Toby Boyce

By Toby Boyce

I rolled up on the house like I always do, peering at addresses to verify the location with where the GPS was placing the destination.

However, this time I missed the house. And that’s where this story took a possibly tragic detour. With four years of experience processing broker price opinions I’ve developed a safety routine that goes back to my days working as a bouncer.

But on this day – ironically the same day that the Ohio Association of REALTORS® Communications Committee of which I’m vice chair introduced a motion for a year-long safety reminder and training course – I veered from my course of action and elected to walk back to the house for the photos. As I was taking a photo of the front of the house a tenant appeared at the door and inquired as to why I was there. I responded but obviously not to his liking as he asked me to leave and displayed a hand gun.

I walked briskly away from the scene before the realty of the situation hit me. I found a comfortable parking lot and just shook for about five minutes before getting myself back together. As the hours progressed I continued to think about the situation and what happened and how I should have handled the situation – and how I’d done just about everything wrong.

I’ve defused a lot of dangerous situations with words and avoided fisticuffs on most occasions (and I’m sure I deserved to get popped more often than I didn’t) with several key techniques. The YPN model is to share and work with each other to develop better agents. So, my five key safety techniques are:

1.       Have a Game Plan – What will you do if you are put into a situation where you become uncomfortable? If you can’t answer that question right now, then you need to sit down and work out a plan – this is one time where failing to plan can be more damaging than just failing it could get you robbed or worse. You can’t be prepared for every situation, but if you know how to handle that “too friendly” guest at the open house or the angry dog on a BPO then your instincts will lead you in the right direction when it is time to rely on instincts. Continue reading »