All of the 27 delegates at the Professionals PMW attended RETSO, and we were excited to have not only our operating US members, but also four prospective members in our midst. Two of the four have already submitted applications to join the US team and having spent time with these guys, I know they’ll be a great fit for our culture.

Even with such a small group for our first official conference, it was great to feel the positive energy and the support coming from the group of people. Of course there was a lot to discuss, but in keeping with he Professionals way, we also had lots of fun.

The greatest thing for me was to hear how much interest the Professionals USA members have in what we do here in Australia, especially around Auctions and Property Management, and as such we’re holding another conference type event in August this year to really focus on education around these two areas.

As our US Group gains momentum through brand strength and exposure at industry events, we hope to be able to really encourage collaboration between the northern and southern hemispheres so that we can truly capitalise on the huge opportunities that lay before us.

I believe the success we have in our lives has many measurable elements. Not all of us can identify them, and not all of us pay the attention we should to other important facets of our lives, so here’s a little reminder from someone who knows first hand what it’s like to have a strong emphasis on work and business – Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy.

I’ve met Jay a few times in the US, and know that he operates a VERY successful business, as well as provide a tremendous amount of information to people about the use of technology in business through seminars, BarCamps, conferences and in general conversation.

If you’re a busy work-a-holic, I would encourage you to take 5 minutes to read one of Jay’s recent blog posts, because not only will it help you realise that there’s more important things in life than just work and business, it may just save your life.

The Phoenix Real Estate Guy – On Having A Heart Attack

Thanks Jay for sharing such a personal experience.

1. The ease of access to YouTube – anytime, anywhere.
2. The multitude of search results – from beginner tutorials to advanced and in depth answers.
3. Anonymity – nobody knows what you’re searching, so you don’t feel like an idiot asking what others might deem a simple question.
4. Visual representation – you can watch someone doing something and copy them, rather than have to interpret verbal instructions.
5. Peer-to-peer credibility – there’s no catch, it’s free information, and you can do it yourself.

Consumers and professionals in every industry are turning to technology to answer questions, so how do we as business people in the real estate industry ensure that we remain relevant? By providing the answers in the place that people are asking the questions. It sounds simple, and it is. My experience is that people who are doing it well are benefiting, and those that aren’t doing it, aren’t because they fear the unknown. It’s untested, there aren’t any stats to say that a certain number of YouTube videos has created a certain number of listings for an agent, but that’s where the consumers are, so I firmly believe that that’s where we need to be – answering relevant questions and becoming the source of information so that hopefully when it comes time to conduct a real estate transaction, you’re the person the consumers go to. Why? Because you’ve demonstrated your knowledge, helped answer their questions, and not asked for anything in return.

One of the things I’ve learnt over the years that I’ve been in the real estate industry, and the countless training, conferences and consultations I’ve been involved with, is that there’s generally only 1% of agents that will actually go out and put this kind of advice into practice – and they’re the ones that will be relevant to consumers now and into the future. I encourage YOU to be part of that 1%.

From my own point of view, real estate is definitely still a tough gig for most agents in the field. However, I’ve also seen that those agents who have persevered, adapted to the times, and who have a strong plan for the future, are seemingly gaining momentum in their local markets.

I firmly believe that the biggest contributing factor to consumer confidence in real estate is financial, so with banks being more competitive with each other, there is a real trend that’s starting to emerge with higher property sales rates in most states, and strengthening returns for property sellers.

I don’t know that I’d say that the real estate market is heading towards a boom as we saw in the early 2000’s, but moving from a declining market is still a positive step for consumers and real estate agents alike.

I’ve seen a lot of real estate businesses close their doors for financial reasons, so my words of advice to agents and Principals would be to ensure that in times of growth, to put money aside for times of decline.

It’s definitely not something that’s coming in the future, and it’s definitely not something that’s isolated to metropolitan areas. Technology plays a large part of every day lives of our consumers, whether agents think it does or not. I’ve actually heard agents say that other industries need technology and social media, but not really real estate. What I find interesting is that consumers are not dedicated to one type of consumerism. Someone who travels a lot will still buy and sell real estate. Mums and dads will still buy and sell real estate. People who go to rock concerts will still buy and sell real estate. I don’t think we can pigeon-hole our customers and clients to not being as tech savvy as other consumers.

Children at school are using the internet to research projects from a very young age and they’ve not known a world without facebook. If parents aren’t already clued onto technology and social networks, they are becoming more and more connected because they have to be to keep up with their children, and I dare say that parents are amongst the largest demographic of people that transact in real estate.

I spoke in a previous blog post about ‘glocal being the new local’, and as time continues to pass, the statement couldn’t be more true. We do business with people overseas on almost a daily basis, made easy by the internet and the communication tools it provides. To secure the relevance of our businesses today and into the future, we need to ensure that WE are keeping up with technological advances, because it’s a known fact that our consumers most definitely ARE.

General Social Media Stats – Australia

General Social Media Stats – Global (type “stat” or “real estate” into the search area for more)

Real Estate Social Media Stats – Global

Real Estate Social Media News – Global

Real Estate Social Media Infographic – January 2011

Real Estate Social Media Infographic – April 2011

Other fantastic places to search for real estate social media statistics are Google and YouTube. As the worlds top two search engines, you can find an infinite amount of data and statistics, as well as visual and entertaining representation of just how the world of real estate is changing, and how rapidly.

As I type this, stats are yet again changing and updating across the world, and as people’s behaviours drift further and further into the world of technology, and their tendency to embrace the power of social, it is incumbent upon us as a service industry to ensure we are in the spaces that our buyers, sellers, investors and tenants are in, or we’ll simply miss out in the long run.

If you’ve got other resources for finding social media statistics, related to real estate or not, I’m sure readers would be very thankful for your sharing.

Now into the fourth month of the year, we at Professionals Service Centre are well and truly into preparation and implementation mode for the 2012-13 financial year. As crazy as it seems, we already have a jam packed event and marketing calendar, that for those Professionals members who were at the Principals and Managers Workshop in March, would have some inkling of already.

Registrations are coming in for Future Leaders in June, and Chairman’s Club award winners are booking their flights to the Chairman’s Club event being held in Fiji in June also. October being Pink Ribbon month will be awash with pink marketing and merchandise, as well as Principals attending the International Conference on the Gold Coast.

What about at grass-roots level, there’s been so much happening in the real estate sector of late, and so many predictions by experts that the market has turned for many, that it can be difficult to focus on getting the ground work right, processes in place and people trained to cope with what we hope to see as a much better market in 2012-13.

So, we’re in April already, another month into 2012, and as time flies by, we need to really consider not only our current positions, but our future positions in the real estate market. Are we going to be a real contender in our local markets? Are we going to take proactive steps to success? Are we going to take full advantage of the opportunities we have both within our brand and in our marketplaces? I certainly plan to, and I hope you’ll do the same.

Being a Professionals family member is about upholding the values of the Group, ensuring that clients and customers are treated with respect, and that professionalism is shown to the rest of Professionals members by acting in accordance with the group’s licensing, policies and articles of association.

I don’t take matters like this lightly, and will always strive to maintain the highest quality membership in the real estate industry.

Firstly, when I say Glocal is the new local*, I’m talking about the world becoming a smaller place because of our ability to connect with people so much more easily than ever before. Our referral base is more than just local nowadays, it’s national and global and something to be aware of – ask yourself, is your business ready for an international referral? Would you or your team know how and be able to cater for the needs of someone investing from somewhere like China or the U.S?

Secondly, as real estate business owners and operators, we need to be conscious of the needs and wants of our employees. Whilst most Principals won’t like it, the truth is that the workers of today and tomorrow are brought up in a vastly different world to us, and have different expectations of their employer and different methods of achieving their career goals. If the company ‘way’ is not up to it, agents will create their own way or go elsewhere. What does that mean? We need to provide opportunities for younger people to grow their profile online by enabling them with the right tools and policies, not blocking them.

I would encourage people to watch this little YouTube clip that illustrates just how different the next generations are. It’s a world of “Touch and Swipe” not “Point and Click” so we need t be where they are.

Thirdly, I’ve spoken about this on many occasions – it’s meeting the needs of our consumers. There’s a general attitude towards real estate and other services these days that “I don’t need a real estate salesperson” and “I can find the info myself thanks”. Consumers trust their friends, and friends of friends, not an unknown service provider like ourselves, so we need to bridge the gap by creating a relationship and open communication network with our consumers. Believe me when I say that if you can’t be found through search or social networks, and hopefully you can be through both, you won’t become a trusted advisor and collaborator, rather, you’ll just be another real estate salesperson.

Lastly, some stats that I touched on at PMW for those that still don’t believe in the power of “social” -

• Referral via facebook gives a 400% greater chance of a transaction (friend of friend)
• 6° of separation has been reanalysed to now be 4.7° of separation due to “social”
• 20% all online traffic now social!!
• The facebook corporate message all over campus: “we are only 1% there” (scary)

Good or Bad: it’s all about integrating Good Old Fashioned with New World Real Estate.

*This statement came from Trend #6 of Stefan Swanepoel’s Future Trends in which he references Professionals with respect to the International Investment opportunity.

The importance of coming to events like PMW and Annual Conference, is that not only do you get to learn about what’s happening within your Professionals network, find out how other members are coping with tough markets and the effects of extreme weather on their rent rolls, retention of staff and what marketing is working for them, it’s also about the in depth presentations from those within the industry who will give you insight and knowledge that will help you  climb the “steps to success”.

If you’re not at PMW this year, then I strongly encourage you to get involved with the Annual Conference which is actually the International Conference being held on the Gold Coast in October this year. Something to think about as well, would be to send one a manager or one of the main coordinators within your office to these events, because they will certainly benefit from growing their knowledge, but it also means your office isn’t disadvantaged because nobody knows the key objectives that are often delivered at these conferences.

Anyway, we’re having a ball at PMW 2012, and for those that are here, I hope you’re getting great value from the sessions. For those that aren’t here, I truly do believe in the value of Professionals conferences and would love to see you or one of your team at the next one!