Live it. Love it. People who truly love their careers are incredibly fortunate. I happen to be one of the lucky ones who, at an extremely young age, began to love real estate (just a reminder to quickly look at the paper I wrote at age 11 covering what I didn’t like about how my parents’ listing agent was marketing our house).
It was just a fluke that my parents settled in an area before many others who happened to be wealthy. We always had enough to eat and clothes to wear but we were certainly the poor family in town.
I began to be fascinated by all the large houses being built nearby. They had things like five bedrooms, swimming pools, tennis courts, staff quarters, vaulted ceilings and OMG more than one bathroom. That convinced me that a house could be something of beauty. By the time I entered middle school and throughout high school and college, I went to many if not hundreds of open houses. It was fascinating to see how people lived and how much they thought their home was worth. Needless to say I was hooked and lucky enough to plan my dream career. Even after being in the business for decades, the enthusiasm and love I have for real estate continues to be an integral part of my core.
Passion. It’s easy to be passionate about something you truly love. My passion for this business exists in two areas:
First, it is incredibly important to understand what a client goes through physically and emotionally when buying or selling a home. For a Seller, it can be physically draining getting ready to go on the market and having the place look like perfect people live there. One of my roles is to take as much stress as I can off my clients during the process. Before a showing I’ve straightened up numerous kitchens, raked many leaves and yes, cleaned a porcelain bathroom fixture or two. It’s all about making the presence of the property as good as possible.
For Buyers, it is so important to talk about historical trends. I like to focus on what the local market did during five years of recession, the dot com bust and the S&L scandal era. Then I focus with them on what could be done to a property to increase their equity position. I’ve been lucky enough to be asked to go with many clients on shopping expeditions, even years after their purchase, to show them the latest trends in home finishes.
Second, I am extremely passionate about understanding that I must learn new things every single day. It is so important for me to continually perfect my craft. Anyone who thinks they know it all clearly does not.
Empathy. During the 2008 recession I was asked to speak to an audience of about 9,000 real estate agents. I enjoy public speaking and realize I do much better if I don’t rehearse. I think it’s important to speak both from the heart as well as provide logic from the brain.
So I started off asking the audience how many of them had purchased or sold their own personal real estate during the previous five years. It was obvious that less than 5% raised their hands. I pointed out that the few agents that raised their hands might have a higher probability of a more successful transaction than those who had not. It’s incredibly important for an agent to have empathy for what their clients have to go through when they are selling or buying a home. After all, one cannot effectively sell a widget without clear knowledge of what it takes to develop a widget. In order for agents to understand the business completely we have to be aware of what a client actually has to go through in order to reach the goal. If the agent has empathy, it’s much more likely that the transaction is highly successful.
