Robert Kennedy said, “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events.”
Throughout history there have been reports of great results because someone had some money to invest at the right time. For example, there were the two young men who started Apple in a garage in California.
Consider for a moment the long-term ramifications in your lifetime from having an extra $10,000 right now. Think long-term.
Here’s one of thousands of possibilities. That $10,000 allows you to send your child to a special class, take a trip or do something that inspires your child to see life differently. They ultimately invent something, take a certain career path, start a business or discover a medical solution of significance – and that invention, career path, business or medical solution improves the lives of thousands of people.
Now, consider what could happen if you learn a strategy to offer your listing clients a near-perfect chance of selling their properties for an extra $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000.
Think and dream bigger for a moment. What would be the ripple effect of listing an extra 10, 20 or 30 homes each year for 10 or 20 years and averaging an extra $5,000 or $10,000 for each client? What impact could that have on their lives, their children’s lives and on others in their sphere of influence?
And what long-term impact could an extra 10, 20 or 30 listing commissions each year have on your life?
As professional real estate agents, we have the opportunity to guide our listing clients to the decisions to sell their properties faster than average and for above average selling prices. We have the opportunity to “change a small portion of events” in the lives of each and every one of our listing clients. And we have the opportunity to do that for the rest of our careers.
Here is the rest of Robert Kennedy’s quote. Read it several times. Let the long-term value sink in.
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current, which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
As an industry, real estate has long lauded those who listed the most homes each year without asking how many of those listings sold on a timely basis or at what relative price.
Who gives the greater service to their clients: someone who lists 250 homes a year and has only an average 60/40 sold/expired ratio, or someone who lists 25 homes a year and has 100-per-cent sell?
Who has given the greater benefit: someone whose average sale is at the average prices of similar homes recently sold, or someone whose average sale is two per cent, three per cent or four per cent above average?
What acts can you take to “improve the lot of others?” What “ripple of hope” can you start in the lives of your clients?
I would like to see our real estate associations recognize those who maintain 100-per-cent sales-to-listing ratios each year, regardless of the volume of listings taken. Their exemplary service should be recognized. Want to start the ripple? Suggest this to your board.
A final thought from John F. Kennedy: “George Bernard Shaw, speaking as an Irishman, summed up an approach to life. ‘Other people,’ he said, ‘see things and say why? But I dream things that never were and I say, why not?’’’
At the end of our lives we all will have a personal history … a legacy. What legacy do you want to leave behind? The choice is yours.
Jerry Bresser has been training and coaching real estate agents how to sell homes faster and for more money for over 35 years. He recently published his second book, ‘More Money in Your Pocket’ and is now offering an Aim Above Average Workshop.
