They’re impossible to miss, the people holding large signs that say “Models Open” or “Prices Slashed!” with a big red arrow pointing at the development that hired them. There is one as you leave beaches area who holds his sign, listens to an iPod and dances around. It sure gets my attention but has it made me visit his homes? Not yet.
Am I in the minority? Not at all, it seems.
“I can honestly say that I have never gone to a development because someone was on the street holding a sign,” said Debbie Dermody, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Beaches Area Manager. “And I have seen plenty of them,”
Selby Kaiser of The Legends of Real Estate agrees.
“I doubt that I would ever use a person like that because I feel that they distract drivers and may be a hazard on the road,” said Kaiser.
Kathy Garland of Re/Max Professional Group said people holding and waving signs do not make her go into that business at all.
“They’re just like political candidates waving signs. They don’t make me vote for them or affect the way I vote in any way whatsoever,” said Garland. “I believe it just adds to the visual pollution that most major thoroughfares have alongside the roads.
“Certainly there must be a better way to attract peoples’ attention! I would think an open house sign with a couple of helium-filled balloons would be as effective, if not more so, and I would probably stay with that rather than pay someone to stand out with a sign waving to the cars as they go by.”
Holly McMurry of The Legends of Real Estate feels that type of advertising is fine for the food business, but not so much for real estate.
“I think that the ‘sandwich’ advertising is fine for some businesses but I have never associated this type with advertising for my listings or for the general real estate industry,” said McMurry. “It does not present the professionalism that we try to establish each and every day.”
Some have thought about doing it.
“As someone who does a lot of open houses, I have considered using the services of the human billboard,” said Phyllis Staines of Re/Max Coastal Real Estate. “However, the appearance of the sign holders does not represent the image that we have at Re/Max. Unless they are wearing a suit and tie, I don’t think I’ll ever employ their services!”
The verdict?
Well, they do get your attention, even though it may be to the point that you ram into the car ahead of you. As one who wishes cell phones were banned from being used inside vehicles, I get leery of anything that distracts me.
Phyllis Staines had a good point about “coat and tie.” How many of these people look like they’ve been hired from a street corner labor pool? Do you want someone like they representing you, someone who looks like that giving a potential customer a first impression of your business?
Bottom line: no one I talked with thought it was a good idea when it comes to selling real estate. A farmer’s market, perhaps. A discount retail store, maybe. A sandwich shop, somewhat of a tradition.
Real estate? Leave ‘em at the labor pool.
- Michele Gillis is the lead writer for Realty/Builder Connection.