I had the opportunity to speak today at the “business booster” meeting for RE/Max Advantage. Genny Williams, who runs the “Get a Real Estate Life” program, asked me to speak about real estate trends in the Birmingham, Alabama area. I enjoy these types of meetings because I can talk to Realtors about what is happening in the market.
Due to the fact that Realtors sell homes and appraisers value them, we have a lot we can learn from each other. It seems like these two groups have not gotten together enough to discuss what we do because there are a lot of misconceptions about the appraisal process. Realtors are very eager to learn about what we do, which makes it very rewarding for me. Years ago when business was booming appraisers did not have to do much marketing. We kept to ourselves and just worked on our appraisals. In today’s market this is not the case. It is necessary to market to our customers and referral partners more, which is good. By doing this we get to know one another in person and build relationships: the ultimate in social networking.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other online social networking websites are great, but they can go a whole lot further if we follow it up with human interaction. What do you think about one to one interaction as compared to online networking? What has worked better for you? I would be interested in hearing your opinion.
Tom,
I don’t know how I missed this. We, the Get a Real Estate Life gang, really enjoyed your insight and you sharing valuable information with us about what you see happening in our Birmingham market. Because the market has experienced drastic changes, we need each other more than ever to ensure our clients are receiving the best service with pricing a home to attract a buyer and to get the most money for our sellers. Thanks again for being a wealth of information and a complete professional. Our agents are ordering pre-market appraisals more than ever. Thanks for your help!
Genny
Get a Real Estate Life
RE/MAX Advantage South
I enjoyed my time with your group as well. I look forward to learning more from you guys as well. Appraisers don’t get to interact with the buyers and sellers as much as Realtors, and I think that is important. That is why I like to ask questions about sales to get a little more info. to help understand the reasons why someone bought a house and paid a certain amount. I hope this is just the beginning of a long friendship with you and your company.
That is really great Tom. I totally agree that there is much we can learn about each other. I like how your online relationships led to this.
Thanks Bryan. I have really gotten alot of education and encouragement over the past 6-12 month from you guys that have helped me with my online networking.
Good for you, Tom. You’re doing a great job!!!
Way to go on speaking today. I bet you did a great job. What did you talk about?
Regarding networking, I think online stuff is best when it leads to in-person stuff (or even on the phone developing further relationship). I’ve been able to build some really good relationships with people on Twitter and Facebook. It’s really great to meet people in person, but sometimes that doesn’t happen, and that’s okay too.
Ryan, I spoke about the value trends in the area and a little about the appraisal process. It’s amazing how little realtors know about what we do. I don’t mean that as an insult to them but as an oppportunity for appraisers to do a better job at communicating the process to them. I am just beginning to make more one to one contact with online friends and hopefully I can build on this.