by Brian Brady
Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL
I’m tickled pink with this announcement. Sherry Chris, CEO of Better Homes and Garden Real Estate will be the keynote speaker for the Bloodhound Blog Unchained Online Marketing Conference.
Sherry has worked in real estate brokerage since 1980. She’s worked for Royal Le Page, Real Living, and Prudential California. She was the Chief Operating Officer at Coldwell Banker (a Realogy company) for about a year before taking the helm at Better Homes and Garden Real Estate last October.
Sherry’s mission? To leverage a respected consumer brand into a household name for real estate. Sherry’s comments about her mission:
“This will be a brand that embodies the future of the real estate industry while grounded in the tradition of the home,” said Chris. “The opportunity is tremendous. Better Homes and Gardens has a multi-media consumer brand presence that already exists in millions of households. Meanwhile, we have the rare opportunity to build a new system from the ground up by leveraging our expertise in real estate while benefiting from the full support of Realogy and all of its resources.”
Among the top priorities for the new brand during the next nine months will be the development of a platform that incorporates the best information technologies for both consumers and the real estate professionals who affiliate with the brand. Chris plans to develop a new media-rich Web site that will provide engaging and interactive content for a customer-base now highly adept at using the Internet for its real estate needs.
“We will build the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand with an eye on innovation and a respect for tradition,” said Chris. “Our innovation will be reflected in a contemporary, high-quality service offering that addresses the needs of today’s consumer while providing franchisees with significant competitive advantages. As for tradition, the brand will exemplify a full-service approach to the business that fosters personal relationships to meet the needs of every generation of homebuyers and sellers.”
Unchained Phoenix attendees will remember the brilliant address by Redfin CEO (and Bloodhound) Glenn Kelman. There, Glen offered an “open-kimono” approach to his business model and discussed the power technology has to change the real estate brokerage business. His compelling lecture was only trumped by the enthustic reception he received from the Unchained audience; Glenn was swamped with questions.
Sherry’s address promises to be equally as brilliant. How did a schlub mortgage broker, from San Diego, land a respected industry executive for our conference? I met Sherry on Facebook. You see, Sherry is using all the social media tools to promote the “re-branding” of BHG Real Estate, including Facebook. One of the key advantages of social media is the accessibility of its participants. I watched in amazement as Sherry rolled out the brand last summer. I read the BHG Real Estate weblog, commented, developed a relationship, and extended the invitation to Sherry.
Before you start sending her FB-mails, you should understand that social media is not about “prospecting”. I’ll discuss best practices for social media marketing right before Sherry, at Unchained Orlando. It’s about connecting, not selling. Properly used, big things, like a Sherry Chris speaking at Unchained, can happen.
If you look at the videos on Sherry’s Facebook page or read the BHG Real Estate weblog, you’ll see that this lady has a PASSION for her mission. Her stated goals are to build the BHGRE brand on the cornerstone of the best consumer technology, with passionate broker-owners, with an eye towards the tradition of the respected name, Better Home and Gardens.
You’ll learn a lot from Sherry at Unchained Orlando. In nine short months, BHG REal Estate has catapulted itself to the forefront of the RE.net. In nine years, I’m betting that it will be on the tip of every consumers…
…keyboard.
See Sherry by enrolling in the Bloodhound Blog Unchained Online Marketing Conference.
Click on the PayPal button shown below to get your $99 ticket for BloodhoundBlog Unchained in Orlando on Friday, November 7th, 2008
When: Friday, November 7th, 2008, 8 am to 8 pm
Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, Orlando Airport, 5555 Hazeltine National Dr, Orlando, FL 32812
Daniel, The Real Estate Zebra says:
This is very cool. I had the chance to meet Sherry in San Francisco, but I didn’t get to see the big launch at Connect. I am very much looking forward to seeing her keynote at Unchained.
Who says Facebook is just for throwing sheep?!
October 28, 2008 — 8:15 pm
jim canion says:
Sherry was a big hit at the Inman Conference in San Fran.this summer where she announced the launch of this
fresh new company.She clearly has an “eye toward the trraditions of the respected name”.Building a brand on the “cornerstone of consumer technology with passionate
broker owners” seems like the recipe for a huge success.
Only problem I see is it is just another franchiser like
all the others that will be extinct within a few years
falling under the weight of the impossible overhead of
excess middle management and brick and mortar costs that
insure ever increasing losses while trying to squeeze more out of the agent and provide less and less. This is already happening with most of the big players. Just look
at the losses piling up even before the slowdown.
Why can’t the industry get a handle on a truly new business model for the new era of real estate?
Jim Canion
October 28, 2008 — 8:31 pm
Jorge Olson says:
It looks like it will be a great keynote speach.
Jorge Olson
October 29, 2008 — 1:23 am
John Rowles says:
Wow…At first blush this seems almost like Joe Lieberman addressing the Republican convention.
Can a big RE Brand function like a BloodHound?
We know there are BloodHounds who work *within* big brand brokerages, but they are self starters. What would happen if they were supported from the top?
Nice work, Brian!
October 29, 2008 — 6:46 am
Thomas Johnson says:
Great get, Brian.
October 29, 2008 — 7:13 am