Ask An Ambassador: Fighting The Stigma

Good Tuesday morning, Bill. Thank you very much for sharing your observations and advice.

Hello Bill (and Liz too) - long held beliefs in many sorts of things can be difficult to change. However, as many of us know, adjusting and adapting one's attitude and perception is a part of evolution. 

I hope Liz's bite injury heals quickly.  In the meantime, it sounds as if you have some nice dining options to try.  

I first must be honest...Real Estate Agents have (in many cases) earned the stigma. IMO about 75% are great people looking to help, but 25% are SKANK. One in Four is not a good number. 

Good morning Bill,

As usual you have a great analogy and your are right.. be profession, exhibit local real estate expertise, communicate, and be  responsive to your client needs and you procured a raving fan!  

This is a great analogy Bill!  I never would have thought of it.  Food trucks are all the rage here in town and OMG some of the food  is top notch and reasonable to boot in comparison to brick and mortar restaurants.  I am a foodie  so I enjoy trying new places and recipes.  All of the chef/owners I've  met are like top producing  agents  - focused, personable and professional -  plus fun! Really fun & informative post!

Bill, whether it is fair or not, bricks and mortar convey a since of permanency and not having a fiscal storefront do not.  It is a stigma that is hard to overcome. 

Another good analogy, Bill.  Our community has had Food Truck nights, and I see Food Truck lots too. And yes, to the stigma. It's only natural. But, as Alley Baby ...you have to show the value in your product. Overcome the stigma with a quality product. 

Hope Liz's thumb is getting better. I've had that happen, not from a cat bite but it's a pain in the...thumb!   

Excellent analogy. I think the stigma about food trucks might be a local thing - I never thought much of them when I was in NY but food trucks here are quite common and very delicious. They even have Food Truck Festivals where you can vote for the best and eat all sorts of things. Also, events that are held at the Fairgrounds often include a few food trucks in attendance and the lines can be long. So here, there is no stigma regarding food trucks! As for real estate professionals, well, that's a different story.

Even though you don't claim to be a good cook, you are the perfect cook for me since the core of my diet is steaks, burgers, and brats, haha.

Liz and Bill Spear My dear friends own a store and a food truck, but they had to shut down both. The cost of the food, although delicious, is not cheap in our area. We also have Food truck festivals in our community, and wow, what fun it is to taste the delightful food. The lines are long, but I question how much consumers are really saving.  Constant contact and professionalism, hopefully, still will make your phone ring 

Liz and Bill Spear 

Although our overall ratings may not be outstanding, the loyalty of clients from 10, 20, or even 30 years ago speaks volumes. They come back to list their properties and refer us to friends and family, showing that great service today leads to our success tomorrow.

Liz and Bill Spear 

Bill, With the exception of learning about Liz's cat bite, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I hope she doesn't have an infection and that it heals quickly. A sore thumb is very painful. I don't think we think about how important the thumb is until it's injured. 

We can learn a lot about business owners when we stop to think about how well they are adapting in today's economy. I look at it this way. Growing up near Downtown Chicago, there were many vendors pushing carts, horse and buggies, and ice cream trucks too. My favorites were the steamed hot tamales and steamed hot dogs! The vendors/owners were always kind, careful when they drove (especially around children), very adaptable, kind when you didn't have enough change, and very respectful to their customers. I guess that's why they stayed in business so long! 

Yes, America has evolved a lot since those days, and we have become spoiled with brick-and-mortar restaurants but quite frankly, I have yet to return to one of those restaurants I used to love to visit before COVID without feeling disappointed in the quality of food and the PRICE! 

The man you described sounds like someone who really does believe in his products, produce, meats, and vegetables. Plus, he offers a variety. I look at this way, and please feel free to share with him my opinion. Gen Z's are used to being spoiled and for them, buying food out of a truck may be a completely new and fun experience! They don't even have to tip, like you do in a restaurant anymore. If I were a Gen Z, and never experienced the food truck, I'd be there all the time!  I would like that one-on-one when it's my turn. Also, I would appreciate not having to watch a bunch of people sitting at tables in a restaurant staring at their phones! And most of all, I would be thankful if the wait staff didn't have to hover over me when I get my check to decide in that moment what tip to leave. I find that behavior very rude. 

Do I think the business owner needs to feel he is being stigmatized? No! Not at all! He is no more stigmatized than real estate agents who now work at home, in their car, or on the road rather than inside a brick and mortar. I believe, in time, those brick and mortars will tumble or go vacant because of taxes, insurance, maintenance, and liability. 

I wish him all the best!!!

Lovely post as always. But ultimately, how we take care of our businesses is the key component for success!

It is always interesting to me how people decide on their agent. We have had many repeat clients over the years, I have always worked hard to stay in touch, but have also seen past clients use another agent, even when I know I stayed in touch. And then I have had many people find me on the internet, make an appointment and go ahead and use me to buy their home. As they say, it is much harder to fins new clients than to convert past clients into repeat clients.

As always, well-written and encouraging! 

"providing top notch product with a great attitude"

Such an important factor.
All the best - Lynn

When I was in search of my next career after being laid off from my job as a bank manager due to a hostile takeover, one of my bank clients, who was a real estate broker, suggested that I look into becoming a real estate agent. 

I though about the negative things I had heard about real estate agents. They were ranked above used car sale people but not by much.

Then I though about several of my bank clients that I know to be real estate agents and whom I respected. They were honest, likable, respectable and why could I not be the same type of real estate agent.

It made my career choice easier.

Downsizing, adapting, adjusting in any business is always the challenge that requires a solution Liz and Bill Spear 

I still subscribe to the school of making it more challenging to obtain your real estate license to begin with.  I just renewed my licensed for 2 more years and the mandatory 3 hours of Code of Ethics now includes an additional 2-hour Fair Housing cartoon.  I felt less than my extensive career going through the dummied down motions.  Afterall, my profession is not a mirror of The Simpsons.  😲