Do we as agents put ourselves at risk by marketing ourselves as something we may not be?

I had an interesting conversation with a broker and an attorney recently that has sparked my curiosity.  We see marketing everyday where we as agents tout ourselves as experts or specialists, whether that is a waterfront specialist, a condo specialist or an expert in short sales, REO etc.

At what point are we just puffing or exagerating when we are not an expert?  What makes us an expert in a particular field? education, experience, or both?

This comes on the heels of a Short Sale Expert or Distressed Property expert discussion that I had with a broker whose office sent all of their agents to get their CDPE designation.  There is a handful at most of those 100+ agents that got their designation that have actually closed a short sale, the rest have not.  The agents in that office that are closing short sales do not, ironically enough, advertise their "expert" designation while a large percentage of the agents that have never actually even worked a short sale are advertising themselves as experts who can stop foreclosure.

Where do we as agents draw the line at false advertising?  At what point are we in violation of the code of ethics?  Does an agent who actually is NOT an expert at short sales open themselves up to liability by marketing themselves as an "expert"  

For the record, this is NOT a bashing of CDPE or any other designation, I LOVE education and think that any form of education that we can get is vital.

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Hi Jeff,

 

You raise a great point here!  There's alot of people out there that are "Pretenders rather than actual Contenders".  Last week Redfin website offered a scouting report on agents across the nation.  This included non-Redfin agents as well.  The scouting report merely showed the number of properties that any agents had pending and sold in the last year and 3 year periods.  It also showed and included links to each property.  And lastly it showed whether or not the agent was a listing or co-agent on all of the properties shown.  As of Tuesday, Redfin suspended this feature until they can get some bugs worked out, however the technology is out there.

 

You'll be surprise.......... 

I heard about the list but did not see it,  wonder where they get their information from?

Jeff,

 

I wondered about that as well, however I do know that it was nationwide and during the week it was online they had some bugs in it.  They further came out and said they had found some inaccuracies due to some agents working as co-agents and with different agencies.  I do know in the past they use the state and local MLS data and their updates occur quickly.  They post a lot of info on the site.

 

But, getting back to the topic, there will be pretenders and contenders in every profession.  It's my belief that some professions prefer you to put the designations behind your name, whether needed or not.  The problem is, if you can't live up to it or deliver then it appears to be false advertising.

Pretenders and contenders, I like that!  Might have to figure out a way to use that. 
Pretenders and contenders, big deals or no skills.  Either way, it's all yours..........

 Like adding a "rider" to a For Sale sign that says "Local Expert" (or whatever). Just because they sell them at the local RE Board Store doesn't mean you should have one.

Hmmm... I'm not sure if Redfin took this down "until they get some bugs worked out" or they took it down due to the multiple complaints being received about supplying inaccurate information. There were a lot of pissed off agents when it came out. Just one article of many:

Redfin: Cease and Desist

I'm not going to get into the other multiple complaints that I've heard are going to be filed (or were going to be filed) by some of the web savvy agents who figured out why they set it up the way they did. In my opinion... pretty shady stuff from what I know about SEO.

Businesses that rely on web traffic that offer something like that "Scouting Report" for free -- there is an intention behind it that benefits the provider.

 

 

 

Great stuff Jeff. Okay so my take is that how do you become an expert in an industry and niche that is changing almost everyday? This morning I was reading one of my favorite books," Mastery" by George Leonard. He states "A life of Mastery is a life lived on a plateau." Meaning gaining Mastery in anything never has just upward surges but mostly is built on PRACTICING the fundamentals everyday and eventually practicing because you just love to practice thus making you into a master.

I do believe it to be very misleading and because one agent can market and advertise better than someone else what liability do they bring to themself when there deep into a short that they can't navigate.

I bet and here's an idea...Rather than claim to be experts why not just allow your authenticity to shine through? Why not use platforms, marketing to state your cause, mission, belief or passion. It's amazing how people are willing to forgive your slip up, small mistake when your just real and authentic.

It's amazing how everyone wants to taught designations rather than passions!!

This is something that really irks me.  I was a professional polo player for 18 years prior to real estate.  I NEVER thought of myself as an "expert" even though I was a top player at my Handicap.  Every day was a learning experience in my past world.

In real estate the past 10 years, and Short Sales especially for the past 5 years, I would NEVER tout myself as an "expert".  I've even pulled "specialist" from my advertising.  How can any of us ever be "experts" in anything?  That is simply arrogant. 

Closed deals and satisfied clients for year after year makes you a success as a Realtor.  Good enough for me.

Putting this in the newsletter today

Thanks Dawn!! I fixed and resent

Anytime you call or market yourself as a "specialist" or "expert" you subject yourself to scrutiny especially in a time where litigation is more likely to happen.

Unfortunately we probably don't have disclosures or waivers of liability that cover us well enough for short sales right now. There are issues of agency that seem to come into play during every short sale transaction. A RE designation is different than calling yourself an expert.

 

I think the biggest liability is probably the printed marketing materials you use, followed by the e-mails you send. In the end be more careful and you might not have an issue.

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