Over the years, I have rolled my eyes when I have received emails with huge signature taglines and have kept my thoughts to myself. However, this evening, as I was cleaning out my “inbox” in Outlook, I noticed that the majority of the huge mail items were from real estate agents –mainly, because their “signature” attachments are so large.
When did the “signature” become more important than the message?
Example 1: An agent sent a one sentence message to me that was “26KB” because his signature line was 4 inches –I am not exaggerating. A signature that included: his name, his personal logo, his official title, his contact info, all of his awards, his broker’s logo, a movie attachment (about himself), a link to “his properties” and a “think green logo”. (I refrain from commenting on the “green” aspect of such a signature!!)
He is not alone in this tacky display of inconsideration that is interpreted by many (in the profession) as someone that is a genius to “Branding” and to others as rude…
Example 2: Another agent had a similar signature, but, with a few more additions: follow me on twitter (link); following me on Facebook (link).
I thought to myself: “Are you kidding me? How are you taking care of your clients with all of this self- branding via social media? Do people really care that you showed an apartment and then went to Pastis — is this why you never submitted my offer?”
When did the “Brand” replace the “product”? When did the “product” become the agent (broker) and not the apartment (and client)?
