Good morning ACRE-land!  It is a Monday and usually that adds up to what I call "Smokey the Bear" activity...you know, stomping out forest fires!  But today started off a little different.  

I was licking my wounds after being dissed by a "friend" who I did a consulting listing appointment with that emailed me over the weekend and informed me that they had selected another traditional commission agent to list their home.  In light of this I have also pretty much come to the conclusion that I will probably not be working with friends in the future!  I have had two really bad experiences having friends as clients this year, one of which led me to ACRE, so I guess it isn't all evil :))  But I am learning that perhaps friendships and business should be kept separate and I should just answer those requests with a referral to another agent that I know, love and trust!

Anyway...I digress...my wound-licking came to an abrupt halt when I received an email from the Senior Editor of Texas REALTOR® Magazine asking my permission to quote me in the magazine and include my head shot.  I commented on a Survey on Facebook that asked “What do you wish you could change about the real estate industry?”

My answer was "Embracing alternative compensation models which more directly answer the consumers wants and needs."

I am being quoted in Texas REALTOR® Magazine as such and hope that this will get other Texas agents thinking like an ACRE!!!!

Just wanted to share my Facebook success and one more step in a positive direction for the cause!

Happy Monday Y'all!!!

Jeani

MY FIRST SHOT AT NOT SELLING

I have been in real estate in one manner or another since I was a teenager.  I have always been told that real estate is a sales profession.  I am pretty good at selling and have had a successful career in real estate and marketing sales.  But I have gotten frustrated with the way real estate works...or doesn’t work.

I have gotten disenchanted with the “system”, the feast or famine, superstar or underdog, victor or victim system that is real estate.  I was in search of something more.  I fancy myself an outside the box thinker who is always questioning everything...Daddy taught me that.  I have never been one to settle for anything when someone says “Because that is the way it has always been done!”  

Before I go on, let me share this story...

I completed the ACRE study program and earned my certification.  I added a consulting services page to my website and prepared myself for this shift in the way I approach real estate.  Today I got my first consulting gig!  Here is how it went:

I received and email through my website requesting a meeting regarding my real estate services to list a couple's home.  I showed up both prepared to list the home in the traditional manner and also to present my consulting services menu for the first time.

We sat down at the dining room table and the husband says to me, "I am curious, we read on your website about your consulting services and we really want to hear about how that works."  I was so delighted!!!  The consumer asked me about consulting and it made me think..."This is really where our business is going, people are curious about having options and choices!!!"  AWESOME!!!

I launched into how I came into the whole consulting concept, about ACRE and about how the wants and needs of consumers are changing and moving in a direction that affords them to have the service that they want without being held hostage by only one way of doing real estate.  They both agreed that what I was telling them was true and then they proceeded to tell me which services they wanted from me!  It was amazing and somewhat surreal!

I am putting together a proposal for them for helping them sell their home and just had to get online and share my first consulting experience!  The take-away...this is really cool and I love it!  Thanks ACRE for lighting the path to a new way of doing real estate!!!