We had an interesting discussion around this video at our weekly office meeting this morning.

I am not a lead

I think I understand where they’re coming from. And I’m trying to reconcile their sentiments with a responsible business plan. Fact is, I need to grow my “database” and generate “leads” in order to build a successful business. But I hope I never make anyone feel like they’re just a number to me.

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In the past seven days, since I got my Lenovo X61 Tablet computer, I’ve gotten a listing agreement signed, written an offer to purchase, and received and countered an offer - all without generating a single piece of paper.

It’s easier than I could have imagined, thanks to VREO’s Real Estate Dashboard. And it’s not just faster, more secure and more economical - it’s fun.

 There was a concern that the clients would have an issue with it, but they haven’t blinked. It’s not even novel to them. The most meaningful comment was that it’s “just like Home Depot.”

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I listed Starbucks as one of my favorite things the other day, not because of the three-dollar cup of coffee, the line out-the-door, or the traffic jam that the drive-thru causes over at the Garin Ranch shopping center. I’m a fan of Starbucks, Peete’s, or any of the trendy-modern coffee shops because of the opportunity they provide to “get out” of the office or the house.

 So the other night, after a meeting at church, C and I stopped at the new Saxby’s Coffee in Antioch. The thought is, you get a cup of coffee for only a few bucks and you sit down and relax - it’s the alternative to going home, we don’t want to go out to eat at this hour, and we’re not really “bar” people.

You see, it’s all about the experience at these places.And Saxby’s has it dialed-in: big overstuffed leather couches, cool music and the Lakers and Bucks on the Plasma in Hi-Def (another one of my things!).

Well no sooner had I settled in to my Decaf-with-cream and a Kobe Bryant three pointer than the kid from behind the counter comes over to tell us that they were closing in two minutes and we’d have to leave.

Stunned, we got up, looked at each other and walked out of Saxby’s Coffee for the last time. (It was like 9:30.)

What I don’t think the two young people working there realized is that I wasn’t there for a cup of coffee. So for him to take my money and then ask me to leave was frustrating to say the least.

I work in a service business, so maybe I’m more sensitive to these things than others are. But the truth remains, if you sell a product(like a cup of coffe at the 7-11) you treat customers different than when you sell an experience (like a cup of coffee at a Starbucks).

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I’ve been living without a laptop computer for two months now, and I’m discovering just how much I need one. I know, in the grand scheme of things it’s not really one of the things I need. But my lifestyle, the way I live and certainly the way I work have been drastically altered without it. And it got me thinking about the other non-necessities that I never want to live without.

1. Starbucks/Peete’s - I know this will sound like sacrilege to some of you, but I don’t really favor one over the other. I’m even willing to try the occasional knock-off from time-to-time. (I have a post in my pocket about my experience at the new Saxby’s coffee in Antioch the other day - not good.) It’s not the coffee - I can brew that at home - it’s the ability to stop in on your way to work, or after a movie, or just for an afternoon break. It’s an excuse to take a five-minute diversion that these trendy coffee houses offer. And I like to do it.

By the way - I can’t imagine where we took these breaks before there was Starbucks? Maybe it’s why so many people used to smoke? Maybe it’s how all those people ended up at Denny’s after church? Maybe it’s the reason there’s not a decent donut shop in Brentwood?

2. Hi-Def Television - Yes, I watch too much TV. Well actually, as football season winds down, the writers’ strike moves on and LOST is still lost…I’m actually not watching as much as I used to. And while I can guarantee you that back in the late nineties while I was watching the Broncos win back-to-back Superbowls I never once thought to myself, “This picture sucks!” the evolution of HDTV has made a High-Def snob out of me.

3. Smartphones - I got my Treo 650 almost three years ago, and trust me I was reluctant to spend $200 on a phone. Like a lot of folks, I didn’t see the point - it seemed like overkill. But within six months, it began to seem ridiculous that anyone, especially in our business, would find themselves out of the office without their full contact list, their calendar and their email. In this day and age, communication has become much more than a phone call or a voice mail. Expectations for response times are immediate.

4. Satellite Radio - Have you got this in your car? You can drive for miles and listen to the same radio station without even a hint of static. There are low- or no-commercial channles, dozens of talk and information choices, comedy channels, kids channels, rock, hip-hop, showtunes…ok I’ve never put on the showtunes channel, but I know it’s there.

Great News! I just got an email indicating that my new laptop just shipped from the factory. That means in a couple of days I’ll be able to write these posts without having to kick the girls off of Webkinz.com first. I can write while taking a coffee break at Starbucks! Or from in front of the TV! I’ll be able to sync my phone with my computer again! Halleluja, my life will be back to normal!

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Just as every part of the Real Estate market is experiencing monumental change, there’s something very familiar going on in the background.

It’s true, the sub-prime fiasco we’ve experienced is unprecedented. And affordability rates are at all-time lows. Meanwhile, technology has changed the whole buying/selling experience. There are record defaults and foreclosures on the horizon, builders offering unheard-of incentives and bankruptcy rumors surround the country’s largest lenders.

We’re in uncharted waters for sure…or are we.

Sure, it’s different this time, but the bottom line is we’re experiencing another market cycle. Just keep one eye in the rear-view - we had a fierce, long-term seller’s market (’01-’05) followed by a bumpy, volatile transitional market (mid ‘05 - ‘06) and now we’re in the full-blown buyer’s market (’07 - ??).

How long is it going to last? Who’s to say? NAR just changed their prediction from ‘08 to ‘09. The Fannie May guy says 2010. I heard one analyst say that prices have to come down another ten percent. I guess that depends on where you’re at.

So what’s it all mean? 1. Don’t sell unless you have to and 2. Buy if you can - because it will transition again at some point, and you know what comes after that…

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Assuming the readers of this website are all my friends, I’m fairly comfortable posting (some of) my New Year’s resolutions in the public domain. Sure it’s a little risky, but there’s that accountability that comes with declaring our goals to people we care about.

A quick side note: My first paragraph of the year has already begged the question, Are you my friend? If so, please do me a couple of favors.

1. Subscribe to this blog, allowing us to stay in contact and providing me with the motivation to keep sharing.

2. Leave comments on your favorite posts. This is supposed to be interactive, back-and-forth, a community and so on. Please participate.

If you’re not a friend of mine yet, give me a call and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee - let’s get to know each other.

Back to the resolutions.

1. Shed those Holiday pounds. This has become an annual thing, as reliable as Mom’s spritz cookies at Christmas, or the homemade Fudge that my sister has now perfected. The good news is that by this point I know how to lose the weight almost as quickly as I put it on. I can usually get within spitting-distance of my goal before a new season of American Idol begins. The trick is maintaining those healthy habits. This year, I’m going to maintain a weight at or under 180lbs.

2. Blog regularly. That means about twice a week, save for any vacation time that I might take. How about 100 posts for 2008? Seems like a reasonable goal. The real purpose of these posts goes back to that friendship piece - what better way to keep you (my friends) up to speed with my life, my family and my business? How about YOU make a resolution to check-in regularly?

3. Create a whole new experience for people buying and selling real estate. We’ve all made quantitative goals around our business, and those are both positive and necessary. But this goal is different. 2008 is the year we go paperless! And it doesn’t end there. I’m talking about embedded video tours, viral internet marketing, constant web-based communication - the whole shootin’ match. I’ve got all the pieces coming together to create a convenient, secure, eco-friendly real estate transaction that takes advantage of today’s technology. Like everything else, better-faster-cheaper. I’m so excited about this one!

4. Be a better Husband, Father, Son, Uncle, Brother and Friend. Real Estate markets will ebb-and-flow, technology will continue to evolve, and some day 49ers may even be good again. But it’s our relationships and the lives we touch that really matter. So I’ll be working on that this year as well.

Go ahead, scroll down a bit, and leave one of your resolutions on my site…

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