Realtors Don't Socialize Enough
Real estate can be quite a lonely business. You are an independent contractor which means that you hook up with a particular Broker and Agency where you work ... but in reality, you could do much the same thing wherever you might want to be. On our particular little barrier island, Ocean City (NJ), we have almost 600 real estate agent right now ... quite a number, but we had a few more several years ago when we were in our 4-5 year boom period. Now an agent meets a lot of people ... in the office, in the neighborhood, downtown, at open houses, etc. And obviously, you do also meet other realtors. But mostly, you see those in your office. If you are in a smaller office, you don't really see all that many agents.
My theory is that more must be done to get agents involved in a variety of things ... but in particular, social events. Continuing with my theory, as one gets to know one another better; the relationships on a personal level improve as well. Since we are all so very busy, it becomes quite difficult to engage and connect on much of a personal relationship. That was similar when I was a "High School Principal," only one of about 18 in our county in Pennsylvania (when I worked in the real world).
So what can you do about it? For a number of years, I started a "5:05 Club" that met weekly somewhere between 5:00 and 5:30 (the starting time). We simply sent out a schedule inviting other real estate agents, title company people, insurance people, mortgage people, etc. It was quite successful with the number of people shifting between 4-8 to as many as 15-20 depending on the week. Sometimes a number of people stayed for dinner. We rotated to a variety of bars and restaurants throughout the area.
I now belong to a "wine-making group" composed of about 8-10 guys, with about 4 or more being real estate agents. We obviously don't meet as often as the other group, but we do have a number of work and social activities throughout the year. We particular enjoy drinking our own homemade wine.
Since we live in a resort community on a barrier island, it becomes quite difficult to get around during the busy summer months. Traffic into and off of the island from Friday through Sunday can be a mess. So many of us in our agency started to have a social gathering (moving from house-to-house as the location) where the host would have some light faire, others would bring a dish or appetizer, and everyone was responsible for their drink of choice. This has worked out quite well as a summer activity.
I'm not sure we can solve the problem that I have identified. But there is a tendency in our busy lives to isolate ourselves too much. Watching too much television, staying at home alone, avoiding people, etc. I know that our local Board of Realtors tries to arrange a number of meaningful social events ... many are successful (as a recent Friday evening activity we just attended). But others work ... but not enough agents attend. It's something we should all be doing because it would be good for all of us ... and it would be good for "real estate" as well. Dap
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