In the comments of this post, I wrote that THE challenge facing real estate is how brokers move from 3% profit margins to 10% profit margins. And I just got off a fantastic teleconference featuring the likes of Kris Berg, Marty Frame, Pam O’Connor, and other experts talking about the industry. Then Kris, Jay Thompson, … Read more
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more. – … Read more
I was tempted to jump in after part 1, when Danilo Bogdanovic threw down the gauntlet. But man, am I glad I waited until he was all done with his series on the future of real estate brokerage. You really owe it to yourself to read the whole series: Part 1, Part 2, and Part … Read more
In part 1 of this series, I looked at per-person productivity numbers which simply made no sense. Thankfully, people like Russell Shaw and Jay Thompson stepped in to provide at least an explanation. Simply put, there are too many agents chasing the same number of deals. So despite large improvements in personal productivity of a … Read more
Over at the OnBlog, I posted an item discussing the difference between how much brokerages spend on print advertising vs. their website. That was for the clients (past, present and future) of Onboard Informatics. This blog is where I get to talk speculative BS with friends in the RE.net. So… let me start out by … Read more
First day, first session of RE Blog World, and Mariana Wagner is giving a great talk on taking someone from a random click to a closed customer. The talk itself is really solid, and Marianna is an engaging, conversational speaker. The session is being videotaped, so I’m sure RE Blog World will be posting it … Read more
I’ve referenced David Ogilvy, the founder of Ogilvy & Mather, a number of times. His book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, is one of the wittiest and yet most influential books I have read. I recently ran across a webpage of “Ogilvyisms” — sayings and quotes from David Ogilvy — that I found absolutely fascinating. … Read more
I thought Glenn Kelman’s latest post on Yammer was a treat — it’s rare for those of us in the management ranks to get management insights and thoughts from a CEO that aren’t prepackaged and heavily worked over by a legion of editors. The post is ostensibly about Yammer, the new corporate Twitter, but it’s … Read more
At the recent RISMedia Leadership conference, I walked around listening to the conversation, attending the sessions, and talking to people. Not suprisingly, the market was very much on people’s minds, and a number of people were talking about pressure on commissions. That pressure is nothing new, of course. Discount brokerages have come and gone and … Read more