When you hear these claims, sound the alarm
Posted by Steve Jolly on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 12:19 PM
By Steve Jolly / October 4, 2016
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Exaggeration in marketing is part of the game consumers have to play. We all know it’s there, but it’s not always easy to see from the outside.
So, I wanted to share my thoughts on claims made by real estate agents and how to dig deeper to see if they have any merit for you and your situation.
You will see these same claims used in many different industries, so hopefully this will help you see them in a different light going forward and motivate you to dig deeper.
Five Top Claims that should set off alarms in your mind
- Top Nashville Agent - On the surface, the top agent sounds great. If you searched for the term Top Nashville Agent will find many agents making that same claim. How can they all be the top agent in Nashville?
- #1 Agent or Top 1% - This claim is a lot like the first one, except they qualify it with a number to make it more believable. And they may be the #1 agent of their office, branch or team; but it is hard to tell without more information.
- Neighborhood Specialist - This is another claim made by folks who want to carve out their own territory. You should recognize the true neighborhood specialist because you should see their for sale signs in the neighborhood. If you don’t recognize their name, then you should inquire further. Instead of this claim, I provide a map that has most of the sales that Gretchen and I have made over the years. You can see that map here and decide for yourself: goo.gl/ZeSP4J
- Million Dollar Producer - Although it sounds great, anyone who is successful in real estate can call themselves a million dollar producer. To produce a million dollars worth of sales in Nashville that equals four average price home sales per year. A multi-million dollar producer should be a minimum requirement when you are looking for your agent.
- Highest in Customer Satisfaction - This one is common in many industries and it should lead you to ask more questions. I would want to know how this was measured. Online reviews are a good source of information, but they are easy to fake. And people all over the world make a living from selling fake online reviews. If you want to know more, just search “buy online reviews” for a lesson on the seedy underbelly of the internet.
It’s not my goal to scare you away from Real Estate because these exaggerated claims happen in every industry. My hope is that I can pull back the curtain just enough so you can see the truth with your own eyes.
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