I’m ruminating about the idea of the Market Segment Specialist. It was a concept that grew out of the Wednesday Broker Roundtable call a few weeks ago. It’s an exciting idea you can read about by going HERE.
If you read that post, you saw that I was a little concerned that by seeking out the MSS, we might be falling into the same recruiting trap as ordinary brokers. We’d be recruiting to expand our business. However, I think there may be an error in my thinking. I’m thinking about the MSS as a recruiting challenge/opportunity/solution . . . and it’s not.
When you add this person, what you’re really doing is adding a walking, talking billboard right in the center of a neighborhood or group where you want to be. That’s not recruiting, that’s target marketing. We’re not offering an exciting and rewarding career in real estate, we’re offering the opportunity to earn a supplemental income helping us build our brand. I would code this person’s income to show up not under agent compensation on the balance sheet, but under marketing because it really is a marketing expense.
Suddenly the sky above my head is less clouded. I can see clearly now . . . My concern has evaporated. Don’t know about you, but I tend to get really nervous any time we start looking like ordinary REALTORS.