On TRULIA a real estate related network where people post questions about buying, selling, market conditions, etc. , there was a recent question that had me shaking my head in disbelief.
What is the best way to wall off the so-called "pros" from discussions? This poster said that he "got tired of the endless self-serving promotion by realtors of themselves and the real estate market. It is quite a turnoff and just ends up dumbing down the entire discussion to a sort of infomercial level."
And he asks:
- Is there any way to have a section here where realtors and brokers are excluded?
- Are there other real estate forums where you can have an adult discussion?
That opened the door to a lot of comments. Since this is a real estate forum, of course there will be a lot of realtors who will weigh in. After all, this is our life.
HOWEVER.....
It does bring up the question on when and how we should present our credentials ---- as people who are sincerely trying to help and provide good information, and not as hungry agents trolling for business.
I have to admit that I, myself, have seen where others do promote themselves and have gotten annoyed at a few who are so blatant about it.
Then I second-guessed myself, wondering if that's the way to build a business --- but an associate cautioned against doing that. He said that if you yourself are disturbed by what others are doing, why would you copy them?
What we should aim to do when answering questions is to stick to our purpose: give good information and qualified guidance.
QUESTIONS:
- What are the two most important words in the English language? "Thank you."
- What is the least important word? "I"
This is probably the right place to share this quotation from the Dalai Lama:
"If you want others to be happy, show compassion. If YOU want to be happy, show compassion."
I also get tired of hearing REALTORS who do nothing except promote themselves ad infinitum. One REALTOR brags on Twitter about how many closings she has had and how she is showing houses all priced over $995k today. Those comments were ad nauseum!