Are we winning or losing

When I first started in Real Estate, there were no online real estate portals, no social media, and no digital marketing. I know I am dating myself, but these were the days when to sell real estate, your best strategy was to connect with people either face to face or on the phone via phone call, not even text. Back then, authenticity was the name of the game. You couldn't hide behind social media, acting like a mini influencer and pretending you were selling all this real estate which indeed you were not selling.

Ouch! Yes, I said it. 

Not as a dig but to highlight how the “fake it until you make it” phrase as taken a new life of its own

If you are a Realtor reading this, you know it to be true.

If you are a consumer reading this, strap yourself in for a realty check.

*Not every “sold listing, coming soon listing, new listing etc.. you see an agent post is actually a client they are representing or have any experience with, to build trust and substantiate value they use their teammates clients or even other brokerages clients to share Real Estate related content as they work their way to getting their own clients therefore creating an illusion of success and automatic value in expertise*

Yes, this is a strategy. A social media strategy to generate trust and gain clients.

In the pre-digital days, building a solid reputation in the real estate industry required genuine relationships and word-of-mouth recommendations. Real estate agents had to rely on their in-depth knowledge of the local market and their ability to establish trust with clients. There were no fancy online listings, no virtual tours, and no YouTube channels showcasing property walkthroughs. It was all about personal connections and real, tangible expertise. 

So how did a consumer go about vetting a Realtor out? 

How I remember those days, it was a book of references and a print out of your market share. I used to have to provide the last 10 clients I had worked with with phone numbers so that a new prospect could call them and vet me out before hiring me. Additionally I had to provide a print out of my most recent market share, how did I rank in my town, how many homes I had sold, for how how much, how long it took me to sell them and other key performance indicators that would allow a client to feel confident in my expertise.

I know it might seem so old-fashioned and a lot more work but to me it seems consumers truly did their homework back then and Realtors couldn’t hide or pretend or fake much of anything.

So convenience won. Again.

But did the consumer win? Did the industry win? did we as Realtors win?

Why does it feel to me like something was lost along the way

The rise of the 'Instagram agent' and 'social media influencer realtor' has blurred the lines between genuine expertise and self-promotion. It's no longer just about having a strong track record and satisfied clients; it's also about crafting an alluring online persona. The ability to curate a captivating Instagram feed or YouTube channel can sometimes overshadow a real estate agent's actual accomplishments.

This new landscape has its pros and cons. On one hand, consumers have access to a wealth of information and can quickly get a sense of an agent's style, personality, and client interactions. On the other hand, the traditional reference checks have been somewhat replaced by the number of Instagram followers or YouTube subscribers an agent has with an implicit blind trust on content and context.

I supposed this transformation isn't limited to my industry. It reflects the new world we live in, where distinguishing authenticity from artifice has become a complex task. In a digital age where appearances often overshadow substance, the value of being genuine remains crucial. Whether in real estate or any other field, staying true to your core values, your true self and upholding trust and transparency is the key to success in this evolving landscape.

So if you are new to a business or career and reading this you may be thinking and saying to yourself, how do I then build when I have nothing to build from?

My answer: Don’t fake it, think P.I.G

“Think P.I.G. – that’s my motto. P stands for Persistence, I stands for Integrity, and G stands for Guts. These are the ingredients for a successful business and a successful life.” -Linda Chandler

with Love

Susana