I've read many real estate and business books over the last few years, but few have had the direct and immediate impact as The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey (son of Dr. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Successful people).
It's important to me that my clients and I work together as a team during our transactions. When I got into the real estate business, my driving motivation was to help people. I like helping people make big decisions in their lives. I like to see people skeptical about real estate agents start a transaction with me and then to watch over the time the mistrust on their faces disappear. I know once we have a certain level of trust that they are going to make good decisions when they buy or sell.
Every day, in very simple ways, we have the opportunity to increase or decrease our credibility. Here's one example of something I do to increase my credibility: When I meet or speak to clients the first time, I make a little promise or two. The promise can be something as simple as promising to call back on a certain day or time or promising to send a market report the next day. The point here is that I am very specific about what time I will be getting back to them. I don't say "I'll get back to you soon," or
I'll be getting back to you in a day or two." I'll say "I'll be getting back to you tomorrow at 10:00 am." Then I schedule it in my phone, and I make sure I do it at the exact time I said. Then when I call I always start with the words "I promised I would call you at 1:00 pm, so that's why I'm calling you now. Hopefully I am demonstrating that when I say I'll do something I really mean it, even if it's something as simple as a phone call."
That's a quick example of little thing you can do to influence the speed of trust in a relationship. For a much better explanation I suggest you read the book or visit the website The Speed of Trust.
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