I have been enjoying the fray caused by a post recently over on BloodHoundBlog, inviting agents to Bloodhound Unchained in November. In the post author Greg Swann responds to some personal attacks by referencing the success he has had with his ideas. Interestingly, the “Bloodhound Way” gets criticized, not on merit or content, but rather volume. Interesting logic that. Confusing volume with validity is common among common people. I used to work with a mortgage broker whose office spent $150,000 per month on lead purchases and generated many hundreds of thousands more in gross income. It was a poorly run, poorly executed operation that succeeded on sheer size and volume. Was this a valid way to do business? Numbers don’t lie. Does his success invalidate the one-man office who uses localism, innovation and advanced marketing skills? Hardly. (Side note: can you guess which office is still conducting business?) High volume is a measure of success… but not the tool I would use to discern quality or even future success.
I have been following the Bloodhound Way for only a few months now. As I got back into Real Estate it struck me as eminently doable and obviously innovative. In today’s real estate industry I believe the motto is “Differentiate of Die” so innovative works for me. I posted my first effort at these ideas in Custom Signs and Brake Lights. That listing was taken June 09, 2008. Since then I have taken two more listings. (I am chagrined to say I took no listings in August, but I do have 2 listings coming online in September). Suffice to say I am not a big volume hitter. As I said previously, I am getting back into active Real Estate after a prolonged absence running a mortgage division. Here are the stats:
- 2219 Eucalyptus SOLD 23 days on market
- 2324 Donnington SOLD 17 days on market
- 642 Glover SOLD 2 days on market
That is roughly $1.3 million dollars and an average of 14 days on market. The absorption rate for the area is 251 days. Big volume? No. Should anyone be beating a path to my door to discover the secrets of my success? No. But if you are interested in how someone just getting back into the business can sell $1.3 million dollars’ worth of real estate in the past two months… with an average DOM of 14 days against a market average of over 8 months… I will tell you the path I followed. It is called the Bloodhound Way..
(This post was first published here.)
Filed under: BUYERS, INVESTORS, MARKETING, REALTORS, SELLERS , MARKETING, Unchained
