Man vs. Machine?

For many a successful Realtor, this recruiting call will sound familiar: “Technology will boost your business and make you a star.” (While I agree it helps, personal relationships and real substance mean the most to me. Signed, Ann D.)

For instance, I absolutely hate to throw out old files which, of course, can be scanned into my iCloud account, the company server or a system we have called “Skyslope.” But, much like holding a real book instead of a Kindle, I really prefer reaching for the old, ink-stained file with scribbled notes from your purchase on North Fairfax Street or Mount Vernon Circle, or sale on Grand View or Prince Street, when it is time for me to sell or help someone buy that property.

What is so blasted precious? A wide range of hidden treasures can be found in those paper files – the first name of the scheduler for the unreachable master carpenter who put in the den bookshelves, the key pricing information for the French drain contractor, as well as for the contractor you didn’t choose and why, or the cell phone number for the talented electrician and his brother who can install fans in 14- to 20-foot family room ceilings (imagine the Flying Wallendas).

Oh, I’m not such a dinosaur that these people aren’t also in my personal Excel resource list, but the context, receipts, paint colors and scribbles are often a huge help in getting onto a pro’s schedule.

Luckily, I have outgrown many out-of-date practices – heck, we used to have 25 copies of a photo made at Ritz Camera, then wield Glue Sticks to attach them to the front of cardboard brochures! Open Houses were heralded with waving helium balloons before we realized that helium is a non-renewable resource – made on earth via nuclear decay of uranium, and it is recovered from mines – TMI? – we even had a tank here in the office.

And even I have graduated to creative tools – Saved Searches, instant alerts to screen and match listings, text flashes – though just last month I went “street walking” with a pen and notebook, like a flat-foot detective, to find clues for commercial lease opportunities – unadvertised empty spaces, old signs, etc.

I also rely on the personal strength and human excellence of my full-time assistant. We take any situation and make it better with laughter and a nice dose of creativity. Using the skilled, real people of our company’s in-house marketing staff means we can personalize each one of my listings far more effectively than using a standardized format in a technology-constrained data dump.

People are just better. We haven’t hired a robo-calling program to make cold calls as some firms have. Some vendors even use call centers to create lists of homeowners who don’t hang up when they are asked whether “they’d sell their home,” then sell those lists to startup real estate companies for targeted mailings or Meta blasts.

These thoughts and years of experience are brought to you by Ann Duff, Realtor, with McEnearney Associates. Based in Alexandria, Ann is busy day-in and day-out in DC, Maryland and Virginia, listing, selling, and leasing distinctive properties with and for wonderful people – and all with a splash of fun! Let’s Get Busy… contact Ann at 703.965.8700 or visit her website AnnDuff.com.