Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It – A Must Read for Agents
If you haven’t been introduced yet to Gary Vaynerchuk, author of the New York Times Best Seller, “Crush It!”, allow me to be the first to do so.
Gary V, as he is known, is at the top of the social media ladder when it comes to really understanding at the core how to leverage platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a blog to grow your brand and business. What makes Gary V so refreshing is that his approach to these new media outlets is old fashioned at its core. His family moved to the States from Russia, his Dad worked his way up at a liquor store to part owner and Gary stepped in as a driven entrepreneur and added the web marketing element brilliantly to increase sales from 3 million to 50 million annually.
While the book does provide a blueprint to success on the web and the best tools out there, his message isn’t as much about technology, SEO and HTML as it is about working hard, loving what you do and being as transparent as possible in this new age of digital media we are living in. I really feel like following his straight forward, hands on and refreshing approach to helping others “get it” has had a huge impact on the success we have seen with Tech Savvy Agent and can do the same for you as a Real Estate Agent looking to “Crush It!”.
Some of the running themes in the many Keynotes I have seen Gary present and in his inspiring book “Crush It!” are:
- Passion
Passion is a must for your content to work. If you don’t 100% LOVE what you do then you are going to fail and your content will never take off. I truly believe in this because I am living it everyday with Tech Savvy Agent. If I looked at this site and topic as a job and not a true passion there is no way it would be where it is today. It is 100% possible with the free tools available to get your content out to the masses. The question is do you really love what you are creating for them? If you don’t it will show and never manifest into real income.
- Hustle
Hustle will never be replaced by tech. Internet marketing and brand building are not easy and will not happen overnight for anyone. If you aren’t willing to work super hard you are going to fail. Dancing With The Stars may have to go! No get rich quick speeches from Gary in a world where everyone wants to believe there is a secret sauce. The new 9 to 5 might mean pm to am, as long as the content you are working on is truly something you are an expert on and passionate about you will be willing to put in the sweat equity. Good news is, with options like Facebook, Twitter, blogging, video channels and the many more free platforms, that sweat equity can be your only expense! I know my Realtor friends love the cost of that.
- DNA
No one else has your DNA. You have to be 100% true to who you are. Social media has changed the game sure, but only in the sense that it allows us to connect to more people for less money than ever before. Pretty important for an industry like real estate that is, as Tom Ferry told me recently, “still 100% a people business”. Gary points out a mistake that most people are making with Twitter and Facebook which is they are sharing like mad, but are they really caring or even more importantly listening. Customer service and word of mouth are now on steroids due to the way that we are now all connected. Real estate has forever been a referral hungry business. All most real estate agents do in Facebook and the like are talk, talk, talk when they should instead be listening x 3. Staying true to your DNA and being a genuine, transparent person while most are not will help your business in an immeasurable way.
I would highly encourage you to check out Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk and to follow/fan him if you are really looking to be inspired by someone with an old fashioned, energized message built into the new media times we are living in.
There is a paperback and audio version of the book but my favorite is the Vook built specifically for the iPhone or iPad where each chapter includes a video by Gary that really allows you to see who he is and how much he really does care.
Here is a link to his most current keynotes which I encourage you to watch regularly!
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Talk about passionate! on my list of ‘must reads’ now after listening to your review, Chris! Are you sure that you recommend it? lol!
http://www.Bradenton-Florida-RealEstate.com
It really is that good. Practical and poignant!
I wanted to let you know that I appreciated this review. Been kinda down for some health reasons and really didn’t care a whole lot about my business for the last few weeks so had no desire to read industry info or business…just really drained. Well surgery went well..Pathology is good and I’m in the mood to think about things again. I remembered this review so I picked up the book and WOW! Freaking blown away! I mean it’s keeping me up at night and my mind is in overdrive…because of A BOOK! Anyways, tons of info, great easy read and I will just start over again when I finish! Thanks for the post…you guys are Rock Stars! And you played a part in firing my passion back up…thanks!
I read this Vook on the basis of your recommendation. It is astonishing, eye opening, yet so simple. Most important: it is SO relevant for our industry, where our personal brand interacts with our business on a daily basis. Great recommendation!
[...] actually drew his inspiration from some other high minded influencers including our favorite SM guy Gary Vaynerchuk. What Dale realized on a trip to see Gary speak in New York City in 2009 for Inman Connect was [...]