I am Jeff

In my original post The Wild West of Real Estate: Snake Oil Vendors Hit Portland Agents I let it be known how disgusted I was about a company that was making the rounds in Portland, selling their snake oil to agents who basically didn’t know any better.

Fast forward almost 2 months. I’m at Inman News’ Agent Reboot up in Seattle for a day of learnin’ when I was told there was a local company sponsoring the event that was selling social media automation services to Seattle area agents.

Enter: Northpoint Social Media – they’ll just “do it all for you!”

At first I was a little shocked that Inman News would let someone like this sponsor an event like the one they were producing. It seems to go against the principles of everything we’ve been told about social media at every previous Inman event I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many, as a former Inman News employee).

So, I decided to visit their booth in the back of the room and see for myself what the deal was. To make a long story short, when the lady I was speaking with found out I wasn’t from the area, she pretty much gave me the cold shoulder. But, I was still able to get a pretty good idea of what it was they were pitching agents and it’s very similar to what I describe in the post I linked to up above, although slightly cheaper. For those that don’t feel like clicking that link I’ll sum it up for you: a fully automated social media package, which includes a WordPress blog that syndicates each post to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

While this was just one of the “products” they offer, it was the one that definitely struck a nerve with me and obviously I’m letting that be known.

I event thought to myself, “man this would be a great conversation to have up on the stage at a future Inman event”, but apparently Howard Chung – VP of Business Development for Northpoint, isn’t willing to discuss this publicly (see image right). He even went so far as to remove some of their videos from YouTube as the criticism began to spread across Twitter and Facebook. Just proof that social media can be a real bitch sometimes.

So, all this got me thinking…  It’s bad enough that agents are falling for this crap. Paying money that could be better spent somewhere else. Polluting the social media environment. All with a false sense of hope that in the end, they would be…  and I quote “making more money”.  WHAT?  In the video featured on the Northpoint Social Media homepage (which has since been removed) Howard Chung proclaims that that is was social media will do for you.

While I don’t totally disagree, as I know social media has increased my business along with that of several hundred agents I’m connected with across the country. However, we all have one thing in common. We create our own content. It’s unique and reflects our own personal opinions and personalities. A key component to the “success” of using social media.

So, to sell someone on the idea that by letting someone else “just do it all for you” will actually make you more money is the biggest bullshit line of the decade in my opinion. Don’t fall for it.

Speaking of falling.  If a tree falls in the automated forest…

The second major problem I have with the automation of social media campaigns is that of the whole “set it and forget it” mentality.

What I mean by this is that if the main goal of social media is to connect with others, and all you’re doing is letting someone else spew their content into your social media platforms, will you be there to participate: if someone responds to you? Asks you a question? Wants more information? Probably not… But, just to prove my point, I decided to test that theory.

I went on to Northpoint’s website, and found one of their example blogs. The latest post at the time was titled “Save Money, Rent Goats”. So, I went onto Twitter, and did a search for that phrase.  Sure enough, there were a list of about 20 people who all had the exact same tweet. Presumably these are all Northpoint clients since none of them were re-tweets.

So, I sent each one of them an @ reply, letting them know that I had a question for them and wanted to know the best way to contact them.  So far, only 1 has replied.

Northpoint Social Media (assuming you’re monitoring your brand via social media) – You think you’re doing a service to our industry? Think again.

Northpoint clients (based on my results, I highly doubt you guys will ever read this) – If you’re not going to put a little more effort into doing something right, do the rest of us a favor and don’t even bother.

I very rarely participate in the whole “Follow Friday” thing on Twitter. I think it’s kind of pointless really…

So, it’s strictly a coincidence that today is Friday, and I’m telling you to follow these select individuals on Twitter: @DaleChumbley, @DarinPersinger and @1000wattMarc.

The thing is, I’m telling you to do more than just follow these 3 guys. I want you to actually LISTEN to them too.

Here’s why:

Dale Chumbley – Yeah, he’s kinda hot right now. One of the founding figures of the whole “365 Things To Do in…” phenomena that seemed to be sweeping the nation recently. Also one of the few people doing it for the right reasons, and reaping the rewards that come along with that. He’s creative, artistic, and knows how to put it all to good use. Plus he’s seriously one of the nicest guys I think I’ve ever met.

Darin Persinger – There are a million and one Real Estate “coaches” and marketing “experts” out there today. Everyone wants to tell you what you should be doing to get more business. Very few of those people have experience in our industry, and if they do, it’s usually pretty limited. Then there’s this guy. An extensive background in Real Estate sales, coaching, training, speaking. Although he’s not as nice a guy as Dale, he too knows his shit. Just kidding, Darin’s a great guy too! I think it’s the accent that throws me off a little.

Marc Davison – There are only a handful of people in the Real Estate industry that I would say would be a privilege for me to be spend some time with. Marc is one of those people. Lucky for me, I was privileged enough to spend a couple hours with him last week for a lunch while he’s here visiting Portland. Although we said we wouldn’t talk business, we did. When you love the business you’re in, it’s very hard not to talk about it. Especially when you’re around someone with the same thoughts and values on how things should be. Marc’s company, 1000watt Consulting, has helped some of the largest brand names in the business get where they are today. That’s no coincidence.

So, there you have it. The 3 people floating around out there in the world that I suggest you follow, and listen closely to what they have to say. It’s good stuff.

If you’re like me, in that you’re constantly writing “to-do’s” on post it notes and sticking them around yourself, you might want to take a look at TeuxDeux.

TuexDeux is a “simple, designy, browser-based to-do app”.  And they do mean simple.  For those of us who just need a quick and easy place to store to-do’s, TeuxDeux delivers.  As you can see in the above image, each week is broken down by day, and each day is broken down by…  well, nothing actually.  Using simple drag and drop technology, you can arrange your to-do’s in whatever order they need to be completed.  A quick click will cross the item off the list as being complete, and another click erases the item.  If you don’t finish a task, it will automatically carry over onto the next day until you mark it off as complete.

That’s it. No scheduling, no reminders, no bells and whistles. Just a simple, clean, to-do list in all it’s glory.

But, what about when I’m away from my computer?

Never fear, TeuxDeux just released an iPhone app.  The app, which costs $2.99, automatically syncs with your account on TeuxDeux.com and provides you with all the simplicity of the browser based version, from the convenience of anywhere. Don’t have an iPhone? All is not lost! They’re working on a Blackberry version, and releasing the API for other developers as well.

So, when you have a lot of stuff teux deux, get TeuxDeux, and get it done!