sumers to post reviews of businesses, restaurants and other service providers, fills some REALTORS® with trepidation. But agents who manage their profiles well and respond to both positive and negative comments set themselves up for success, she said. Still, today’s homebuyers and sellers look for more than positive reviews of REALTORS® online. Matt Beall, principal broker and owner of Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers based in Kauai, said real estate agencies need to be nimble enough to change along with the market. Edwards agreed. “Being open to change [such as working with short sales or foreclosures] has been the most important thing,” in her success. When it comes to social media, which REALTORS® seem to either love or hate, it may be time to “stop calling it social media and just call it media,” Beall said. It needn’t matter which way consumers choose to communicate with agents — but those REALTORS® should be ready to answer their clients using any platform, be it email, text, Facebook or Twitter. When it comes to touting your skills as an agent, social media can play a huge role. “If you’ve got one client, you’ve got a story,” said Lisa Archer, a broker and agent at Keller Williams Realty in Charlotte, N.C. Agents who manage to get positive reviews and recommendations from their clients will thrive. After all, she said, “It’s not about that one transaction. It’s about [building] a lifelong book of business.”
It’s the Economy Building that business by focusing on client service may be the right goal, but current economic realities present big challenges. The drawn-out recovery will likely be uneven or delayed due to uncertainty in the global economy, according to a panel of economic and real estate experts who spoke at the conference. Panelist Bill Emmons, an economist and assistant vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, suggested caution. “This is not a normal [economic] cycle. Real estate typically leads us out of a recession. This has not happened in this case,” he said. Since the U.S. economy is growing more slowly as a whole, the recovery from this recession will “look different,”
“If you’ve got one client, you’ve got a story. It’s not about that one transaction. It’s about [building] a lifelong book of business.” he said. The European financial crisis continues to be a major concern for the Federal Reserve, since it “could send shockwaves” through economies around the globe if the situation does not improve. A globalized economy brings significant implications for both investors and REALTORS®, the panelists said. Amy Brandt, CEO of Vantium Capital, noted: “I think now instead of the Declaration of Independence we have the Declaration of Interdependence.” In other words, the U.S. real estate and financial markets do not operate in a vacuum: The global economy has changed the rules. That means that changes in U.S. economic policy and regulation may not result in a big improvement, since the country’s economy is tied so closely with the broader global markets. All the panelists agreed that despite deflated property values and historically low interest rates, investors have become cautious. Uncertainty regarding the presidential election could also act as a drag on the economy, according to Brandt. “There has definitely been a flight to safety” when it comes to where investors are willing to put their money, she said. Emmons said he does not foresee a significant rise in national
home prices in the near future until consumer and investor confidence rises.
Behavior Matters The global economy has a big impact on the decisions people make in their everyday lives, but when it comes to predicting consumer behavior, there may be no more important factor than the power of habit. Conference speaker Charles Duhigg, a staff writer for The New York Times and author of the bestselling book The Power of Habit, shared his insights about how powerfully habits can affect the decisions consumers make — and how REALTORS® can recognize them. For example, Duhigg pointed out that the mega-retailer Target used predictive analysis tools to determine if female consumers were pregnant based on their buying habits. Those habits tend to become ingrained — in fact, they often become almost second-nature. Major life changes, such as pregnancy, college graduation, marriage, divorce or purchasing a home, trigger major changes in people’s behavior, Duhigg said. “When someone changes where they live, everything changes.” Duhigg’s research led him to two rules for creating new habits and consumer behavior. First, there must be a simple cue that is easy for people to understand. For example, if a growing family would benefit from living in a larger home with more space, it’s an obvious choice. Second, consumers need a reward for that behavior that comes quickly and cannot be ignored. For a family that moves from a cramped apartment to a more spacious single-family home, the rewards are noticeable and immediate. “The single most important and powerful reward [people receive from changing their habits] … is removing tension,” Duhigg said. That brings people a sense of satisfaction and calm. If agents can help people buy or sell a home and remove the tension involved in the process, they will create clients for life. “Your clients are coming to you and begging for you to change their lives in a positive way,” he said. “The biggest question you should ask yourself is, ‘Which [of my clients’] habits should I focus on?’ Because those will unlock everything else.” Michael Fenner is editor of The Residential Specialist.
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