Tales From The Outbox

Despite It's Name, Are 'Stealth Websites' Effective?

2009-03-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

And Should You Have One?

We all know that it's harder to compete in today's market. With the real estate market teetering like a yo-yo, and a generally uncertain and sometimes unstable market, many Brokers and agents are looking to maximize their Internet marketing effectiveness. One of the newest trends in real estate eMarketing is the rise of so-called "stealth sites", also known as "unbranded sites". So can a stealth site be an effective tool in the battle to capture and convert Internet leads? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of marketing? And why are they called "stealth sites" to begin with? To some, this name sounds somewhat underhanded or clandestine. Let's take a closer look.

First off, let me say that a stealth site is NOT an end-all-be-all for real estate eMarketing. It is but a tool, should one decide to use it, in the fight for consumer attention and loyalty. It does not, in my opinion, replace a well designed and SEO optimized website. So if you are a REALTOR® looking to create or enhance your online presence and eMarketing initiatives, I would start with a good website and blog first. This is your personal and business branding. As we shall see, stealth sites derive their name from being extremely un-branded!

Simply stated, a stealth website is a real estate website that focuses on content rather than branding. The premise is based on a simple (and true) fact: That web-savvy consumers know what they want. They want information. And they want it now. Now comes another true fact: In this quest for information, a potential buyer is not looking at 'brand'. At this stage, the brand may likely be the furthest thing from their mind. The fact is, and to drive this point home, they want information. They want local information, CMA's, detailed property searches, or use of a Virtual Agent. And while unfortunately in many cases many traditional Broker and agent websites do not provide this type of information, Realtor.com and others do. Furthermore, potential buyers and sellers at this stage may be put off by the notion that they will be contacted immediately by an agent the moment they give up their guarded personal information. An unbranded website gives the look of an unbiased informational site that many people are more inclined to be comfortable with at this point in the transaction process.

You may be asking yourself "So if it's a stealth site that's un-branded, how would anyone find it?". Actually, that potential problem is one of the advantages of these types of websites: Ultimately YOU control how they find your site. You are only limited to your imagination, and of course, a good marketing plan. It could be from a property flyer or mailing. One of the most effective methods involves a targeted pay-er-click campaign. Here briefly are some of the advantages and potential pitfalls to be aware of for this type of website:

Advantages:

Targeted markets

Through different traditional marketing methods and / or through a concise, well defined pay-per-click campaign. These campaigns allow you to use search strings to, for example, target specific geographic areas within your MLS
Pay-per-click allows you to exactly control the number of clicks per month that you are willing to pay for

Can and should be used in conjunction with a "typical" agent or Broker website
provides MLS search, saved searches, and relevant local information that gives them what they want without the perceived stigma of associating with a particular brand or company
Allows the website owner to capture the leads and market to them with specific actions as well as via drip email campaigns and other types of communications
Similarly, there is a high visitor-to-lead capture ratio. Much higher than a typical real estate website

Disadvantages:

Typically no SEO "juice". That is, plainly speaking, these sites normally cannot be found organically through search engines like Yahoo and Google
Some stealth sites have existed in violation of the owner's particular MLS rules, which along with the name, have given these type of websites a bad name in certain circles. In some cases rightfully so
Some people simply will not click through a banner ad. They normally only click through 'organic' search results. Actually, I know many people who would fall into this category
Sometimes a particular market or MLS is saturated with these types of websites, thereby limiting their effectiveness in your particular market
Often times, the MLS rules are not followed thoroughly enough and may not actually be in compliance. Usually this is due to a black of identification of the Broker or entity that has the agreement with the MLS

I have had the opportunity to speak to many people who have deployed these types of sites. In my findings I have determined that, for the most part, they have been effective. In some cases they have been extremely effective and the ROI has been through the roof. In others, I have heard nightmare stories of agents paying upwards of $3,500 dollars a month with no business to show for it. Typically, good quantifiable conversions are achieved for less than $500.00 a month. The exact amount depends on the market that you are in, and how many "strings" you want to optimize. If you're not sure what this means, contact me and I'll have an SEO expert contact you to explain further.

The way to insure the best opportunity for success is to work with a company that will work with you. Tweaks in methods, search strings, and measures are usually needed along the way. Working with a vendor that will work closely with you and not abandon you after sign-on is a must. Stealth sites can be an extremely useful tool to capture and convert potential buyers and sellers that you might not reach through traditional methods. They also give you the advantage of controlling exactly how a visitor finds your site, making them ideal for analyzing the success (or lack thereof) of your various marketing methods.

Hope this helps. And, as always, Happy Selling!

Live Streaming Videocast from REtechSouth

2009-03-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

"Not attending the SOLD OUT REtechSouth conference? Now you can still be a part of it all. Dakno.tv will be streaming EVERY session from the main stage. We will also be archiving many of the break out sessions. Be sure to follow @dakno and @rewebcoach on twitter for the latest from REtechSouth."

RETech is a great resource for all things social media and technology related in the real estate industry. The emphasis is on social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc.) and bringing all these tools together to help connect and network with like-minded individuals and industry experts.

Drop by and check it out!

Homepage: http://www.retechsouth.com/

Live stream: http://www.dakno.tv/live/

Guest Post: The Economy is Getting Better

2009-03-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

Today we have a special guest here at Tales From The Outbox. Nicole Haefke is one of our SEO experts here at RealestatePointe. Here is a post from her entitled "The Economy is Getting Better". Nicole's blog, Your "Keyword" for the Day, can be accessed via the "Official Links" section of this website.

If you have any thoughts or questions for Nicole, feel free to leave a comment and Nicole will get back to you ASAP. Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Selling!

The Economy is Getting Better

As the national economy gets worse, the Internet Marketing and SEO economies are growing. In the bad economy, people need to take a small step back and optimize their websites. A company still needs to bring leads to their websites if they want to survive this economy. The best and most inexpensive way to do this is Search Engine Optimization.

Let’s take a look at why SEO is great in a bad economy. First, the market does not affect search traffic. People have more free time to look at your website, or they might be looking for deals. You still want to give them the information they are looking for so they remember you when the economy does get better. Sales and conversions might go down, but traffic does not stop.

Another reason is because the pay per click campaigns are too expensive. By optimizing the site with more accurate content about the company, an organic marketing plan will work. Now is the time to spend your marketing dollars strategically and effectively and boost your website while everyone else is retreating. Targeting an area and writing healthy meta-tags help to strengthen organic results in the search engines. These both can be done effectively and won’t cost a lot of money.

Lastly, a bad economy drives SEO because it is the best time to re-write the website and rethink a marketing plan. If you stop or cut back marketing too much, you will not have a successful business in bad times. People still need to be able to find you. . If you firmly establish your business and your website in the search engine rankings while everyone else is panicking, then when the good times are back, your business will be in a better position than everyone else.

Think about starting or expanding your SEO plan in the bad times. It costs less, you have control over it and it will get you a head in the long run.

For today - A quick question for the more tech-savvy REALTORS® out there

2009-03-13T10:10:00.001-07:00

For today - A quick question for the more tech-savvy REALTORS® out there who would die without their iPhone, Google Phone, Blackberry, etc. You know who you are. Let's assume that you utilize a good back-office CRM-type contact management system for keeping track of your day-to-day contacts and tasks. Let's also assume that your system is THE central place where all activity and history is kept: For a prospective buyer, a prospective seller, and past clients. All in one system. All calls, emails, incoming web leads, leads assigned to you, etc etc. Sounds good, right? Hopefully you have this type of system. I know many of you do or are planning on utilizing some type of eMarketing and central contact management system soon.

Still with me? Good. We all know that, perhaps with use and maybe a little bit of training, we can accurately track and schedule these activities and tasks, to-do lists, run reports, etc., from the comfort of our PCs and laptop computers. The question for today is: What types of information would be beneficial to you when you are on the road and out of the office? Using your iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, etc., what information would be beneficial you to receive via text or email on your phone? Web leads from your Broker or agent website? Anything else? Additionally, what information do you wish you had easy access to from your phone? Contacts? To-do lists? Enter comments or notes about a client or a showing?

Basically, what I am asking is, in what circumstances have you been out of the office and said to yourself "I wish I could just do this from my phone." or "I wish I could access this right from my phone instead of waiting until I'm back at my computer." Of additional help would be if you also stated what phone you used.

I will take the results and provide a follow up post with the results. If the answers and diverse and numerous enough, I will also set up a poll to ascertain the top 3 wishes for RE contact management nirvana regarding 3G phone use in managing our business from the road. I look forward to your responses! And, as always-

Happy Selling!

Real Estate Marketing For The Masses: RealestatePointe.com Newsletter

2009-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Though this blog usually highlights my ramblings only, I am but one humble part of RealestatePointe. However, there are others who I work with that actually have some good (and occasionally useful) things to say! One place to find more of it is in the Newsletter section of our main website. The goal of our newsletter is to share information we have learned on successful SEO and eMarketing strategies. Though in its infancy, it will quickly grow to be a good source of practical and useful information we have collectively learned over the years. The newsletter can be found here.

Also, if you have topic ideas or suggestions for the newsletter, simply drop me a line or comment. Your opinion matters, and we want to be delivering content that you will actually find useful. Thanks for reading and as always - Happy selling!

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Best Practices for Real Estate Technology Webinar Invitation

2009-02-24T06:44:00.000-08:00

2009 will prove to be a challenging year for all, as well as a great year for some. The victory, and the accompanying spoils, will come to those who best leverage technology to find, track, and manage leads to maximize revenue while maintaining or reducing budget dollars currently used for marketing purposes.

I would like to invite you to attend one of our upcoming "Best Practices in Real Estate Technology" 30 minute webinars. These are held most Tuesdays of every month at 3PM EST, and take place using just your web browser and a call-in number that we provide. This is not a sales pitch (although we certainly would welcome the opportunity to serve you sometime in the future); Rather, it is more of a checklist of things you NEED to be aware of and doing in today's market. If nothing else, you will come away with a veritable checklist of trends and facts to help you get your budgeting dollars properly aligned to give you:

The highest possible ROI (more quality traffic)
More effective lead control (better and faster lead management and routing)
The highest search engine rankings (for obvious reasons)
The ability to maximize referrals (for obvious reasons)
For Brokers, the ability to attract and keep the best agents (for obvious reasons)

I sincerely hope you consider attending one of our upcoming webinars. I look forward to seeing you or someone from your office there. If you are unable to attend a scheduled meeting, we can easily tailor a custom date and time just for you. Just ask.

Happy Selling!

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The Exponential Value of Your Clients

2009-02-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

"The Importance of leveraging an effective Drip Email Campaign AFTER the sale is usually forgotten. Just remember those wise words "Ask and ye shall receive..."

For many REALTORS®, the importance of deploying a good eMarketing campaign is well known. One important aspect of any good eMarketing campaign is some type of automated email plan. These are usually referred to as 'Drip Emails'. For this discussion, I am going to assume that you are familiar with these as there are many vendors, including us, that help clients target prospective buyers and sellers and aid them through the process by reaching out to them with relevant information and generating interest and brand-awareness. If you feel like you need a good primer in this area, head over to Steps to Implement Effective and Profitable Drip Email for Real Estate posted over at About.com's Real Estate Business section. It is an excellent starting point.

One of the most often overlooked aspects of the result of developing and deploying a good eMarketing initiative, at both the Broker and agent level, is that over time we will know at least two important things relevant to our discussion: We will have a database of names, numbers, email addresses, etc., and the fact that some of these 'prospective buyers and sellers' will be converted to 'past clients' through your diligence and professionalism as a top-notch real estate professional. A database of people and email addresses is not worth much if you do nothing with it. All of which begs the question "Are you reaching out to your past clients and asking them for referrals?" Since referrals are unequivocally the most powerful and least expensive leads we can ever find, it only makes sense to be actively marketing to them in a mutually-beneficial and professional way.

Surprising to some perhaps, I like reaching out to past clients continually over the next four to five years. However, unlike pre-transaction eMarketing efforts, these emails should be very spread out. At least forty-five days apart and preferably sixty. So for example, if I were developing a sixty-month drip email campaign to past clients I would send one out immediately thanking them for their business and letting them know that I am there for them whenever they need with advice and to answer any questions that they might have depending on their circumstances. Then, there would be twenty-nine additional emails spread over the next five years. By doing so, we are reinforcing ourselves and our brand to the most valuable marketing assistants we have. Here is an example that I modified for myself that reflects what I might have as one of my drip emails:

"My experience both in real estate and as someone who has worked for years in the furniture industry helping design comfortable living spaces for my clients, friends, and family have taught me that that there are many different styles and tastes when it comes to home decor. Often the best advice is simply to create an environment that reflects you and what you like. Avoid the temptation to choose things you think other people will appreciate. Really, once you discover what you love, invest in that!
And when you are called upon for advice on how to select a REALTOR®, I hope you will remember me so that I can use my enthusiasm and expertise to help them meet the challenges and avoid some of the pitfalls of making a move. Then you can help them do the things that will make their house a special home too."

By repeatedly doing this, I am hopefully providing advice and information that, post-sale, my readers continue to find valuable and they refer people to me. The days of get in / get out / who's next are long over. The industry mandates new ways of doing things. And the winners will be the ones who continually look for ways to make good business relationships, not the ones simply holding database of past-customers. Good luck, and Happy Selling!

Be Passionate.

2008-12-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

As we wind down this year and head bravely into 2009, I thought it time to reflect on an idea I had jotted down and kicked around for some time now. The idea was to really think about what what makes me passionate, and how this affects the things I do daily and how I interact with the people around me. This idea is not new. And certainly not mine. I actually got the idea from someone I met on Twitter who makes many of us laugh and learn who are lucky enough to follow her. I am speaking about Lori Bee, and in this case her very fine blog post Sharing Your Passions Online Builds Business. After reading this, I was forced to stop and think about what makes me passionate in my life, and how it affects both my personal and professional social interactions.

Passion is a powerful word. It motivates us consciously and subconsciously. And can either come naturally, or be coaxed along through thoughts and intentional actions. The word means "thoughts that lead to actions stemming from heightened emotions and/or ideas." Well, that's my definition anyways. Feel free to use it as you see fit. People like to be around passionate people, and they consequently like to associate and do business with passionate people. To that end here are a few of the things that make me passionate:

Business Challenges - I'm in business to make a living. However, any financial gains that come from my business endeavors are the result of the fact that I like to be challenged in what I do. I like to help my company, clients, and co-workers. By helping others, you help yourself. It's an age old adage, but oh so very true. And the rewards come back in spades. Additionally, simply accepting the norm is not an option. I've always been told that I am good at creating different and sometimes better ways of doing things. I'm that sort of irritating guy who is always saying "What about this?" or "Why can't we do it this way?". Critical thinking like this has helped me become more successful at what I do. It also has ruffled a few feathers here and there but when you are passionate about doing something you will have that and will need to be equipped to handle those who don't understand you at first or feel threatened by your creativity and and ensuing confidence.

I have a tendency to talk a lot. Which, as I have learned over the years, is counter-productive to listening. I had to become passionate about listening in order to help others and solve a particular business issue or achieve a certain goal. In order to do this, I had to learn to listen. As a result of being passionate to be a better business associate, I developed a skill that would not only help me in business, but in my personal life as well. Many aspects of one carry over into the other.

Technology - As I've stated before (in my very first blog post), me and technology go way back. As an example, I've built several Home Theater personal computers (HTPC's) over the years. I've used Linux and Windows. My favorite project involved using an excellent piece of recording software, BeyondTV, and some kick ass hardware. I can give anyone the particulars if desired, but suffice to say this thing looked amazing and could record three television shows at a time while watching a fourth, as well as stream about a terabyte worth of songs across a Bose sound system. It also automatically skipped commercials, and could create and burn commercial-free DVDs all from the remote control. Finally, it did home automation as well, controlling indoor and outdoor lights and the thermostat.

One day a DirecTV representative was at the house and was blown away by this thing. He set up a meeting for me with a gentleman at a local custom A/V shop who wanted me to make these custom HTPC's for clients and sell them. For a lot of money. I declined due to other obligations. When I started out to make this thing I had no idea what I was doing. But I was passionate about it. This box was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. And I made it! I couldn't wait until after work to work on it. It was my baby. Geeky? You bet! Cool? Absolutely!

Outdoors - As much as I am indoors in order to do the day to day activities required of me, I love being outside. In any capacity. On a boat relaxing, hiking in the woods, camping, hunting, you name it. Somehow I feel more connected to things and to nature. When you are outdoors, you are both infinitely large and infinitesimally small at the same time. It allows you to be more focused, and less distracted and all the while you're thinking big thoughts and big dreams while enjoying the simplicity and wonderment of all that is around you.

On a recent camping trip into the Allegheny National Forest, I had no cell signal at all. Realizing this, I left my phone in the car and had a strange phenomenon occur: I felt my leg vibrating as if my cell phone was going off in it's carry case. I kept reaching for my phone even though it wasn't actually ringing, and it wasn't even on me! It was some kind of weird muscle memory effect. As I stood around nature's majesty I realized my passion for being outdoors, and well as the importance of 'disconnecting' now and again to go get re-energized and re-invigorated. And get rid of that annoying muscle twitch from my cell phone being glued to hip 24 x 7 most of the time. Of course, coming from such an excursion relaxed, focused, and invigorated helps me perform better at work. And has grown to be an integral part of my life.

These are a few things that come to mind for me when thinking about passion. Yours of course will likely differ; However the need to approach things in your life with passion is not negotiable if you really want to feel alive and perform at a high level. The mind is a very powerful thing. Find what makes you passionate and be passionate about what you do and how you do it. And be pleasantly surprised at how those thoughts lead to actions that will help you get you closer to your goals and provide some pleasant surprises along the way.

Real Estate Technology Concepts: Best of Breed vs. One Source Part II - Best of Breed

2008-12-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Real Estate Technology Concepts:
Best of Breed vs. One Source
Part II - Best of Breed

Welcome back, brave reader. This is part II of a IV part series on real estate technology concepts. If you have not yet read part I, obviously I recommend starting there first. I had discussed at that time that, ultimately, the main goal in deploying a technology strategy was to execute 'Best Practices' that you or your company has defined. I also concluded that "...this should be the ultimate realization of technology adoption - the guided execution of a great technology road map".

When I speak with Brokers, Marketing Managers, agents, etc., I see the need for the same few things: a good web page, the desire to have traffic come to that web page, an easy to search integrated MLS, an easy way to get visitor's information from said visitors to the web page, and a good system to assign, track, manage, and act on those leads. Furthermore, a good system will also be able to track not only leads coming from the internet, but from call-ins, walk-ins, and phone calls as well. This whole idea of 'Best Practices' is important and will be explored in a later article. For now, work with me a little.

So if we can assume for argument's sake that these are all things we want to accomplish at the most basic level regarding our technology presence in cyberspace, then we have two paths we can go down. These are 'Best of Breed' solutions and 'One Source' solutions. For this section of our article, we will concentrate on 'Best of Breed'. Still hanging in there? Grab a cold one or your beverage of choice and let's go through what BoB solutions mean.

Best of Breed companies are, as Chuck Phillips accurately points out in his article for CNET News entitled "Perspective: Suites vs. best of breed", producers of products that "...are usually the companies that pioneered a segment and have more feature-rich products." In the automotive industry, Henry Ford's "Tin Lizzy" is an example. Regarded as the car that "put America on wheels", Ford used the Model T to pioneer a market segment. Likewise, Budweiser's introduction of a true "American Ale" would be a good example. "Do one thing and do it well" is the mantra of a BoB product or solution.

In real estate, the companies that were the first to specialize in real estate web sites for Brokers would be considered BoB solutions. A company that specializes in IDX solutions would be another example. In other words, if you go back to the beginning of this article and go through the list of items that we need to have a robust, fully functional technology solution it should dawn on you that you could have a different vendor, partner, or supplier for each item we identified! Let's see...web page, SEO, IDX integration, CRM, Drip email program, etc, etc. What could you potentially have? Five, Six, Seven vendors?

Let's quickly list the advantages and disadvantages to a BoB approach:

Advantages:

First to market
Leading technology
Good at what it does

As new concepts and ideas are introduced to the marketplace, odds are good it will be done by a BoB company. If you are looking, for example, to provide a good, frameable IDX feed on your website, than an IDX vendor who does nothing but this for a living is probably a safe bet. Otherwise that company won't be around for long, right? Salesforce.com is a leader in online Customer Relationship Management. This is all they do (for now anyways). Now for the down side:

Disadvantages:

Cost
Potential integration issues
Potentially not seeing the proverbial "forrest through the trees"
Who has skin in the game with you if it just doesn't work?

The BoB approach is one that I see that most in this industry have taken. This is due to the growth of the industry and its correlating growth to technology. First, we were told we needed a web site. Maybe we had a design company do it. Maybe it was a college intern in town. Then, how do handle leads that we actually get through the web? SEO anyone? You get the picture. These things were added on as the need arose and they could be cost justified, not simply all at once. So it is highly likely that, as you read this, your technology deployment at whatever level it's currently at is likely to be a BoB approach.

Is this approach the best? Stay tuned and find out!

Real Estate Technology Concepts: Best of Breed vs. One Source Part I - Concepts and Justification

2008-12-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure if this topic is where I should start a series of Real Estate Technology Concepts. However, you have to start somewhere. And when you go out into the wild searching for solutions or pick up the phone with a software solutions sales person on the other end, you need to know a few key ideas. I am assuming a few things here. One, you have a basic understanding of what technology is in relation to real estate. Actually, I can assume this is true since you're reading this. Two, you are in a position to actually be thinking about how technology is affecting your real estate business and how it can be utilized to attract more business and more income. If you are not at this point right now (and many of you should be) just bookmark this link and come back when you are.

For the other brave souls among you, read on! One note though: I will try and keep these concepts simple and concise, and relatively short to hopefully serve as launching point for discussion so that you can ultimately hopefully benefit from them.

There are many uses for technology adoption in any industry. A few are:

Improving a process
Streamlining a process that is currently working
Lowering costs
Increasing brand awareness / market share
Providing better service
Providing a unified and consistent methodology of dealing with processes and procedures
And ultimately, executing 'Best Practices' that you or your company has defined

Sub-note, this should be the ultimate realization of technology adoption - the guided execution of a great technology road map

All of the above, of course, serve one main goal be you a 300 agent Brokerage or a single REALTOR(r) looking to launch a website: Increased Profitability. Here are a few real world examples:

A Broker deciding that an incoming lead (from ANY source) be assigned to an agent within 15-30 minutes, via email, phone call, or text message
Wanting a listing website automatically generated for any listing you have, and what the cost/benefit would be
Increasing web page rankings on search engines
A Broker wondering if his current technology budget is being effectively utilized
A Broker looking into whether manning a central call center would be better in multiple office environments
A Broker looking to invest more money in technology due to the fact that 'traditional' marketing methods continuously deliver a lower ROI year after year
An agent looking to launch a drip email campaign, blog, newsletter, or agent website
etc, etc.

You might be reading this thinking "But I only need to get an IDX search on my agent's websites" or "I'm simply trying to start a community website that ties to my other websites to help drive traffic". No matter how specific your needs today may be, knowing the basic concepts and maintaining a 10,000 ft. view of the Big Picture will help you make the right decisions for you both now and down the road!

Check back in two days for Part II -
Best of Breed Solutions

A Different Path

2008-11-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

OK so here I am, now what? This is my first blog post as Director of Sales for RealestatePointe.com. Me and technology go a long way back - I've always been fascinated by it. When I was a young boy, I saved and saved and bought a Color Computer III from Radio Shack. I think in '81 or '82 the "CoCo III" was around $299. Quite a bit for something I knew nothing about, but also knew I was utterly fascinated by it. I have a degree in Management Information Systems. I know a lot about consultative software sales. I've been through most, if not all, the sales training programs out there (Anyone remember Spin Selling?) I have worked in just about every vertical market out there: Healthcare, Manufacturing (back in the day when we still made stuff here), Retail, and Government. Sold to fortune 500 companies, and small companies as well.

Admittedly, what I am still learning about is real estate. Oh, sure, I've bought houses. From some really good agents. But the question that remains at the forefront: what are the biggest challenges for Brokers and agents in adopting technology to improve the service that they provide to their clients, and therefore increase revenue. Not just in the short term. "How can we use technology to create client loyalty over a lifetime?" "How can we do it with economical tools in a way that's easy to understand, adopt, deploy, and use?" These are my tasks in this role I have undertaken.

Fortunately, I am blessed to have many good people around me to turn to when I need a hand. I am also blessed to work for a company with hundreds of clients and great employees who are dedicated to what they do. I also am committed to engaging people in this industry to really see what they need to succeed. To remain one step ahead of the competition. To exceed their client's expectations. This is critical especially in a nationally-down RE market (forgive me for stating the obvious).

There are many people out there to whom I turn to for information relevant to doing my job better. These groups are my co-workers, customers, past peers, former bosses, and friends and family. Additionally, especially with the advent of Social Networks and websites like Active Rain, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, expertise and opinion are but a typed-in-question away. All feedback is important: Sometimes, learning what Not to do is more important than following what someone TELLS you to do. I firmly believe this. Managing your business in this away allows for creativity to still flow. And hopefully for innovation to take place.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me this far. I am excited about the future. Excited about technology as much as I ever was, and excited to meet so many interesting people along the way. My only hope going forward is that I can give back as much as I've taken. "Pay it Back" is what it's all about. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I will always welcome them. Here's to an exciting future indeed.