Humorous headshots
Anyone can find a Realtor, but how about a Realtor with a sense of humor?
Frank Borges LLosa, who runs FranklyRealty.com in Arlington, earned a bit of notoriety recently when Eric Bramlett, a real estate agent from Texas, included LLosa’s photograph in a blog post titled, “Top 10 Worst Realtor Headshots.”
LLosa, and a screen shot of his business card that features him striking an action pose while decked out in racquetball attire, placed No. 5 on a list that singled out agents from all around the country. Wrote Bramlett about LLosa’s head shot: “This really doesn’t need any commentary. So bad it’s almost good. Almost.”
Well, it turns out that LLosa’s business card is meant to be a joke and, in fact, he has an entire arsenal of self-deprecating business cards, for one very simple reason: “I’ve never understood whyreal estate agents, of all the industries, feel this need to put pictures of themselves — and stupid ones at that — on their business cards,” LLosa told Yeas & Nays. “I’ve always thought it humorous when I drive pass a real estate sign with some lady and her two dogs on it. I wanted to find a way to make fun of that.”
LLosa got a decent amount of publicity out of making Bramlett’s Top Ten list. After the article became one of the week’s most popular blog posts via the community-based popularity site digg.com, LLosa started hearing from complete strangers and friends he hadn’t heard from in years, all complimenting him on his 15 minutes of fame. (Like all Internet sensations, however, the fame is fleeting: Bramlett had to remove the post after he received a lot of criticism for poking fun at a young girl featured in another agent’s promotional material.)
So will LLosa’s style catch on? Probably not. He concedes that, though he invited the other agents in his office to similarly think outside the box with their own head shots, they’ve all declined. “While five out of 10 people might not find the cards funny, the five that do are going to show it to 10 people and suddenly you have 50 people who have seen it,” says LLosa. “That’s good viral marketing.”
