Scott’s Thoughts: The Kingdom of Service


“Not what I have, but what I do, is my kingdom.”

Thomas Carlyle, (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher.

Full Service

Building a career in real estate is less about the tools or inventory at your disposal than what you do with them. This basic truism is so banal it’s almost not worth mentioning, except that people seem to overlook it year after year. You might work with a great office, have the latest lead capture and smartphone technology at your fingertips, and have a stellar inventory at your disposal, but if you don’t take your commitment to service to your highest possible level, you’ll consistently fall short of your goals.

How you serve is far more valuable than what you sell. With this in mind, I thought it might help everyone if we take a look at three of the key tenets of service:

1. Speedy Response: Being first goes a long way to making an impression. When leads come to you through email, Twitter, Facebook, or voice mail, how fast are you with your response? If you receive a message on Saturday morning, do you wait until Monday to follow-up, or do you fire off a quick response (or make a call) Saturday afternoon? Calling on a Monday is run-of-the mill. Calling on a Saturday afternoon is good. But calling twenty minutes after the message on Saturday morning? That’s exceptional. Get that human interaction started as soon as possible. Let them know there’s someone on the other end.

2. Education through Information: Sometimes clients want basic information, and sometimes they’re asking for information because they’re trying to figure out the answer to a question they haven’t asked you yet. Knowing the difference is important. Always provide the information a client requests, but follow-up with a question of your own to the client: Is there a question I can help you answer in regard to [THE INFORMATION THEY REQUESTED]? Occasionally you have to help clients verbalize the question that’s on their mind. When you can helpfully educate (versus hard sell) a client, you’re building value in the relationship.

3. The Double Es, Enthusiasm & Empathy: Here’s the rule: Want it as bad as your client wants it, and suffer when your client suffers. It’s inevitable that over time you might forget the high emotional stakes in a real estate transaction, but if you do, your client will feel it. In no way should you allow emotional highs and lows on your client’s behalf cloud your professional judgment, but if you treat your client’s transaction with the attitude of a jaded agent, you’re falling down on service.

Mind well how you do what you do, and you will gradually build a kingdom based on superior service.

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