Special offer
Home > Blogs > ARDELL DellaLoggia > ARDELL's Seattle Area Real Estate Blog
bookmark_border

How I "USE" ActiveRain To Find An Agent

By
Real Estate Agent with Better Properties Seattle

I'm looking for an agent, not a house...

 

I want to know what makes you tick.

I want to know if you treat your spouse well.

I want to know if you are kind to animals and children.

I want to know if you have a good value system.

I want to know if you speak with high regard for your clients.

I want to know if you handle situations well and professionally when they go south on you.

I want to know if you can form a complete sentence intelligently.

I want to know if you know your stuff!

I want to know if you have a chip on your shoulder.

I want to know if you understand that "selling" today is "soft-sell" AND DOES NOT HAVE A COMMERICAL AT THE END OF EVERY SINGLE BLOG POST!

I want to know if I CAN PUT MY REPUTATION ON THE LINE, by recommending you.

IF I WANTED TO SEE PROPERTY I WOULD DO A PROPERTY SEARCH, NOT GO TO A BLOG!

Tell me a story, tell me a joke, REVEAL WHO YOU ARE, so I can choose you...or choose you not based on your writings.

THAT is Blogging...and how it works. 

Show All Comments
Scott Cowan
RE/MAX Professionals - Olympia, WA

Ardell, You struck a nerve with this post. I do post my listings and I do post about things that are important to me outside of Real Estate. I hope that prospective clients might find out more about the "whole" me prior to meeting me. Balance in posting like with everything in life is vital.

Best,

Scott 

May 01, 2008 09:45 AM
Patricia Beck
RE/MAX Properties, Inc., ABR, GRI, SRES - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Realty
Good point Ardell, I agree with that. I can't stand blogs where all I see are listings!!!
May 01, 2008 03:43 PM
ARDELL DellaLoggia
Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA

Scott,

I clicked over to your "blog", I hit a brick wall...of one, two, maybe three listings in a row...I left.

May 01, 2008 07:45 PM
ARDELL DellaLoggia
Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA

Carin,

When you get going, email me a link and I'll take a peek.  I'm really not mean.  Just hard hittingly helpful :)  Mostly becaue I'm short on time and it takes a lot longer to say it nicely.  Also, I find people don't hear me unless I'm being me.  When I'm too nice, people learn less...even me.

May 01, 2008 07:48 PM
ARDELL DellaLoggia
Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA
Not commenting on the why no referal fee questions.  That's a whole nuther topic I don't have time to get into right now. Sometimes I do.  But not just for passing a name through.
May 01, 2008 07:50 PM
Rebecca Makas
William Raveis Real Estate - West Hartford, CT

You call it a rant, I call it telling it like you see it.  The vast majority of my clients tell me that they chose me because of "who I am" and that "they felt instantly comfortable with me".  Of course, the best one is, "I trust you, you really know what you're talking about".  I definately don't do as much marketing as many agents near me do. 

I wonder though, truthfully, how many people choose an agent because they've seen that face in dozens of places and they want to be with the "TOP" agent?

May 02, 2008 03:26 AM
Patty Carroll
Vancouver, WA

Hi Ardell, we are fairly new to AR and are still learning how to blog while letting our personalities show through. It is a learning experiance for sure!  We have been reading your blogs for a long time and while sometimes we may not agree with you we do feel like we know who you from your blogs.

May 02, 2008 05:20 AM
ARDELL DellaLoggia
Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA

Rebecca,

It depends in whether you are asking how an agent was selected in the last five years, or the NEXT five years.  Do you base your marketing on the past...or the future?

May 03, 2008 04:14 AM
Cheryl Johnson
Highland Park, CA

And you can tell Kevin  I'm old"er" than you, 'cause today is my birthday.  :-) 

Good points.  Yeah, I wish the Active Rain guys would come up with a way for a post to go ONLY into Localism ... since I think that would appropriate for some stuff like listings and market reports.

May 03, 2008 07:37 AM
ARDELL DellaLoggia
Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA
Happy Birthday, CJ!
May 04, 2008 02:48 AM
Bill Kennedy
Keller Williams Greenville Upstate - Greenville, SC
Homes For Sale Greenville SC
Great post... I've told agents before that a blog is your vehicle to showcase your personality.  Let it flow!  If all you have is a bunch of listings or useless copied material, you failed.
May 04, 2008 03:02 PM
Chris Gempeler
Breckenridge Mountain Top Realtors - Breckenridge, CO
Mountain Top Realtors

Wow, have you had any luck sending referrals to people from AR? Keep me in mind for your Colorado Rockey Mountain connection!

MTR Chris

May 05, 2008 07:19 AM
Chris Gempeler
Breckenridge Mountain Top Realtors - Breckenridge, CO
Mountain Top Realtors

Wow, have you had any luck sending referrals to people from AR? Keep me in mind for your Colorado Rockey Mountain connection!

MTR Chris

May 05, 2008 07:20 AM
Michael S. Mackey
CENTURY 21 All Islands - Mililani, HI
REALTOR ABR, CRS, GRI, RSPS
I just re-entered AR after being out for about a year. The Realtors Group did not exist then. Of course, as soon as I saw it, I joined up, and your post was the first one I read. It was a very refreshing experience to get your point of view on finding an agent, and what you look for. I agree, If I want to look at advertising I would go to the classifieds, MLS etc. At AR, I can go to any category that caters to the type of info I want to read about. Great Post!
May 05, 2008 07:57 AM
Darleen McCullen
Raleigh, NC
Broker - Raleigh, NC Real Estate
Ardell ~ Great post. I'm with you - blogging is about putting oneself out there, which allows one to get to really get to know us. Because of ActiveRain, just last week, I received a referral, a listing, and a client who said she just loved what I had to say.
May 05, 2008 08:14 AM
David W. Bolick
Network Real Estate, Inc. - Little Rock, AR
Ardell, I have no idea who you are, but this one post tells me I know all I need to know.
May 05, 2008 08:46 AM
Andrew Baumbach
Homestead Realty Inc. - Milwaukee, WI
Greater Milwaukee Real Estate
This thread inspired me to add listings to my blog. I had my feelings early on against doing this, but since it's the only way to get them posted on loaclism I'm fine with it now. And getting some points does'nt hurt either.
May 05, 2008 09:56 AM
Carol Judd
New Star Real Estate - Vernal, UT
Vernal Utah Real Estate
I have read many of the comments and it has been interesting.  I am looking for an agent for a client and will keep all these views in mind.
May 05, 2008 11:19 AM
David W. Bolick
Network Real Estate, Inc. - Little Rock, AR
Carol...for Little Rock....I'm your person.  I've Never had a dissatisfied client...seriously. 
May 05, 2008 11:41 AM
Alisha Harrison
John L. Scott, Belfair - Belfair, WA
Allyn, Belfair and Hood Canal real estate expert!

I couldn't agree more. Some of the same old tireds posts from some people are just too in your face. Read: desperate! Blogging is it's own thing. You can try to fit blogging into what you want it to be, but its like fitting a square peg in a round hole - futile!

Oct 23, 2008 10:42 AM
Back to Top

What's the reason you're reporting this blog entry?

Are you sure you want to report this blog entry as spam?