After a wonderful weekend at the Spring Retreat in South Beach, I took some time to think about all of the amazing networking, topics of conversation and the feedback from all of you, my colleagues.
Clearly, an underlying theme in this weekend's conference and the market in general, is the effect that technology has in today's real estate marketplace. We all heard over and over again "print is dead," "we are done with magazines," you need to integrate social media, "are you active in your blog, how often are you on facebook, are you on Twitter, and of course, the importance of integrating the new gadgets like the IPAD to make ourselves more efficient.
Although nowhere near an expert, nor can I say that I blog every day, or update our facebook page every day, or much less, can I say that we have "figured it all out," we do have exposure and a clear understanding of what these distinct avenues of marketing and technology can provide. HOWEVER, like the best laptop 10 years ago, the challenge with technology is that today's invention is in tomorrow's recycle bin. I remember when Flash technology became popular and no web designers, (with the exception of the few brands in the world that did not need engine placement) would come near it for fear of not being found in the search engines. Not much later, they learned that although the search engines could not spider these presentations, they could be seamlessly integrated to create a better style, presentation and overall brand.
So many are left with the question....how do I proceed. What is the best way for me to get ahead of my competitors?
At the end of the day, none of us have the answer to the best plan in moving forward. Real estate, like the trends that accompany it, is a moving target and we need to be able to adapt to what is happening every day. We all learned in the past 18 months, that our markets can change with the drop off a hat. Creating and staying true to the essence of your brand, and who you and your team are at the core, is the key to success. Adaptation, innovation and implementation will help solve the rest.
In my mind, when the other aspects of the business (like the above list) starts to overwhelm us, we need to get back to the basics of relationships. We are all successful in our own markets based on the relationships that we have formed with our buyers and our sellers. In today's market, there is so much fear, uncertainty and lack of commitment and i feel that it is our true success will come when our clients, both buyers and sellers, feel a trusted guide to maneuver them through the process. Our education, knowledge and experience should allow them to remove the fear of engaging with a broker that so many of them carry.
Good luck to all of you,
Todd Cutter
2Costa Rica Real Estate
www.2costaricarealestate.com
