Not all (fill in the blank) are the same…
I had a conversation yesterday that got me to thinking. The person I was talking to said she knows 5 real estate agents and she did not know how to choose among them for someone to work with so she decided it was better to work with someone she did not know. A stranger.
I was puzzled on how to answer that but now I think I understand the problem. She saw all real estate agents as the same. We all have access to the same internet, MLS services, signs, lockboxes, tools, cars, etc. so it is hard to see the difference. We are different though. Experience, skills, talents and desires make us different.
I am different because I work by referral almost exclusively. I say almost because I do get calls from my signs and my internet presence but I don’t make cold calls or go door to door looking for a client. That alone makes me different than most of my colleagues. It is not better or worse but different. I think it’s better for me and for my client because I have more time to help them when they need me but that is not the point here.
A lot of this is about choices we make. If you live here in the south your choices for grocery shopping are Publix, Kroger, Ingles, Walmart, Aldi and a handful of specialty and higher end stores. I shop at Publix, Aldi and Walmart mostly. Why? Because I like or dislike something about my available choices. Price, selection, convenience, cleanliness, etc. are the reasons but the truth is if all I want is a loaf of bread I can go anywhere. They are all close enough to the same, it does not matter where I go.
The same is true about anything until you find out it’s not. Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Hair Stylists, Carpet Cleaners and the list goes on, are all the same until you find out they are not. I like my doctor but I hate his office. I don’t need to go there enough to make me change (yet) but I probably avoid going there until I get really sick. Maybe that’s the idea, I don’t know.
If you’re an investor you need a team of people to help you. Attorney, Accountant, Contractors, Real Estate Agent, Lenders and a host of other providers are necessary and you have to trust they are looking out for you. Now it is not like buying a loaf of bread. It means something and it makes a difference who you work with. Experience matters. Personality matters. Desire matters.
If you are a first time buyer it matters. You need experience and advice. It’s nice if the person you are working with is there for more than a paycheck.
In a world that has tried to build cheaper, faster, better for less we are all encouraged to ‘fit in’. Don’t rock the boat or you will be replaced because there is a long line of people waiting for your job but when we need someone to help us we look for the ones that make a difference. The ones that stand out for talent, skills and someone who cares. We go out of our way to find them because the experience is better if we find the right person or company to work with.
So, do you stand out in what you do? Is your desire to do your work so well that everyone notices or to do it so that no one notices. Not sure where this is going but it is where I am thinking right now. There might be more later.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson