Jeff Castner's Blog

Easy Turbo...I Buy Houses Like I Buy Pizza & Boxer Shorts

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:52:54 -0700

This past week I had a great opportunity to meet with, and listen to some of the big brains of internet lead generation.

Let's paint a profile of the internet consumer. Joey Cyberspace uses the internet for most of his purchases. Joey decides Monday night is going to be Pizza night at the Cyberspace family home. How does he buy his pizza? He goes to his lap top or smart phone and places his order on-line. Thirty to forty five minutes later the door bell rings and the Cyberspace Family is enjoying a piping hot pizza with topping so fresh it seems like the peppers were picked while the pie was being delivered.

That night while doing the laundry Joey notices the tighty whiteys aren't aging very well, and figures it's time to give boxers a shot. So Joey logs on to the trusty lap top and starts looking for Boxers. He thinks to himself Awesome good ole JC Penny is having a sale. He promptly orders the familiar 3 pack, and before check out a pop up comes up and says, do you want to be notified of sales and other company news? Joey says sure and files out the form. Three days later Joey's mother would be proud, if he gets in a wreck the EMT's will know he is wearing brand new clean underwear.

Now you are thinking, what the heck does Pizza & Underwear have to do with buying a home? Pay attention to the two transactions. Both simple in nature, both at some time during the transaction required some sort of registration, the Pizza Shop needed to know where to send the pizza, and JCP asked him to sign up to receive additional information. Both transactions where accomplished with no intrusive phone calls. No contact with the merchant. Joey accomplished his goals, first having Pizza Night, and second making his mother proud that he is wearing clean undies.

Can anything be learned about the internet consumer from the two examples mentioned above? Maybe. Internet consumers make a consciences decision not to call a real estate office or agent, that is an unarguable fact. However most agents and a lot of office policies, would jump on the phone and give Joey a call. Joey has indirectly said "Don't Call Me Turbo! I will let you know when I want to speak with you." Internet lead generation is no longer cutting edge. Years of data now exists and we now better understand the internet consumer. Internet consumers will give us clues as to how they want to communicate with you.

Observation is the key to understanding the internet buyer. Drip campaigns, the let me show you homes call within 15 minutes of the registration, and emailing more properties unsolicited are turn offs and only add to the image problem associated with the industry. As we prepare for opening day we need to take a hitters approach to the internet consumer. Observe, get comfortable in the box, be patient, the right pitch will come, and when it does, that is when we swing.

Until then Relax Turbo!

The Divorce...The House...The Mess

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:39:50 -0800

The story book romance, climaxes in a fairy tale wedding. The happy couple purchases their dream to begin their life together. Slowly at first the realities of life begin to tarnish the blissful future Sally & Joey Newlywed envisioned. What once looked like happily ever after has become the war of the Roses.

A slowing economy, a job loss, and a toxic home life have led to the nuclear option…The Divorce. Attorneys on both sides of the table begin the process. Marital assets are total and values assigned. The debate continues. The biggest asset Sally & Joey’s dream house is the most fiercely debate assets. Did I say asset? Is it an asset?

As a realtor what advice do you give your clients? The American Bar Association, The California Association of Realtors, The Oregon Association of Realtors, and The Tennessee Association of Realtors have all recognized that “in Divorce too late comes way too early”.

Divorce this House and the Real Estate Collaborative Specialist – Divorce designation are divorce problem prevention experts. To learn more about the RCS-D designation and Divorce this House, join us tomorrow for a course preview via webinar. Capacity is limited so register now at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/165201642.

Kelly Lise Murray and Wendy Waselle of Divorce this House will join Tami Bonnell, President of Exit Realty and Carol Johnson, President of the Recruiting Networking on Monday April 12, 2010 at 3:00 PM Central Time to discuss how the RCS-D Designation can supplement your recruiting efforts. To join us on Monday April 12, 2010 please click here.

It's Not About Ideas. It's About Making Ideas Happen.

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:34:58 -0800

What are ideas worth?

Some argue that ideas are the key ingredient to success, ideas change the world as we know it, ideas change the status quo, and ideas inspire success. I would argue that ideas in and of them self inspire great conversation but the conversation is only theoretical. Ideas without action are the "we could of", "we should of" and "if only" conversations we have with our "Lizard Brain".

The 99 Percent is the think tank of Behance. Behance is a company that organizes the creative world to make ideas happen. Check it out; I think you will be glad you did.

Conscious Incompetence...Or Just Plain Stupid!

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:02:07 -0800

One of the goals of any professional should be to achieve a state of unconscious competence, meaning that they no longer need to think about their actions to achieve the desired results. Much as a professional quarterback can simply find the open receiver without thinking about it, or the professional basketball player can sink the jump shot with no thought.

That same level of competence can be reached in any profession. The carpenter knows where to put the nail without thought, the keyboard player knows where the keys on the piano are without thought, and the great cop knows who to talk to get to the bottom of an investigation.

A novice may be unconsciously incompetent. They are unaware of what they don't know maybe even to the point of not even knowing what questions to ask to find the knowledge. Eventually they will begin to understand what they don't know, or become conscious of their lack of ability. If you follow the theory most professionals will become skilled enough in their given trade to become a Conscious Competent and the truly great will achieve the status of Unconscious Competence.

This leads me to my point, even the unconscious incompetent knows that the point of listing homes,, and in fact the business of Residential Real Estate Brokerage is to sell houses. This morning I had the pleasure of meeting a new client with the purpose of showing her some condos in Chicago's Streeterville Neighborhood. On Monday of this week I called the listing agents or their designee and scheduled visits to 4 units, 3 in one building and 1 across the street. My client informed me she would be taking the train to the city and would like to meet me at the building. The first 2 appointments went off without a hitch. Both units beautifully decorated with stunning views of the Chicago Skyline.

Visit 3 was 10 floors down in the same building. On Monday the listing agent told me to meet her at the unit. Knock, Knock, no answer. Knock, Knock no answer. There must have been a mix up, maybe I was supposed to meet her in the lobby, no biggie, and a quick elevator ride and back to the lobby. No agent. Thanks to modern technology, I have mystery agent's number in my calendar. A quick call and no answer, again no biggie I leave a message and suggest to my client the agent should call back in a few minutes. No call, no agent, and no more time to wait. The disgust on my client's face was hard to disguise.

A few words of apology and we head across the street. The bright sunshine of the crisp Chicago morning helped ease the disappointment. This agent indicated that I could gain access to this unit by way of a lock box. Not my preferred method of trying to sell a client's property but it is a well accepted industry practice. The door man quickly gives me access to the "lock box room" and I go to my notes and enter the combination on the appropriate lock box. Bingo the front door springs open, and much to my surprise, no key. Must be a mistake, I ask the doorman if there are any additional notes or showing instructions for the unit. In something that sounded similar to English he said no. I do what seems reasonable and place a call to the agent. This agent is also unavailable, however someone from his office indicates that they have been aware of the missing key since Monday. SINCE Monday I ask? Yes since Monday I am told. I asked the lady if she knew what day it was today, she said it is Wednesday. I then asked if she had me on the showing calendar and she said yes from 10:45 - 11:00. I then asked if she had ever heard of Alexander Graham Bell, she responds no. I explain his invention and how it has greatly increased communication.

What is it with Realtors? Four appointments, effectively 2 no shows, for the Love of God and everything Holy this isn't rocket science! Like Woody Allen once said 90% of life is showing up. You would think a slow market would lead people to gain some form of competence. Like a wise man once told me" you just can't fix stupid!

The Past, The Future, & The Prima Donna

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:31:45 -0800

Two business days into the New Year, all the reflections of the past are now fading, all the opportunity of the future is glowing, and the Prima Donna is only warming up, now what?

The experience of history is the greatest education one can have. Recent history has provided Real Estate Brokerages with enough education that many might have earned a Master's Degree. The lesson began with an understanding the numbers without understanding mean nothing. As real estate markets across the country began to boom, Brokerages experienced GCI increases of in unheard of percentages. These GCI increases continued even as the under lying fundamental driver of real estate began to slow. The number of transactions was slowing even as gross commission dollars was increasing. The smart owners saw this trend and began adjusting. The average and below average companies only looked at the top line. History lesson number 1 Transactions as well as price matter. It is easier to control the number of transactions than it is to control the price per transaction.

Before the melt down, companies experienced record profit levels. Brokerages spent money on the latest and greatest gadgets; the latest must have technology, and began paying sale associates commissions that made little sense for the long term health of the company. Brokerages expanded beyond any reasonable measure. Agents with little experience opened offices faster than a dragster racing down the track. Sellers viewed their property as an ATM, with no respect to business cycles. Lenders encouraged the practice with easy credit. However the fundamentals were unchanged. Business is a cycle with peaks and valleys. History lesson number 2 Business is and always will be a cyclical environment with highs and lows. A business needs to be managed in the present while preparing for the future.

When the market began to declining as fast or faster than the growth, many though it only a hiccup. Certainly this would downturn would quickly turn around, transactions would pick up as there was pent up demand. Simple laws of supply and demand tell us this isn't the cause. Decreasing demand and slowing a transaction number influences price. The GCI increases evaporated, transactions in a number of markets disappeared and brokerages were left holding the bag of excess expenses, high labor costs, and empty offices as agent left the business in droves. History lesson number 3, if it seems too good to be true it usually is too good to be true.

That leads us to the future. The Prima Donna or fat lady has already sung for a lot of brokerage operations. For a number of others she is certainly clearing her throat and warming up. For the lucky that are still in business the future is yours. What are you going to do about? I have heard many say that 2010 is going to be the year. This year is filled with a fragile optimism that is still shining bright. Much has been said about the brokerage of the future and the agent of the future. However 2010 is where the rubber meets the road. Repeating the same behavior of the past and hoping this year is the year is not a strategy. Real Estate Brokerage is at the breaking point it is hemorrhaging and under attack from multiple angles. Traditional training methods are outdated, traditional marketing doesn't work, traditional brokerage must be re-invented.

The past has created a very bright future for those that are prepared and have learned. A friend of mine once told me that the best way to look at the mistakes we have made in the past is to consider these mistakes tuition. Just as a college charges its student tuition history and its lessons charge a steep price. Most of the surviving brokerages have paid for and earned an Ivy League education, now the only question that remains it what are you going to do with it. Don't let the Prima Donna begin singing your Swan Song.

Dinosaurs, The Oughts, & A Bottle of Champagne

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:50:41 -0800

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend of mine about where to budget marketing dollars for 2010. The topic of web sites came up, and the purpose of an agent web site was discussed.

Andrea makes what I think is a very good argument that agent web site have become or are quickly becoming dinosaurs. In her blog she states "the lines between the blog and web site have become blurry", I would argue that the lines have merged. My thesis is that any document with a URL is a web site and can accomplish the desired result.

In my opinion an agent web site is to engage, capture, and eventually do business with a consumer. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. A blog, a twitter account, a facebook page can all accomplish this task. The fact of the matter is a web presence is part of a sales funnel. The key to any sales process is to identify and understand where the leaks or stress points are in the process. I would argue that in the real estate sales process the leaks are in the engage and capture portion of the process. The point between capture and close has too many outside influences, credit worthiness, appraisal issues, inspection issues, the list is endless. So with this in mind it is that I originally began to think that traditional agent web site might in fact not be the best use of time and money.

While reading the latest NAR Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers I wasn't surprised when most surveyed indicated they began their home search on the internet. However as I continued reading the survey, buried toward the end was a fact that is often over looked the vast majority of buyers and sellers choose their agent based on 2 things:

1) Referral. They choose an agent that is a friend, relative, or neighbor.

2) They have done business with their agent before.

If you like me, think the survey is valid, then you must keep this in mind when developing your web strategy and spending your marketing dollars. Social Media is a very good way to keep in touch with and market to your sphere of influence. Email is another great way to do this. Rezora, is an email marketing program that was designed by and for the real estate industry. It gives agents and brokerages the ability to communicate with a sphere of influence, monitor the communication, and understand what consumer behavior is generated by the communication. Check out the demo at www.rezora.com. Once you see what Rezora can accomplish I am confident you will find it a great way to communicate with your clients. Drop me an email if you would like more info and to discuss available pricing options.

2010 promises to be a year of continued change. Seth Godin summed it up best in his blog today, "what will you have to show for what you're doing right now. If the answer is not much perhaps you should consider a new plan". You can't get to second base unless you leave the safety of first base; success involves risk, and trying new things. Resolve to try something new, it is not too late to ReInvent your business, your web site, or marketing efforts.

Here's to the New Year!

It Was a Silent Night

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:17:19 -0800

The Battlefields of Flanders gave new meaning to the word war. Thousands of German, French and British soldiers engaged in trench warfare. Man's newest killing machine, the machine gun, turning the trenches into a slaughter house of human flesh. Cold, wet, and, hungry both sides committed to their cause, fighting for what they saw was a justice.

Suddenly tiny lights began to flicker; the French and British troops struggled to figure out the source of the light. Was it a new weapon, some unknown force about to be unleashed? Was the living nightmare about to become a living hell?

From the short distance that separated the warring factions a melody could be heard. What was that melody? The flickering lights, a strange melody, and the guns lay silent. Was it "O Tannenbaum"? To the amazement of the French and British Troops "Fritz" was celebrating Christmas. The tiny lights proved to be candles decorating little Christmas Trees just outside the trenches. Soon the melody was replaced with "Merry Christmas Tommy" in a heavy German accent.

Not to be outdone by the Germans the Brits start singing "The First Noel". When the Brits broke into "O Come All Ye Faithful" the Germans responded in-kind with "Adeste Fideles", the same hymn in Latin.

Soon both sides began meeting in the no man's land that separated the heavily fortified trenches. Exchanging well wishes, food, and tobacco, foes celebrated Christmas together. Playing cards, toasting the truce, and even playing soccer both sides took a step back to acknowledge the holy night.

Two mortal enemies committed to each other's destruction, lay down their weapons, if only briefly to celebrate the Joy that is Christmas. It was the Eve of Christmas 1914, on the Western Front in Northern France and Belgium.

Here's hoping the Christmas Miracle fills you and yours with Peace and Joy. Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

The Big Rocks

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:06:08 -0800

While watching my favorite Christmas Show, "The Grinch", I was reflecting on 2009. The year that was, or soon to be was, was indeed one in which we all came face to face with economic terms that we all thought were a thing of the past.

Continued deflation in the housing market, double digit unemployment, a credit crunch, and bank failures all quickly come to mind.

After the hustle and bustle of the Holiday's pass and the New Year's resolution are made we will be faced with all the opportunity that every New Year promises. Like the Grinch who's heart grew to the size of 10 Grinch's I was reminded of modern day parable of the big and small rocks. Click here for the best video of the parable that I have seen.

As we prepare to toast the New Year and make plans to make 2010 a banner year remembering the Big Rocks will help us all put things in prospective. A couple of years ago I was speaking with a Consultant/Trainer who relayed the following story:

While meeting with a Group of Automotive Dealer's the following question was posed, "What are the most important things in your life?" The answers were typical, with faith and family topping the list. He then posed a second question, "Do your senior managers and leadership team know the answers to the first question?" Silence fell upon the participants. Lastly Mike asked, "Does your organizational culture reflect your highest priority, the answer to question 1. As the real estate industry struggles to be profitable, thinking about these questions and the answers may go a long way to making sure we are putting the big rocks in first.

Understanding is the key to success. Understanding what we want to accomplish, understanding what those around us want to accomplish, and understanding what our customers and/or clients want to accomplish. Our industry is suffering from an extreme lack of understanding. Broker/Owners don't understand why managers aren't recruiting more agents, agents don't understand why buyer won't buy or why seller's have ridiculous expectations of a home's value, and clients don't understand why an agent can't get the pennies on the dollar that the late night infomercials promise are right in front of everybody.

To understand is to lead. And leadership is what is going to make 2010 a different year than the previous, or if you are one of the lucky few, leadership is what is going to continue to make your company successful. There has been much talk about the brokerage of the future. The brokerage of the future is going to be made up of leaders who understand. Leaders who understand that given the proper tools and training managers will attract the top talent. Leaders that understand agents and sales associates need more than a handful scripts to negotiate the best deals for their clients, and leaders who understand that an educated client or consumer will have realistic expectations.

Knowing what we know, and don't know is the first step. The second step is making the choice to do something to change what we don't know. What worked in the past isn't what is going to work in the future.

2010 needs to be the year you reinvent your brokerage. "It's never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot

As we begin the process of reinventing ourselves to face the new economic realities of life we must change the way we conduct our day to day businesses. Focus on the Big Rocks and we can build a high trust business with loyal followers, and motivated and productive, employees and agents.

@ $170,000 per Sq/Ft.....You Better be Pre-Approved!

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:13:34 -0700

Another buyer backs out of a deal.

The deal seemed like a dream, 20 competitive bids in a 10 day span, a posh address, and a who's who of neighbors. In a story right out of the front pages of today's economic reality the seller needed the money to pay the mortgage, not quite a short sale but maybe a distressed property.

I'm not sure of all the particulars but the winning bidder simply canceled with a simple written statement "I am awfully sorry but I need to cancel this because of the paying problem".

Even the dead are victims of the economy. When the ebay auction ended the occupied crypt above Marilyn Monroe had apparently sold for a whopping $4,602,100. At roughly 8 feet deep and 3 feet high that is some price/square foot.

I guess Richard will have to stay put for now while the other bidders are given the chance to make good on their bids.

Notes from Summer School....What Jimmy Buffett Taught Me about Marketing

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:12:10 -0700

Saturday night I went to summer school, not your typical summer school, but summer school as in Jimmy Buffett's 2009 summer concert SummerZcool.

Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would leave that event with a better understanding of marketing. That assumption couldn't be further from the truth. Buffett has an amazing ability to connect with his audience. Most of 30 or 40 thousand parrot heads have as much in common with Jimmy and his Coral Reefers as I do with the man on the moon. However Buffett connected with everybody. How did he do this....He Kept it Local.

Every imaginable reference to Chicago was made. He talked and sang about Bars on Belmont Street, Hamburgers at the Billygoat, Surfing Lake Michigan, Tourists from Iowa, Hookers from South Cicero and had people on the Southside of Chicago singing Go Cubs Go.

Much has been said about being the local expert. Buffett has been the king of local for his entire career. I have seen him in numerous places at various points in his career and each time he made me think the city and venue he is playing is special. It is this ability to connect that keeps this 62 year old, who has only had a handful of radio hits one of the highest grossing concerts year in and out.

Local appeal and local information is the key to keeping and attracting loyal parrot heads. Weather its real estate, or entertainment, people also want to feel the connection.

The Lord Loveth the Cheerful Giver...He Must Hate the Taxpayer!

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:44:11 -0700

This afternoon as I was talking to a friend the subject of taxes came up. In case you haven't heard Chicago and Cook County, IL have the highest sales tax rates in the country. I like most people don't pay much attention to the sales taxes most of us pay. However after today's conversation I decided to look at the reciept for my purchases this afternoon.

A quick trip to CVS to purchase a 2 Liter of Diet Coke, some Bud Light (it is the weekend), a bag of chips, and a smaller bag of chips for my buddy is resulted in $1.61 in taxes. 11% in Sales tax...didn't we fight a revolution over this. (Reciept)

A quick analysis reveals the following:

Cook County Charges a 1% Liquor Tax

The City of Chicago a 4% Liquor Tax

There is a 13.25% Tax on my Diet Coke.

In addition to the above liquor taxes my 12 pack of Budlight was taxed an additional $0.92 (10.25%)
My Chips (Junk Food) were taxed @ 2.25%.

In addition to toll roads, state and federal income taxes, the taxes on gasoline, real estate transfer taxes, and God only knows what other taxes we pay daily, it is no wonder we find ourselves in the present situation.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, & One Beer.....And A First Time Home Buyer

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:50:37 -0700

Just as I was thinking, I haven't written a Blog in a while, my trusty Blackberry gives me the familiar chirp of a text message. Much too my surprise it is a message from a friend...."Can I buy you a drink or several tomorrow night or the next". Heck we are in the midst of a recession and I have a friend offering to buy me a drink or, as he put it several, George Thorogood quickly comes to mind. I quick reply yep what's up?

Then to my horror I get "I am buying a house". My first thought is it must be a FSBO or he must be buying it from a bank. I text back, "Is it a FSBO". The response, "Nope it is listed by Agent X, with Company X and I told her I am not using an agent". My one word reply "Stop".

My buddy, a single, intelligent, and wealthy commodities trader at the Chicago Board goes on to explain to me that he told the agent this is his first home purchase. It is beyond my comprehension that the listing agent would not have suggested some sort of representation for the buyer. In today's litigious environment this seems to very perilous behavior.

I can only imagine that this listing agent is seeing the sugar plumb ferries of a double bubble dancing in her/his head. An extra 15-20K in my pocket...A long Labor Day Weekend in the Caribbean.

Regardless of whether or not my buddy listens to my advice to get representation over one bourbon, one scotch and one beer tomorrow night, I am confident the sugar plumb ferries will quickly stop dancing as I will arm him with the information he needs to make intelligent decisions.

Once again I am amazed how reasonably intelligent people make very unintelligent decisions when it comes to real estate.

The first bad decision is the error of omission by the agent for not explaining the importance of representation. The second bad decision is the fact that my buddy is willing to make the biggest purchase of his life with Basil Hayden, Johnny Walker, and Augustus Busch as his representative. The third was when I believed my friend when he told me he decided he wasn't going to buy for at least another year, and I quit helping him look.

At least now I have plans for tomorrow night..."give me a triple shot of that juice".

Doc I need a Prescription!.......I Got A Twit, A Tweet, and A Peep!

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:08:12 -0700

Back in the Appalachian region of Eastern Ohio any of the above words would be cause for a playground fight.

Dude you are such a Twit! Tweet, Tweet, Tweet.....shout your mouth! Quit being such a peep, buckle it up and hit somebody!

Boy how 20 years has changed the landscape. Now if you twit and tweet to the peep you are cutting edge. Being relatively new to the game I am always looking for a way to twit, or tweet, to my peeps. Today while searching the net I came across www.tweetjunction.com. I am a new user to www.tweetjunction.com but it seems to me that it solves a problem we are all facing, how do we syndicate our content in a quick and effective manner. Tweet Junction seems to solve that problem. The best thing about www.tweetjunction.com is that it is free. I hope you see some usefulness with the site.

While performing my daily search of the latest and greatest I also came across www.peopleandproperties.com. This seems to be something pretty interesting. Active Rain localism meets the real estate franchise meets web 2.0. I tried to go back to the site before writing this post and most of the functionality seemed to be gone. However at 10:00 AM the site seemed to have promise.

As we all prepare for Independence Day, I can't help but think how our founders must have been considered delusional by King George and his minions. And when we consider the most radical thoughts it is real estate....People are entitled to own Property! Say what we will the right to own property is the foundation of the pursuit of happiness.

Thank you....To each and every one of you who help to make this Country a Country Owned by and for the People! Thank You to the Troops who are in the Deserts of Iraq protecting our Rights and showing others the power of individual freedom. God Bless the USA!

Yo Cupcake!........Are you a Stalker or Just Kinda Creepy!

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:35:52 -0700

The other day a buddy of mine sent me one of the best blog posts in the history real estate blogging http://www.1000wattconsulting.com/blog/2008/01/i-am-not-a-lead.html (Thanks Marc for helping me find the post). In my opinion it sums up the Realtor/Client relationship in the web 2.0 environment we are now living in now, and quite frankly leaving quickly.

It wasn't long ago that we thought our fancy auto responders and drip campaigns where the silver bullet of customer acquisition (Guilty as charged your Honor). Auto responders, drip campaigns, pictures of our dogs, and an alphabet soup of letters that would make a scrabble champion cry, yea that is what will give me creditability as a professional.

John Q. Public takes a look at the stranger who is sending him/her pictures of their dog, with a strange string of letters behind their name is, and finds a glamour head shot straight out of 1950's Hollywood, or worse yet in my neck of the woods a 1920's Chicago Gangster pose.

Guess what, John Q. Public doesn't care. In fact it is kind of creepy. I get an email from somebody I don't know, telling me what I might want to buy. Get lost!

This leads me to the crux of my hypothesis. Doesn't permission based interactive marketing make more sense? I recently became aware of, and started using a software program called Rezora (www.rezora.com). Rezora gives agents and consumers/clients the ability to really establish a relationship. It is not a guessing game. It is not John Q. Public is on my automated home update list so he is a client. Rezora allows us to quit guessing. Rezora certainly isn't a new silver bullet, but I think it is part of the future.

The traditional thinking of Brokerage is Broke. This is evident by the financial troubles most companies find themselves in today. Print advertising is dead, try to advertise in the Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/), social networking went from a college fad, to 30 million users and a growing revolution is in the air.

How much longer is the consumer going to accept us cyber-spying on them, how much longer is a 1" X 1" add in the news paper going to be considered marketing, how much longer are we going to put up with being kinda creepy?

Is there a new economic model on the Horizon? I look forward to your thoughts, there must be a better way.

Hey Realtor....Your Website May Be A Waste of Time

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:47:06 -0700

I have recently been doing a lot of thinking about web sites.

As a Realtor and more importantly a real estate practitioner, I am starting to wonder the strategy of putting so much time, effort, and money into my web site. The facts say that I/We need to have a web presence. But why? What is the purpose of a web site? My thinking used to be to provide the consumer with information, provide the consumer with the ability to search for property, provide me with a way to capture that consumer.

The reality of the situation is there are a number of sources the consumer is going to find and visit before they find my littler corner of the Internet.

May it not be a better approach to have a web site that gives the consumer the opportunity to get to know us as first people first, secondly as agents/brokers, and third as service provides they can count on for professional service?

My new thinking was reinforced tonight as I visited this

http://www.hitwise.com/datacenter/main/dashboard-10133.html

Of the top 20 real estate sites only 6 are actually real estate companies. Two are essentially the same company (Realogy). That leaves us with 5. Meaning 75% of consumers are searching for property everywhere but real estate web sites.

It seems like once again we are behind the consumer wants and needs curve.

I don't have the answer but I look forward to your comments.

Splits vs. Leads

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:11:33 -0700

This morning I was discussing the concept of what do real estate agents really need or want from their respective companies, is it tools and systems to generate and capture leads or is it all about the commission split.

Most companies promise some sort of lead generation. The national brands talk about the consumers predisposition to go with well know brands. The smaller more boutique offices talk about their brand presence in a certain market segment. Both of these arguments suggest the agent is willing to give up a portion of the commission for these lead generation tools. On the other hand the 100% concepts argue that the business is all about the money and the company, for lack of a better term, is just a place for a licensee to practice, an incubator for the entrepreneurial spirit of an agent.

Having read a number of blogs about the pros and cons of both systems is it still feasible to have a company provide all the lead capture and generating tools and have an agent on a 50% commission split? Or would agents rather pay a monthly fee for a packaged or bundled tool box and keep 100% of the commission?

Or can some sort of Hybrid System be worked out. A kind out network an agent could join where leads provided by the network a paid out at 50% and leads generated without the network are paid at 80%-100%?

Is there a perfect balance between commission split and tools? Are there any new programs out there that merit special attention?

Disruptive Innovation

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:20:08 -0700

I recently came across the term "Disruptive Innovation". The term was coined by Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen, and describes a process in which a new concept, idea, product, or service takes root at the low end of a market or industry and then relentlessly moves up the preverbal food chain and displaces the market or industry establishment.

Thinking about our industry, its past, and its future, I began to realize we are now in the midst of what could be the greatest time of "Disruptive Innovation". Looking to the past, I think the dawn of Realty Executives and Re/Max was a period of great Disruptive Innovation. No longer could a Broker/Owner count on an agent staying with a company on a 50/50 commission split. Agents became the center piece of the industry. Agents began branding themselves; the really good ones began operating their practice as a business. An entire industry grow to serve these new entrepreneurs, as a licensee you can't go a week without some company trying to sell you the latest and greatest. The old guard fought this process tooth and nail.

The second phase of "Disruptive Innovation" came with the advent of the Corporate on stop shop. Companies like Cendant (Realogy) and Home Services began to "take back" the industry by providing the consumer a one shop stop concept. Offering mortgage, title, and insurance services these corporate giants began to attract agents offering turn key solutions to agents and convenience to the consumer.

We are now in an environment where technology and consumer demand is radically changing the one stop shop concept. This begs the question, what is the next big "Disruptive Innovation" in the Real Estate Industry. Technology is too broad an answer. My thought is the next big driver of "Disruptive Innovation" is the man or women on the street. I look at some of the recent litigation that has happened and continues to occur and wonder if the industry is, as I think is its history, fighting the "Disruptive Innovation" that the consumer is demanding. The latest controversy I came across is with Google and a Realtor in Indianapolis.

Isn't the goal of any business profit through service. We know what service the consumer wants. Why fight it? I am curious, where do you see the industry going and what do you, the real estate licensees want with the next Big Idea. I look forward to your comments.

To Sign or Not to Sign? A Chicago Story

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:51:25 -0700

To sign or not to sign? That seems to be the latest controversy within the Chicago Real Estate Community. Apparently the City of Chicago has had on its books an ordinance that prohibits advertising signs on public property. Public property certainly includes sidewalks and the like. As Spring approaches the City has indicated that they are going to place added emphasis on the enforcement of the ordinance.

This seems to have a number of my colleagues in a tizzy.

Although I can image that open house signs bring in some traffic I find it very hard to believe the numbers are of any significance. We all know that consumers are getting information from the internet and the "more traditional" methods of attracting buyers and sellers are becoming obsolete.

As a community, Realtors should view this as a positive. The City of Chicago has created a situation where the public is forced to find open house information from the real estate community. Wouldn't it be nice if every buyer needed to consult with his/her Realtor in order to get open house information? I would not object to a law banning for sale signs? Providing information that clients and consumers want and need is the future of the industry. Anything that allows me to do that is a plus.

Your Tax Dollars & NAR Dues @ Work......Or Not

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:15:28 -0700

Just what I needed before bed....I get a tweet saying here is a list and map of TARP recipients, http://ow.ly/1YfN . Being the skeptic that I often am I do a Google search for "Firms that received TARP funds" low and behold here is the list http://www.bailout.propublica.org/main/list/index.

The numbers are staggering.

Not being an economist, I start looking for who do we have to blame. A quick Google search of "who is to blame for the economic mess" yields the following results:

http://www.moneyunder30.com/who%E2%80%99s-to-blame-for-this-economic-mess

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350,00.html

As I read the Time Magazine article I notice David Lereah the former economist for the National Association of Realtors...wait a minute...the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors. I help pay this guy. Then I start to think, what is NAR? Plain and simple NAR is a lobby group. Not only is NAR a lobby they (we) are the top lobby on the hill http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/index.php?party=A&cycle=2008

Here is hoping that we can take back control of the association and make it truly an organization that fosters homeownership, lobby's our legislators responsibly, and remember its stated vision

"Working on behalf of America's property owners, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system, and the right to own, use, and transfer real property"

http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/narmission

We are beginning to work our way out of this mess. A number of industry experts started predicting a soft bottom beginning in the second quarter and the beginning of a recovery by Q3. Let's hope we all learned from the mistakes of the past.

Sally Whacker Creates Wood 4 U

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:38:53 -0700

Spending the last 10 years in a non residential sales capacity I have forgotten the subtle joys of prospecting on what I like to call a retail level. Prospecting, cold calling, and knocking on doors at any level is not for the faint of heart. Being a true believer in the power of the internet I was very excited to get www.jeffcastner.com up and running. I have been studying the latest in SEO, Keywords, and pay per click. Confident that I am going to do what the others haven't, I applied all my recently acquired knowledge to the site.

On Thursday Night the fruits of my labor began paying off. My blackberry gives me the familiar chime alerting me to the fact that I have an email. I quickly look to see who is sending me an email. Holy Mackerel, it is a lead from my new web site. My mind begins racing, yes I am a guru, I knew I had all the internet answers, see that world I am the King of Internet Leads!

I quickly notice my new prospect is named Sally and she is looking for a 3 bedroom condo in Chicago's Gold Coast. Not only am I the King of Internet Leads I am the King of high end internet leads, my ego is saying to me. Without giving it a second thought, I begin drafting an email to my high end buyer Sally. I craft what is undoubtedly the best and quickest response Sally is going to get from any Real Estate Practioner in Chicagoland. The whole time I am explaining to my companion what a genius I am.

With in seconds my email gets kicked back as undeliverable. It can't be, I must have typed the wrong email address. I think Sally must have entered her email wrong. Even through I don't know what property she was looking at I quickly look at the email and notice Sally being a very serious buyer left me her phone number. I start to dial 3-1-2-5-5-5-1-2.....Wait it can't be. Concern, panic, shame, and embarrassment quickly show on my face. Bad email, bad phone number, lets review the lead again. Sally Whacker, sallywhackcreateswood4u@yahoo.com, 312-555-1212, looking for a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Condo in Chicago's Gold Coast, price range 150K-199K.

Oh the joys of prospecting. Whether knocking on doors, cold calling, or using the latest and greatest technology it is still a numbers game. Some will, some won't, move on. Here's to you Sally Whacker, thanks for the lesson learned!

Some Good News on the Horizon

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:08:40 -0700

Is the real estate market really starting its comeback? According to a number of trusted sources it seems the long awaited real estate comeback may have begun. Real Trends reports the March homes sales were the best on a year over year comparison in the last 18 months. Business Week has also reported two fairly positive articles on the housing market. Locally in Chicago we see number that are slightly better than those reported by Real Trends. Unit sales were down about 4%. Although prices still haven't made any gains units sales increases will be the key to stabilizing prices.

Back in November there was talk of the "soft" bottom meaning we would see some slight monthly increase as well as monthly decreases. The swing should start to flatten out.

Traditionally housing has led the country out of recessions. It seems that we might be seeing the beginning of the end.

Dual Agency

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:28:28 -0700

The concept of agency is one that has always been of interest.

I remember looking at my first condo back in Columbus, OH and with in 2 minutes the listing agent handed me a document, asked me to sign it, and informed me that she would be representing me in the transaction. Without taking a breath she then handed me another document saying this form gives my acknowledgement that she was representing both the seller and me (the buyer). Excited about the prospect of owning my first house I went ahead and agreed to the dual agency.

As my tenure in the industry has grown I often look back to that 5 minute conversation and think to myself what a scum bag.

By definition an agent is legally bound to put the client's interest above their own. The nature of the real estate transaction makes this a very difficult proposition. A seller's agent desires the highest price. A buyer's agent is looking for the best deal. I am not an ethicist but this seems by definition impossible.
This begs the question; can you actually put the client (people) first and act as a dual agent. Wouldn't it be wise as professional to explain to a person that we are performing only ministerial acts, or better yet find a trustworthy colleague to properly represent the other party?

Dual agency seems to me to be one of those issues that continue to plague the industry. To me it is the equivalent of walking into a court room and seeing the prosecutor give his opening remarks, then without missing a beat, walking over to the defendant and beginning the defense.

FrontDoor.com Top Things to Expect in 2009

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:47:06 -0800

According to Frontdoor.com we can expect the following in 2009

1)Continued Market Adjustments

2)Action from the OBama Administration

3)More Homeowner Assistance

4)A Calming of the Bank Chaos

5)More Review of Mortgage Underwriting

6)Low Prices & Low Rates

7)Cool Tech Devices

8)Wiser Consumers

9)Leaner Greener Home Buying

10)An increase in consumer Confidence

As I ponder these 10 predictions, which I whole heartily agree with, I can't help but wonder what the industry will look like in 3 - 5 years. The continued market adjustments will undoubtedly effective both the number of real estate sales people and brokerages. Those that survive will surely be the best practitioners in the history of the industry.

As the OBama Administration begins to tackle the problem we as an industry need to stay involved in the process by actively lobbying our legislators to not fix the problem with a band aid. All too often we are doomed to repeat history by not learning from history.

With this in mind any Homeowner assistance has to be responsible homeowner assistance. Some people will unfortunately lose their homes.

Any calming in the banking industry and review of the underwriting process will be good. A mortgage banking friend of mine reminded me that the tighter underwriting standards are the equivalent of underwriting circa 1990. People still bought homes in 1990.

Low prices & Low rates should prove good for all of us. As home ownership becomes more affordable buyers should start entering the market again.

Technology, continues to drive the future of the industry. I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of representatives of Zillow this week. I am always amazed that it is industry outsiders who are now driving the change in the industry. Wiser consumers can only help the industry. We as real estate professional have to continually raise the bar and hold ourselves to higher and higher standards. Technology and more informed consumers will force as to focus on our value proposition.

Leaner & greener home buying may very well see the McMansions of the early part of the decade fall out of favor with tomorrow's home buyer. Austerity may very well become chic.

I think in some areas we have already begun to see consumer confidence as it relates to real estate begin to increase. Consumers have begun looking at real estate bargains. Slowly we should see inventories and marketing times decrease.

Just my $0.02

50% Of Home Owners with Loan Modification are Delinquent Again?

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:17:50 -0800

As I crawled out of bed this morning and turned on the news I was amazed to here that "50% of all home owners with loan modification agreements are delinquent". Assuming the report is true, I was wondering what this tells us about the current situation in which we find ourselves.

I can only assume that the majority of the delinquencies are home owners who purchased with little down, had very high loan to value ratios, and qualified for loans under the very loose underwriting guidelines in vogue a few years back. I heard an industry insider speak a couple of weeks ago, and he posed a question, "What do you call someone living in a home, that put no money into the home?" Answer a renter.

Housing is the single biggest line item (if there is a line item) in our gross domestic product. I applaud all the efforts the government is making to jump start the housing industry. The first step in this process is to let market forces work, as compassionately as possible, the issue with these types of distressed properties. Once we rid the market of these we will begin to see some "normalization" of the market. As I learned in college, a big party leads to a big hangover, and the only cure is time.

Chicago Market Activity for The Week Ending 12/7/08

Jeff Castner, Jeff Castner — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:20:30 -0800

The past week's market activity shows that there were 515 transaction sides in the city of Chicago for the 7 day period ending 7 December 2008. The total sales volume for the week was $195,019,021.

The numbers have remained fairly consistent since the beginning of November. Fannie Mae anticipates that on a national level the number maybe down slightly for Q1 and Q2 of 2009. We can only assume that the same will be true on the local level. (See Fannie Mae forecasts @ http://www.fanniemae.com/media/pdf/economics/2008/Housing_Forecast_111008.pdf)

I make this point for a couple of reasons:

•1) Today's activities are Q1 & Q2 sales. It is more important today to go back to basics.

•2) Remember price is King! The homes that are selling are the homes that are priced right. Give your sellers current market information.

•3) If you are waiting for the "good ole days", remember hope is not a strategy.