Steve, Rory, and I were awarded for having one of the fastest-growing companies in the country by Inc. Magazine last weekend. The Inc. 500 conference was amazing and we fortunately got to share a lot of it with our wives. I think one of the things that was most exciting about it was the solidification of our position as a leading Internet marketing service for real estate agents. We were able to grow our firm more than 780% in four years by offering real estate agents an incredible package that helps them to take their businesses to the next level. Here are some pictures of the event. Enjoy.
Just heard Alex Bogusky chat about some things. He is the creator of the new Bill Gates / Jerry Seinfield Microsoft ads, The Anti-Cigarette Truth Campaign, and a new campaign that’s running for Burger King (http://www.whopperfreakout.com).
He was absolutely brilliant.
Following Alex was Paul Bennet, of Ideo… Freaking Hillarious!
In the pictures… Alex Bogusky is above and Paul is below:
I am currently hanging out with Bob Pearson from Dell talk about how to leverage new media to your advantage. Here are a couple of points…
Need to thank your customers on a regular basis. Create a campaign that thanks our customers.
Create an area where customer can review your products/services
Need to constantly know what’s being said online about your brand and choose where to break in and say something.
By being where your customers search for major terms online you can determine who is creating the conversation on the internet about your industry… you need to become “friends” with those people… or be there yourself.
Bob’s talk was very interesting and informative. It is really fascinating to see how such a large company is using such a micro marketing channel effectively.
As Dave mentioned in the previous post we are down in DC at the Inc. 500 Conference and it has been awesome. As I am writing this post I am watching Seth Godin and Tom Peters on stage answering entrepreneurial questions and openly offering their like and different opinions. They are further discussing the importance of having a blog and the real time current issues that most privately held companies face week in and week out.
What strikes me is that the room is filled with people that for the most part “Get It” which as we watch and ask Seth and Tom questions we all get it, however, we are here because we want to “Get It” even better than what we do currently. The point being that your Success is dependent upon surrounding yourself with more and more people that “Get It” or who are truly able to get it by your Coaching and Training. You must get rid of dead weight that will never “Get It”. Always remember that Success Breeds Success!
So Rory and Steve came down last night so that they could play in the golf tournament that is taking place at the conference. I drove down this morning.
We are staying at the Gaylord Resort, which is also where the conference is.
The drive down was ok until I got completely lost (with a GPS Garmin AND My phone GPS AND A print out from Google Maps).
The resort is really beautiful… it’s actually like 43 acres or something crazy and it’s super easy to get lost.
So anyway, I’m going to be heading downstairs to some of the sessions… I think there’s like 4 of them at 4… The one I am most excited about is Alfred Spector’s. He works at Google and will be talking about how Google inspires innovation. Should be fun.
Oh, and I got completely attacked by this American Express lady after I registered. It was rediculous. I kept politely trying to get away from her and she kept asking me extremely irritating questions. AND WE’RE ALREADY CUSTOMERS and she knew it… anyway.
The pics are of the hotel.
Oh! I am twitting throughout the time while we’re down here, so feel free to follow me at:
OK… yeah… we’re excited! Every year, Rory, Steve and I grab the Inc 500 Magazine off the shelves and study the list of successfull companies and try and learn what we can do to grow at such a rapid rate.
So, we received an awesome piece of mail today! One of our companies, Get My Homes Value .com (Click here for the corporate site) is officially one of the fastest growing companies in the United States! It is really awesome when you try to build a great company from scratch… with no funding… and you have helped so many people that you grow to a level that is recognizable by a national magazine.
I did some math, and our gross sales growth was 775% from 2004 - 2007 (the stat used to calculate everything). The way that they chose the companies last year and will be doing this year is based on total percentage of gross sales growth (which for us is the 775% I just mentioned).
This being said… it would be KILLER if we made the Top 500 List… and our numbers look like we will… But we will have to wait until the inc.com goes live on August 20, 2008. If we do make the top 500, we will be featured in the September magazine.
We encourage agents all the time to use the promotional power of the internet to their advantage. But we can talk about it until we’re blue in the face – are there any agents out there actually doing it?
One agent in Kansas City is using a series of blogs for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. Chris Lengquist of Keller Williams Realty, Diamond Partners, Inc., operates one of the best blogs a real estate agent can about Kansas City Real Estate Investing.
Dating back to January 2006, Chris has used his blog to cover real estate headlines in Kansas City and create conversation about the community. Nearly every one of his blog posts generates multiple comments from his readers, which Chris then uses to build social relationships. Like we’ve said in our Real Estate Followup Plan podcasts, you never know when a relationship is going to turn into a lead or referral. Even if the person you’re speaking to isn’t in the market to buy or sell, it doesn’t mean they don’t know someone who is.
In addition to using his blogs to build relationships and show off his expertise in KC real estate, Chris does an awesome job of allowing his readers to get to know him. Without spending much time on Chris’s blog, readers learn that he is a genuine family man who loves Kansas Jayhawks basketball. How many of your prospects know information like that about you after your first meeting?
Chris uses his blog as a tool for marketing and lead generation by positioning himself as an expert and letting readers to get to know him as a person. Because he is so easy to like after reading his blog, he makes his services easy to buy… and remember, people would much rather buy than be sold to.
So Rory and Steve came down last night so that they could play in the golf tournament that is taking place at the conference. I drove down this morning.
The pics are of the hotel.