I have been reading a lot of blogs/posts in the last month. Many of you bring so many different personalties to the table, but for the most part, each one of you sound real sincere, genuine, and very professional. I have learned so much from many of you in regards to how I should look at business. Yes, I am a loan officer and run my own branch. But our business is very much a like.
What I am trying to accomplish with this blog is how much you respect your profession and how much you care about your image. In my opinion, these are two elements to becoming successful. And I am not talking about judging who you are by what kind of car that you drive or what kind of house that you live in. Or even for the fact on how others perceive who you are....meaning, that you are nice and considerate. I read a few blogs/posts by Broker Bryant, Maybe I'm so successful because I'm sooooo good looking! & Real Estate is about people, not money! Part 2, and he brings to my attention that this guy just really cares about his clients. And in all honesty, reading his posts daily and reading how sincere he comes across, has really kept my focus on how I should treat my clients. Not that I have ever mistreated my clients prior to this. Bryant goes on to say in one of his posts that it's not about the nice house or that nice car.He is happy with his life and what he has accomplished. Well, again, I need to be honest with myself. I love the nice things, but I don't like these so-called toys to impress people. I myself, likes these things for me. And yes, it's an accomplishment. But.... I have to be honest on the other side of the fence, I truly love helping people. The money comes with it. All of this can be said very easily, that I love what I do and I love helping people. But do many of us go the extra mile to do what we say?
I have said this many of times, but I am truly grateful in being a part of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, and learning so much from awesome professionals in the real estate and mortgage industry. And this is not to say that the appraisers, title companies, staggers, and anyone else that I left out, oare not part of this community also. I group them in the real estate category.
But getting back to this post and keeping to the subject line. Yael Warman wrote, What a shame, which talked about realtors being in the top 5 of least trusted professions. Yael is about 2 months new to Active Rain and after reading many of her comments, I feel like she could be a strong voice here on Active Rain. We know honesty, ethics, knowledge, customer service, networking, respect for your peers, and so much more.... can be a big part of our business. But your image to your clients is extremely important. And this image can hold these certain values mentioned above. And from what I am learning about myself because of Active Rain is that confidence is a key ingredient to my image. Staying firm in your beliefs, but accepting constructive criticism from your clients and peers, and using this to grow your business to the next level. I think this is harder for many of us to accept, without admitting to others or even to yourself. There have been a few people that I have met here on Active Rain that have written to me personally, giving me advice. And I truly appreciate that.
Conclusion:
As many of us know, referrals should be a large part of our business. How do we go about these referrals? I have read so many posts on capturing new business, drip campaigns, asking for referrals that George Souto wrote about in a post, educating clients, and yes...being honest. And what I have gathered about myself is that I am so passionate about the mortgage industry that I this can be seen by the clients that speak to me. And by being a voice here on Active Rain, I am challenging more of you that don't write often, to just open up and talk about yourself and your business practices. Another person who I think will be a new voice on AR, Renee Burrows, who seems to voice her opinions...and always has some good pointers in her posts.
In regards to this challenge. Like I have said, it has given me so many different perspectives to look at, which has made my current business much stronger. Yes, it takes a lot of time to read these posts, but it's well worth it. And one of my goals for 2007 is to add more to my web site, which is under construction because of my new move, and to really advertise this site to get more leads. So many of you on here have shown me so much in regards to web sites and how important that this is to our business. So, how do you view your business? Who you really are and not who you think you are. And how could improve on your image. One last thing, I have learned to be a very active in my town, my local community. Another thing that so many of you have made me more aware of because of your posts and comments that I have read. Thanks.... And a special thanks to Brian Brady, giving me much inspiration in regards to writing and listening to what I have to say. Someone that has said to me, "don't worry what others say, when thinking outside the box". And part of this theme in regards to this post.... Be yourself.
And I wanted to mention so many blogs and or names that have so much good information, but I wanted to keep this short. Sorry in advance if I didn't mention your name. You know who you are....
Posted by 
Hi Jeff... great post as always. I've made many comments about the importance of just being yourself, genuine and real. People and clients in general just seem to bond and connect with us easily that way.
I also wanted to say welcome to the group. I've been reading and learing a lot from your blog since I joined AR a couple of months ago. You're another great example for blogging newbies like me to learn from.