Re-thinking Our Profiles

I was contacted yesterday by a colleague asking if I could help him find an agent in another state. His brother in law is looking for new a one- he’s not happy with his current representation. That’s an easy one, right? I’ll just log onto Active Rain and refer one of the slew of agents in that state that I have come to know and like this past year. They’ll treat him like family and get the job done. That’s what I want. One problem: None of the agents I know and like are in this county. 

Problem number 2, and it is a big one: None of the prominent agents in this area have profiles or blogs that give me much confidence. One has an OK profile, but her blog is mostly Postlets. Will she give personal service? It’s good that she’s pushing her listings, but… Another is NUMBER ONE in the county, NUMBER 6 in the Solar System and top 20 in the Galaxy. Pass. I fear she’ll never remember the guy’s name after he’s farmed out to an underling. Then there were some down the line who still had “Write something about yourself here” in some unfinished profile sections. Tres wonderful.  I decided to disregard point total, pick my top 3, and call them this week. 

It got me thinking about what my own profile says about me. If the roles were reversed and someone were looking for a good agent in Westchester, would my profile give another AR member confidence that I am the right choice? I’m not worried about my blog- 5 minutes and you know I’m a lunatic. I can’t un-ring that bell. But what if they don’t click on my blog and stop with my profile? What does it say? 

Referrals are a tricky thing. Some of them are family and good friends. They want their referral to be taken care of. They also want to get paid.  I have referred people out of state and heard later that the client got one phone call or decided they didn’t like the agent after a week or a month. Nothing is a guarantee in this industry.

So here’s the QUESTION, and it may have me totally revamp my own profile. What does your profile say about you? We are here about promoting our businesses, and we are sort of marketing both to the public and the agent community, no easy trick, but are we overdoing some things, like self promotion, and losing that personal touch? Are we out of balance in another way? One thing is for certain: My profile is getting a long overdue overhaul. I want it to say one thing clearly: Your business is in good hands with me. Because it really is.