Below is my very first blog post ever, pre-AR, on June 23, 2007. I recently got a comment on an AR post that suggested I'd get more responses if I had an actual profile picture, rather than just a silhouette. Perhaps. But this post might explain my struggle with what I call "the picture thing."
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I do not get it. I think the Realtor who decided his or her picture on a business card was a good idea should be taken behind the woodshed and given a good whuppin'. What the H-E-double hockey sticks were they THINKING????
What would you think if you walked into a lawyer's office and he handed you a business card with his face on it? How about an accountant? You would think they had lost their cotton pickin' minds is what you would think. You'd think the lawyer was an ambulance chaser and the accountant - Lord knows what you would think about the accountant.
Here's the true story. When I started at RE/MAX, my broker and I had a minor fuss about this. [First of all, when I say "fuss," I am exaggerating for effect. I may do that on occasion. Tom doesn't fuss]. But I argued against business cards with my face on them, while he advocated for such cards. "Why?" I asked. The answer was essentially "because every real estate agent does it." To which I replied "When I used to use that argument as a kid, my Dad would say, "'If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?' [Dad, you should be so proud.]
Here's my thing. First, just because everyone does it, doesn't mean it's a good idea. Second, it's unprofessional. Other professions do NOT hand out cards with their mugs plastered across them. Have you ever gotten a card with a personal picture from a doctor, lawyer, architect, accountant? Don't we undermine OURSELVES as professionals by doing something so downright cheesy? Finally, for women, I think it is a potential safety issue. We real estate agents give people every possible way to get in touch with us except our home addresses - work phone, pager, cell phone, e-mail. In the age of Google, anyone could find your card, take a fancy to your picture, and that person can track you down, where you work, where you live. Trust me, I check the sexual predator registry every now and again - there are a lot of sick people out there, and probably a lot in your own neighborhood.
But frankly, the real reason is I think pictures on cards are cheesy and unprofessional. And don't even get me STARTED on the ladies with the glamour shot photos. Come on, y'all, I know sex sells, but don't we need to establish ourselves based on our skill and expertise, and not based on what we look like? I have a card from a very pretty agent that's got visible cleavage, and it just sends me over the moon. Tacky, tacky, tacky.
So, do I have cards with my picture on them? Yup, I do. Am I a hypocrite? I hope not. I have two sets of cards, very elegant embossed cards with the RE/MAX balloon logo in silver gilt, and a typical picture card. This is the result of a grudging compromise with my broker. The cards with my picture I give out to other real estate agents. That is a context where a picture makes sense - when you meet someone else in your industry and you want to remember them, a picture is worth a thousand words. And there are tons of real estate agents. Some could argue too many. But to potential clients and strangers I give the plain embossed logo card.
BUT, I refuse to get my picture retaken. People keep telling me I need to, I guess to "glam it up." Call it my own little defiant act.
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