Networking 2.0 – The Power of Professional Connections

 Networking 2.0 - Building Professional Connections [32:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Featuring discussions with Ed Doss, New Homes Professional Network
and Jerry Rouleau, BuilderRadio.com

Last week I attended a conference called BlogWorld & New Media Expo, a three-day event that you might think was focused on blogginfg, podcasting, videocasting, etc.

You’d be wrong.

The conference was all about connecting – building trusting relationships, developing those connections, and honoring the commitments and responsibilities that we assume as professionals.

For me, the highlight of the conference was the opportunity to connect with other housing professionals attending the conference’s real estate track – an entire full-day program on how Realtors, mortgage lenders and sales pros are using new media connect with buyers.  Here was a group of dedicated housing professionals who came from all over the continent to learn, but also to network with one another.

These Realtors ‘get it’; they understand the power of connecting, sharing, and learning from one another, and they’ve built a powerful tool to keep connected.  In fact, the largest social network for real estate professionals is Active Rain, boasting over 130,000 members.  There they find information and referral opportunities, but also camaraderie and support.

This week’s guests, Ed Doss and our own Jerry Rouleau, both understand the power of professional connections.  Ed’s day job is with NewHomesDirectory.com – a portal site where builders can list their homes within easy access to buyers.  He also started New Homes Professional Network on LinkedIn, which now has over 1,300 members.

Ed Doss – New Homes Professional Network and The Builder Matrix
Why did he start a network for builders?  “I was looking at other groups on LinkedIn,” says Doss, “and it dawned on me that the building industry just didn’t have any social network that they could call their own.  Realtors have Active Rain, but there was no place where builders could engage with one another and talk about the issues at hand.  All we had at the time was LinkedIn, so Jim Adams, the owner an CEO of NewHomesDirectory.com, and I discussed this and decided to kick one off.

All we had at the time was the LinkedIn page, but it started taking off.  When we hit 200 members, we decided [the group] needed it’s own website, so Jim’s IT guys built NewHomesProfessionalNetwork.com.  When we begin people to that from the LinkedIn network, it just exploded.”

Now, many network members visit the site daily for news updates, to follow current conversations and forums, or for the interviews that Doss posts with industry leaders.  “One thing that’s really taken off is the featured member interviews, which is a testimony to social media in and of itself,” Doss explains.  “We interview notable people from the industry who had something to say that would benefit our readers.”

While BuilderRadio’s interview tend to be more informational, the interviews on the New Homes Professional Network are more personal, giving background information not the people themselves.  “A lot of people in our industry have heard people like Kerry Mulcrone, Kimberly Mackey, Meredith Oliver or Mike Lyon, they may not really know who they are.  So, an interview like this helps them to get to know the person behind the brand.  Whey you can get in and learn little details about a persons life and who they are and what their personality is, it builds a lot of trust.”

Doss and Adam’s  use of LinkedIn and the New Homes Professional Network are great examples of how social media tools are being used to build and reinforce connections.  Now they’re taking it a step further and helping builders create those kinds of connections with their buyers.  They’ve created a new company, The Builder Matrix.

“The building industry needs to embrace social media in a way that’s not been seen before, and that’s what we’re trying to do with The Builder Matrix.  We’re trying to help builders, not just have a great website, but to have a completely social media-ready website – one that interacts with the client in more ways than we can fathom.”

Jerry Rouleau – J. Rouleau & Associates and BuilderRadio.com
Jerry is what you’d call an early adapter.  He had the foresight to see how social media could (and did) change how people search, shop, gather information, and connect with one another.  It’s been over three years since he suggested we start a podcast, launch a blog and begin exploring new ways to reach our market with BuilderRadio.

“I feel like I’m interviewing a social media rock star,” says Ed Doss, as he and Jerry change seats and the interviewer becomes the guest.  “You’re everywhere – on Twitter, Facebook, and you have over 1,000 contacts on LinkedIN.  Everybody knows you.”

In fact, Jerry began his career overseeing sales and marketing for a home producer in the 1970s, “when interest rates to buy a new home were 17% or more, something most in our industry today can’t even imagine.”  He describes himself as a ‘pack rat’ for information.  Over his 30+ year career he’s learned from “the best and the worst” of what works and what doesn’t to connect with buyers and sell homes.

Since then his company, J. Rouleau & Associates, has provided sales and marketing consulting and public relations services to housing clients.  And, with BuilderRadio, that reach has extended into webinars and online information distribution, as well as training others on how to use these new outlets to build solid professional and consumer relationships.

“I firmly believe that we can take everything that we knew about sales and marketing seven years ago and throw it out the windows.  That’s how much this industry has changed – the way people buy, the way they use the Internet, email marketing, social marketing, etc.  Our customers are adapting to it, and if we don’t adapt, we’ll get left out in the cold.

I started using iTunes several years ago to find podcasts on technology.  I wanted information on where this technology was going.  The more I listened to these podcasts that had nothing to do with our industry I thought ‘Wow, our industry needs this; I can do this.’

So, we embraced the technology.  And the reason we did was that there are so many small builders out there that are out there on their own and can’t afford to bring someone like Bob Schultz, Myers Barnes or Robert August in for a sales meeting.  I knew that if I could take the wealth of information that these people have to offer, break it down into small pieces, produce it as a podcast and offer it for free, these people could use it for sales meetings.  If fact, we subtitle our podcasts ‘The Monday Morning Sales Meeting.’

When asked how the social media phenomenon has changed the way he does business, Rouleau doesn’t hesitate:  “Social media is a networking source.  In selling homes, networking is and always has been important – who do you know that is looking to buy a house?  So, it’s a new means to connect with people.

The second reason social media is important is for PR – getting your brand name out there.  Social media can kill your company if you have bad press.  People will talk about you and others will listen to what they hear and read there more than they will believe what they read in your ad.  So, here’s an opportunity to use social media to create a brand presence by promoting your company there, posting your photos and videos online, and letting people see who you really are.

The third thing social media does is increase your search engine optimization for your website.  Type ‘Ed Doss’ or ‘Jerry Rouleau’ into a search engine.  Sure, you’ll find our websites, but you’ll also see our LinkedIn and Facebook pages there, and those links back to the website bring it up in the search rankings, too.”

Social Media and Target Marketing
“It is far easier and less expensive today to target market than it has ever been,”  says Rouleau. I don’t care how big our small your company is, how long you’ve been in business, how long you’ve been in business, how much money you have, or how many employees you have.  I firmly believe that if you become proactive you can run circles around your competition if you understand target marketing and how to effectively use social media channels to connect with your buying audience.”

So, again, it’s all about connecting.  And connections are two-way.  Online as in real life, if you want to build relationships, you’ve got to be willing to listen.  Here is where social medial gives you a real distinct edge – it offers you the ability to view your target audience, listen to their conversations, learn what they are looking for and what they want, and then connect with then with the right message at the right time, delivered where and how they want.

Join New Homes Professional Network on LinkedIn.

Visit New Homes Professional Network website.

Check out The Builder Matrix here.

Are you using social medial to make professional or consumer connections?  Tell us how by leaving a comment below.

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Big retailers like Saks and Nordstroms spend millions to understand buyer behavior and how to make the shopping and buying experience more engaging for buyers and more profitable for the company.  Jane Meagher shares how you can put these same principles to work for you.  Click here for details.