Uncommon Rain

First Week at Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty in Hopkinton, MA

2008-07-25T15:42:16Z

Mike's interview on Real Estate Radio USA (7/24/08)

Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty website

Real Estate Recruiting in a 2.0 World

2008-07-22T23:01:14Z

I recently got a promotion that started on Twitter.

Most of you who know me, know I am still fairly new on the sales side of the business (my background is in real estate appraisal). In fact, on June 4th, 2008 I wasn't even one full year into the business when an anonymous tweet came through.

I didn't follow this person, didn't even recognize her. Loved your video on ActiveRain! Opening a new office nearby. Want to chat? was her tweet...

She is a big ActiveRain fan. She found my winning video there. She hit up my profile and thankfully disregarded my absolutely pathetic excuse for "points".

My ActiveRain profile links to my LinkedIn profile, my AIM account and practically every single way humanly possible to reach me online! She read my blogs.

We communicated on and off for 12 days with out speaking a word "live" to each other. We were obviously both very comfortable and adept at these social media methods so through IM, twitter, text, etc...we learned a lot about each other. I Googled her and her broker/owner. She did the same to me (and STILL wanted me to come in to interview! Imagine that?) Her office had a "secret announcement" coming up that she was extremely excited about but couldn't tell me just yet.

Nearly two weeks later I was sitting with the owner/broker of the office discussing an opportunity that was being presented to me based on my pioneering, progressive, Web 2.0 ways. Keep in mind, as a rookie REALTOR struggling to survive his first year in the biz, I had no "Top Producer" status, no big book of business and no money coming in the door with me on Day 1.

My resume was online. It was my social media presence. My "impressive" connections to industry "heavy weights". It was the creativity shown in the property videos and websites I had created. It was a digital map of my past, present and in her mind, my future.

My local twitter pal Aaron Strout wrote an awesome post about a similar non-real estate experience he had recently in the hiring process.

If I was a broker, hiring a staff of agents, I would:

Google their name, alone, in quotes, with "real estate" on the end...try a bunch of combination.
Read their blog. Don't have one? Next! (that's just me...but if less than 5% of agents are actually blogging, there are certainly some success stories in the other 95%)
Check their LinkedIn page. Any recommendation on there?
Follow them on Twitter.
Set up a google alert for them and see how often they are showing up online.
Send them an e-mail that needs a response "ASAP"..see you quickly they respond. If not quickly, why?
Send them a text message seeking a passive reply. How quickly do they text back?

I'm not saying that social media is changing the way all HR departments operate and hiring processes run, but for certain types of industries, there is definitely a new twist in the recruiting game.

So if you are in one of those industries that might be effected by the evolution of social media (um...in case you were wondering, YES, real estate is one of them), get yourself out there. I was pretty impressed on a recent Google search I did for Mike Lefebvre Real Estate.

Just by getting my name out there, making some connections within my industry, engaging in the conversations going on and adding a healthy dose of shameless self-promotion, I was in a position someone with my limited production should not have been in.

I got the job. Started officially today. And I'm very optimistic about where this turn will take me.

At the end of the day, real estate is still going to be about the time you are spending face-to-face with qualified buyers and sellers. But if a little social networking/blogging ultimately gives me the opportunity for a promotion that will get me more face-to-face time with these qualified buyers and sellers, I'd be crazy not to, right?

Oh, I'm also meeting with a local couple I connected with on Trulia Voices later this week to discuss helping them buy their first home. Haven't spoken "live" yet, but we sure know a whole lot about each other.

If this is what Web 2.0 is delivering for REALTORS willing to put in the time, sign me up! PS- Connect with me here!

The Dutch Love Me! (or at least I think they do....)

2008-07-22T21:27:44Z

News sweeping through Amsterdam, and all of the Netherlands for that matter, is that the famous American Realtor, Mike Lefebvre aka The "Uncommon Agent" is kicking butt and taking names! (not literal translation, but I like it).

Ran this post through the translator on my mac's dashboard and it only made mildly more sense. Any Dutch-speaking ActiveRain members please tell me if this is favorable or less-than-favorable?

Dutch Coverage of The Uncommon Agent

Change is good!

2008-07-21T23:38:30Z

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have just become affiliated with Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty in Hopkinton, MA. I struggled with the decision a bit early on, being still relatively new in the business (just over one year), but it was too hard for me to deny my gut feeling that this office is truly destined to do some great things!

And, I was recruited entirely online! Didn't speak live to anyone there for about a week. They are big AR fans, saw my award winning video, looked up my profile, started following me on Twitter, linked up on LinkedIn, began IMing over AIM and a week later I was sitting in the office discussing the opportunity. The ownership and management are incredibly forward thinking and believe as much as I do that the internet has changed the face of real estate brokerage for good!

So the next time someone asks me, "Have you actually made any money off Twitter?" I will reply with, "I just got a phenomenal promotion exclusviely off Twitter!"

Change is good! I can not express how excited I am to hit the ground running tomorrow with my new brokerage. Already lined up a couple potential leads just by stopping by the office this afternoon!

Being active on social network definitely DOES pay off. Just some times it's not exactly how you expect it to.

Stay tuned for more updates on my re-birth into the business!

Oh, By The Way...I Liberated Myself Today.

2008-07-21T17:51:45Z

When I signed up with my broker just about one year ago, it was mandatory to enroll in Brian Bufinni’s “100 Days to Greatness” training. First day on the job, I was throwing down an extra $400-something in the hopes of obtaining “greatness” in 3 months or so.

Not wanting to cause trouble my first week on the job (saved that for the second week), I dutifully obliged. I attended all (OK, well most) of the sessions in the 14 week program. I followed the scripts (mostly). I did the role playing. I sent the cards (still do). Did the pop-bys. Worked the database (still do). I was a (pretty) good student (like a B/B+ student). I believe I took away what the real core of the program is. Stay in touch with people. Make yourself available. Be consistent. Be helpful.

Today I liberated myself from a part of the program I always had internal conflicts with. The 100 Days to Greatness starter kit includes a bunch of oval stickers with the program’s catch phrase on them. “Oh, By the Way…I’m Never Too Busy For Any of Your Referrals.” I never felt comfortable working that into my scripts, so I certainly never felt comfortable sticking it on the back of a handwritten personal note. Yet the pages of labels remained at my desk, taunting me with “Just drink the Kool-Aid, Mike. Put us on your notes. What have you got to lose?” It’s just not me. Never was. I would never say that to someone. Brian Bufinni actually trademarked the “Oh, By The Way…” portion of the phrase. The US Government would agree: It’s Brian’s, not mine!

So today I tossed all the labels. Gone. In the trash (see photo above). I supposed I could have passed them along to another agent in the office who actually uses them, but the act of throwing them away was extremely liberating for me. I feel I turned a page in my real estate career development.

I guess my main point isn’t an anti-Bufinni theme, but rather that I firmly believe “greatness” does not come in a box or arrive hand wrapped at your doorstep in 100 days. And it doesn’t have to cost you $400 bucks either. And here’s where I’m gonna get a little touchy-feely with ya….you’ve been warned.

Greatness is within all of us. It’s just buried a little deeper under a bunch of other crap for some, and bubbling over at the surface for others. Inspiration brings it out in us. The uninspired may never get the chance to see it in themselves, while others are lucky enough to tap into it like a fresh flowing keg of Guinness Stout (mmmm……come to think of it some of my most inspired moments have come after a few rounds of fresh Guinness).

There are countless coaching and training programs out there promising the elusive silver bullet for REALTORS. And based on the apparent success of a lot of these programs there’s definitely a market for it! New agents breaking into the business (and established agents looking to rejuvenate their careers) are obviously willing to listen to someone promising results that buck the trend of hard work and long hours.

I’m sure many agents have found success with the various programs, but for me, as a newer agent, I find enough FREE-OF-CHARGE inspiration in the real estate blogosphere to tap into the greatness inside. Whether it’s what Jeff Turner is doing with video and technology, what Jennifer Allan is doing with her sales approach, what Mary McKnight is doing with SEO and blogging or what Mark Eckenrode is doing with unique marketing techniques.

Some days, all I have to do is log-on and I can feel the “greatness” bubbling to the surface (or is that the Guinness, again?). For me, it’s a phenomenal time to be in this business. I feel the changes that technology is ushering us through will be looked back on as “revolutionary” in the not-too-distant future. Maybe I’m just new and not jaded yet, but I know sometimes I have to force myself to actually go to bed because I am so pumped up about a new approach that someone I’ve never met halfway across the world turned me on to.

For me, “greatness” is right out there in front of us. It’s in the pioneering approaches my colleagues across the globe are taking to redefine the rules of real estate. And thanks to the “connected village” the internet has created, I am lucky enough to be a part of it all.

(Damn, what happened to my East Coast cynicism today? I guess some days the pint glass REALLY IS half full! Barkeep! Another round….drinks for all my friends!)

How NOT to Sell a Home in Metrowest Massachusetts.

2008-07-18T09:19:38Z

OK, so this is hardly the most original idea for a blog post (closer to the least original probably) and tons of people have done it better and earlier, but I just had to share this photo I came across while looking for properties for my buyers.

Our local MLS lets you post up to 30 photos per property. This listing has one photo. Uno. Singular. The one you see here. I guess of all the photos the agent had of this property, he felt this one summed it up perfectly. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what does this photo say? The agent has 15 listings. All of them with one photo. 13 of them as blurry as this one. He must have got a new camera for the last 2 listings, because they look awesome. Advances in technology! His current average days on market is 323 days. Hard to say for sure if there is a direct correlation, but it’s pretty much an accepted fact that listings with a higher quantity and quality of photos get viewed more online. I think he’s one of those “We Buy Houses For Cash” guys because each property lists him as an owner. A search for any property sold in the last 12 months with this agent’s name attached came back at “0″. Don’t get me wrong, I am a certified rookie and no “Top Producer” by any stretch of the imagination, but I can take a decent picture and know the benefit of posting 30 shots vs. 1 shot. If this investor is in the “we buy houses and keep ‘em” business, more power to him. But if he’s in the “we buy houses and re-sell them for a profit” business he would do well by investing in a better camera ($100) and a Property Marketing 101 class (FREE all over the RE blogosphere).

It’s hard to get the average consumer, like my clients, (not the real estate investor) excited about seeing a property like the one shown above.

Good For My Ego...

2008-07-15T15:41:47Z

Today I have been humbled by the positive response I've gotten throughout the real estate blogosphere from a handful of well-respected colleagues who seem to appreciate the "uncommon" ways I'm trying to market myself as well as my properties.

I guess, as a newer agent, I benefit from never really learning the "old" ways to do things and just kind of pushing forward with what (more often than not) makes sense to me. I absolutely LOVE the fact that the internet has given us each the individual freedom to blaze our unique marketing trails and throw a lot of stuff against the cyber-wall in the hopes that something might stick. Imagine if I "ran an idea up the flagpole" with a bunch of billboards and shopping carts? Any futile hopes of a break-even ROI are slim to none!

The internet (or internets as some of my clients call it/them...seriously) blasts open the doors to an entirely new way of thinking about marketing real estate. Some of my ideas seem to catch a fire, others not so much, but the barrier to entry of cost is relatively non-existant for most of them! So what the heck? Try it! What have you got to lose (other than a few precious hours of your life fiddling with iMovie '06 because the new version makes separating the audio from the video damn near impossible...but I digress)?

It's a brave new real estate marketing world, and I often find it hard to sleep at night because I'm so amped up for what might be next! Coffee at 10pm could have something to do with it as well.

So, to all my RE.net friends below, "Checks are in the mail, boys!" : )

Original post from my favorite yankee fan (isn't that like jumbo shrimp?): Trulia Blog

Uber props from my Canadian brethren: Ubertor Real Estate Blog

From the "He said it, I didn't" category, Dustin "4Realz" Luther chimed in: 4Realz

And transplanted Red Sox fan, Mr. Blue Goose himself declares: Blog of Geese

Gentlemen, you guys have all been part of my RSS reader since I blindly jumped into this game just over one year ago today. I already had a ton of respect for each one of you. It just increased a little bit more today! Thanks. I am humbled, grateful and slightly swollen in the head.

Off to capture some more video...

Questions for Seth Godin from the ActiveRain Community

2008-04-29T08:09:19Z

Today, I leave for NYC to spend a day with Seth Godin at his charity seminar tomorrow. Travel report to follow. If anyone has good questions they would like me to ask Seth regarding real estate, please send them to me at: mike@14sanford.com

Talk to you all soon!

Mike

ActiveRain, I thank you, and Seth Godin may never forgive you!

2008-04-13T13:40:35Z

This was put together a lot quicker and a lot dirtier than the winning video, and leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion, but I wanted to get a "thank you" video message out to everyone who was involved in the contest. Whether you were a viewer, a commenter, a fellow video submitter, a judger, a picker, a grinner, a lover or a sinner...I want to express a sincere heartfelt thanks to all who participated. I feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world for the chance to spend a day with one of my business heroes, Seth Godin, in NYC. Thanks for encouraging my behavior and I will be sure to put together a video diary of my travels to New York. Enjoy the show!

PS- This video is about 2 minutes too long, and I apologize for that. But like TS Eliot said, "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." And my 15 minutes of fame is.... just.... about..... over......

Steak Out in Franklin, MA

2008-04-02T10:02:14Z

30Jefferson.com

2008-03-27T20:40:29Z