In real estate, the ‘Golden Rule' rules!
I heard recently of a book called ‘The Go-Giver', where the premise of the book is that in order to be successful in sales, you should put others needs, and desires first, instead of your own. You know, the Golden Rule we (some of us) learned as children? Since I have heard it said that the general public considers real estate professionals to be just a step above car salesman, I can see where this kind of sentiment is coming from. Whereas I have found most real estate salespersons to have entered the field with altruistic motives, it's not a stretch to believe that some have ‘fallen from the path of good intent'.
I am a little astonished that we need someone to write books to remind us that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated. Has it come to this? Like this is some new, brilliant concept that the world is waking up to. Or is it simply something many have forgotten in their ‘Go Taker' mentality, as this author calls it?
As the author insists, when you put the other person's (your clients) needs above your own, then you will most likely come out ahead yourself. In real estate it makes perfect sense to put your clients needs first because this is a business where you get the privilege of helping someone find their ‘dream home', their ‘first home' or their investment for their future. All of these are lofty goals, and our priority should be to treat each client like we would want someone else to treat our mother, father, sister, or brother. Real estate is very strongly based on referral business, and your character determines your reputation!
In other words, "It's not about you, it's about them."
So, how can we apply Go-Giver principles to a real estate business?
•· We can take such good care of our clients that they can't wait to refer us to everyone they come across whose looking for the ‘best' agent
•· We can be completely up front with our sellers about the current market and what the market will bear, instead of taking the listing at a price that will never sell just to get a listing
•· We can do our homework ahead of time with our buyers and help look at the houses that will suit their needs instead of letting them look thru hundreds of listings hoping they will find the right ones to look at
•· We can provide clear explanation of our commission structure to sellers with full disclosure as to what the extent of our services are that we provide for them
•· We can help buyers decide if this is the right time for them to buy instead of trying to push them into buying without ‘counting the cost'
For me this is not a new concept, and I hope it isn't for you either. For all of us, the ‘Golden Rule' should be the ‘Rule', and not the ‘exception!'
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