Every year, the concept of real estate agents becoming extinct make national headlines and some believe technology will supplant the practice, but is that true? Agents have survived dozens of revolutions thus far and somehow remain in the field.

Agents becoming extinct?

The news cycle is at it again with threats of the real estate agent becoming extinct, often perpetuated by self deprecating agents themselves1. People fear change, whine about making less money, and that consumers are being fed too much information.

more ..... https://agbeat.com/editorials/will-real-estate-agents-become-extinct-over-time/

I consider the demise of traditional real estate firms a necessary market correction, with their archaic business models flooding the consumer.

Over the past ten years, consumers have become empowered through technology, providing them with a wealth of resources and tools to find a home. Information that was once considered privaledge, is now available online for homebuyers

Traditional real estate brokers are trying to justify their relevance in order to continue to charge high commissions to cover their expenses and continue on wasting money on the agent trying to motivate them, versus focusing on the consumer.

more .... https://zonicrealty.com/index.php/about-zonicrealty/2012-03-13-21-30-12/item/2-demise-of-traditional-residential-real-estate-firms

Word-of-mouth is gold and social media is the vessel we use to promote it, but how exactly is it accomplished? As businesses we are always looking for ways to lower the cost of acquiring new customers. It’s simple economics, the lower the acquisition cost the more sales (and money) we make…simple right? Not exactly. As with most things it’s easier said than done, but if you make it part of your daily customer/employee interaction to give your customers something positive to talk about you go a long way to influencing a higher rate of word-of-mouth, let’s call it your ROE or "Return On Experience."

More ..... https://socialmediatoday.com/davidjohnson4/466776/forget-about-roi-start-thinking-about-roe

1. In person and not by phone nor email

Your specific response concerning the amount of your consulting fees can create a negative response.

Watch this short video of an example of how a professional real estate consultant handles phone calls. Notice that they do to discuss their fees on the phone.

A real estate consultant needs more facts to determine how much time and effort is required to help the prospective client. It may be wise to look a real estate property before disclosing fees.

Doctors, lawyers and CPAs do not quote their fees on the phone or by email. Can you effectively buy a house or commercial property by phone only? Prospective clients must know, like and trust you before they become a client. If you are using an internet dating service, do you want to meet that person before you get married?

More ..... https://realtyconsults.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/rules-for-real-estate-consulting/

Flat fee websites using the phrase "List on Realtor.com" were the subject of a preliminary injunction granted by a federal judge for deceptive advertising and trademark infringement, which the Defendant allegedly says he will fight by naming "1000+" other Brokers that use the phrase in their advertising.

More ..... https://agbeat.com/real-estate-news-events/list-on-realtor-com-flat-fee-under-fire-by-nar/

Note from Lester... There are five states with Minimum Service fiduciary obligations and standards therefore the brokers that stick a sign in the ground can not profitably charge their low flat fee.

I thought 90 second video was good.

https://youtu.be/W-Yf1u3xD_I

Everything about TheRedPin.com’s Bloor St. office feels more like a tech startup than a real estate brokerage, which is fitting because this relatively new company is a hybrid of both.

Its mission is simple and shouts in chalk from a wall that’s been converted to a giant blackboard: Making House Hunting Easy.

TheRedPin.com is among the first of a new breed of realtors in Toronto — tech-savvy data crunchers who are determined to give homebuyers the tools they need to find their dream home from the comfort of their own computer.

This so-called Virtual Office Website (VOW) is far from alone, and a far cry from the Realtor.ca site that has provided consumers with just the most basic of MLS information for years.

Over the next few weeks a host of other VOWs — from information-rich realtysellersrealestate.com and realosophy.com to the far more basic searchrealty.ca — will be rolled out across the GTA. Some, like TheRedPin.com, will offer significant discounts in realty fees to house hunters who do most of the legwork themselves.

“Ninety-five percent of Canadian homebuyers start their search online, but this isn’t like the travel industry where you can ahead and just buy your own ticket.

“We’re not a discount broker — we’re still a full-service brokerage offering analysis, property valuation, negotiations and a network of professionals who provide mortgages,” says Rokham Fard, one of four co-founders of TheRedPin.com which claims to be an even bigger database of listings than MLS.

https://realtyconsults.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/traditional-realtors-face-challenge-by-online-players/

My purpose to introduce this video to you ..... is to suggest that the best method

* to recruit brokers to be an ACRE and also

*to recruit agents to consult for brokers

Is to know what motivation will produce the best results

Ten minute video that will surprise you about what motivates us.

https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc

Technology-based real estate brokerage Redfin says it's reducing the commission refunds it offers to buyers, raising fees by an average of 16 percent, in order to provide customers with "a one-on-one relationship" to their agents.

Redfin had previously offered buyers refunds equal to 50 percent of the commission split the brokerage received from the seller, subject to a $6,000 minimum fee. Now, Redfin will employ a fixed-dollar refund for each listing based on a sliding scale that's tied to the listing price, CEO Glenn Kelman announced on the company's blog. 

more ...... https://blog.redfin.com/blog/2012/02/introducing_redfin_30_redfin_becomes_a_no-brainer_introducing_redfin_30_redfin_becomes_a_no-brainer.html

I have recently gotten to know a real estate professional named Michael Pannell that has made a big mark on Dallas real estate through the use of the Internet.  His team generates 220+ deals per year and 97% of it comes from organic search engine clicks.  He has now expanded into San Antonio and Houston and there is no sign of him slowing down as long as he can keep generating solid internet leads.  When I learned about this I became incredibly interested to learn more about his business and I sat him down for a little Q&A to find out how he created this monster business.

Q. – What made you focus your business so heavily on the internet?

A. – I noticed that the trends were leaning towards the internet.  I had a website up but was not getting very much traffic to it.  Everything in the market was changing and I had to change my ways of advertising to get business.

Q. – What did it look like before? 

A. – Before focusing on the internet, our business was all local advertising.  We once a week (over the weekend), put out bandit signs all over the metroplex and just sat at the office the next few days and took phone calls.  This was back when lending was much more lax and almost anyone could get approved.  We were advertising for new homes.  So we basically took phone calls, drove the clients around to the different builders and then once the client decided on the perfect home, the builder rep signed them up

More .... https://www.geekestateblog.com/220-deals-per-year-thanks-to-the-internet-inside-look/