Do you remember when internet dating sites first started out? Didn’t it seem a bit odd then that people would first meet online before they ever met in person? Now it’s so commonplace though that most of us know quite a few people using sites like this, or have friends who met a spouse online.

Just as people connect on dating sites these days, things have changed for business too since we have the opportunity to build relationships with others through vehicles such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (and so many others). I don’t think we need to put our whole focus on spending all day online, because we definitely need to get some “Facetime” with people (and get work done too). But building an online presence and being where people are at is really important for business.

Let me highlight Twitter for just a minute. I’ve been using Twitter for over a year now and I’m really grateful for the relationships I’ve built. Honestly, at first glance I thought Twitter was some sort of platform to post self-focused disconnected ”buy from me” type marketing messages, but it can actually be a very relational tool (if used properly). With that being said, meet some people in the Sacramento area that I’m glad to have connected with on Twitter (most in person too after meeting on Twitter).

@GenaRiede I think I found Gena’s blog first and then started following her on Twitter. She has great search engine rankings in the area and is continually cranking out content. Gena has been a real estate blogger since April 2006 and has 174 real estate videos to date. She was a RE blogger before the blogging bandwagon came to town.

@SuzannePhan A multi-media journalist for News 10, she’s constantly connecting with locals and trying to stay on top of current stories. She recently covered a story in my home town, and our paths were able to cross for a brief interview. Check out her website.

@TheBeamGuy This guy knows his stuff when it comes to Mid-Century Modern (MCM) homes in the Sacramento area (He is a licensed contractor). I linked to him on one of my posts on Streng homes. Seriously, he really has a niche speciality. Check out his website. 

@DavidYaffee David is a local Realtor, and I like his resourceful real estate videos. We’re actually shooting a video together this afternoon. I’m glad to have connected with David recently through Sacramento Tube. Check out David’s site / blog.

@RosevilleRockLnVery funny RE marketing gal. Heather is a gifted networker and so good with words. She and her husband make a great RE team and they are hard workers for sure. Check out the Ostrom website.

@BrightFarm Barbara helps people excel in their “elevator pitch”. Last year she and some others joined me in reading through the book “Crush It” for a business book club. Check out Barbara’s website. It’s fun to finally meet people in person after first having met on social media.

@PlumasLaker Gary and I actually connected after he found one of my blog posts on Plumas Lake. After talking back and forth about real estate, we became Twitter and Facebook friends. We share common passions for community building. I filmed him for a Good Neighbor TV post too. Really good guy (and now an elected official too).

@geewhizkid Andy is a solid person. He is a technical writer for VSP and is deeply involved in the community. I suppose technically we met in person for an hour at a meeting before becoming friends on Twitter, but that’s almost close enough to say we met on Twitter, right? We went to Kansas City together for the All-America City awards. We brought home the “All-America City” award for Rancho Cordova of course, but I won’t forget the lamb ribs that Andy and I enjoyed at Jack Stack in KC. 

@JenniferBourn Jennifer’s forte is branding and internet marketing. She actually did a post sort of like this on her blog a number of months ago, so I definitely want to credit her with the inspiration for this post. That’s what creative people do – they inspire. Seriously, Jennifer has some great content.

I like Twitter, but it’s not tweeting my stuff that gets me going, but rather the opportunity to connect with real people. I know this post might seem kind of off-topic for an appraisal blog, but business is all about relationships, and these are things I am constantly thinking about throughout the week.

Where do you build relationships with people online and in the real world?

Let me know if you have questions, insight, or any real estate appraisal or valuation consulting needs. Contact me at 916.595.3735, on my company website, or on Twitter or Facebook.

Last week I headed to Kansas City for the All-America City Awards as a part of the delegation from the City of Rancho Cordova. I am very pleased to announce that Rancho Cordova is now recognized by the National Civic League as an “All-America City”. This prestigious award means a great deal for the community at large and it was an incredible honor to be involved. It was a fantastic bonding time for the team too, and so nice to meet many great citizens from across the United States.

I made three videos while in Kansas City as a way to stay in touch with everyone back home (and a total of 7 videos over the past week). It was neat to see so many people using YouTube, Twitter & Facebook to include others in the All-America City quest. This shows again how social media is changing the way we are able to communicate.

You can see our team’s presentation here, some of Andy Gee’s photos here, several videos I shot here, and follow the #allamericacity twitter stream too.

Online All-America City Articles (added 06-29-10)

• Rancho Cordova Post
• Sacramento Press
• Sacramento Business Journal
• Cordova Community Council
• City of Rancho Cordova Website
• Grapevine Independent

As I mentioned previously, I’ll be heading to Kansas City next week as a part of delegation from the city of Rancho Cordova for the All-America City Awards. I wanted to invite you to follow this exciting journey next Wednesday through Friday through videos, Facebook & Twitter. Technology is going to help us connect!!! It should be great fun. Watch the videos below or here and here.

I’ll be posting from Kansas City mainly from my Twitter account @SacAppraiser and I’ll be getting some videos up at www.facebook.com/Project680 (directly on my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/lundquistco). The official hash-tag on Twitter is #AllAmericaCity (note it is not “American”, but “America”). I’d love to hear from you during my stint in Kansas City. Your support will be a huge encouragement.

This is a real honor for me to represent Project 680 and my city. Go Rancho Cordova!!!!

I wrote the other day about the importance of building an online business presence, and I was provoked further today about just how relevant social media truly is. It’s easy to think that newer mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogging are a fad, but take a look at the Socialnomics video below (or here). I saw this today during a presentation by Chris Tellez at the Sacramento Association of Realtors YPC meeting.

What do you think? How does the video make you feel? Do stats like this bring pause about the way you do business or aim to do business in the future? 

I remember stumbling upon an episode of Jeopardy in the early 90s and seeing that they too had jumped on the “bandwagon” of the world wide web. Yes, even Jeopardy now had a website just like everyone else. Do you remember those days?

It’s wild to think that just 15 years ago the idea of the “world wide web” seemed to be on the fringe, but it’s now a very significant part of our lives. Consider how the world has changed in the past several years with the advent of things like smart phones, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google, and blogosphere. The web has opened up opportunities for us to communicate, do business, be more efficient, waste time, shop, date, read the news, share videos, meet people, etc…

If you are in business, the truth is that people want to reach you online. They hope to find your website, understand more about your company, and see what others are saying about you too. They may even wish to connect with you on Twitter or Facebook. I know it can sound overwhelming to someone who is not a social media convert, but don’t worry because you don’t have to be a tween techie guru to be successful online, and you can certainly take small steps to further develop your web presence over time. The key is to find what is going to work for you and your business and then incorporate a realistic and doable social media rhythm into your life. Ask yourself the question: What facet of the web or social media right now will help you further connect and build relationships with people? 

Why do I spend time thinking about this stuff? Because it’s the wave of the future that is now here. My goal in business is to provide a great product and be relevant, resourceful, and focused on relationships with people (both online and in person). Just yesterday a local home owner googled me and ordered a pre-listing real estate appraisal for his house in the Rosemont area of Sacramento. After this man perused my website, he called me to connect for business. That’s how it works these days in many cases, and I plan for this scenario to only increase over time as our society continues to embrace an online lifestyle.

What do you think of all this?

I ran into an acquaintance at Starbucks recently and we ended up having a very brief conversation about the real estate market in Sacramento. This friend of a friend just happened to be spending some time with her Realtor, and while waiting for our drinks to come to the bar, the Realtor asked me, “So how is the real estate market doing?”

We literally only had about a minute to talk, and like usual I find that it’s no small task to truly sum up the happenings of the real estate market in only sixty seconds. I suppose technically real estate market conversations can be treated like some sort of a speed-networking introduction, but my sense is that this type of exchange is really best for sitting down over coffee instead of waiting for coffee. Nonetheless, I had the brief conversation of course, but I found myself wishing for more time to realy grapple with different facets of the market. 

I mention this because I have quite a few visitors to this blog every day (thank you). People type in questions in a search engine to find answers to what they are looking for. So I say to you, if you have questions about the local real estate market, appraisal standards, FHA, a particular neighborhood, property taxes, or any other topic you might find on my blog, I just wanted to let you know I’m accessible.

You can reach me at 916-595-3735, ryan@LundquistCompany.com, on Twitter at @SacAppraiser, YouTube, Facebook, or in the form to the right or below. Please contact me for questions, discussion, or if you are in need of my appraisal or property tax appeal services.

By the way, does anyone keep an app on your phone to find coffee shops, whether Starbucks or something else?

Did you play with legos as a kid? I used to build lego houses and cars all the time, but nothing like what you’ll see in the video below. I first saw this on Twitter thanks to Heather at @RosevilleRockLn of  www.rosevilleandrocklin.com. It’s interesting too to hear three different valuations for this property from real estate agents and an artist.

What do you think?

I’m heading to an appraisal inspection shortly in Roseville and I wanted to share some preliminary research. I find it interesting to take a panoramic glimpse of citywide data like this. What do you see in these trend graphs below? What stands out to you? The graphs are based on all single family residential sales and listings in Roseville from Sacramento Metrolist. I’d love to hear your comments below.  

While on the subject of Roseville, I wanted to mention that one of my Twitter friends, Realtor Steve Ostrom of Coldwell Banker, posted an interesting video a couple of weeks ago about shadow inventory in Roseville and Rocklin. It’s interesting to look at what the numbers are saying. How many houses are in the process of foreclosure? How many loans have defaulted but not listed on the market yet? Statistics like this are very important to watch and they can be indicators of what is to come too. If you can’t see the video below, then click HERE.

I mentioned previously that I asked some Sacramento business friends to read through the book Trust Agents by Brogan & Smith. Well, our book club began today and we have nine participants from fields such as real estate appraisal, real estate sales, comedy, and publishing.

I’m very excited at how well our first meeting went. It’s so good to sift through ideas and make each other better. I have high hopes for our next three gatherings. The main theme that came out in today’s conversation is how important it is to be authentic in how we do business, and especially in any marketing strategy (whether that involves being online or not). Being yourself is irreplaceable.  

On another note, it’s great to have two out-of-town real estate appraisers from Georgia & Alabama able to join us on Skype for our 90-minute conversation. 

Earlier in the day today too I became Twitter friends with the authors of Trust Agents. Two hours before our book club I messaged both authors to ask for any advice or tips for our group. Here is what they had to say:

I’m in awe how technology has paved the way for us to so casually exchange information and ideas, or even connect with authors. A while back I was listening to NPR or reading something on Copyblogger about the definition of a book. I don’t recall the exact source, so I’ve mentioned both. The classic definition of a book goes something like this, “A set of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers”. This sounds standard and agreeable, but as the author of the piece I read was talking about, there is an experiential element that one can add to the standard book definition (or at least to the process of reading it). He said that the entire book experience can be more than just what is inside from cover to cover, because it can sometimes include interaction with the author too. I’m not saying I buy into this concept fully, but today I experienced directly how part of reading Trust Agents included a couple of tweets with the guys who wrote the book, and those tweets added some flavor to our conversation.

I buy into the idea of establishing a solid online presence as well as using techie tools to connect with people. That’s why I have multiple websites, a blog, Twitter account, YouTube page, and I’m on Facebook too (among other things). What I don’t buy into though is that having all these things alone makes a business successful or even more marketable. After all, you can look the part and play the game, but still reap no greenbacks, right? 

Internet and social networking avenues are important (crucial) for many businesses, but nothing replaces face time with existing and prospective clients. I’m no expert, but getting in front of people and building authentic relationships is irreplaceable. Sure, I understand that relationships are built online. I know. I do it everyday and I enjoy it too. All I’m saying is that when all is said and done, there is still something special about contact in person with clients. 

Business is about relationship, so if you are looking to drum up more work in 2010, then find ways to get in front of people both online and in person.

I set up a Twitter page, so come along and follow me if you’d like. I’ll tweet about business, personal and community stuff. Don’t worry, there won’t be any blatant and wild over-sharing on my part. If you have any tips for how to maximize Twitter, I am open ears. Unfortunately my full name was not available, so “SacAppraiser” will suffice. The Twitter adventure now begins… www.twitter.com/SacAppraiser

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Lundquist Appraisal is now on Twitter