This week's contributor profile is Creed Smith. Check out his work on his Inman profile. I had a little q-and-a session with him, and here is what he had to say: CREED'S INMAN PROFILECreed is living through the creation and implementation of innovation via: QValue.net and DemonOfMarketing.com | How long have you been a contributor? The beginning of February 2015 What made you want to contribute? I was initially invited to contribute as the Demon of Marketing by Amber, via a lead from Teke. Personally, I think Teke wanted a little extra heat at Inman. Hopefully I created that. What has been your favorite article to write so far? It’s a tossup between “Don’t worry about listing data -- it’s the sold data that’s going to hurt you” and “The sun is setting on the era of the MLS." What has been your favorite piece of feedback so far? When you write from a contrarian perspective and try to get the industry to think ahead and act on the forthcoming changes, well you don’t get all that many kind remarks (check out the feedback on the two stories linked here). And while the occasional kind remark is really appreciated, the mean ones keep me working hard at disrupting the status quo. So let's go with “Is it too late to press charges against whoever hit the author of this article in their head with a rock?” What do you do in your spare time? Lift, bike, hike, run, remodel and read lots of stuff about marketing, business strategy and market disruption. And stare in amazement every time I see or think about my 7-year-old beautiful and perfect daughter. What is your passion? I like to see how far I can push myself mentally, physically and spiritually every day -- which mostly starts at 4 a.m. This of course directs all the trouble I hope to cause in the real estate industry. What advice would you give to other aspiring real estate professionals? Don't do what everybody else does. Figure out the most important thing your market desires and give that to them in a remarkable way that nobody else does. Read: Seth Godin’s "Purple cow," "All marketers are liars" and "The dip"; Peter Thiel's "Zero to one"; Clayton Cristensen's The innovator's dilemma"; Nassim Taleb's "The black swan." Oh just email for the full list. What advice would you give to new contributors? Watch what I do and do the exact opposite. You'll have a lot more friends that way. OK, I just can't say that. Write what you are passionate and very knowledgeable about -- never crank out something mediocre and typical for the industry. Don’t say what the readers want to hear just so you can get a bunch of "attaboys" in your feedback. Treat each article like the founders of our country did as they signed the Declaration of Independence -- do it because you know it's right even though it could cost you your life. We need more of those kind of people. THANKS CREED |