DISQUS

I've definitely ran into that personality on more than one occasion at a conference... Nobody likes to be around that personality.

Be interesting and interested. Works much better!

Count me in!

Reminds me of this quote on the definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

If you're doing the same thing over and over again and producing the same result, I agree, it's time to try something different. When it comes to business and new contacts, I try to get creative/unique by sending new contacts a personalized video email (using TokBox or Eyejot). It's personal ya know...and different...

Don't get me wrong, there are several people that I follow who I'm sure don't follow me back (Kevin being one of them of course). I'll continue to follow them even if they don't reciprocate. Take @missrogue for example, she hasn't followed me back but I like her new book "The Whuffie Factor". And for that reason, I'll consider keeping on eye on what she's doing.

If I follow somdone and they don't follow me back, I consider that a major dialogue FAIL. With that said I don't think there's anything wrong with unfollowing people. Greater relationship symmetry and quality is what I'm looking for.

Marketing with a purpose... Makes sense to me!

Wanted to drop by and wish you a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (so it's not technically the 8th anymore but it still counts right...)

Face to face interaction IS important! There's nothing better than when you turn all of your on-line connections, into off-line connections. It solidifies/strengthens any prior relationships you have developed with your contacts and ultimately paves the way to greater business opportunities.

<abbr>Ricardo Bueno’s last blog post..Interested In A Monthly Meetup?</abbr>

If I come out there, I want some Tacos!

What happened?! I didn't hear any golden trumpets!

Some people like it, other don't. I belong to the first group. Your success rate ultimately depends on how you use it to engage with others and whether that engagement funnels them down that path to a sale.

Well I definitely agree with the list! Here's what I would add...

Listening alone is sterile so I think that responsiveness definitely counts!. In addition to finding what they (your customers) want and delivering, finding what they're unhappy with and providing a solution is important too.

...or the fax goes through and you get a call back saying "you sent the wrong side." :-)

A few people have done that to me. We're working on automating the process via the web at my company. Should be ready soon.

So it took me forever to track down this post but I found it. I wanted to check in to say that I actually did get a copy and read it. In fact, I met with Mike himself and enjoyed what he had so say (both in the book and in-person).

As a young someone who shares an entrepreneurial drive, I definitely enjoyed reading it and definitely recommend it to others!

Re: "Now, which face are you showing through your online presence? Are you the live and participatory, the sharing and thoughtful, or are you a one way street?"

I think we should ask ourselves that very question ever time we sit at the computer and get down to business.

Re: "now, a blog… that’s something far more leverageable and is an actual asset to the agent - it’s of interest, it builds rapport, it’s personal, it’s branded, it’s a conversation point (for consumers and influencers), and something that a strategy can be built around."

I agree entirely! Now one of the things I learned through trial and error early on was this, it doesn't have to be overly formal. Shoot for "conversational" instead. At every point, seek to humanize your interactions (in other words have fun with it and give people the opportunity to have fun with it too). Although this might seem like common sense to some, it's challenging for others.

The more conversational and welcoming you are, the more willing your consumers (readers) will be to talk to you.

Opinions are important (at least in my humble opinion). Here's the thing...if you and I are sitting discussing something (a product, a service, etc.) and you're dishing out all the facts, there will come a point where I'll stop you and say, "Yeah Chris, that's great. But what do you THINK?" (I want your opinion).

Re: "And work often on your own databases. Repeat after me: you live or die by your databases."

When I was in lending I set about building my own database and started an email newsletter using the web-based program provided through the packaged site I purchased. I used it a lot! And for all intended purposes it worked out well. Except for one thing: my contacts were stored via this web-based program with this company who decided to not offer their product anymore. So I lost all my contacts and had to start all over again.

Lesson learned (the hard way). I used to use ACT (I liked it a lot but it was a company account). I keep and update my contacts regularly through Address Book on my mac and I have a newsletter account through madmimi for my site and to manage the newsletter for the REBarcamp LA event I'm putting on in April.

I think it's good to be responsive to what people are saying about you and/or your business but it's difficult to be everywhere all the time especially when you're a solo-practitioner. That's why I think setting up your Google Reader and/or Google Alerts is a great way to capture the bits and pieces that make a mention of you and your company's name. I use both and I recommend anyone else do the same.

I'm a little late on this one so I'll be brief (I'll add my thoughts later in a follow up post and link-back)...

If you have a bad business, a blog isn't going to help you. It sounds harsh, but it's true. Just "having" a blog isn't the solution. There's a whole slew of work and strategy that goes into making it "work" for you. If you're not willing to put in the time, forget it.

Happy Birthday dude!

@Dustin: hey Dustin... I figured it out :-P

Hehe... Thanks.

@Dustin: heck, I do have a gravatar it just doesn't register on certain sites. On yours I see funky monsters. Here it's a blank photo. Everywhere else, I'm pimping the hat :-)

I think that's why I like the ability to use Gravatars in the comments. It's pretty cool when you stop by a site and recognize some of your friends faces from around the blogosphere.

Mark,

I think your advice is dead on! I think that by taking this approach you allow for your site to be more credible and presentable once you promote it to the public.

One thing people seem to ask a lot is: "What should I write about?" My response: think about the questions clients and potential clients ask you on a daily basis. When you struggle to come up with new content ideas, turn those questions into blog posts and there ya go!

I manage a few different email accounts but my primary business account is the one that I hold with The Real Estate Tomato. It's this account in particular that I'm quick to answer to as I deal mostly with sales and customer service requests. But in between the day-to-day stuff, meetings, (and some other off-line stuff that I'm working on) it can be tough to get to people within the hour or two. Most of these emails are easy to get to and respond to but when you're away from the computer or have family time in the evenings during the weekend, that just isn't so.

So what do I do to manage expectations? For one, I started using AwayFind when I heard you mention it here. It's a great application and I've found that people do in fact make use of it under the appropriate circumstances which is great. I find that I actually peek at my email less and focus on other things. But then I also set expectations up front with new prospects and clients. I let them know how I work and communicate and as them how they prefer to communicate as well. Updates go out every morning to keep everyone "in the know" and from there, it helps eliminate some of the back and forth mess that's created from the whole "did you get my message" moments.

That's my process anyway...