Quick observations from Inman to add to the morass of blogging and Twittering going on…
1) Gotta love global warming. 60 degrees in New York City in January
2) Cosmic justice…I missed my flight yesterday because I set my alarm for 6pm instead of 6am. I asked the hotel to wake me up at 6:45am. The phone rang, I got up, got ready, and was about to step out the door…when I noticed it was actually now 3:15am and not 7:15am!
3) One of the panels this morning was on marketing properties online, and video came up frequently as a marketing and listing tool. Agents offering video marketing as part of their portfolio products are winning out against agents who don’t. We heard such anecdotes about properties in all price ranges, right up to $20M Manhattan penthouses.
More observations later…
Tags:
Industry,
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect
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Tags: Industry · Inman · Inman Connect 2008 · Inman-Connect
…and finally, any suggestions for Session 4?
Wednesday, January 9, 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Get Your Listings Everywhere
Brokers and agents face dozens of options when deciding where to put their listings online. This panel will explore easy methods for syndicating listings out to multiple places, how to track your efforts and what questions to consider before partnering with outside companies.
Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog
Panelists:
Alex Montalenti, Co-founder & CMO, SubmitYourListings.com
Oliver Muoto, Co-Founder & Vice President Business Development, vFlyer
Celeste Starchild, Vice President Broker Sales, ListHub: Broker Division of Threewide
Carey Tufts, Director of Marketing, Point2
Tags:
Industry,
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect
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Tags: Industry · Inman · Inman Connect 2008 · Inman-Connect
…and session 3 — your questions, please?
Wednesday, January 9, 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
New Ways to Market Properties Effectively
Video, virtual tours, single property Web sites — there are dozens of options for marketing properties online. Find out new methods and hear panelists discuss what has worked and what hasn’t worked.
Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog
Panelists:
Renwick Congdon, Chief Executive Officer, IMPREV
Jason Doyle, Division Vice President, Homes.com
Richard Ferrari, Senior Vice President, Prudential Douglas Elliman
Christian Sterner, CEO & Founder, Wellcomemat
Tags:
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect
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Tags: Industry · Inman · Inman Connect 2008 · Inman-Connect
What Questions Would You Like to See Discussed at Inman Connect 2008 Internet Marketing Session 2: Use Technology to Craft a Successful Listings Pitch
January 8th, 2008 · No Comments
Continuing my effort at crowdsourcing the questions for the various panels at Inman Connect, what questions do you have for Session 2?
Details of the session are as follows:
Wednesday, January 9, 9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Use Technology to Craft a Successful Listings Pitch
Today’s sellers expect more than flyers and postcards. Learn how to jazz up your listings presentation to wow sellers and win referrals.
Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog
Panelists:
Shari Chase, CEO, President & Founder, Chase International
Edward Herson, Vice President, Halstead Property, LLC
Heidi Mueller, Broker Associate, Prudential California Realty
John Reinhardt, President & CEO, Fillmore Real Estate
Tags:
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect
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Tags: Industry · Inman · Inman Connect 2008 · Inman-Connect
So here I am getting ready to leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Inman Connect 2008, but the logistics, as they say, they are a’daunting. Kris Berg has noted the same — twice, in fact.
Determined to bring break the lazy habit I have of stuffing a big suitcase to the gills with everything I think I may need, I’ve decided to downsize and make do with a carry-on suitcase plus the inevitable laptop bag. Problem is, that means my toiletries kit will be going through that all-seeing conveyor belt Cyclops run by the TSA. Now that could be embarrassing.
Even worse, it seems all my “liquids, gels, and aerosols” have to be 3-ounce sizes or less AND fit in a one-quart ziplock bag. Not just any clear plastic bag, mind you; no — a ziplock bag. (Makes you wonder: Did Michael Chertoff just buy some S. C. Johnson stock?)
And so I head out to the local convenience store, and 15 minutes later I walk out with only:
Apparently 3 ounces is a really small amount! (Where I grew up, also a former British colony, they used the smorgasboard approach to ingesting silly British-isms: take some, leave the rest. They drive on the right, unlike the Brits. They use Metric measurements, like the Brits — not English ones, like the Yanks. They spell color colour and center centre. I have no frame of reference for “3 ounces.”) Convenience stores simply don’t have 3-ounce sizes of shaving cream, toothpaste, and the other toiletry sundries.
Off to the nearest Longs, a 10 minute drive away. 10 more minutes of futile looking, before finally breaking down and doing the unmanly thing: asking for directions. Turns out what I’m looking for is not travel size but sample size.
Finally, I’m ready to go.
Now if I can just find a way to smuggle some kunu on board. I don’t think Michael Chertoff has a specific ruling on that!
Tags:
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect
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Tags: Industry · Inman · Inman Connect 2008 · Inman-Connect
This week Wednesday through Friday I’ll be in New York at the bi-annual Inman Connect conference. These conferences tend be both fun and intense: it’s always great to catch up with old friends and make new ones, but sometimes the volume of information is a bit fire-hosey.
I will be moderating the panels at the Internet Marketing Workshop on Wednesday morning. I’ve been emailing back and forth with the panelists to make sure we have a good solid core of questions with which to kick off each session. However, I’d like to be even better prepared, so I’ll be “crowdsourcing” additional questions.
Whether you’re going to be at Inman or not, what are some good questions you’d like to see explored during this panel? (In subsequent posts I’ll provide an opportunity to make suggestions for the other panels.)
Here’s what panel one is about:
Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Tap New Methods for Finding Buyers
What are successful agents doing in today’s market to find buyers? Explore new methods that have proven cost-effective and will keep your prospect pipeline full without wasting time and money.
Moderator: Kevin Boer, Founder, 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog
Panelists:
Jeffrey Bastress, President, Startpoint Realty
Jamie Glenn, Vice President, Product Management, Trulia
Brendon Kraham, National Sales Manager Classifieds, Google
Greg Tracy, Founder/Realtor, Blueroof.com
Tags:
Google,
Inman,
Inman Connect 2008,
Inman-Connect,
Real estate,
Trulia
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January 10th, 2007 · 5 Comments
Exciting couple of days meeting old friends whom I’d never met in person before. Highlights of the last few days included:
-
Getting a post up before Sellsius (Granted, Joe was in the panel, and sitting up front without a laptop, but hey, I’ll take any advantage I can, fair or unfair!) I didn’t mean to imply in that post that nobody was interested in the session — as a few people pointed out, I attended the re-run, but the matinee was packed.
- Getting some really excellent customer service from iBahn, the conference’s Wifi provider. On Monday afternoon I complained about their service, and a scant few hours later, I got an email from Shannon Michael at iBahn asking for details so they could help. Their customer care director Ponch Thompson also got involved, and all told I got two phone calls and several emails trying to resolve the problem. In the end, I was able to figure it out on my side, but I feel it’s only fair that if I complained publicly about iBahn, I also need to publicly compliment them for a great customer service experience. Shannon, Ponch — hats off, great work, and thanks!
- Temporarily topping Google for the search phrase “Glenn Kelman Alan Dalton” — some 12 hours after posting about their duel, beating out the Redfin and Inman blogs. I’m now down at number 2, but nobody should feel bad about getting Google-out-ranked by RainCityGuide.
Tags:
Alan Dalton,
Glenn Kelman,
Ibahn,
Inman-Connect,
Real estate,
Realtor.com,
Redfin
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Tags: Alan Dalton · Glenn Kelman · Ibahn · Inman Connect · Real estate · Realtor.com · Redfin
Alan Dalton (Move.com) was in top form tonight in his panel discussion with Glenn Kelman of Redfin. I predicted three things he would say and I got — well, sort of — 2 out of 3.
Prediction: “I know Glenn Kelman is a decent man, an honorable man, who really really cares about Realtors, probably because most of his classmates at Berkeley became Realtors.”
Actual: I’ll have to wait to review a full video of the panel, but he did make a few references to Glenn Kelman (and his cross-town counterpart, Lloyd Frink of Zillow) being “good, decent, honorable” people…but he didn’t mention anything about Kelman’s Berkeley classmates.
Prediction: “I think it’s appropriate that Glenn is here with us near Times Square, the world capital of frivolous neon lights and entertainment, which is really all Redfin amounts to.”
Actual: Dalton did say something along the lines of “It’s appropriate we’re here in Manhattan…” but then launched into a long-winded analogy about how what Redfin is doing disparages Realtors, and if we did the same with all professionals — doctors, lawyers, etc. — there would be no consumers left to buy anything and we’d all be living in caves. Very bizarre.
Prediction: “I ask you, what is the real estate public really looking for — the full service value-added model of the traditional Realtor, or a scaled-down web-based half-baked coccamamie jumbo-mumbo service that leaves the consumer to fend for himself?”
Actual: Lots of things along that vein, but not anything of the same wording. 
Trust me, you don’t want to be in the ring with Dalton — he’s engaging, witty, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoys sparring.
Off now to some other event…will try to report more on this event later today or tomorrow.
Tags:
Alan Dalton,
Glenn Kelman,
Inman-Connect,
Real estate,
Realtor.com,
Redfin
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Tags: Alan Dalton · Glenn Kelman · Inman Connect · Real estate · Realtor.com · Redfin
