Our theme this week appears to be “Lessons Radio Stations Can Learn from Sloppy Real Estate People.”
On Sunday I looked at a few “Open Houses” in the Los Angeles area.
In case you’re not familiar with the term, Investopedia defines “open house” as “a scheduled period of time in which a house or other dwelling is designated to be open for viewing for potential buyers.”
At one of the houses I visited, when I walked in a smartly dressed woman separated herself from the man and woman (apparently prospects) she was speaking with, introduced herself as the real estate agent, and handed me a flyer that described the property for sale.
Then she returned to her conversation with the couple.
The house wasn’t occupied. No furniture. Hardwood floors.
With nothing to absorb sound, the resulting acoustics made it so a normal speaking voice could be heard throughout the house.
The agent and the couple were talking and laughing so loudly that, with those acoustics, I literally couldn’t hear anything the person who accompanied me said to me.
We wandered around the house for a couple of minutes and then gave up; the noise was unbearable.
As we headed for the door, the trio turned to me and the man jovially said, “We accept cash, y’know!”
It was then I understood:
They weren’t a real estate agent and two prospects.
They were three real estate agents. Colleagues. Co-workers.
When I realized I was being driven away by the overbearing sounds of 3 representatives of the same agency, my astonishment quickly was followed by anger.
It was only with great restraint that I refrained from saying, “The three of you are here because you’re representing the seller of this house and instead of speaking to prospects, you’re talking only to each other? In voices so loud that potential buyers can’t hear themselves think??”
Instead, I just started at the 3 of them and left, shaking my head.
I won’t identify the real estate company. Let’s just say those 3 agents didn’t represent the pinnacle of professionalism.
What Does That Have to Do with Radio?
How many radio station remotes (aka “Outside Broadcasts”) have you seen where the station’s promotional staff (yes, some may be interns) stick together in a tight cluster — a closed circle that excludes the listeners, the fans, the P1s who cared enough to come to that live event?
Each time you’ve witnessed that, you’ve seen the results of a promotions director not doing his/her job.
If you’re in charge of promotions at your radio station (Promotions Director, Program Director, etc.), it’s your responsibility to make sure that all onsite representatives of your station understand that they are doing just that: representing your radio station.
