Working smarter, not harder.

At my Rotary lunch today a friend quizzed me about whether I thought it was counter productive to my business to have posted an article about how passé it is to always make the claim to fame about always and forever being "busy, busy, busy."  I appreciated the question and his comments that if he were thinking of a Realtor he'd want a real go getter and thought most in my business would promote "non-stop, barely stopping to eat" sort of image.


I asked him in reply if he would be impressed with a lawyer who was available at a moment's notice, anytime of night or day and would meet up at the 7-11 or wherever was convenient to the client.  What about if your doctor was so rushed he told you about how many surgeries he completed in a week....and you were on his list next?  Would you be happy with other professionals who came across as blisteringly busy?  Or would you want a really, really good professional who took care of themselves and their family and you knew that when they worked with you, they were the best and that you had their total attention?


Would you rather work with someone who was so busy running around they never had time to say, join Rotary?  Or would you rather work with the person who, in addition to community service, also by reason of their community involvement had their finger on the pulse of what was happening and had immediate access to a range of professionals upon whom they can rely?


Do you think you're best served by the hard nosed Realtor who tries to bully a good deal for you or by the strategist who has forged strong and lasting relationships and has established so many connections that they get important information and sneak previews on upcoming properties most haven't even heard about?


Because some Realtors run around like door to door vacuum salesmen does little to promote the sophistication, responsibility and finesse required by the most effective Realtors.


So...don't try to impress me with how busy you are.  That usually sounds to me like someone who's out of control of their own schedule and lifestyle.  Why would I want someone out of control of their own life helping me with one of the most financially significant decisions of my life?  Impress me with how effective you are, with how much time you have to target and understand the needs of clients.


Perhaps Lee Iacocca said it best when taken to task by a middle manager for taking weekends off when he was hired to turn Chrysler Motors around.  His reply:  "how do you expect me to manage a multi-billion dollar company if I can't even manage my own time off?"  Good question!

What you don't say speaks volumes!

Paul Newman said it best in "Cool Hand Luke."  "What we have here is a failure to communicate."


I've got a burr under my saddle about the people who will never speak up or follow through with communication.  If you are in a forum or meeting and don't utter a word....then leave and expound on all your thoughts and concerns to someone a) who wasn't even part of the discussion or b) can't do anything to influence the outcome, who have you served?  Were you afraid of what people would think of you?


GUESS WHAT?  We all have the wonder of what people think about our projects, ideas and suggestions.  And, we'll never know if they never say!  No news is not considered "good news!"  No, not at all!  If someone leaves you hanging and unanswered, no news is usually speculated upon as being anything but good.


Tell the truth, how much do you respect the business person who can't make the hard phone calls or decisions?  Would you rather have someone kindly tell you that they've chosen another Realtor or simply have them fall off the map and then wait until you're blindsided when the "For Sale" sign goes up?  Do you think it's kinder for a lover to have that hard talk about wanting to be "just friends" or for them to simply start avoiding your calls?


How about communication of thanks?  When you go out of your way to gift or do a big favour for someone and they never even take 2 seconds to say thank you, the whole feel good part of the giving is short circuited. 


Don't for one second EVER ASSUME that someone knows what you're thinking.  We don't.  If you won't communicate we assume you're not interested or that something is wrong.  We don't jump to the conclusion that if you haven't answered an e-mail its because everything is running like clockwork.


For some its fear of exposure, for some its neglect or laziness, for some its not understanding how impactful they are but in all cases of poor communication it is just plain rude and a drag on someone, somewhere.


Recently I spent some time speaking with brothers about their father's estate.  They genuinely were glad for my background research on their account and my expert opinion on pricing and strategy.  I thought for sure I would get the listing, but they chose someone else.  But, here's the beauty part....rather than leave me in the dark or feeling "used" they went to the effort of buying a bottle of wine and writing a very heartfelt thank you card to me and dropped it by my office.  They wanted me to know how much they appreciated me and made a tough decision based on a connection that their late father had with another Realtor.  In my heart, I wished them only the best.  And, their communication was tremendously meaningful to me.


By refusing to be vulnerable enough to add our piece and risk censure we essentially are just showing up to the game with bat, ball and glove but choosing to sit on the sideline and hope others think we can play but leave it to them to play the game without us.


Steve Jobs said it best, "stay hungry, stay foolish."  What you have to add is critical.  Don't leave 'em hanging.

Greed and Fear: two top killers of successful Real Estate stories

Ten years ago when I started in this business one of the first bits of real estate wisdom passed down to me was this:  the two things that kill more real estate agreements than anything else are greed and fear.  I can say now, based on experience, this is so true!

Many people are self sabotaging.  While refusing to adjust a price to a point that will result in a sale from a "reasonable" buyer they stay stubborn and fixed.  Greed (and often a very unrealistic sense of possibility) rules the day and the home languishes on the market and becomes "old news" and often finally sells for FAR less than it would have had it come onto the market at a fair price.

Some people think they are going to benefit by investing as little as possible in having their home professionally marketed.  This seller greed usually plays out with a seller offering little to no incentive to professionals to show and sell their home.  As a result, often, they end up selling their home for less than its worth because they haven't had sufficient traffic through to find the right buyer.  By "saving" a few thousand in commission they all too often lose tens of thousands in sale price.  (Helpful hint of the day....if you chose a real estate company/representative who is constantly bragging about how many properties they sell beware that in order to keep notches on their belt they don't under price your home.)

Buyers side of greed looks like the perennial "low ball" buyer.  This is the buyer who wants to offer WAY less than market value.  More often than not, low ball offers blow up, insult the seller and if per chance the agreement ever does come together, the seller will hold out for far more money than they would have accepted if a respectable offer came in to begin with.

How about the number of transactions that fall apart because of an appliance exclusion?  Do you really want to stand on principle and let your dream house get away because the seller wouldn't leave the front loading washer?  My mom had an often repeated saying for such action:  "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face!"

Then there's the fear side!  And, all too often family, friends and neighbours help with this!  Picture a young couple so delighted with an accepted offer on a home they love....they even get a great mortgage rate.  When they share their happy news, imagine someone waiting in the wings with nightmare tales of skyrocketing interest rates, "why back in the late 80's interest rates went about 20%!"  Or other great encouraging tales of the one in ten thousand home sale nightmares.  Way to help the couple sleep and feel good about their choice!  In thinking they are "helping" usually by instilling fear, people are only dream killers.  Anyone working with a trustworthy and experienced Realtor is in good hands; and they have an advocate making sure they are kept out of harm's way with property procedures and inspections along the way.

A friend of mine has a great expression he uses when people start thinking about "worst case scenario,"  he reminds a person to "STOP AWFULIZING!"

There will always be, and should always be, the right amount of care and tension in making decisions about what is often your greatest financial asset.  You do need professional counsel to maximize your financial gain.  But you don't need greedy, dumb approaches.  You don't need to listen to the whisperings of fear mongers, you need solid guidance from a trusted pro.

You most certainly can and should have a peak experience when selling or buying a home!  Just remember the definition of fair market value:  "What a REASONABLE seller and a REASONABLE buyer will agree upon for price."  Let reason rule and you will be both happy AND right!