What we are selling is worth selling - 08/27/07 10:22 PM
The product that we are putting in front of customers does not suffer from what often causes an industry to go into a tail spin.
I worked for Apple Computer during their dark days in the mid-nineties.  The products were unfocused and unfortunately they often broke and sometimes the customers had a very bad experience.
Housing prices usually take into consideration location and condition.  During the boom that we recently had here on the coast, location was all important and some people carried away by the boom did not care a lot about condition.
I saw the same thing in the Northern Virginia market … (3 comments)

The perfect storm - 08/26/07 09:54 PM
The ocean near Emerald Isle looks pretty calm as we approach the end of August. A year ago as I finished my real estate courses, I had no idea that I would face the perfect storm for a new agent in coastal North Carolina.
As the year has moved forward, I have kept to my plan with the hopes that I can carve out a spot for myself when the market turns around.
I am like everyone else in that I really have no idea when that will happen. We had a spurt of activity a couple of weeks ago, but that has … (2 comments)

The one true way to a satisfied customer when there are problems - 08/22/07 11:33 AM
Sometimes I think customers are like cats.  Much of the time they don't need you, but when they do need you, they really need you.
Our cat travels back and forth from the coast with us.  It is a six hour trip so it is challenging for him.  We have found that he likes riding in our truck better than the SUV.  The truck has a full bench seat in front with a large console that folds down and makes a perfect cat perch.
Yesterday, both the cat and I were dissatisfied customers.  There are some lessons for all businesses and especially real … (0 comments)

The drought before the flood - 08/19/07 05:08 PM
This summer on the Carolina coast, we have a good balance of sun and moisture.  Other places like Roanoke, Virginia where the picture to the right was taken have not been so fortunate.
It is drier than we have ever seen it in our nineteen years in Roanoke.
I have a feeling that the real estate market is in a similar dry spell.  We have had more showers than we had last spring, but we still have not seen that soaking rain of buyers that we need to keep the Realtors® in our area going.
Yet I have a feeling that just as we … (0 comments)

A lesson learned the hard way - 08/15/07 03:27 PM
Business has picked up somewhat, and I have been really busy.  Last Friday I got a call at from someone who had gotten my name off the Internet.
He already had a specific property that he wanted to see.  He wanted to see at a very specific time since he was traveling through our area.
Though the time was right when I was normally getting ready for church, I agreed to do it.
We talked just before we were scheduled to meet since he had gotten lost by following Internet directions to the home I was showing him.
The property came with access to a … (1 comments)

The draw of the ocean - 08/10/07 10:16 PM

 I think we have all felt the power of ocean waves.  I am not talking about being knocked down by them.  I actually mean the need we seem to have to get close to the ocean.
While there is pure beauty when look at an ocean wave, something more happens when you walk the beaches.
The sound of the surf often wipes your troubles away for a while. You realize how small a part of the world that you are.
The world seems almost endless as you look across the waves and see nothing but water. 
It is something is deeply rooted in our minds, … (1 comments)

Persistence - 08/08/07 10:12 PM
When I was selling Apple IIe computers back in eighties for Apple Canada, I complete a very difficult sale in the nick of time.
It was almost a $2M sale, and it required Apple to stockpile the computers before we got the order.  It was so many computers that we had to rent trailers and store them in Markham, Ont. facility.
The order was delayed to the point that our annual presentations on the state of our business became due, and I was summoned to headquarters from my Halifax, Nova Scotia office on Barrington Street.
It would have been nice to have gone to … (0 comments)

Burning bridges - 08/04/07 05:10 PM
One of my first pieces of advice to new sales reps was always to let an email written in anger cool off over night before you send it.  It was nor surprising how many of those emails never got sent.
Another of my observations was to never burn a bridge since you might need to cross it again some day.
While it is understandable that young students just out of college might not have the experience to leave unsaid a statement that might come back to haunt them, it is surprising how many agents or people with experience cannot resist the opportunity to … (5 comments)

Some market changes noted - 08/01/07 11:36 AM
While our market on NC's Crystal Coast is probably different from many markets, we certainly have faced many of the same challenges as other markets this year.
Still I think we are showing some signs of life which we need to aggressively protect and nurture. 
We have also seen some special issues such as being named the county that is the number one hurricane target in the US. Numbers are sometimes funny.  I looked at the same statistics and drew a totally different conclusion.
My thought was not that Carteret County was due to be hit since it had been a long time since … (0 comments)