Teresa Boardman Asks: Who Are You?

I have written this post a few times and in a few different ways.  I meet other agents on the internet because of their blogs.  Sometimes I contact them by email or phone.  Yes there are people who still use the telephone and have a two way conversation, but that is the subject for another post.
Try contacting some of the real estate bloggers.  I go to a blog and search and search before I figure out who the author is.  After I find the author getting the contact information is often next to impossible. It may involve clicking on a form that sits in a queue somewhere, or a general office number where I don’t actually get to talk to the person I am trying to contact.  It is as if the person is saying that they are just too darn important to talk with but for some reason I am not impressed enough to pursue it.  They don’t seem friendly to me or like people who would welcome interaction or conversation.

Last week a reporter from California contacted me and I was interviewed for a publication for Real estate agents.  One of the comments the reporter made is that she had tried to contact others.  She said that I was the easiest to contact and that it was clear to her that I sell real estate in St. Paul, Minnesota.  She even went to my author profile and learned a little more about me before she called, enough to know that I use Twitter and Flickr so she asked questions about those too.  She also knew which brokerage I am with.  She told me that she couldn’t always tell that either by looking at some of the blogs.
The clients I have who found me on the internet do the same thing.  They usually know a lot about me before we ever meet.  My avatars are not standard photographs taken by professional photographers but people instantly recognize me when I show up for a meeting.  It could be because the photos were not taken 10 or 20 years ago and I did not pose for them, they are snapshots taken by friends, or family.  The face isn’t plastered all over, readers have to click to another page to see it.  My way of saying that I am here if you need me but not in your face if you don’t.  My contact information is displayed at the top of my blog on the left side.  Can’t miss it.
Speaking of Twitter, I have had entire conversations with people I don’t know.  They use screen names and avatars.  Their real names can not be easily found.  In one such situation I was not comfortable with what the other twitter member was saying and so I finally asked him who he was.  A received a direct message back from him.  He said Teresa you know me, and outlined who he was and that we had actually met in person. I felt bad about it, because I do know him, but I did not recognize him on Twitter.  I go by “T” or “TBoard” in a few places but my full name is spelled out in my profile.
It shouldn’t be hard to figure out who people are, where they work or to contact them if they are using the internet to meet people and win business.  Look at your blog or website and try to contact yourself.  How many clicks does it take?  Is there a direct number, or does the caller have to call one number and be transferred into a voice mail box? If so it is possible that I will be getting the business or the publicity that you have earned through your hard work as a blogger or web 2.0 social net worker, because I am so easy to find.
Teresa Boardman is an exceptionally professional Realtor in the St. Paul, Minnesota area.
Her website: www.TBoardman.com
Her blog: www.StPaulRealEstateBLOG.com
Voice: 651-216-4603
Thank you Teresa.
As always, it’s a pleasure having you ‘on the Vine’.