Information is Currency: A Conversation with RISMedia Founder & CEO John Featherston

John Featherston launched RISMedia in 1980, and it has since become the leader in real estate information, servicing more than 500,000 of the residential real estate industry’s most productive and successful agents, brokers and related service professionals.

A thought leader and frequent speaker, John was awarded the 2015 RE/MAX “On the Shoulders of Giants” Award, recognizing his longtime support of the real estate industry.

Whether you’re in the real estate world, or a completely different line of work, how information affects your industry is important. Information is currency, and information in the real estate sector has to be accurate, it can’t be speculative.

John shares about the beginnings of RISMedia when there were no personal computers. If you had information, it was difficult to parse it out and get it to potential clients. John understood that the value of information in real estate is not location, location, location; it’s the ability of purveying information to prospects. It’s also about proving to potential clients that you are the right person to be guiding them through the process.

John encourages listeners to spend time every morning looking for the latest, bite-sized piece of information that they can share with someone that day. He commissions us to be the purveyors of the information our neighbors want to know about the real estate industry.

“You need to be up on what’s happening, and you need to be pushing [it] out to your sphere of influence, so they look at you as their go-to resource.”

John and Adam also explore the topic of good information versus bad information, and how to make sure you are always getting the best information possible.

John also shares about the many tools and resources available through RISMedia that can equip them with the knowledge and information they need to be the best real estate professionals possible.