From a billboard to a new home??

Did you ever hear a news story or learn something which catches your attention, only to have a reaction that is totally different from everyone else’s? Well, it happens to me a lot, actually.
I read the recent A P story about an out-of-work professional that spent several thousand dollars for a billboard along a busy Connecticut expressway to promote her “hire me” website, http://www.hirepasha.com/hirepasha.com/Resume.html .

The story went on to detail how she got the idea from someone else who had done a similar thing in the Midwest. I found it a natural that her background has a sales and marketing slant. More importantly from the standpoint of my work in real estate advertising and marketing, the next fact in the story got my attention even more.

This woman went on to reveal that she used the thousands of dollars for the billboard from money she was saving to buy a home. It was as if to say “There goes my chance to buy a home”.

If I was a realty agent in that area, I would have jumped all over that billboard. Why? Because with all of the inventory available in this buyers’ market, I have to believe I could have found her a “rent to buy” situation within a matter of hours. Without needing the big down payment she was saving up for, I could have gotten her into a home, and made one of my sellers (or a colleague’s) very happy.

Next, I would have interviewed her about putting her sales and marketing expertise to work for me. Let consumers respond to her billboard and find out that she has been hired by (name of) Real Estate and already has moved into a new house because of (name of agent)’s expertise.
I would then put her to work generating referral fees for me. Next, I would issue a Press Release that I have hired her to do marketing and generate revenue for my real estate business, and let the community know that she is available to do the same for non-competing businesses. She could work from an office space in her brand new home. And live happily ever after.

It seems as though I am seeing more of these “What he/she is doing to get hired” stories in the media. Those are more inspiring than the negative home sales statistics being released by realty associations.