Taking a cue from this month's REALTOR magazine in the article on "Recession Busting Techniques," I am following the suggestion of writing a paragraph about what makes me a good REALTOR, or as they say real estate practitioner.  It all goes back to my mission statement, which is a derivative of The Golden Rule.  My mission is to provide the same quality of real estate services to my clients as I would expect to receive. 

When I first went into the real estate business, my broker told me that real estate is relational.  It is building relationships with people.  If you can do that, the people will come back to you and refer their friends and family.  Well, that was right in line with what I believed anyway.  I came from a state government service-oriented background.  I am myself with people.  "What you see is what you get."  No phony sales scripts for me!  I hate them.  A client once told me he had listened to me very carefully over the course of the afternoon as I showed houses, and he did not hear the "canned" speech from me.  Everybody can spot it!  They might help some newbies learn what to say in certain situations, but my goodness!  Ditch the canned element ASAP!

Another thing that makes me a good REALTOR is my willingness to learn.  "The times they are a-changing."  If a real estate practioner doesn't read and keep up with the changing times, they stagnate and will soon be left behind because today's buyers and sellers are on the web.  Technology classes tailored for real estate are out there!  The internet is used both to market and to network.  It's fun!  As my sales manager says, "work smarter, not harder."  I get more business these days from my internet presence than I do from any other form of marketing.  By the time someone contacts me, they feel they know and can trust me.

Oops!  I think I more than fulfilled the suggestion of writing a paragraph, didn't I?