Imagine a potential client emailing YOU and then be responded to by one of your competitors. It happens. And it will continue to happen. This isn't a Halloween joke, it's a real problem that we should all be more aware of.
When our real estate careers are born, we almost immediately think of a nifty and catchy email address. Mine's EVERYDAYSOLD@GMAIL.COM. I kinda like it. Apparently so do other people as they have created similar email addresses. I don't like that.
Last week I closed a deal with an agent whose email address is bouncingbobsoldit@gmail.com. This is not a real person and that's not his real email address, any coincidence is purely unintentional. I'd love to share with you the real email address, but obviously that wouldn't be appropriate. Anyways, Bouncing Bob and I conducted a transaction and we closed a deal. He represented the buyer and I represented the seller. Unbeknownst to Bob there's other people with very similar email addresses selling real estate. for example: BOUNCINGBOBSELLSIT@GMAIL.COM That's exactly how close the problem was for Bob in the real estate deal I just closed.
The lesson here is that you should do your very best to NOT have a very similar email address as someone else!
What's worse?
I emailed Bouncing Bob at the wrong email address. And it was a very crucial email with sensitive information that was time specific. My email auto-populated the other Bob as we had done business in the past!
What if a consumer had emailed the wrong Bob about wanting to sell their home? What if a credit report with personal data went to the wrong person? What if a potential seller only heard.. "Email Bob."
The point is you should never try and create an email that is similar to your competitor. There's nothing innovative, creative or cute about it. It's foolish and unprofessional. You should do your very best to make sure you're not even close. I know that's hard to do, but you should make an effort to do so before committing your entire following to an email address that you may have to change later.
Which brings me to my next point. What the hell is wrong with some of you???
Let's say I work for a national brand (which I do). I would NEVER EVER in a million years have my email attached to my company name. For example, if I worked for Bodacious Realty I would never have the email, GREG@BODACIOUSREALTY.
What happens when I leave Bodacious Realty? Who's going to monitor that email account? Will other agents be reading my emails and working any potential leads that come in? What about any PERSONAL emails I don't want viewed?! How impossible it would be for me to update EVERYONE I had ever sold a home to or thought of working with about my latest email since I left Bodacious Realty!
I'm not suggesting everyone use Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail, but I am suggesting you think about your email address for the long haul, and not just the current.
And I could never work for a company called Bodacious Realty, but I do kinda like the swagger it throws out there.
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