Announcing AgentApplause.com – The First “Enterprise” of Harmon Enterprises!
January 11, 2010 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
Seeing a need to give real estate agents tangible examples of how others, just like them, are implementing marketing into their real estate business plan, Harmon Enterprises has launched Agent Applause, Real Life Real Estate Marketing Examples In Action.
The site showcases real examples of real estate marketing in today’s market. It highlights the interesting, the innovative, the creative, and the good. While there will certainly be multiple examples of social media marketing (showing how agents are using blogging, facebook, twitter, and other social networks to market themselves), the site is not limited to digital marketing techniques. It highlights modern marketing – both online and off – and is designed to be a portal for an ever evolving array of practical marketing ideas in the real estate industry. There are multiple ways to keep up with Agent Applause. You can:
- Visit the site and browse what is new
- Subscribe in your RSS reader
- Subscribe via email and get new applause automatically emailed to you
- Follow Agent Applause on twitter
- Fan Agent Applause on facebook.
So check out AgentApplause.com and even better, submit an agent who should be applauded. There are some great marketing examples out there. Let us know about it and help further the conversation and recognition of those agents who are doing it right.
Google Your Way to Discount Code Savings
December 27, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
Sometimes it is the simple ideas that make using the internet fun and bring about those “ah-ha” moments. Harmon Enterprises constantly works to illustrate these opportunities for Realtors. In the case of today’s post, Realtors certainly can benefit, but so too can anyone who uses the internet to buy anything.
This is a little nugget that I’ve been using for years, and I recently casually shared with a friend. Her enthusiastic tweet response a few days later made me think it might be worthy of a post:
So, the tip is simple. Anytime you are shopping on line, and in the purchase process you see a box that says “Discount Code” or “Coupon Code” or “Promotion Code”, open up a new browser tab or window, go to Google, and search “the name of the site you are on” + “discount code”.
So, for example, when you notice a “Promotional Code” field as part of the process to sign for a credit monitoring service (a great service by the way, particularly for people who are shopping on the internet):
Leave the screen up that has the promotional code field, open a new browser tab, go to google, and type in “MyFico.com discount code” and see what comes up:
One of my favorite sites that often comes up is RetailMeNot.com which is a “coupon community” where users can post coupons and discount, and report on how reliable they were. The coupons are presented grouped into “Current Special Offers”, “Active Coupons”, and “Unreliable Coupons” For MyFico.com, you can find up to 30% off!
Jot down the code you find, go back to the window where you are purchasing, and apply your savings coupon. Cha-ching! It works more often than not and saved me a bundle over the years. And, who isn’t happy to save a buck or two…especially this time of year?
Keep in mind, if you don’t see the coupon code box, you can still to google the product or service you are trying to purchase. Often times there are affiliate marketing programs out there and you can find a link from a blog or 3rd party website where you will pay less by clicking through from that origination point.
For those of you who are looking to buy a domain name, or looking for web hosting (any Realtors out there looking to start a blog?), be sure to apply this technique. It has always worked for me with GoDaddy, and hosting companies like Blue Host and Host Monster get cheaper than their already affordable rates.
Happy on-line shopping!
San Jose – Here I Come!
September 21, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
I’m headed to San Jose the first week of October for several major real estate events that should be on the radar of any Realtor or person interested in technology, social media, and real estate:
- California Realtor Expo 2009 (The annual CAR Convention)
- Tech Tuesday (Day long technology training preceding the official CAR Expo)
- RE BarCamp Silicon Valley (A free un-conference attracting the technology progressive and interested in the Real Estate business)
Here is a rundown of the great opportunities these events provide as well as some auxiliary activities I’ll be participating in. If you’re in San Jose, hopefully we’ll cross paths while I’m there (join me at a Tweetup?!):
Friday, October 1st, 2009:
- Social Media Success for Realtors Presentation: Anyone a member of SAMCAR (San Mateo Association of Realtors)? If so, come hear me speak for free (thanks to Pango Group for sponsoring me to speak)! Registration starts at 10:30. Presentation is from 11:00-12:30. It you would like to attend, RSVP via email to Julie Ziemelis, Director of Public Affairs for SAMCAR.
Monday, October 5th, 2009:
- RE BarCamp Silicon Valley: This is a free, day long event, born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. There is no set schedule or topics. Instead, the day is shaped by the passionate real estate professionals who gather and discuss how technology and social media can benefit the real estate business. Any forward thinking Realtor who is interested in applying technology to their business should attend. It is an outstanding way to network with industry elite and add be engaged in discussions that can truly transform your business. If there is interest, Andy Kaufman and I will be facilitating a session that day discussing how to use Twitter to enhance your conference going experience. Hope you can join in. The event is free, but you do have to RSVP hereto attend. Twitter hashtag for the event is #rebcsv.
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009:
- Tech Tuesday: An add-on day to the CAR Expo, Tech Tuesday is full of technology training and tips to help Realtors in their business. The twitter hashtag for Tech Tuesday is #TTCarExpo. There are some great techie agents presenting – including Ted Makel of Keller Williams, Simi Valley who is part of the opening panel titled “Text, Tweet, and Sell: A Dialogue on Tech’s Possibilities for Today’s Agents”. Other great sessions include:
- The Benefits of Blogging
- Media is the New Marketing: How to Attract the Right Attention
- Best Practices for Building an Online Presence
- Social Media and Social Networking: A Guide for REALTORS
- Tweetup at Tanq Bar (San Jose Marriott) starting at 5:15 pm: Within walking distance of the Tech Tuesday I’m hosting a tweetup. Come mingle with fellow Tech Tuesday attendees over a drink (everyone is responsible for their own food/drinks…just to be clear!). Tech Tuesday attendance is not required to join in on this one though…if you want to come on out and say hi, please do! @candacecapella, @ericstegemann, and @andykaufman will be there too. More info and RSVP list is here.
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009:
- CAR Expo 2009: California’s largest real estate trade show which draws “thousands of California’s key franchise executives, top producers and movers and shakers every year for educational networking, and professional development opportunities”. The Expo runs for 3 days (Wed the 7th – Fri the 9th). I’ll be there on Wednesday in order to check things out and see what’s hot this year at the vendor show. Twitter hashtag for the conference is #CARExpo.
Dinosaurs Are Alive and Well. Sigh.
July 5, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
Eric Stegemann tweeted this the other day: “Thinking about how dinosaurs relate to real estate – the nimble and adapting ones survive, but the big ones did not. Took years for extinction.”
It is the “years for extinction” part that really caught my eye. This weekend I had had a conversation with a friend’s neighbor that made me wonder if real estate really is ever going to evolve. Will agents who are doing business in the “old way” ever adapt or go extinct? As someone who is enthusiastically in favor of industry evolution, the following conversation put a dent in my zeal.
I saw a for sale sign in front of his condo and asked the seller how it was going. He said, “great – it sold in the first week!” Wow, I thought.
I asked, “What did it go for?” He responded, “$370,000. It went for $10,000 over asking price, and I also had a bid for $20,000 over asking price.”
When I asked him why he picked those buyers, he said “because they had a down payment, and they loved the house”. I know from my real estate sales days that putting together a deal that will actually close is an important part of the Realtors job, and it appeared that this seller received some good coaching from his agent in this regard, especially since the financing on the higher offer sounded weak.
But here is where the conversation got alarming for me:
Me: “How long is the contingency period?”
Seller: “I don’t know, what is that?”
Me: “How much of a deposit did the buyers put down?”
Seller: “Don’t know, my agent never discussed it with me.”
Me: “What was the commission?”
Seller: “5%”
Me: “How did you pick your agent?”
Seller: “She sold the house next door. I gotta tell you, she is one high energy woman. There are times she calls me and she just yammers. It’s all I can do to get off the phone with her.” (his tone was annoyed…I didn’t get the impression he liked her much).
Then, at the end of our conversation, totally unsolicited by me, the seller concludes our chat by saying: “Let me tell you, she is an outstanding agent. I’ll go out of my way to recommend her to anyone who needs a great agent.”
WTH? This seller would give his agent a 10 on the Net Promoter Score that Rob Hahn of 7DS Associates evangelizes. A 10! Unbelievable to me.
I went to the agent’s website. When I go to the “About Us > My Background” page, it has her name, a broken image (which I assume is her photo), and nothing else. She has a navigation item for “Featured Properties” but none of her listings appear. It then defaults to a search for property in Alabama (to be clear, we’re in California).
What exactly is this agent’s real estate talent? Finding uninformed buyers and keeping them in the dark? I understand that the client signed the paperwork, but I can’t imaging representing a seller and not even discussing the deposit amount, nor the contingency period with them. This is astounding to me.
I just have to throw my hands up in the air and ask – how does one compete with this? There is much talk about internet buyers, and leads, and Realtor professionalism, and a new model of real estate. But, NONE of that played a part in this agent getting this listing, this agent selling this house, or this client’s level of satisfaction with the deal. Where is the motive to change? Why on earth would the agent, or client, look for a new way?
I think it is going to take a VERY long time for the old dinosaur to become extinct.