Relationships: the lifeblood of…everything

Social media. The cloud. Apps. Uber-connected.

Attribution: I, Scoreed

I am a fervent proponent of the new-fangled doohickey.

The thing is this: for all the tech and tools and world-renowned fabulous hair, I really am just an “old-school” guy. My sole purpose with technology is to make managing my relationships more efficient.

Relationships are the lifeblood of Real Estate. And everything else. At least, that’s how it should be.

It’s how it used to be. I think.

And I think that is where the Real Estate industry is heading again as the housing market attempts to recover with the entire economy watching.

I want to share the story of a recent closing of mine to illustrate the point.

A Tale of Three Twitters

The first person to ever contact me about home loans because of my online presence just closed on a house.

She got a great deal on a great house with an unbelievable interest rate.

But none of that is what I will remember about her transaction.

In fact, I hesitate to use any words implicating a past-tense status. This is a real relationship.

Why? Because we met via Twitter.

Talking about loans? No.

Talking about bacon, and ribs, and other pork products. She commented on another blog of mine. She came to my birthday party and brought an awesome ninja-themed card that is still on my desk.

Those conversations are going to continue going forward; exactly as they have in the past. Our relationship will not be reduced to a once-yearly phone call and a calendar with my picture on it (barf).

Here’s a picture of us at signing:

Her name is Barbara. You can, and should, follow her on Twitter (@PDXArtCraft). She is a fabulous human-being.

The other guy

The guy over on the left is Mike Rohrig. He is a Realtor. I also met him because of Twitter.

I’ve been talking to Mike on Twitter for a long time. We talk about all manner of tech stuff, and I occasionally poke fun at Mike because of his feelings towards cats (meow!)

Those conversations will also continue into the future.

Mike is also a great person. You should follow him @MikeCanDoIt.

The point is this

I saw this infographic awhile back:

People see this chart and get apprehensive about the idea of 4 banks owning the lion’s share of the financial market. I used to feel that way too.

However, I think this may wind up taking a left turn at Albuquerque and end up in the right destination.

People don’t want to deal with a gigantic, impersonal bank when it comes to financing their home. Sure, some might; but the vast majority of people I talk to have no interest in heading to the big boys when it comes to buying their first home or refinancing.

Attribution: Marcus Cyron

People like doing business with people. And right now, you still have a choice to do business with people. And I’d bet a fair amount that most people will choose people over big banks. I think the entire economy is moving that direction. More and more small and medium-sized businesses serving their communities, competing against outdated behemoths who need favorable regulatory policy and taxpayer bailouts to remain afloat.

Obviously, the big bank isn’t dead yet. In fact, Barbara’s loan will almost certainly be sold to one of them. She will make her mortgage payments to them. But will she have a relationship with them?

I could have fled to the big boys awhile ago. In fact, many have argued that I should have.

But I have no interest in having a pipeline so huge that I have no time to talk to anyone. I want to spend time with my clients. I want to be able to attend my signings. I want to be able to attend that first BBQ at the new house. (hint hint!)

It could be the case that I am wrong, and that these 4 banks will eventually become one colossal entity that is the definition of ubiquity when it comes to finance. But this is an instance in which I am okay being wrong.