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Selected writings about Real Estate 2007-2011
Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 3
Introduction 4
1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places 5 4 A Higher Standard 52
Who are you? 6 100 websites, one unfulfilling experience 53
The elixir of brand longevity 8 Where’s mom when you need her? 55
Barber poll branding 10 Dissolving the bars of your mental cage 57
The greatest story ever told 12 Don’t be the ‘slow store’ 59
Letting it all hang out, Imperial Palace style 14 The end 61
Selling sanctuary, sparkle and a path to better branding 16 In real estate, OK is becoming the new great 63
If a small, midwestern brokerage can do it, you can too 17
The stairway to real estate brand heaven 19 5 SoLoMo, Yo 65
Responsive web design is the future of real estate online 66
2 Bust 21 Finding customers in the palm of your hand 67
The hard truths and no arguments 22 Design by constraint and the meatloaf of irrelevance 68
Better than candy 24 How to stay out of social media Bizarro World 70
Change has come to the real estate industry 25
Life imitates art in credit mess 28 6 Real Estate 2020 72
New brokerage model: From bust to boom 73
3 Marketing: Sound, Fury and Common Sense 30 Repositioning for the future 75
Breaking away from the ‘Undifferentiated Realty’ mass 31 Why agents will one day rule the real estate world 76
The two-way street 33 A stiletto among blunt axes 80
Online real estate marketing made simple 35 Where we’re at 82
Crumbs from real estate’s table 37 Real estate normal is increasingly strange 83
How to write good copy and win customers 38
The real estate lifestyle 40 About 1000Watt 86
99 problems but video ain’t one 42
It’s time to focus on content 44
The artful email 46
A delicious real estate story 47
Casting aside the data question for a moment... 49
Crowdsource your future 51
1000watt.net 2Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Acknowledgements
This book is dedicated to our clients. We thank you and appreciate your support.
1000watt.net 3Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Introduction
Short of farming and medicine - food and health - real estate is the most important business
in America.
It matters to us and to millions more.
Real estate is about home. It’s about life. Where we live. How we live.
Real estate is more than bytes and downloads. It’s real.
And for us, it all comes down to making it better. Making the real estate experience better for
consumers, and making the business experience better for brokers and agents.
This purpose informs our writing, but more importantly, it guides the work we do every day.
Some of what we say in this collection of work may strike you as intense, a bit sarcastic, or maybe even
a little high-handed. This reflects our passion, not arrogance; an intent to provoke action, not anger.
We hope it turns on your passion.
The last six years have been painful and exhausting for all of us in and around this business. But the
blow forced us to reflect on the lessons that came out of it and how they can be put to work in building
the future.
After all this, now is one of the best times ever to be part of this industry.
We made it through. We’re still here. Leaner, meaner and tested. And buyers are buying. Sellers are
selling. Brokers and agents are sticking their necks out in search of the path forward, and many are
finding it.
Turn on!
1000watt.net 4Branding: Lessons in
Strange Places
A brand is an elusive thing, a shadow of pleasure or aversion that surrounds
a company, a product, a service, a person. And the practice of branding can
often seem insubstantial, even dubious.
But in our mind, a brand is pretty straightforward. It is a unit of meaning.
Honda means reliability. Apple means great design.
Your company means __________?
1
Chapter
This is something quite different than repitition. That can be bought with
ads, or seared into the mind with a logo. Meaning is different. It is won
through promises kept, experiences felt and values abided.
We help companies in real estate do this. But here we look outside the
industry for cases that instruct or inspire.Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Who are you?
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
By Marc Davison
november 29, 2011
Honesty. Sophistication. Integrity. She arrived at our home a week later for our first
consultation. She measured our rooms. She took
These words might read elegantly on an “About Us” loads of photos. Spoke to my children. Admired their
page of your website. And they may look handsome rooms and the things that are part of their lives. She
inside a picture frame hanging in the corridor of looked through our photo albums and got a glimpse
your office. of our history.
Your corporate values My wife commented on how stunning she looked.
They form the building blocks of your business. They On her stylish and professional clothes. She noticed
are the promises against which you must weigh every her perfume. A hint of vanilla.
decision. They are reflected in who you hire, or who
you don’t. She spent three hours with us. And she left with
her iPhone filled with images, her mind buzzing
They manifest themselves in the reassuring phone with ideas.
greeting people hear when they call after business
hours. Or they are perhaps degraded by a pulp-filled Last night, we stopped in to see what she had been
plastic box affixed shabbily to one of your yard signs. working on.
See, the words mean diddly, unless everyone who Her design table was covered with fabrics. Pictures
comes in contact with your brand leaves with a of furniture, of couches and tables, were everywhere.
smudge of them on their shirt. On her computer I saw a 3D rendering of our
apartment. It was where all her ideas and pieces were
Mitchell Gold, Bob Williams coming to life.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I entered a local
Once again, we stayed late. Way past closing time. She
furniture store we pass every day. The arrangements
served us designer chocolate and sparkling fruit soda.
always look perfect. The couches, tables, pillows and
And once again, she was dressed stunningly. Vanilla
art always seem special. Unique.
scented. Professional. Graceful.
It was 7:00 pm. Closing time. Nevertheless, Erin, a
design consultant, happily stayed to talk to us. When it was time to leave, Lori asked how much we
After all, we were neighbors. owed her for the consultation. “I’m waiving my fee,”
she said. “It’s the holiday season. Spend it on your
1000watt.net 6Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Who are you?
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
beautiful children. And yourselves. If you decide to Lori and I are going to do business with her. It may
come back and purchase from me, I’ll earn my fee take the form of a couch. Or a table. But it’s her spirit
then.” It was offered without a hint of pressure. and the soul of her company that will become part of
our home.
We exited through a side door. On the wall, a long
list of words was displayed. I stopped to read them. The point, of course: words, mission statements,
“These are our core values,” she said. “The things our website copy and professions of lofty ideals will only
owners built this business on and make every decision get you so far.
by daily. I read them when I open the store and again
Making such things manifest in your customer
when I leave. It’s what we live by religiously.”
interactions in every way possible, on the other hand,
Suddenly, everything she had done made sense. is how you stand out from the crowd.
1000watt.net 7Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
The elixir of brand longevity
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
By Marc Davison
june 19, 2009
Our local Montessori school holds a rite of passage As each teacher concludes, they pin their respective
every year. The graduation ceremony for sixth- card on a ribbon draped across each child’s shoulder.
graders culminates with each child walking through a
When the ceremony ended we all stood in line for
makeshift doorway that ceremoniously delivers them
some delicious barbecue. I paid special attention to
through to the next phase of their life.
these children in a way I never had before: how they
Trust me, this event is a tearjerker. participated in the food line; how they interacted
with each other during playtime while we parents sat
One by one each child is called forth and takes a seat around after dinner dredging on about the economy;
in front of friends and family. how some helped clean up while others looked after
One by one each child is called forth and takes a seat the younger kids.
in front of friends and family. These children were as described. Their words were
One by one each of the seven teachers steps forward not chosen at random.
and addresses the child by name and recites the They defined who they were to their core.
following, “The word that I have chosen for you is ...”
The alchemy of real estate branding
The teachers all choose their words independently,
What I witnessed last night, innocently and naively
formulating them over the six years they’ve spent
offered by a group of the most dedicated teachers
with the children. These words do not merely
I have known during my 21 years of raising kids,
describe – they provide a definition of who they are at
would shame every novice real estate copywriter and
their core.
marketer who took a dime from a broker developing
“Astute,” “anchored,” “assertive,” “benevolent,” their branding campaign.
“dependable,” “empathetic,” “generous,”
Branding isn’t about pulling a slogan out of some
“independent,” “positive,” “wise,” to name a few.
slogan grab bag. It’s not about letting your website
With each chosen word, each teacher extrapolates vendor or marketing guy scribble the same tried and
meaning. Of one child, the teacher said, “I am willing true words and phrases they bestowed on others.
to bet you came out of the womb that way.” The mom
Branding is not about presenting yourself as someone
was standing a few feet from me, laughing, crying and
or something you would like others to think you
nodding her head up and down.
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The elixir of brand longevity
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
are in hopes that someday you might embody it. Or The preparation of the elixir of longevity
worse, fool people into thinking that’s who you are. A brand isn’t created. It already exists. A brand
is your morals. Your beliefs. The natural organic
Branding in real estate cannot occur through some
culture of your organization. It is the lines you draw
medieval form of alchemy where the transmutation of
in the sand that you would never cross. Not even
common lead substances – words – could somehow
at gunpoint.
manifest themselves into the golden value of what
your brand is. As I have witnessed, these are the things you are born
with. And the things that you will most likely carry
“Trusted.” “Sophisticated.” “Knowledgeable.”
to your grave.
“Industry leader.” “Every one of our agents is an
executive.” Upon each ribbon, seven words hung. Each embodied
the very same striking attribute of the child who
Give me a break. These are nothing but
bore them. They represented each child as they are.
philosopher’s stone.
Perhaps even who they will most likely be over the
course of their life.
Those words might not be sexy. They might not
sound cool. But they are real. And it’s what will draw
others to them. Much like the 100-plus people who
gathered last night were.
This is the elixir of brand longevity.
1000watt.net 9Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Barber poll branding
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
By Marc Davison
january 22, 2009
What comes to mind when you see a barber pole? Barber Poles in Real Estate
There’s tons of them spinning around Main Street.
An old geezer running a blade across a leather strap.
Red and blue ribbons of full-service, high-end value,
A hot towel, thick foam and a close shave. and personal attention all buried under the sands of
gloriously ineffective marketing.
Clubman. Checkerboard floors.
Today’s broker – you might be a barbershop.
A great place to whack a Mafia Don. You cut hair better than anyone. You service the
The local barbershop was Americana, right up there customer better than anyone. And what you deliver
with the greasy spoon coffee shop and the Rexall is uncommon.
drugstore – endeared by all who frequented them. But you’ve created ambiguity around yourselves and
But over the decades, the love waned. As new these benefits. And that continues to ring the warning
competitors grew into the marketplace, these signal. Look how easy it was for Zillow to make the
establishments remained still in their own murky marketplace believe its home-value estimates were
waters of services, anchored to old ways and failing to more accurate than yours.
navigate their brands to the new currents of change. A real estate TRESemme is coming
Over time, despite the full array of services they Believe it. And react as if they have already leased
offered, they drifted from the fabric of our culture, a storefront in your town. In some cases, this is
replaced by TRESemme, Paul Mitchell, Fantastic already happening.
Sams, CVS and Starbucks – “interlopers.”
Believe that as things get tougher, as money gets
The older institutions suffered at the hands of their tighter, people need what you have but will never find
own neglect, compounded by their inability to it if you and your agents are sharpening your scissors
convey the value they offered, the full services they behind closed doors.
provided and the personal attention they gave. They
Believe that so much has changed in real estate and in
believed that being moored to an historic tradition is
the way consumers interact with it that your message,
good enough to insure their place in the future. Or
your brand, your entire marketing campaign is likely
perhaps they believed in nothing and let fear of some
dangerously antique.
unknown guide their complacency.
Believe that starting to change those things today is
the only way you’ll survive over the course of time.
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2007-2011
Barber poll branding
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
What Davison Realty Group would do which just so happens to be aligned with mine. If that
I’d craft a new credo today. Davison Realty: fails, they need to be let go. Otherwise, my credo is
“Preserving and improving the process of residential meaningless and my brand will continue to have
real estate.” no meaning.
I would then take every single thing my firm does, I’d take a hard look at my marketing department and
every action my agents take, every bit of copy I write the copy they have been pumping out. Have their
and measure it against the yardstick of that statement. words conveyed my intentions? Have they oversold
them or have they failed to touch upon them? Are
I’d begin with my website. If it does not make finding they written in language that resonates with my
homes or finding the right agent really easy, I would market or has it spoken at them? If the copy has
administer changes immediately and not wait another failed, I must administer change immediately and
day. Otherwise, my credo is rendered false and my align every word with my intention and distribute
brand has no meaning. those words out to new places – in new ways – and
do everything to render my credo as truthful. And
I would take a hard look at my backend system.
convey meaning.
Does it have lead management? Does it have lead
routing? Does it offer my agents the ability to run Lastly, I would perform a complete investigation of
comparative market analyses on the fly? Does it allow my services. If I had to, I would hire a firm to conduct
me to distribute incoming inquiries to my agents a study. And perform surveys. And determine if
via text messages and supply them with the tools to what we offer is understood and experienced by
respond immediately and properly rather than with those who have used us in the past or those who may
canned nonsense? require services in the future. I would do everything
I could to discover what people want today from a
I’d take a hard look at my physical space. I would
real estate brokerage. Do they still need the hot lather
evaluate whether my lease, my expense, my machines,
and shave or do they view that as old fashioned and
and my cubicles inhibit my ability to fulfill my
unimportant? I would consider that info my holy
credo or serve my agents who have no particular
brand grail and use it as the basic building blocks of
credo at all. And if not, I would administer changes
what will become tomorrow and secure my position.
immediately. Otherwise, my credo is rendered false
and my brand will continue to have no meaning. This is what I would do right now. Today. Otherwise,
all that I am would be defined by a credo that would
I’d take a hard look at my agents. I’d find the ones
read: Davison Realty, we are the roulette wheel of
with no credo or the ones who have a credo yet apply
services and skills. Come, bring your money.
no effort to support it – like the agent who “goes the
Good Luck!
extra mile” yet hardly lifts a finger to learn about new
technology. I would do whatever is in my power to And while that may be acceptable to many barber
retrain them. Expose them to agents who are thriving pole brands that surround me, it’s just not good
because they live, breath and die by their credo, enough for me going forward.
1000watt.net 11Selected writings about Real Estate
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The greatest story ever told
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
By Marc Davison
october 9, 2008
“Abraham and Isaac sitting on a fence, Start at the beginning and follow their path to the top
you’d get right to work if you had any sense. of the world stage, a path marked by the breadcrumbs
You know the one thing we need is a of die-hard customers who embody a lifestyle based
left-hand monkey wrench.” on the brand’s culture.
– Robert Hunter, 1971.
Before they called themselves the Grateful Dead, they
Friday night past, a friend* emailed me dozens of were the Warlocks, and even then were contemplating
links to live recordings of Grateful Dead shows. The doing something that would transform them into a
interesting thing about these live recordings wasn’t phenomenon — THE phenomenon — that sold out
their sound quality (amazing) or their effect on my more concerts, toured more dates, and sold more
evening (profound). No. What’s cool about these merchandise than any other band.
recordings is the story behind them.
Think about their popularity for a moment. This is a
The recordings were made by people called “tapers” band from the ‘60s that doesn’t exist anymore. And in
— fans who record concerts and share them with some ways, they’re more loved today than they were
others. The phenomenon of recording music and in their heyday.
distributing it outside traditional avenues did not
The question is: How did they build their brand?
begin with Shawn Fanning (the “Napster” dude). It
didn’t even begin with the Grateful Dead. Born Cross-Eyed
But the Dead changed the game. From the start, the Dead allowed their fans to record
live concerts despite severe objections from their
While I spent the weekend revisiting some of the record label. As the band grew in popularity and
greatest concert moments of my life, I flashed forward pressure from the record label to sell more albums
and realized the Grateful Dead brand is one of the increased, the Dead continued to support the
greatest stories ever told. recording of live concerts.
Playing in the Band Of course, the rest of the music industry frowned on
Go beyond the tie-dye. this. Instead of relying on the basic tenets of brand-
The legendary concerts. building — record sales, Billboard rankings, radio
The “Electric Kool-Aid.” rotation, high-priced swag — this weird, forward-
thinking band chose to give away its most prized
Go beyond what the Grateful Dead means to possession: its musical content.
people now.
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The greatest story ever told
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
To support its fans’ desires, the Dead would section flashing on Main Street. They look and sound
off areas behind the soundboard specifically for exactly alike.
tapers to record, thereby ensuring quality audio.
Few really live and breathe their mission statement.
Then the music was disseminated worldwide.
Few really back up the claims presented to the
For free.
consumer through advertising.
In theory (the theory of the record labels and the
Few really execute on their “all about the consumer”
music industry, that is), the Dead would never make a
rhetoric.
single dime from this.
As a result, they are like dire wolves going down
But progressive cats are born to blow theories to hell.
the road feeling bad, bad, bad, singing some “Deep
Brand Dead Elem Blues.” Hence, their own personal broken-
The Grateful Dead — as a brand — flourished. down palaces.
Perhaps it was based on some communal connection American Beauty
to their customers (otherwise known as fans). Or the Look, I’m aware that my attempt to draw some kind
idea that a band would sacrifice monetary rewards to of parallel between a hippie band’s plan to allow
the idea that music can change the world. Or just the free dissemination of copyrighted content against
maudlin notion that love can change the world. the wishes of the entire music industry and the vast
potential for someone in our industry to rage against
Whatever the actual working mission statement of traditional philosophies regarding distribution of
the Grateful Dead was, the band did the only thing it listing information, sold information, and all the
could do to further this notion — the only thing that others is a bit of a stretch. Nebulous, to boot.
made sense.
But the message here, quite simply, is about the value
It unshackled its intellectual content — its music — of branding. The Grateful Dead lived, breathed
and set it free. and (yes) inhaled its brand. The band believed in
Today, the Grateful Dead brand lives on through something. For our purposes, let’s surmise that the
licensed artwork, clothing and other memorabilia, all belief was this: Music is love, and love can change the
sought after by loyal fans, young and old alike. From world. And love should be free.
the baby boomers who were there for the last show at From that notion, every single decision was made
the Fillmore West to adolescent kids who were born with the customer’s first and best interest in mind.
on the evening Jerry breathed his final breath. From venue selection to sound amplification to ticket
It’s a testament to brand. pricing, swag design and pricing to their set lists.
Every touch-point was consistent with the band’s
Broken-Down Palace ideal. And the fans have felt it for 40 years.
Today, the real estate industry is a collective of
This is the story of an American Beauty.
company marquees and individual neon brands
Will it be yours?
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Letting it all hang out,
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
Imperial Palace style
By Brian Boero
may 12, 2009
The Imperial Palace, Las Vegas. about the Houston Association of Realtors’ new
agent ratings program, I came across a blog post
It’s the type of place where you might find yourself from Future Now’s Jeff Sexton, in which he makes
buying a pack of Dorals – not because you smoke, but
a really good point: “Customer reviews simply have
because it just feels right. Where the drinks are weak more credibility than your sales copy, so they inspire
and the sheets are stiff. more confidence in the buyer. And negative reviews
I spent an afternoon playing nickel slots there with lend credibility to the review process itself, standing as
in-laws 10 years ago, but I won’t be staying there visible proof that the reviews are not edited.”
when I head to town later this week. How true.
Yet when you go to imperialpalace.com you find Consider this:
unfiltered guest reviews, direct from TripAdvisor.
No one believes a real estate brokerage when they
Considering that a lot of what probably goes on at claim, without substantiation, that they have the
the Imperial Palace really should stay there, this is a “best agents.” Most designations have been gutted of
gutsy move. meaning by years of cynicism and shameless bullshit.
The reviews are not uniformly horrible. What matters are the opinions of people like me,
The place averages three stars on a five-star ratings unfiltered by brands. It’s why I can look at the
scale, but “It is one step above prison” appears in a handful of so-so reviews of the Redfin agent in my
page-one review. area and be OK with them because I trust the process,
trust the brand.
The Imperial Palace knows its customer, the value-
oriented person, perhaps a senior or young party It’s also why I completely discount the claims on the
animal for whom 1,000-threadcount sheets are half dozen marketing pieces I receive each week from
irrelevant. They may also have recognized a need to Realtors at other companies.
take a risk to gain trust. A Palace of your own
In any case, I think this works. Maybe you’re not the Wynn. Maybe you are the
Imperial Palace: A little timeworn, but still with
“Some of our agents suck; work with something to offer. That’s OK. It’s all in how you
us anyway!” handle it.
I bring this up because soon after I wrote last week
Put reviews of your agents online. Let it all hang
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Letting it all hang out, Imperial Palace style
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
out: The good, the bad and the ugly. Candor can be a
powerful strategy in real estate.
This is not a technology problem. It can be set up in
a day for next to nothing. The procedural challenges
(e.g., getting the client’s email address, verifying
identity) are surmountable.
So what might you lose? A few agents who should
have left anyway? A couple of top producers with
dubious benefit to your bottom line?
And your gain? Perhaps trust. Meaning. A brand.
Something all the chips in Vegas couldn’t buy you.
1000watt.net 15Selected writings about Real Estate
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Selling sanctuary, sparkle and a
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
path to better branding
By Marc Davison
june 16, 2009
Something caught my attention the other night Selling sanctuary, love and sparkle
while watching a rerun of Scrubs. Most brands sell products or services. GM sells cars.
Borders sells books. Real estate brokerages sell homes.
Here’s the set up:
Great brands, however, satisfy desire by peeling off
J.D. watches the janitor pack up a duffel bag of the hard leaves of the marketing artichoke and getting
cleaning supplies. down to the emotional heart of the matter.
J.D.’s narration: “Sometimes when you’re down, you Zappos. They don’t sell shoes. They deliver that extra
end up taking it out on the wrong person.” dose of love we all need from time to time.
J.D.: Going on vacation? W Hotels. People don’t go there to sleep. They go
there to feel glamorous.
Janitor: I get it — ’cause I’m a janitor, so, when I pack
for a vacation, I just pack cleaning supplies. That’s Downy doesn’t soften your clothes.
funny! They sell sanctuary.
J.D.: I thought so. Most brokerages sell real estate services. Most agents
sell houses. Most vendors sell products. Software.
Janitor: Actually, I’m going to speak at my son’s A website.
career day.
Few target desire.
J.D.: About… being a janitor?
In 2008, Anne Randolph from Murray Consulting
Janitor: What do you think, there aren’t kids out there produced a survey that revealed what people really
that want to grow up to make the world sparkle? want when hiring an agent or a brokerage. Turns out
it’s not a home; people are seeking trust.
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If a small, Midwestern brokerage
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
can do it, you can too
By Marc Davison
august 24, 2009
While viewing video footage of a customer How often do you ask that question?
appreciation event thrown by one of our broker
What happens when you don’t ask? When you get
clients, I was alarmed by the soundtrack the
careless? When you don’t even bother? When you fail to
videographer chose: It was “Satisfaction”
tie everything you do to your core brand ideals?
by The Rolling Stones.
Let’s step outside of real estate and take a look.
This song, replete with sexually charged lyrics and
anti-commercial messaging, played over two minutes of Jamba Juice
families and friends sharing in the day’s events.
Jamba Juice built its brand around healthy fruit smoothies.
I emailed my concerns to the videographer. His return Their rapid growth, being early to mass-market fruit
email suggested I might be reading too much into it. smoothies, was evident in cities across the country.
“The song,” he wrote, “is meant to be fun and serve up a
Today, the company is combating a falling stock price and
bit of irony.”
brand abandonment. This recent Fast Company article
Was I reading too much into it? Is it not the job of a tells the tale.
marketer to read into everything and ensure consistency
But the issues run deeper. The Jamba Juice brand is
across all communication channels? Is this not what
tightly wound up around a product that has become
building and maintaining a brand is all about?
seemingly ubiquitous.
I drafted a response suggesting we consider whether being
Cafes, grocery stores, delis and fast food franchises have
ironic is consistent with the straightforward, wholesome
all taken to pulverizing fruit, sherbet and protein powder
nature of the company. I understand that while I might
to create Jamba Juice-like products.
be “reading too much into it,” the consequences of not
reading into things are considerable. Where I live, which happens to be where Jamba Juice
opened its first store, there are at least a dozen alternatives
While drafting my response, an email arrived from the
between my house and the company’s nearest location.
owners of the brokerage who echoed similar concerns.
I was not surprised. These guys are on it. They ask the As a fruit smoothie lover, I can’t think of one compelling
right questions — especially the one every broker reason to inconvenience myself for the sake of patronizing
should be asking: how does every single thing we do Jamba Juice, other than maybe subjecting myself to the
support our brand? deafening cacophony of blazing blenders.
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If a small, Midwestern brokerage can do it, you can too
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
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Real estate brokerage brands suffer from a similar But recently David Byrne took U2 to task on his blog
problem. Their brands have become distant outposts that for the excess of their current tour, which is leaving a
no one will go out of their way to attain. dramatically large carbon footprint as it trucks from
European city to city.
In the best cases, brands transcend the thing they sell.
Britax doesn’t sell baby car seats. They sell safety. This comes on the heels of a recent controversy ignited
by the band’s guitarist, The Edge, who shook up Malibu
Apple doesn’t sell consumer electronics. They went all residents when he attempted to develop luxury homes in
the way to brand nirvana: People buy Apple products
an environmentally sensitive area.
because the brand makes them feel good about themselves
for using them. Defending these cracks in U2 s brand bedrock will take
more than PR. If left unattended, the damage could
Jamba Juice will have to lay claim to those deeper become irreparable.
associations if it is to reclaim its brand mojo.
If a small Midwestern brokerage can do it…
U2
Absence of meaning and inconsistency are termites that
Branding is about meaning, but also requires consistency. eat away at your brand. Within real estate, they have
Great brand managers measure every decision against munched right through the studs holding yours together.
principles. Successful brands no longer need to sell. That’s
why you don’t need salespeople manning the aisles Sure, locals may recognize your name. But if that name
of your local supermarket. The brands they offer sell means the same thing for all the other brokerages in the
themselves. market, you are not a brand. You’re just another fruit
smoothie.
What happens when a brand lets its guard down?
Brokers serious about fixing their brand must answer one
U2 is a brand that has been militantly consistent and important question: “Why did I start this company in the
wildly successful. Lately, however, brand U2 has taken first place?”
serious hits due to some significant inconsistencies.
If you can remember what that was, go back to it, rebuild
The band — and the brand — is known for music, upon it, and breathe new life into it.
but also altruism, activism and public stances on
such things as world hunger and relieving Third And then, this time, make sure you guard it fiercely. If a
World debt. little Midwestern-based brokerage can do it, you can too.
1000watt.net 18Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
The stairway to real estate
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
brand heaven
By Marc Davison
august 18, 2011
Your website is your digital front lawn. homes in Little Rock, AR:
It’s where most people get their first impression of UÊ http://www.crye-leike.com and
your brokerage. It’s also their lasting impression. http://www.homesinlittlerock.net
It’s everything. UÊ http://rpmrealty.com
But somewhere along the line, the guard dogs you UÊ http://www.pulaskiheightsrealty.com
hired to protect your brand lawn have crapped
UÊ http://www.thelasleycompany.com
all over it, leaving their messes to dry in the hot
digital sun. UÊ http://www.charlottejohn.com
Curb appeal is paramount to engagement. Everyone UÊ http://www.chenal.com
in real estate knows that. This applies to the Web
as well. UÊ http://www.coldwellbanker.com/real_estate/home_
search/ar/Little%20Rock
If your site is littered with bad design, fatuous copy
and worthless content it screams: Beware. Don’t You be the judge.
trespass. Or worse – that you just don’t care.
Before arriving at sites like this, most users land upon
Rusted cars, broken appliances and old Huffys don’t the sites of the big online real estate players. Their
inspire interaction. They don’t breed confidence in lawns are well manicured. The yards are clean. No
your marketing prowess. They contradict the claims empty beer cans, no couches on the front porch.
you make to the world.
They set users’ expectations for all the sites
Instead, they take the user on a… that follow.
Harrowing journey through the center of real Your sites.
estate’s digital hell
Harrowing indeed. For consumers, yes, but also for
When we start working with a brokerage, we run a you. Every bad impression is a punch in the gut to
Google search of homes for sale in their market. We your brand. With much of real estate on the ropes,
go 10 pages deep studying their online competition. this seems dangerous.
What we find is often frightening. This isn’t unique to Little Rock. It’s everywhere.
I compiled this list yesterday after searching for Just Google any city in America, grab a helmet and
dive in.
1000watt.net 19Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
The stairway to real estate brand heaven
Chapter 1 Branding: Lessons in Strange Places
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
This is what America sees. A tawdry, downbeat He gambled. But at the core of everything he did
digital presentation from an industry needing love, was one objective: Delineate Ralph’s vision in a
respect and trust. completely new way to a market looking to connect,
engage and interact with brands.
You drive the process. You pick your vendors. You
approve the color palettes, the stock photos, the So far, it’s been a success. Ralph Lauren stands out as
words, and the clutter you pile onto your sites. a leader among its fashion peers. The company’s share
price has more than doubled in the past two years.
Stand back and ask the most important question: Is
this the very best we can do? The stairway to brand heaven
Who at your firm challenges your thinking? Who can
Inspiration
execute a visionary plan that will grow your value?
If there is one thing we’ve learned about the Web Or at the very least, distance you from the scrapple of
it’s how freeing it can be for brands willing to go other brokerages in your market?
playfully where terrestrial marketing never took
them before. Every serious broker in America should present
a killer digital experience, built beautifully and
Inspiration is all around us. From banking to air intelligently. Your future demands it. Your agents
travel, traditional companies are taking giant leaps of require it. Your brand can’t live another 10 years
faith to present the user with something better. And without it.
the results can be gigantic.
I am forever perplexed by the irony of an industry
Ralph Lauren, the iconic fashion brand, thrived for that thrives on individuality and image yet settles
decades by taking a classic, traditional approach to for less than zero when it comes to presenting
marketing and branding. But they realized that the itself online.
fumes of their past wouldn’t fuel their future.
iÊÛiÌÛi°Ê iÊÀ}>°Ê i>ÊÕ«ÊÌ iÊ>ÜÊUÊv>ÃÌ°
In 2000, Ralph persuaded his son David to join
the firm to lead new global digital initiatives. David’s It’s the stairway to brand heaven.
talents didn’t begin and end with a Twitter handle and
10,000 check-ins. A Duke graduate and entrepreneur
in his own right, he possessed an accelerated
perception of digital marketing. And access to a
bank account.
1000watt.net 20In 2006, the real estate boom ended. By 2008, the American Dream of
Homeownership felt more like a nightmare.
Bust
The pain was intense. For brokers. For agents. And for the mothers, fathers,
workers and dreamers who saw their lives fall apart.
It was also a time of soul searching within the industry. Assumptions
unchallenged for a generation were exposed as faulty, and practices that
were routine suddenly appeared insane.
2
Chapter
We spent a lot of time ruminating with clients during this time, and the ones
that came through have emerged positioned better for the future. But the
lessons, and the searching, remain.Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Hard truths and no argument
Chapter 2 Bust
By Brian Boero
february 8, 2011
I found myself in cool mountain air, suited up and I know: It would have been better to throw down
ready to speak to a group of real estate leaders about a bitchin’ Twitter strategy. But these truths –
“The state of the industry.” which have always been so but are now morbidly
problematic – just had to be reiterated.
They had gathered at a lodge tucked between two
mountains – a mossy escape from the day-to-day. The slides stayed in.
I like doing these talks, but I was uncomfortable I spent 90 minutes exploring the forces with which
in my clothes. And I was uncomfortable with what those in the room would need to contend in 2011. I
I had prepared for my presentation. I believed in was constructive. I gave concrete examples. I shared
what I had to say. It would even be useful. But it my opinions on how they might account for major
was incomplete. technology developments.
I was leaving out that which was most important But I did not – I could not – tell them how to recruit
about the present state of the industry. more new agents, keep more members from falling
off the rolls, or keep those with a toe-hold’s grasp on
So just before my presentation began, sitting in the the profession of real estate in the game.
lobby of this lodge, carried away by the smell of
wood smoke, I added three slides at the beginning of Battlefield surgery
my presentation: I spoke with a Realtor association executive after my
talk. “How do I focus on supporting the true pros in
Intractable truth number 1: my organization when I need to cater to bad agents to
Most real estate professionals are bad at what they do. keep my doors open?”
This is not sustainable.
Yeah, that’s tough. Coming from other people,
Intractable truth number 2: thismight have been, “How do I grow a real estate
Most real estate brokers and brands are wholly brand and not enforce standards? Or “How can I
disconnected from the markets they serve. This is not create a great consumer experience when I have to
sustainable. accept that my sales force is 50% butt-heads in order
Intractable truth number 3: to make money?”
It is VERY difficult to foster excellence in this business. My answer to these questions was….well, don’t.
But survival dictates that we stop sustaining stupidity.
It hit me, as I looked at this gentleman, that I was
1000watt.net 22Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
The hard truths and no argument
Chapter 2 Bust
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
recommending suicide. This was not so helpful. It Some MLSs do. MRIS, for example, has embarked on
was stupid. But so was failing to address the problem. a strategy to deliver value to the active professionals
Like the accumulated toxins of a decade’s cigarettes, in its ranks [Disclosure: MRIS is a 1000watt client,
the disease within his organization would get him though we can in no way take credit for what they are
sooner or later. doing]. Bob Hale at HAR went for it last year with
his Agent Match application. Who’s next?
What might be in order, then, is a sort of battlefield
surgery – a bloody, screaming rescue in the open air. Brokers are in bad shape. But there are brokers taking
the steps to focus on quality. Some of them are our
Big and dumb or smaller and smart?
clients. And let me tell you: It’s absolutely possible to
Can the NAR protect the mortgage interest create a real estate company you can envision existing
deduction with 300,000 members? 20 years from now.
Can an MLS charging 10,000 subscribers $50 We’re on the same page
per month survive charging 2,000 members $250
What’s funny about saying things like I said at the
per month?
beginning of my presentation is that no one ever
Can a brokerage grown fat on the empty calories of disagrees. You might think that stating that half of
sub-professional agents get in shape without driving all the real estate professionals in existence are so bad
itself into the ground? at what they do that they threaten the livelihood of
those that are good would provoke some argument.
Maybe. I think it comes down to stomach and money.
Do you have the stomach for the bloody mess? Do It doesn’t. In fact, despite all the whining about
you have the money to ride out the short-term hits? the media’s Realtor bashing, the most virulent
Realtor-bashers are inside our industry. They are the
Many don’t. They’re drained of spirit and cash after thousands who can only chuckle, rant or shake their
five years of pain. heads at the fact that our industry is so troubled.
But some do. It’s sort of an inside joke.
I think the NAR does. If there was $20 million to I’m hoping we come up with a better punch line soon.
throw at creating a database that already exists, well,
then, there may be a few dollars to create a public-
facing national database that shines light on the
question of just who does business in this business.
1000watt.net 23Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Better than candy
Chapter 2 Bust
By Brian Boero
september 29, 2008
I was handed a bag of candy with the word “smile” Well, I think back to something my business partner
on it by a teller at my Washington Mutual branch last Marc Davison wrote last summer during the first
Thursday. We both recognized the absurdity of the credit shock:
gesture. The bank, and her job, teetered on the brink
The love is what comes next. The good stuff that’s
of oblivion. That night, they fell in.
already starting to emerge despite the news. It will
Smile my ass. come by way of an unspoken apology of change. The
love will bring about an industry that’s transparent.
I felt bad for her. I feel bad for a lot of people. True. Simple. Real. Honest. Social. And smaller.
And angry too. An “unspoken apology of change.” It’s an interesting
At her bosses, who peddled stupid loan products phrase. No one in this industry who kept his or her
to keep the good times rolling at all costs. They moral compass pointing true during the bubble needs
knew better. to apologize. But we’re dealing with broad brush
strokes. There’s not a lot of good will toward the real
At the people who gobbled these loans up, smothering estate industry these days and you’re probably feeling
common sense in a soft blanket of aspiration. They the blowback.
knew better.
So change. Break the mold. Don’t play the part.
At the bad-apple mortgage brokers and Realtors who
took the smack cooked up in the executive suites and How?
pushed it carelessly. They too knew better. I recently spent several days examining 700 broker
At myself, for offering $200,000 over asking on my websites for a study we’re conducting. Dozens upon
Oakland home in 2005. Damn, I knew better. dozens of them had versions of NAR’s “Now’s a great
time to buy” gloss plastered on their home pages.
I won’t pretend to understand the complexities of
our financial markets. And there’s something so Stop doing that. Even if it’s true in your market,
large about this calamity, so shameful, so tangled consumers aren’t buying it. It’s hurting you,
with failures both moral and financial, that I want to not helping.
simply tune out. Instead, take the real market knowledge that lies
But the Raven at the door persists. It’s not going away. inside your organization and expose it, share it, offer
it up. That’s what all this social media stuff is about,
With what are we left then besides recriminations and right? The tools are there. Your CEO — she was
diminished hopes for a healthy housing market? around in ‘91 and lived to tell about it. Where’s her
1000watt.net 24Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Better than candy
Chapter 2 Bust
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
candid perspective? That office manager who knows
every square foot of your market — offer what he
knows to the public, not echoes of a tin-eared NAR
ad blitz.
Or reach out to those set reeling by the housing
crisis. Many brokerages make philanthropy a priority.
Real estate rose to aid homeowners displaced by
hurricane Katrina. This industry has a big heart.
Now’s the time to show it. If you are in a market hit
hard by foreclosures, establish foreclosure assistance
office hours (put those cubicles to use!) and put the
knowledge inside your organization to work – no
pressure, no questions.
Don’t like these ideas? Come up with your own.
The American public is ready for, and will reward,
something new from real estate, a voice that speaks
in moderate tones, honestly, and with mastery. And
delivers an experience true to the words.
Whatever you do will be better than candy.
1000watt.net 25Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Change has come to
Chapter 2 Bust
the real estate industry
By Brian Boero
november 24, 2008
Real estate and politics have a lot in common. The political case can be explained pretty easily (and
They’re big, complicated people businesses driven by has been, extensively, in a turgid body of literature I
sales and marketing. had to slog through in graduate school). People hate
Congress but keep their congressperson in office
But there are other similarities that help explain the forever because they get a selective benefit from doing
past 10 years in real estate and suggest a model for so: pork, focus on local interests, constituent service
change in the coming year. and the like. The longer they stay, the more seniority
The U.S. Congress usually has low public approval they get. With seniority comes more pork.
ratings. They are pitifully low at the moment. But what about real estate? What explains the
According to a recent CBS News/New York Times disconnect here?
poll, only 15 percent of Americans approved of the
body’s job performance. Here’s my theory: On the seller side, things were
pretty rosy for a long time. The outcome — a sale at
Yet time and again the same citizens who express this a great price — was usually good whether or not the
disapproval send their own senator or congressperson listing agent was truly skilled. The thought process
back for one more term. In most elections, more than may be: “Realtors may be knuckleheads, but my
90 percent of incumbents can expect to keep their seat. agent delivered a windfall.”
The real estate industry also has low approval The buy side is a little trickier. Why would you love
ratings. Polls conducted by Harris Interactive place someone who helped you pay too much for a home?
Realtors below lawyers and car salespeople on a scale Well, the services of a Realtor are “free” to buyers.
of trustworthiness. Often, popular culture paints And in the afterglow of closing, the hard edges of the
Realtors as glad-handing rubes just a step above the transaction become blurred in the soft light of dreams.
dude pitching car wax at 2 a.m. It just feels good to move into a new home.
Yet consumers’ satisfaction with their own Realtor A model of change
has hovered at or about 85 percent for years. Ninety-
In politics, this pattern does break. It’s called
two percent of buyers surveyed by the California
realignment. It occurs every few decades when forces
Association of Realtors in 2007 said they would use
at play for years erupt and melt the superstructure of
their agent again.
the political system and the affinities that sustained
What gives? it. It happened in 1932, when the Great Depression
1000watt.net 26Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Change has come to the real estate industry
Chapter 2 Bust
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
forged new coalitions and a Democratic ascendancy. of Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, IAC, and a dozen
It happened in 1968, when backlash to social upheaval others have flung themselves against the barricades
and liberal policy shattered them. Some would argue over the past decade, only to be chastened;
it happened again two weeks ago. “alternative” models have failed to gain consumer
acceptance commensurate to their facility at gaining
My point? The encrusted structure of a system, even media attention.
one that takes on an air of permanence, can, and
likely will, fall when it’s rocked hard from the outside. The real estate industry as we know it has had many
elegists over the years. All spoke too soon.
Real estate has just been rocked hard from the outside.
And in times like this, the happy buoyancy of a rising But I think it’s different this time.
tide no longer dulls the cognitive dissonance between
What remains
loving your Realtor and disliking Realtors.
I obviously can’t predict what the industry will look
In fact, it becomes a problem. The problem drives like when we’ve pulled through this realignment. But
behavior. Change happens. I think some broad strokes can be seen from here, at
the entry.
Real estate realignment
The signs are there already. According to the The center of gravity for the business, which has been
excellent 2008 home buyer survey just released by shifting to agents for years, will become a landslide.
the California Association of Realtors, consumer
The brokers that remain will be those that take a full-
satisfaction has dropped significantly — more than
service approach to both their agents and consumers,
20 percent in one year. Consumers are taking a longer
take full advantage of technology and affiliate with or
time researching the process, picking an agent and
cultivate brands that have real meaning (as opposed
shopping for homes. Too many in this industry can’t
to simple recognition). That sounds like a fluffy
bear that scrutiny. The sustaining dissonance is
platitude here in late 2008, but it’s amazing how few
coming to an end.
brokers have attacked this with seriousness.
The result will be a painful catharsis in 2009, the
We will be left with a smaller industry of great brands
outcome of which will be a real estate industry we
and great Realtors. I think they will get paid less
thought would never come about. We’ve talked a
per transaction, but do more sides. Median Realtor
lot about change for the past 10 years and marveled
income will rise.
at new technology. But the basic structure of the
business has remained. In fact, looking back, our At times I look forward to 2009 with dread. I think
progress, while not insignificant, cannot truly be a lot of people are going to feel a lot of pain, and
called “revolutionary.” I hate that. But I try to look beyond this, to help our
Technology has made information more accessible clients look beyond this, in the hope of seeing the
end of the storm.
to be sure. But the basic brokerage model and
agent compensation structure endured. The likes
1000watt.net 27Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Life imitates art in credit mess
Chapter 2 Bust
By Marc Davison
august 18, 2007
In the movie Pulp Fiction, hit man Vincent escorts his Lance
boss’s wife, Mia, around town. While Vincent is in I’m curious about that myself.
the bathroom, Mia discovers his stash. She thinks it’s
Vincent does as instructed. Mia immediately bolts
cocaine and promptly snorts some.
upright, eyes wide open. Apparently fully recovered.
Bad idea – it’s actually high-octane heroin.
Life imitates art
Vincent returns to find her writhing on the floor
uncontrollably, nearing cardiac arrest. On Friday, world markets, pundits, consumers, and
real estate professionals were borderline comatose, in
Enter Lance, Vincent’s dealer. He hands Vincent a cardiac arrest – the result of a high-octane overdose
railroad-spike-sized syringe to bring Mia back to life. of the credit market crisis. Enter the United State
Here’s the scene: Federal Reserve with a space needle like syringe
to plunge $120 billon of pure adrenaline liquidity
Lance
through the breastplate and into the heart of the
OK, you’re giving her an injection of adrenaline
banking system.
straight to her heart. But she’s got breastplates. You’ve
gotta pierce through that. So what you gotta do is, Global markets bolt upright. The FTSE Eurofirst 300
you gotta bring the needle down in a stabbing motion. index rallies, ending Friday 2.4 percent higher and
[Makes 3 stabbing motions] clearing all its losses for the week. In London, the
FTSE 100 bolts up 0.4 percent on the week. The S&P
Vincent
500 index surged 1.82 percent.
I gotta stab her three times?
Like Mia, the markets bounced back. But the
Lance
underlying problem remains.
No, you don’t gotta fucking stab her three times! You
gotta stab her once, but it’s gotta be hard enough to Analyst Hugh Whelan put it like this; “If you’re a
get through her breastplate into her heart, all right? leveraged financial institution, a leveraged individual,
And then once you do that, you press down on the a leveraged hedge fund, on Monday when you walk
plunger. in, you’re still facing the same stresses you faced today
and yesterday.”
Vincent
OK, then what happens? The American consumer, long addicted to purchasing
1000watt.net 28Selected writings about Real Estate
2007-2011
Life imitates art in credit mess
Chapter 2 Bust
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
on credit, reached for cocaine homes blind to the While driving out for coffee this morning, I passed
dangers the high-octane debt heroin they were sold an open house. A couple was entering as another
from the many Lances in the mortgage and real estate appeared to be leaving. I slowed down to observe.
sectors. The couple leaving stopped, turned, and began
pointing around the front yard.
A catastrophe.
A paralyzing blow. They seemed like ordinary, everyday buyers.
An epic crash. And I think:
It finally caught up. It’s a problem that requires Homes are going to continue to sell.
massive intervention. Buyers are going to continue to buy.
Agents are going to continue working.
The price of addiction And lenders will continue to lend money.
None of us can discount the realities that face us.
Foreclosures continue to rise. Rates continue to rise. There will just be fewer Vinces, Mias and Lances.
ARMs continue to reset.
But there’s hope.
1000watt.net 29You can also read
