The Real Estate Industry Is Changing... Are You?

Has Your Cheese Moved?

Have you read the book "Who Moved My Cheese?"?  It's an easy book to read that deals with change in the workplace and personal lives.  Written by Spencer Johnson,  the story is about four little characters who run through a maze searching for cheese. Two of the characters are mice.  Two of the characters are little people.  Without stealing the story, I will summarize it by saying that the four characters have to deal with the situation where their cheese is suddenly gone.  The cheese meant something of importance to each of them.  The meat of the story describes how each of the characters deal with the situation.  The way that they deal with the change in their lives illustrates how we can deal with change in our own lives. Spencer Johnson fills the book with some interesting quotes.  Here are a few of my favorites:

If you have not read the book, I would strongly urge you get a copy.  If you have been active in the real estate industry for over 10 years you realize that we are indeed dealing with change.  The Internet has moved our cheese.

The Consumer Is Our Cheese.

The consumer has moved...to the Internet that is.   The consumer has become empowered.  They used to have to contact a real estate professional or wait for the ad in the newspaper to get property pricing or property details.  Now they have the information at their fingertips, thanks to the "information highway".  They do not (nor do they want to) have to contact you to get information on real estate.  The real estate consumer is more educated than they used to be.  They have resources. They can research pricing.  They can advertise their own property to the world... to other consumers!  Why do they need you?  They want to know what value you bring to the table!

My Own Story...

I was first licensed in the early 1980s.  Prospecting for new business seemed to come natural for me.  I would prospect my sphere of influence, for sale by owners, and expired listings.  Things were going great.  In 1998 I got my first web site. At that time I was associated with RE/MAX and I purchased a template web site from a vendor at the RE/MAX international convention.  Because I was one of the few agents to have a web site I actually received inquiries from it.  Some inquiries turned into closings.  I decided to get another web site, and another web site, and another.  By 2000 I had a number of websites and was receiving considerable business from the Internet. 

Then came the dot-com crash.  While everybody else was saying the Internet was dead my business was increasing!  It was in 2001, when I was getting over 1000 Internet inquiries monthly, that I realized there was something going on.  Something was happening with the consumer.   I guess that’s when I really “got it”.

What I “got” was this; the consumer was flocking in droves to this new medium called the Internet. The reason: they liked being able to access real estate information on their own.  They liked being in control.  It wasn't just real estate information.  It was any and all information.  Consumers now had “the world” at their fingertips.  Other industries and professions, such as the travel industry, had already been affected by the “information tidal wave”.  I saw the writing on the wall.  In early 2003 I decided to leave my thriving "real estate team" business that I had built to search for where this “consumer revolution” was heading.

What I discovered scared and excited me.

I have been told that the Chinese word for crisis actually has two meanings (danger & opportunity).  Whether this is true or not, I do not know.  What I do know is that there is a potential crisis facing our industry.  We are in a fight for the consumer from outside forces that range from Google to Zillow.  Our “friends” at the Department of Justice seem to believe our industry is not competitive enough.  Go figure.  There's plenty to be concerned about.  But opportunites also exist.  Especially for those that are willing to work for them. I have chosen to focus on the opportunities. 

The opportunities for "the little guy" have never been better!  The Internet is the great equalizer.  That's why I am excited!  It used to be that the company that had the biggest ad in the local newspaper had the most influence in the real estate market.  That's all changed.  Companies who "throw money" at the Internet the same way they did with traditional marketing with be sadly disappointed.  The Internet is like a wild river that changes course often.  You have to be flexible to ride it successfully.

There's M.O.R.E.

At M.O.R.E. we are poised to excel in this new environment.  Our business model has traded the concept of “walk-in traffic” for “click-in traffic”.  We have decided to focus our resources on people and systems as opposed to facilities.  We are highly mobile.  We are flexible.  We are professional.  We are now looking for like minded individuals to join our team.

We are looking for individuals who want to be more than just real estate agents.... they want to be real estate professionals.  Experience is a plus but not required. You must be willing to learn.  Having the right attitude is critical to your success.  You must be able to work in a team environment.  You must be ethical, disciplined, responsible, and willing to work.  You must be willing and able to follow a plan of action.

We show you how to be successful in today's market... not yesterdays.

We realize that our success will be built on the success of our associates.  For that reason we are focused on your success.  For individuals that fit our model we offer the following benefits.

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