Category Archives for "Sales & Marketing"

Many real estate developers forget about branding and merchandising. Imagine if you went to a high-end dress shop or a place to buy an expensive suit and they had fabulous clothing but no racks–you had to pick up that dress or suit up from the floor and shake off the dust? Yuck. So, when buying […]

My friend and adviser Corey Oliver helped me develop my very own GaVinci Report. It rhymes with “da Vinci” for a reason–not that I am Leonardo da Vinci but rather Corey is! Actually, it was named after his son Gavin… The GaVinci Report developed by Corey is a storytelling strategy piece; it helps anyone or […]

[The difference between a city accountant and a country one explained…] Clients of mine, first time home-buyers Katie and John (not their real names), are not on a path like others. No, they want to buy a home that pays them rather than one they pay for. What’s that you say? A home that pays […]

Bruce M Firestone, PhD, keynote at FanSaves Event May 2019 YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/ZY6j-PgjUFU What is covered? -even Ice Fishing Huts are sponsored! -and keynotes are sponsored! -Ottawa 67s find a way to say “Yes!” to every sponsorship request by turning such asks into a new sales channel by harnessing the give a person a fishing […]

I have long believed that the best urban condition is one that arises from multiple ownership of land, each of them doing their own thing in a kind of organic growth mode. In other words, the best towns, villages and cities in my view evolve with little in the way of interference from a modern […]

Sales and marketing are about storytelling, true, but it’s also about improving your ability to communicate. A client of mine started his storytelling business–teaching enterprises how to do a better job at communicating their stories. His first step is interviewing clients using a two-way video tool like Zoom, which he records and uploads (unlisted) to […]

I can think of many reasons why realtors should own some rental properties, not least because, if you represent or coach investors the way I do, one of the first questions they’ll ask you is this: “Do you walk the walk or just talk the talk?” If you have your own successful portfolio, well, this […]

In a ground-breaking study[1], University of Chicago Booth School of Business economist Chang-Tai Hsieh and University of California at Berkeley professor Enrico Morerri reported that restraints on new housing prevented people, especially young talent, from moving to or staying in clusters of innovation. They found that such constraints: “lowered aggregate US growth by 36 percent […]

Young clients of mine refused to meet with me last week to learn about how they could rent a house for free or close to free (via an augmented tenancy) and they said, “No we just want to rent!” No wonder they’re poor. Are they stupid for saying this? Maybe. But I think not… it’s […]

Look at the way this developer sells towns… see below. It’s more of a “swimsuit” competition rather than a value proposition. Key words: “limited” “priced low” “hardwood “ceramic.” #BigMistake IMHO They do OK on location but are missing out on any of these desirable characteristics: walkable, mixed-use, transit, nearby attractions, employment opportunities… which would help […]

If you talk to many developers like I do, the answer to this question is often, “No one” or “Not many.” I disagree. Market segments which need the extra income or space include: -seniors who need extra income for their retirement-millennials who need extra income to help pay their mortgages -investors who need higher cap […]

According to podcaster Mark Leruste, Ernest Shackleton’s famous recruitment ad for his 1914 Endurance expedition to Antarctica could be a useful stand-in today for anyone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, https://youtu.be/f6nxcfbDfZo. Here’s that ad, which it is believed first ran in the London Times (although that is far from certain, https://discerninghistory.com/2013/05/shackletons-ad-men-wanted-for-hazerdous-journey/): Men wanted for hazardous […]