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Opportunity Time - Can a Company Blog Replace Floor?

Courtesy of Corey Butler First rule of real estate management, don't ever discuss Floor Time in a sales meeting. If you have ever stepped into this mess you know it's true. So, at the risk of stepping into a pile of controversy... do you think a company blog can be virtual floor time?

I have started writing in my other blog about building a company blog - an endeavor we are well into at this point with an August launch. Never heard of a company blog? Let me explain. In kicking around Active Rain one day, I started to contemplate why not have a company blog? We have a great website which we are always tinkering with and have been researching SEO solutions and then it hit me... what if I could get a decent number of our 750 agents to participate on a company blog?

I poked around the internet and saw some nice company blogs - but they read more like a streaming press release. Many of them looked like they were being written by a staff person - only one voice. Then, there are some great blogs with the broker and 1 or 2 agents and some outside contributors - all great stuff, but not much on local content.

My idea was to build a blog that would allow every agent to post freely. Think of an Active Rain type site for your company. (AR Gods - remember imitation is the most sincere form of compliment). Our company is not massive but big enough that there should be more than enough contributors to keep the posting current and interesting. We already have some great bloggers in our midst with Maggie Dokic and Kevin Tomlinson and who knows how many more will emerge?

Since each post will feature that agent - any lead generated will go to the agent - so, in my mind, it becomes like virtual opportunity time. The more you post, the more leads you will get. The more leads you get, the better the word spreads and more content builds the site.

You might ask why would someone who already has a good blog post on the company site? To me, this is a fundamental example of how to stand on your company's marketing shoulders. Our site has a well established track record with google, any blogger can benefit from the traffic and content that the site generates - build readership faster and gain those coveted backlinks. It is a symbiotic relationship - you scratch the company's back and it will scratch yours. Just like floor time - the more signs that are out on the street, the more often the office phone will ring - and you will be getting all of the sign calls.

I began this journey by having all of our managers join Active Rain. I am now doing the same with my agents, one office at a time. So far, I can say about 15% of the people have joined and contributed - that is actually more than I would have thought. They are already storing posts on the new site for the August launch.

Active Rain is a great training tool for the blog. So many great posts to absorb in a relatively short time. Bet you never thought you might be training agents in Florida how to do virtual floor- but you have and they are going to be great.

Posted by Beth Butler on 08/05/2007 12:32 AM

Comments (91)

ewm blog, floor time

Post is included in group: Recruiting and Real Estate

91 Comments on Opportunity Time - Can a Company Blog Replace Floor?

JUL

2007

I'm super-excited by the $$$ possibilites! I remember when I got into real estate in '94, floor time was worth while. The blog will be the new form of floor.

That's an idea - new agents should embrace that - will you be announcing the new EWM blog?

KT - you will be the big beneficiary - whoever thought you would be doing floor again? This kind of floor will not require a dress code.

Ines - welcome back - hope you had a great time. Yes, I will be announcing the ewm blog 3rd week in August- would you consider being a guest contributor?

Floor time -- virtual or not --- one MUST have great " FLOOR-I-TUDE".

JUL

2007

I love your idea and may present it to my company. We have almost 1000 agents and I think it would be good thing to do.

Thanks

Beth, I think it's a terric idea as well. You'll have, as you said, a different "voice" on your blogs which would lead to a bigger audience of people reading them. Let us know how it goes!

Karen - Floor I tude - now that is a topic all n its own.

Absolutely great idea Beth! With Maggie, Kevin and you leading the way, EWMs blog is bound to be a success. Love it! Janie

Darrel- please keep me posted -I am happy to share along the way.

Hey Janie: welcome back - I missed you. Maybe I can entice you to contribute on the blog?

Carole -wish we had a good stager like you down here- I think you all have amazing content

JUL

2007

Your Aventura Office is eagerly awaiting your blog roll-out next week. I have been preparing them!

Hey RAndi - Im excited too - we are going to have a lot of fun

Beth - I don't know how I missed your response - I would be honored to be a contributor....how would it look for a CB agent to contribute to your blog though?

Ines - I would be most happy to add you to our front page as a featured EWM blogger, but would love you as a contributor, even as a CB agent. The blog is about re info - not just EWM re info. I think we can all benefit by promoting good content - don't you?

I'm all for good content Beth - and happy to hear you are open and creative.

JUL

2007

Great idea...can't wait for the announcement.

Debra - this will be lots of fun.

Beth, you are one creative, savvy lady! No wonder you are the boss! This is such a clever idea, for the agents, for the company, for the consumer!

Thanks Carolina - now lets hope they write!!!

I had request today as to when the EWM Blog will take place. The agents are really getting into to this. Thanks for being "one step ahead" !! JoAnn

You are very welcome JoAnn :)

lololol

Joann - AUg 21rst in Broward - its on the poster ;)

JUL

2007

Beth, I had the date, just wanted you to know how excited everyone is. They are really looking forward to it

and thinks it's a awesome idea! As usual, you are one step ahead. Thanks, JoAnnb

JUL

2007

Beth I think this is such a great idea. You guys in Fl are so on the ball with this. This is an area NM is sorely lacking in.

Ashley - come on down. But seriously, I guess that is just perception. I feel like we are behind!

AUG

2007

Beth: What an outstanding idea! It would be good to see other companies following suit.

Oh, I think that this is one heck of an idea. More is better when it comes to web traffic. The possibilities are endless. Thanks for sharing.

Beth

Sounds like a great idea, It would be great if you could get 100% cooperation but, you'll always have those who think the internet and blogs are a passing phase.

Wishing you well, thanks for the great idea!

Virtual floor time is the wave of the future. The problem we faced was the agents not participating due to the market slowing. With full cooperation virual floor time is an excellent idea.

Thanks for sharing and have fruitful weekend.

Beth,

It sure beats Pizza Night and cold calling! (old, old office we were with.)

I haver never understood this "floor time" or "duty day" concept as to why another agent would want to sit around the office answering phones about other agents listings or sending over faxes for agents at other offices requesting them. Even when I first got into real estate....it just didn't make sense to me. Please don't take offense but I always thought the ideas was to save my broker/owner the expense of having a secretary on the payroll. I've always believed that I should be outside making things happen and resented the fact that our company had 40 listings and I was the LA on 28 of them and somebody was getting my phone calls! My broker told me to either get in or get out...I didn't let the door hit me on the way out. The rest is history...

So, I do not understand this concept of virtual floor time either. Why not promote my own blog and build up my own online reputation as the expert in the area?

Some of you will say, "Jessica! you're just not a team player!" I have no problems with being a team player but I am not the little red hen.

Beth, how did I miss this?? You wrote this weeks ago. Anyway, you know I think you're ingenius for getting this going. And we're going to have Ines as a guest contributor. Nice! I'm eagerly awaiting the launch.

Good for you! Blogging can and does open doors. I think using this format you will see some new leads develop in a rather unique venue. Keep us posted and best of luck! Sell well.

I don't know that it would replace floor time, but it sounds like a good idea. Presumably there would be a moderator, and presumably you would invite consumer's questions...

Beth that is such a great idea. To have 15% agent support before the site is launch is a good sign. Please keep us posted as to the lead genration aspect.

Hi Beth - what a creative idea this is. We don't do floortime in my office, but I can see how a company blog might help to replace that. And to have Ines lined as a guest blogger - that is really sweet!

Ann

Beth - I think its a creative idea for the system you are in i.e the traditional model but would have to agree with Jessica's comments above. Floor time is a complete waste of an agents time and is more important to the owners coverage of his inefficient model. Best of luck in your efforts though!

Good idea..I don't know how many other brokerages do this...We have our own website and have had for years....and the company has a site on which you have pages,,,any lead that comes to your company site unless it is your own listing, carries a 20% fee to the company....that is besides the monthly "technology" fee you are charged so they can charge you the 20%...what a deal, hmmmm ?

Jessica's comments are right on! I think the company blog is a great idea - for the company, unless the company is helping the agent succeed, which it sounds like in this case.

I work in Palm Beach, Florida, so if you want to open your blog to outsider's, let me know. Good Luck!

Sounds like an interesting idea---it's a brand new concept and worth investigating.

Well, very intersting. I haven't had time to post anything this week- so imagine my surprise when an old article is featured.

Roberta - glad you like the concept - I do think it will catch on and I am hoping quite quickly.

Tracey - Thanks to you as well. It looks liek California grasps the concept - your market is so close ours in many ways.

Gary - I am not counting on 100% participation, I am trying to be realistic. Out of 750 agents, I am thinking 400 will post once, 200 or so will post periodically, and 50 will post once a month or more. Those numbers generate a lot of content.

Marcella- Floor time on the phone has been dying a slow death. Virtual floor just like the phone requires a skill set and training that not everyone posesses. Smart agents will always gravitate and learn when it is in their best business interest.

Paul and Frances - I'm laughing - I have done so many pizza nights and they certainly were fun - and occasionally productive - I say lets keep the pizza night just for fun - no class - just fun.

Jessica , Bill and Lynda- aka Little Red Hen - just kidding - you ask a great question and I thank you for it. Long ago. floor time was great for people starting out in the business- signs had the office phone numbers and listing agents didn't get the calls - but that notion ran it's course and floor in many offices became a receptionist position. We have always maintained a staff person, so it was never seen as a "cost savings" to us - but more a consumer oriented function. When someone calls they needed immediate help and the listing agents were often the busiest, so it worked. Your view on floor where"someone else is taking my calls" became mainstream and most brokers adapted deferring calls to the listing agent.

Now, as to the why shouldn't I do my own thing - I think that is the most important question. The answer is simple. You can certainly do your own thing. Even if as an agent you have a brilliant web presence, anyone who is associated with a large company will certainly agree that the brokerage website generates more traffic than your personal site. If you are out there on your own you have to build your readership 1 viewer at a time. In other words, it will take any one person a very long time to build up a following that leads to income generation. Now, if you understand the way blogging works, and you have a huge content site at the company level - where you are contributing posts and listings you will generate that readership and income stream much more rapidly. We will be embedding the blog right onto our front page - think of it as featured articles with the agents picture and contact info along side each one of their posts. Even for the most accomplished listing agents - a reader has to dive into thousands of listings to find you - the blog puts you right out front. As I said in my post, I think the company blog is the best example of how the brokerage marketing model should work. It does promote you - as long as you are providing quality content - the click through is to you, not to the company. The posts generated by me or other "staff" types is the lead generator for the company - those will be distributed again to the agents who understand the blogging concept. To me, the tech agents will be the biggest winners here. Remember a blog is not a website- the more content the better off each individual contributor is. Just a case in point - don't your AR posts rank much higher than your individual blog sites?

Sorry to write a post as a comment - but I think this is an important point.

Great Idea!!!

Sally and David - I do not see this as an opportunity to bilk agents out of fees - we are investing in our mutual success.

Lynda - I am wanting to feature blogger's outside the company. I'll keep you posted - you are just north of our market area so its a great fit.

Diane - it is a new concept - but one worth trying. Thanks for stopping by.

JR - thank you

Maggie - You are going to help make this work and will be a benefactor for it. Afterall. it is you and Kevin that got me here :)

Allison - I plan to log my journey with the thoughts that there are others out there that may undertake the venture. Thanks for stopping by.

Margaret - I think of it as the New floor - the phone is ringing less and less as more and more consumers look for info before calling.

Jennifer - you are right - 15% is all I need - more would be even better - but I am happy with 10-15% to start.

Ann- thank you and I feel like the better the content the better the blog - Ines has great local stuff.

I like this idea. Could we go a step further and have an Association blog? Wonder what kind of issues that would bring up.

Carol - another great point. I heard this week that one of the local assoications is going to do a blog and charge the members to participate. This puzzles me on both points. First of all - the association website generates nothing but Realtor traffic - and just like members only posts here in Active Rain - I understand the point but fail to see the income generation there. Secondly, to charge to build content for the association site - I don't even know what to say about that except it is just wrong at a fundamental level.

I like the idea. I've thought about it before - and about how much it would add to a company web site. However at my company I dont' think it would work right now. I've asked agents before for content for the web site (articles written by them about their local markets, would feature them etc). Out of 3500 agents I received 10 articles. Possibly in the future there would be more interest. It's kind of like a few years ago the majority of agents weren't even checking their email, now more and more are using email. It's becoming more common and more are using it. I think blogging will become this way as well. 2010 for us? :)

That is an excellnt idea!! I will pass it along to my broker..

.....

Agents ?
As I read the Florida licensing there are no "agent" licenses issued in Florida.
There are "real estate broker or sales" licenses with "ranks" of "Broker" or "Sales".
Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Division of Real Estate
Florida Real Estate Commission
does not use the term "agents" for real estate licenses.

Am I missing something in the legislation?

Angie - you touched on my single biggest fear - limited participation. I am committing 5 weeks of my time to doing nothing but sitting at the computer's in our offices and plying people into posting. We are kicking the blog off with a contest - prizes and the like to try to make it fun. Fortunately, I have a core group of great bloggers inside the company already. By 2010 - those who start now will be so far ahead in content that it will be too late, I think. I hear the email stories too, and I just think it's sad- but the business has already passed these agents by.

Al - thanks - please pass along my offer to share.

Larry - Agent is a commonly used term that is not a reference to their "agency" status. I would only refer to licensees as those who are not affiliated with a Realtor association. Associate would be a better term, but is interchangeable in a conversational sense.

I am new at all this blogging and thank you for making me realize that it is worth my while.

I use to work for a Huge company and now I am on my own and I do need to belong to

a group of knowledgeable people. I think this is the beginning of a great wealth of knowledge.

I hope to contribue just the same. I am well connected, international commercial and residential

real estate broker and I am surviving with my connections thru the internet. Thank again for the great ideas...

;-)

A good idea that I think our company might not put into practice... because it's rather big and spread out. Think it would be a good idea if it did.

As for floor time, we haven't had a decent walk-in in over a year. A sign of the times, but in the short time we've had our lake tahoe blog and been really active on AR, we've had many decent "walk-in's", an escrow, andd fourl new customers last week.

Bottom line is our blog is the best customer attraction model we have.

Thanks

Our office has been kicking this around ofr some time now but cannot come to a metting of the minds. Some agents think that a blog is a personal and individual thing and that it should stay that way. They think that if the company gets involved that there personal blogs will bet pushed back in the rankings and then they will get lost in the shuffle.

Beth - I love this idea. And if I ever move to Florida -- a company that had something like this on hand would be a major choice of mine. It is a sign of a company that is moving forward and not resting on the past. So you may see a residual benefit as a company -- all these "northern" agents looking for the sun, might find your company and want to make it their own. :-)

As a customer, I think it is something that really could benefit them. Getting the answers to their questions. I also think one of the most interesting points would be to have different opionons on your site. If I don't like what "x" has to say, then I might like what "y" has to say.

On a whole I love the concept and hope that you'll have the participation to really make it take off.

Fern- the great thing about blogging is that we are all sharing to the mutual benefit. I hope that never changes.

Gary - Walk in's are always a good thing - and your blog is so awesome - your great content will lead people your way.

Joe - I hear the individual agent thing alot -but the logic i that escapes me and you make a very good point - they will get lost... it's just the way this animal works. I am hoping we will show the way to get agents to fully understand how beneficial it is to do both.

Toby - thanks - we have a spot for you here in Sunny South Florida. Thanks for your show of support.

Beth - you have a great idea for your company, and it's good you have some great core bloggers to kick it off. When I read it, my thoughts were those that Jessica mentioned, and your rebuttal was informative as well. Question for you to consider: who owns the content that the agents write? If they leave the company, can they take their posts, if they choose, or do they stay as company property? It's an issue that should be addressed at the onset, to avoid hard feelings later on.

Beth:

So you're saying that any agent could actually contribute to it at any time? Add all the content that they wanted...when they wanted? I wouldn't have any problems with that. I just had visions of the blog being linked to this online chat room and duty agents who no longer get my listing calls getting my blog calls! Sorry, very, very sore subject with me. My family and I almost went Chaper 13 (or whatever chapter) because of the first company I worked at. I carried over 2/3's of the companies listing inventory and was lucky to get 3 phone calls a month.

Sharon - great point who owns the content. The content will stay on the company site if the agent leaves. As there are no fees associated with this and the company carries the expense, it seems a reasonable position. My thought is that in the event an agent leaves, they can always link back. It should be a retention tool for the broker.

Jessica- YES - you got it now. Sorry to hear about your bad experience, I can certainly understand where you are coming from.

I had mentioned this concept, though not fully developed. The idea just got shoved off to the side.

Chris - this is a mission - it is not something everyone grasps, so your experience is not uncommon. The Miami Herald featured a Web 2.0 blog story on the cover of the business section 2 weeks ago - that has helped me a lot - something about a third party source brings people around.

Hi Beth,

To answer you question....Can a company Blog replace floor? YES! We tried it and unfortunately the numbers were not there with a much smaller company, and I ended up doing the writing. As you stated "I poked around the internet and saw some nice company blogs - but they read more like a streaming press release. Many of them looked like they were being written by a staff person - only one voice" (maybe ours) so we have it in place....just waiting for the curve of our agents to catch up. FYI we do not do floor duty...all calls go to the agent's cell phone.

Dick Beals

Dick and Sandy - I checked out your blog - it is very nice, but hidden. My plan is to embed the blog on the front page of the website - I think the associates will be much more enticed to write when they can say they were on the front page. I really like the idea of the content on our main page changing all the time.

Beth - please let us know when it's up and running so we can visit your front page blog!

Sharon - I sure will- launch date- August 27

It sounds like an interesting thing to try. You will have to keep us posted on how it goes. I like the idea of thinking outside the box -- good luck!

That post of Colleen's fight now about linking outside of AR has gotten our attention. We knew it was something all of us should do, and now we're trying to make it a habit to comment in both places at the same time.

Thanks again

Joan- thanks for stopping by - and I will keep you posted,

Gary - the commenting thing is a chore and something we should all make a point of doing - thanks for comments in both places.

Do you (or another broker) review all the posts before they hit the public? I love the idea of many voices, but it only takes one with a less than professional tone or comment and we all topple together.

Jennifer - yes I will be moderating at least for the first 2 or 3 months - nothing will go "public" without a review - it will also give me an opportunity to teach, not just police.

Beth, to the best of my knowledge, state (or provincial) legislation takes precedence over any REALTOR® association description of a licensee's membership category.

There is a difference in one's license issued by a government agency and one's membership in a professional organisation. First and foremost, the public has every right to know what type of licensee they're conversing with. And secondly, the public probably likes to know if the licensee is also a member of a professional organization.

I suggest to you that agent is not the proper term for a salesperson.

I think it is a great idea and everyone wins

Interesting. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Our company has an intranet and a little blog with articles posted by our owners and IT guy. I think agents can post to it, but it hasn't caught on yet at all. Maybe when our intranet gets more robust and frequently used, our blog will get more interesting and better-used! It is definitely the wave of the future and a good way for us to share information and ideas! Floor time could be done this way except we need walk-in coverage occasionally - high traffic location.

Thanks Rebecca - that's the theory.

Bob and Caroline - Your comment came to me in the form of Artie Johnson from Laugh-In - I age myself here - but it gave me a good laugh - Thanks!

Sue - just like all technology applications for real estate, the blog needs to be "sold" to get a wide spread buy in. Our blog will have an internal component as well - that is the company communication part of it. Thanks for sharing

Hi Beth!

Us bloggers have the upper hand in a market where most agents are failing. I am a new agent (as of February...) and I have never set foot on the floor of an office.

I am raising a family of 4 young children (with my husband :) ... and as of today, I have never set foot on an office floor with the intent of generating business.

On August 16th, I will close on my 4th transaction in addition to the 3 active listings that I am currently marketing!

ALL of my business is internet or referral based, and I couldn't be happier!

I don't know how else a "stay-at-home" mom could possibly make such a great living by being there for her family!

LOVING THIS!

Great post... and a great stream of commentary!

AUG

2007

Beth, Congratulations on an interesting and well written post.

I am a little concerned about your statement: (AR Gods - remember imitation is the most sincere form of compliment).

With all due respect, God is correctly used to describe the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe... gods refer to an image of a deity; an idol or any deified person or object. Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/god

Please be more careful in your use of the word as some may take offense, responding with what they perceive to be righteous indignation.

Again congratulations for a well written post and best wishes for your success.

BTW... Do you know what event in human history was so significant that it had the power to split time? Do you have absolute peace, purpose and certainty in your life? If you seek truth and answers to the above, we invite you to visit www.cj2k.com

Wayne & Lynda Gomillion | www.PinehurstHomeTeam.com

Julie: You are a great example of how business can be done. Thanks for sharing.

Wayne and Linda - point well taken and no offense intended.

Wayne & Lynda

"AR Gods" is a tongue-in-cheek term for those who control AR.

Do you know that it is considered very bad manners to put your links in the comments of other person's post?

I thought you should know, so you could be "more careful" as the author of the post could take "offense."

I felt you should know

Beth, you are soooo far ahead of the pack when it comes to real estate as a profession it isn't even funny! You go girl!

Yes, the "AR Gods" is a term of endearment thrown around frequently in the community as an indication of the high regard in which the founders of Active Rain are held. It is definitely not meant in a disrespectful way toward THE Supreme Being.

AR God's...Active Rain Founders...O.I.C...that explains so much. I thought you guys were talking about the Clintons.

I think this is a great blog and a good idea. However, I still put alot of weight on traditional floor time as it accounted for nearly 25% of my business last year!

KT -my protector :) I wasn't offended but love the protective nature of the comment.

Carol - You are correct - thanks for clarifying

Jessica - Hey - maybe it was the Clintons! very cute ;)

Joe -nice to know floor is still good in St Augustine - and congrats on using it effectively.

I have been trying to get a dedicated group of bloggers at my office. A couple of agents have taken to it but I have not acheived my goal yet.

SEP

2007

Beth, I'm "back reading" your posts on this company blog project. I guess that I'm late to the party, but I'm really entranced by the whole thing.

I just read The Little Red Hen's comments about floor time and found myself agreeing with her, but then I read your answer and I see your point.

This is really a great concept.

Bill Roberts

NOV

2007

Wow Beth, I am WAY back reading. I am the only L-O in my ofice that is here on the Rain. I would like to hear how the project is progressing! I wish a lot of direct lenders understood the value of this site and the potential it brings!

NOV

2007

Hi Beth: You have really given me some good ideas here to think about. Thank you so much for sharing.

Hi Wayne and Lynda: Are you aware that your comments may be found offensive by some. If you would like to write a post about your theological ideas, I suggest you do that. I would rather not read about them... by accident... by finding them in the comments on a post like this one. Thank you...

JUL

Wayne and Lynda: Watch out for the comment above me. It is a spam comment. I have seen perhaps ten of them tonight. Also... I suggest you NOT click on the link... since it is spam... and may lead to some virus or trojan horse. I suggest you DELETE the comment. Take care...

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