A real estate agent has recruited his companionable canine to lure unsuspecting leads when out for his daily exercise.
Nevada real estate agent Rob Feldman originally thought he could drum-up leads by canvassing his community, but there was a problem - the bylaws of his homeowner association forbid solicitation.
Running out of options, Mr Feldman enlisted the help of his terrier, Chloe, as a marketing vehicle, parading her around in a vest full of business cards to reel in dog-loving leads.
“Everybody loves to come to a dog and say, ‘What a cute dog’. And then when they see the vest they say, ‘How interesting’, and then I give them my card and my flier,” Mr Feldman told Inman News.
Mr Feldman, who is currently building a “senior adult communities and lifestyles” team for Realty One Group, had the community’s local sewing club to thank for Chloe’s eye-catching vest.
Its members happily accepted when he asked if they’d be willing to construct the vest, which features neck and torso straps, embroidering of Realty One Group’s logo and Chloe’s name, as well as a pocket for marketing materials.
Mr Feldman has only been an agent since January, and whilst the contacts he’s made through walking Chloe haven’t resulted in any sales yet, they have generated “a lot of leads”, he said.
He believes the strategy could work well for other agents who specialise in senior communities, where bylaws often prohibit solicitation.
“My business niche in Las Vegas is the senior adult community, so I’m building a team that’s going to work these communities that probably have the same solicitation rules,” he said.
“You never know, we may get more dogs and more vests.
“You have got to be creative in terms of how to connect with people. If they don’t love dogs, I don’t push the dog in their face, and I don’t even hand them a flier,” he added.