Emailing Listings is Counterproductive

Spam is spam, whether it is for a Nigerian diplomat or a 3 bedroom ranch. The whole point of a high tech MLS system is so we don’t have to exchange information via archaic means, such as listing books, letters, faxes, or smoke signals. The information is at our fingertips. Moreover, saved searches and hotsheets tell us when a match is made with a prospect. So why do I still get emails with subject lines such as “price reduced” and “new listing”? 

Is this how some agents pacify their clients? It doesn’t work. If I wanted to know your every move I’d follow you on Twitter. 

If we have a prospect match, maybe an email would work. But agents who announce their every move via unwanted email announcements clog inboxes, annoy, and waste valuable time. It’s not something colleagues do, and it hinders more substantive communication, because if you train me to delete your spam daily you just might have an offer get whacked also. 

So, this week, I am implementing a new spam policy: I am going to politely ask anyone who spams me to remove me from their database. If they do, swell. If they don’t, their email addresses will be blocked, and they’ll have a nice Mailer-Daemon sent back  to them every time they litter. Hopefully, they’ll get the message. 

We need to revamp our culture as professionals. Sending out spam should not be part of how we interact.