A few days ago I received a message on my voice mail at the office.  The name was hard to make out and the caller was wanting me to call back when I had a chance.

I called back and was pleasantly surprised to find it is a man that Paris and I had met in and around the Santa Clarita Valley.  If you are a local in Santa Clarita, you have probably seen him also.  The last time we saw him was about 6 month's ago when we saw him in one of the local shopping centers with his beloved wife.

He told me that he had been on the market for 1 year.  I just listened while he vented about the "other" agents and Real Estate companies.  After he was done I did not even go down the path of discounting others in this industry.  I did not offer feedback or comment on the items he was displeased with concerning other agents activity or non-activity. 

Paris and I were absolutely honored that he would call us, even if it was after two different companies had his property listed. 

Probably more so in this particular case.  He has interviewed over 17 agents between the first time the property was placed on the market and the first time it expired.  Talk about competition.  (I never knew there could be so many number #1 selling agents in the Santa Clarita Valley...Grinning, but that is what the majority of the 17 told him.  They were each number one...)  

Paris and I never expect that anything in this business is rightfully ours.  We are very humbled when people choose us to represent them in their Real Estate dealings. 

I am the first to realize that there are usually three sides to every story, Person 1, Person 2, and the truth... He also told me that the most current listing had just expired and he was wanting to see if Paris and I could help.  I set the appointment at our office and it was a date.

The most important issue in the above scenario is making sure the seller understands why his property did not sell.  But getting into the bashing of other agents is no where I want to be.  We all have our tactics and ways in which we deal with our clients and prospective clients.  However, it is important to remember that we are all in this together.

The purposeful balance that must be maintained between being true to ourselves, our clients, and our fellow agents, is something that will take experience, time and success.