This week I attended the Inman News Global Connect Real Estate Conference in NYC, where Gary Vaynerchuk from the Wine Library’s Keynote speech entertained us and inspired us.

I live in the Glenwood Section of Short Hills, so The Wine Library is around the corner from my house. Most Saturdays when I finish work, ( well, except today because its snowing), Peter and I go to for their weekly wine and cheese tastings.

 After Gary Vaynerchuk’s key note speech, I ran up to him during break and threw my arms around him even though we actually never met. I mean, he’s my local wine guy and I’m his local realtor, right? Well, he knew me from my online presence, so that of course made my day since I think he’s the most brilliant marketer around. 

If you haven’t listened to Gary before, he’s famous for his wine library tv where he says things like ” This wine tastes like horse crap.”  ( yes, wine that is in his own store!) and has developed such a following for his brutal honesty.  He thinks we should do this as Realtors.  

Picture this -    I preview a new listing at a realtor open house in Short Hills, then make a video stating how overpriced it is and how ugly the wall paper is. I tweet it out on twitter, blog it on my blog, do a blast it to the 7,000 people in my www.sueadler.com email database, and add it to  my facebook profile. Then 2 days later one of my buyers wants to see it anyway- Hmmm, What are the chances of that homeowner ever letting let me in the door? – not to mention its a great way to make enemies of every listing agent along the midtown direct trainline towns.
I think what makes Gary so entertaining is the fantasy factor of what he does.  I mean, I’m pretty good at coming out and just saying what I think to my clients, and doing it publically makes for great entertainment ( like winelibrary TV) , but I can’t imagine pulling off what he gets away with and keeping a  great reputation in the real estate world. Click here to view the embedded video.

With all of the flip cams in the audience, I need to thank Kelly Olexa for posting this video.

Recently, the XOBNI people upgraded this tool to a whole new level. Here’s what’s so great about it:

1. You start typing in any words from an email our contact that you’re looking for, and the options instantly pop up.

2. When you click on the email address of the person you’re looking for, the following appears:

- Every conversation thread you’ve ever had with this person appears

- Any attachment that has ever been sent between the two of you is categorized ( For example, when I’m on the phone with a client who is referring to an inspection report, preapproval letter, contract or attorney letter, for example, I can find it in 2 seconds, open it from that window, and reply or forward it.)

- Everyone who has ever been a part of a conversation between the two of you appears.

- Their facebook and or linkedin profile appears! ( this is the totally cool new feature I was referring to!)

3. You can then check the analytics – when you’ve gotten the most emails from this person. For example, if I see that someone continuously emails me around 6 PM , I know that 6 PM is the best time to try to reach this person. That is great information for anyone who is in a career that involves alot of followup.

Why has XOBNI NOT taken off? I think I know the answer. They need to work on the marketiing of their product. When you sign up, it will ask you if you want to invite your friends to use it. Here’s an example of a letter that they send. ( click letter to enlarge)
Instead of selling the benefits in the first paragraph, it tells your friend their “rank”, and your friend will instantly think its spam and delete it, or send you an email back asking “Did you send this or is this spam?” They’re afraid to download it.

As a busy realtor who gets hundreds of emails a day, great organizational systems are a crucial part of my business.  I give xobni raving reviews!  Oh, and did I mention that its free?!

Dear Sue ,