented, thanks for chiming in! There is no question that some of how I practice may not apply to you, just as some of what you do may not apply to me.
There is nothing wrong with "old-school". It's old school because it works. I know people that are wildly successful through door-knocking, print mailing, and many other methods. While I firmly believe that print is a rapidly dying media, I'm sure with the right kind of ad in the right print medium that can be successful too.
I look forward to meeting new friends at Inman Connect and seeing old ones. Marc Owens, I hope you're there as I'd love to meet you and chat real estate. Not to convince you that my way is right, it obviously isn't for you. But meeting people with different ideas is how we grow, and Connect is a *great* place for meeting people.
Besides, I hear Kevin is buying.... ;)
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Carolyn Gjerde-Tu on November 14, 2008 - 7:39am.
Nice profile Jay, I hope you do get to spend time as a fishing guide.
It is interesting that Marc commented that "Print is dead" on an online news site. Sure there will always be times people might choose to get their information through a hard copy source but the speed of how fast information travels on the internet is amazing.
Open houses work well in my market, they are well attended and agents who host three to four opens a week get clients from it, however I would rather spend my time building a business on the internet than sitting waiting for a buyer that may or may not walk through.
Blogging does take time but so does door knocking, holding open houses, cold calling, etc. At the end of the day, the writing is still there and hopefully is indexed into the search engines for buyers and sellers of the future to find you.
Carolyn Gjerde-Tu
Website Davis CA Real Estate
Submitted by Mary Pope-Handy, CRS, ABR, E-Pro, SRES on November 14, 2008 - 7:45am.
Jay,
I enjoyed reading your interview and did learn a few things about you that I didn't know. I hope you are right about foreign investors, because that can really smooth out some of the bumps in the marketplace.
To anyone considering Inman Connect in NYC: Jay is a great speaker and a generous resource to fellow bloggers. It's very worthwhile to hear him present his knowledge and insights. (I'm not sure if I'll be there or not as I live very close to the one in San Francisco.)
Mary Pope-Handy
Keller Williams
Co-Author, "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley"
www.PopeHandy.com (site)
www.LiveInLosGatos.com (blog)
Submitted by Jay Thompson on November 14, 2008 - 11:10am.
Well thanks Mary, for those very kind words! It was a pleasure being on the same panel with you at Connect SF. I hope you can make it to NYC! The "Connect experience" is different there. Both venues are great, just different. I find that interesting.
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Mark Owens on November 14, 2008 - 3:21pm.
Jay...
Jay obviously you have a very loyal following and preaching to the choir is always more pleasant then preaching to the "non-believers".
My challenge with "Print is Dead" was that as Mark Twain said "The reports of print's death are greatly exaggerated." Saying Print is Dead was a bit over the top. And you reinforce my point in the above post...."But to dismiss potentially valid business methods seems a little short-sighted."
Oh well..have a terrific weekend.
-Mark
PS
For the fun of it..go to www.archive.com
Type in the web address: www. ADDRESSCLICKS.com
It is there that you will see that in October of 2001 the firm that I founded was producing "single property" web sites. That was over 8 years ago when most people did not even know what a "single property" website was. Now there are many many firms on that bandwagon including a firm curently using that domain name. You see Jay, I am far from being closed minded to tech...I am actually an innovator and early adaptor, I just refuse to kick a very effective medium like print under the bus.
Submitted by Mark Owens on November 14, 2008 - 4:34pm.
woops typo... click www.archive.org
Submitted by Lenn Harley on November 15, 2008 - 5:53am.
What a wonderful read.
A man with spirit and the independence to let it shine.
We can succeed in this, the worst real estate market I've ever seen. However, the same old, same old is just plain old.
My real estate practice has been Interent driven since 1995. It works.
Lenn Harley
Broker
Homefinders.com
http://www.homefinders.com
Submitted by Russell Volk on November 15, 2008 - 11:07am.
Jay has been an inspiration to many, many real estate agents throughout the country, including me. If anyone doubts him, are just jealous of him.
Jay, pay it forward.
Visit the most complete Bucks County Real Estate guide on the Internet.
Submitted by Kim Gibbons on November 15, 2008 - 11:25am.
Wow! Jay has made some very good points about out current real estate market.
One in particular caught my attention:
"People are still buying and selling homes every day. Brokers need to evaluate hiring practices and stop taking on agents simply because they have a license and a pulse. Hire the brightest and the best. Agents need to expand their areas of expertise, and define -- and demonstrate -- what sets them apart from all the other agents in their market."
This is so on the mark!
We all need to to stay focused on our business at hand and not what the future may or may not hold.
Please take a look at the Gulf Breeze real estate I have listed for sale.
Submitted by Jay Thompson on November 15, 2008 - 11:36pm.
Marc -
There seems to be no point in continuing to argue the viability of print. I have to admit though that quoting someone that died almost 100 years ago, before the advent of television and the internet (and just about even radio) is an interesting tactic. (But I could have sworn Twain said "the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated", not "the reports of print's death are greatly exaggerated". Got a source for Twain's "print death" quote?)
There's no doubt that print works better in some markets than others. It doesn't work for me, in my market (which incidentally is very different than yours. Surely we can agree that real estate is local?)
And maybe my tactics wouldn't work in your market. So what? I don't recall ever saying what I do is the only way to make it work, or that it works everywhere.
My saying "print is dead" is certainly not an original or unique thought. Newspaper circulation has been dropping for years. One of our local papers just laid-off staff and went to printing four days a week. The LA Times recently ceased publication of a real estate section. More people read the New York Times online than in print. There are countless other examples
But hey, if print works for you, more power to you. Why stop something that works?
Lenn, Russell, Kim (and others) -- thanks!
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.