JoAnna and Gail's Real Estate Thoughts

I started responding to Randy's post about Email Etiquette (see his post here) and found I had enough to say to warrant a post of my own.

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There is a little "boy who cried wolf" mentality going on in my inbox these days.

I receive daily (sometimes twice a day) emails from agents about their fabulous, unbelievable new listing or their great price reduction or why their property is the best in the neighborhood.

I see so many that very few actually catch my attention anymore.  When I used to get only a few a day, I would look at them.  Every now and then I'd see one that really was a fabulous price!  Most often I find those emails to be an agent letting me know they are selling an overpriced dog!

It used to be I only received emails relevant to my buyer clients when the reverse prospecting system on my MLS would let the listing agents know I have a buyer with criteria that matches their listing. 

Now I get emails about beach front property (wish I had a beach front buyer) or condominiums that are a hop skip and jump from Manhattan (definitately not an area I service).

My inbox is crowded with irrelevant information and unfortunately the one email that could be impactful to me is lost in the shuffle.

I check my hotsheet throughout the day.  I know about ALL the new activity in my town.  I do not need to receive redundant information.

What do I want to receive?

Updates on properties I've shown or previewed!  This is critical.  That would include price changes, promotional changes (bonuses) or even seller's motivation.  Also, sometimes there are nuances to our listings that we can't depict on the MLS.  I wouldn't mind getting an email alert about this as well.

What can YOU do about it?  Be more diligent about only emailing information that is relevant to the receiver!  STOP SPAMMING!  That is what it is when you send mass emails to people who have little interest in what you are saying.

I am NOT trying to limit the electronic communication between agents.  In fact, I encourage and welcome it!  I just want us to act responsibly when choosing who to send our information to!  Same way I feel bloggers should exercise good judgment when choosing where to submit their blogs.  It makes the most sense to put your post in the correct channel or group so that it is exposed to the largest amount of "interested" readers!