Ok, for our this posting, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a quote:

The greatest wisdom, not applied to behavior or action, is useless data. -- Peter Drucker (1909 - 2005)

No better summation of the challenges facing the real estate industry deserves our attention, especially in the wake of endless media accounts that the housing market continues to slump (of course NAR"s reports aren't so chipper either). But what does this quote mean, really?

Well, in my mind, it means that its time to stop nodding our heads and saying, "I know, I know" about all the things we "know" we're "supposed" to be doing and to actually start doing them!

And most importantly, this means focusing on technology - especially the stuff you already have - and getting more out of it. Rather than seeking the next quick-fix, snake-oil solution to our woes, why don't we just focus on all the tools, training and techniques so many of us have been building for the last few years and start putting it to work. Especially on critical issues such as capturing leads, pricing homes more competitively and promoting listings with enhanced multimedia instead of bullet points and still photos.

That's the real challenge for this year: Not waiting for some amazing new technobauble to arrive that will distract us from the hard work that has to be done - but actually doing the hard work!

Where should you start? Here's a simple step: GO GET A BLACKBERRY!

That's right - trade in your Edison-model cell phone and start doing your email in real time. Don't wait unti you can return to the "mother ship" during the day - do your email from the coffee shop, while waiting for a buyer to show up or when stuck in traffic (stopped, of course).

It's not like Blackberries are "new" ... they've been around for, what -- more than TEN YEARS! So what are you waiting for - the NEXT MILLENNIUM?

In other words, let's make 2007 the year when we stop saying, "I know, I know" to everything: that you need to return emails within the hour, that your laptop is portable so you can take it to a listing appointment and that you're supposed to chase online consumers, not the other way around. This year will be the year that you don't come back with bags of stuff from every convention, and dump it on the pile of stuff you haven't used from last year's convention. This year will be the year that you learn to use every one of your company's existing tech tools - the ones they spent $$$ developing and training you to use. The ones that will really make you work smarter because they work better.

This will be the year you skip the CE-approved Feng Shui course and take the Microsoft Outlook 2007 (yes, the NEW version) course instead.

No more silver bullets. Let's get to work. Let's use the tools we have. Let's apply our wisdom to our actions and see - for a change - what just might happen!

And the first step begins by dumping your "Watson-come-here" century phone.

Welcome to the 21st century of real estate!

Isn't this exciting?

-- Matthew

(c) 2007 Matthew Ferrara & Company. Visit our Website.