If you don't mind, I'd love to hear some input and perspective from you. I have a number of decisions on my mind with our company, and I would welcome any helpful advice/direction. Please note that I said "helpful". :) I'm editing this opening paragraph now that I've finished writing the rest of the post and I realize that some of the stuff I wrote below seems a little disjointed. Hang in there if you can.

Here's the thing: I've been selling homes full-time in Austin for 15 years as of this month. I started my own brokerage just over 7 years ago. We've had some very good years (thankfully, 2011 was one of them) and a couple of very lean years, too. As we begin another year, my business partner and I are evaluating things to try to determine the best direction for ourselves and our company. I find myself going back and forth between two extremes: big-time company growth vs. streamlining, saving money, and focusing on my own sales.

We're paying way too much for office space, so we're likely moving down the hall to a smaller, much less expensive space. Most of our agents work from home, so it seems silly to pay for a large space with lots of barely-used desks. This downsize in physical office space will save us $1700/month, so that's a no-brainer. We will be moving.

I could use some of the savings for additional marketing/branding, I suppose. Again, I'd have to think about the most effective use of these dollars. I've used just about every type of print and internet marketing technique over the years, and it seems that the internet is the only one that makes much sense, outside of handwritten notes (not a joke). Again, I welcome your input.

We have a nice system in place for the leads from our website, and a relatively substantial number of new prospective buyers sign up every day. I would love to increase our conversion rate for these leads, since I worked so hard to get the traffic in the first place. It seems that this would probably entail more accountability, and a different system, although I have no idea how much this might cost to design and implement. I could focus on SEO, but since we're getting ample traffic, perhaps the site needs a re-design to maximize its effectiveness? Here's our primary website: http://www.austintexashomes.com

I DO offer something that seems to be in short supply based on my conversations with agents: I care. I genuinely care about the people who work for us, and I am available pretty much any time to answer questions or provide advice. I've never been involved in a lawsuit or mediation of any kind, because we really try to head off problems before they grow into full-fledged legal issues. I value honesty and integrity, which might be a hindrance to substantial growth, although I'd like to think otherwise. Maybe I'm not cut-throat enough, and I'm okay with that.

There's no easy way to say this next part, so I guess I'll just be blunt. I promise it's not sour grapes, just an observation. I have seen other local companies grow to 50 agents and beyond with seemingly less to offer, other than possibly bravado and aggressiveness on the part of the managing broker/owner. I don't begrudge them their success, and I'm sure I could learn something from their recruiting efforts. Having interviewed a few agents who went to work elsewhere, only to be disillusioned, I just can't bring myself to over-promise to agents. Yes, we have leads. No, I can't tell you how many to expect, nor do I want agents who are dependent on me or the company to produce all or most of their business.

I haven't instituted minimum production standards for our agents, partly because it struck me as disingenous, since I wouldn't have been given a chance with my original mentor/broker if these were in place, but I think I was a great addition to his team for 8 years. It reminds me of the classified ads I used to see for Dell Computers that required a college degree and 2-4 years of experience, when the CEO was a college dropout. That being said, I don't think I want very many brand-new agents, partly because of the time commitment involved in training. What are your thoughts on minimum standards for sales production?

I've managed up to 20 agents in the past, and I think I could handle a lot more (40-50+), under the right circumstances. Namely, if I weren't so dependent on my own sales to provide the vast majority of my income, and if the agents were at least somewhat self-sufficient. I recognize that this sounds obvious.

I guess the bottom line is that I am torn between building an actual business that can provide income for me on its own vs. continuing to grow my personal sales. I am now 41 years old. I don't think I want to drive people around showing houses (even if they're nice houses) when I am 60 or 70.

I need a plan.

Feel free to chime in below with ideas. I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit:Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr.com Creative Commons license

It seems as though I hear more and more these days about the notion of "influence", both from sites like Klout and from various industry lists (Most Influential, etc.). My intent with this post is not to discount or disavow any such influence, but to provide some food for thought.

There are plenty of people I can point to throughout the course of my life who have served as good influences on me and my character. Of course, I also had a few that were...less than helpful. 

When it comes to my own personal influence, there aren't that many areas that concern me. Here's a sample:

Am I influencing my wife and kids in a positive way? As a father of four, there are few things more important than the mental and physical well-being of my children. I love them all dearly, and I am fascinated to watch them grow and develop into really interesting people. I teach them about our faith, our love for one another, and how to relate to the world at large. I am incredibly thankful that I've been blessed with a wife who does a stellar job as my partner in this regard. I tell each of them that I love them...daily (yes, even my teenage son). I want them to know that I am always available to talk, and my love is unconditional. 

Am I influencing my friends to trust me? I sure hope so. I like to think of myself as a very loyal friend, although I'm certainly not perfect. The people that I see on a regular basis are important to me, and I care about how they view me.

Am I influencing my clients to remain loyal, and to send their friends and family to me? Without this particular influence, I wouldn't make a living selling homes. I've been doing this for 15 years now, and 2011 was my best income year since 2006. Why is that? Well, part of the reason is that I focused on my clients and on providing the best possible service that I could muster for them. This has always been important to me, but I was more intentional about it this year.

Am I influencing the world? This is a tough question. I've seen examples of small actions that have long-lasting effects. Like the "butterfly effect" or the tried-and-trite ripples in a pond, we often don't really know what kind of impact we have on the lives of those around us. I've also had more obvious influence on three of my friends who credit me with saving their lives. Since I can't leave that last sentence hanging with no explanation, I will say that I talked two of them out of suicide (one on multiple occasions). The other told me that he was inspired by my 2010 weight loss and changed his lifestyle dramatically.

The bottom line is this: All I can do is try to be obedient to God and attempt to provide a good example for my friends and my family. THAT is the influence that matters to me.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: raspberreh via Flickr.com

Recently, I helped an older lady sell her north Austin home so that she could move closer to her family elsewhere in Texas. She was referred to me by an agent in San Angelo. He mentioned that she was recently widowed. I had a little trouble connecting with her initially, which was my own mistake. Basically, I waited an extra day to call her. By the time I did call, she was concerned that I might not want to help. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. During our first in-person meeting, we really hit it off, and I was excited to help her with all aspects of selling. She agreed to use my home stager and took my advice on pricing, and the home was under contract within 3 weeks.

We moved through the sale, despite a series of setbacks (repair issues, loan issues for the buyer, etc.). It was a roller coaster ride for a few days, but we closed on the original expected date, which was a minor miracle.

Having been "in the trenches" together, the seller and I became good friends and we even discussed praying for the outcome. She hugged me when the transaction was complete. She moved away to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren.

The chances of us ever seeing each other again are probably somewhat slim, and I think we both recognized that. This tends to make things slightly awkward when you part ways after the closing. In a nutshell, I will miss talking to her, partly because she really was a new friend, and partially because she was calm and centered most of the time, despite having been through a tough year after losing her husband suddenly. Her faith was inspiring to me.

I guess it made me reflect on the nature of our business, which really is all about developing relationships. I know that this is a little trite, but it sometimes goes beyond merely making people trust us. Often times, I end up with sincere friendships in this process.

Part of developing these types of relationships involves some measure of loss when my new friends move away.

Have you experienced this feeling during your career?

Part of the reward from treating clients in this manner is that they're typically very loyal and they will return if the need arises, and send their friends and family as well. I probably need to do a better job of reminding them on this last point (e.g. "If you know anyone else looking to buy or sell a home, have them call me. I'd love to help.").

Just a few stray thoughts on a Saturday morning. Thanks for reading!

I've been selling homes full-time in Austin since 1997. I've trained dozens of local agents, and coached many others around the country. As a broker and owner of my own independent real estate firm, I've helped with hundreds of transactions. Through my online networking efforts and "in person" conferences, I'm thankful that I've met hundreds (maybe thousands) of agents. 

Why do I mention this?

Well, it's pretty straightforward. Having encountered agents and clients of all types, I've noticed one trend:

Real estate is neither as easy as clients think, nor as hard as agents think.

Allow me to explain:By and large, I think the general perception from the public at large is that we real estate agents have it pretty easy. Show a home or two, help with some paperwork, then coast into commission town. I'm oversimplifying things, of course, but I know that I'm not far off here. I wish it were true that my job was that simple. It involves being really patient and diplomatic even in the face of major adversity, often from your own colleagues. Sometimes, clients aren't loyal. Often, lenders make mistakes that jeopardize sales. Frankly, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to real estate sales, and a lot of juggling has to occur.

Having said that, real estate isn't rocket science, either. When agents are struggling (I've been there), it's easy to blame outside factors:

"The economy is in the tank."

"Banks have tightened guidelines, so no one can get a loan anymore."

"The media won't quit talking about how bad things are."

Believe me, I've had the same thoughts myself at times, but the bottom line is this: In any given market on any given month, people are buying homes. They might be buying fewer homes than they were 5 years ago, but there is business to be had everywhere. 

If you're a consumer reading this post, know that most agents work hard and a solid number of us are good at what we do and conduct business in a professional manner. If you're an agent, grab your share of the pie. The pie may not be as large, but neither is the number of people who want a piece anymore. Too much analogy? 

There's the paradox as I see it, and of course it's just my opinion. I've always found it interesting how different the perspective is from the outside vs. the inside of our industry. In my own naive way, I think it's probably the opposite of how doctors are perceived by others ("Wow, being a brain surgeon has to be a really hard job.") compared with their self-perception ("Brain surgery ain't hard."). Alright, in fairness, they probably don't say "ain't".  

What are your thoughts? I welcome your feedback.

Photo: rrenzoo Creative Commons 2.0

When you’re trying to sell your home, there are things that you simply can’t change. If you bought in an awkward location, there’s not much you can do about that now. If the plan isn’t as functional/modern as most buyers would prefer, this is something that may cost too much to remedy. You also can’t really control which buyers are in the market at any given time.

However, there are three big items that you can and DO control:

• Price
• Condition
• Agent

Pricing: This is a biggie. Make sure that you give this part some sincere thought. You and your listing agent don't dictate the market - buyers do. In fact, one definition of market value is the price that a ready, willing, and able buyer will pay for your home.

A solid agent can provide a comparative market analysis (CMA) that should give you a good idea where to begin when pricing your home to sell.

Also, give some thought to where the "breaking points" are with the homebuying audience. In my local market in Austin (and probably elsewhere), $200,000 is one such breaking point. What that means is that there are a lot of buyers looking UP TO $200,000, but NOT over. If you price your home at $202,500, you are hurting your chances of selling. Price it at $200,000 or $199,999 if you want to use the retail psychology trick. Either way, it's a big mistake to go just over one of these breaking points. Your agent should be able to help with this, too. 

TIP: If possible, go with your agent to see a couple of the homes that you will be competing with nearby. This will allow you to see what potential buyers are seeing, and it often gives you a much better sense of how your home stacks up.

Condition: As I alluded to above, you probably don't want to spend a fortune remodeling your home, but you do want it to show in the best possible light. Getting good photos, staging, cleaning the carpet, and painting if needed are all inexpensive ways to improve the condition. If you have repairs that you already know are needed, do them now. If buyers notice them, they tend to assume that the home isn't well-maintained. I guess the best advice I can give here is to get your house in the best possible condition with your budget. This WILL make a difference when you're competing with other places.

Agent: I would like to tell you that this is the single most important part of the equation, but it's probably not. Price, condition, and location will largely dictate whether or not you get offers. That being said, if you have an agent who isn't reachable by phone during reasonable hours, or who is unpleasant or difficult to deal with, or who doesn't really make an effort to present your home well, this will hurt you. Additionally, make sure that you really like your agent, because you will likely be spending a good deal of time talking to him/her. Ideally, you want someone who can get you the maximum exposure for your home, and who is reasonably experienced and good with technology (at least the basics). Friendliness and honesty are two characteristics that are critical. You aren't paying your agent to tell you what you want to hear; you're paying him to tell you the truth.

There are a number of other intangibles that are part of the formula for home sales success, but these are the ones that you can affect. "Location, location, location" still applies, but these are probably the next three in line.

Thanks very much for reading!

Photo: Diana Parkhouse Creative Commons 2.0

When dealing with real estate clients, one of the more difficult objections to overcome in the real estate industry is the fact that we are often perceived as predatory and unprofessional. If I had a nickel for every time I heard this phrase, "I haven't had very good experiences with REALTORS®", well, I'd have a whole lot of nickels.

My response? "Neither have I."

However, over the past couple of years, I am happy to report that I have rarely run across the types of agents who have traditionally given all of us a bad name. Yes, there are some who are still out there, but I get the feeling (I have no data to support this assertion) that many of the truly bad agents were driven out of business by the economic downturn we experienced here in 2008 and 2009.

As the broker and co-owner of a smaller independent real estate agency, I've trained dozens of agents on the sales process. I have tried to build my own business on a cornerstone of integrity and honest dealings, and I expect nothing less from my agents. If I have a client who's considering buying a property that seems like a bad decision, I say so. Conversely, if I see a buyer about to pass up the deal of a lifetime, I want them to recognize this, too.

Why?

That's an easy answer, and hopefully it's a common-sense one as well. If I do my job correctly, my clients will want to come back to me with all of their real estate needs. They'll also send their family, friends, and co-workers to me. Good service isn't always altruistic. It's good business, too.

Another reason that I strive to provide the best possible service is this: I will likely be called upon to help my buyers when they're ready to become home sellers later. If I helped them get the best property in the first place, it makes my job that much easier down the road. Again, not just a nice move, but helpful to my own bottom line also.

The best agents I've encountered are those who are good communicators, and unafraid to say, "I don't know, but I'm sure we can find out." There's no shame in not having encyclopedic knowledge, as long as you're willing to expend the effort to get the answer, right?

At any rate, my overarching point is that there are still plenty of "good guys" when it comes to real estate sales. And by "guys", I mean both men and women, just to clarify. Don't be frightened by any negative stereotypes that you've seen portrayed on TV or movies. Just because you had a friend or family member who was burned before, it doesn't mean that it will happen to you, unless of course you use the very same agent, in which case you're kind of on your own, eh?

I do have a couple of pointers which come in handy, if you're a consumer looking for a real estate agent:

• Make sure that your agent sells homes full-time. Part-timers probably don't have the necessary experience or skill set to help if things get dicey during the transaction. Full-time agents have probably seen more scenarios in their career, and they can finesse things better.
• This is a big purchase for you, so dump your agent if he/she makes you uncomfortable. You'll be spending a lot of time with this person. If you get a weird feeling, move on.

I could go on, of course, but those two items strike me as supremely important to mention.

I hope you find the agent of your proverbial dreams.  Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: contemplativechristian - via Creative Commons (found on Flickr)

I started a small marketing company in 1996, leaving behind the fascinating and glamorous world of retail and restaurant management. I was 25 years old, and I was tired of working for someone else. Much of our focus for my fledgling venture was on selling marketing and printing services to real estate agents. I quickly realized that many of our customers were making really good money, and some (most?) of them weren't even that sharp. Real estate couldn't be rocket science, right?

Right.

The truth is, real estate isn't all that difficult, as long as you understand a few key concepts, namely:

• It's an emotional decision when someone buys a house, whether it's their first or their 51st home.
• People want their agent to communicate with them....often.
• It's important to be flexible. Things don't always go as you might think they will.
• It's critical not to take things personally. Some "clients" will take advantage of your time and expertise. Period.

I was thinking about the current apparent upswing in our market, at least here in Austin, and the old advertising and marketing adage certainly applies to our industry:

Perception Is Reality.

In the past, those of you who read my blog have all been very attentive and considerate when I've posted about people who were suffering or in need.  I hope to impress on you today how urgently your prayers and/or support are needed in this case...

For as long as I can remember, I've been sensitive to the pain of others, especially children and the elderly. Now that I am a father of four, three of whom are girls, it's very difficult for me to see kids suffer. A local friend of ours posted on Facebook about some friends of hers (the Strodes) who are living in a nightmare right now. Their 4-year-old daughter was badly burned while they were trying to have a nice family evening with S'mores at their home, and her recovery will be a long one. This family actually lives very near the ActiveRain headquarters, in Kent, Washington.

Here is a letter from the Strodes themselves to their friends about the accident:

"Many of you know, and some may not, that we had a terrible accident at our home last night (Saturday). After an awesome family day of summer shopping and yard work Dave and I and the kids all spent dinner on our back patio and then decided it would be a wonderful night for our first s'more campfire. We waited and tried and tried for twenty minutes to get this fire going. We tried everything. Paper, kindling, wood, pine cones. Dave decided to get some sort of fuel to the fire. He added some and nothing. He added more and the can caught on fire causing a huge flash fire towards Tommy, Brooklyn, Addison and I. Immediately there were screams I saw Brooke's hair on fire and scooped her up and patted her till the fire was out. Dave had already run Addie inside to the sink as her hair and clothes were on fire. By the time I got into the house, maybe 30 second later, there were still flames. I grabbed her and patted her down with a towel on the kitchen floor. Dave scooped up Brooke as I sat with Addie on the floor. Tommy saw all of this and was screaming and crying. Dave called 911 and the paramedics were there withing just a couple of minutes. They took Addie immediately tot he ambulance and started working on her. The second set of paramedics to Brookie. I was able to kiss Addie goodbye and the shut the door telling me they were having her airlifted to Harborview. Dave took off with Brooklyn in her ambulance as they thought they were taking her to Mary Bridge.

Ray and Sally arrived about 20 minutes later. Sally took care of Tommy and our foster son (who had been sleeping peacefully the whole time in his room). Ray took me to Harborview. On the way Dave called me from the ambulance told me Brooke was sleeping soundly in his lap and they decided to keep the sisters together and take Brooke to the same hospital as Addison.

Fast forward to today (Sunday). Brooklyn's burn were superficial. She was discharged this evening and went home with Grandma Sally. Addison is in the Burn Pediatric ICU. She does not look like Addie. She is swollen from her burns but mostly from all the fluid they give burn victims. We will know more tomorrow. They had to intubate her, she has a feeding tube, her face, ears, hands and arms are all burned. For now they tell us that her burns are worse on the wrists. They think her face should heal on it's own. She is sedated. She can wiggle her precious little toes when asked.

This has been Dave and my hardest trial by far. While we would never question who God is and His almighty work we are asking "why?" We know there is no answer. Our beautiful babies have been hurt. Dave feels awful and needs to know that I love him with all my heart. He is the best daddy. We don't understand any of this. It's a nightmare that replays over and over in our minds.

This was a horrible accident. It took 2 seconds to change our entire lives.

Please pray for a quick recovery for Brooklyn. They say she will be as good as new soon. She was running around the halls being her sassy self all day. Please pray for Addie. She is in pain. Pray for wisdom of her doctors. Pray that we can see our sweet little girls face the way we remember it soon.

We have faith in God. We know He is the great physician, He works ALL things together for good. But our hearts are broken.

Dave and I love all our children so very much. We were called to be parents. We have been blessed with our children and we know they are our gifts from God.

Sincerely, The Strodes"

You can read blog posts about Addison's progress by her family at this site:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/addisonstrode

(There are photos there as well, but I didn't feel comfortable sharing those publicly without their permission.)

If you would like to donate to help defray the cost of Addison's stay in the burn ICU, please make checks payable to Addison Strode and mail to the following address:

Addison Strode Medical Fund

PO Box 5847

Kent, WA  98064

If there are any questions or issues with making a donation to this account, please email Giancarlo & Tamara Papini at papinig@gmail.com.

I lost two more friends to cancer recently. One of them was a hilarious girl I knew in college. She was 42 years old, and she had a phenomenally good attitude about her illness. The other was a friend I made originally on Twitter, then through a number of phone calls. She was also a guest on my radio show, and she wanted me to go into business with her at one point. She was funny, creative, and interesting. She was 59.

One of the downfalls to knowing and caring about a lot of people is the fact that you also get to experience a lot more loss than the average person. I know thousands of people, and I have hundreds of friends. I'm not tooting my own horn - it's simply true. I consider it a huge blessing, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am energized by people. My wife tells me that this is the very definition of an extrovert. I have no doubt that this is the case.

So, since we all know that we can't predict the future, and our lives are delicate, why don't we take more time to let people know how we feel about them?

If you love someone, tell him/her. Do it right now. I've never been shy about expressing my feelings toward my family or even my close friends. I don't want there to be any doubts about this, should I die unexpectedly.

"I love you" is a powerful phrase, especially when it's sincere.

"I appreciate your friendship" is another meaningful thing to say, and I guarantee that it will be memorable to the recipient.

I had a friend that passed away three years ago who used to call me JUST to encourage me. No agenda. He didn't want anything in return. He just wanted to be my friend.

Do that.

Be a friend. A real friend, not a friend who expects reciprocation. Ironically, we probably each communicate with more people than ever before, but it's often on a more shallow scale than it used to be.

Have you called anyone lately to tell them how much you appreciate/love/respect/care about them? Why not? Are you concerned about making yourself vulnerable?

I've tried to make it a point to do this more often, and it's very liberating. The saying, "pay it forward" is more than a little trite, I suppose, but it's the quickest way to explain what I'm suggesting.

Take five minutes and call someone you know and like and just say something nice or tell a friend you were thinking of them. Do it daily. This isn't even completely altruistic, because it will make you feel better, too.

If you need some practice, call me. I promise it will be a good time for all involved. :) 

Thanks for reading!

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Today was a pretty long day, frankly.

All morning, I watched my four kiddos while my wife ran some errands. At noon, we went to McKinney Falls State Park (about 30 minutes from our house) to meet some friends from my 10-year-old daughter's girl scout troop. Despite the fact that it's located about 5 minutes from the Austin airport, it felt like we had traveled to another state. Densely packed with towering shade trees, it was like driving into a forest. Now that I think about it, I guess it was EXACTLY like driving into a forest, because it WAS a forest.

We were planning to take our travel trailer yesterday for the first time ever, but the wind was too strong, and one of the main warnings I was given when I purchased it last year was, "Never drive it in strong winds, because it could pull you off the road." Um...I'll wait then. So, the inaugural trip will have to wait. I do think we'll return to this particular park because it's both inexpensive and very close to home, which are great benefits while we're learning the ropes.

We had a great time all afternoon, and we went on a hike to a large pond near what appeared to be a lot of volcanic rock. Later, we heard that two snakes were spotted during our visit, one black (water moccasin?) and one white. I'm thankful that I didn't know about that when my three daughters were playing in and near the water.

The troop leader helped the girls to find a hidden "treasure" via something called geocaching, which basically means looking for a box with trackable items inside via GPS coordinates, then exchanging them for items you bring along. It was fun, and the box was found without too much difficulty.

Our two-year-old girl was pretty worn out from the short hike, so I carried her back to the car, which was a workout in and of itself.

Lest you think our day was over, it was just getting started. We went directly to a birthday party for a 4-year-old girl who is friends with our 5-year-old daughter. We spent about 4 hours in the general chaos and girliness at our friends' house, then returned home. I don't think I've seen my kids that dirty in a long time.

I have a feeling that they will sleep very soundly tonight. I bet I will, too.  :)

Thanks for reading!