I believe he and I concur that if all a broker thinks they need to do is power wash their website to reposition and reengineer their brand, they might as well save their money.

Spending 5, 10, 20k on a new design will have a momentary effect. But if behind the beautiful new site is the same old brokerage, with the same old sedentary ways, void of quality content, no defining identity, nothing that really distinguishes them from anyone else, why bother.

Part of my right brain wonders, if we were redesign the automobile, we would want it to run on water, look cool, hold all our stuff, never break down, etc. The problem is, people in general agree, but then they go out and buy an 8 cylinder go-fast or a honkn SUV. Not everyone, but you know what I mean.

In my experience, most people do choose a specific agent. The company brand supports their decision to choose. Most top performers would be chosen whether they were with one company or another as long as their affiliation was considered unnegative.

In real estate, we would all agree the future will be different and the industry is bizarre, yet Mr. & Ms. consumer continue to choose agents who are unskilled and unprofessional. That’s weird right. I know not all do, but the number that do is staggering.

As for the future, the challenge is, entrenched legacy, BIG companies have too many sunk costs to radically change everything, it’s too risky for the potential reward. Small brokers can do it and many are. Redfin seems to be getting traction, but how many real estate entrepreneurs can go out and raise millions to fund the next new model. Zero.

The future is gonna be different for sure. If I had to bet, I’d say it will be transformed by a rocket-surgery genius new age billion dollar company that nobody really thought would jump into the game.

Cheers.

For the longest time I have felt that the only train of branding thought in real estate came from a shallow pool of information. These coaches, gurus, whatever they are, pander to what they know sounds good to agents and brokers and have made a fortune selling that crack to their addict clients.

Maybe that stuff – vacuous slogans and promises virtually impossible to keep – once worked. I contend that it never did. Today those branding efforts are Saran Wrap. Easy to see through, crunches up when you try to handles it, easy to poke holes in and does not preserve your freshness.

Brokers and agents would do well to rethink, reorganize and reengineer who are you are, what you mean, and what your customers can expect from you.

Dude, you and I are on the same page for sure. Only my page tends to have fewer words on it.

One corrective comment: I was not trained as a copywriter. I seemed to have that ability naturally.

While I was not trained as an entrepreneur, I was neither trained to work 9-5 and sit in a cubicle. In my second year post graduating from college, I started my first company. 1000watt is number 6. I think entrepreneurship, like copywriting, is a natural extension of a creative spirit and a desire to break rules.

You entrepreneurial venture is indicative of that sensibility and a welcome addition to the RE space.