ComFree was going to print a story in this space about the many services and benefits we provide both the homeowner and homebuyer.
It would have been similar to ones we’ve run in the past, "Selling and buying is easy with ComFree because we provide you with..." A positive, simple story with the main point being that ComFree can empower you to take control of your own home sale and put all the equity you’ve built up in your own pocket.
Nothing groundbreaking or shocking, but important because it has an underlying message: You are a capable person. It’s ComFree’s core belief: Sellers and buyers are smart, capable individuals who have nothing to fear, once armed with the real estate knowledge we impart as part of our service.
However, while driving over the Pattullo Bridge to our New Westminster office one recent morning, I heard an ad on a local talk radio station.
It made me angry. I felt it was my duty as manager of ComFree-Vancouver to address here what I had heard.
The ad related the marketing practices of a fictitious homeowner who was selling without a real estate agent. His marketing in this lame ad involved the homeowner using a megaphone to shout inappropriate comments at passers-by. As if that’s what you would do.
This demeaning ad is part of a TV and radio advertising campaign by the Canadian Real Estate Association, the national umbrella organization for all Real Estate Agents. The campaign’s main message is that only fools and crazies would try to sell their own home without the aid of a Real Estate Agent and the MLS.
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Their current TV ads have a similar tone. One has a couple in their lawyer’s office with a personal trainer acting as their agent, while another has a couple’s mother showing them a home much bigger than they want because she wants extra room for grandkids.
Real Estate Agents’ TV ads in the past have suggested that you "don’t even know enough to know that you don't know" and certainly don’t have the capacity to learn.
I understand that the ads are satire and an overblown exaggeration. But all this satire has an underlying message agents want you to accept: You can’t do it, so don’t try.
And you should feel insulted. These ads are not lampooning private-sale companies such as ComFree. These ads are directed at and lampooning you. Their real message is: you need an agent because you’re a hapless buffoon and, if you do decide to sell or buy without an agent, your actions will be moronic.
It demonstrates that the commissioned real estate industry views you with condescending contempt.
So, next time you see the agents’ TV ads or hear their radio spots, ask yourself: What are they saying about me?
Then, when it’s time for you to buy or sell your home, consider what message you would like to send to them.
Is an industry that believes you and your family are laughable court jesters one you wish to support? One that deserves your patronage?
On the other hand, you might prefer to deal with a company whose core belief is that you are a smart, capable individual who can learn and who has nothing to fear.
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