Serving or Selling?  What Satisfies You?

Your title is real estate salesperson.  That’s how you are designated – a salesperson!  But, if you are a residential Realtor, is that how your clients see you or do they see you as something else?  Do your clients see you as a friend, confidant, expert, resourceful, trustworthy, empathetic, professional, disarming, approachable or do they see you as just a tool for them to accomplish their goals?  How do you see your clients?  The same way?

Long-term success in real estate is much more than being a salesperson.  It can be argued that every great salesperson sees themselves as something other than a salesperson.  Every interaction we engage in, whether personal or business, is transactional in one way or another.  Someone is getting something of value by exchanging another thing of value whether its money, time, experiences, etc.  From a realtor’s perspective, what satisfies you?  The most respected members of our industry see themselves as servants first and salespeople last.  Being a realtor is more than just a job and you know it is not just a 9 to 5.  You are helping clients during one of the most stressful events they will ever go through in their lives.  It’s not fun to move for most people.  Even you as a realtor who makes your living selling homes should be willing to admit that. 

Most people’s moves are made because of some life altering decisions people make.  It could be because of a job change, divorce, marriage, kids, lifestyle, family dynamics, age, natural disasters, school districts, and more!  These are all high stress situations and clients question their own decision making often during the home buying or selling process.  Realtors need to be ready to deal with the range of emotions and situations their clients are dealing with.

So, how are you treating clients?  If it’s strictly a basic transaction for you where you want a client to buy/sell a home to get a paycheck, you are going to be missing an opportunity to connect with your client in a way that will be satisfying to them and to you in the end.  Do you really want to be just a salesperson?  Realtors who see this job as an opportunity to serve the needs of their clients on an emotional level, above and beyond the basics of the transaction will ultimately find more job satisfaction and more connection with their clients leading to referrals, more ongoing job satisfaction and a longer career in the real estate industry.  No job should ever just be about money but, when you look at our industry, money should never be the most important factor in why you are doing this business.  

Clients who see that you have a servant heart that truly wants to help them accomplish their goals will be more engaging and satisfying.  Clients who see someone who understands the stresses that come with a move or the underlying reasons for a move will be more willing to share information with you to help you be more effective in your job and ultimately more likeable.  Characteristics like empathy and strong communication skills show you want to serve your client’s needs.  Are you, as a realtor, listening more than you are talking?  Listening can be one of the greatest skills we need in this industry yet many of us miss the opportunity to just be quiet and listen because we want to be heard.

Many of us got into this industry because we thought it would be a great way to make money by not thinking far beyond the paycheck.  It can be difficult to have long-term success in the real estate industry if you don’t learn quickly that putting the needs of your clients before your own is one of the most important paths to success in this business.  Like it or not, real estate is a service industry!  You are serving others, which is the underlying theme behind a servant’s heart.  Housing is something everyone needs and how you serve your clients will have a long-term impact on their lives.  Think beyond the basics and your own selfish needs.  Your job satisfaction and ultimately long-term success in real estate can be defined in several different ways but knowing you have helped someone with one of the most important things they will ever do in their lives can be incredibly satisfying far beyond the financial reward you get from it.

Are you a salesperson or a servant?  Recognition of your true role in real estate as someone who is there to serve others can lead to a long career in real estate.  How you make people feel, the number of people of you can serve, the satisfaction of knowing you did a great job for your clients, and becoming someone your clients love to talk to and connect with are all success factors that are equally if not more important than financial success in real estate. 

Go out and serve someone today! 

Don’t be a salesperson!