By Mariwyn Evans, Commercial Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
By the end of the 21st century, the real estate where we work, shop, and play will look more like the Starship Enterprise’s holodeck than bricks and drywall we know today, says Marcel Bulling, futurist and author of Welcome to the Future Cloud—2025 in 100 Predictions. “Commercial space will be physical and virtual world in one, sort of a gaming zone. Tap a wall and you see new fashions, tap again to make a purchase, tap again and communicate with your colleagues,” he says.
What are the best types of structures to meet those future uses? Multifunction buildings that can shift from office to hotel to entertainment center almost instantly. “Stop seeing a building as a combination of walls. See it as a combination of apps that can be updated continuously and can change the functionality of the building according to day-to-day needs,” Bullinga says. Another trend: self-supporting mega-cities that no longer depend on the transport of goods but obtain most goods and services locally. “Globalization is out; walk and bike around cities with offices, farms, and homes, are in,” Bullinga says.
Interested? Read the full interview with Bullinga:
What trends do you see in the way and manner people work in the next decade?
Learning and working turns into a game. The virtual and physical world is one. The quality of a virtual meeting will equal the quality of a physical meeting, and we will turn more and more into virtual meetings for learning, working, and shopping. Our buildings will start to look like a holodeck: a sort of gaming zone with gaming walls. Tap the wall and pay, tap the wall and shop, tap the wall and fit new clothes, tap the wall and do your homework, tap the wall and sell to your clients, tap the wall and communicate with your colleagues.
The strict difference between office buildings, warehouses, apartments, and retail space will disappear. The new workplace is mobile. The new workplaces are surprising places: Starbucks, an old petrol station, your own attic, your self-driving car. And, oh yes, sometimes you will also visit your physical office to meet your colleague for a coffee. You tap into the cloud around you for all your information and contacts.
Local is the trend; DIY is the trend. Continue reading »
When I was a kid, I loved comic books. Reading about the exploits of the Uncanny X-Men, the Amazing Spider Man, and the Incredible Hulk filled many of the evenings and weekends of my childhood. (Oh, who am I kidding? It filled a lot of the time I spent in my elementary school classes too.)
The comic-book version of How to Master the Art of Selling (2011) put out by SmarterComics was not, admittedly, as exciting as my pre-adolescent journeys to the Marvel Universe. But what it does offer is a very user-friendly explanation of the basics of sales that can be digested in a single sitting.
In panel after panel, a caricature of author Tom Hopkins walks the reader through animated descriptions of selling concepts like motivation and presentation. If you consider yourself a master or if you’re looking for complex, arcane tips on how to sell, there may not be a lot here for you besides an entertaining, breezy read. But if you’re new to the business, or need a reaffirmation of the fundamentals, it’s worth checking out.
FROM THE BOOK: 5 LESSONS FOR REAL ESTATE PROS
▪ Learn to look at the bright side of rejection: Even the best salespeople will face a great deal of rejection throughout their careers. Bouncing back quickly from rejection requires taking certain views of those situations. Take lessons from these situations, or find the humor in them, in order to move on and up.
▪ Emotion first, logic second: People’s first impressions upon being introduced to a new product or service are grounded in feelings. A more analytical evaluation comes later, sometimes as to justify a purchase after it’s happened. As Hopkins points out, “You prequalify people by finding out whether the emotion that’s necessary to carry the sale to completion exists or can be created.”
▪ Don’t spend too much time face-to-face with clients and customers: Continue reading »
Recent Comments