I remember driving to my first job...I was a junior in high school, and my knees were shaking as I drove to that Bowling establishment to begin my first hours as a 'porter'...that's a fancy word for emptier of filthy ashtrays and general housekeeper!

Fast forwarding a few months to where I had become familiar with my duties and surroundings at 'the lanes'...I began to befriend some of the regular customers of the establishment...bowling is somewhat like Active Rain...addicting for some!

One of those frequent bowlers was a beautiful blonde haired young lady...But she was much older than I...she was about 24, I was just 16...a whole generation apart (to a 16 year old). She became the older sister I never had, as I became her younger brother...we kidded, joked, needled, and had a very friendly relationship...I always looked forward to her bowling times, as they were quite scheduled through the week!

Months rolled by, and I felt bold enough to get up enough nerve to ask her why she didn't seem to have guys hanging all over her...I'm not exaggerating when I say she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever known...and when you got to know her, she had an excellent personality to go along with it! She was very shy, and very reserved...never flaunting her beauty or carriage!

Her answer was, that most guys felt that because of her 'looks' she was already spoken for...already dating steadily and regularly...and could choose any guy she wanted...truth was, she rarely dated and found it difficult to communicate her desire to make friends, especially of the opposite sex! Guys were 'afraid' to call her!

Now what does this have to do with real estate...a lot!!! Excuse the pun!

What kind of image do we portray? How do others see us? What do others think of us? Are others making important decisions based on their limited knowledge of us? These are important considerations for us to think about! Making initial contact in our industry is very important, both financially and for our success rate!

I wrote a recent post that dealt with the question, "who am I"...this post rather deals with the possible dilemma. "who do others think I am" or "how do others see me"!

Of course I'm looking at myself and my own life experiences to handle this dilemma...there is no problem for those who already know me...not that I am such a great guy...but I am 'approachable' as those in my sphere of influence will tell you. But I truly concern myself with reaching out 'gently' to those who have recently come to meet me...making a point to not let my opinionated human nature take over.

I want to help people...and I put no time restraints on developing business relationships...however long it takes to develop those trusting and respectful relationships, I'm willing to operate on the timeline of others!

My business philosophy has never been to 'wait for the phone to ring', but to 'make the phone ring'...No one owes me a living...I have to have confidence that I have something to offer, something to sell, something of value to customers and clients...then go out and market me!!!

No matter what field you are in, especially sales, you are always 'selling yourself'...before someone will buy or even consider buying your product or service, they have to be sold on you!!!

I don't know how my friend at the bowling lanes turned out...but that experience has been the cause of hours of reflection throughout my entire career...and to this day I aim for 'transparency' and 'openness'...hoping those first impressions that are lasting are good ones!!!