The Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) has taken matters into its own hands by supplying a white paper-style Realtor Value list called The Critical Role of the Realtor in the Real Estate Transaction to its members for free download. Members use the comprehensive 180-point list to illustrate the value that Realtors have in the transaction.
The beauty of it is that the list is designed to benefit all members, without diminishing business models that are other than full-service, while clearly outlining the numerous and complicated actions full-service Realtors provide to navigate a transaction to closing.
However, full-service Realtors say the Critical Role list is ammunition that helps them negotiate higher commissions. RE/MAX Realtor Irene Stoffer writes, "This document was created by the Orlando Regional Realtor Organization to help the full service real estate agent educate their potential seller clients as to the many tasks that an agent does in a real estate transaction. I had a little input when this document was created and I use this document in my listing presentations."
Stoffer says it is up the agent to educate the consumers. "This document helps," she says.
The list is useful to help full-service agents bat away attempts by sellers to reduce commissions. But is that an unfair use of an association's power?
Explains Kevin Fritz, spokesperson for ORRA, "All business models are welcome. We are not for or against any business model. These are simply the steps that a full service broker will offer you."
The Critical Role list is on ORRA's public consumer website, called Don't It Yourself , where the site uses videos, slapstick, and old-fashioned ads to make the point that some things should be left to professionals.
"The list wont' fit every state," says Fritz, and we only have single agency -- we're a transaction broker state, so some things wont' fit nationally."
Don't-It-Yourself.com and the Critical Role list are part of ORRA's new consumer advertising campaign, promoting the use of a Realtor. "It's an integrated marketing campaign to get people to use Realtors, and understand what they do and why they should use them, and why they should pay them."
The campaign extends to print, billboard, radio, promotional tie-ins, the website, don't-it-yourself.com, and the 180-plus steps in the transaction that illustrate the critical role of the Realtor. "It's very interactive and entertaining, it helps people udnerstand the roles of Realtor and entertains them at the same time, it's not just a message campaign. It tells you in tongue-in-cheek and off-the-wall ways that there are some things you should leave to a professional. We have cremation, lasik surgery, we've created a print campaign that emulates how-to books. These are things you shouldn't do at home. We're using entertainment to show it's better to call a professional."
ORRA doesn't put listings on it's consumer website, figuring that's something members would prefer to do themselves using the association's IDX solution or the local paper or Realtor.com. "We've been doing a consumer campaign a little differently than NAR's," says Fritz. "We wanted a different message -- NAR's is a message campaign, we wanted more entertainment, edginess and to have a Web presence."
While it's hardly Jib-Jab in nature, the campaign is designed to generate a viral effect.
At the National Association of Realtors Mid-year conference in Washington, D.C., ORRA presented the Don't-It-Yourself campaign to other national communications directors who were shown how to create their own integrated campaign.
"We have done all the legwork here," says Fritz. "On this website, Orlando doesn't stick out until you get to the meat of the site. We can offer this to associations that would like to have their own campaign."
The Critical Role list, however, is copyrighted. "We encourage people to use this list as a PDF, but to contact us for permission to put it on their sites. Just ask first.
(Editor's note: For more information, visit dont-it-yourself.com . To ask permission to use the Critical Role list, contact Kevin Fritz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. target=
