As a real estate agent, I play an integral role of a caregiver. As I get to know my clients and build business relationships, I begin to grow attached personally. My goal is for everything to go smooth and I strive to do the best job possible- because at the end of each successful real estate transaction, a new friendship usually begins.
But, what happens when things don't go as smooth as I might have had in mind? Perhaps there is an occasional client who gets a little stressed out and easily frustrated. Problems can sometimes arise when the other party in a transaction becomes difficult to deal with - there is no way to easily control the other party to a transaction. The lender can sometimes scrutinize things. The home inspection can cause both parties to have to re-negotiate. No matter how hard we strive for smooth, it can get ugly and as one thing leads to another - it can also lead to stress.
Sure, some people can become tempormental when so much money is at stake. A real estate transaction can only go as smooth as the personalities involved - buyer, seller, buyer's agent, seller's agent - and, in New York each party has their own attorney. And, let's not forget the loan representative and the home inspector.
One important thing I have learned as a real estate agent is how to identify and work with different personality types. And, it's helpful to understand that not everybody has the same coping skills. I try not to wear my feelings on my sleeves when occasionally somebody gets a little testy. Chalk it up to human nature, especially when it comes to the stress that money can cause for some people.
As Realtors, when we enter into a business relationship and it's midway through a transaction- we are in it for better or for worse. As caregivers, we must find it in ourselves to be forgiving and to continue serving and caring for our clients as we look out for their best interest - even if they have snapped at us or have gotten a little frustrated by the experience of buying and selling. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. Not always does everything go perfectly. This is real estate. But, we must always put our clients feelings before ours. Our job is to listen and show empathy.
Empathy - Pronunciation: \em-pə-thē\ Function: noun
1: the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it2: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.
It's important to remember that everybody handles stress differently. For a Realtor dealing with a stressed out client, a little empathy goes a long way. And, this is what makes a business relationship transform into a possible lifetime friendship - and, it can turn that one client into a repeat client or referral source. We must remember that WE are the caregivers.
To gain friendship and win their trust, we must grow sensitive to our clients needs and feelings. We need to handle them and their transaction with a warm heart, warm words and SUNBEAM hands.
Sunbeam hands?
The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. ... there are those whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. - Helen Keller The Story of My Life, pt. 1, ch. 23 (1903).
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