Beginner's mind.
Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki brought this notion to full flower when he said - In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.
For more than 10 years I have assisted buyers and seller in the Chicago and North Shore real estate markets with their real estate transactions. The trust placed in me by my clients since I became a Realtor has placed me among the highest echelon of real estate brokers associated with the Chicago Association of Realtors.
But no matter what knowledge or expertise I have aggregated in the last 10 years for me to successfully do my job I have to approach each moment, each client and each transaction without preconceptions, judgments, biases or arrogance.
Beginner's mind.
This doesn't mean that I have to don a mask of false humility, bowing meekly to my clients like milquetoast. It simply means that by adopting an attitude of possibility and flexibility I can more appropriately respond to my clients' needs whether they are buyers or sellers. It means that I won't respond by rote or rigidly reply to the wants, desires, needs or aspirations of my clients.
This approach and mentality finds the light of day in a variety of ways. For instance this past weekend my beginner's mind married expertise with possibilities by hammering out electronic marketing pieces for my Bucktown condo and Andersonville townhome listings in which I then "footprinted" online to propel these listings higher in the google orbit for relevant search terms.
And so Sunday as I prepped for my Andersonville open house I fired up iWorks, selected a couple of pictures from iPhoto, joined them to highly compelling text, exported the piece as a PDF which I then uploaded to scribd.com (and slideshare.net) while adding appropriate search terms which nudged the beast into the very visible realm to online real estate consumers.
And so for "andersonville open house" we settled comfortably at google page two while for "andersonville townhome" we there we were several times on pages 1, 2 and 3.
The end goal of the exercise is gaining greater visibility toward market traction and finally transaction. The approach we utilize, our ongoing marketing combined with pricing that reflects the realities of the current market, urges us toward this goal. And so with the Andersonville townhome at $379,000 (under the $435,000 in price of the buyers from three years ago), its location, quality and intuitive integration to the current market, we have a tremendous commodity sparking interest among a variety of consumers seeking a single family home, condo or townhome.
And our Bucktown duplex, priced nearly $100,000 under what my clients paid when they purchased (now at $429,000), offers a two-level slice of heaven in a great location with upgraded finishes and a truly wondrous private rooftop deck. Again, it responds affirmatively to both inventory available and how the market has performed in the Bucktown area.
The point though is that the foundation beneath our activities is beginner's mind. At The Real Estate Lounge Chicago we take nothing for granted, approaching each moment in the process and the relationship with our buyers and sellers as a moment to make a positive first impression, as an opportunity to both seize the day and make our clients so-called "raving" fans.
It seems to be working. To find out first hand or if you have question about a property or want to see a listing, don't hesitate to contact me at 773.848.9241.
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