How many of us have had that line said to us?
Really? I mean really? She said this with such authority; I almost went into the kitchen and grabbed a silver plate to serve her tea and crumpets... And then ask if she needed anything else with a horrible accent only to scamper back into the butler's pantry to wait until I was beckoned forth again... She said it is if that one line, "35 years" normally shut up anyone that ever got in her way, or on her way to the top of whatever throne she was master over... Oh, then she also said, "This is how we have always done it, and that since I was new to the business, I might not know enough yet". I have the vision of a white gloved hand putting something in a purse, and patting it after it was in there, for safe keeping... Not sure if it really pertains to the story, but that is the image... LOL!
I have 160 or so agents that work for me, and I help field all types of questions on a daily basis... I have heard it all, seen it all and still get surprised on some days. I have overseen hundreds if not thousands of transactions and have been in the business since the early 90's. But I do not have an ego, so I never care about challenging the old, "who-knows-more-then-who or who-been-in-the-business-longer-than-who" game that is played sometimes. And I do not ever assume that I know everything. I often have to get our attorney on the line to help me out with the situations that become rather complicated.
This leads me to this thought... Time to time, I get the line about how long someone has been in real estate when in a disagreement over a transaction... And for that reason, it seems that the person saying it to me thinks I should bow down, and accept their rationale that why they are doing is right (since the length of time in the biz was long), and what I propose to do is wrong. Usually they are never interested about my thoughts or what direction I feel we should take. And if I broach the subject, it usually ends in the other party getting angry, while I smile... Not at them, just to remind myself it is not worth getting angry about something so trivial.
Now this is rather unscientific thought process by the way, just the random thoughts of an AR'er
Almost every time I hear this line... "35 years, or whatever length of time..." (When in a disagreement) The person saying it seems to be reluctant to accept that they are wrong, and do not want to own up to the fact that the decisions that THEY made may have been made in error, and can cause damages... They do not want to be the one who made a mistake, so they try to rationale their length in the business over others technically correct solutions to the same problem. I also seem to see that those that fall back on their length of time in the business as their SOLE agreement as to whether they are correct or incorrect, are the same people that are not learning based. They do not want to see that the world is changing, or may not be interested in seeing what is around the next bend.
Now, I do not have any negative feelings towards those that have been in the business for a great length in time. This post is not about our veteran super-stars.. I in fact respect them. This post is just about the argument starters, that really do not want to debate, they just want to tell...
So next time you are in a disagreement and want to tell someone how long you have been in the business... Do it with a smile, and I bet it will go further! We need you to impart your wisdom on the next generation of agents that are jumping in. Whether you like it or not, people look up to you, admire you, and are copying your every more on their journey to stardom!
:) Have a great day!
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