Your Reputation May be Your Best Source of Business

I was reading a post from William Feela titled, Why do you tip your Server.  This blog post got me thinking about how treating others will impact your business.

Looking back I can think of many examples in my business.  Here are three that stand out.

1. I have sold three homes through the employees of the Jack-in-the-Box across the street from my office.  One of the employees there got her license and joined my company.  We recently sold a co-listing together and help each other. 
2. I have had 5 transactions so far with the folks at the car dealer where I bought my vehicles.  I am working on two more possible listings at this time and have received a few more referrals.
3. I teach chess at the area rec. center and am president of the state chess association.  I have lost count on how many transactions and referrals I have gotten through the chess community.  The car dealership connection actually started with a chess player, who is a salesman there.

There are two things about the business I have received from these are other community sources.

1. I never push my business when I am out and about.  No pushing my business cards, etc.
2. I am not stealth. I wear custom golf shirts with my business embroidered on them and have signs on my vehicles.  I also do a very good job of marketing in my community. Everyone knows who I am and what I do for a living.

 I am not a pushy salesman; I hate them.  I do what I call passive aggressive marketing.  I make sure that everyone knows what I do for a living and do not push it.  I treat people the way I would like to be treated and volunteer a lot in my community.  The net results are that my business has seen steady growth when many others are struggling and I have made many great friends.

I wrote a blog post in January 2007: I am a Passive Aggressive Marketer. (if you look at the mall sign, you may notice that the picture was taken 200lbs ago).

Back to William's post that got me thinking down this path.  Something as simple as an extra buck here and there for good service, may one day translate into a great client or a wonderful source of referrals.  You never know where you next client may be coming from.  So treat everyone as if they are the most important person in the world and don't be stealth.