Comments on: Obsolescence, Demons & Neo Design

By: REALonomics

REALonomics — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:27:10 +0000

Jason - Pessimism is sometime created by being too close to the problem or, perhaps wound up in the issues.

Our industry IS morphing and this transformation is accelerating almost daily.

Your amazement at owners/managers who make decisions and conduct business in ways that are “harmful harmful both to themselves and to the agents working in their offices” is something I have been writing about for a long time. See http://www.ePartnerUSA.com.

Owners are essentially trapped…yes, I know the song about self-perseverence. The industry’s models are design to lock owners into positions that produce little or no ROI except during robust markets.

It’s the model, Jason…the model.

I will forward to you an article I wrote a long time ago, entitled, “Why Do We Do What We Do When We Don’t Have to Do What We Do?”

Thanks for the comment.

REALonomics

By: jason

jason — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:56:51 +0000

Donald - I applaude what you are doing and sincerely wish you the best of success.
I am unfortunately pessimistic about how much our industry can truly improve. The reason for my pessimism is because I believe that the root cause of the numerous problems we have in our industry is not due to poor business systems or models, but due to flaws in human nature. If human nature were not so flawed, the industry would by itself implement the things you are advocating. Human nature being what it is, few people are willing to constantly examine their lives and practices to see how they can make it better.
It always amazes me when I see broker managers and company owners conduct their business in a manner that is harmful both to themselves and to the agents working in their offices - it is so self defeating.
Keep up your crusade Donald - I believe your message can make a positive difference in our industry despite the big obstacles.

By: REALonomics

REALonomics — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:17:30 +0000

Jason - Nice post. After 25 years in the business, I agree that my wording was not what I wanted it to be.

You are correct; “all-wise” implies much more than I intended to imply. My intent, was to convey the implication of a consumer who has almost unlimited information access, creating a growing level of knowledge, but not necessarily wisdom.

Wisdom, as we both know, is the application of knowledge within a proper framework, involving many things. Thanks for helping me!

Donald Teel, Founder - REALonomics

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:57:33 +0000

As a highly productive agent with 21 years of experience, I agree with almost everything you wrote.
My only disagreement is with your position/statement: “all-wise consumer”. Having easy access to a lot of information does not make a person wise. Having access to a lot of information is one thing, knowing how to apply it effectively is another matter altogether. If anything, the deluge of massive amounts of real estate information available today can make it harder for a consumer to sift through it and determine which is the best course of action to take.
This is similiar to the easy access the consumer has to almost unlimited stock market information - it does not automatically enable the consumer to reap huge profits from investing in stocks.

By: Tim White

Tim White — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:39:58 +0000

Don–I’m looking at things more through a web 2.0 lens that fosters community, relationship buidling, distributed content (audio, video and text), content ownership, scocializtion of media, tools and voice, friend-of-a-friend networking, microblogging etc. Also, my focus is more on the hyperlocal than the regional. My approach is based more on attraction rather than promotion. I think your a very smart individual who is very much on track to charting a successful course for the future. My only word of caution, based on my experience, is to not get so attached to a single immutable model (e.g. web 1.0, homegain, housevaules, etc.), but to embrace change and always be ready to re-purpose your vision in an ever- chaging lanscape. Here’s a meme that I have recently embraced: “We are all media companies now!” (yes even us brokers/agents)–and only those who are the best at producing quality content in multiple formats will succeed. Don, be happy to exchange ideas with you anytime.

By: REALonomics

REALonomics — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:30:26 +0000

Tim - We believe we have brought it home via e-Partner’s open market model where broker/owners can enlarge their market management, recruit agents ubiquitously and add new revenue streams to the bottom line from such things as core services and advertisement revenue streams.

Now, we have gone a step further and partnered directly with the consumer via http://www.CityBlogUSA.com or, in your case, http://www.MassachusettsBlogPage.com. Or, even closer to home BOSTON CITY BLOG. However, you can expect more specificity from REALonomics in the days and months ahead.

The Way: decreased reliance upon fixed based, bricks and mortar operations that only produce revenue from restricted markets;

The Truth: our traditional business model that attempts to somehow balance broker-centric and agent-centric models will no longer produce adequate ROI.

The Light: REALonomics…convincing owners to acknowledge, once and for all, that our lack of consumer-centricity and our clunky retail models are going to be replaced, if not by us, someone else. Preview this presentation.

Thanks for your feedback…REALonomics

By: Tim White

Tim White — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:21:18 +0000

Bravo et encore! Your best post to date–thoughtful and provocative. Now, bring it home Donald–show us the way, the truth and the light:)