Advanced Access and it's “Quality Assurance Manager”

[Dan Connolly]

Don, There are a lot of alternatives to AA that offer a better solution. Just because they are big doesn't mean they are immune to failure. Eastern Airlines and Enron come to mind.

[Bob]

Dan, that was priceless.

Don, I would agree that Dominion can ride out any storm it wants. Their problem is that they are content to go with the status quo. They had the opportunity to upgrade to a program that would have given them the best solution out there, but they turned it down. They are content to go with the numbers (20-30k) who are content to shell out a few hundred a year with no expectations.

AA has peaked. What makes it worse is that they have a platform that can't be fixed; it doesn't scale into the era of web marketing that is before us. That means that the AA agent is now fighting with one hand tied behind their back.

Your ability to get links with an AA site is so severely limited that once a competitor gets into your serps with a better platform and the base knowledge of what it takes, you'll never beat them.

I'm not doing it on my own. I have in the past, and I did well. But I recognized the limitations, even ranking as well as I was, and made a move. I firmly believe that what I'm doing now is as good as exists. I'm not worried about the longterm viability because there isn't anything that scales better. I have no worries about their ability to stay in business.

They will never be the cheapest, which means they'll never have AA's numbers. But here is the logic in that:

The agents who need it the most are the least willing to pay for it. They'll stick with the AAs, Homes.com and P2As of the world. The best client is the one who already does okay, but wants to get better and understands the value in that proposition. It's the same mentality that great footballs teams have - it isnt enough to be up on the opponent, you have to finish them off.

To finish the football analogy, I'm a Charger fan. Last year we had a great team. Just like my last website. We ended up losing to a Patriots team I still don't think was as good. This year we put the same team on the field. The Patriots went out and got better - they got Randy Moss. Now they have the best chance of running the table as any team has ever had. Great players, great plan, great coach.

There are lots of website companies out there that are content with simply being a team in the league and showing up on Sunday, knowing its payday from the network is guaranteed, regardless of its win/loss record. My team has stated that anything less than each one of us being the best in our markets is not acceptable.

Ever hear that from AA?

If there is a company mantra down the road, it'll simply be "Scoreboard, Baby!"

[Don Price REALTOR]

Dan, there are probably more comparative examples as the reasons for both failing were very different but it doesn't matter. I only meant that the businesses that Dominion owns, other then their web businesses, are mostly print mags and sites that historically do well during downturns. Therefore as real estate agents start realizing they can no longer justify even being in the business they will drop out and there is no need for a real estate web site. Even more in numbers will be the agents that cut back all expenses that has no ROI, and everyone here knows that over 99% of real estate sites don't make money.

There is also the push by NAR and our respective states to begin making the Brokers-in-charge more aware and held responsible for the misinformation of their agents websites and Internet presence. I think we will be seeing brokers begin to severely restrict their agents Internet presence or forbid it all together, and if the agents are lucky the broker may let them have a page on the company website. This is overdue and makes good sense to me, but you can bet the web site vendors will be lobbying against this.

Committing to another long term contract with no guarantee for a ROI to me is not going to happen in this economy, and that includes with AA.

[Bob]

I think we will be seeing brokers begin to severely restrict their agents Internet presence or forbid it all together, and if the agents are lucky the broker may let them have a page on the company website. This is overdue and makes good sense to me

That isn't going to happen. You give NAR too much credit.

[Don Price REALTOR]

Originally Posted by Bob

That isn't going to happen. You give NAR too much credit.

It depends, Tail between the legs as soon as the first Edina (agency/overcharge)) type lawsuit and settlement happens.

NAR and ARELLO do influence state commissions, and there will be the enforcement of law.

There are people that just look for reasons to sue, and it only takes me a minute or two to find sites that are really sad. I am sure most of the time the broker doesn't have an idea of what their agents has out there, and probably as many who thinks there is deniability in that. Just 1 big law suit and it could be a completely different real estate web world.

[Jade456]

I think you'll see more and more big businesses move into the online real estate lead game. Zillow and Trulia are already creeping into major markets

[AllTheSame]

Why would a broker be allowed to restrict this type of marketing above and beyond every other media type that has the potential to be viewed by the masses?

Every agent's behind is covered by simply adding a disclaimer, and this includes the internet. Agents do more damage to brokers with their mouths than they will ever do with their websites, trust me. A broker would do herself a service by requiring an initial approval of all content, the disclaimer therein, and getting the agent to sign an "I was educated by my broker about what is allowed and disallowed..." and a hold harmless agreement in the event of misinformation that would cause a consumer to file suit.

Agents are Independent Contractors and personally, if my broker restricted me from marketing myself or prohibited me from profiting from my own name, I would take that battle to the appropriate arena in a heart beat.

Brokers are responsible for what their salespersons do, but it is incumbent upon each broker, who profits from an agent's marketing to educate, regulate and avoid those who litigate.

Brokers should not expect a larger ROI on an agent's branding than the agent receives himself, yet expect and agent not to expect ROI from the branding of the brokerage he chooses. Whatever happened to win/win?

[AllTheSame]

Originally Posted by Dan Connolly

Darla, next time, do what I always do when I am talking to someone in government or a big institution (like AA) and am not getting the response I want or like.... I hang up in the middle of a sentence while I am talking ("uh oh I have been disconnected!" ) and then I call back and talk to someone else. Start over, try again and maybe find someone who isn't a lunitic or a moron....You may have to call back a couple of times at AA.

So funny that the perception of AA is that they are some large institution. Prior to being taken over, it was hardly a large company.

[New Orleans Condo King]

When Kristina sold out to a corp. who cared about the profit over anything else AA began to slip. It happens all the time as the pride of ownership leaves and its hard for a bean counter to become an innovator.

[glenng]

It is truly ashame that AA has ended up the way it has - but sometimes an individual owner without the responsibility of increasing the bottom does a better job as to the quality and customer service rather than a division of a large corporation.