In prior posts, I wrote about how most real estate marketing is geared towards capturing clients, not necessarily helping consumers. I hope this story helps illustrate my point.

         I worked for a client interested in buying a condo in downtown Washington, DC. A nice condo came on the market, and we viewed it the first day of listing in hopes of beating the market. My client was very interested. An agent with the brokerage that represented the seller held an open house the next day. Please note that it was not the listing agent, but an agent affiliated with the listing brokerage. My client said that he might drop by the open house, and I agreed that it was a good idea. I gave him my business card to give to the agent holding the open house. My client inquired as to why he would need to give the agent my card. I indicated that if he signed-in at the open house and gave his personal information, then he would be bombarded with marketing from the agent holding it. The business card signals that the person is already working with a broker, and that there is no need to sign-in. My client works in corporate sales selling large companies very expensive products. He is very good at what he does, and so he purposely didn’t follow my advice to see what would happen.
 

         The evening after the open house my client received the email below, as well as multiple phone calls in the following days, each soliciting my client’s business. Please note that all grammatical and spelling errors have been left as written, and that I redacted all information that might identify a party to the transaction.

 

Dear Visitors of REDACTED,
 

Thank you for joining me today at REDACTED the 1 Bedroom 1 FB Condo unit.

During 1-4PM legally I represented the Seller, yet now, I am able to represent you! (or, at the very least, have a conversation with you about your real estate needs!)

1) Submitting an offer for REDACTED

2) Helping you find a property to buy (first tome home buyers, second property buyers, investors—I work with all) Call me now at REDACTED.

3) Selling your property (this is a great time to Sell!) Let’s talk!

You can call me at REDACTED tonight or e-mail me. I am licensed in the DC, VA, MD area.

And, just to let you know, you are in good hands with REDACTED Real Estate—a company in business for REDACTED years with $REDACTED million sales volume in 2012. I specialize in downtown DC.

The Buyer’s Advantage: Due to the success for over REDACTED years in the industry, REDACTED does not charge their Buyer Clients (you) any transaction fees. My services are free to Buyers.

(LINK TO LIST OF OTHER SIMILAR PROPERTIES IN AREA FOR SALE REDACTED).

If anyone needs help buying or getting top price for wanting to sell a property, it would be a pleasure to speak with you about it!

,REDACTED

 

        First of all, the overall tone of the email is very “salesy” if you ask me. The agent works with anyone and everyone. “This is a great time to sell!” “Let’s talk!” My client, an experienced and successful salesman himself, indicated that he is trained to do the exact opposite of what this agent was doing when making sales. Personally, I refrain from these tactics because I think it is annoying and makes me look bad.

        Beyond the abhorrent sales pitch language, though, there are two substantive reasons this email is disturbing. First, I’d be perturbed if I were the seller and my listing brokerage sent lists of comparable properties for sale to potential buyers. Shouldn’t the listing brokerage be focused on selling its client’s property? Instead, it is trying to acquire more business for itself rather than for its client.

        My second point of contention is in regard to the proclaimed “Buyer’s Advantage”. The email attempts to mislead its recipient by saying that the buyer doesn’t pay “due to the success for over X years in the industry.” This is hogwash designed to fool the consumer. In actuality, the seller pays both the buyer’s agent and listing agent all commission. This is the real reason the buyer doesn’t pay a commission. If you are interested in how commissions work, I covered it in a prior post.

        Sadly, “salesy” and misleading emails like this sometimes work on unsuspecting consumers. I assume those less discerning people never make it to my website. Thankfully, you did. Buy Smart. Live Well.