agents question

[LynnKK]

People take about 20 seconds to make their first and last impression of you. It is up to you how you want that impression to last in their brains. They are hiring you....they will be an employer of sorts...best foot forward. Clean car goes without saying....clean clothes...those that are tailored and classic. You want to give the impression that you are competent. Heck, if you can't dress yourself properly and keep your car in "showroom" condition....how much credibility will you have going in? I drive a Honda Pilot...after several Lincolns and once had a client comment on the Pilot....the one with every single option you could get on it and perpetually clean. I turned down that guy's listing....he showed up in sweatpants and a disgusting T-shirt. My first impression was lasting.

[Zyngawf]

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

Would you drive your PT Cruiser if you were handling clients purchasing and selling million dollar homes?

Would you drive a Mercedes S600V if you were handling clients purchasing and selling $100k homes?

While all of the responses differed in terms of the exact kind of car, all of them hovered around the point that I expressed that it was all about the image presented to your clientele and having something appropriate for your market.

I would drive my PT cruiser either way. I can afford the Mercedes and choose not to have one. I will never put that kind of money into buying a car. It isn't necessary and people do not care the way you think they do. How long have you been selling real estate and what has happened to make you think you would need a hoity toity car? My car has never been an issue for me.

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by Nocontengencies

I would drive my PT cruiser either way. I can afford the Mercedes and choose not to have one. I will never put that kind of money into buying a car. It isn't necessary and people do not care the way you think they do. How long have you been selling real estate and what has happened to make you think you would need a hoity toity car? My car has never been an issue for me.

I don't sell real estate professionally at all, I'm actually in the transportation and fleet management business. My experience in real estate has been limited to owning a couple rental properties as well as buying and selling my own homes. A good friend of mine from high school is a broker and his wife is an agent, we have done quite a few deals together including going in on some investment properties.

If you look at the follow-ups from some of the other agents here, they are pretty much echoing what I said, yes it does matter vis-a-vis presenting yourself in an appropriate way to your clientele. My friend works primarily within the luxury homes market. He drives a BMW 5-series. Not because he could give a rats rear about what kind of car he drives, but because that is part of the image that he needs to project and that his clients expect.

You seem to want to believe that skill and knowledge trumps image and it ultimately does, but image is what is going to get you in the door to display your skill and knowledge.