When I arrived at my client’s house, the children were out with grandma, allowing us time to take care of paperwork. We were almost finished when the smiling faces of their two young daughters appeared at the front door. Scampering in, they sat right down beside me at the table.
“They were so excited when we pulled up and they saw your car,” said Grandma.
“Miss Monica is here!”
They handed me drawings they’d made in the car and said I could keep them.
I asked them to tell me about their artwork.
“A robot crab,” said Aurora.
“A ball,” said Mia.
As we talked, Mia kept asking me about my jewelry, and noted my pink nail polish. To this little three year old, I was interesting. She personified the theme I’d seen in her bedroom… that of mermaids… in that they’re drawn to shiny things. And I represented those shiny things quite conveniently at that moment.
I rose to leave, and as their Mom was just about ready to hug me goodbye, little Mia said, “I want to be you when I grow up.”
Mom was struck by how fervently she’d said it and remarked, “Did you hear how sincerely she said that? No wonder! You’re exactly who I would hope my girls would grow up to be! You’re helpful and kind and intelligent. We're blessed that you're our REALTOR.”
That was certainly wonderful to hear and while I fully believe what her Mom said to me, I know what Mia was saying. She wants to wear rings and a necklace and a really cool pin when she grows up. Oh… and wear pink nail polish. I hear pink is her favorite color.
While it’s nice to focus on the positive and accept a compliment, there’s a lesson to be learned from little Mia in this when it comes to clients: What is their real focus? What do they really want? When you learn to remove the filters of your own perspective, you can see life from theirs and in doing so, you can do a better job of helping them find the way home.
“We really don’t want to lose you, once this process is over,” said Mom as I left.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m an inclusion!”
We hugged, and I left my delightful clients, pictures in hand and a smile on my face.
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