Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
The Average Marketing Scenario
A couple years ago a loan officer asked me a brilliant question that they should have asked themselves before they spent $30,000 on a failed marketing campaign. “Dave, I have had a billboard for the past year on I-15 and I don’t get any calls off of it. What is going on?” I sat there for awhile trying to think of his billboard and I couldn’t remember it. Later that day it hit me. It took me all day to remember it. The loan officer had a prime location with his name and phone number and his company name on it. It said something like “your loan officer” or “call me for a mortgage.”
His marketing wasn’t working. He wasn’t getting any calls. I had that same marketing plan before. I had that same marketing on a moving van for three years. It was typical agent marketing that consists of: name, phone number, and how cool you are — it doesn’t work. I rarely got any calls, and nobody knew who I was. Then, I changed it and my business started to change.
There are two keys to smart marketing:
1. Can people remember you or your marketing?
Have you ever heard that famous statistic that the average home buyer/seller forgets their agent’s name within six months? I tested it out once. I met someone who said they just bought their home four months ago with the president of the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS®. I said, “Ohhh, awesome! What is their name?” Of course I knew their name, but I was wondering if the statistic really worked. They couldn’t remember. They said she is the president and surely I must know who they were talking about. Of course I knew, but how was this person going to recommend her to any of their friends and family?
Now lets talk about the loan officer’s billboard. After I drove by the sign, I couldn’t remember his phone number, name, or website. What a waste of money. His only chance of being remembered would have been if I wrote down his phone number the next time I saw the billboard, and kept it for when I had a need. Fat chance at that.
So what did I do to change my marketing after unsuccessfully advertising on a moving van for three years? it came down to branding. First, I created a scene of a desert in the background with my picture on it, and a Web address: UtahDave.com. Why in the world is there a desert when I’m trying to sell a home? Because every agent has a home on their marketing materials. I wanted it to be different, and the desert scene goes with Utah.
I don’t think the desert is key to your success, it just happened to work for mine. Maybe if I was “AlaskaDave” I might have an igloo instead of a desert. Geico has a Gecko, and the last time I checked they don’t sell geckos. The main thing is finding a special branding or memorable image…just don’t be like everyone else and have a home be your background.
The proof is in the pudding. I just got a listing appointment…and where did the listing come from? Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
Have you ever received a letter after a closing from the other brokerage thanking you for the successful closing? Have you been bombarded by e-mails stating that XYZ Brokerage has the best broker and systems to help you be successful? There are literally hundreds of brokerages to choose from, and yet I feel they say the same thing: higher splits, best service, etc., etc.
The question is, how do you really know XYZ Brokerage is going to help you more than ABC Brokerage? Is it by the number of agents at the brokerage? If the brokerage has hundreds of agents, maybe that is the place to go? I have had a thought lately that if an agent wants to choose a brokerage that will help them succeed, it’s time to find a brokerage that is willing to put their money where their mouth is.
When I was a kid, I remember I wanted a Sports Illustrated subscription. It was the cool magazine for kids to read. I asked my mom and she said that if I practiced the piano a few times a week and did some other chores she would get me the magazine. I got the magazine, but you know what…I never did any chores or practiced the piano. I remember thinking, “Mom hasn’t even asked me if I did what I agreed to.” I remember thinking she must not care, so I never did it but I still got the reward. I occasionally think of that moment and the principles of accountability. My mother never had a system of holding me accountable. I was free to do what benefited me the most. Since I wasn’t held accountable, I didn’t perform.
In building a real estate team, I learned that people perform if they are held accountable. When you are held accountable, you put your money where your mouth is. You perform or you don’t benefit.
I believe there is a brokerage of the future that would embrace this principles of accountability. Today, if a brokerage wants to grow profitability, they recruit an unlimited amount of agents. They may promise to help you be more successful, however, they are free to recruit your competition to help them be profitable as well. If we are to apply the principles of accountability to a brokerage, then it would be structured differently. Imagine a brokerage where they only had a limited amount of agents. Let’s say 100 agents. How would they grow profitability? The only way they would grow is if their 100 agents continually sold more homes and were more successful. Now their focus is on you being more successful (not recruiting their fallback) because they are held accountable to it. I believe the broker/owners would innovate and personally grow from it. This is a brokerage that puts their money where their mouth is.
Are there any brokerages that you know of that do this? Is it a brokerage of the future? Would you prefer to be with a brokerage of 1,000 agents doing three deals a year, or a brokerage of a limited amount of 100 agents who are all doing 50 deals or even a 100 each a year? Who will put their money where their mouth is?
Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker/owner of Robison & Company Real Estate.
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
What is the difference between a REALTOR® and a regular old Joe with a real estate license? Can anyone you’ve asked from the public answer that question correctly? Better yet, can all of the REALTORS® in your office answer that question? I feel like it was indoctrinated in me through continuing eduction classes. So, from what I’ve been taught, a REALTOR® is this: A REALTOR® is held to a higher standard because they’re a member of NAR and must follow the Code of Ethics.
Our MLS recently had WAVgroup.com do a survey on behalf of our members. Marilyn Wilson from the WAV Group spoke at a recent meeting about the research they discovered regarding our industry. First, she said that 99.9 percent of the public doesn’t know the difference between a REALTOR® and a regular old Joe real estate licensed agent.
What does that say about our strategy for educating people about what makes REALTORS different? It says that it doesn’t work. Our Code of Ethics is what we think makes us stand apart from other real estate agents. But if the public doesn’t know… then it’s not working.
So why is it not working? She exhorted that the level of service from one REALTOR® can be drastically different from another REALTOR®. This is actually the reason why I never considered joining a big brokerage… I didn’t want to be in a group where my level of service was drastically higher than the guy/gal with the same brokerage name on his or her name-tag. There’s no minimum level of service at the big brokerages, and the service level varies between agents.
As long as there isn’t a minimum standard of service, no one is going to know what sets us as REALTORS® apart from licensees. The public doesn’t even recognize us as a club. We will continue to remain commodities.
Do we want to be recognized differently? Is it a benefit to be viewed differently? With all of the REThinking this year, it seems to me there could be a good opportunity for REALTORS® to figure out what they want to happen on this topic. I’ll admit, I’m not really sure what REThink is thinking about. Most the people I talk to are confused about it as well. But as an association, if the very reason why we are different isn’t working, maybe we need to adjust our vision on what we are trying to achieve that makes us different?
How would you adjust it?
Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker/owner of Robison & Company Real Estate.
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
All the top producers have something in common. Yes, they all have something other agents want, such as higher sales, more disposable income, and more free time. But how do they achieve this? It’s not by buying an iPad or iPhone. Can you guess what it is they have in common?
Assistants.
NAR reports 87 percent of agents don’t have assistants.
An agent recently asked how I came to the decision to hired an assistant. This agent is excited to grow their business and take the next step into creating a sales team. After thinking about it, I realized how my business expanded due to having assistants, and how my lifestyle is more enjoyable. Here is my advice for agents who are considering hiring an assistant:
When do you hire an assistant? There are two main, simple steps. Whenever I hire a new assistant, I do it after analyzing what I’m doing with my time. My first step is figuring out how much time I’m spending in each area of my business. My second step is deciding if there is a certain area I could focus more time, and whether that time would produce a large enough return for my bottom line while paying a new assistant.
For example, recently I realized I’m spending a ton of time on e-mails, answering simple questions from my clients and other agents. I have a transaction coordinator who I keep busy with 20 to 30 deals under contract at one time. She is already very busy, so I couldn’t add more to her plate. I figured if I can have a licensed assistant take care of all the routine e-mail and simple calls all day for me, then I could spend more time getting more listings. Now it’s time to do it. I hired my second assistant so I could focus on increasing sales.
How do you hire your assistant? Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
Ever had a buyer working with more than one agent? Ever had a seller who you spent a ton of time with, gave them your advice, and then they used a discounted service? Ever had a buyer who kept changing their mind or made offers on a lot of properties?
I knew an agent who had a hard time with one of these scenarios. “Tina” broke down crying one day, saying, “How am I going to pay my bills now that this closing fell through? I’ve worked so hard this past month and now the buyer is backing out? How can they do this?” Many agents have been there. (This is a real story, however, and I changed the name above.) I had to explain a secret to Tina, on getting deals done.
The secret to success is not being emotionally affected or attached to the outcome of the transaction. Whether it fails or closes, you can’t be attached to the outcome you want. It’s a Nordstrom Way Secret.
The scenario:
Eons ago, I had a buyer who planned to purchase a multimillion-dollar property. I remember spending hours on end, educating and reassuring this person about the home buying process, in anticipation for what was about to be their biggest purchase ever. During the process, the buyer was concerned with the inspection. The items did not seem of major importance to me, however, they caused stress for the buyer.
The buyer asked the famous question: “What should I do?” This is the point where many REALTORS® might say something like, “It’s a great time to buy,” or, “I would do it,” etc. A secret to being unattached to the outcome is that you tell yourself: “It’s okay if they don’t buy the home. I still can pay my bills. There will be other buyers.” Even if you feel these statements aren’t true, you are going to have to say this to yourself anyway. There are many buyers I meet who will tell me they felt like their previous agent just wanted them to buy something and get a deal done. Those buyers left their agent to look for someone who would help them, rather than an agent who just wants a deal.
The right approach: Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
It’s interesting to read REALTORS®’ social media posts because I’ve been seeing a lot of the same thing lately. Here is a typical agent Facebook post (or comment in person): “This market is going crazy. I’m so busy right now. I’m busier than I have been in years!”
Wow…they must be having success, right? Let’s look up their stats in the MLS and see what their sales are like.
First “busy agent” stats: Sold six homes in the last year.
Second “busy agent” stats: Hasn’t sold a home for 3 months.
Let’s be blunt here. To all those who think they are busy: You are fooling yourself! Stop focusing on being so busy and start focusing on creating results! This goes for anyone, even if you are selling 30 homes a year.
Chet Holmes talks about these “busy people” in his book “The Ultimate Sales Machine.” He has some great tips on time management. Here are some tips to overcome this syndrome:
1. Stop talking about how busy you are. You are just attracting busyness while pushing away business.
2. Create a list of “Big Rocks” to accomplish every day. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
The problem client:
That’s what an agent said to me over a year ago. “Dave, this client calls me a lot and is really high maintenance. Her listing price is unrealistic, we should just drop her listing.” This agent was selling 40 listings a year. He should know exactly what he is talking about right? Many sellers have pie-in-the-sky pricing on their listings and they may blame you that its not sold! Phone rings… “Mr Agent, why haven’t you sold my unrealistic high priced listing? I mean you haven’t even brought one buyer over to see it!” (Ummmm…probably because no one wants to see an overpriced listing, duh.)
Well, this seller had a hard time reaching their listing agent mainly because the agent felt like she was high maintenance and his time was better spent elsewhere. As a result, when her mother asked if she liked her agent, her response was, “Not really.”
There went $20,000 in referral commissions down the drain. The mom went and used another agent.
I took over:
Right about this time I heard through the grapevine that she wasn’t happy. The agent wasn’t happy either. So I took over. I sold her home and helped her buy another one. That client was worth $20,000 in commissions on those transactions. If she had been happy there would have been another $20k in commissions for a total of $40,000 in commissions made.
Where success comes from: Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
The crowd cheers, “Half-full, half-full!” Buzzer rings…nope, the answer is neither.
Why are so many people saying the glass is half-full? There are people saying half-empty as well. Those Debbie Downers (the half-empty glass people) might say something like this: “Ohhhh, the market, it’s awful. It’s killed our business.” Those saying their glass is half-full might say something like this: “At least I can feed my family and I’m still in the business.”
But the answer is still neither.
In the glass there are two components…the water that everyone readily sees and is anxious to claim as blessings in life. And there’s a second part, which is the unseen part in that glass — oxygen.
We need both oxygen and water to live. Everyone readily looks at the water as being blessings in their life. The oxygen represents the trials. We need blessings and trials in order to grow personally. The person who will come out on top in today’s market is the person that yells out, “MY GLASS IS FULL.” This person understands that today’s market brings them opportunity. They also understand that, although painful at times, if they focus and work hard, they will grow stronger. These people will welcome the challenge and focus on accomplishing something great.
The real estate community is changing in our local markets. Top producers of yesterday are gone. There is a breeding ground, ripe, waiting to harvest new leaders. Before you realize what happened, those who yell, “MY GLASS IS FULL,” are going to be the leaders of tomorrow.
What is your glass?
Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker of Robison & Company Real Estate.
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
About 10 years ago when I started advertising online, I knew I only had a few years before the rest of the world caught up. When I first broke out my SEO and PPC campaign, I was paying $1,000 a month. It gave me heartburn at the time, but my business grew and flourished.
That first month I was dumbfounded how I turned $1,000 advertising into $20,000 in commissions. Sure enough, other agents started to do the same thing. My costs started to grow as it got more competitive. Back in January 2008, that cost grew to $20,000 in one month. Ouch. I hadn’t done anything different 7 years ago from that month, I had just let my campaign stay the same. I realized times change and you have to change as well, or one morning you will wake up saying “ouch” like I did that month.
The new secret to advertising is three-fold and its extremely cost effective!
1. Have a Facebook business page. You can’t just have a personal one. Use a personal one and a business page. There is a difference.
2. Focus on getting likes. Don’t pay for likes. Attract people to ‘LIKE’ your page. This is how you grow your sphere. You can see how I did this at www.facebook.com/utahdavehomes You must have a welcome page that brands you and invites people to ‘LIKE’ it. I went to www.builderonlinesolutions.com and for as low as a $199 promotion you can get your page branded for you. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
More than five years ago, I had agents take a test before they worked with me, which tested their sales skills and emotional resilience. I had a couple agents making over $80,000-$120,000 a year who had tested in the “Find a new career; you shouldn’t be in real estate” category. Where are they today? Not in real estate. What seemed like success years ago, today seems like it was all just a pipe dream. A rough economy weeds out those who shouldn’t be in the business and makes the others stronger.
The test showed that agents that had strong emotional resilience have what it takes and they would stay in the business and make the most money. So what is emotional resilience and what does it take to have emotional resilience?
An example of weak emotional resilience, an actual story of one of the agents above who tested poorly:
One day, Agent X came into the office and had just found out that their client/buyer ended up writing an offer on a home that Agent X had shown them the day before, however, the client wrote it up with a different REALTOR®. It literally ruined Agent X’s week. So Agent X called up the other agent, chewing them out, saying they stole the client when it was Agent X who took them through the home. The result was just a bunch of bitter feelings toward each other and an unproductive week for Agent X.
An example of strong emotional resilience:
Just this past month, an agent of mine had almost the same thing happen. My agent had been working with a client for a long time but apparently others had too. An agent from another brokerage called my agent up mad, stating we stole their client when they took the client to and through a home. (There were no agencies on either side.) My agent responded, “there is plenty of business out there for all of us so let’s do what the client wants. If the client wants to use me, I’m happy to pay you a referral fee for your work and effort. If the client uses you, I would expect the same.” The other agent perked up and agreed. The two agents communicated during the entire transaction, our agent closed the deal and the other agent got a referral fee. It was a win-win for all. Continue reading »
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