Steve O’Hara Response to “Top 10 Worst Realtor Headshots”

Hi Eric!

I want to THANK you for having the GUTS to post The 10 Worse Page. It is a sad, but true message to all of us who work so hard to be viewed (in the consumer’s eyes) a professional. Keep in mind, I’m NOT talking about consumers we ‘know’, I’m talking about consumers we have NEVER met – after all, they are who we need to meet in order to build meaningful relationships to grow our SOI (sphere-of-influence) which is our primary source of business.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that consumers can’t tell one Realtor® from another. Let’s be honest, real estate school teaches people how to pass a state exam so they can get a license in, typically, less than 90-days. With a license, most people can get hired by almost any real estate local or national brokerage and HIDE behind their company’s name. (So, to the CONSUMERS we DON’T know all Realtors® look and sound the same.)

While we all make fun of our favorite attorney’s and we certainly know their doctors and CPA’s make “upper middle to upper” incomes, generally, all of us (we are all CONSUMERS) expect to pay and will actually ‘let’ these professions make the money they make.

So, why do CONSUMERS resent Realtors® getting paid? When you read all the blogs, you’ll learn that, clearly, CONSUMERS hate that we (as an industry) flaunt the commissions we earn in their face. Too often, our advertising message says “Look at Me”.

Pick up most any real estate magazine or newspaper ad and you’ll see advertising themes that ‘position’ us in an ego-centric way; Top Producer, Sales Volume, Winner of this and that and the list goes on and on. When you add to ’salt to the wounds’ like the luxury cars and what CONSUMERS feel is ‘lack of value for the commissions we charge’ and, well, you can figure it out; as an Industry, we don’t look real great.

In fact, according to the recent Harris Survey, Realtors® are at the bottom of their ‘Most Respected Occupations’ lists. (Funny, the MOST respected are teachers, fireman, policeman, military, ministers, etc. Aren’t these the ‘former jobs’ of many Realtors®? It’s sobering to realize how the word Realtor® can change an otherwise good image.)

Sadly, like it or not, CONSUMERS have a perception that ‘all we do’ is stick a sign in the ground and walk away with big commissions, buy fancy cars. They have no idea that what they are really paying for is experience. The one thing that real estate schools don’t and can’t teach. Who’s at fault? WE ARE. Our industry has actively promoted these arrogant, self-promoting, ‘old school’ sales and advertising tactics for years.

As an industry, prior to PRC, there was NO BRAND that promotes VALUE. It seems to be ‘understood’ that CONSUMERS should pay the same commission to an agent who got their license a week ago as the agent who has 20-years of experience. (It really shouldn’t be a surprise that the ‘discounters’ are proliferating. They are an example of how members of our own industry ’see’ little to NO value in what a REALTOR® offers.)

For my background, I invite you to visit:

http://www.parentrelocationcouncil.org/team/stephen.php

So, Eric, not only do I feel you were within your legal rights to publish that which has been in the public domain anyway, I feel NAR and other professional organization should show some GUTS like you have so that the general agent population can get their heads out of the sand, stop being in denial that this is the IMAGE by which Consumers (we don’t know) are judging ALL of us.

Again, I applaud you!

Stephen O’Hara