Professionalism and the email address
How does one acquire the title of “professional”? This is a subject often debated in real estate circles. Are doctors professional? Yes. Are lawyers professional? Yes. Are real estate agents professional? Are mortgage reps professional?
I am prompted to raise this point by the last two comments on a previous post. An “anonymous” commenter asks if anyone is “kicking ass today”. Dustin responds with “?”. Seems to me this same commenter has raised the “kick ass” question before. By following the trail to the source, one can assume that this commenter is in the mortgage business in Southern California. One can also follow the yellow brick road to his email address which is at Yahoo.com
People often ask how they should select a real estate agent and/or mortgage person. Maybe it is not fair to say that those whose email address is yahoo or hotmail or even aol are not “professional”. But doesn’t it seem so? Can it be as simple as that? Often when I am caught in a transaction with a less than professional agent or less than professional mortgage person, I am dealing with someone whose email address is nastyboy69@hotmail.com. So I think I will go out on a limb here and propose that one’s email address IS an indication of who you are dealing with.
If you want to be perceived as a professional, if you want to be viewed as someone whose standards of practice reach the level of “professionalism”, then take the extra step to acquire an email adress with a professional domain name. Conversely, if you choose a real estate agent or lender, or even a lawyer, whose email address is kickass4U@yahoo.com, then don’t complain when they appear to be less than professional when acting on your behalf.
About the Author: Ardell DellaLoggia
- Author's website: http://www.realtown.com/ardell/blog
- More posts by ARDELL
- email the author
I do believe you went out on a limb and it broke. I am still the same professional today as I was when I used @seattle.ci.gov, @comcast.net, @metrokc.gov, @c21.com, @windermere.com, @gmail.com, @helpuselleastside.com, and @hotmail.com. I change e-mail more that I change my mind.
I think you are missing what Ardell said Brian. It doesn’t have anything to do with the company hosting your email account….it’s the words you choose to put in front of the @ symbol she is referring to. Doesn’t matter if you choose ripuoff@gmail.com or ripuoff@c21.com. The point is the words you choose set the tone for how people are going to perceive you….whether good or bad!
And yes, Ardell I do agree with you on this one. I have run across a few email addresses of agents and also wondered what the heck they were thinking for publishing that info as a way for potential customers to contact them.
I think “professionals” (regardless if they are lawyers, real estate agents, or even software consultants) should get private domain names as a matter of doing business.
They offer the following advantages…
1. If your e-mail address ends in @hotmail.com, @yahoo.com or @gmail.com, potential clients get the false impression that your too cheap to get your own email address.
2. Branding – ardell@SoundRealty.biz tells me a lot more about what you do and who you are, than superrealtor@hotmail.com does.
3. Spam control – Free email is a spam magnet. Small private domains get a lot less junk email.
4. Identification – All the good names on many free email services are already taken, so may you end up with something like houseseller345@yahoo.com instead of something more appropriate.
With that said, a professional is a professional regardless of the domain that their e-mail goes through. But a private domain merely adds credibility like a web site or a business card would do.
Very interesting topic.
To add to the discussion, I run ALL my emails through gmail because:
With that said, I agree with Robbie that it is important for real estate professionals to get their own domain and I agree with Ardell that you are best off getting a professional sounding email… As in “your.name@your.domain.com”.
I agree with Ardell and all those that believe having your own domain and using it for your email is where it is at. Professional branding starts with consistency. A brand becomes who you are. Letterhead, website, brochures and even email addresses. Although, consistent branding does not guarantee success (look at GM). Everything you present to the public: what you say, what you do and the reputation you create in addition to branding defines you and your business and ultimate success (or not). Marketing 101.
PS: When emailing family and friends I use an ISP address, not my business domain.
So true. . Another benefit of owning the domain of your email is that you own it and its forever. For example, if you ever move from one company to another, like century 21 to remax the email stays with the company. Once you leave a company they usually wont continue to forward the e-mail to you, the email will be sent to there server where the lead may or may not be passed to another agent. All emails addressed to my domain with anything before the @(xxx@tracyhomes.com) will get sent to me. Btw gmail is good I use it also for the same reasons as Dustin. I have found that my Techie from San Jose look down on a email address from AOL and are impressed when someone has a gmail address. On the same token if I get a lead with a AOL I spend more time walking them through our website and explaining to them how to use the web to search for homes.
Regional Real Estate Blogs – Moneysmartz Category Updates…
Blogging is an easy way for real estate agents, mortgage bankers, and other real estate professionals to promote their services. Regional real estate blogs offer property listings, mortgage information, economic data, news, and even local activities an…
Hahahahaha – nastyboy69@hotmail.com! I tend to find myself judging that book by it’s cover. A Yahoo/Hotmail email address indicates to me that someone isn’t trying very hard and likely works by themself. That said, I try to give joe38492@hotmail.com the benefit of the doubt.
I’m with Galen–give everyone the benefit of the doubt and absolutely do not judge a book by it’s cover. There are a lot of “old schoolers” out there who may not be good at picking “professional” email addresses or names but are masters at selling and darn fine human beings. (i think it gross hyperbole to suggest any real estate professional would use a name in obvious bad taste).
Yes, image is valued in this society and that’s exactly how the schisters and con men take you–they suck you in with their professsional sounding names. First Federal this, American Fidelity that—I would be more worried about someone appearing “too professional” if you get my meaning here.
Having your own domain connotes a level of permanence and intent to “stick around.” This business is so transient that taking the 10 minutes to buy your own domain name and setting up the accompanying email indicates a small amount of desire to make the profession of real estate just a hair more than a hobby.
That said, I will second the opinions of 3 cents and Galen that the old-schoolers have the benefit of the doubt. I know some brilliant Realtors who would still be stuck with aol addresses were it not for the pushing and prodding of their younger colleagues.
So my 2 cents lines up with a lot of you. I think a professional should know better, and get a professional sounding address – if for no better reason than to show that you intend to deal with your clientele in a professional manner. If you are trying to rub other people’s noses in what you can get away with, that’s a social experiment.
As for potential clients, I always give them the benefit of the doubt on the email alias. Many have both a work email and a personal one, and choose to use the personal one for our interactions. A lot of them are pretty creative, and can lead to some fun conversations.
Old Schoolers [OS] or not – Image and presentation is everything.
Having an aol or hotmail account for friends and family is ok but if you’re a professional in any industry, I believe a company branded email should be used to communicate with your client base. If my email address was humptydumpty@aol.com would you take me seriously? Or how about if I hosted my Open House in jeans and sneakers? or used slang? Take yourself seriously and others will as well. Whether good or bad, some people judge a book by it’s cover. Increase your odds for success by caring about your presentation – create a likeable cover.
If finding a cool and unique name is the obstacle, how about just registering your own name, e.g. myname@myname.com?
Old schoolers and newbees both need each other. Newbees may give the OS
tips on technology but it’s the OS that really help newbees with the fundamentals of Real Estate which you just can’t read in a book or find on the web – it’s called wisdom.
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.
- Plato
This is one more reason to have a blog with your own domain name. My email, todd@lenderama.com works with any company I ever move to. It also acts as an advertisement for the blog itself.
For those of you looking for a free e-mail account, I think I have found one that takes the prize. Yourname@fu_kingwicked.com. I actually had a customer e-mail me with this one a couple weeks ago. I guess they were looking for some shock value. While I don’t consider myself to be a judgmental person, I don’t like anybody wasting my time either. NEXT!!!
I once saw a loan officer whose license plate read “3 YSP”. That was a little flagrant in my mind…
Everyone Please Stop Posting on this Thread!!! This Post by Ardell Should be Etched in Stone. If I had a dollar for……… I won’t say what i am thinking about these free accounts… but please do yourself a favor and pay someone if you have to to set up your email…
sheeeshhhh
PS. why would you give Hotmail or Yahoo free press when you could be sending it to your own site?
Hi Stefan, Nice to see you “out of context”
My post was regarding professionals and not clients. But since you brought up the issue of client email addresses, I think it is part of our duty as buyer agents to address the matter. I had a very nice client with a nasty email address and punk rock music on her voice mail. I am fairly tuned in to the poor choices one makes in their youth, having three daughters in their late teens and early 20s, and so it didn’t phase me in the least. But it did raise an issue with the lender.
Just as I would tell my daughter to get a different email address to put on a resume and change her voice mail when she is expecting a call from a potential job source, I would recommend to my client that they clean up their act during the loan process.
Good time to ask the lenders here. If someone has a credit score of 580, stated income and a nasty email address and rock music voice mail…will they have more trouble getting a loan? I expect their email address would be irrelevant if they had a six figure salaried income and a 780 credit score
[...] Why not take the time to get a professional-sounding email address and leave that @aol.com address for personal emails? [...]
[...] Way off topic, but – AOL is scary! By Jim Duncan I am not even remotely smart enough to understand the ramifications of this, but AOL has released tons of personal search data into the wild. If you value your online privacy, take a few moments to read this story. To those of you who still have aol email addresses – please, please for the sake of all that is human, understand that those raised eyebrows you get from people when you tell them your professional email address is “blah-blah-blah @aol.com” – it’s for a reason! [...]
Hi All,
I thought i’d drop in a suggestion that avoids the cost and maintenance of a website but still allows you to get an email address that will be more professional than the usual hotmails, yahoos etc.
It goes like this – purchase a professional domain relevant to your industry, e.g agentsonline.biz or suchlike (typically less than $10 per year). buy the domain from a company that allows you a high or unlimited number of email forwarding addresses (eg godaddy).
Use the forwarding feature to use your new professional email address (eg: james.joyce@agentsonline.biz) as a ‘front end’ to your personal (free) gmail, hotmail etc address.
If you at some point want to develop the domain you can set up a website to suit, but at least in the meantime you’re email address is working for you and not the service provider.
Hope helpful!
Mike
Mike, good call.
I use gmail for this exact purpose with a few of the domain names that I own.
Maybe as a final note on this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_e-mail_address would be a good reference point.
I have a set of glasses(8) from the 1962 Seattle worlds fair that have the Century 21 logo on them–I was going to sell them–I would like to know if your company is interested in them? Please let me know.
How much, Karen?
Are they water glasses? Highball glasses? Shoot a photo to me at Ardell@SoundRealty.biz
[...] The final section of Saul’s presentation was a cute demonstration of just how important a URL is to an agent. This is something that Ardell covered in a very popular blog post last spring. [...]
Hi Guys, My name Jonathan Horne and I was a consultant with Yellow Pages in Australia for many years, and found that in our company research that Image is very important (including Email Branding) and it played in a part on the viewers “call to action” ratio.
After many years of seeing business after business having an ISP email address, i started to query people on it and found that most are just small businesses that don’t know how to setup a branded email and had the impression that it is an expensive exercise.
As a result I started a high end Email Service for businesses to obtain their own branded email. We have a heap of information on our site http://www.TagAlongMail.com to help businesses in this area as well as our main product which is a branded email service.
Would love to hear anyones feedback on our service offering
Cheers,
Jono
I believe your e-mail does reveal alot about you.
Its a pretty good idea to have a professional one made just in case
Yours truly,
Mel.
There – I’ve just gone to make a professional email to use when applying for jobs. I’ve also made a couple of nickname ones to use on ebay, and well, just so that others can’t steal them hehe.
Cheers!
Thao
I really never thought that much about how important an e-mail address is when looking for a job. It really does reaveal alot about yourself. I just created mine
.
It’s interesting to me that the recent commenters who established a “professional” email address did so as “gmail”. Isn’t that the same as Yahoo or Hotmail in terms of “professional email address? Apparently not.
Professional e-mail is the right choice then an @hotmail @yahoo etc..