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Late last month, the New York Department of State issued an interesting opinion that effectively ended the practice of brokerages giving corporate titles such as “Executive Vice President” and “Managing Director” to their licensees. It was a practice mainly done in Manhattan (and we did name a VP once in full disclosure), and became so prevalent that it almost lost its meaning; you’d walk into an office of 100 agents, and 50 would be vice presidents. From the letter:
If an agent advertises falsely that he or she holds a corporate title, it would be considered “dishonest” and
“misleading” because doing so would lead the public to believe that the brokerage entity has appointed
or elected the agent as an officer or to a comparable management position.
I can see how a consumer might be mislead by thinking that if they were working with a Vice President that they were working with an actual executive of the firm on a salary when in fact they were just a licensed salesperson with a 1099 independent contractor agreement.
Kind of.
I think most people know that a lady blowing up a balloon for an open house and or a guy crouching down to show a sink’s drain trap is not an actual member of the company’s managing board or possessed voting stock. It just became over done- it seemed like every 3rd licensee I ever dealt with in Manhattan was some sort of Vice President.
In my experience in sales in two industries, “Vice President” has always been more of a rank of management. And I have walked into many bank branches and dealt with a head teller on a paltry salary with “Vice President” on their card. I never believed for a second that guy in the bank sat on the actual board of the bank. If they didn’t, what were they doing counting my jar of quarters for? But my opinion doesn’t matter. We have to abide by what the DOS (Department of State) thinks, and the titles are all gone.
So what now? Does an industry that specializes in marketing and self promotion just embrace boring? Or will we see more creativity in titles, just of a non-corporate nature? I don’t doubt for a second that creative titles will embellish Licensed Salesperson and Associate Broker on business cards very soon. Ironically, as founder and owner of my firm I never used the title “President,” although I could. I could start to, just to press my new advantage, but I know my colleagues will get competitive in the title department somehow in the very near future.
A few suggestions:
- Overlord
- Potentate
- Viceroy
- Despot
- Czar (or Tsar)
- Nabob
- Kaiser
- Jedi
I even created a proposed card with a another idea or two. Think I should order 500?
The Blind Spot in Consumer Research
In my recent experience at Hear it Direct, a solid 18 out of 18 consumers said their broker was worth their service fee (commission). Most, if not all, would use the same broker again, or at least use a broker in their next transaction.
So here is what is so funny that I pointed out to in our meeting. Consumers, who agree that brokers are necessary to their home purchase, research everything about their prospective home, such as schools, neighborhoods, crime, demographics, market stats, municipalities, local laws, and almost anything else you can think of.
EXCEPT their broker.
I can’t tell you how many times I have spoken with people who knew incredibly granular data about their community of choice, but then either dealt directly with a listing agent with no advocate of their own, acquiesced to dual agency, or just used some guy they met at an open house. Time and time again, especially in stories of less than positive experiences with agents, when I get to how the consumer chose their representative, they reveal that they didn’t really research or vet the person who would broker the largest financial event of their life.
That blows me away.
Yes, research. Learn about the community, the walk score, the schools, crime, and neighborhood amenities. But for God’s sake don’t trash all that hard work by using a sub par agent to represent you.
Roughly two thirds of our company listing inventory are homes that were listed with another brokerage that expired unsold before hiring us. Typically, their last agent was a family referral, social friend or neighbor, or casual acquaintance. Many of our buyer clients worked with other agents before engaging us as well. They didn’t interview multiple agents. They just figured that the Multiple List was the Multiple List, or that all buyer agents unlock doors the same way, and that their agent would do. And they lived to regret it.
I don’t blame these folks for researching everything carefully but their agent. I blame our collective industry for failing to educate the public. HOW you research an agent will be for another post, but suffice to say that a little thing known as Google, track records, personal references, and transparency go a long way. THAT you research an agent before hiring them, however, should be an absolute given necessity for any consumer. We are not all the same, and I’ll take it a step further and say that an agent who doesn’t sell a lot may be a better match for some than someone who closes lots of deals. The important thing is to find the right match, and when consumers know to do that the rising tide will carry all boats.