Why Being on Top of Your Game Makes the Whole Industry Look Good
Powerfact: Mistakes don’t just cost you business, they give the whole industry a black eye.
By Real Estate Coach and Speaker Darryl Davis, CSP
I got an email from someone a little while ago about a property in California — 62 acres for $635,000. I thought, “Wow. This sure got my attention!” When I clicked on it to have a look, I got upset and immediately felt the need to email the listing agent, and obviously, she isn’t going to like me very much after what I said to her.
The Email Response
I started off with this. “Dear So-and-so, it’s pretty bad when you have a listing such as this one without a video that is narrated with aerial footage so that you can explain the surrounding area.”
There were a few photos, and I had to squint to see what looked like a subdivision off in the distance, but I couldn’t tell what kind of homes they were because they were just photos and it was far away. Were they million-dollar homes? $100,000 homes? I had no idea!
I kept typing. “But it’s even worse that your page says, ‘View Video’ but when I clicked on it, there is no video there, it was just more photos.”
A video with narration would have suited much better than photos and would have allowed an explanation of what kind of homes they were, as well as describing other features of the land and given a very nice overview of the 62 acres.
Now, this webpage was also advertising her company, but when I clicked the link, it went to a dead page. There was nothing there!
“The link to your company is a dead link, and it looks like you have gone out of business.” This business wasn’t a small business either, but a franchise…and a big commercial broker at that.
I ended my email to her with this: “This does not represent our industry well to the general public, and especially your client.”
The Takeaway
My point with this story is this…when we make blunders such as these, not only are we not serving our clients well, but we are making the whole industry look bad!
She was promoting 62 acres, but with the photos, I couldn’t really see the property, there were no narrated aerial videos (or any videos at all) when there was a button for one, the links didn’t work, and it’s a commercial broker, and all of these oversights and lapses makes ALL of us look bad.
I’ve been in this industry since I was 19, and I used to call out anything that gave the real estate industry a black eye, because I love real estate, and I love building it up to be the best it can be. When I became a public speaker, I thought I probably shouldn’t do that anymore because it’s not politically correct, but then I made a decision.
I’m committed to our industry, committed to our Power Agents®, and committed to clients. This means that more than ever, I need to keep pointing these errors out so that we can ALL learn from these mistakes and serve both our clients and the industry as a whole in the best possible way.
By serving our clients well, we serve each other and the industry well, and that makes us all look great!
Power Agent Pro Tip: Power Agents, head to the Servicing Sellers tab of your Classroom to get this two-page listing checklist to ensure that all your i’s are dotted, t’s crossed, and you’re putting your best foot forward for your clients and our industry!
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