What gave me my edge…the realities of today’s marketplace
Before jumping into Real Estate, I worked at Doubleclick.net (acquired by Google), Amazon.com and Expedia.com in middle management technical positions. I was exposed to a decent amount of Large Business Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Affiliate Marketing and Online Marketing (in general) in some of the top Internet companies in the world.
During my stints at each organization, I didn’t examine or understand SEM or other online marketing tools/techniques fully since I never applied the things we were doing at those companies on a larger scale in my own business. However, after jumping into the business of Real Estate, I realized that I could use some of that experience in my own business - and I did.
The Internet has changed the world of Real Estate in many ways.
Consumers are much more educated before they start working with their agents. They also do a bit of research on their agents with online recommendations or other tools & websites that may help them become more familiar with the person who is going to take a 3% cut out of their transaction. Consumers all over the world are more prepared and knowledgable about the experience they are about to encounter.
Prospective buyers use the Internet now to learn more about their markets. They want to make sure they are not being swindled into buying into a bad market like one of the “markets NOT to buy” according to Business 2.0 or other publications. They also want to know what sort of service they should expect in someone who may make thousands of dollars and for the elite, tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per transaction. It’s no longer easy for an agent to just help a client with their contracts and get the big check a few days after closing.
Sellers are wanting to make sure they are represented by agents that are NOT fresh out of Real Estate school. Sellers of homes and condominiums are wanting to make sure they get the most out of their homes and will look online for recent sales around their property. In general, most consumers are more ready before making the plunge into buying or selling their largest purchase in life.