Long-Tail Leadership

Creating a movement of evangelists by

understanding and addressing the needs of
the many.

Matthew Dollinger
V.P. of Strategic Development
@properties

Twitter: @mattdollinger Email: mattdollinger@atproperties.com

But first… a little insight.
 1. The agent (and most brokers)
don’t think there’s any difference
between the MLS and their service
partners or vendors.
2. There’s too much “stuff” and not
enough training.
3. The MLS doesn’t know what it’s
like to be in our (agent or broker)
position right now or understand
what we’re facing.
 4. Other than the data (which I
bring to the table anyway) my MLS
doesn’t provide any value.
 5. There’s too much technology
that I need to invest in/train agents
on/coach me on, and we don’t have
the resources.
Long-Tail Leadership
Creating a movement of evangelists by
understanding and addressing the needs of
the many.

Matthew Dollinger
V.P. of Strategic Development
@properties

Twitter: @mattdollinger Email: mattdollinger@atproperties.com

What is leadership?
Leadership is not a
motivational poster.
Leadership is empowering and
elevating those around you to
motivate, take place, and help
facilitate a movement.
• Leadership is stated as the
"process of social influence in
which one person can enlist the
aid and support of others in the
accomplishment of a common
task
• "Leadership is ultimately about
creating a way for people to
contribute to making something
extraordinary happen.“ -
Alan Keith
 So the question becomes...

“Is our current idea of Leadership

current?”
 What about
these guys?

More importantly…
what about THIS
guy?
Who are leaders?
Leaders closer to home…
 Stefan Swanepoel
www.Swanepoel.com
 Steve Harney
www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com
Peter Krause – Mark Spraetz
www.Terradatum.com
And yes our very own…
What makes them all leaders?
Because they are all
FOLLOWERS as well
What makes them all leaders?

What makes them all followers?

“The leader makes it simple, instructional and
easy to follow.”

“The followers are embraced as equals – it’s not

about the leader, it’s about them”

“The 1st follower is an underestimated form of

leadership”

“It was the first follower that transformed a lone

nut into a leader.”

- Derek Sivers
If you are a leader… ask yourself:

“Do I make (following me) simple, instructional

and easy to follow?”

“Do I embraced (followers) as equals?”

“Do I make (my movement) about THEM because

it’s not about me (the leader).”
“Leadership is overrated… in fact it’s easy to stand alone
in your ideas or cause. It is the first follower that risks
ridicule… and transformes a lone nut into a leader.”
 LEADER

Hierarchy
Gap

Follower
 Follower
Follower LEADER Follower
Hierarchy
Gap Follower Follower
 In your quest to lead don’t forget
that without followers, there is no
movement.
The Wise Leader must First Learn
to Follow
Commonalities of our modern
leaders
#1. Attractiveness
Share your:

Vulnerability

Proximity

Similarity
Vulnerability: allowing yourself to
be vulnerable helps the other
person trust you because you are
putting yourself at emotional,
psychological, or physical risk
Harney: shares his battles with his
diets on Facebook.
Stefan: talks about his tech
barriers with his children.
Peter: discusses the hardships of
the business his wife is facing as
well.
All of them have become vulnerable –
or more importantly HUMAN – in the
eyes of their flock or network.

They have created an environment

that fosters the kind of openness that
leads to deeper connections with your
movement.
#2. Open Sharing of Knowledge
Share your:

Network

Knowledge

Compassion
#3. Creating of Communities
 By creating communities of
evangelists you are able to
encourage others to share THEIR
knowledge and do so in a human,
vulnerable fashion.
#4. Understand Followers’
Followers
 MLS
Brokers
Agents
Home Buyers

*Am I educating my “flock” on how

to educate THEIR clients?
The best way to make a movement, if you
really care, is to courageously follow and
show others how to follow.
Where are we now?
Overload…
 Those around
You are here… you
Consumer Confidence Plunges
Tuesday Morning 6/29:
Wall Street Journal article
Consumer Confidence Appears on the Mend
“Surveys of U.S. consumer confidence are closely watched on
Wall Street, thanks to their decent track record in foreshadowing
recessions. That makes them particularly relevant now as
investors work to gauge the odds of a renewed downturn. But
while confidence is certainly fragile, it isn't behaving as if another
downturn is at hand.
Economists expect the index to post a small retreat to 62.5
from 62.7 in May.”

Tuesday Afternoon 6/29:

Consumer Confidence Index® declined sharply in June. The
Index now stands at 52.9, down from 62.7 in May.
Source: KCM 7/2010

Wall Street Journal & Conference Board.org

The Confusion
May Shows a Continued Strong
Pace for Existing-Home Sales
“Very affordable mortgage interest rates and
stabilizing home prices are encouraging home
buyers who were on the sidelines during most
of the boom and bust cycle.”

Is May's Home Sales Decline an

Alarming Signal of What's to Come?
"This is very bad news. Sales are going to fall
off a cliff in July."
Source: KCM 7/2010
 Prices
Housing analysts have recently grown gloomier about the outlook for home
prices as sales slump, with a survey released last week by MacroMarkets
LLC finding that 56% of 106 economists and analysts surveyed expecting
home prices to decline this year, up from 40% a month ago.

Source: KCM 7/2010 Dow Jones Newswire

 “The leader makes it simple,
instructional and easy to follow.”
 Ask yourself:

Am I training my clients on a
product/service?

Or

Am I educating and COACHING my

clients on how to use what the
product/service provides?
By educating your clients you are
creating TRUST… and in creating
TRUST you are creating VALUE.
• Trust is brave and vulnerable. Trust is not
sparing my feelings. Trust is the hard
truth spoken gently.
Understand that you are BOTH
Leaders and Followers…
Realize that you are an extension of
your organization, and being
vulnerable and helping others has
never been more important.
You have the opportunity to make a
difference.
Start Now
 If I was your coach…
(i.e. 5 things you could do Monday)
1. Communicate – Send an email to all your
membership (clients).

Use words the show your vulnerability and

your passion for combatting this current real
estate market.

Show them that you are all in the same boat

and that you are working FOR them.

Inform them of upcoming opportunities – use

stats when available (i.e. the top 10% use…)
2. Get Involved – Reach out to your
clients and make an appearance.

Offer to show up at office meetings and

discuss new developments or offerings.

Contact their IT department to make sure

they are using your services correctly.

Ask them (and listen) to what you could

be doing better.
3. Arm them – provide them with a
steady stream of knowledge they need.

Have Russ put you on his email list*.

Forward articles from Keeping Current

Matters, Case Schiller*, WSJ Development
blog, etc.

Provide them with talking points on how

to use this with their clients.
4. Become Human – Put a face and
personality on your organization*.

Create a facebook fan page for your

MLS/Company and invite everyone.

Fill it with the best market information

and materials you can find.

Engage those that take part in the

discussion on your page.
5. Educate and Coach – Start a consistent
schedule of education for your clients.

Don’t just teach “how-to”, teach “how-

to”, “how to understand” & “how to use”.

Videotape your trainings into 5-7 min

sections using www.camtasia.com

Ask your brokers for a list of “evangelists”

that you can begin to nurture to build
your movement.
Inspiration is contagious.
Be Inspiring.
 Thank you
Matthew Dollinger
V.P. of Strategic Development
mattdollinger@atproperties.com
www.TheYouFactor.com

Facebook.com/mattdollinger

Linkedin.com/mattdollinger

Twitter.com/mattdollinger