I had a meeting today with my unofficial mentor, Jim Walberg. Jim is well known in the Danville and San Ramon areas. I think he found gold around here back in 1849. Jim is one of those great agents who has seen it all in California real estate and loves to share his knowledge with others.

In most of our team meetings for the Danville office, Jim always has something to offer. Much of his advice is to help others avoid the pitfalls and setbacks he suffered through in the "good old days."  

My hour with Jim turned into 3 and a half hours and went something like this:

Jim to me: What do you think of all this blogging and Internet technology?

Well, we started in and before you know it we were in with the white board and laying out plans for global domination. Jim, and his wife, Ann Marie, sell about $30 million in East Bay real estate - maybe more. I don't know how much they sell in the Virgin Islands - they have an office down there as well.  90% of their business comes from referrals, but Jim wants to stay in the game and keep up with what's happening.

We talked about it all: SEO, blogs, podcasts, vlogs, multiple sites, social networking…

Jim also shared about the 3 mega deals he fell into through three referrals from friends that may make him more money than the 20 to 30 deals he will complete this year in the San Ramon Valley. Every time he mentioned something, I had a few exciting thoughts on how we could use technology. Every time I mentioned something to him, he had a few things in the works that could be really exciting.

Before we knew it, it was dark; the staff was gone; and we still had most of Asia, Africa, and Russia to go.

Did I mention that Jim is a great guy - he'll share everything with you because he's seen it all and he's not afraid of  loss. He's lost it all before - a couple of times - and he's still going strong. I wish I could be half the agent he is when I'm his age, but we're about the same age. 

They say that relationships are the key to success in real estate. I think I heard something about blogs helping to build relationships. Old dogs talking is one relationship to court.