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 »
Crystal Webster
By Crystal Webster
I’ve been to a national office supply store what seems to be about every day this month in an attempt to get ready for the spring and summer months. Occasionally, I purchase the wrong item and it takes me a little bit to return it to the store.
I returned a day planner the other day because it just wasn’t going to work for me. I present the cashier with my item and my receipt and she immediately tells me that I purchased the planner 32 days ago so the receipt was no longer valid, BUT she could do the return without the receipt and just put it on a gift card. Seeing as that’s how I paid for it in the first place, and the fact that I’d just turn around and spend it, I had no problem.
After about 10 minutes of fumbling with the computer system she tells me that I’m getting a refund of about $35. “That’s great! But, I only spent $25. See, here’s my receipt.” I was politely reminded that my receipt was no longer valid because it was more than 30 days old and I would just have to accept the return as is, or keep the item.
Well, of course, I took the cash and went about my day.
This got me thinking about how I run my business and if there are things that I do “just because that’s how they’re done” or “because that’s how I’ve always done them.” I realized just the other day I spent three visits with a seller trying to get all the paperwork put together when it would have been more convenient for everyone if we just did it through Docusign.com. I realized I can be way too eager and accommodating when it comes to meeting people places (friends and business acquaintances alike).
Are there things you do in your business that might not be the most productive or profitable?
Crystal Webster is a REALTOR® in the Kansas City area. Visit her at www.kcyoungprofessionals.com and www.theheritagehometeam.com.
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