An interesting thing happened (at least to me) on our company's tour of homes yesterday. A co-Realtor made mention of my socks. Her actual comment was something to the effect of..."I see you wear fun socks too!" She continued to say, "I finally started wearing my fun socks again after two years."
Initially, I didn't think anything of it...but, this morning, this comment still was in the forefront of of my mind. Something as simple as my socks. Most would probably think nothing of a comment like that. Just general chitchat while looking at homes.
However, as I sit back and look at my socks, I realize that it is a reflection of who I am. You see, I've NEVER been one that fits into a particular "mold". When I was interviewing for my first job out of college with Pillsbury in Minneapolis, I was very individualistic. So much so, that when I was called for an interview, I decided to wear my peach linen suit with frilly blouse underneath it. I knew what "Dress for Success" in the late 80's, (where the women dress like men and wear navy and black suits), but, that really wasn't for me. So, excitedly, I walked into the Pillsbury Center and interviewed with my dream company in my beautiful peach linen suit. To be honest, I almost wasn't hired because my "would be" Manager wasn't sure that I understood the whole "Dress for Success" concept. But I did get offered the job and had a very successful run in a "corporate" environment.
Where am I going with this, you might ask? As a Realtor, I ask myself continually...what makes me different from the next guy/gal. We all do Open Houses, send out letters, make phone calls. How can I stand out from my competition? I am a "why" person, so even though many Realtors continue to operate as they did 10 years ago, I continually ask "why"? If it doesn't make sense, then I don't do it. Sometimes it's an intangible, but other times, it is how we dress, how we act, how we develop relationships that is a direct relationship to being comfortable in your own skin and having people accept you for who you are.
Let's get back to the socks. My title implicates that I hate wearing socks, and I truly do. I don't like shoes either. As a very young child, I was known to venture out into the snow without shoes or socks on. My parents would have to put "workman-style" boots on me that would lace half-way up my calves and then double-knot them. As an adult, and looking back, I can see that I work my business the same way. I don't like the one size fits all approach. All Realtors are not the same and my buyers and sellers are not the same.
As an entrepreneur that happens to be a Realtor, I've realized that I need to continue to let my clients know who Terri is. I am about so much more than getting the deal done. It's about enjoying what I do and working with people that I want to work with and want to work with me. I get it that not all people will care about my "fun" socks. But, what they should know is that those socks are a reflection of who I am...I work outside the box. I am not a one-size fits all Realtor. I am someone who treats their clients as individualistically as I would like to be treated.
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