Sales & Marketing
It’s easier than it looks.
Real estate is a competitive industry. Take a look around and you’ll see hundreds of agents vying to sell any property they can. This game pays 100% commission, so an agent’s marketing skills better be top-notch.
I was a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty (KW), one of the nation’s most innovative real estate organizations, ranked eighth in RealTrends 2020 industry survey of the top 500 companies. Of all KW’s high-tech systems, to me, I found their off-line, low-tech touch marketing strategy was the one to beat.
I learned about Keller’s series of touch plans in a book KW’s owner, Gary…
Elections
No more Games. Use a device (or computer) to cast your ballot.
It’s time to vote by mobile device.
In 2020, the election had the largest voter turnout in history. In the race between soon to be president, Joe Biden, and then incumbent, Donald J. Trump, close to 160 million voters cast a ballot.
The mood across the country as of this writing is anxious as President Trump took all media forms to claim election fraud that caused a insurrection by his supporters. By now we all saw what happened at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on January 6th. And now we know why this election was the most critical we’ve…
Social Media
I don’t like where Twitter is going and here’s why.
Twitter makes me nervous. It’s been around since March 21, 2006 and has grown to nearly 330 million users. And while it’s fun to participate in all kinds of conversations, hear celebrity perspectives, and acquire new ideas from quirky bedfellows, I question Twitter’s motives and whether they’re helping. I think you should quit it.
Twitter is a social platform where people identify with and participate in conversations about any, and I mean any, topic. You can find videos of Fauci, follow Jimmy Fallon, see photos from DIY guys, read tweets from this guy, and react to cancel culture vultures.
While…
Election 2020
And the plentiful of reasons to do so.
The election is a few weeks away and the registered voter roll is 160+ million strong and what seems to be growing every day. Voters nationwide are either casting ballots by mail or going to the polls over the next few weeks, if not on Election Day. In 2020, this populous voting swell triggers essential questions about how we participate in our democracy.
For instance, why is voting so labor and capital intensive in the digital age? Why can’t we use mobile devices and desktop technologies to handle what would seem to be a somewhat simple product and process to…
Letters From Parents
Crazy is good.
Dear Eli,
How are you, big guy? You’re headed home in a few days and the pictures are amazing. Everyone looks like they’re having so much fun. It’s a beautiful thing.
Are you having a great time, especially with all your school friends? I remember you saying how camp is like a nightly sleepover with your best buds. That’s gotta be as awesome as it sounds.
Things around here are okay. I miss you. Your sis was away camping with Vivien’s family for a few nights last week so Mom and I have had, and will continue to have, what…
Including sub-headlines
I’ve had it.
I’m done.
I’m sick of it.
I’m sick of everything.
I’m sick of my phone. I have it all day from when my eyes open until well past closing them. It’s my alarm, my money manager, my movie screen, travel agent, yoga instructor, communicator, concierge, and that’s not even half of it.
And without it, I feel vulnerable, nervous and naked. The FOMO is oppressive to the point where I get those ticks that cause my cheeks to twitch. It’s no way to get strong glutes.
One time I started to repeat things twice. It drove people…
Kitchen table agents wind up exactly back where they started — at the kitchen table.
I was in the residential real estate business before my life was turned upside down and sideways by kids. In 2009, I gave it all up to take care of my children. I did pretty well though. In my last year, I earned over $150,000 and that was one transaction.
But now my kids are at the point where they don’t need me as much as they once did. They can cut their peaches, wipe their butts, put their shoes on and venture into the neighborhood to find a friend. Don’t get me wrong. They still need reminding to wash…
Civility must count for something.
Read the news and you’ll see people everywhere are a little more punchy than usual.
They’re crossing the line to exercise their liberties and take a cudgel to what’s considered appropriate behavior. As of late you make a wrong move and you’ll wind up as a tird of shame on Twitter, not to mention CNN and Buzzfeed. That’s part of the problem and quite stunning to see.
What is appropriate behavior anyway? I think of it as the unspoken contract to conduct yourself within a set of rules of a situation you choose to enter. In other words, if I…
So, good luck with that.
Photo by Joeyy Lee
Long ago, my wife and I agreed that I’d stay home with my now elementary school-age kids. Yep, when they get home from school, mom or a nanny aren’t there to dish out the cookies and milk. Instead, they get me. I’m at the door wearing cargo shorts, crocs, and a faded, slightly torn, Led Zeppelin t-shirt. Occasionally, to feel like a man, I smoke a cigar.
And in this role, I’ve learned, when it comes to loving kids, it is not about putting your arm around them so they feel better after a long, hard…
It’s not a pretty process.
To Teach It, They Need A Wake-Up Call
I coach a girls' soccer team who are between seven and eight years of age. I’m convinced the players won’t have fun — real fun — until they learn the concept of focus.
Yes, any recreational coaches’ goal is to teach the skills and rules of the game. However, the universality of sport provides access to vital life lessons, one of which is determination. For me, this is where authentic coaching begins.
How I Diagnosed The Problem
Focus isn’t innate. It’s an acquired taste, like the first sip of scotch. Kids just don’t focus just because I said so or that they’re playing an organized…
Anthony Fireman
Published in The Boston Globe Magazine; Trying to figure it all out by expressing ideas, fears, hopes, and dreams; I have a dog, a very influential dog. Very.
