I hate manipulative advertising. Hate is a strong word but it’s probably because that type of advertising works. In the ad above they are leading you to a conclusion that they don’t state. They want you to believe that RE/MAX agents are never part-time agents. If that was true why wouldn’t they just come out and say that?
I don’t mind a play on words but this borders on a lie of ommission. It’s similar to a teenager telling his mom he was at his “friend’s” house. If mom finds out it was his girlfriend’s house should she be mad? Yep, because he knew he was hiding something
Pizza Hut sued Papa John’s over thier slogan, “Better Pizza, Better Ingredients.” They won but Papa John’s appealed and, though the jury’s decison was upheld, the court determined “Pizza Hut failed to prove that the misleading advertising and puffery had a material effect on consumers’ purchasing decisions.” Um, why do they think Papa John’s uses that slogan?
Now to the issue of part-time agents. At one point I thought it was bad but as I saw my fellow agents getting second jobs to fill in the gaps I saw that some could still keep up with their clients. Some couldn’t but that is even sometimes the case with full-time agents as well.
This industry has always had part-time agents and most likely always will. And RE/MAX has made money off the backs of the people who did which is another reason why it annoys me. My mom was a part-time agent in the 80’s when I was a kid. She worked while I was in school and made it work other times in the day much like I am sure thousands of other part-time agents did.
I know business owners in many fields that have had to get part-time jobs. I remember my teacher had a part-time job during the school year. There is an issue in the real estate industry that there isn’t much of a barrier to get into it. So people have to look to simple clues because there are few others. People look at our cars, our clothes, our company (not as much anymore), they want to see how fast we sell (doens’t prove much), etc. And that is why RE/MAX does this kind of advertising.
In truth, if an agent is dealing with more than one client aren’t they working a second job? If they can juggle the needs of several clients at once why can’t they work a second job? It goes back to people trying to find a filter to figure out who is a good agent or not. You can’t be sure until you are in the middle of deal.
RE/MAX also has a tagline that they sell more real estate than anyone in the world. If you stop there it may be impressive. If you ask how many agents there are you understand why. McDonald’s used to do that too when they listed how many millions of burgers they sold. But does that doesn’t speak to quality.
If a brokerage wants to stand out they would tell you that they only hire the best. They would tell you about the mandatory classes each agent has to take. The extra requirements that they have to ensure the agents are the best.
This is not a slam on the agents of RE/MAX but on the advertising the company chooses. There are fantastic agents at RE/MAX. I just feel RE/MAX is doing it wrong and slamming their own agents at the same time. I worked for RE/MAX for two years and I never saw anything in my contract that said I couldn’t work a part-time job.
Thanks to Jeff Bernheisel for pointing this video out to me. It caused me to go on a rant that meandered a bit so I appreciate you making it this far.
For the record, I do not have a second job but I have good friends that I know who are doing a good job for their clients while also taking care of their families by working another job much like other small business owners in this tough economy.
Oh, and RE/MAX, if you have changed your policy and you don’t allow your agents to work part-time please send me a copy and I will be more than happy to post it and eat my words.
UPDATE: Century 21 came out with a Super Bowl ad. They paid 3.5 million dollars for the thirty seconds plus paid for Donal Trump, Deion Sanders, and Apolo Ohno to say that they’re smarter, bolder, and faster. They implication is that their agents are better than others and it has been their take on ads for a long time. I think it was really just an expensive recruiting ad more than it was for the public.
What really annoyed me was that open house part. Open houses sell .5% of the homes according to NAR research. Any experienced agent knows it’s just to get more clients not to sell the house but to get new clients. Open houses bring unqualified people through homes.
For some reason, brokerages have been sold that the tactic is to take a profession that many are unsure of and tear it down further. And their claims don’t make them stand out that much from the agents they are tearing down. Why don’t any of them come out and say, “We provide X training, require X before they sell their first home, and actually screen their agents”?
This video is beyond ridiculous. He talks to the waitress about a house he found that is perfect for her at the end of the lunch not when her first saw her, or maybe he calls her when he finds it. So stupid.
