Michael J. Stefonick, CEO
Optimix Marketing, Ltd.
506 Colonial Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
mike@optimix.com
http://www.optimix.com
http://www.RealEstateFranchise.com
610-659-1173

Executive Coaching & Management Strategies for Real Estate Professionals
RE/INVENTING Real Estate Brokerage too improve your BOTTOM LINE

Michael J. Stefonick, CEO
Optimix Marketing, Ltd.
506 Colonial Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
mike@optimix.com
http://www.optimix.com
http://www.RealEstateFranchise.com
610-659-1173

Executive Coaching & Management Strategies for Real Estate Professionals
RE/INVENTING Real Estate Brokerage too improve your BOTTOM LINE

Agreed… Absolutely. There is also a conversation that could be had about how MLS's continue to be relevant given all the different places a home can be listed. Then there is the role of Social Media, Social Bookmarking, and what may eventually happen with non-mls data, the Conversations that may take place around those listings.

P.S. We are opening up eXp Realty in Arizona in the next 10 days, so definitely keep an eye on us.

Another thing to consider along with the forecasts above is the control of MLS information. A lot of Brokers feel helpless in the face of the MLSs, but they do indeed have a great deal of control over their listings. The rise of alternative MLS portals like Trulia, Zillow, and even Craigslist to a degree, show that prospects will consume this information in various ways. Brokers can wield a great deal of power in controlling this type of dissemination.

Your caveat IMHO is the residual relevance of Bricks and Mortar. However imagine the improved efficiency of time that would take place if you could do exactly what you are talking about in terms of Scripts and Dialogs if you could look another person in the eye and see their reaction and if there was a way to duplicate that via an Online Social Learning Environment.

Of course we don't need to put square pegs in round holes if we don't have to. Assuming that proximity wasn't an issue, there is no reason why agents couldn't meetup IRL in order to do such activities. You don't need a $15,000/month Class A Office space to work on your scripts. You could do that around dinner table in another agent's home. Isn't that where Listing Conversations tend to take place anyway?

Not considering the monetary considerations. Our technology team now all works out of their homes. We sent them home with the Company computers to see how they would work together in virtual space rather then being in the same physical space. We wanted to know first if it would work, but more importantly would the be as efficient and would they also be accountable to the tasks and projects that they were responsible for. We found something very interesting. They have become even more efficient and more accountable then they were when they worked in a physical space. They communicate more efficiently with everyone in the organization then when they worked in a physical office.

As a result we have now all basically moved into our home offices. One major benefit of working from your home office is there are simply less distractions then at a physical office.

I would make the following assertion: For an agent who gets it; the whole model that has been built, they will be more efficient with their time and have a lot more time doing it in our model then a bricks and mortar agent. They will be more efficient with their time. They will be on task and they will provide better service because of the improved efficiencies then agents who have to shuttle back and forth between their home, their office, properties, clients, back to the office and then back home. Their efficiency alone will give them more freedom however they will not be lacking in Social Interaction if that is part of what drives them as agents.

The further comments about the future… I do think we are social beings. There isn't anyway to get around it. We feel good to be around people. We feel good when people we look up to help us along the way and we feel good when people look up to us and need a helping hand. We like to hear each others voices and interact at a deeper level. I think that technology will allow us to both engage and disengage more deliberately. Our tight friendships will get tighter and our loose friendships will get looser and our acquaintances will multiply. Because of Social Media however we will have a number of people we know without having to know them.

I think I need some of that beamed over OJ now…

Do you suppose we will eventually do away with the physical “stores” altogether? I think so. I envision a future (provided we don't annihilate ourselves as a race first) wherein we simply scan our empty juice carton over the built in scanner in our countertop and someone in a warehouse somewhere drop ships us a new half gallon of orange juice. The technology is already available and in use, so how long will it be before it is being built into every new home?

Over time, we will lose the need to intereact with other humans almost entirely. So much for the “social animal” theory, huh? Technology will trump that. Star Trek? Nahhhh…not any more. Star Trek is here now. Remeber when we ooohed and ahhhed over the notion that Kirk could step up to an automatic pocket door and it slid back into the wall as if by magic? And how about those crazy lights that just came on when someone walked into a room and automatically went out when they left? That's just plain crazy, isn't it?

How long before drop shipping becomes obsolete and we just get our new OJ “beamed” over? So, what do you say folks…is this a good thing or bad? Common debate, huh? What do you think?