Realtor Training Classes -Beware of the Expert - Wade Vander Molen-DCTitleGuy

For my 1st blog post of 2016 (sorry for taking so long) I want to discuss the early year Realtor training classes and how I see many agents get exposed to “bad and inaccurate” information. I teach real estate marketing classes all over Northern Virginia, have active content on this website, write for Inman.com, and post YouTube video content that helps real estate agents and mortgage lenders. I am NOT AN EXPERT. I know several things that my clients can integrate into their business, that can help them do more transactions, but at no time do I convey myself as an expert. I am continually learning from others through books, videos on YouTube, and other websites in which I subscribe. I then take that information and use it the best I can to help my clients. On the other hand, there are people out there who take full advantage of Realtors posing as an expert. Who are these people? Be on the look out for these people…

Expert Who Charges Money for a Class then Tells you to Buy Something

An example, is recently I saw a “speaker” come to the DC area and conduct Realtor training classes at a couple local offices. The class was about using Social Media as a marketing tool in real estate. What new social networks were gaining popularity and why these agents should use them…and how. Good class. The issue is the speaker charged a hefty fee to attend the class (yeah…I know right?) and spent most of the class talking about himself. He led the class showing his website, which looked fantastic (on the outside) and got the agents excited about having a company building them a website just like it. The website cost was ONLY $150 a month, (you don’t own it) and more than likely there was something in it for our speaker for signing up. I then looked up his “amazing site” on Google and found it only had 37 index-able pages. In regular speak, his website barely exists to the search engines. It’s like a beautifully painted egg that is completely hollow on the inside. Remember, the search engines can’t “See” the outside of your website…they see the content that is inside it. Oh…and don’t forget he was also peddling his book, which he was asking each person to buy.

Expert Who Teaches Video Classes but Doesn’t Use Video

I recently saw on Facebook someone conducting Realtor training classes to loan officers about Video Marketing, and using Video in your business. Great class topic! Being the curious person to discover someone new to possibly learn from online, I went to his YouTube channel. When I got there, I found it was basically empty. His channel was not set up fully, and his last video posted was 1yr ago. Of the 5 videos (total) on his channel, only 2 had him in the video. I think we can agree that Video is a HUGE factor in real estate marketing, and is a great way to expand your brand, business, and educate your audience. Before attending a video marketing class, I would want to make sure the person was actively using video in their business. If they aren’t…why would they pose as a video expert teaching classes to Realtors and lenders? Would you take a class about the importance of “staging your home” to sell it quicker, if the person had never staged a home?

Expert Who Teaches Social Media Classes but just uses Facebook and Twitter

Many Realtor training classes revolve around Facebook. Why? Cause agents like to use it as their online marketing platform, though we know they shouldn’t. I still see classes and blog posts about driving traffic to your Facebook Business page and getting “Likes” though it has been a year since Facebook ended the “organic search” for business pages. Facebook business pages become relevant IF you are paying FB to “boost” your post or pay for an ad campaign. Twitter has relevance and can be a powerful tool, though I don’t know many Realtors that have converted followers to clients. Many Realtors don’t really understand how to use Twitter for business. In the realm of social media, Instagram, Persicope, and Snap Chat are growing immensely in popularity. People are leaving Facebook for these more visual and video friendly platforms. By posing as the Social Media expert and telling agents this information is misleading. Get to know and interact with people on social networks, then move them off Social and onto your real estate website and YouTube channel as quickly as possible.

Takeaway

I personally encourage my clients to attend classes and get as educated as possible. A good rule of thumb, before you sign up for the class, make sure the instructor is qualified and has a background in the topic in which they are teaching. Realtors, especially newer ones “crave” this information, so attending Realtor training classes with a qualified instructor is key. You don’t want to leave a class, try to implement the strategy and find it took your down a dark alley. Most importantly, if you are in a real estate training class and here someone say they consider themselves an “Expert.” RUN!

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DCTitleWade1

Senior Vice President of Business Development at Pruitt Title

I'm the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Pruitt Title in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area. I help my Realtor and Lender partners grow their businesses with offline and online marketing solutions. More eyes to them mean more business. I create the win/win!