Oct. 19, 2006 - The Poachers
Ola Amigos. I know it's been awhile, but I have been diligently studying for my Brokers license test. I know you may find that amazing, being that I am one of the best almost famous Real Estate Agents in the Greater Metropolitan Chicagoland area, but I strongly feel that my clients deserve to have the services of a full blown Real Estate Broker at their disposal. Besides "Broker Associate" will look much nicer on my business cards. "Sales Representative" makes it look like I am trying to "sell" you something, when in reality I am being hired to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
I personally don't want to be "sold" anything. When I want to buy something I will contact various people who possess knowledge about what it is I am trying to do. For example, if I need transportation I will visit different auto dealerships to gather information about their particular line of automobiles. If the person I am talking to starts to try and "close" on me, I gently explain that I have "sales" training myself and I am simply gathering the information necessary to make an intelligent decision as to what it is I am going to purchase. When I have found the vehicle that suits me and it comes time to negotiate, I will start the process. If they continue to try and close me, that particular dealership will not even have the opportunity to negotiate with me. I refuse to deal with sales vultures.
Now there is a breed of sales people out there which I refer to as poachers. These poachers are constantly trying to sell me, and the rest of the real estate industry for that matter, something. What do these poachers sell? Your contact information, that's what. They capture your contact information when you visit their websites. Then they package it as a "lead" and they try to sell it to REALTORS® like myself. I do not support these poachers. I don't have to, I know how to create relationships with prospective clients all by myself. And even better, I know how to tell the difference between a serious prospect and a person who is just curious for information.
Let's imagine for a moment that you are watching the news in the morning before you go to work. You see a commercial for HouseValues.Com. It makes you wonder "What do you suppose my house is worth?". You have no intention of selling your house at this time, but you would like to know what your house is worth and this seems like a safe anonymous way to find out so when you get to work with a few minutes to spare before you start your work day you go to the HouseValues website. You fill out their required fields and send your request. Does HouseValues send you a bona fide figure as to what your house is worth? No they do not. They sell your contact information to some unsuspecting real estate agents as a seller lead that needs a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis). The next thing you know, you are hearing from agents you have never heard of before wanting you to list your house with them.
I don't mean to single out HouseValues, that's just one of many poachers that are out there. If they hadn't just called me on my cell phone, offering me their services, they may have not been forefront in my mind. There is HomeGain, a section on LendingTree, House, buttons on most ISP (Internet Service Providers) home pages and places I'm sure I haven't heard about yet. New ones are popping up almost daily. I get e-mails constantly from these types of sites.
I guess what I am saying here is be careful. When you are thinking about buying or selling a piece of real estate why give your information to someone who has no inventory of homes to show you or can not do a bona fide market analysis? Look to a trusted real estate professional who's only business is dealing in real estate. Even if you are just curious about what your house is worth and not interested in selling at this time, you can call or e-mail me. I promise I won't be selling your contact information to strangers.
As always, if you have found yourself receiving my blog postings via e-mail, it is because I have either blogged about you personally, blogged about something I know is of interest to you, or I consider you to be a person of deep thinking and intellect and I would love to have you occasionally commenting on my blog. If you would like to be removed from the list simply send me an e-mail saying so.
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