You can't rely on an agent's profile on ZTR. For example, my team members sell a lot of homes but since I generated the clients, the clients remain mine. Also, some agents don't maintain profiles on ZTR, and if you don't enter the info yourself, it doesn't get there.

Further, almost all of my business comes from blogging, and just my listings alone (not even counting my buyers) are closing at a ratio that exceeds one home per week.

yes sister Val Evans ...I most certainly do and consistently too

I don't preach. 

But I practice everyday.

I hear it makes it perfect. 

Trying to find "it" remains the goal.

I have found that many people who are not as internet savvy as they believe they are, become quite shocked and horrified when the truth is revealed to them about how easy it is to verify their results online.

I call my smartphone my portable lie detector

Val,

Yes, stats tell the truth, don't they?  Some of these posts are definitely a form of bloviating, (a good British word for talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way).  On that FB stuff, I am wondering if they may be related to someone working at FB.  Whenever, I have asked bloggers to share their stats, their sources, and their actual solds, silence reigns supreme.   A

NOPE...and now that I've said that I have to qualify that answer. Usually I do. But I'm also a parent. 

Yes and sometimes I pay dearly for it...

Val - Always, but I am like Michael Jacobs, and I don't preach too much.

I practice what I preach.

Val if someone looked at my personal stats on zillow they might think I was not as successful as I actually am.  I at this point in my career only work with past clients or personal referrals.  But my advertising efforts keep my office hopping.  I am the "rainmaker" for a botique real estate firm where I keep 9 other agents with plenty of clients. 

I had better practice what I preach if i want to practice at all!

Plenty of inaccurate info out there, on AR and on ZTR.

Yes I do!  What you see is what you get.

Heavens no!  And you need to be careful when searching productivity stats these days.  Because of the structures of many brokerages, especially those with a focus on teams, an individual agent's sales are not likely to show up under his or her name.

What happened to the saying " do as I say not as I do" . My father use to say that to me and it didn't make sense then and doesn't make sense time today . I must say it's hard to be consistent in this business because it is always changing and therefore I applaud those people who do work a method but I seem to work best in chaos .

I don't post about anything that I have not had experience doing......and I share it all...every last bit of marketing that I provide for those for whom I market.... 

I don't practice...EVER and always mean business.

Paul Henderson sums it up well! Choose your words carefully, because making them good can geet expensive!

I'm with Michael Jacobs -- I don't preach, but I practice daily. Keep in mind that ZTR stats for agents are notoriously incorrect and that many agents don't submit their sold data to them. That would not be a a way I'd measure their performance or make judgments about it.

I do, since i'm culturally conditioned to follow my promise with an action. Also, I am deeply spiritual and see no value in deceiving others and myself with false promises. 

I thnk you make a good point, Val. As Ron and Alexandra Seigel said there is a lot of bloviating in this business!

I mostly do but sometimes I fall behind. I do not knowingly portray a false image or make claims that are not true. 

Ha!!!!

All day long everyday Val Evans ....It's the only way to go ...

Great question!

I'm not that "successful" on social media so I don't blog about the topic. However, I do know that much of the blah, blah, blah is hype. FB is a massive data mining operation that I prefer to observe from the outskirts so I don't put very much value into it.

I think of social media as an opportunity to share information you think your clients might be interested in, properties, neighborhoods, local events, cultural activities, unique lifestyles, local businesses, and the history of the area. So yes, I practice what I am interested in reading myself. Does it get me business not really, referrals is where we get the majority of our business but I'm always hopeful.  

I have learned alot from being on social media and met some wonderfull people which makes it all the worth while.

I think there is something to be said for promoting things that do work. But doing it right ourselves is not as easy. I can tell you that blogging works, when you do it "right" and I don't always do it right. 

You're not going to see much by way of stats in ZTR for me . . . because a lot of what we do is not in MLS (and if it is, like a lease, may be confidential and price not disclosed, therefore no production stat) so there is always a story behind a story. But yeah, a LOT - A WHOLE LOT - of people blog to sell their book, course, widget - and bump up their mojo. Which is groovy, baby. Something for everyone here.

Well, first I have to say, I'm sad to hear that agents would waste their time writing about something they either don't even do or just plain made up a blog for points?  Ridiculous.  If you want to check my stats, feel free.  I am an honest agent who does lots of marketing and although my sales are not what they used to be (due to the market drop of 2007-2013) I'm still hanging in there.  But not at the expense of telling made-up success stories.  Crazy!