I am Jeff

Apparently the “sales team” from a company called Inside Real Estate (normally I’d provide a link here, but it’s against my “no links for sleazy companies” policy) is making the rounds in Portland selling their “blogging services” to agents.

For the low price of $75 a month, plus a small $199 “creation and setup fee”, you get a… Drum roll please… WordPress blog. But wait, wait, wait, there’s more…

For an additional $10 per month they’ll set you up with your very own Twitter account, Facebook account and even an RSS feed!

You thought I was done?  Oh no my friend, oh no.

Don’t have time to write your own content?  No problem, they have a cure for what ails you! For only $27 per month (on top of the $85 you’re already spending), they will provide you with Real Estate related articles for you to publish on your blog.  Presumably the same articles they’re providing every other agent in the Nation who is foolish enough to fall for their sales pitch. Think about that for a second…

So what is it that has me so worked up about this?

Is it a bad product? Nope. WordPress is my platform of choice and what we build for our agents at M Realty (examples). It will do pretty much everything they say it will. No issues there.

Is it the price? Yes. $75 a month for a WordPress blog?  Come on…  The other fees/services are equally ridiculous. Unless you’re getting a top notch IDX home search and contact management system (like HomeQuest) along with that fancy WordPress blog, you should only be paying about $5 a month for hosting. I guess they have to pay their traveling snake oil salesmen somehow, right?

$10 a month for a Twitter/Facebook/RSS feed? Sorry to say, but if you need to pay someone to setup your social media accounts for you, you’re never going to get it. Don’t even try.

$27 for ghost writing? Same deal. This is your blog, you need to create the content that expresses your personality, your attitude, and the way you run your business. Plain and simple.

I think more than anything, I was a little perturbed by the sales tactics these guys were using on the agents. Telling them there are only a limited number of “spaces” available in a market, guaranteeing top placement on Google search results, you know all the usual bullshit sales tactics companies like this would have to use to get people to give up their credit card info and get the sale. When I heard several of the agents in the office fell for it and signed up, all I could do was shake my head.

On behalf of all the honest vendors out there, I apologize that we couldn’t get you more information in time to make a better decision.

Going through some old files yesterday I came across this video I had apparently never published… It’s behind the scenes footage of M Realty’s owner/founder Garron Selliken helping one of our agents (Kevin Levy) create a stop animation project for his Portland Relocation website.

Check out the video. It’s a short one:

Going back and watching this again, two things really jump out at me:

1: We love this stuff. Starting from the top down at M Realty, we love technology and using that technology to sell houses.

2: Working here is fun. This one is pretty much self explanatory. Our agents sell houses, and have fun doing it.

So, chew on this for a bit: What would your broker/manager have said if his/her agent wanted to do a project like this?

This post is to say thank you.

To the agent who leaves their rotting sign post, complete with contact info and busted sign rider, leaning against the dilapidated garage on a very busy street in my neighborhood for nearly 2 years now.

Thank you.

To the agent who took the listing on a vacant property, and has failed to keep the yard properly maintained (see: Mow Your Damn Lawn).

Thank you.

To the agent who never fills the flyer box.

Thank you.

To the agent who says “read the comments” and then hangs up on me before I can ask my question.

Thank you.

You see, I’m not technically a licensed agent yet. I’m working on it though. But, before I get my license, I just want to thank each of you I mention above, in advance, for motivating me to strive for more from myself.

So once again, this post is to say thank you. My clients and I will both appreciate it.