VW (aka Harriet), AMEN!

Rusty, thanks for the comment. My experience tells me consumers generally want to remain anonymous and not bothered with any kind of contact. When they are ready to make contact, they will reach out. What's really interesting is that I receive several emails per month from Blog readers that want to ask a question but, are reluctant to do it through the comment facility. I respond immediately and then let them alone. If and when they are ready to transact, they will call me.

I also receive contact notices from my website when a consumer signs up to save searches or to receive auto notices of market activity. I send a polite email thanking them for visiting, tell them I respect their privacy and if and when they have a question to contact me directly. I truly believe that is taking the high ground and I am respected for it. By the way, consumers coming to my website do not have to sign up to simply search the MLS.

Blogs are a very powerful medium for building what I call blind relationships: I don't even know they are there. But, at the right point in time, those relationships surface and they are ready to transact. My source of business is about half from blind relationships and half referrals.

Again, I appreciate your candidness and honesty for participating in this dialog (I guess this is what Web 2.0 is all about).

Merv,

First of all, I love your blog. It's helpful, informative, and friendly – you do a good blog. In regards to your comment on my quotes in Blanche's article - I think you're right on, and I probably should have worded it differently so that it didn't come across so "commercial".

Take your blog, for instance. Reading through your posts regularly, or even just perusing them briefly, I quickly come to appreciate who you are. You do a good job of showing your personality in your posts.

There's distinct value in that. As a homeowner, I'm emotionally attached to both my home and the investment it represents, and if I'm looking for an agent, I want one whose personality meshes with my own. I can also quickly determine that you know what you're talking about, which is what people look for in an agent.

I think all of these qualify as “softer” benefits that as a professional, hopefully translate into someone deciding to contact me, at a time they feel is right. That said, I agree that too often agents will try to push themselves onto their visitors too quickly, either by requiring their info too early, or by bombarding them with aggressive marketing.

Like any “lead” or person you come in contact with in your business, depending on the method of contact, there are appropriate ways to contact them. Some are ready for instant transaction, some are casual contacts. In terms of a blog, I think there are appropriate ways to communicate to your subscribers – such as maintenance notices, friendly (and non-promotional) holiday messages, updates, site changes, etc.

Each person should choose the level of response they feel is best for their particular type of blog, but my goal (and my intended point in that article), is to equip every agent with the tools to respond to their visitors in a way they feel is appropriate.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Rusty

To take it a step further, when I follow a listing back to an agent's website and they require me to provide personal data before I can view the listing, I immediately run away.

Real Estate agents are more about relationships and referrals. I appreciate great service and a knowledgeable agent when it comes to buying or selling property, and I'd rather be thought of as a person than a "lead."

(Once we had a real estate agent in our church's congregation put all the members e-mail addresses on her broker's e-mailing list! I quickly let her know that that was definitely not cricket).

Another point of view - IF all Bloggers - anybody - do things only for business -- then what relationship will be left between a husbund and wife? I admire the blog you are doing -- and I hope you are have pleasure doing it, not purely from/for BUSINESS!

Bob, you get it. Thanks for the comment. Blog on!

I agree with you completely. I have not been blogging much, in fact I just started a new blog (FocusOnFrederick.com) I personally feel that if I "attacked" every reader, it would not take long before there would be no interest. I want people to contact me because they beleive in what I am saying and trust me over a period of time. Granted they will know I am working for their business but not forcing them.