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!
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment