Setting the Stage

At the risk of lighting another firestorm, I will wade in to the discussion on branding as it relates to the practice of real estate brokerage. As a matter of offering my bona fides, I am a career broker, first licensed in 1978. Over the years I have been associated with, managed, or owned small brokerages, big brokerages, balloon brokerages, corporate brokerages, and franchise brokerages, with exposure to many different business models, and have served in REALTOR leadership at the local, state, national, and MLS levels . It would be silly to say I have seen it all, but I have seen a fair slice of the real estate business in 32 years.

The Brokerage Brand

Branding today comes in two forms, with perhaps a few variations. There is the brand of the brokerage, with the associated commitments, responsibilities, expenses and headaches that come from projecting that brand.

If the broker/owner owns a franchise brand, then there is a moral and contractual obligation to promote, support, and defend that brand, and those obligations exist until the broker/owner dissociates from the brand relationship. If the broker operates with his own brand, then the obligations are the same, with the added one of investing his own personality into the brand. Large or small, franchise or independent, if there is an ownership commitment to a brand, then there are attendant responsibilities to the brand and what it stands for in the mind of the owner. The owners belief system will affect consumer relationships, standards of practice, quality of licensees, production and service values, what kind of support systems and personnel are employed, and a myriad of other issues and details that identify a business and its operating culture, both internally and externally.

The Corporate Ownership and Brand Model

In today's real estate world, there exists the large, national and international corporate model. With strong central control, management decisions are generally far removed from the licensee on the street. There are of course advantages to this model, and the concept of brand is very important to a centralized operation. A certain middle of the road service consistency is obtained with centralized, corporate ownership that is many times missing even with franchise models. And, and many cases, middle of the road mediocrity is perfectly acceptable to the average consumer engaged in the average transaction.

Personal Branding

The other type of branding discussion centers around the brand of the individual licensee, or, in some cases, a "team" of licensees. In this scenario, the individual or group attempts to create a unique and recognizable presence in a market segment by promoting a personal or team name as a way to differentiate from other licensees that may be associated with a larger brokerage or franchise name. "Mary Wonder Broker" or "Joey's Super Selling Team" is used to create separation from the the more ubiquitous "mother" brand. In some cases, the individual or team operates remotely from the "mother" brand, with little or no supervision or connection except a financial and tenuous legal one.

What's in a Brand?

Of course, there is nothing intrinsically good or bad about any business model or branding approach as long as the consumer is serviced in a satisfactory or better manner. Of course, that is the real problem. A recent Gallup Poll placed "real estate agents" a few percentage points behind car sales people in the trust and ethical practices department. Not exactly where we need to be if we expect to maintain a certain level of compensation for our work. There are good and bad brokerages, and good and bad practitioners. Even the definition of good and bad is open to debate, and, in the end, the consumer decides.

In times passed, the average real estate services consumer was ill equipped to define the differences between brands and practitioners, but widespread use of the Internet is changing the consumers knowledge position rapidly. Most consumers are comforted when they see a brand associated with the practitioner. Not a particular brand, just a brand. "Hello, I'm Joe the real estate guy" does not resonate as well as "Hello, I'm Joe the real estate guy with Blitzfrig and Company". The brand is important for about 15 seconds, then things work out or not based on Joe's abilities. The 2009 National Association of REALTOR'S survey indicate that "the brand" is not very important for most consumers. Probably not good news for those that have a lot of money committed to their brand.

The Rest of the Story

But, of course, there is more to it than that. The brand name becomes important as a symbol for something, and for certain expectations associated with that symbol. Toyota's brand spoke to quality automobiles for years, but went out the window overnight because of a simple engineering and design error. McDonald's serves the same cheeseburger the world over, not gourmet food, but almost always consistent if boring quality (and clean restrooms, an important consideration in some countries). Whether I shop at WalMart or Nordstrom's, I know what to expect, and if tht expectation is fulfilled, then I am comfortable and trusting in the environment.

Branded organizations usually understand their target market, and in the case of the real estate industry, the target market is not the general public, but, rather the individual practitioner, lured to a particular brand for many reasons. Association with a well recognized brand can create confidence for the newer practitioner, and many brokerages offer good to great training for the new licensee, and sometimes for those with more experience. The personality and capabilities of the managing broker or owner may play a part, or the social fabric of the organization. Support staff, promotional products, relationships with referral vendors or relocation companies may all lead to a practitioner affiliating with and remaining (or not) with a particular brand.

However, as good or bad as any brokerage brand or brokerage organization may or may not be, the business is generated by the practitioner that makes contact with a buyer or seller, and instills in that buyer or seller the faith, trust and confidence that the practitioner can do what she says she is going to do. Once the relationship is established, the brand becomes important only in the case of a system failure. It really is all about the individual, and the brokerage, big brand or little, is important only as an all encompassing service center for the individual practitioner. The practitioner, even whole teams, can transfer their personal "brand" with astonishing speed if the brokerage service center does not provide the right services at the right time for the right price. And the fact is, some brokerages get it right a whole lot better than others.

There is an old saying that goes "if you want to fly with the Eagles, you cannot run around on the ground with the Turkeys". In that regard, the real estate business has not changed much in the past 32 years.

Perhaps I am just slow, being a broker/owner and all, but the short sale niche seems to be poorly understood by most of the stakeholders involved.  Especially the offer and acceptance part. So let's work through it together:

1. A homeowner calls the Realtor and says "I want to sell my house".  Nothing difficult so far.  The homeowner indicates (sometimes not) that the payments are behind, or maybe the homeowner is on the brink of missing the first payment.  While that information is important to know, it is not the first most important question, that being "What is the current market sales value of the property?".
2. There should be a bit of "Due Diligence" performed by the Realtor.  Public records of ownership and encumbrances, and tax and assessor records should be obtained and understood.  (I am amazed by how many "professionals" do not perform due diligence, but I digress.)
3. A market analysis should be completed.  I am not advocating the one or two step approach here, just saying that a thorough market analysis must be completed before the property is exposed to potential buyers at a saleable price.
   
4. Now it can get messy.  As an example, let us say that the true market value of the property is $200,000. But, the encumbrances total $225,000. Assuming there are costs to sell the property of $15,000, then the potential loss is $40,000.  If the owner has $40,000 in cash to contribute, then no problem.  But that is seldom the case, because in most cases the homeowner bought with little or no equity investment, or extracted the equity to buy a boat or something. So, what to do? That's easy.
   
5. Get the Bank to cover the $40,000 loss. OK, maybe that will work, if there is adequate evidence that the Bank will lose less on a "normal" sale than would be lost through a foreclosure action.  The homeowner can ask the Bank, but in most cases the Bank will not respond until there is hard evidence of intent on the part of a buyer. 
   
6. The hard evidence is an executed contract.  The contract to buy and sell (lots of different names nationwide) is between the BUYER and the SELLER, not the BANK.  If there comes a buyer that is willing to pay the market value ($200,000) the Seller must essentially beg the Bank to take the loss of $25,000, and pay the fees associated with the sale ($15,000).  The Bank must be convinced that losing $40,000 now is better than losing more than $40,000 later as the result of a foreclosure action.
7. Understand that there is no universally accepted methodology for the Bank to process this "short sale" situation.  As a matter of fact, that are thousands of methods practiced, and the rules of method change EVERY day, influenced by personal bias, corporate financial status, and government intervention.  In short, there are no rules.  This is impossible for the average consumer buyer to understand, and it is difficult for the average Realtor as well.
8. There are many (thousands in a medium size market like Denver) of homes that are worth less than what is owed on them.  This IS NOT an issue unless the seller must relocate, or has a job loss with a  resulting loss of ability to pay, and MUST sell thier home.
   
9. The system is woefully inadequate to process the volume of requests.  Imagine a 4 lane Los Angeles freeway reduced to one lane, with no alternative routes.  That is the short sale process system today, such as it is, clogged, with no one going very fast.
   
10. Most Banks (or mortgage investors) do not have the resources to continue taking loses on foreclosures and "short sales".  The government programs to support the Banking industry are being used to "cover" those losses, in essence the Federal Government is supporting the revaluation of the Nations real estate.
11. The Buyer must be patient.  For months.  A buyer should not attempt to purchase a "short sale" with the expectation of a quick close.  As a matter of fact, everyone involved must be patient. And, if the Bank approves the "short sale" (loss), then all involved must be prepared to move fast to accomplish the closing and transfer of ownership, because the Bank wants its money NOW!
    
12. Sellers should not be presenting offers to the Bank that have no chance of acceptance based on the reasonable market value of the property.  That just clogs the system, and disappoints everyone involved.

So, let's review: the Realtor and the Seller must understand the process; the Buyers and their Realtor must be patient; the offer price must be supportable, the Bank must be able to act (accept and pay the loss), and all parties must be able to go fast at the end. There is no universal system, the rules change every day, and the Bank is not cooperative.  Remember, no matter how you slice it , the Bank is losing money, and faces extinction or government takeover if loses are too great.  And the person that must approve the short sale will lose their job if the Bank loses too much money.

If you still do not understand, go to: http://www.kristalsellsdenver.com/denverdwellings/ and read Kris Kraft's take on the "Short Sale" phenomenon.

Larry D. McGee Broker The Berkshire Group, Realtors 3801 E. Florida Avenue Suite 400 Denver, Colorado, 80210 US	Work: 303-513-1436 Fax: 303-953-5390 larry@tbgdenver.com http://brokerisms.theberkshiregroup.com
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Dear Mr. Obama,

By this time next week, I and everyone else will call you "Mr. President".  You are assuming an office with truly awesome power, weighty responsibilities, a nation in crises, and considerable support from a hopeful nation.  While we are a generally well informed people, with high levels of education and compassion for our fellow citizens, we are also in some ways unchanged from our forefathers.  We mistrust politicians, for we have been taken advantage of. We are frustrated with our personal situation, feeling put upon by unseen hands.  We wish to blame others, although in most cases our ills are self prescribed. We complain much, but most of us are willing to work hard to further that which we hold dear. We wish to be saved, but have difficulty understanding what safety looks like, or just how we are to be saved. 

Unlike our forefathers, we have lost much of our resolve, succumbing to a combination of incomprehensible regulations and false help from government handouts. We are somewhat dazed by recent events, and like a punch-drunk prizefighter, we are wobbling aimlessly. We still have great strength, but have had the wind knocked from us.

Teddy Roosevelt once described the power of the Presidency as a "Bully Pulpit". You will soon use the power of your office, in concert with the power of our many elected representatives, to offer up many solutions and actions designed to save our national economy and address our nations other ills. But, of more importance than programs and handouts, I entreat you to please use your "Bully Pulpit" to inspire us, give us direction, tell us we are hurt but will quickly recover if we so choose.

Tell us it is good to believe in ourselves.  Challenge us do great things, and tell us what those great things are. You must lead, not manage.  You must spend your political capital on the nation, and not on yourself or your party, and encourage others to follow your example.

It is said by some that our nation is failing, and will never again be great.  I disagree, and I believe most of America's citizens agree with me.  If we do not choke to death in our bureaucracy, or unnecessarily battle the ghosts of our fears; we will use our mechanism of freedom to achieve many more great things, for many generations to come.

I wish you the very best as you assume the office,

Larry D. McGee Broker The Berkshire Group, Realtors 3801 E. Florida Avenue Suite 400 Denver, Colorado, 80210 US	Work: 303-513-1436 Fax: 303-953-5390 larry@tbgdenver.com http://brokerisms.theberkshiregroup.com
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I am by nature pretty easy going. However, I am becoming increasingly angry at our governments ham handed approach to pretty much everything. I heard from a friend today that his Visa supplier, Bank of America, arbitrarily raised the interest rate on his credit card from 9 to 20% for no reason, no late payments, just did it, with no recourse. Later, I hear that B of A will receive another 15 -20 billion from the Feds for, well, I guess because they asked for it. Then I read where Fannie Mae will now be enforcing the S.A.F.E. provisions of whatever "save society from the nasty mortgage lenders" legislation, so every lender has to have a number.

I suspect I am preaching to choir here, but at some point 2 things should be obvious: 1) Uncle Sam is saving banks, not citizens: and 2) if we are to be "saved" it will be us that does the saving.

If 155 people can work together to save themselves from a sinking airplane, it seems to me that we can work together to save ourselves from stupid banks.  (loaning money to pretty much anyone that asked was stupid, need I say more)

The Federal Govt's answer is more regulation for small people and loans (gifts?) to banks.  There is no doubt that there was nasty stuff perpetrated by nasty lenders, etc.  But the current state of panic coupled with immobilizing regulation simply makes recovery more difficult, if not impossible.

Everyone that reads this can probably vote, most of you just did, so you probably remember the names of your Senator and Congress Person.  Call them. Tell them that they are making things worse, beg them to stop, and perhaps offer one suggestion: Don't pass any more legislation.  Leave us alone, we will figure it out. 

Larry D. McGee Broker The Berkshire Group, Realtors 3801 E. Florida Avenue Suite 400 Denver, Colorado, 80210 US	Work: 303-513-1436 Fax: 303-953-5390 larry@tbgdenver.com http://brokerisms.theberkshiregroup.com
Visit Search for Denver Homes Here!

Looking back at the Metropolitan Denver market over the past 2 years and performing a brief comparison, things were just not as bad as the media heads would have us believe. So here are a few quick numbers:

2007 - Total Sold Residential units -- 49,789

2008 - Total Sold Residential units -- 47,328

That is a reduction of 5% in total residential sales, which by the definitions of the Metro Denver MLS (Metrolist) includes both detached and attached dwellings. So is a 5% loss in total sales all that bad? Not really, but read on.

2007 – Average Sold Price -- $281,823

2008 - Average Sold Price -- $248,328

OK-so that latter number is a bit of an ouch, at least on the surface. An average per unit sold dollar loss  of $33,500 or an approximately 12% loss of sold value. Sounds bad, right? Well, it is not good, but let’s glance below the surface a bit.

First, let’s remember what a market is. It is those things of any given commodity being offered for sale right now. And right now, in Denver, and for most of 2007, there were more low price things (residences) being offered for sale, and subsequently sold, than high priced residences. Many of those sales were bank owned or short sales. The result of those distress sales is a reduction in the average price. There are very few elective offerings and leasing has become very popular in the higher price ranges, with high end builders leasing their custom properties to pay the debt service while biding time until the financial markets begin to function. As a result, the total inventory available in the market continues to decline.

I am certain that some statistician in Washington will work out just how many distressed sales there were in Denver last year, or the effect on the Metropolitan Denver area’s total value of residential property, but consider that for many of those sales where a loss was sustained; it was a bank that sustained the loss. Yes, I know that every distressed property sale represents a small tragedy, and I know the banks are really covering their losses with our tax dollars, but the discussion here relates to the difference between current market value and sustainable future value. Properties in the lowest price ranges are selling rapidly in the Denver market, with competing offers in some cases, and prices are beginning to creep up in the >$200K market.

So, what is my point? Simple, if you do not have sell your home, and I mean really have to, then don’t. While there is no doubt that the local and national economy has much to do to recover the loss of monetary value, there will be many home buyers ready to buy when it does, and that will be the time to sell.

Larry D. McGee Broker The Berkshire Group, Realtors 3801 E. Florida Avenue Suite 400 Denver, Colorado, 80210 US	Work: 303-513-1436 Fax: 303-953-5390 larry@tbgdenver.com http://brokerisms.theberkshiregroup.com
Visit Search for Denver Homes Here!

 The “license hanging wall” brokerage business is re-surging in today’s less than optimal economy. I am sure there are one or more such brokerages operating in your market. For a monthly fee of $25 or $50, those nice people that obtained their real estate license in the recent boom housing market get to keep their license active while they do whatever they have to do to survive the downturn, and maybe sell a house once in a while. The brokerage takes the monthly fee, and since there is almost zero overhead in maintaining the license, the money goes directly to the bottom line. The sharp operator can hang almost limitless numbers of licenses, and if one of the licensees actually sells something, there are additional processing fees to cover the cost of that specific overhead. It is, very simply, a money machine.

My concern here is not aimed at a brokerage’s license hanging business model, or the nice people that hang them on the wall, but it is aimed at an industry philosophy that caters to the mediocre and tolerates the incompetent. Now, before someone gets their nose out of joint, or puts their toes out there where I am liable to step on them, please understand where I am coming from. I have believed for the 30 years I have been practicing real estate brokerage that you deserved to be paid only if you gave value. It is no wonder that consumers are having difficulty paying the “professional” service fee, because consumers are questioning the value proposition offered by the brokerage industry. There is nothing professional about hanging a license on a wall waiting for easy times. (Please take a moment, leap to your Webster’s and determine the difference between “acting in a professional manner” and being a “professional”.)

It wasn’t too long ago that the National Association of Realtors was proudly crowing that NAR was the world’s largest trade association at 1.3 million members. I cannot for the life of me understand why an organization would boast about being really big unless there was a benefit to its members, but, never-the-less, there we were at 1.3 million; averaging all of 6 closings per year (that number not being mentioned in the press releases). Lately, that 1.3 million has dropped a bit, perhaps something about a difficult economy. A quick look at post WW II demographics would indicate that today's Realtor membership should be something like 850,000 if a consistent relationship between the United States population and Realtor membership were maintained. The economic rule here is – more of anything lessens the worth of the thing!

So I say-Now is our chance!

If there was ever a time to raise the bar of both licensing and NAR membership, it is now, before the economy recovers and hundreds of thousands of opportunists rush to grab a real estate license. The NAR should lobby for every state to increase the difficulty and cost of obtaining a license, while, at the same time, raise the standards of membership and make ethics complaints easier to file, and penalties for violation truly painful. This is an ideal time to improve the quality and competency of the NAR’s membership, while at the same time demonstrating to the consuming public that we are worth what we charge. I firmly believe that residential real estate brokerage will be around for some time to come; however, the practitioners are going to have to be demonstrably good at what they do.

Larry D. McGee Broker The Berkshire Group, Realtors 3801 E. Florida Avenue Suite 400 Denver, Colorado, 80210 US	Work: 303-513-1436 Fax: 303-953-5390 larry@tbgdenver.com http://brokerisms.theberkshiregroup.com
Visit Search for Denver Homes Here!

Over the past month I have had long private conversations with the associates in my brokerage, and many others outside my company. I continue meeting and speaking with Realtors in the Denver market, but following are what I believe are the consistent themes of those conversations:

• 1. All of you are questioning at some level the market and your relationship to that market, the real estate business and the long term health of your business.

• 2. Most of you are struggling at least a bit, and you feel alone.

• 3. The looming changes forecast for the structure of the industry is both shocking and a bit frightening, but most professionals understand the need and are managing the change.

• 4. Most everyone feels a bit isolated.

• 5. Everyone is getting push back from their consumer base when discussing real estate.

So here are my suggestions on meeting the market head on and thriving next year:

•    A. The local Denver market segment priced under $200K has become a seller’s market. (There is probably some segment of your local market functioning in some way.) As the nation recovers from a systemic shock to the entire economy, the most functional real estate market will be at the lower price range. That will be properties that are purchased by investors for rehab and flip, the flip to first time buyers, and private sellers with enough protected equity to price to compete for a sale to that first time buyer. If, which may very well happen, there is a federal program established to mandate a 4.5% mortgage interest rate, we will see a healthier market from $200K to $400K, but jumbo funds will not return at a convenience level until the overall credit markets recover.

• B. You are not alone. If you feel that way, call 1, 2 or 3 of your compatriots and have a meet up. At The Berkshire Group, we are having weekly meetings on marketing, dialog, solutions and investor programs, with more such gatherings to come. These meetings are associate, not management inspired.

• C. Much of the real estate industry is discussing or acting on "no office" operating models. The discussion is no longer about the purpose and need for office space, the discussion is turning to company culture, purpose and value delivery.

• D. That feeling of isolation. Read and act on "B" above.

• E. Sign up and read Inman News. There is at least one topic a day that is of interest to the consumer that owns a home or wants to buy one. Take that topic and share it with 5 people in your consumer base. That means you will have to call on the phone, knock on a door, text message, or in some way initiate a 2-way conversation with a possible buyer, seller, or referral source 5 times every day.

I am off now to call 5 people. There were some interesting things on today’s Inman News to chat about.

Read Part 1 first.

One of the most amazing things about Barack Obama’s political career is just how short that career is. First elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, he managed not to engage in controversial issues, or at least not very many. He lost a run for United States Congress in 2000, but started campaigning for the United States Senate in July of 2002 and by early 2004 he was competing against 6 other Democrats in pursuit of the not yet vacant seat in the United States Senate. It is important to note that the incumbent Republican, and the most likely Democratic candidate both declined to run, leaving the way open for a contentious primary. Then, his strongest competitor caught a case of domestic abuse, and Mr. Obama found himself the winner of the Democratic primary.

The leading Republican was later forced to drop out, continuing the dirty domestic life theme; after which the state Republican Central Committee brought in a ringer from another state to do battle with the Democratic candidate. That was a Republican misstep, and Barack was elected to the United States Senate with 70% of the votes.

So what can we take from this admittedly thumb-nail sketch of Barack Obama’s Senate campaign? The first really important thing is that he did not quit. Defeated in 2000, he was organizing a run for the Senate just 2 years later. Seems simple enough, just don’t quit. He also found some really good help, hiring David Axelrod to organize his campaign for the Senate.

Most Realtors® have heard this before, but it bears repeating here, hire really good help. And it is important to note that Barack began organizing his campaign long before he knew for certain that the office would be open; so, start running your race before there are others running. Many a race is won by preempting the competition. Make sure you have allies, even in a sales business. Naively ignoring relationship building (networking) because it feels like an imposition or is playing politics does not a career make.

Barack Obama is a world class orator; most Realtors® avoid scripts and dialog. Those people that paid attention to Mr. Obama’s speeches early on realized that he was better with a script than off the cuff, but he improved toward the end because he became familiar with the many various scripts. Projecting authoritative dialog on demand is a key for success in any people oriented experience like politics or sales. Consider how many votes were likely cast because Barack Obama sounded good. It worked for him, it will work for you. Practice your dialogs.

And, the most important marketing lesson learned so far is – do not be concerned with competition. We are all competing, all of the time, so get on with it. Prepare well, attend to your image, know what to say, and ask often for what you want. It worked for the President-elect; it will probably work for you.

There is a certain consensus that Barack Obama started running for the Presidency as soon as he arrived in Washington. Delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic Convention certainly helped his positioning, and the most obvious Democratic candidate did not enjoy universal popularity. There was no clear front runner for the Republican nomination, and, although the sitting President was suffering a decline in prestige, the national economy was still upright. The lesson to be learned is that chance favors the prepared mind. Making sure you are ready before an opportunity is better than trying to prepare as opportunity is passing by. So, in sales, practice your presentations, be familiar with your market, stay ahead with your training, and don’t get caught with an empty tank. Luck, timing, and circumstance plays a role in all human endeavors, however, if one is not prepared for the favorable circumstance, then one loses the opportunity.

he nitty-gritty of an election is money. Fund raising is critically important to the success of a political campaign. Without accepting any Federal money, Barack Obama’s campaign collected over a quarter of a billion dollars to finance his campaign. How did that happen? The answer is Silicon Valley and the employment of sales networking systems. For the whole story, go to www.theatlantic.com/doc/200806/obama-finance, but for our purposes it is enough to know that incremental donations from an enormous group of donors made the big difference, using systems geared for widespread contact and relentless repetition. And, for reasons of ignorance or arrogance, Hillary Clinton simply did not embrace the techie fund raising method, or the tech entrepreneurs that drove the tech bus. Mr. Obama’s youthful advisers quickly connected with the moneyed tech folks in Northern California, and the money started rolling in.

You say you are not into fund raising? Duh! How about raising funds for you, a most noble cause indeed? Are you really tech capable? Most Realtors® still have the five page static website they paid someone to throw on the web in 2002. If you are reading this, your tech skills are most likely ahead of the pack, but are you really making money from your efforts? If not, consider why not, and determine what you must do to have people jumping on board your bandwagon, begging you to help them buy or sell real estate. With the campaigns early link of fund raising and marketing technology, it was a short step to social media. Most of the early tech donors were social media junkies, already communicating on Facebook or Linked-in. Mr. Obama’s experience as a community organizer helped him see quickly the obvious advantage of accessing the on-line community. The Obama campaign gathered many of the very developers of the new media revolution and put them to work providing everything from ring tones to site widgets. Text messaging, Twitter, www.My.BarackObama.com , listserv’s, and affinity groups, everything new media had to offer was put to work in the campaign.

So, how about you? Blog lately? Are you Linked-in? How many people follow you on Twitter? Just as the then new media of television helped John Kennedy win the White House in 1960, Barack Obama employed the new media of social networking to electrify his supporters and virally recruit new ones, while at the same time inviting a flood of money to support the effort. So there you have it. Simple really, especially in hindsight. To be successful in marketing you must prepare well, network with like minded people, have a plan, engage good help, and take advantage of the latest technology to broaden your opportunity.

Oh, yes, ther is one more thing. You must want to succeed. It is said that Mr. Obama is ambitious. As long as his moral compass is on an even keel, I have no problem with ambition. If you do not have a burning desire to succeed, it is very difficult to do so.

The will to succeed trumps all else.

First and foremost, this post is not about politics, and certainly not about the President-Elect’s political point of view, his policies, or the policies of the Democratic Party. The election is over, the results are in, and we shall all sally forth to face whatever will be the daily events that are destined to become part of our collective national history. There are, however, lessons to be learned from Mr. Obama’s campaign that may be instructive to Realtors®, or to any individual or company that would like to realize success from their marketing efforts.

Let us start with the name. Barack Obama. He stopped using his nick name Barry during his first few years of college. While he most probably was not considering the Presidency at that time, he definitely wanted to take advantage of a name that was unique in the culture of American colleges of the time. Like most all of us at that age, he wanted to be at least a little different, to establish his identity. So, look at your name, or the name of your company. Is it unique, or does it have a heritage? Or is it too common to be memorable. From my company’s name, The Berkshire Group, we get the word “The” signifying that it is the only Berkshire that matters. “Berkshire”, with a strong first syllable and soft second syllable, is both melodic and evokes a sense of England heritage, which is accurate, since County Berkshire is just west of London, England. And of course “Group” to say that there are a number of us, offering the strength and presence that come from numbers. You may not want to change your name, but you certainly may want to create a unique symbol that identifies you as somehow special and unique in a sea of Realtors®.

Barack worked at obtaining a first class education. With a B.A. in political science from Columbia, and a J.D. from Harvard, the soon to be 44th President punched the right educational tickets to provide a firm basis for a future of high achievement. So, how about you? While a J.D. from Harvard is not absolutely necessary to achieve top line results as a Realtor®, learning more about the vast industry we call real estate cannot hurt. And being President of the Harvard Law Review most likely provided a great boost in self confidence, useful when running for office.

As a Broker for many years, I have observed that a good basic education for real estate sales success is in Psychology or Communication, with a minor in Business. Whatever the formal college basis, it makes very good sense to add training in the specialties. CCIM, CIPS, CRB, CRS, and ALC are all acronyms for serious and focused training in one of the many aspects of real estate. If you are not educationally prepared to be successful, it is much harder to be so. It is also true that few successful sales people achieve that success with a measure of self- confidence. From where do you obtain your conviction, the inner strength that projects your aura of confidence? Always have your well of confidence at hand, because sales and politics call for resolve, authority, and a belief in one’s self.

President-elect Obama became involved in community activities, with much apparent success. His commitment and work with community activities created credibility, provided tremendous networking opportunities, and gave him a grass roots understanding of organizational skills that would prove useful during a political campaign. He learned the skill of influencing people to do things because they want to, and not because he wanted them to. And that is a handy skill both in politics and sales. Become involved with the people you expect to serve. Show up and be passionate about their something, but only if it is also your something. If you do not regularly meet people, demonstrate you care about them and their passions, and become genuinely involved in those passions, it is very difficult to achieve success in sales. And it must be real. Most people can recognize a faker. Your network is the people you meet and care about, and the people they know.

Barack Obama traveled. He had the good fortune to develop a world view while growing up, and as a young man traveled to Europe and Kenya. As a United States Senator, he made official trips to Europe and Central Asia. Seeing how people live in other places provides a breadth of understanding that cannot be obtained from books. You certainly do not have to embrace how other people live, or agree with their beliefs and lifestyle, but it is useful in both politics and sales to understand why they believe and live that way.

Where have you been? While it is true that traveling the world is both expensive and difficult, it might be somewhat instructive to at least hop in your car and travel across town. Get out of your comfort zone and your routine and expose yourself to the what, why and how of the daily lives of other folks. Eat food not on the normal diet, look at culture unfamiliar and become comfortable in being with people not like you. Most Realtors® are very good at this, because discrimination is not only illegal, it doesn’t pay very well.

Mr. Obama read. And he wrote. As President of the Law Review, he had to become not only a good reader, but a critical one as well. His first book, Dreams of My Father, was published in 1995. Are you reading? Local events, real estate news, Inman, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, social networking sites, novels, The Economist, National Geographic, something, anything to make your mind work and stay fresh. While you or I may not be ready to write a book, we can all blog. We can write notes to our clients. We can e-mail our friends and social network. If you don’t have the skills, go take a class in creative writing. Do something! Now!

The ancient Greeks first offered that all of us as individuals are a composite of our personal associations, the places we have visited, and that which we have studied, or more simply: people, places, and books. Those bedrock items of humanity are also the basis for a successful career in politics and sales. Tomorrow, we will take the basics and add the marketing tools that proved to be too much for both Hillary and John to overcome.

I suspect I share a certain pet peeve with most folks. You find yourself in need of a “thing”, and you pop on by your local retailer for the “thing”. You navigate through the self-help system, perhaps even receiving assistance from a smiling clerk wearing the appropriate retailer vest. You find the “thing”, and probably a few “things” you weren’t looking for, and make your way to the Disney influenced Check Stand. There you find many other people, with their “things” in hand, waiting in line for the lone, not smiling, checkout person; wearing the appropriate vest of course; overwhelmed by the steady stream of customers with “things” they want to pay for.

Let us sum up: the drive to the retailer takes 10 minutes, you spent 10 minutes finding your “thing”, and it takes 30 minutes to actually pay for the “thing”. I have to believe that retailers stay awake at night, determining the profit and loss differentials of one checkout clerk verses how many people walk out in frustration, leaving their “thing” behind. On the other hand, I have noticed that few people actually abandon their “thing”. Rather, the whole long line of customers stands there, getting frustrated and sometimes downright angry about having to WAIT TO PAY!

Like I said, a pet peeve.

So, right here in Denver, we have an escrow closing company that makes home buyers wait to check out (close) on their REO purchase. The operation is owned by a legal firm that specializes (surprise) in foreclosure actions for the financial and securities industry (The Bank). (Most likely, there is a similar operation in your neck of the woods.) That same legal bunch also owns a title agency that provides the title insurance on behalf of “The Bank”. Not there is anything really wrong with the legal firm operating this group of businesses in concert, except they have NO concern for the consumer. Zip, nada, none! Knowing that these rather slick operators are lawyers, I am relatively certain that their concern is for their client, “The Bank”, and their job is to close the sale at the least possible cost to the Bank, while protecting “The Bank’s” legal position. From a strictly legal point of view, there is nothing wrong with that position. And, I am pretty sure the position of “The Bank”, transmitted to their agents (lawyers, Realtors®, escrow providers, Et al.), is something like “we got screwed taking this house back, the buyers are getting a great deal, and so who cares if we don’t offer great service”. And most buyers, and their Realtors® and lenders, live with it. And get angry and frustrated at a system that plainly does not care a whit about the guy and gal on “Main Street”, U.S. of A.

Well, that is the problem. “The Banks” made loans they should not have made; to people that really could not afford to buy the houses they bought; so that “The Banks” could realize an inflated profit on the loan. High profit, high risk. And, when the market did what market’s do, they got whacked, along with their “clients”, both the investors and borrowers. Well, maybe sort of whacked. That sound of hooves you hear is the horse carrying everybody’s rich Uncle, riding to the rescue with billions in “bailout” dollars for those selfsame “Banks”. But for crying out loud, put a few more resources at the Check Stand. “The Banks” may want to put a few clerks in front of their present clients, “the borrowers” and figure out how to stop (or at least slow down) the foreclosure virus. And “The Banks”, and all their agents, should be treating the REO buyers like royalty. After all, the buyers are taking the REO’s off “The Banks” books, and giving “The Bank” cash in return.

With Uncle Sam underwriting the losses, it occurs to me that the only folks really suffering in frustration are the people on “Main Street”. You know who I mean, the people that got kicked out of their homes by “The Banks”, and the other people that are waiting in line to buy the REO’s from these same “Banks”. Is it any wonder that the American People are frustrated, angry and scared?