REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Slimy Real Estate Agent Drives Home Value of Ethics

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Daily Real Estate News | May 18, 2007 | Slimy Real Estate Agent Drives Home Value of Ethics
Hopefully you’ve never crossed paths with a real estate practitioner like Ted Truitt. He looks and acts like the stereotypical salesman any sane person tries to avoid — he wears a white suit and red shiny shoes, complemented by his greasy hairdo and phony smile. His marketing line is “Trust the Ted,” but consumers do so at their own peril.

When it comes to ethics, Ted Truitt firmly believes the REALTOR® Code of Ethics is meant to be broken, especially if a rule stands in the way of a sale. His motto: “Whatever it takes.”

Luckily for the real estate industry, Ted Truitt is a fictional character that the Virginia Association of REALTORS® created to grab members’ attention and drive home a crucial point: Serving customers and fellow practitioners honestly and ethically is more than simply the right thing to do — it’s also good for your business.

“We knew we really had to dig deep to find something that would get everyone’s attention,” says Melanie Thompson, president of the Virginia Association. Ted Truitt and his Web site, TedTruitt.com, are at the center of the association’s widespread campaign to educate members on everyday ethics scenarios.

The Web site also features an interactive ethics quiz. If you choose the unethical answer, Ted dances around gleefully; If you pick the ethical answer, Ted gets a bucket of green slime dumped on his head.

Fixing an Image Problem

The idea for the campaign was born when a survey last year revealed a lack of professionalism and a poor public image were top concerns of Virginia practitioners. “The real estate industry was just being skewered in the media,” says Scott Brunner, CEO of the Virginia Association. “Polls were showing that REALTORS® were being ranked down there with used-car salesmen.”

After seeing the results of its member survey, Virginia Association leaders decided an out-of-the-box approach was needed. The association needed a way to make ethics exciting, Brunner said. It hired marketing firm FitzMartin, based in Birmingham, Ala., to brainstorm ideas. Soon, Ted Truitt and his humorous Web site were created.

The association sent a mass e-mail with a link to TedTruitt.com, asking members if they knew anything about Ted and whether such a practitioner should be allowed to join the association. E-mails poured in from outraged members who said someone like Ted Truitt would ruin the industry’s reputation, Brunner said.

At first, no one knew that the slimy agent was really a made-up character. That was part of the game. But slowly, as more members explored Ted’s Web site and saw links to a more serious association ethics Web site, TheCodeIsGoodBusines.com, they began to perceive the meaning behind the elaborate joke.

TheCodeIsGoodBusines.com features testimonials from REALTORS® on how following the Code of Ethics has helped them grow their business. It also has an ethics blog, NAR case studies, and a popular section called “Straight Talk,” which teaches practical ethics lessons in a quick, to-the-point format.

Slime-Filled Eggs

The Virginia Association followed up on the campaign's success by sending boxes of ethics information (and slime-filled eggs) to brokerage offices, Brunner said. Each box contains a brochure on the ethics campaign and a notebook of 16 ethics lessons. A similar kit also is in the works for new members of the association.

The association plans to sell the Ted Truitt concept and the accompanying ethics training kit to other state and local REALTOR® associations. “We make ethics content relevant,” Brunner said. “We speak to members’ self-interest.”

Thompson and Brunner discussed their association’s inventive campaign on Thursday at the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

— By Kelly Quigley for REALTOR® Magazine Online