How do you know a company still doesn't get technology? Well, just look at the many ways companies are creating disappointment amongst their customers - and losing them - because they can't see beyond the "tool." Here's a simple case in point:

As many of you know, our company plays many roles in the industry: consulting, training, leads management, coaching and help desk services. From each of these inputs into the industry, we see a lot of operational procedures. Some work. Others are woefullly broken. A trend, however, is readily noticable pattern of real estate agents and brokers who continue to use outdated equipment and software.

Well, the 2007 NAR Member Survey is out. Somewhere in the first few pages, here's what you'll find:

Ho hum. Another day, another article about the dismal state of affairs in the real estate industry. Woe to the glut of listings, not selling because buyers are too mean - unwilling to overpay for over... [Read More]

Well, sometimes the internet is the great leveller. No matter how big you get, how smart, how rich and powerful, the web can still make you look pretty dumb pretty quick. Even if you're Google.

Ready for Rule #2? Ok, here's how you can shake up your 2008 and the competition at the same time: Real Estate Rule #2: Work Backwards from the Consumer

Forget about New Year's Resolutions. Start thinking about new rules of real estate instead. Resolutions are something "you' can think up - and FORGET about - at your discretion. But Real Estate Rules are like laws of physics: You can try to "forget" about gravity - but one step off the roof and you'll be quickly reminded.

So anyone watching the news lately? Seems like the "subprime" mortgage meltdown isn't exactly what it turns out to be. For weeks, the story has been something like this (paraphrasing): " The evil REALTORS in cahoots with the greedy lenders took advantage of the doe-eyed consumers who didn't know any better and tricked them into deceptive loans that had teaser-rates that are suddenly snapping up to sky-high levels that the poor homeowner can't afford any more - and he can't refinance because his property value has dropped. The perfect storm!"

Regular readers of this column know of my love/hate relationship with REALTOR photos online. For starters, our battle to get everyone to post multiple photos per listing seemed to be won, as the number of images per listing started to rise - only to be "foiled" by those agents whose fetish for bathroom photos undermined the concept of promoting your listings online (some sort of mold-meets-flash-in-bathroom-mirror-complex, I'd say...) Now there's the still-lingering problem of all those silent virtual tours - maybe the real estate industry will do what Warner Brothers did in 1928 and decide to stop making silent movies sometime in the near future. Or they can just wait for REALTOR.COM to make them promote listings better.