As often times happens here on AR, I read a post and it has inspired me to write a post on that or a similar subject. This is the case here. I read a post this morning by Jennifer Allan about a potential buyer calling her on a Sunday mourning to show them property.
While I subscribe to her blog and like a lot of what she has to say about selling real estate, I'm already on record (Does An Agent Have A Right To A Personal Life) as having said that I think that one of the biggest problems with real estate as a "profession" is that we, as agents, don't require that the public treat us as professionals.
As I see it, the main reason that we take calls at 7:30 on a Sunday morning is because of fear. Fear that these people will move on to another Realtor who IS willing to answer than phone, no matter when they call.
Sadly, many times this is simply an economic reality. The public knows that agents are a dime a dozen and they treat us as such. Very similar to somebody who calls several different cab companies, taking the one who arrives the soonest and to hell with the other guys who are burning their gas driving to pick you up.
This being the case, maybe I should agree with Jennifer about being available at all possible times in an effort to provide "Superior Customer Service", but I don't.
The reason why I don't agree with her is that I've ran long distances before and as anybody who has ever ran a long race knows, you've got to pace yourself. If you work "too" hard at the beginning of a race, you'll fade near the end.
With real estate it's the same thing.
Real Estate offices across the country are full of young eager beavers who are out there to set the world on fire! They get up early and go to bed late. If somebody calls them on a Sunday morning to go see property in an hour, they're out of bed and in the shower. Their husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, buddies who they were suppose to meet be damned, they're going to go sell some real estate!
Come back to these same real estate offices 3 years later and you'll still see the eager beavers, but you won't see the same ones. Not only are the other ones 3 years older, they're also out of the business! One or two divorce/breakups and a whole bunch of these "emergency" clients standing them up or otherwise not being appreciative of their efforts and a lot of these agents come to the conclusion that selling real estate isn't all that it's cracked up to be. A lot of them leave the business totally.
The ones who are going to make it are going to be the ones that realize that it's a long race. Yeah, you've got to work hard, but you've also got to balance things. In my experience, most of the things that we think are emergencies really aren't. Sometimes it's lack of planning on somebody's part or maybe something is over looked, but even then, most things can be worked out during normal business hours.
If it truly is an emergency, then sometimes you do have to put in 110% in order to get the deal done, but even then it's important to remember that NOBODY can put in 110% ALL of the time! If you find yourself in a position where you're burning the candle at both ends, then remember that you're going to have to balance that effort out with some down time. If you find yourself in those "emergency" situations too often, then you have to ask yourself what you are doing wrong?
Personally, I have set "office" hours. At 10:00AM to 8:00 PM M-F, they are such that most people should be able to contact me if they need, even if they have to work. Weekends are by appointment and dedicated to "new" business (i.e. showing property or taking loan applications). Will I answer the phone outside of these hours or make an exception for a client? Of course I will. If the only time a client can meet their building inspector is on a Saturday morning or if I'm sitting there trying to come up with a reason to blow my workout off, then of course I'll answer my phone or deal with "old" business, but I attempt to not make it a habit.
The big thing to remember is that it's a long race and being consistent is more important than being fast!
R.B. "Bob" Mitchell
ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.
Bob Mitchell is president of ValueList Real Estate Services, St. Louis' largest discount/full-service real estate and mortgage company. If you would like to find out more about Bob, ValueList or our flat-fee listing program, please feel free to visit our web site at valuelistre.com
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BOB - I think that many of us get caught up in the rat race and forget to treat ourselves as professionals. In a business that tends to be feast or famine, it is understandable why this happens. The best solution is to try and build a steady stream of business so that there are no "slow" times which leads to desperate times.