Earlier today I posted the above review on Yelp. Apparently it went out on Twitter as well because within a few minutes I got a Direct Message from a friend:
Are you nucking futs? (yeah, I edited that. We’re a family site.) Why would you give a five star review to a competitor?
I suppose that’s a fair question. To be honest, I didn’t really even think about it. I got an email from Phil Sexton, the IMD (Internet Marketing Dude) from John Hall about the upcoming Phoenix Real Estate Bar Camp (Phil and I are a couple of the organizers. Are you coming?) and in his email signature was a line that said, “Please take a moment to add your rating of John Hall & Associates” with a link to their Yelp page.
(A brilliant idea by the way. That’s Phil though “ I’ve had many “duh moments” when I see some of the simple, yet bright ideas he has. Which incidentally he shares with everyone)
So I reviewed them.
It was an easy review to write because John Hall is a great brokerage. I know several JH agents and am honored to call many of them friends. They are good, very good, at what they do. The designated broker at John Hall, Jim Sexton, is as nice a guy as he is brilliant and he gives a LOT to the real estate industry – not just to John Hall & Associates.
Competitors?
Personally, I’ve never quite understood why so many real estate agents and brokerages view others as competitors. What really drives me crazy is agents within the same brokerage that view their peers as competitors. In this industry, there are almost always agents from two different brokerages working on both sides of a transaction – working with the same ultimate goal in mind: to get the transaction closed and serve both the buyer and seller well. Real estate truly is (or should be) a cooperative effort, not a competing effort.
“But Jay, you are trying to hire agents. John Hall is trying to hire agents. You are both competing for the same set of people.”
Well, yeah. Sort of. But good grief, there are literally tens of thousands of real estate licensees in the Phoenix area. I can’t hire them all. In fact I have zero desire to hire them all. Neither can or does John Hall.
“But Jay, you are both competing for the same listings.”
See above and replace “real estate licensees” with “home buyers and sellers”. There are currently close to 45,000 properties available for sale or rent in the Phoenix metro area. There is plenty of real estate to go around. As I said in my review, there is no way that any real estate brokerage can possibly serve the needs of every available buyer in Phoenix, or list every home for sale. No way. None. Zip. Nada.
From what I’ve seen of my “competitors” at John Hall, we share much of the same philosophy. If you think Phil Sexton wants to keep all his tips, techniques and tactics locked within the confines of John Hall, just take a look at their blog. They freely and openly share things with anyone with a web browser. And there is good stuff there.
Do they have ulterior motives for all this sharing? Listen, I’m not stupid, and neither are they. Of course they want agents to find their blog and say, “Wow, these guys are smart. I should join their team.” You don’t think I want the same thing? Maybe that’s the primary goal for their blog (but I’m going to live in my own little world and say recruiting is their secondary goal and sharing with and improving the skills of all agents is their primary goal. Leave my little world alone. Or show me that I’m wrong.)
John Hall has been a family owned and operated real estate brokerage in the Phoenix area for 37 years. Thompson’s Realty has been a family owned and operated brokerage in the Phoenix area for 3 years (as of yesterday!). I may have an ego, but it’s certainly not of the epic proportions that would be required for me to think I can’t learn something from John Hall & Associates.
I am glad there are brokerage operations and agents out there of the caliber that John Hall is, and continuously strives to be. It makes my job easier.
So yeah, I gave a five-star review to a “competitor”. Why not? They deserved it.
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy was started by Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... he liked to say...
Good service should never be discounted because of personal motives or bias. Healthy competition is good for everyone in our business – it makes us focus that much more.
It’s the mutual respect between Ohio State and Michigan or Duke and North Carolina that makes each program better.
Kudos to you Jay. My guess is you and The Thompson team of professionals will go out tomorrow (like you do every day) and earn your own 5-star review on Yelp. I’m sure whoever writes the review – competitor or client – it will still mean a lot.
And that little bit of sharing what goes on in your head Jay Thompson is why you *are* the best.
Plain and simple.
I love it.
Jay I loved this…I read your original post on Yelp and thought it was a great thing to pay respect to your colleagues in the business even if they are at a different competing brokerage.
You are absolutely right that there is plenty of business to go around, I feel the same way in our market! I constantly collaborate with other agents here that are with different companies and even though we are in “competition” we all want to see each other do very well!
I don’t think you are nucking futs my friend…brilliant is more like it!
Love it! So true! I say this stuff all the time and when I get the response “what? you are saying that about another agent?” or “what? you are sharing that?”…oh my *palmofhandonforehead*. There is PLENTY of business and sellers and buyers and agents etc…we cannot be all things to all people, BUT, we can be good to one another and respect what each of us has to offer and SHARE and LEARN from one another. I love my office because we all feel this way and that is what attracted me to work there. You are always spot on Jay. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve always liked your style Jay and this time is no different.
I always chuckle when I ask a local agent what their most effective method of doing something is and their response is ”I’m not telling you”.
Congrats on the 3rd anniversary!
Trust Agent 101. Nice work Jay.
I mentioned this on FB as well and thought I would follow up my comment with echoing something that you said that rings very true.
” What really drives me crazy is agents within the same brokerage that view their peers as competitors”…
I am constantly sharing with my colleagues in my office and offered to help my broker with his online presence as well as his SM presence. Before I got to the brokerage in early 2010 he didn’t have a website and neither did the majority of our Agents. A lot of them are slowly starting to come around…in fact I am giving a seminar tomorrow on Web marketing including social media. This is something that I have no problem sharing as I come from a trades background where Apprenticeship meant the “Journeyman’s” job was to help out the newby on the job.
A lot of our Agents are anything but newbies but the nice thing is that they are still willing to learn new ways of doing things.
Yet another great post Jay…you tha man!
Why not? I have blogged about good deals with cooperating agents. We should e generous about giving credit when it is deserved. Counterintuitive, but it shows class.
You are truly one of the standup people in this industry. It’s people like you that are (slowly) improving the reputation of real estate agents and brokers. We need more people to follow your lead.
It’s been said before, and it will be said again. But it was worth repeating.
Nice Jay . . . wish more agents/brokers thought like this. Cooperation is a good thing but sorely lacking in the real estate field.
Classy Jay! #Thatsthewaytoroll
Jay, thank you for the review AND the post. Stay classy Jay Thompson!
Let’s face it…the perfect transaction needs a 5-star agent on the other side. Since most 5-star agents I know are not big fans of dual agency, it’s good to know who to look for. Real estate is a team sport.
Interesting and thought provoking. I never really considered giving a competitor review in this way.
Just the other day I was researching IDX providers (sadly the great people Jay uses don’t cover my MLS) and I would come across posts of nothing but IDX providers bashing their competition.
You do not make yourself better by bashing the competition. You just come off looking bad or sleazy IMHO.
Thanks for distracting me from a very busy day with this thought provoking post LOL.
Nice work Jay! There is no competition when you are the *best*.
side note: have you ever thought about adding Topsy retweet or digg digg to your blog, just to make it easier to share….?
Thank you Jay for your review and kind remarks. You are right about agents that give back and I appreciate your contributions to AAR, ARMLS tech committee, NAR MLS committee and all the other industry groups that you share with. Being recognized by Inman News as an innovator certainly puts you in the elite here in the Phoenix marketplace and folks that read your blog certainly are well informed and better for it. Again thanks for all you do.
So what are we to take about the brokerages you aren’t mentioning? 🙂
I have always had great respect for you – I now have more (I am a John Hall & Associates agent) Thank you!!
How do we know this isn’t a fake review or that you deleted it after you posted it? Sounds like another traffic generaton ploy
Oh for the love of fluffy bunnies. Sometimes people never cease to amaze me…
1) Search Yelp. Or click on the image. You’ll see the review live on Yelp.com
2) Posting a fake review, in a place where it is so simple to verify the “authenticity”, would be mind-numbingly stupid. In fact, posting a fake review ANYWHERE would be mind numbingly stupid.
3) Drive traffic? Where, to John Hall’s website or blog? Not to sound all big-headed, but I don’t need “ploys” to drive traffic.
Now scurry along please. I think this is the second or third time you’ve recently commented here. Perhaps you should find a way to be more productive. If you don’t like this blog, the solution is simple. Don’t read it.
I don’t have a problem sharing with fellow Realtors and I would also recommend others in my area if I thought they were good enough to recommend.
Like you said, there is plenty of real estate to go around for the full time professionals in our business.
I think you’re probably just ‘piling’ on him…
Crazy brilliant, if you ask me Jay. I feel like the fact that we all work together on deals makes realtors more like competitive teammates rather than people fighting from opposite ends of the field.
Brilliant. Looks like you do real estate the way it should be done. Doing business with great competitors does several things…1. Makes you better. You can always learn something from them. 2. Makes you look good with your clients. Since the transactions tend to be smoother. 3. Makes your life as an agent a helluva a lot easier. I’d rather do business with the best 11 times out of 10. You’ve got a fan in Maui!
Seems like a creative marketing technique to me… i think i’ll go do the same right now. Thanks, Jay!
Also, i don’t think it’s crazy. Like you say… there are no competitors in real estate. Way too many buyers and sellers running around for 1 brokerage to handle.
Just another example of why you are a class act. When you started coaching me I think there were some people in my office who were skeptical of your motives. I am sure they wondered why you would coach someone who is at a different brokerage. Just another example of how you help out other Realtors regardless of brokerage affiliation. PS We need to set up another session soon!
I think it’s pure genius, not nucking futs. 🙂
I think this is genius. Building good will be inevitably lead to more good will and deals in your community!
Thank you for raising the bar of professionalism for Realtors.
Jay, I never tire of reading your stuff. Couldn’t agree more. John Hall and Thompson’s Realty are both world class.
Jay – I think this might be one of your best posts ever. Reading the review, I wasn’t shocked or surprised that you would do it. Maybe you’ll “lose” an agent to John Hall, maybe they’ll “lose” on to you as new agents find the review or this post. It isn’t the end of the world. You will always have people seeking you out and although I don’t know John Hall and Associates, based on your word, I’m sure they’ll have the same. Just because you’re in the same market, doesn’t mean you can’t learn from each other and improve the Phoenix market overall for the consumers – in the end, that is the goal for all of us, right?
It just shows that you have the same view as most independent brokers… other brokerages are not competition… they are assets in this difficult market. I have no problem referring other brokers and have referred many your way Jay, and will continue to do so.
I never thought about doing that.
An agent in my office who was top producer of the year for 2008 got no recognition for it, and was so proud. I wrote a blog post about what a great agent she is – brought tears to her eyes. The other agents were amazed that I wrote about her and gave her some good keyword backlinks. But she was my friend.
You did this because it was the right thing to do.
Great example, Jay.
Jay,
I write LinkedIn recommendations for agents all the time. I believe in supporting people and products that I know are good.
Some great agents work at John Hall and they all work together and share openly.
Jay: As always, a class move from a classy guy. It’s nice to hear something other than trash talking. Maybe this idea will catch on. Nice job.
I love how you “get” real estate.
Ha! I just noticed the Zebra wandering the desert! Fantastic.
I just love it. This is about being a good human being and doing the right thing. The real estate industry desperately needs more people like you.
Good for you Jay! Always thinking out of the box!!!
Great idea
Hi Jay,
Good post. I say the same thing all the time about people and companies who do the same thing I do. There’s more than enough business to go around. I feel it’s an honor and a privilege to get to learn from, be inspired by and associate with great people.
PS. What sound does a Zebra make? Sounds as if at least one Zebra is a whiner.
You definitely are a class act, Jay! What a wonderful idea. I’m making a mental list of the Realtors that I know that could use some public appreciation.
Jay,
Really great article!
I think all to frequently agents think they have to keep everything to themselves to get more business. When you act the opposite of that it seems like the more business comes to you, the right kind of business
Marisa
There is a good chance that you may even reap a few potential clients from your Yelp review and maybe even a referral someday from someone at JH&A!
Even if not, kudos to you for not letting perceived competition inhibit your demonstrated inherent desire to assist people.
You are a rare breed Jay!!!
I used to be an agent with John Hall on Tatum -i’ve since inactivated my license- and while I agree that the agents are outstanding, let’s just say I don’t necessarily agree with assessment of the brokers. As far as endorsing other agents, it’s very common for lawyers and doctors to do that, particularly on Avvo.com, and I believe it adds class and dignity to the profession.
JAY…This was really helpful information… Thank you.
Jefferson Condos Condos in Portland
AMEN 😀
It takes a big person who is confident in their own business to do this. I will write great reviews for a job well done to my competitors when their brokerage send me a survey but have yet to post it publically. Working with another porfessional beats the alternative. Kudos to you for stepping up and saying so.
This makes perfect sense. Overall, it is better to cooperate and create a better business environment for everyone involved (clients included!) than to bother worrying about one of your competitors getting a good review.