Jason O'Neil
By Jason O’Neil
I blame FedEx, but there are many culprits contributing to the new mentality of instant access. Instant access has become normal. Companies and individuals provide instant access for a few simple reasons: 1.) They can; 2.) If they don’t, someone else will; 3.) Customers demand it.
So where does that leave us?
There’s an old cartoon of a man sitting at his desk and his presumed boss pokes his head in and hollers: “What are you doing?” To which the man replies, “Thinking.” Boss, “Well, I don’t pay you to think.” Our guy reveals a dumbfounded look.
But thinking takes time and can’t be achieved instantly, and frankly, I don’t want it to be. When I hire a professional for any job, I want them to truly take their time and craft the right solution, not just the fastest solution. When the tables are turned and I am hired as the professional, I want to take my time and truly craft a One Size Fits You solution; a solution that my clients know is tailored to what they’ve hired me for. But this is a delicate balancing act because, as I mentioned, thinking takes time.
I think the most important thing is to remind ourselves that we need time to reflect and to think, to be away from any screen, even if only during lunch or a couple of hours in the morning. It’s these hours or days that keep us sharp, that keep us on our toes, that allow us to think.
Next time someone calls/e-mails/texts you with a problem, don’t feel compelled to spit out an answer. Let them know you’ll “think about the solution” and call them back. They and you will genuinely appreciate it.
Jason O’Neil is an associate broker with Encore Sotheby’s International Realty in Indianapolis. Connect with him at jasononeilrealtor.com.
Chris Nichols
By Chris Nichols
There’s an interesting story from the Middle East I want to share with you. A dying man leaves his 17 camels to his three sons. To the first son he leaves half, to the second son he leaves a third, and to the third son he leaves a ninth. Well as the three sons do the math they find that none of their portions divide very well into 17 camels. Arguments ensue and before blood is shed they decide to consult a wise old woman who tells them she’s not sure if she can solve their problem, but instead she offers them her one camel, thus giving the three sons 18 camels. This gives the first son 9 camels, the second son gets 6 camels, and the third son gets 2 camels. Well… 9+6+2 = 17 camels, so the three sons return the 18th camel to the wise old lady!
In real estate, life, and in leadership positions I often find myself searching for that 18th camel. It’s interesting how we as humans tend to focus our time, energy and thoughts on the problem versus the solution. Getting to yes shouldn’t be as hard as we tend to make it on ourselves.
I used to work at The Little Nell hotel at the base of Aspen Mountain in Colorado. This amazing resort hotel is owned by the Aspen Skiing Company and is rated a 5 star/5 diamond property. Guests pay top dollar for just a standard (insert luxurious) room. With that, they expect amazing service (insert treatment). One of the challenges posed to us as employees was to never, ever tell a guest ‘NO’. This gave us the unique opportunity of always finding ways to say yes, or offering different options/solutions that kept us away from the dreaded ‘NO’. Unfortunately, that experience was many moons ago and I have sadly fallen away from the practice of always finding the yes or solution and avoiding the ‘NO’. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
More than five years ago, I had agents take a test before they worked with me, which tested their sales skills and emotional resilience. I had a couple agents making over $80,000-$120,000 a year who had tested in the “Find a new career; you shouldn’t be in real estate” category. Where are they today? Not in real estate. What seemed like success years ago, today seems like it was all just a pipe dream. A rough economy weeds out those who shouldn’t be in the business and makes the others stronger.
The test showed that agents that had strong emotional resilience have what it takes and they would stay in the business and make the most money. So what is emotional resilience and what does it take to have emotional resilience?
An example of weak emotional resilience, an actual story of one of the agents above who tested poorly:
One day, Agent X came into the office and had just found out that their client/buyer ended up writing an offer on a home that Agent X had shown them the day before, however, the client wrote it up with a different REALTOR®. It literally ruined Agent X’s week. So Agent X called up the other agent, chewing them out, saying they stole the client when it was Agent X who took them through the home. The result was just a bunch of bitter feelings toward each other and an unproductive week for Agent X.
An example of strong emotional resilience:
Just this past month, an agent of mine had almost the same thing happen. My agent had been working with a client for a long time but apparently others had too. An agent from another brokerage called my agent up mad, stating we stole their client when they took the client to and through a home. (There were no agencies on either side.) My agent responded, “there is plenty of business out there for all of us so let’s do what the client wants. If the client wants to use me, I’m happy to pay you a referral fee for your work and effort. If the client uses you, I would expect the same.” The other agent perked up and agreed. The two agents communicated during the entire transaction, our agent closed the deal and the other agent got a referral fee. It was a win-win for all. Continue reading »
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