Why Every Real Estate Agent Should Follow Gary Vaynerchuk

This article is a small account of my experience in learning from the videos, books, and interviews of Gary Vaynerchuk. I have to admit, I didn’t follow or read anything from Gary Vaynerchuk until mid-2014! I heard of Gary’s book titled “Crush It” back in 2009.  In the world of real estate gurus and coaches and the marketing events they host I became familiar with the term “Crush It”, because they all seemed to use it.  It was cool to hear at first but then it quickly became a cheap rallying call you would hear the gurus praise out before and after speeches. For a while it seemed like you couldn’t attend a real estate seminar or marketing class with out someone on stage saying it.

2016 Update

Gary continues to give out some great advise, strategy, and tactics specifically for real estate agents to use in social media and online marketing. Check out the latest article here…. CLICK HERE…

Gary Vaynerchuk on Storytelling…

It was for this very reason that I simply didn’t get into following any of Gary Vaynerchuk’s work. At that time I thought his work was about “cheap marketing” and “quick sales” (I was wrong).  I believed this because I was hearing it so much from the gurus out there.  I never really met any real estate gurus and/or coaches that I respected or liked. Even though I guess I sort of am one, in an ironic twist. Bottom line I didn’t check it out for myself, and that was a mistake. My journey into the world of being a real estate online marketer and ditching my sales license 2 years ago to pursue this career path has taken me all over the country meeting agents to train in my marketing strategies and techniques. The only reason that I’m good at what I do (I hope that I’m at least half way decent) is because I have a list of professional online marketers whom I study, follow, and purchase what ever training they have. I do this to keep advancing my own skill levels in Marketing, Social Media, Blogging, WordPress, Photography, and Videography are all the subjects I’m in constant pursuit of excelling in.  When you do this type of work you have to keep an open mind and accept that the online marketing world is in a constant state of change.  When it came to Gary Vaynerchuk I kept a closed mind, and I really should not have.

In this Video Gary Vee gives you everything you need to know about creating effective marketing on and off-line

Ok, so let me get to the point of this whole story and WHY you should follow Gary Vaynerchuk. In the past 5 months of listening and reading all of Gary’s work I could get my hands on, I found that it heightened my overall capabilities as a marketer and a businessman.  His approach to Social Media is not fresh or new, but it’s just plainly the way it is.  All of Vaynerchuk’s workings are a combination of using solid traditional business practices and interjecting that into the world of online marketing and social media. Social Media may be new to the business landscape, but how we communicate and serve our customers, how we attract more business, and how we build relationships in the business world B2B or B2C is nothing new at all. There are countless stories of business successes and failures and they are all attributed to the way communication and relationships takes place between the business and the client. Social Media and Online Marketing are simply the practices, tools, and platforms that have changed how businesses operate and manage their brand, marketing, and customer service. These have had such an impact to every industry and business on the planet that business leaders and entrepreneurs are all having to seek out professionals like Vaynerchuk who are forward thinking and charting a sort of course in managing it all.  I believe this is the core of everything that Gary Vaynerchuk teaches. (remember I’m no expert, but a keen observer) The real estate industry is in the middle of a huge seismic shift where both buyers and sellers today can access huge amounts of data and information. It was just a few years ago (pre 2008-2010ish) that all of this info was guarded and kept by the real estate agents and MLS Boards.  Today, a buyer can search for all of the Closed, Active, Pre-Foreclosure, Auction, and REO properties in their own neighborhood from their computer or mobile device. Just think of how powerful that is! Let me ask you this:  How many buyer clients do you currently have that are conducting their own search online for a property, even though you are sending them weekly MLS updates? Learning how to manage your business online is critical for every real estate agent who is seriously wanting to grow their business. You don’t have to be a technical person in order to learn how to market yourself and your listings online, but you do have to keep an open mind and not be afraid change. I can guarantee you at least one thing. If you listen to Vaynerchuk for at least 15 minutes you will walk away learning something valuable that you can probably implement into your own business right away. Go to Gary Vee’s website and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Plus, his podcast are awesome on iTunes.