Top 10 Worst Realtor Headshots Blog

Eric, you are right about our professional image as Realtors. The people that were upset missed the point entirely. Our industry is plagued with unprofessional marketing and it makes us all look bad.

Eric,

I would have to agree that Realtors have an “Image” problem.

It amazes me how harsh and judgemental some of the commentators were.

While many of those agents had questionable marketing photo’s, it is their business and brand that they are promoting (or wrecking). I say questionable because I believe we should all present ourselves as “Professional” Business people and I have preached to my agent about the importance of first impressions. In fact, I have even given several of the agents who work with me the book “Dress for success”.

Anyway, I wonder how many of those agents are reworking their online image?

First of all the piece was funny, and was definitely addressing the headshots, not the actual agents.

The points you were making about these realtor’s marketing pieces were spot on observations, that is it, OBSERVATIONS – about the light that they were casting on themselves as professional realtor’s.

Notwithstanding the fact that these agents were probably partly to blame for the public comments on the piece, whats the point of getting up in arms about something so trivial!?

Being able to laugh at ones own self is a distinct hallmark of an advanced being.

Consequently, I pose the question: “What ultimate responsibility do we as human beings who are not as emotionally and mentally fragile have to the less evolved human beings who operate from a place of fear and anger?”

Moved to its own blog post. Check it out here.

It amazing to me how some people have such poor judgement. Selling real estate is a serious profession and if realtors expect to make money and be taken seriously and trusted, they should market themselves as professionals.

They actually make it easier for the rest of us!

I would like to add that not all agent headshots are bad, there are appropriate uses for professional looking business photos. Many agents use them very successfully. The headshots in the original post were truly horrible. Those agents were hurting themselves with that kind of marketing.

Hey there. I give you the right to republish my photo, which was #5 on your list.

Frank

Frank…sounds like you’d like Eric’s assistance in redeeming yourself….before and after?

Lol, I dug it. Comedy is just that, comedy. I don’t see Jay Leno catching heat every time he makes fun of someone.

Those that were not even affected and are trying to make a big deal about it, should just get on with their life.

Thanks for stopping by, Frank. Here’s the original card

In all fairness, I actually found Frank’s card on a blog about Realtors & photos on business cards & headshots. If anything, this just shows you that once you push a marketing piece, it’s out there somewhere forever.

If you take a look at Frank’s website you’ll see that he’s currently promoting what I think we would all agree is a great image. I like the site & I think the headshot is tastefully done. Specifically, I think the “want to join our firm” content is fantastic. It will attract the type of agents you want, and it lets the consumer know the type of agents you hire, and therefore the level of service they can expect.

And btw – check out his AR blog. Great content there, and great participation. My only advice would be to get it on your site!!! Activerain was about 2 steps from selling to realtor.com, so who knows what’s going to happen with that site!

I would have to agree with you that head shots are “cheeeeesy”! I am not a realtor but I have spent several years working for many agents and brokers. As I consumer I really couldn’t care what you look like. I am buying property, not you! So I want to see photos of the area I will potentially live and homes in the area. Pasting a big pic of yourself standing somewhere looking vain is not a way to win my business.

Frank – you seem like a good guy!

I really like your Virginia Real Estate Blog Great use of images – You are definitely ahead of the game with your blogging!

I completely missed that blog – great content & participation. You don’t usually see that level of participation on a nofollow real estate blog.

I agree with all of the comments here but I wanted to just elaborate on something Jim Olenbush wrote.

“Our industry is plagued with unprofessional marketing and it makes us all look bad.”

The type of unprofessional marketing you see here is essentially because most Realtors, especially those from the 70s, 80s and 90s, are used to creating their “image” on a shoestring budget at home. From perforated edges on business cards to big hair headshots and pictures of their little Miss Sunshine, these are all homegrown attempts at marketing. In my opinion, if you want to get rid of the unprofessional marketing, you have to get rid of the casual Aunt Bea Realtors too. I, for one, am shuffling them out of the door as quickly as I can.

Some of those really pictures really need to go. I think they send the wrong message, especially the agent in the bikini. People need to respect your opinion and advice.

It’s a shame you were coerced into taking down the photos, but I was lucky enough to find it on a mirror site. Otherwise, without people like you, the rest of us will never learn!

I’ve been trying to tell my boss for years (who’s a broker) to NOT advertise his kids! For one, it’s NOT SAFE, it’s exploitation, and simply just wrong IMHO. He wanted to post a billboard coming into town off the highway with his 3 year old kid about 10 feet tall on the darn thing. He thought it was a “brilliant” idea and sure would win over the locals, yeah, the local perverts is what I said. He finally wizened up about it and is no longer hocking his children in advertising. Just not appropriate.

Eric,

I think I might be missing something – where are the headshots?? Good points made about Realtor branding and the fact that many tools/information that were once protected are now readily available to the general public.

Let me know where the pics are I’d like a good laugh. We used to save business cards (a few years back) and send the person with the worst business card a Holiday basket. They never knew why they got it and we always enjoyed the follow up thank you card!
I wish I had those cards as some of them were hilarious.

[...] Bramlett got some grief for publishing the Top 10 Worst Realtor Photos and had to yank them. Too bad, it was [...]

Interesting blog post Eric, it seems to have stirred up more than a little anger in a few bloggers out there. I read one of the posts and wondered what all his negativity was all about.

Well said, Eric. I am often baffled by the strange poses realtors take on their ads. Simply having one’s picture on one’s ad won’t make me trust that person anymore. To me it is more of one’s ability to relate and communicate with other’s that makes the impression.

I have been following some of Eric’s stuff now for awhile and I will have to admit that was funny and certain people took it way out of context. Water off a Duck’s back.