The What If Factor

What ifss makes me aware of the situation..

spot on.......plan for and address problems BEFORE they occur and if/when they happen....BOOM....it gets resolved quickly.....

Good post---good not only in real estate but life as well.  Thanks for sharing.

I guess I am torn about this one. I like to think of the "What Ifs" in a positive way....What if someone walks into my Open House and wants to buy a house or that house? I believe the more you think about the negative "What ifs", the more negative things WILL come to pass. Like attracts like. positive thoughts attract positive things and actions. Recommended reading, The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.

We actually do plan for the 'what ifs'. It's good business planning to do so. I'm not saying be paranoid or over reaching but there is nothing wrong with a little preplanning now & again.  After all as agents, that's what we do for our clients right?

You are so right!  There are realtors everywhere that didn't react to any of the changes that started to happen.  And now that things are so much different here in Phoenix than they were 5 years ago, you can bet that they will be more prepared at the first inkling of it next time!  Great post!

Being proactive and thinking about risk mitigation is so important.

Lou, very good post.   I agree that using standard operating proceedures will help anyone to build in best practices, take out guesswork, increase consistency, etc.  But, there is aslo a point where trying to address every "what if" scenario becomes unproductive.  I believe in using the Pareto Principle (i.e. the 80/20 rule) to try to address the 20% of things that cause 80% of my "issues"! 

Have a great day! 

Lou, very good post.   I agree that using standard operating proceedures will help anyone to build in best practices, take out guesswork, increase consistency, etc.  But, there is aslo a point where trying to address every "what if" scenario becomes unproductive.  I believe in using the Pareto Principle (i.e. the 80/20 rule) to try to address the 20% of things that cause 80% of my "issues"! 

Have a great day! 

I have a background in Risk Management.  The "What if" question is a very big one that we should all ask when making plans for the future.

This is similar to what I ask my prospective clients when they are deciding who to work with....what if they do (choose me), and what if they don't (choose me).  These are two questions you need to make all leads ask themselves when they choose who to work with.  Your presentation or offering needs to have these two asnwers clearly spelled out for them.

The ONLY constant in life is change. Being prepared ahead of time is easy if with some forethought and planning.

Prior

Proper

Planning

Prevents

PeePee

Poor

Performance...is that about it?

What if I called one more realtor

What if I worked one more hour

What if I send one more Flyer

What if I knock on one more door?

Dear Lou,

It is good to be prepared, but you can drive yourself crazy too.

Lou, I'm going to be the spoiler here. Too many "what ifs" can cause needless worry and major stress. What if the pest inspector finds a termite problem? What if the appraisal doesn't come in at full price? I tell my clients to not worry ... lets cross that bridge IF we come to it. And here in California it isn't what if we have an earthquake, it's when the next earthquake happens.

It is a great thing to be prepared, but too much worrying isn't good, either! There has to be a balance. I agree with Cynthia, above, where I tell my clients "let's deal with that IF it happens". Great post!