First, a big "thank you" to the four people who responded to yesterday's blog. It is so validating to know that someone is reading my entries. And to clear up some confusion, my "back-stabbing incident" occurred in 1977 when I made the move to Changing Times Real Estate. I am happy to say that I have currently been with this group of agents since that 1977 move even though we have been purchased 3 times and are now Prudential California Realty.

Back to the summer of '77---remember Smokey and the Bandit, platform shoes, disco balls and Ford Pintos? Well, that's the real estate era we are discussing and I sure had a lot to learn, even though I didn't think so at the time. I made the move to Changing Times Real Estate where I found a great mix of young go-getters and seasoned professionals. The managment duties had just been taken over by a young man in his twenties named John Wolf, a former IRS agent who had become a wonderkin in real estate sales. John had a very dynamic, charasmatic personality and was a welcome change from my former environment. Our broker was mostly into investments and was never around, so I learned from John(who had become a manager with only one year of selling under his belt) and the veterans on site.

I remember one day when I was on the phone with a client and received some of the best advice from an agent in her 50's named Mickey Pribble. I was on the phone on an up-call, stammering and hemming and hawing as I searched for answers. I hung up the phone when Mickey, a top agent told me that she overheard that I might be having some difficulty. Mickey told me,"don't ever be afraid to say to a client,'I don't know the answer to your question, but I will find out and get right back to you.'" That one phrase made me more money than I can imagine and gave me permission not to believe that I had to know everything, instantly.