In August of 1982 I took my first management job, in San Francisco, running a computer maintenance group that handled the banks and other financial institutions. One of the first things my new boss told me, which I remember clearly to this day is to not forget Chuck's (that was my bosses name) First Rule of Management: One Awe Sh*t Will Wipe Out 1000 Attaboys.
It took me awhile to truly understand this but, after managing the group and the clients for several months it was firmly drilled into my brain. No matter how good the service we gave on a day to day basis, no matter how many crises we curtailed, they only remembered the last time someone screwed up. The last time service was less than stellar. The last time someone couldn't keep an appointment. The last time someone missed a commitment.
So what does that have to do with real estate? Thanks for asking! The same thing it had to do with computer service in 1982. Our clients, our customers, our referrals, all only remember the time we screwed up. Most of them only deal with us once. Some, if we are lucky, you know, the Gary Player kind of luck, where you work at being lucky good, remember us, they come to us again the next time they want to buy or sell. They refer us to their friends, their families.
But, if we screw up, we can forget that referral, we can forget them coming back to us. We can only hope that they forget to mention that we screwed up.
But you know that all of us good agents never screw up. Right. And can I sell you the real estate that goes with that bridge?
So how do we get around it? How do we prevent getting the 179 things we did right from getting wiped out by the one thing we might have screwed up? How do we make it positive.
Which brings me to Chuck's (remember, my boss) Second Rule of Management: Don't Be Afraid to Fall On the Sword. Sounds painful, doesn't it. And yes, it is. Too often pride prevents us from admitting mistakes, especially to ourselves. But we have to get in front of it. We have to be pro-active. We have to admit to and sincerely apologize for them, and let the other parties know what we are going to do to fix it, and when. We have to remember not to blame others. Other agents. Other people. Other things.
And, if we are fortunate, its not a big mistake that we have made that will cost our clients money, or perhaps even the deal. Those, we might have a tough time getting around.
So, no matter how many awards on your wall; no matter how many times you are in the $Million club; no matter how many closed deals; no matter whatever; just remember One Awe Sh*t Will Wipe Out 1000 Attaboys. And try not to step in it!
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