Why Me?

I remember a big turning point in my life and it happened around 1984. I was a mechanic. I’d go home tired, sweaty and dirty. My hands were rough already and my back was sore… at 20.

I made a few wooden tulips with a cheap band-saw. I painted them different colors and started selling them to people for décor. It was such a simple, little project and yet, I was getting 3 bucks apiece. I went into a little restaurant in Powder Springs. I was having lunch with Gary Lowe. I managed to sell several of those tulips while at lunch and lunch was, therefore, on me and basically free.

“You are such a natural salesman.” Gary said as we walked out.

Of course.

I would sell. I was never going to make a fortune with wooden tulips. I was killing myself in a garage. Why not sell?

So, for the past 34 years, I have been selling. I’ve gone from cars to houses, back to cars and back to houses, but I’m still selling.

Selling is a good career if you love what you sell; it’s miserable if you don’t. The most difficult part is getting whatever you are selling in front of people; especially in 2018.

If someone is selling something, they have to interrupt people or they have to be right where potential clients can see the product when the client actually wants or needs it. With real estate, it’s easy to be available. It’s not like the clients are going to department stores to find houses. Listings are typically uploaded to a multiple listing service (MLS) and when the potential buyer is looking in the area for a home in the price range of the one you have listed, the connection is made and an offer comes in.

If you don’t have a listing, you need a buyer/client. If you don’t have a listing or a buyer, you are what my instructor called a “Secret Agent”. People have to find you and they have to want to do business with you. Having a license doesn’t mean that you are the right fit for a particular client. Believe me, a lot of people have a real estate license. Why would people want to do business with me?

I was trained to read real estate contracts and I’ve studied the industry for the last 30+ years, but that’s not all that unique. I’ve fixed and sold houses of my own (flips) and a lot of other agents have done that too. I’ve managed my own rental properties and that is not really rocket science. I have worked with big banks, selling their REO properties during The Great Recession and that experience prepares me for working with big banks in a slow market, but that’s not where we are today. I’ve worked with builders and vendors on new homes and I’ve marketed developments and sold a lot of new houses and that’s good experience, but it still doesn’t set me apart. I’ve begun to develop a knack for advertising a communicating with social media, but that’s a great place to get lost too. So how do I answer the question? Why work with me?

This is the hard part. This is where I have to be shameless and tell you how great I am. The truth is: I’m not.

When I think about the agents I’ve met through the years, I cannot tell you that I am the better agent. I’ve met some really wonderful people in this industry. Many of the agents, brokers, lenders, inspectors and appraisers have taught me what I know about real estate, and I still have a lot to learn. I’ve marveled at how some agents are so quick to think and how they can turn a situation around. I’ve been at closings where the deal was literally falling apart at the closing table and I’ve watched a closing attorney find the solution in a haystack of unacceptable outcomes.

I’ve made some mistakes. In the real estate industry, you won’t forget your mistakes. I’ve had to turn to my broker and we’ve found solutions in every case. And speaking of cases, I haven’t made mine here.

Of course, if you have a property to sell, I want to help you sell it. I’d like to see you get what you want, but I won’t lie to you and promise you that I can do it. I won’t insult your intelligence and suggest that I have the ability to buy all of the houses I list if they don’t sell. I’m sure you know that if I did buy your house, I probably wouldn’t give you what you wanted for it; that’s how that works.

And if you are a buyer, I want to try to find you what you are looking for. I will tell you that it won’t happen the way it does on television. I won’t show you three houses in thirty minutes and then meet you at a restaurant with outdoor dining so you can tell me if it is house 1, 2 or 3. In fact, it is quite a process and it may take weeks or even more. I can’t possibly show you every house you find on the millions of websites that list houses for sale. Many of those houses aren’t even for sale. In some cases, the house has been off the market for a year and it still appears to be for sale on a website.

Okay, here goes: my tagline has always been, “Real Experience in Real Estate.”

I always wanted the focus to be on the word “Real”. A lot of people have experience but when you get to know them, you find out they aren’t “real”. They don’t stop to consider your personal goals and dreams. They want to get the job done without empathy. 

HOWEVER

Recent studies reveal that empathy gets the job done. What is empathy? It is the ability to feel what someone else feels. You become more flexible and you listen more carefully. Sure, you can write a blog like this one, but you can meet someone face to face and have a conversation too. You can find the phone feature on your smartphone and make a personal call to someone. You can post a status update on social media and you can be sociable too.

Scanning an offer and sending it via email is good experience. Knowing where to place a sign in a yard is not a bad thing to know. Spelling most of your words correctly in your ads would be great, but about 20 years ago, I was standing with a client as the sun began to set and it painted the sky in a stunning orange glow. “Mr. D____,” I said, “Would you look at that sunset?”

He and I stood there for a minute and we both agreed that it really was a gorgeous sunset. After the closing, he told me that my reaction to that sunset was what made his mind up. I had no idea. I guess that’s what I mean when I say, “Real”.