By Bruce Cathcart
For the couple of years now real estate agents have been pounded with ads hyping the need for social media, branding, tag lines, slogans and who knows what else as a means to reach out to the public and differentiate themselves in such a way to attract more clients. Honestly, if I have to watch one more webinar or sit through one more seminar on this I am going to go, what’s beyond crazy, comatose? It might just be time to take a look out there and see just how effective all this marketing is and see how successful some of these slogans are.
If I have a #1 complaint about any of the real estate slogans out there right now it is when an agent or company claims that they are #1!!! My first question is always, #1 at what? Many years ago our company coed softball team was the champion in the local beer league so I guess we could have bragged that we were the #1 real estate company that year. It appears then that while there can only be one #1, real estate agents can be #1 at a lot of different things. So if an agent or company are #1 at something tell the client what it is so they can decide if that makes you someone they want to work with. Better yet, tell the client that they are #1.
A slogan that I have always liked is “your real estate agent for life”. I fully agree with what is intended here. As your real estate agent I want to help you buy your first home and help you (or your estate) sell your last home. And I want to be your real estate agent, advisor, and friend for all those real estate issues in between. I just wish the slogan didn’t sound so much like a jail sentence.
Or how about this one, “a real estate agent you can trust”. Oh really? Is this implying that there are real estate agents out there that cannot be trusted? Real estate agents that may actually lie to their clients and say things like, “I’m a real estate agent that you can trust”?
“Everything I touch turns to sold”… uh, you don’t mind if we don’t shake hands then do you? “We believe in happy endings”… me too! Can I get a massage first? “The agent with a heart”… and in the immortal words of the scarecrow, “if I only had a brain” to go along with that heart. “Nothing is impossible”… not unless you live on a planet without the laws of physics and economics. Surely this agent has never worked with clients that have champagne tastes, a beer budget, no cash, lousy credit, and what the heck, throw in a nagging third party influence that thinks they know everything (but doesn’t). Yes, some things are impossible!
These are all real slogans including “spouses selling houses”… either these guys couldn’t think up anything else that rhymed with the word houses or they spend a lot of time in divorce court. I saw a picture of a group of real estate agents that called themselves “the dream team” and guess what? Not one of them looked even remotely like the people in my dreams. And then there is “the real wheeler dealer in real estate”… seriously? The 1960’s just called and they want their slogan back. What is a “wheeler dealer” anyway, isn’t that a used car salesman?
Now to be fair and to save you all the trouble of reading my own slogan below, I realize now after writing this article that “your friendly professionals” just possibly could be interpreted to have something to do with the world’s oldest profession. So to avoid any confusion about the matter I am considering changing my slogan to be: “the #1 wheeler dealer real estate agent with a heart that you can trust who believes in happy endings for life”!
This week’s real estate tip: What’s in a slogan? Good intentions. But we all know just because someone says it or writes it down doesn’t necessarily make it true. In previous articles you have all learned what it takes to be a great agent and how to find one. A great slogan doesn’t necessarily make a an agent great and a great agent doesn’t need a great slogan.
Bruce Cathcart is the Broker/Co-Owner of La Quinta Palms Realty, “Your Friendly Professionals” and can be reached by email at laquintapalms@dc.rr.com or visit his website at www.laquintapalmsrealty.com.
