Archive for February, 2008

Advice for Real Estate Agents from Seth Godin

Published by chuckbutt on February 25, 2008 in Business. 0 Comments

Seth Godin’s BlogThere’s a reason that Seth Godin is a marketing guru, and that’s because he’s thinking ahead, and positioning marketing for upcoming conditions instead of reacting to what is happening now. And his latest post is another kick upside the head for real estate agents who are concerned about a housing market that’s in a stall.

His advice to real estate agents is first, they should quit. The current marketing conditions are making it very difficult for real estate professionals to do things according to the status quo. If you want to make it this way, you may as well start looking for another profession because things aren’t going to get any easier for you.

Plan B, on the other hand, is to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities available to those who want to build a long-term asset and forge a link with their community. Basically, it’s time to become THE expert in what you do, micro-specializing in some niche aspect of the real estate market. Become THE single-best real estate agent agent for condos in your area, or specialize in selling single family homes for large families. Know everything about that market, and do everything you can to be recognized as THE man (or woman) to talk to about it.

There’s a lot of other good advice for real estate agents, but this post also makes me think about how this can be applied to any business. Right now, the cost of doing business is going down quickly, making product and service costs lower as well. People have access to all kinds of competitive information, and impressions and opinions about your business are shared quickly via email and Internet review sites. Right now, business is transparent. Everyone knows about your profit margins, the costs of goods, and how much your competitors are charging.

So why not take the chance to become THE expert or de facto provider in a specialized niche in any business. Become THE kitchen remodeling specialist, offering tools for prospects to help them come up with ideas. Become THE small dog grooming specialist, offering tips and hints to keep your dog in good shape between groomings. And always - ALWAYS - provide information and expertise that allows people to understand the depth of your knowledge and exactly what your business is about.

Take a quick couple of minutes and check out this post and see how you can apply it to your business.

Turkey Buzzard At Work

Published by chuckbutt on February 20, 2008 in Entertainment and Fun Stuff. 0 Comments

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We had a visitor at work today - a very large Turkey Buzzard.  So, I went outside and took a picture with my mobile phone camera and uploaded it directly to the blog.  Very cool technology.

Scott Andrew - Save You From Yourself

Published by chuckbutt on February 11, 2008 in Entertainment and Fun Stuff. 0 Comments

Scott Andrew’s new album, “Save You From Yourself,” is out and available at CD Baby. Scott has been very creative in getting his album recorded and promoted, utilizing his fanbase (including me!) to help pay for some of the recording and production costs (you can get a little more info by checking out this link on my site).

And, Scott has created a couple of acoustic videos of songs on the new album. I’ve posted them here:

I’ve had the album for about a month now, and I’ve been wearing out my CD player listening. Do yourself a favor and play the videos and then buy the album at CD Baby. Or, better yet, buy multiple copies of the album for friends, family, people on your street, and co-workers. And, the guy who sells you your paper down at the local Cumbies (if you’re from New England).

Later,
Chuck