Adapting to changing environments and prospering is not easy. The real estate market decline that began about five years ago took my market by surprise. Top producing agents who thought they were infallible were packing up their shops and looking for full-time jobs. Others were standing by the wayside, clutching their license waiting for things to "get back to normal." They had no concept or desire to deal in the marketplace the economy had brought us. They refused to learn or deal with Short Sales. Meanwhile, the writing was on the wall that these beasts would logically take the place of REOs. And in Northern Virginia they have.
I did what I had to do to survive. I had a mortgage to pay. I had become a real estate agent in 2005 and didn't know any better when it came to poo-pooing Short Sales. And thank God I didn't have that predisposition. I wouldn't have been able to survive, much less flourish, if I had crossed my arms and pouted while waiting for the landscape to change again. It's been four years since I took my first Short Sale and there is no end in sight. And honestly, I'm surprised by the agents that are still standing by the sidelines waiting for things to change to something they can deal with, rather than adapting to what's there.
If the economic downturn that turned the nationwide real estate market on it's ear had been a water shortage like the wildebeests endure in the savannah, those that waited to for things to get back to normal would be DEAD. Survival is a basic skill when it comes to life and death, but not so much when it comes to making business decisions and surviving unfavorable conditions.
As it turns out, I learned by taking Stefan Swanepoel's animal quiz that the traits that helped me not only survive, but thrive in this new real estate marketplace, were those traits found in the giraffe. That's right! I'm standing tall in the world of Short Sales in the Northern Virginia real estate market thanks to the traits I have in common with the giraffe.
The giraffe is all about grace. Not exactly what I expected to be my strong suit. That grace is lived out time and again in my real estate practice through the compassion needed to deal with a home owner in financial distress. I knew if I specialized in Short Sales I would not go hungry. I didn't know that the personality trait of grace would multiply my business many times over by Short Sale clients referring me to others they knew in economic distress.
That same giving to and nurturing others mentality has helped me develop strong business relationships with other agents in the business that I can lean on in very busy times. I've been able to mentor a handful of agents that are able to represent my business skills with clients that I do not have time to help. Developing those relationships has been my own saving grace as I get busier and busier.
There's a lot of interesting things the graceful giraffe represents. I think Stefan summed it up best by saying, "Grace represents style, finesse, kindness, and above all, doing the right thing - a quality that will always advance our purpose in life, no matter what it is."
I strongly recommend downloading and reading those first two chapters of Stefan's book. Heck, I've already got my copy pre-ordered on Amazon. And explore how the lesson in the first two chapters translates to your business by participating in Bob's Active Rain Surviving Your Serengeti Challenge.
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