“They thought you were very nice,” said my friend, “but they didn’t think you would be aggressive enough.”
I take that as a compliment.
I had shown a property to some friends of my friend, who were looking to purchase, mostly as a favour to my friend, but always in the hope of bringing in more business. Well, they went with another real estate agent, as the all-to-familiar saying goes.
Someone whom perhaps they thought was more aggressive.
Who needs that, I wondered. What the world needs, is more NICE!
The people who choose to work with me don’t seem to mind that I am nice. In fact, I think they prefer it. I think that’s why they choose me.
Who wants a hard-selling, aggressive, guerrilla tactics salesperson to help them with one of the biggest transactions they will likely have in their lifetime? To me, that would add even more stress to an already stressful situation. And I’ve been there, believe me. With a car salesman who very nearly wasn’t going to let me leave the dealership until I had purchased a vehicle.
Well, let me tell you – all the sales tactics in the world aren’t going to help in the real estate business. Because in the end, it is the person selling the house and the person buying the home who must come to a meeting of the minds as to a good price where everyone is happy.
A house/home is not a commodity owned by a retail giant or car dealership that acts as a middleman to get the product to the consumer. It is owned by a regular person who has lived their life there, loved there, experienced joy there, has many memories invested.
It is an emotional transaction, to say the least.
And so, to me, aggression is a trait that need not apply. If anything, kid gloves would be more appropriate.
I remember being told at least once during my previous career as a broadcast news reporter and anchor at a local TV station that I was too nice for that job too. I took that as a compliment also.
I don’t think there is such a thing as being too nice.
Being told I am too nice for something certainly isn’t going to encourage me to be less nice. The world has enough of that already. There are much worse things than being too nice. And I don’t wish to be any of those things.
And so, to all the naysayers who say I am too nice for anything, I say, “Thank you!”
I am very happy to be too nice for you.
Sharon Posius is a Realtor with Century 21 B.J Roth Realty in Barrie, Ont.. She is a former broadcast journalist who keeps up her writing chops as a contributing writer to the monthly Focus 50+ News Magazine. She also hosts and writes her own blogsite, SharonsBlurb.org.
