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PROMOTING YOU OR THE TRANSACTION?

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with people first...then business Ran Right Realty 636943 licensed to thrill

How about both? The subject to discuss is when you are listing a property for sale OR when you are designing a business card, should your picture be on it? It is not unusual to see an agents picture on a for sale sign. But the questioned being begged is...isn't it about the property and nothing else?

HOW CUTE?

Let's look at business cards. If you were to go around giving out little wallet size pictures of yourself, people may or may not take them and most would just throw them away and shrug you off. But add a title or a function to it like Real Estate... it then makes a little more sense

WHAT'S FOR SALE?

There is no denying that there is a little vanity at work here. But is it necessary to move the product? I know it moves the person looking at the card or for sale sign but the focus is the product and its purpose to be bought or sold. However, we made about the picture as well

PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE

Is it really necessary to see a picture of your attorney, doctor, CPA or agent? Where and when the rubber meets the road, this person has to perform their advertised function no matter what they look like. However, are we dealing then with marketing and personal appeal? Selling the self?

WHATS YOUR BRAND?

Branding is a interesting dynamic. If you drive home a specific point of your business over and over again, it will stick more often until it becomes eye and user friendly to all. Here's the question. Are you wanting your face to be the brand? Will your face always stay the same?

WHO OR WHAT ARE YOU BUYING?

Wouldn't it make more sense to brand what you do or how you do it and not WHO is doing it? I am thinking of Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, Colonel Sanders and how their names conjure up images in your mind as you read them. Cakes, pancakes and chicken are all represented by peoples faces here

OWNER (picture of) SAYS SELL IT!

Back to FOR SALE and you big as life on the sign. Okay, the person wanting to do business now knows what the person on the other end of the email, text or phone now looks like. What does that have to do with the property details? Why wouldn't a picture of the current owner do just as well?

CONSIDER THIS

Couldn't the space on your business card be put to better use if there was no picture of you. However, some people want others to remember them and then associate them with the service or product. I wonder if this holds up over time? Do you remember the face or the offering/services over time?

THE CARD

Do you say...oh, I need to get a hold of that handsome guy or cute girl because I want to buy or sell Real Estate? More than likely, you pull out a card with contact data and pursue the person not the image. Is this the Real Estate office? OR...Hey, is this that good looking person I met that does Real Estate?

WEB SITE PHOTO

Today, everyone has a web site and if they don't, then you are not being considered seriously by the random consumer. Why? Because they will go toward a product or service that has a site before one that does not. In that case, I believe a picture to compliment the offering may make more sense

WE WANT TO SEE

Wanting to see someones face is a very interesting dynamic. While driving, people will honk or pass someone and they have to look at them at some point sort of to get a closure of some sort. How about when you hear something controversial, you want to see the person who is associated with it

Today, the business world moves at a fast, quick and deliberate pacing sort of like a freeway where people get on and off using speed and direction instantly. In this world, shouldn't data overrule and dominate over aesthetics?

You tell me

Comments (4)

Fred Cope
Reliant Realty in Nashville, TN - Nashville, TN
Looking For Homes With A Smile

Well, Richie it seems our faces are plastered every where.  When our Firm brought in a photographer to take our photos, the photographer had me sitting erect on a bench, so I asked if I could lean into the camera with a smile, and I chose to focus on the camera with great interest.  We both liked it. 

 I enjoy bringing a smile to one's face, and the natural interaction, we call communication.  Two things I seek in establishing a rapport: (1) always offer a smile and a kind word, and (2) try to pay attention to the Clients' needs and thoughts. 

Back to the photo: my intent in the photo is to greet one with a smile and an attentive ear.  I hope that portrayal does come through when we meet in person.  Real Estate or no, that is who I try to be.  It certainly isn't a beauty shot.

Oct 18, 2015 02:45 AM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

Fred Cope ...what a warm and inviting comment...thank you for sharing

Oct 18, 2015 03:24 AM
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

I have a much smaller picture on my business card than many agents. I must admit that I'm not ready to have a card without my picture yet.

Oct 18, 2015 01:38 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

Hello Sybil Campbell ...well you chose a side on this. So far, so good...yes?

Oct 18, 2015 10:43 PM