Being one in an industry represented by over 850 Realtors now working in the Barrie area alone, raises an important question for me...
How does one stand out in a sea of over 850 Realtors all vying for your business and at the same time retain at least some dignity? Here are a few things I won't do.
I'm not going to phone you while you are sitting down to dinner with your family or unwinding from your day just to remind you I am here should you ever need me. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of those calls, though I am sure you would be nicer to me than I am to them when they call again and again.
I've stuffed my flyers into your mail boxes for years but there are so many doing this now that nobody ever says "hey look kids, its another flyer from that Realtor Mike Montague" with a big smile any more.
I know you likely have enough calendars, fridge magnets, note pads and pens so you don't need any more with my toothy grin on them.
Pasting my face on bill boards all over town is really not an option I have warmed up to. Along with you, I too would have to look at those giant vanity boards every day. I get a little queezy at the thought of my head the size of a Volkswagen beetle on signs at the side of the road as people drive past day and night. And I would have to come up with a clever yet cliche saying to post along side my gargantuan head. "Make your next move with Mike" or "Barrie's number one six foot three left handed Realtor". I don't want to be the cause of any accidents as people roll their eyes. I've done the ads on bus benches but people keep sitting on them and they look at me strange when I drive past with my head out the car window shouting "hey you can't sit there".
Quality service and experience are what you expect from a Real Estate professional, but how do you determine up front who is best to provide you that? Advertising, according to law is supposed to offer you something of value in exchange for your time and consideration.
Radio tv and print media must entertain and inform you in exchange for your weathering the marketing of their sponsors. Most of us are unaware that many forms of advertising today, especially billboards fail this requirement by offering nothing in return, in fact much of the advertising we are exposed to today is in breach of long standing laws.
What I try to do simply, is be a source for good information about real estate to the community so that hopefully some of you come to rely on it or better yet become hopelessly addicted. I have used various means to share what I regard as quality info about real estate, home ownership and all the curiosities and concerns that go along with it. Resources such as Facebook, Twitter, this blog, news paper articles, magazine articles, seminars and now, a weekly television show.
You can join others who couldn't resist the temptation to click the Facebook link right down there, and again, right over there. In future my name and face will pop up from time to time when you visit your Facebook news feed page. Typically I'll be sharing something I have read of interest to local home owners or a real estate relevant news story I think is worth passing along.
Most important, over time I will become lodged in your sub conscience and when it finally comes time to sell your home or buy another you will sit bolt upright from your slumber that night shouting out my name.
"Eye on Real Estate" can be seen on Rogers TV in Simcoe County.
Happy New Year
Comments (8)Subscribe to CommentsComment