Got a Lead? How Long is it?

Got a Lead? How Long is it?
Google Buzz

go orange guy, go!


I just love the retro AgentGenius logo: That orange guy running out in front of all those gray guys. Go orange guy, go! It’s a apt metaphor for any business, really — staying at least a few steps ahead of your competition. That’s the gist of it, anyway.

How long is your lead?

Which begs the question: How far ahead of your competition are you?

  • Got a blog? Check.
  • Facebook and Linkedin? Check.
  • Twitter account? Check.

Never satisfied

Are you satisfied with those? I certainly hope not. These things might seem pretty avant garde right now, but it won’t be long before they’re passe. In fact, they already are! In December 2005, I blogged about Dear Abby writing a column about blogs. I knew right then that blogging was no longer cool. (And I was probably the one billionth person to realize it) About this time last year I set up a facebook group for the Virginia Association of REALTORS. As I did so, I realized that, for me, a little bit of the fun of facebook was to die that day. Twitter? C’mon. Congressional interns tweet for our elected legislators. (Does that sound a little dirty to you too?)

Passe ? obsolete

Passe doesn’t mean obsolete. In many cases, quite the opposite is true. To paraphrase Shirky, marketing tools don’t deliver results “until they become technologically boring.” Real estate blogging seems to be developing a pretty solid track record of delivering results. Virginia REALTORS Jeremy Hart and Frank LLosa have clients they “met” on Twitter and facebook, respectively.

Curiosity is king

But this ain’t where the rabbit hole ends. There’s much more to being a genius agent than blogging, social networking, tweeting, Q&A boards, and so on. This rabbit hole goes deeper. Keep learning, keep experimenting, keep looking around with a watchful eye and wild curiosity for clues about where our society is heading. That’s how you keep your lead.

Otherwise, a few of those little gray guys might sprint past you.

Ben Martin

Writer for national real estate opinion column AgentGenius.com, focusing on the improvement of the real estate industry by educating peers about technology, real estate legislation, ethics, practices and brokerage with the end result being that consumers have a better experience.

Dude, Rate My Topic!
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (Please Rate This Post!)
Loading ... Loading ...

4 Comments

  1. Brian Block

    Ben, interesting commentary. So any thoughts on what will be the NEXT BIG THING?

    I’ll be on the lookout…

  2. Jim Gatos

    Notes to self…. RE: Blog…

    1. Well, let’s see.. I changed hosting providers.. Already I’m noticing some small improvements.. Check..

    2. Bought a great new Wireless “Laser… Laser”… Mouse…. (Microsoft WL Mouse 5000)…brought in my old keyboard from the early ‘two thousands…” To Me that was MY most comfortable keyboard… Check

    3. I have a couple of great articles “Screaming” to be typed from my eager fingers.. Check

    4. I realized some mistakes I made and I also have a lot of great ideas ….Check

    5. I LOVE READING AGENT GENIUS..Check

    6. Joined Twitter last week.. Check

    7. Have been with Linkedin and Facebook for awhile.. Check.. Do I have to join Myspace too?

    8. Have “scribefire” extension installed in Firefox 3. Check…

    9. Saw a couple of blogs last night from my local competition that gave me a massive headache.. Will not do THOSE things… Check…

    10. Only one problem.. What to call my new blog? I’ve been rattling my brains out on THAT one.. No Check!

    #10 may be a good idea for a new post.. I leave up to you folks..

    Thanks
    Jim

  3. Cheron Lange

    That’s a loaded question…”The next BIG thing?” In todays change’s for social networking there is always another doo..dad that will outdo the most current fad….just one more thing to keep up with.

Be cool, leave a comment

10 day real estate social media plan

Great 2.0 Tools for Agents

Featured Genius Writer

Janie Coffey

Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist

For over 20 years, Janie Coffey has been devoted to the real estate industry ranging from development and construction to home sales. She is the co-owner of sister companies Papillon Real estate and Papillon ReDevelopment in Florida. Her unique background includes undergraduate work in historical preservation all the way up to her current graduate work studying Atlantic History with a focus on the history of business and technology. Janie writes about geotechnology and consumer behavior and real estate, and you can read her real estate column here or catch up with her on Twitter.

Real Estate Articles by Janie

Featured Genius Writer

Brandie Young

Marketing columnist

Brandie is a highly respected marketing professional who has held senior level positions with Fidelity, GE and numerous startups, leading to her current work at MarketingTBD which she co-founded. Brandie is not only an investor but was raised by a real estate broker, so her love of the industry runs deeply. You can find her marketing column here on AG or get to know her sassy personality by following her on Twitter.

Real Estate Articles by Brandie

Recently featured writers:
Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Real Estate Columnist
Jack Leblond, Real Estate SEO Columnist

Upcoming featured writers:
Greg Cooper, Political Columnist
Ken Brand, Real Estate Marketing Columnist
Gwen Banta, Real Estate Humor Columnist
Fred Glick, Real Estate Opinion Columnist