agentgenius: A past post reminds me of five great blogging lessons. - 06/25/10 11:00 AM
Sometimes you have to look back.
I was searching for a post that I wanted to send someone today and while looking through the lists of posts, I saw one that I couldn't quite remember.  I knew I wrote it, but I just didn't remember what it said.
Taking a few moments to read through it, I thought it was a interesting look at where my mind was (in this case, on September 16, 2009) and where I was in real estate and more specifically, blogging.
I was just about to hit my one year anniversary at AgentGenius and I was … (13 comments)

agentgenius: Need some motivation? Ask yourself "Why?" - 04/09/10 05:53 AM

Feeling introspective?
The other day, I needed a bit of help from my broker and sought out her advice.  Not only did I get some great ideas from her on business in general, but I walked away with some solid questions that I needed answers to in order to continue my growth as a real estate agent.
The most valuable part of our conversation led me to a new post at AgentGenius, "Why? Finding real estate career motivation in down times.," and to looking for the answer.  I've done of a lot of thought on the subject and you'll definitely … (8 comments)

agentgenius: Friends or Acquaintances? Which Do You Seek From Your Clients? - 03/03/10 05:45 AM

photo courtesy of StuSeeger
Are online friends your friends?
Last week I wrote a post at AgentGenius about connecting with clients and consumers on a more meaningful basis than just business.  That article, prompted a response by AgentGenius writer Ken Montville, "Your Client Doesn’t Care: A Contrarian View" about how the consumer doesn't care for your friendship - they just want a great real estate agent.
He's right, most consumers want to hire the best real estate professional the world has ever seen and little more.  But during that time, they have a basic human need - that of connection.  … (8 comments)

agentgenius: I see a lot of new faces. (Why I need to be more active.) - 02/11/10 04:36 AM

photo courtesy of peyri
Why subscribe to a quiet blog?
Some of you may remember me lamenting about my blog's status as a "ghost town" and really not much has changed on that front.  I've been busy as you can imagine with my own site and blog, RErockstar.com, which has been going great.  When I logged in to ActiveRain today, I did notice there were quite a few new subscribers to my blog, which intrigued me a bit.  Who are these people and why did they pick a quiet blog to follow?  Seems like an interesting choice to me.
I … (10 comments)

agentgenius: Sometimes You Just Have To Blog About It - 01/11/10 02:29 AM

It wasn't easy.
I wrote a post about a week ago (Wednesday, January 6, 2010 to be exact) and just clicked publish on it this morning.  It wasn't easy to write.  It was even harder to publish. It needed to be written though and I feel the world needed to see it.  Especially the real estate world.  I'm not going to cut and paste it here (you can click the graphic below to read the whole post) and I think AgentGenius deserves all the credit for giving me the opportunity to post it.  Lani and Benn has been instrumental in … (25 comments)

agentgenius: Fugazi And Real Estate? New Post At AgentGenius. - 12/02/09 11:39 AM

photo courtesy of intangibleArts
Welcome to my iPod.
My latest article at AgentGenius covers some musical ground for me.  As a huge fan of Fugazi growing up, I learned a few things from watching them play live.  In a recent situation, I was reminded of how Fugazi reacted to situations in the turbulent late 80s post-hardcore scene.  While they were a rather PC band, the late 80s scene was rather messy and violent at clubs and venues up and down the East Coast.  Being a witness to much of it, I enjoyed Fugazi's fresh take on dealing with differing opinions … (0 comments)

agentgenius: Foursquare: Thoughts On Possible Real Estate Uses At AgentGenius - 11/25/09 01:16 PM

photo courtesy of roomjosh
It's just a stupid game.
Fans of Foursquare probably can tell you that it's a bit addictive.  The thrill of unlocking a badge or ousting someone as Mayor of your favorite restaurant can make you want to pull your cell phone and drain your batteries more than many of the social media products and sites.  If you're not familiar with Foursquare, head on over to their site and get an idea of what it's all about.  Then head over to my profile on Foursquare and become my friend.
Once you've checked it out for a bit … (6 comments)

agentgenius: More News: I've been selected to sit on NAR's Research Committee. - 10/02/09 06:23 AM

photo courtesy of [BarZan] Qtr [Boston]
In today's "More good news for Matt Stigliano"...
Yesterday I received an email from the National Association of Realtors® President-Elect Vicki Cox Golder about NAR Committees for 2010.  The email explained that NAR was attempted to engage some new voices in real estate on the committees and had worked up a program that would allow people who might not otherwise be considered for committee positions a chance to help shape the future of the Association and give a new perspective of the issues that affect all of us.
I am one of those people.  … (17 comments)

agentgenius: Memories at ActiveRain - Christmas morning and the silence. - 09/17/09 01:39 AM

photo courtesy of Corey Leopold
I had a lot going on in my life.
It was Christmas Day 2008.  I was just less than a month into blogging here on ActiveRain, just slightly over that with my blogging on AgentGenius, and my fledgling site looked nothing like it does today.  My real estate career wasn't yet a year old and I was just a few short days from celebrating my second year in my new city.  I loved what I knew of real estate, but hadn't really found my footing quite yet.
I had had two featured posts by that … (15 comments)

agentgenius: Ambassador Series: Learn blogging SEO from a master for free. - 08/28/09 09:32 AM

photo courtesy of cambodia4kidsorg
I am not an SEO guru.
I don't even pay a ton of attention to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in my blogging efforts.  I freely admit it.  I'm not an expert even.  I'm not even sure if I deserve the title novice SEO trainee.  I do know a few tricks of the trade, but I wanted to instead introduce you to Jack Leblond.  He's one of those people who know this stuff inside and out.  I've been reading Jack's stuff over at AgentGenius for awhile and thought I'd point him out to everyone.
We all get … (16 comments)

agentgenius: The Most Important Post I've Ever Read. - 08/07/09 06:06 AM
We all read a lot.
I'm not a huge fan of reading inspirational or motivational books.  The real estate industry seems to love them.  I can see why though, as we are an industry that requires self motivation and is marked by many ups and many downs.  It's not an easy business and sometimes you need a kick in the pants to help you see that "you can do it."
Motivation is necessary in real estate, but I try to find my motivation in seeing those around me doing well.  Hearing an agent tell me how they overcame the closing that … (25 comments)

agentgenius: Matt Stigliano, San Antonio Real Estate Agent joins RE/MAX ACCESS in Garden Ridge, Texas. - 07/31/09 10:53 AM
 
I love talking about myself.
Actually, I don't.  But I do love to see my name in print!  My broker, Sheila Moran of RE/MAX Access gives you the scoop on none other than me.  As you can see from my comment, I love it here.  It's only been a short time, but already I can see I've made a great decision to come to Garden Ridge.  And it's not just Sheila.  It's everyone in the office.  The office has a great vibe to it - everyone isn't just here for the paycheck, we're here to do an incredible job - … (13 comments)

agentgenius: My wife, my work, my friends, and NAR. Four days in the life of a year old Realtor®. - 05/11/09 12:29 PM

photo courtesy of me and my iPhone
Has it really been four days?
I just looked at my last post and basically, I haven't been around much in the last four days.  I have a good excuse though, my wife just returned from England after a week's vacation visiting her family and to be honest, I wanted to hang out with her more than all of you.  Not that I don't enjoy my time spent here on ActiveRain, but the facts are the facts - I love my wife a whole lot more.
It's also been a busy four days.  … (8 comments)

agentgenius: It's Time To Bury This Monster. - 03/24/09 02:32 PM

photo courtesy of sscornelius
I read something the other day and a crusade was born.
I am going to kill something.  I am going to bury it so deep in the ground the world will forget it ever existed.  I am going to see to it that it is destroyed and removed from this world.  I am on a mission and none of you can stop me.  I am not an angry person in general, but I have reached my limit and the only answer is that it has to pay.  And its death is the only way to resolve … (18 comments)

agentgenius: He just called you a lazy Realtor®...you gonna take that? - 03/19/09 02:00 PM
Lockboxes - lazy or genius?
On AgentGenius today, Ian Watt, a Vancouver agent posted a video opining that lockboxes are lazy and by using them, you're not giving your seller the best customer service.  I like Ian, he's got some of the best vlogs you'll ever see - all while driving a car.  His goal is simple, to change the perception of our industry.  Simple goal, not so simple to achieve, but you have to love a guy with that kind of passion for the what he does and the industry as a whole.
He dropped a hint at this week's … (26 comments)

agentgenius: The Stigliano Chronicles over at AgentGenius. - 12/03/08 01:39 PM
Its seems I've become obsessed by writing.
I write here, I write at AgentGenius, and I write in my sleep now.  As I've stated before, I love doing it.  It keeps me busy that's for sure.  I guess the reason I decided to write this post is that over the past few weeks, I've met a lot of new people here at ActiveRain and some of them don't know much more of me than what they read here.  I actually started my blogging "career" over at AgentGenius, when Benn and Lani asked me to write a series, title "The Stigliano Chronicles."  … (0 comments)

agentgenius: A recent conversation... - 11/20/08 05:01 AM

 
Recently I spoke with RealEstateShows head honcho, Jeff Turner.  I've spoken about RealEstateShows before, but this isn't a sales pitch for them.  Instead, its an idea that I had for a blog post after speaking to him.  Some of you know I write over at AgentGenius and I decided to write that post that I had dreamt up over there.  Of course, I don't want to just cut and paste, because I feel it would diminish the efforts of the AgentGenius creators, so I thought I would just leave a link and let you read it in your own … (2 comments)