Trust and Real Estate: Oxymoron?

     (photo is courtesy of pinpics)

With all the stories about RE agents being trusted less than axe murderers it goes without saying that any new approach to RE sales has to entail trust-building, but I’m going to say it anyway. The good news is that we have more tools than ever to begin building trust – the blog being one of the most effective tools. But just having a blog doesn’t ensure trust – voice is paramount. To make my point, I’ll draw some parallels with voice in poetry.

The Free Dictionary gives us this definition:

voice

In poetry, the speaking persona or personality of a poem produced by the stylistic choices of the poet. Voice is related to tone and mood in a poem, in that they are all determined by diction or word choice, syntax, line length, and other elements contributing to the poem's overall feeling. However, voice is considered more personal and, therefore, more unique. While any poet can use a tone that is angry or write a poem that is melancholic in mood, all poets strive to create their own individual voices. The pertinent part is the last sentence. Being a part of an online writers’ group, some of which write poetry, the difference between a novice pretending to be poetic and someone who has found their voice is the difference between trusting the poet and rolling your eyes. I’m not saying everyone who writes a blog must be a Wallace Stevens, but being real and having that come to life in words is part skill and part self-actualization, or, if you will, a humble confidence. Skill, oddly, is the easiest part, because, in blog writing, skill doesn’t need to be literature-worthy, just mostly mistake free and understandable. The self-actualization is another story that has to do with a person’s maturity and self-knowledge. Armed with certain facts about yourself and life and being a reasonable, thoughtful person goes a long way toward developing a voice that people trust, because it’s real. Being real is not something that can be simulated by attempting to develop an “authentic” persona for sales – if you aren’t real it will show, like a bad hairpiece. Over and over I see in sales, advertising and marketing, people attempting to “appear” real and it’s pathetic. Nothing will turn discerning, intelligent consumers off like fake sincerity or pretentious compassion. The more truly honest you are with yourself and others, the better the writing, because you choose words more carefully with intellectual honesty in mind. Some writers are genius at turning phrases and finding the most perfect words, but a good, honest person writing with a modicum of skill can instill trust in the reader. And, it doesn’t need to be a True Confessions style, just straightforward and honest, hopefully interesting. As a matter of fact, although a glimpse into the raw person every so often is enriching, the writer spewing their innards all over the page is actually crying “Look at me! I’m deep, emotional and flawed! I’m soooooo human!” To me, that’s inauthentic and staged. Another thing is that writing to appear “hip” can’t be staged, either. A person is hip or is not hip, and all the MTV flash and gyration in the world will not make hip if the writing is like Peewee Herman on a motorcycle (you can tell I’m not hip, because I use the word “hip”). “Hip” is something few possess but many crave. It’s best to know your limitations and come across as authentic. It certainly doesn’t hurt to show you are in touch with the new edge of the world, if you are, but the language of hip comes naturally and any insincere substitute stands out like a nun at a strip joint (why a nun would be at a strip joint is another story). Plus, what people get wrong is trying to guess what hip is and imitate it, when being natural is already there. Keeping with the poet analogy, it’s like someone wearing a beret, sunglasses and a scarf, posing as deep and profound, yet writing like a sophomore who just lost his girlfriend. Individuation seems to be the key – not separating yourself by gimmick, but by being who you are and allowing your voice to express that. It’s simple but difficult to do for many. Most people like to imitate because they don’t have the confidence to allow their own style to develop. It might be one reason RE agents are caricatured, because so many agents have in mind the idea of “agent” then try to fit that role. Consumers will trust when agents are real. Honest voices will reach consumers and little by little perceptions change. Word choice comes more easily when you are relaxed and not worried about manipulation or imitating a style. Inauthentic personas are the bane of the internet, something that hopefully will not infect RE blog writing. I’ll be writing about trust for awhile because I think it’s an important topic in RE, but it starts with being trustworthy.

Comments

[Faina Sechzer]

Popular bloggers on the monetized blogs suggest using the voice that would appeal to the blogger's niche market, i.e.one person could have different voices for their different blogs.This is what professional writers do when speaking in different voices of their characters.IMO it wouldn't work in RE, if the goal is to eventually meet our readers. BTW, the post that got almost the highest amount of hits on my blog was "Is there truth in RE advertising".
Enjoyed your post.

[Mike Farmer]

Faina,

It wouldn't work for me. My voice is my voice, although on a business blog my purpose is different.

Thanks,

Mike