Many are Text-Messaged . . Few are Chosen
I always thought an unwritten rule of criticizing the SAT's -- (way) back in high school -- was that to be credible, you had to have scored well. If you did poorly and were critical . . . it was just sour grapes.
Well, in that vein . . . here's my take on the upcoming Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine's list of 2008 "Super Real Estate Agents" (I'm on it).
For the uninitiated, the Magazine compiles an annual list of the top Twin Cities realtors, awarding its "Super Realtor" designation to just 4%, or about 750 realtors. The list is announced in the Fall.
From all appearances, the editors take the selection process seriously -- and so do the realtors on the list. The selections are based on surveys of Mpls. - St. Paul subscribers, recent home buyers, etc.; and are cross- checked against the MN Dept. of Commerce Web site for complaints against said realtors. The nomination process is anonymous (to whomever nominated me . .. thanks for taking the time!!).
Realtors who make the cut receive a package with a letter of congratulations, various marketing materials, and a pitch to "leverage" the award by by licensing the Magazine's award logo, buying space on their Web site, etc. (also called "up-selling"). It's all professionally done, and to be honest, I've seen worse business propositions.
For me, though, I decided the "deluxe package" wasn't worth it, at least this year. After looking at the site featuring this year's "Super Realtors" (all 760 of them), I just don't see the average consumer wanting to screen such a big pool of similar-looking (it pains me to say) real estate agents. Even searching by sub-categories, such as "Company" or "City of Focus," still produces dozens of names. Ultimately, you're just another name -- and, if you pay for it, face -- in the realtor crowd.
My strategy is to stand out. I do that through this blog, regular correspondence and contact with past clients, and providing superior service to current ones.
P.S.: if somehow you don't see my name in the upcoming 2008 list, someone at the Magazine saw this post and didn't like it. If that should happen . . I'll tell you what I really think.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
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2 comments:
I've been named one 3 years and received a total of one call from it. I never paid for the upgrades and didn't make it to the list this year. It seems more like a ploy than a comprehensive list of the best agents in the market.
Plus, since it comes out in November when few people think about buying or selling, the impact is substantially less than it would be if it came out in April.
Realtors who make the cut receive a package with a letter of congratulations, various marketing materials, and a pitch to "leverage" the award by by licensing the Magazine's award logo, buying space on their Web site, etc.
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