Image and Attitude Adjustment for Realtors | Confronting the Implied Accusation
categories: Buyers, Self Promotion, Stuff I like to talk about
One of the things I like least about being a Realtor is the negative stereotypes that the profession has. Heck, I even had them and still have them to a degree. My wife certainly has them, as she starts too many sentences with "I’m not talking about you, but Realtors … "
Greg Swann at Bloodhound Blog tackles the problem of Realtors’ bad image and attitude head on. (Make sure you read to the part where he discusses The Implied Accusation.
Greg says it much better than I ever could, but I’ve definitely thought and felt it.
Here is The Implied Accusation in real estate: “Realtors are stupid.” “Realtors
are corrupt.” “Realtors are lazy.” “Realtors are self-serving.” “Realtors will
say anything to make a deal.” These ideas are epidemic, a cultural undercurrent.You know these charges are untrue, but what do you do about them? To leave The
Implied Accusation unnamed, unaddressed is to seem to confess to it, or at least
to plead no contest. Your clients begin their relationship with you with
unstated doubts about your integrity, and you hope to counter those attitudes by
your behavior.
I know for a fact that I have saved more clients more money and put more deals together for them that would not have otherwise have happened than I have probably earned in commission. I will state for sure that my perception of a competent Realtor has definitely changed since I became one: I have much more respect for the goods ones and much less respect for the not-so-good, which there are still far too many of.
It also reminds me of speaking with a man recently who mentioned that he had had very little respect for Realtors until his wife became one and he saw just how much time, work and expertise in negotiations it took to get a deal done…and "she was on the phone all the time." Not to mention that Realtors don’t get paid unless the deal closes, so unfortunately sometimes you work for free.
I’ll also add one more to Greg’s list or implied accusations: Realtors are technologically incompetent.
I became a Realtor to make a living, first, but also to provide clients what I thought was missing in the market: Real estate consultation that was professional, informed and used technology to make the process of buying and selling easier and more efficient.
I believe that the real estate market is changing both with the advances in technology and the downturn in the market driving the "old guard" out. We still have some reputation repair to do and it is to our advantage to address head on what so many people think about Realtors but won’t say to your face.
Buying and selling a home is a major deal; you want to make sure you don’t make a mistake, particularly when moving from out of town and you don’t know the area very well. I have potential clients ask to speak with my references, which is fine, but I’d rather kick the Implied Accusation in the teeth right up front, so make sure you read Greg’s post. Now if we make any accusations, they won’t be implied anymore and easier to deal with.
>I believe that the real estate market is changing both with the advances in technology and the downturn in the market driving the “old guard” out. We still have some reputation repair to do and it is to our advantage to address head on what so many people think about Realtors but won’t say to your face.
Very well said! It’s nearly impossible to work productively and closely with people if you don’t get this out on the table and dealt with up front. Once the unsaid is said, we can move on to the business at hand with trust and open communication.
With the proliferation of web2.0 sites, your seeing an abundance of information thats never been seen. With this new fund power, buyers and sellers need their agents to evolve as well. I don’t believe agents will be any less relevant as long as they adjust to their clients to their changing needs.