Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Although the title of this post says “Tip #2″, it could rightfully be called “Tip #0.5″ since it probably should have come before my first post on this topic. 

One of the biggest points of confusion/complaint with Twitter is this one:

“How can I possibly keep track of hundreds or thousands of people and their tweets?”

Well, you can’t.  So, I would highly recommend using a tool to screen out the noise so that you can really focus on the people you care about.  The top three sites that I can suggest for this purpose are Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, and Seesmic.

Each of these tools has its own features and advantages, which I’m not really intending to cover within the scope of this post, although I may visit each of these in a separate post sometime.  In a nutshell, Tweetdeck must be installed on each individual computer, while Hootsuite is a web-only application, and Seesmic offers both versions.  I have friends that love each one of them for different reasons.

Why are these applications so valuable?

If you remember nothing else here, keep this in mind:  Using a tool like this will enable you to create columns of people and things that YOU deem important.  In other words, you can sort out your REAL friends from the masses.  You can also set up searches by keyword, which is exceptionally valuable.  As a quick example,  wouldn’t you like to know every time someone mentioned moving to your area?

Sadly, many people give up on using Twitter as a business tool before they get around to filtering their feed. It seems overwhelming unless you take the time to narrow it down.  Believe me, I felt the same way when I started there.

As of this writing, I have just over 12,000 Twitter followers and I follow close to 9,000 accounts.  However, I have about 300 people/accounts in my “Real Friends” column.  Obviously, I add (and very occasionally, subtract) people over time, but it’s a focused list of folks that I’m interested in.  Maybe I know them “in real life”, or maybe we’ve just had some good conversations online.  Either way, these are set apart for easier digestion, as opposed to the social media firehose that Twitter could become if unmanaged.

I hope this helps – thanks for reading!

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

Do you need a new set of business cards?  Thinking of a possible re-design or maybe just running low?

Jeremy Blanton and I are the co-owners of 210 Consulting.  We specialize in helping companies and individuals learn how to use social media tools for business growth and networking.  Recently, Jeremy was given an opportunity to give away two sets of 500 business cards from a company called Uprinting. 

We decided to have some fun with it, and hopefully gain more exposure for our fledgling business in the process. 

We made it supremely easy to enter the contest, which will run through the end of the month.

To see the details (along with a video), visit Jeremy's post right here:

http://210consulting.com/business-card-contest

Thanks for reading!

When I started using Twitter back in the fall of 2008 (I had joined many months earlier, but barely used it up to that point), I was a little stumped by all of the lingo and the fast pace of the platform:

What is a "retweet"?  Why do I have to use an "@" symbol in front of everyone's name to talk to them?  Is anyone really listening?

Over time, I became much more comfortable with the platform, and it has been invaluable to me as a business tool.  I connected with my radio co-host there.  I recruited some people to work for our company.  I had real-world dollars in my pocket because of the things that I learned there and the people I met, some of whom I got to know in person as well.

In an effort to share some of the things that have worked for me, I am starting a series of posts about Twitter and its usage.  If you're looking to learn how to use Twitter as a legitimate tool to grow your business and your base of connections, you will probably want to follow along.

Today's tip (as you probably noticed in the title above) is this:

START OR JOIN A CONVERSATION

One analogy that I've heard and used to describe Twitter is that it's much like a big party.  If you are hanging out at a party, you will probably be part of many conversations throughout the event.  Sometimes the conversations get a little more in-depth, and sometimes they even get private.  Other times, you're just kidding around with friends and having a good time.  Most things that you can do with regard to networking in person can be done on Twitter as well, although I am not suggesting that Twitter or any other social media tool should replace face-to-face meetings.

HOW TO START A CONVERSATION

I know that this seems really rudimentary, but we've had so many clients ask this that I thought it would be pertinent to include here.  Think of how you start a conversation in person.  Do you mention a blog post you just wrote?  Well, maybe, but only if you describe it somehow and then chat about it afterward.  The same applies with Twitter.  Simply broadcasting your posts to the tweetstream with no commentary is valueless, in my humble opinion.  You can include them, to be sure, but only as part of a larger plan.

Try these ideas:

• Mention a cool article or video you have seen
• Take a poll
• Ask a question of any kind ("what is your favorite TV show/movie/80′s song?")
• Say something funny  - anything truly funny will usually get a good response
• Promote others by retweeting stuff you find interesting or wise

HOW TO JOIN A CONVERSATION

Unlike being at a real-life party, Twitter offers you the opportunity to join conversations with little chance of personal rejection.   If you spot something of interest, respond to it, as in, "Me, too.  That book changed my outlook on life in general."  If you see something funny, respond accordingly, "I laughed so hard just now that milk came out of my nose."

If you see a discussion about something that looks interesting or about which you can converse, just jump in and participate.  The worst case is no response at all, and you haven't really risked much, right?

Again, I recognize that this is pretty basic stuff, but I'm trying to illustrate that Twitter isn't mysterious or difficult.  It can facilitate things if you use it the right way.

I hope this is helpful for you.  I would love to hear your input below.   Thanks very much for reading!

Next Twitter tip (coming soon): Promoting others

As I detailed in my last post, I am attempting to lose roughly 40 pounds of excess weight over the next few months.  I was simply tired of feeling sluggish and out of shape, and I had watched a season of "Biggest Loser: Couples".  I figured if the guy who weighed 526 pounds could run, so could I.  :)

At any rate, in an effort to keep my photo current, I decided to switch it out tonight.  I am roughly at the mid-way point for my weight loss, having dropped almost 20 pounds so far.  Mainly, I am feeling stronger, thinner, and healthier, which is what matters.  I probably won't switch it again until I meet or exceed my goal.

I have placed both photos below for comparison purposes.  I decided to stick with the "thumbs up" pose.

Thanks to those of you who have commented on my previous post, and also to those who have emailed privately to encourage me.  I appreciate the support and accountability more than you know. 

Thanks for reading!

Recently, I decided that it was time to lose some weight.  I was the heaviest I have ever been, and although I don't think most people thought of me as overweight, I was/am.  At 6'4", I just carry it better, which means that it doesn't show as much on my frame, but I was nearing 250 pounds.  Officially, I think my highest weight was 248 or so.

I started eating better (meaning less junk), and lost about 10 pounds over a couple of months.  I also started exercising a bit more - mainly walking when I had time.

This past week, I made a bigger commitment, and set some tangible goals as well.  I am doing the only things that have ever worked for me when it comes to weight loss.  I am counting calories and exercising daily.  Nothing overly hardcore, but enough that I should be able to continue to lose a pound or two each week.  I think this will result in a lifestyle change, as opposed to rapid weight loss from Atkins or something similar. 

I started the week at 237.6 (the joy of digital scales, huh?).  This morning, I was 233.4. 

I heard about an iPhone app that has been helping, called Lose It!.  It enables me to easily track my caloric intake and to add exercise, which means I "earn" more calories.  My wife, son and I are all trying to lose roughly 30 pounds each. 

My goal weight is 210 or less.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to hit this by late September, but my wife has a high school reunion event and I am hoping to be close when that happens.

This past week, I have been biking with my son, walking, some running, swimming, weightlifting, and doing calisthenics.  Using another iPhone app, "100 Pushups", I have worked up to doing 32 real pushups over the past week.  On the first day, I could do exactly 4.  :)  My longest set is 11 thus far.

One of my other goals is to be able to do 3 or 4 real pullups.  I don't recall ever having done ONE pullup properly in my entire life, so this goal is far loftier than it may appear at first glance.

I've found so far that it's much easier to lose weight when we are supporting each other, and I've also discovered that I have more time to exercise than I thought.  My energy level is much higher already, and I feel stronger and thinner.

If you actually read this far, you're probably wondering why I decided to share this level of detail.  Two reasons:

• It will allow me to look back and track my progress
• I think it will be motivational and hold me accountable to know that many other people know my goals for this

Thanks very much for reading!  I'm off to get another glass of water now.  :)

Yesterday afternoon, I had to show properties for a few hours, and my wife kindly took the opportunity to take our four kiddos shopping for a Father's Day gift.  Her destination was Fry's Electronics.  If you're not familiar with Fry's (I have no idea if they are nationwide), it's basically a giant warehouse with every gadget, game, and TV that you can imagine.  They sell phones, and speakers, and computers, books, CD's, cables,  you name it. 

It's one of my very favorite stores.  Frankly, it's difficult for me to go to Fry's without getting anything at all.  This is what's known as an exercise in willpower.

While she was shopping, her first impulse was to buy me a movie or DVD series, then she realized that with Netflix, I can get pretty much any movie I want, many of which can be streamed directly to the TV from the internet, or enjoyed on the computer.

Then, she thought of getting me a CD.  However, she knows that I have an iPod, which makes CD's less appealing overall since it's so easy to buy songs via iTunes.

How about a new book?  Well, I have a Kindle, which has an application that allows me to read from my laptop, iPhone, or the device itself.

She settled on a gift certificate. 

My point in sharing this is to illustrate the fact that technology has completely changed the way we consume information and entertainment.  I recognize that this isn't exactly an earth-shattering concept, but this was a real world example of how quickly things have changed in our household.

I remember when I had a massive CD collection, and lots of DVDs, too.  Although we have steadily purged books, we still have roughly 1,000 of those in the house.  I haven't counted, so it could be more.

Prior to that, we had cassettes (sold or gave them all away) and albums (kept many of those since we have a working turntable and some of the classic ones are worth money).

I guess I just find it intriguing and exciting to realize how little space we have to use to entertain and inform ourselves now.  We can even screen out many of the ads on "regular" television with Tivo/DVR devices.

So, here are my questions for you:

• What item(s) other than the internet and your cell phone can you not live without which didn't exist 10-15 years ago?
• What do you foresee as indispensable 10 years from now that is in formative stages now?

I would love to hear your responses.  Thanks for reading!

Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors

Over the past year or two, my older kids (they're 11 and 9 now) have developed an appreciation for They Might be Giants, which is sort of an eclectic, funny alternative band that was formed in the early 80's by two guys named John.  They sing a few songs you may have heard of before, including "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul not Constantinople", and the theme song from the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle".

Today, when we were out and about, I realized that our four-year old daughter also really loves their music, especially our favorite song, "Doctor Worm".  Unless you are a hardcore fan of their music, you probably haven't heard this one before.  I have the CD in my car, and I think we listened to this song about 12 times in a row with everyone singing except for the baby.

This probably gives you some insight into what I find funny, and the fact that I really love to sing in the car....and loudly.

I've provided the lyrics below the YouTube video for easy reference if you want to pretend that you're in the Crouchmobile with us sometime.  :)

They call me Doctor Worm.
Good morning. How are you? I'm Doctor Worm.
I'm interested in things.
I'm not a real doctor,
But I am a real worm;
I am an actual worm.
I live like a worm.

I like to play the drums.
I think I'm getting good,
But I can handle criticism.
I'll show you what I know,
And you can tell me if you think I'm getting better on the drums.
I'll leave the front un-locked 'cause I can't
Hear the doorbell

When I get into it I can't tell if you are
Watching me twirling the sticks.
When I give the signal, my friend
Rabbi Vole will pay the solo

Some day somebody else besides me will

Call me by my stage name, they will
Call me Dr Worm.
Good Morning how are you, I'm Dr Worm
I'm interested in things.
I'm not a real doctor,
But I am a real worm;
I am an actual worm.
I live like a worm.

I like to play the drums.
I think I'm getting good,
But I can handle criticism.
I'll show you what I know,
And you can tell me if you think I'm getting better on the drums.
I'm not a real doctor,
But they call me Dr. Worm.

One of my favorite things about being a real estate broker/agent is helping my buyer clients to negotiate the best deal on the home they have chosen.  Having represented hundreds of buyers over my 13-year career, I've found that each situation is unique, and that's part of what I enjoy.  The mental challenge makes it....fun?  That may be too strong a word to describe it, but the strategy part is intriguing to me.

I have a bit of advice that I wanted to share with home buyers with regard to making offers:

• Yes, it really is possible to offend someone so badly that they won't sell to you.  No, it's not common.
• If you make an offer that's below the asking price and it gets accepted, don't start second-guessing yourself and wondering if you could have offered less.  Many times, it's possible to hit the sellers' sweet spot, meaning the number they had in mind in the first place.
• If you make an offer that is well below the price suggested by your Realtor, don't be surprised if you get a firm counteroffer, or even a counteroffer of full price.  This doesn't mean that they don't want to sell.  It means, "Please get serious and try again."
• Just because a home has been on the market a long time doesn't mean that the seller will reduce the price a lot.  They may be unable to do so, and that is reflected in the days on market.  Truthfully, that home could end up as a short sale later, but you might be wasting your time to pursue it now.
• If a home has been sharply reduced, this also doesn't mean that you will be able to steal the house.  They may be bottomed out and near the price that they can reasonably accept.
• If a property has been on the market for less than one week, the chances of negotiating the seller down very much are slim indeed.  Why would they want to come off of the price so quickly?  If you were in their shoes, would you?

While we're at it, I also have a bit of perspective to share with buyer's agents:

• Don't be afraid to write up an offer well below the asking price, as long as it seems halfway reasonable.  You might be surprised by the reaction.  Then again, don't be shocked to get a pseudo-offended response, followed by a solid (meaning viable) counteroffer.  Some listing agents like to act upset on behalf of their clients, THEN they present the offer.
• Tell your clients the truth as you see it.  If you think a home will go at or above the asking price, tell them so. 
  
• As I see it (and it's just an opinion, mind you), your job is to help your clients get the home they really want/need at the best price possible.  This doesn't mean you have to squeeze every dime out of the transaction when negotiating, as long as it's a solid purchase/investment.
• You probably won't win any big points with a listing agent by sending over a CMA or other justification for your price.  Just tell them that this is what your clients were comfortable paying, and leave it at that.  If you can say it honestly, you have leverage.  There's no need to be pushy. 
• If you have to chip in a little bit of your own commission to make the deal work, do it, but only do it if you have no choice.  I once gave up $3,000 toward repairs after we hit a stalemate.  My commission check on that sale was $84,000.  "No brainer" for me, right?  Think about your priorities and don't let your pride get in the way.
• While I don't think being overly prideful is the way to build your business, you CAN gently remind your clients of the work you have done for them (e.g. "I think this was a productive day of showings." or "I think that technique/idea I had worked well, and I'm happy to see the deal you got on this place."). 
  

Whether you are in the real estate business or not, I hope you found this to be helpful.  I don't mind sharing what has worked for me.  Feel free to share your own ideas below.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dborman2/3290560161/

Recently, when I was attending South by Southwest Interactive right here in Austin, I was happy that I got a chance to meet many of my online friends face-to-face for the first time.  One of these friends, Michele Price, is someone that I connected with on Twitter many months ago.  Michele is the host of "Breakthrough Business" on BlogTalkRadio.  Not long ago, she invited me to join her as the guest on her show, and I was happy to have a chance to do so today.

We discussed social media for real estate, and what has worked for me thus far.  I mentioned three ways that this has garnered business for me, as well as using social media and blogging to recruit agents to work for our company.

Michele is a consummate professional, and I was impressed with her pre-show package of materials and how organized she was with promoting the show and tracking a live custom hashtag on Twitter as well.

If you're interested in listening, it's a 90 minute show (my segment starts at about the 25 minute mark and runs to the end of the program).  Check it out here:

http://budurl.com/jasoninterview

I would love to hear your input about what I shared during our conversation today. 

Thanks for reading (and listening)!

The title quote/lyric above appears in the song "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon.  I used to sing my son to sleep to that one when he was a baby, and it remains one of my favorites. 

I was reminded of that line the other day when I was eating lunch with my family at a nearby restaurant.  Every once in awhile, I have something happen that reminds me of how blessed I really am, and that was one of those moments.  It wasn't anything specific, just being with my wife and all of our children laughing together and enjoying each other.  Whenever I think of it at times like that, I take a mental snapshot so that I can "refer" to it later. 

I am truly happy and content with my life.  Of course, I've had my share of struggles, but I don't think I've ever been more comfortable in my own skin than I am today. 

Kids grow up too quickly, and I remember when we found out that we were expecting our first child.  Now, that same child seems to be officially starting puberty, if his questions and concerns are any indicator.  This makes me feel a little bit old sometimes, but it's just part of life.

Rather than focusing on business and goals, which are transient, I try to put people first, because they matter.  I often imagine what my life will be like when I'm truly old (assuming I live that long).  Will I care if I have a nice home or lots of money, or would I prefer to have loved ones who know that I did the best I could to love them unconditionally?  I'm not saying that money is utterly unimportant, but it's not my #1 concern, nor will it ever be.

Some of the happiest people I know have little material wealth. 

Don't miss out on the life that God has planned for you by getting bogged down in the details of your business.  I promise you that you are here for a reason, and it's not just for work.