Last week I blogged about gimmicks in real estate. I specifically spoke about the whole "guaranteed" home selling tactic. I received some good comments from folks. One person in particular encouraged me to take off the sugar coating and to just call it what it is - lying, deception! This person had some strong and accurate remarks about all the nuances of the "guarantee" program.
Well, a very interesting thing happened later that day. Please keep in mind that I wrote that blog because this topic was on my mind for no other reason than I do not see a value in the gimmick approach to getting listings. I see that it is effective, but not of value.
Anyway, I stopped by our main office in order to show a fellow worker around who had never seen the 22,000 sf building that was just finished. It's gorgeous. She and I passed the Assistant Team Leaders office during our tour. I was very surprised to see 2 agents sitting in the ATL's office who work for an agent here in San Antonio that adores gimmicks, among other unorthodox and questionable methods of marketing. The 2 agents also saw me. We exchanged pleasantries for a moment and then parted ways. These 2 agents were on a tour of our company and its new building. Hmm!
Of course my curiosity was sparked. Wouldn't yours be? At this point I called a friend who I knew would know exactly what is going on. I was informed that this "mega" agent had offered the 90 day guarantee, exchanged some e-mail correspondence about doing so, lapsed on the 90 days, and renegged on the, um, "guarantee(?)." The client got an attorney and is now suing. To make a long story short, this agent is in a great deal of trouble. The other agents within his group see this and are jumping ship. I don't blame them.
I found it ironic that less than 6 hours after I wrote the blog about this particular methodology I was given a real life example of what can happen. Now, am I saying that this is the norm? No! I can't prove that. I am merely pointing out irony.
Again, what would happen to the real estate industry were we to get back to the basics of sales, marketing, and client service? It's a question worth consideration, in my opinion.
Dustin...
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