Olympic Fever Sweeping Over Me!

If this doesn't get you in the mood....well you must be dead!

I'm SO excited about the opening day of Vancouver 2010!  If you follow me on Twitter you may want to follow my Canadian Athletes Olympic list for updates straight from the athletes themselves!

I'll be downtown tonight directly across the street from the opening ceremonies looking down on BC Place!  And of course hitting the streets with my fellow Canadians, Visitors and Olympians!

GO CANADA!!

The Doctrine of Stephen Jagger

How could I have known when I met him how completely he would change my life but Stephen Jagger is my Redeemer!

Struggling to establish myself on my path in Real Estate, Stephen Jagger became my beacon and in the process introduced me to my new passion:  All things Social Media!

Stephen is the most laid back, humble, and generous business savvy entrepreneur that I have ever met.  At the ripe old age of 32 he already is owner/principle of 3 successful companies Ubertor.com, Reachd.com and Outsourcingthingsdone.com.

Achieving his successes have come, I believe, from his uncanny ability to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate the new styles of business and foreseeing opportunities!

His ability to keep his finger on the pulse of future trends is why he became my Social Media Guru.  He introduced me to GaryVaynerchuk and Chris Brogan and Seth Godin and now he's co-written his own book with Shane Gibson on the subject called Sociable.

I'm now entering the consulting world of Social Media (a fabulous compliment to my Real Estate Career) and feel reborn in my new found passion! I'm proud to say Stephen is my friend and I will continue to look to him for future trends and business best practices.

sidebar: I've written this post as an entry to win a free trip to Chicago for #SOBCon2010 (the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference) so please SHARE cause lord knows I can use all the help I can get!!

Thanks Steve and cheers!

Electric Olympic Vibe Sinking In!

Talk about getting you in the mood! The official Vancouver Olympic Song - if it doesn't move you there's something wrong with you!

Not the "Same Old, Same Old"

Watching the news has gotten pretty boring...its always the same old thing - UNTIL Jimmy Fallon decided to "Slow Jam the News" with Brian Williams of NBC....
you ain't never seen the news this way!!! Enjoy!

New Social Media Meetup Group

I'm really excited about the new Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup Group!

Meetup.com is such an amazing tool to connect local people of similar interests in a casual and engaging environment!

Our 1st meeting will be some time after the Olympics when things settle down a bit and we plan to have Stephen Jagger and Shane Gibson authors of Sociable be our guest speakers! Will be a fabulous event and everyone is welcome! Add yourself to the group and stay tuned for details about dates and venues!

Cheers!

...and the wheels on the bus go round and round.

I love this video!  You may have seen it before, but its so powerful and illustrates so beautifully why you must embrace the New World of Social Media!

I've built my entire business around this form of marketing!  The old school ways of marketing are dying a slow death.  Will there always be commercials and print ads - oh sure of course.  But think about it...how do you do your shopping as a consumer?  Most of us begin our search online these days.  We're savvy and shop around, do some research and cannot be fooled into throwing our money away and then usually buy from someone we either know of feel we know.

We're much more inclined to do our business with someone we've built a relationship with or feel a connection to, so building your brand online has never been more important.

I LOVE social media because....well - It's SOCIAL!  The age of competition is edging out while the new age of cooperation is rolling in.  Your clients/customers won't tolerate a 'gate-keeper' style of information collection any longer. They'll do business with you BECAUSE you generously share it and become a source of value.

If you would like to know more about how you can build your brand online utilizing social media,  I can help!  Ask me your questions!

Just found this new video! Get on the bus people!

What the heck do I need a Realtor for??

Ok...in an effort to justify my existence I decided to write this post because I am in the middle of a deal that has been MOST frustrating! 

My clients that I have been working with for months (I have shown them countless properties; we wrote and got an accepted offer on one only to lose it when we couldn't remove a subject to sale) wanted to write on a townhouse in Clayton.  Shouldn't be a problem right?  WRONG!

The owner of the townhouse tried listing the property himself first.  He had it listed way over market value and he had no way of marketing it effectively.  He of course realized eventually that he would need a Realtor.  And he, like many others, assumed it would be only for MLS access.

So naturally, his listing came up in an automatic search that I had initiated for my clients now that he's on MLS.  Here's where there is a problem:

He has listed with a cost saving Realty Company.  The Realty Company is only offering a fraction of the commission that I would expect to be paid after all my work.  I of course am disappointed but am true to my clients and show the property.  (now we're not supposed to say this but I think its obvious that if you aren't offering a decent commission to the Buyer Realtor, they may not be motivated to show your property and thus you lose traffic AND money!)

This Seller has several issues:

1. He doesn't understand the market.  His Realtor and I are in the market on a daily basis and know what values the property should have.  Our experience allows us to know something he couldn't possibly.  We have access to all the sold information and actives and can do effective market analysis.

2. The Seller is coming from his own personal wants and needs.  He has it in his mind that he would like to make money on the property.  Well who wouldn't, but when its all said and done - the property is only worth what a Buyer is willing to pay for it.

3. The Seller may not understand (despite the Realtor's advice) that he has been presented with a fabulous offer; clean with no subject to sale and fast dates and more money than recent solds.  He however is stuck on a number that he simply wants and thus may lose a really good deal.

4. There seem to be some people that want something for nothing  - this would be true of people who choose cost saving Realty Companies in my opinion.  So often is the case that deals are lost because the client doesn't VALUE the services offered by a Realtor in the first place!

This is my fundamental frustration. As hard as I've worked to negotiate a deal on behalf of my clients who really want the property, and despite the fact that I'm going to be paid a fraction of the commission I would expect, the deal still may be lost because the Seller doesn't respect his own Realtor's advice.

Realtor's are held to the same duty of care as Doctors and Lawyers BECAUSE of the expertise and experience and liablitiy involved.  Anyone can put up a sign and fill in some paperwork....but Realtors are researchers; marketers; networkers; liability protectors; negotiaters and service providers.  We work long hours - we're on call every day - and we earn our commissions. 

So why do you need a Realtor?  Well, you don't if you don't care about closing a deal or finding the right home, or protecting yourself against possible liability...but if you choose to work with a Realtor, choose wisely and listen to their advice!  That's what you're paying for!