Most recently, Jesse Jackson was caught saying something he shouldn’t have about Barack Obama. This was one of those ‘caught off guard opportunities’ that the media eats up. What’s interesting about this story that nothing of what Jackson said was during the interview. It was all caught on tape before it. The LA Times reports that a late shift employee caught the remarks before the interview after they were assigned to transcribing it.
The lesson to real estate agents here is simple. You are always on camera and on the air. If a professional politician can make this mistake then so can you. Remember that your interview will start the second you pick up the phone or walk into the studio.
Real estate markets are hot topics for the media right now and they would love nothing better then to report the most bloated story ever. And guess what? You are their expert. Although most members of the media are ethical there are many others that will inflate your ego so they can quote you as an expert and then get you to say whatever they know will sell a story
Here are some important rules for public relations.
- When a reporter calls you, ask them if you can call them back in five minutes after you have received approval from your public relations director or your manager. There are a few reasons for this. It’s important not to keep a journalist waiting too long because often they have a deadline looming and if kept waiting, they will contact the next agent on their list. Also, calling your PR director or manager covers your butt. Your PR director will want to call the journalist to find out what the story is about and why they chose you to give a quote. This weeds out any chance for a story with bad intentions. If it is a hot button issue or one that may effect the company, the PR director may decide to field the questions herself. She may let you handle the questions but want to listen in on the call so she can interject if any red flags go up. This is the only way you should handle a call from a journalist.
- Nothing is off the record. Just because a reporter shuts the tape recorder off does not mean that the interview is over and you can say whatever you would like. There was a small real estate company in California and the president was being investigated for fraudulent practices. A reporter called an agent, who she knew personally to get the internal scoop. The agent never called her manager but handled herself appropriately during the face-to-face interview. After it was over she finished up by telling her ‘friend’ the reporter that everyone in the office had suspected for quite some time that the president had been embezzling funds. “He’s not that good at his job,” she said jokingly but guess what quote appeared in the paper the next morning? The actual headline of the article was AGENTS SUSPECTED CROWLEY OF FOUL PRACTICES. Everything you say is in fact on the record.
- If it’s not interesting, don’t try to get it published. So often public relations directors are bombarded with calls from real estate agents who want a press release written because they sold four houses in the same month or they had the biggest year since they started in real estate. That kind of information does not interest the media. If you made the President’s Circle for your company, that may be information you can send to your local paper and they may publish it if they have a business section but do not expect an article written about you. It will probably very simply read: Jane Realtor of XYZ company joined the President’s Circle for grossing over $50 million in annual sales.
- Have your public relations director write your media releases for you. If you do not have a director ask around to find someone who has written a correct media release. Besides knowing what is newsworthy they have the experience of creating catchy headlines and can format the release appropriately.
