I believe that there are many reasons for this.

But I believe that there is one OVERWHELMING reason, and here it is: it’s just too easy to get a real estate license.*

For me, this is – BY FAR – the biggest reason for the state of affairs in real estate today.

Example: in my state – Michigan – you can take a 40-hour pre-licensure course – which is now available ONLINE – and then go sit for the state-administered examination immediately thereafter. So, in theory, if you timed it correctly and if you could work around the clock, you could have a real estate license in less than a week. That’s right, I said LESS THAN A WEEK!

I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong. Imagine if you could become an attorney in a week. Or a CPA. Can you IMAGINE how poor the service in those industries would be if virtually ANYONE could become an active, practicing member of one of those lofty professions in just a week?

I KNOW what you may be thinking right now, which is some variation of this: “Why is this guy comparing being a Realtor with being a lawyer or a CPA? Those are COMPLETELY different things. It’s totally an apples-and-oranges comparison.”

To that, I would reply, “REALLY? Are you sure?” Think about it. Specifically, consider these points:

• Most people engage attorneys for matters that involve far smaller dollars than the value of the average American home, now pegged at approximately $220,000. If you had a legal matter with an absolute value of nearly a quarter of a million dollars, I am quite confident you would seek a QUALIFIED attorney to represent you. And yet people buy and sell $500K homes all day long with people with little experience, expertise or even knowledge about real estate.

• Most people engage CPAs to help with taxes, where – usually – the difference between a properly prepared tax return and an improperly prepared tax return can be measured in hundreds or a few thousand dollars. Again, we’re talking about far lesser financial magnitude than what many people deal with in a typical home purchase or sale.

• For most people, a home sale is the single largest FINANCIAL TRANSACTION they will ever be party to in their lives. I see Realtors make mistakes on a fairly frequent basis that cost their clients tens and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars (I’ll be blogging about one such incident I just witnessed that cost that broker’s client as much as $200,000).

And if you REALLY want a wake up call…

Check this out: there is more – dramatically more – involved in becoming a LICENSED COSMETOLOGIST in Michigan than in becoming a licensed Realtor!

To become a cosmetologist, you have to do the following:

“Have completed either not less than 1,500-hour course study in a licensed school of cosmetology, or have served as an apprentice for not less than two years in a licensed cosmetology establishment.”

Now THAT is a legitimate threshold! And kudos to whoever decided that such experience was required.

Now, stop and ask yourself this question: does it make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER that obtaining a real estate license should be DRAMATICALLY quicker, simpler and easier than getting a license to cut or color hair?

I guarantee you that someone has uttered this sentence at least once: “You know, I was going to go to cosmetology school, but that looks like WORK, man. I think I’ll just get a real estate license instead. I can knock that puppy out in a week or two and be wheeling and dealing before you know it!”

Having made those points, now consider just how much more difficult it is to become a lawyer or CPA than it is to become a Realtor. I don’t want to overwhelm you with minutia, but here’s a quick overview of what’s involved:

• To become a lawyer:
  • Graduate from a 4-year college or university
  • Take and pass the LSAT examination
  • Apply to and be accepted by a law school
  • Complete law school, which is typically another 3 year process
  • Sit for and pass the BAR examination
  • Pass a “Character & Fitness” evaluation
  • Total approximate time to become a lawyer: 7 years

• To become a CPA:
  • Graduate from a 4-year college or university (note that, in many state, including my home state, a Masters Degree in Accounting is now required to sit for the examination)
  • Take and pass the CPA examination (a 20 hour test spanning two full and one half days)
  • Apply for and obtain a job working at a CPA firm
  • Complete a minimum amount of practical work experience which varies by state (in Michigan, it is two years of such experience)
  • Total approximate time to become a CPA: 6 years

I know that many who read this will consider this entire commentary off-base and perhaps even marginally insulting. And if I have offended you – for whatever reason – please accept my apology.

But here is the hard, cold reality: on an OVERALL BASIS AS AN INDUSTRY, the public thinks we’re doing a poor job. And no matter how great of an agent you might be on an individual basis, this affects how we are all perceived.

The statistics don’t lie, as already noted above.

And simple, common sense would seem to indicate that the quickest and easiest way to increase performance, professionalism and, ultimately, the public’s view of us is to establish a legitimate barrier to entry, aka, a higher bar.

And I would argue a MUCH higher bar.

* – I DO realize that some states have higher barriers to entry than Michigan’s – Florida, for example. HOWEVER, I am not aware of ANY state that has a licensing threshold that comes close to what is required for becoming an attorney or CPA, and I think that’s the direction in which our industry should be moving…

All Seem to Agree: RTB!

We even went so far as to establish what we believe to be the highest and most stringent barrier to entry of ANY company in real estate.

I say those things not to relive or rehash any of that, but simply to provide a small measure of context and to state that we believe we’ve gained some measure of experience and perspective on the greater challenges facing the RTB movement.

The road IS uphill and against the wind. And there is a lot of inertia and momentum in the direction of the status quo.

But the process of change – of REALLY raising the bar – has to start somewhere.

Thank You!

Also, and before I get to the point, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the many  people who have taken on this same basic issue, many of them long before it found its way onto our agenda.

In no particular order, I tip my hat to Stefan Swanepoel (@Swanepoel), Marc Davison (@1000WattMarc), Chris Nichols (@UtahREPro), Jay Thompson (@PHXReGuy), Rob Hahn (@RobHahn), Brian Boero (@1000WattBrian), Krisstina Wise (@KrisstinaWise), Bill Lublin (@BillLublin), Bob Hale, Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth), Steve Pacinelli (@StevePacinelli), Lani Rosales (@LaniAR), Eric Bryn (@EricBryn), Joel Burslem (@JBurslem), Eric Qualman (@equalman), Maya Paveza (@MayaREGuru), Tom Ferry (@CoachTomFerry), Nicole Nicolay (@Nik_Nik), Reggie Nicolay (@ReggieRPR), Matthew Shadbolt (@Corcoran_Group), Jim Duncan (@JimDuncan), Daniel Rothamel (@DRothamel), Andrea Geller (@AndreaRealtor), Jimmy Mackin (@JimmyMackin), Josh Dorkin (@JRDorkin), Nikki Beauchamp (@NikkiBeauchamp), Brad Nix (@BNix), Ken Brand (@KenBrand), Benjamin Bach (@BenjaminBach), Mike Bowler (@MIRealEstate), Todd Carpenter (@TCar), Jay Papasan (@JayPapasan), Liz Landry (@LizLandry, Lisa Archer (@LisaArcherRE), Laurie Davis (@LaurieWDavis), Bob Watson (@TopBrokerOC), Matt Dollinger (@MattDollinger), Jeff Turner (ResPres), Debra Trappen (@Debra11), Linda Aaron (@Skynnard), Sheri Moritz (@RealLifeSheri), Katie Lance (@KatieLance), Greg Grospitch (@GregGrospitch), Dale Chumbley (@DaleChumbley), Darin Persinger (@DarinPersinger), Drew Burks (@DrewBurks), Kelly Mitchell (@HawaiiRealty), Matt Fagioli (@MattFagioli), Dan Keller (@DanKellerMtg), Teri Conrad (@TLCHome), Tom Everitt (@ThinkTomDotCom), Rob Reuter (@Rob_Reuter), Nobu Hata (@NobuHata), Matthew Ferrara (@MFCompany),  Scott Stratten (@unmarketing), Gahlord Dewald (@Gahlord), Agi Anderson (@eProAgi), Mark Jeffers (@MJeffers99), Loren Sanders (@LorenSan), Valasie August (@Valasie), Rivers Pearce (@RiversPearce), Stacey Harmon (@StaceyHarmon), and my partner Todd Waller (@ToddWaller).  And many others who I am sure that I am forgetting.

And sorry for all the name dropping, but I just want all those people to know how much we appreciate all that they’ve done to help push the conversation in what we think is the right direction.

And I would respectfully ask ALL of you to continue to do what you do. While change can be slow, and often times it looks like nothing is happening, I KNOW that the dial has been moved a few degrees in the two years that we’ve been monitoring this issue.

It’s Time for Consensus on “Professionalism”

All that being said, let’s get to the point of THIS post: to begin to formulate some kind of consensus on what it means to be a “professional” in the real estate industry.

Should it be based on experience? Number of transactions? Number of satisfied past clients? Perceptions of the agent’s peer group? Or some combination of these or other factors?

When the public – in the form of the Harris Polls – and Realtors themselves – in the form of the aforementioned Realtor Magazine survey – agree that there is such significant room for improvement, we think practical steps should be taken to begin to move the industry in a more professional, and more uniformly professional, direction.

And that leads to our survey…

Please Take Our Quick Survey!

Please watch this video which explains a little more of our thinking behind the creation of this survey:

As soon as you complete the survey, the results will automatically appear in the survey window.

THANK YOU for participating!

Return to the City by the Bay

Why? I am speculating, of course, but I think it was – more than anything else – the TITLE of the post: “Meeting Old Friends for the First Time.”

I think that idea resonated with people.

The thought that we CAN come to know people online..

…and that we can expand our networks infinitely using Social Media and technology…

…and that we CAN “cement” those relationships by meeting face to face.

It’s the PEOPLE

To reinforce this point, watch the video below. I interviewed a number of people randomly, and what you will see is 100% of the content I captured (with VERY minor editing).

As you will note, over and over again, you hear comments about THE PEOPLE and THE CONNECTIONS and THE RELATIONSHIPS.

Four Top Takeaways

All that being said (and watched), here are my top four ICSF 2011 Takeaways:

1. Three rockin’ events: Agent Reboot, Data Summit and the main event, Real Estate Connect, were all three smash hits. There was an energy in all three that just rolled from one event to the next. Major kudos to everyone at Inman News (see next point) for putting on not one, not two but THREE great events in one week.
2. 
   
   Inman crew is top notch: I had the pleasure of meeting even more of the Inman crew while on this trip. I’ve now met Tim Smith (@Inman_Tim), Will Hansen (@Inman_Will), Tracy Weir (@TracyWeir), Alice Myerhoff (@Motodot) and the man himself, Brad Inman (@BradInman). And I have gotten to know Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth), Katie Lance (@KatieLance) and Madelyn Mock quite well. And I can tell you that this is a first-class, smart, understated, savvy group of professionals very deserving of the success they are having. And my strong suspicion is that they are just getting started.
3. Chris CRUSHED: Continuing the prior point, as I’ve blogged before, Chris Smith’s hiring at Inman (that’s him at right)  was a big deal in the Social/Real Estate world. It created a lot of buzz, and rightfully so. As such, Connect was Chris’ true “coming out party,” and I am sure that many were watching to see how he’d handle the big lights, intensity and pressure of a top-tier industry event of this caliber. And I am here to report that, from where I sat, he absolutely crushed it. He’s a natural performer on the big stage, and I am certain that the decision makers at Inman are very pleased to have this guy on their team right now. (Also, one more time,  big ups to Brad Inman for tapping Chris as Chief Evangelist; I think it was a masterstroke. I also think this could usher in an era of companies engaging tribe-builders in C-level positions to better leverage the opportunity that Social Media affords every savvy brand that sees the future like Brad obviously does.)
4. F2F FTW: As already stated, the number one takeaway I heard over and over: F2F is still the biggest “benefit” people get from the Connect events. Here’s a Tweet from Jeff Turner (@ResPres) in reinforcement of this point:

Relationships Still Drive Everything

As I look back on this post as drafted so far, it is somewhat jarring that I’ve written not one word about technology.

And that’s NOT because there wasn’t great content about technology at Connect…there was, and it was everywhere. HootSuite. AirBnb. Cloud-based brokerages. And SO much more.

It was a literal tech-stravaganza. And that part was truly awesome.

But it all takes a back seat to the people.

Because, no matter how much technology evolves and morphs and changes our lives…at the root of it all, relationships still drive everything. They just do.

I’m already counting the days until Inman Real Estate Connect New York in January of 2012.

I can’t wait to see my people again…

All of those posts and all of those videos answered one simple question: Is there ROI in Social Media?

Lots and Lots of Videos

We realize that most people don’t have the time to watch all of those videos individually.

But we felt that there was just too much good information – and too many excellent thoughts, points and observations – for us not to make every effort to share as much of these great contributions with as many people as possible.

Biggest Video Takeaways

So, we put together this “compilation/greatest hits” video, which contains what we felt were the most meaningful takeaways.

We hope that you learn as much from our amazing, intelligent friends as we did.

Thank You!

And a huge, special hanks to all of our amazing friends who contributed to this video! Listed in order of appearance, they are as follows:

• Jeff Turner (@ResPres)
• Matthew Shadbolt (@Corcoran_Group)
• Stefan Swanepoel (@Swanepoel)
• Jonathan Rivera (@Real_TechGuy)
• Darin Persinger (@DarinPersinger)
• Steve Pacinelli (@StevePacinelli)
• Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth)
• Ines Hegedus-Garcia (@Ines)
• Debra Trappen (@Debra11)
• Gahlord Dewald (@Gahlord)
• Todd Carpenter (@TCar)
• Nicole Nicolay (@Nik_Nik)
• Jay Thompson (@PHXREGuy)
• Reggie Nicolay (@ReggieRPR)
• Teri Conrad (@TLCHome)
• Chris Nichols (@UtahREPro)
• Dale Chumbley (@DaleChumbley)
• Josh Dorkin (@JRDorkin)
• Jimmy Mackin (@TheMLSApp)
• Drew Burks (@DrewBurks)
• Liz Landry (@Liz_Landry)
• Rivers Pearce (@RiversPearce)
• Ken Brand (@KenBrand)
• Tom Everitt (@ThinkTomDotCom)
• Eric Bryn (@EricBryn)
• Rob Hahn (@RobHahn)
• Matt Dollinger (@MattDollinger)
• Dan Keller (@DanKeller)
• Stacey Harmon (@StaceyHarmon)

Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth), the newly-named Chief Evangelist of Inman News (@InmanNews), already contributed a video for this project.

But we knew he had more to say on this topic – a lot more, in fact – so we asked him to come back and give us his “long form” response to the question of whether there is ROI in Social Media.

And, more specifically, we asked Chris to share a little more of his personal story. And he was gracious enough to oblige us.

Here is Chris’ longer commentary on the ROI of Social Media question…

Today, we’ll hear from Stacey Harmon (@StaceyHarmon).

Stacey is a marketer, national speaker, trainer and entrepreneur who helps real estate agents understand and execute effective social media marketing strategies through her company, Harmon Enterprises. Her passion for Facebook marketing is expressed through Pixel Coaching, which provides training, education, strategy, and execution on Facebook marketing for the real estate industry. Stacey is a NAR REALTOR® University trainer and has over 16 years of experience in the residential real estate industry.

Here is what Stacey has to say about the ROI of Social Media…

PRIOR: Dan Keller (@DanKelllerMTG) | NEXT: The Grand Finale! (Coming Soon!) 

Today, we’ll hear from Dan Keller (@DanKellerMtg).

Dan is a Seattle-based Mortgage Banker and founder of MyMortgageGuyDan.com and is branding a “high-tech, high-touch” Mortgage Branch model in the Seattle marketplace by creating a higher caliber loan officer that understands the importance of leveraging technology and serving others.

Here is what Dan has to say about the ROI of Social Media…

PRIOR: Jeff Turner (@ResPres) | NEXT: Stacey Harmon (@StaceyHarmon)

Today, we’ll hear from Jeff Turner (@ResPres).

Jeff is President of Zeek Interactive and the Founder and creative force behind Real Estate Shows. He is also widely regarded as a leading thinker on how to effectively use internet tools, as well as a much sought after national conference speaker on topics relating to emerging technologies.

Here is what Jeff has to say about the ROI of Social Media…

PRIOR: Rob Hahn (@RobHahn) | NEXT:Dan Keller (@DanKellerMtg)

Today, we’ll hear from Katie Lance (@KatieLance).

Katie is the Social Media director for Inman News Inman News (@inmannews) and the managing editor and lead contributor to FOREM – The Future of Real Estate Marketing Blog – one of top-rated blogs in the real estate industry. Katie has nearly 15 years experience in marketing, sales and training and specializes in content creation, blogging, Social Media, real estate technology, web 2.0 and mobile technology.

Here is what Katie has to say about the ROI of Social Media…

PRIOR: Rob Hahn (@RobHahn) | NEXT: Jeff Turner (@ResPres)

Today, we’ll hear from Rob Hahn (@RobHahn).

Rob is the Managing Director at 7DS Associates. At 7DS, he helps institutional clients in real estate and related industries develop and implement corporate strategies.

Here is what Rob has to say about the ROI of Social Media…

PRIOR: Eric Bryn (@EricBryn)| NEXT: Katie Lance (@KatieLance)